Memorize Chapter 212

Hearing Go Yeon-Joo’s words, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of curiosity. Setting aside the fact that she was retracting her statement, her expression was deadly serious. After glancing back and forth between An-Sol and Go Yeon-Joo, I asked in a voice brimming with interest.

“Did An-Hyun or An-Sol say something?”

“No, they didn’t.”

She answered immediately. Shaking her head, Go Yeon-Joo’s gaze fixed back on An-Sol. Her eyes, watching Sol, were filled with complex emotions.

A brief silence fell. The only sound breaking the quiet was An-Sol’s energetic scampering in the background.

Suddenly, I felt I could understand Go Yeon-Joo’s current state of mind. When An-Sol had displayed her power during our last exploration of the Cave Of Wailing in Mule, Go Yeon-Joo had been visibly shocked. It wasn’t just her—Jung Ha-Yeong and Shin Sang-Yong had also been incredulous when they first witnessed her abilities.

Luck was that kind of power. Inexplicable, indefinable, and beyond the realm of common sense.

Go Yeon-Joo seemed like she wanted to say something but couldn’t easily open her mouth. Gauging her inner turmoil, I decided to ask a question first. In moments like this, the best approach is to review the facts and form a hypothesis. The first step was to ask why she was retracting her statement.

“Calling her a lunatic wasn’t exactly pleasant to hear. Love her or hate her, she’s still my… Well, my clan member. So, this is welcome news for me.”

“Pfft. You were about to say ‘my kid,’ weren’t you?”

“You must’ve misheard. Anyway, I’m curious why you’re taking it back.”

Go Yeon-Joo gave a playful smile at my denial. Then, as if recalling something in response to my question, she closed her eyes and began speaking calmly.

“When I first got your request, I thought it was perfect timing. Living with them, I’d been frustrated more than once or twice. An-Hyun was the best of the three, relatively speaking, and I disciplined Yun-Jung by knocking some sense into her. But An-Sol… you’ve always been so protective of her, so it was hard to be too harsh.”

“…”

“That day was no different. When we left Babara, passing through the warp gate, her constant whining drove me up the wall. I was so annoyed I even considered starting with a slap. But in the end, I couldn’t do it.”

“Why not?”

I listened carefully and asked. Go Yeon-Joo paused, as if reflecting, then began speaking slowly, as if finding a rhythm.

“I wanted to figure out why she was like that. Besides, after the awkwardness from the eavesdropping incident, I needed to mend our relationship. So, I decided to fill the void you left. Watching how she clung to you, I wondered if maybe she grew up without enough affection.”

“Affection deprivation…”

“Anyway, after making that decision, I disciplined An-Hyun and Yun-Jung harshly for their mistakes, but not An-Sol. Sometimes I treated her like a mother, sometimes like an older sister. I really approached her as if I were caring for a child. That’s probably why her behavior seems a bit more intense now. She’s got both a ‘dad’ and a ‘mom’ present.”

“I see. So, did it yield any results?”

“Not entirely fruitless. I achieved my initial goal of rebuilding our relationship, but… I couldn’t go any deeper. Sometimes I tried to dig in, but she’d shrink back almost pathologically. It felt like an invisible wall was blocking me. In the end, I couldn’t get to the root of her issues.”

“Hmm…”

“It was one day…”

Just as I was feeling a pang of disappointment that she hadn’t uncovered anything, Go Yeon-Joo continued. I instinctively refocused my attention.

“About a week in, during mealtime, I made a joking remark. I said I’d bring the clan member with the best training performance to meet you.”

“Haha, did An-Sol suddenly awaken or something?”

“I wish. Honestly, it wasn’t even a serious comment. They all worked harder afterward, but it was just a casual remark, nothing more, nothing less. Then, two days ago…”

Her mention of “two days ago” made my ears perk up. That was when I was feeling particularly frustrated with the academy’s unresolved issues. I waited for her next words.

“In the middle of the night, An-Sol suddenly came to me. I was a bit surprised when she opened my door and walked in. We’d grown closer, but she wasn’t at the stage of being that proactive. But what she blurted out when she came to me shocked me even more.”

As I listened to Go Yeon-Joo, I couldn’t help but feel my curiosity intensify. She hadn’t opened her eyes once during her story, continuing in a calm voice with her eyes closed. It was as if she was trying to relive that moment more vividly, more precisely. Sensing that we were reaching the climax, I unconsciously swallowed hard.

“She was different from usual. Her speech was clear and deliberate, not clingy. There was a certain gravity in her expression, her eyes were strikingly alive, and… there was this indescribable aura emanating from her.”

