NOVEL WEB Chapter 17
I must have done something crazy.
“Are you back to your senses?”
It felt like the last thread of sanity had snapped.
Looking back, it really wasn’t something worth getting so mad about.
At that time, I couldn’t control myself.
“Yeah… thanks to you.”
I lightly surveyed my surroundings.
Looking at the calendar, a whole day had already passed. It felt like I had only been lying down for one or two hours.
“The doctor says I need to rest more.”
“I can’t cause you any more trouble.”
“I should contact my parents first; they must be worried. Do you have their phone number?”
“I don’t have any parents.”
The professor jumped a bit and dropped his phone.
“I mean they’re not at home, they’re not in this world.”
Just in case he got the wrong idea, I preemptively cleared that up.
I tossed aside the blanket and clumsily folded it to one side before putting on my shoes.
“If you tell me your address, I’ll take you home.”
“I don’t have a home either.”
What am I supposed to do about that?
“If you really want to drop me off, please take me to Sea Star Elementary School.”
Thinking back, I almost left recklessly without knowing where this hospital was. I accepted the professor’s kindness, and he silently proceeded with the discharge procedures.
The professor’s car looked like an antique that belonged in a museum. It didn’t use mana and lacked artificial intelligence, clearly a relic of the past.
But the interior was tastefully decorated in an elegant old-fashioned style to match his preferences.
“If you don’t have a home, where do you sleep?”
“I stay at a PC Bang.”
“You sleep there every day?”
“It’s been about six months now.”
“Do you have any money?”
“I earn enough to pay for the capsule fees.”
As the conversation paused, I added a quick comment.
“I’m not doing anything weird. I just make money by broadcasting on the internet.”
When do I get to eat all this?
In the middle of our talk, I kept sipping from the mana potion I took from the pharmacy, but this 1.5L bottle showed no signs of emptying.
As always, it’s tough to feel the cravings when I’m eating, but the aftertaste is quite disgusting.
“You’re turning seven in elementary school, huh?”
“You saw my student ID. Well, I don’t really care; it must have been needed info for the admission procedure.”
“To be honest, I’m surprised. I never dreamed my top student would be such a young child. How did you learn magic?”
“I learned it the way the teacher taught me.”
“That teacher must really be considered for child abuse!”
Despite my mumbling, he responded cheerfully with a joke.
Despite being a curious human, he somehow made me feel comfortable during our conversation.
“Do you know if anyone at school is aware you’re living in a PC Bang?”
“If they knew, they would have done something about it sooner.”
“You’re aware of your situation and what you’re doing, huh?”
“But I don’t want to go back to the orphanage. I don’t want to play along with the silly hierarchy of the kids. I need to earn money for potions too.”
I’m living quite systematically, you know.
Compared to last year when I had to play 20 games a day just to extend my lifespan, this is quite a leap.
COUGH COUGH
Ugh…
“Do you like crepes by any chance?”
“Crepes?”
“The crepes sold here in Dongdaemun are really delicious. There’s hardly a line today, so I thought I might buy some and wondered if Na-me wanted any too.”
He pointed out a street vendor with a sign featuring a picture of crepes through the window.
“…Then I’ll gladly accept.”
“Okay, just wait a moment and I’ll buy two, including one for Na-me.”
Crepes… I had once tried them as a specialty of the Britannia Republic when I was sent as a diplomatic envoy.
Do women have a sweet tooth or something?
I used to turn my nose up at sweets, but I couldn’t do anything without sugar in my last life.
Professor Cheon Kyu-jin returned with huge crepes stacked high in both hands.
I hurriedly accepted them in a small paper cup lest the contents spill out.
“This is a bit different from the crepes I know.”
Back then, I definitely ate them cut like steak with a knife and fork.
“Well, it is street food, after all. It’ll surely taste good. Just make sure to blow on it before you eat it, it’s hot.”
I brought the crepe drizzled with chocolate syrup to my lips.
The sweet and fluffy texture soothed my tongue which had been suffering from the potion.
Is that strawberry inside? I took a small bite along with the fruit.
“How’s the taste?”
“Yeah, it’s good. Sweet and tasty.”
“This is the place I stop by every time I go home. It’s great as a substitute for dinner when I’m feeling lazy.”
Once I finished the last bite of the crepe, familiar sights began to fill the view outside the window.
“Sea Star Elementary School is just a right turn.”
“Oh, I must have taken the wrong turn.”
“Professor, you’re not good at lying.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are we heading towards the orphanage?”
I spoke with assurance.
He never intended to take me to the PC Bang.
“That doesn’t mean my mind has changed.”
“Then what does it mean?”
“Do you think Na-me…”
The professor suddenly trailed off. He, who always maintained his composure, for the first time cough cough and clenched his fist.
“Are you considering being adopted by me?”
“What?”
“I absolutely don’t want you to see me as a father. We can stay in the current professor-student relationship, you know? I just want Na-me to live in a better environment. Did I ramble too much? Sorry I couldn’t express it better.”
“That’s surprising. I’ve never thought about it before.”
Being adopted by someone means that person must have liked me for some reason.
For instance, the male who adopted Minwoo and Ah-rin must have seen their efforts and potential.
He wouldn’t have shown it, but every time he visited the orphanage, he couldn’t hide the attention he paid to the children.
Of course, Professor Cheon Kyu-jin might also appreciate my exceptional abilities compared to my peers.
But that’s true for me as well, isn’t it? I can’t even remember the last time I met someone with whom I could discuss magical knowledge.
Lost in thought, the car soon arrived at the orphanage entrance.
The professor kept his eyes on the wheel, not looking at me. He seemed a bit tense.
The crepe that he couldn’t eat while driving had the cream melting from the heat, turning the batter soggy.
Does it matter if it’s sincere? Or if it’s not?
It’s hard to make quick judgments about people after just a few encounters.
The only thing I knew for sure was that I still had the sweet chocolate taste lingering on my tongue.
“Isn’t it too late for you to be called a father, professor?”
*
The adoption procedures were wrapped up quickly.
Aunt Park Young-hee, who always oversaw the orphanage, was in charge of the process.
Even when I suddenly vanished leaving just a note or told her I was going to be adopted by an old man with white hair, she was always indifferent.
She’s a really interesting person.
“Oh, that detective Ma Beom-il was asking about where you went. And a male university student came to find you too.”
With that, she returned to her office without even sending me off.
Professor Cheon Kyu-jin’s house was located further than I had expected.
We moved south through the expressway in Seoul. The night view of Seoul from the heights was beautiful.
Seeing so many drones busily maintaining the protective magic circles without colliding was quite a fresh sight.
“You must have chosen the path of a true educator, not creating a family.”
“Is that a compliment or an insult?”
Professor, in his late fifties, lived in a very empty home.
It seemed like it was about 40 pyeong, but with only one person living there, the feeling of loneliness was multiplied.
“Are you telling me you really don’t have anything else?”
“The school uniform is everything I have.”
“I can’t grasp how you’ve lived like that.”
“If you think it’s dirty, that’s rude… I always use Clean Magic except when I sleep. Although it’s a bit outdated, nothing else is as tidy.”
“From now on, let’s conserve mana and focus on taking daily showers instead.”
“I’m not saying I dislike washing.”
I felt like he had some grievously misleading misunderstandings about me.
“Here, this is your pajamas. There’s a bathroom next to your room, so hurry and wash up; we need to get ready for bed tonight.”
“But it’s only 10 o’clock.”
“You grow taller if you sleep early.”
How cheap that this guy is using my height against me!
With no other choice, I took the clothes and toiletries he handed me and crawled into the room.
Inside, there was only a cozy bed, a dresser, a wardrobe, and several giant boxes of unknown contents.
It seemed it was originally a vacant room and probably used for storage.
After a quick shower, I dried my long hair using heating magic in an instant since using a hairdryer would take forever.
In the mirror, my bony, shabby figure reflected back. I was definitely too thin.
It’s all because of mana addiction. Taking potions makes my stomach swell, taking away any hunger.
‘What is this…’
I quickly picked out the pajamas from the children’s clothing shop that fit my frame, and one of them had rabbit ears on the head.