“An aura? What did Sol say? Did she ask to be brought along to see me?”

“Yes. At first, I refused without hesitation. I told her to stop talking nonsense and go to sleep. But… that’s when it happened. The strange aura I felt when she first came in enveloped me completely. And in that moment, An-Sol continued speaking.”

Goosebumps had risen on Go Yeon-Joo’s exposed arms. Instinctively, I thought of the Luck stat. The fragments of thoughts I’d had about luck were starting to come together, even if only partially. The change that occurred when Luck went from 100 to 101. What I had thought was 

An-Sol’s mysterious ability was beginning to reveal a clue.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to take me. Oppa needs me right now. If you go alone, he might regret it deeply. I don’t want him to regret anything. If you won’t take me, I’ll go on my own.”

Go Yeon-Joo mimicked An-Sol’s words. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at me. Her light gray eyes were misty.

“Want to know what’s really interesting?”

“That she spoke with an unusual attitude?”

“No.”

A deep smile spread across Go Yeon-Joo’s lips. She glanced at An-Sol, who was still eagerly playing, and continued in a low voice.

“Despite being like that, she overwhelmed ‘me’, the Shadow Queen, Go Yeon-Joo. Not in terms of magic, of course. But…”

“But?”

“I felt like I had to do it. It was as if something inside me was being forcibly moved. I couldn’t even think of refusing and just nodded. Then she gave a relieved smile, turned, and left. At that moment, she didn’t seem like a lunatic. But she didn’t exactly seem normal either… Tsk, I don’t know.”

Having finally said her piece, Go Yeon-Joo let out a deep sigh and leaned back. A hollow laugh followed.

“It was like I was bewitched or something. Can you believe it? Me, swayed by that girl, even for a moment?”

It’s possible. Especially if the 101 stat has manifested. I answered silently in my mind. It wasn’t time to bring it up yet. Now that I had a clue, all that remained was to test it. If I could confirm even part of the truth through that experiment, and if my theory was correct, I might gain a powerful weapon in the future.

She didn’t say anything more. Now it was my turn to speak.

“To be honest,” I began.

“Yes?”

“As I mentioned earlier, I hadn’t thought about it until I got your message. But…”

“Oppa!”

An-Sol, seemingly having caught something, was holding it up with a bright smile. I waved back at her in response and continued calmly.

“Bringing An-Sol was a good choice.”

“Ha, unbelievable. You really have faith in that girl, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. There are still some unclear parts, but there’s a lot to look forward to.”

“Ugh, I don’t get it.”

Go Yeon-Joo let out a lamenting sigh and flopped onto her back. I chuckled briefly at her before turning my gaze to An-Sol. She was still prancing around with lively steps.

Watching her, I immediately activated my Third Eye.

*

“Yum, yum, yum, yum.”

After playing to her heart’s content, An-Sol, now hungry, eagerly devoured the lunch. With crumbs scattered around her mouth, she suddenly looked up and scanned her surroundings, likely searching for Go Yeon-Joo, who had disappeared.

“Oppa, where’s Mom… I mean, Unnie?”

“She had some business to attend to. She said she’d come back to pick you up, so let’s hang out together until then.”

“Oh~ Okay~”

Go Yeon-Joo did mention she had something to do. Apparently, Vivienne, who’s been researching elixirs, asked her to pick up a few materials in Babara. But that was just a surface excuse—it seemed she deliberately gave us space after confirming I needed An-Sol. She probably thought a heartfelt one-on-one conversation would be better than having multiple people around. Since I planned to share things in due time anyway, I didn’t refuse.

Watching An-Sol eat her lunch with gusto, I cast my gaze into the air. Floating there was the player information I had just pulled up for her.

(Player Status)

1. Name: An-Sol (Year 0)  

2. Class: Normal Priest  

3. Nation: Free  

4. Clan: Mercenary (Clan Rank: D Zero)  

5. True Name · Nationality: The One Who Guides the Light · South Korea  

6. Sex: Female (20)  

7. Height · Weight: 160.1 cm · 45.7 kg  

8. Alignment: Lawful · Good  

[Strength 22] [Resistance 22] [Agility 26] [Vitality 32] [Magic 88(+1)] [Luck 101]

(3 ability points remaining)

A few things had changed, but my attention was drawn to her True Name: The One Who Guides the Light. Though the details were unclear, I cautiously speculated that it was influenced by her Luck stat reaching 101.

Of course, there were still many unknowns. If I assumed this made her omnipotent, the clue I’d barely grasped would slip away again. Whether it would activate every time something happened, and to what extent, remained vague.

For now, I decided to narrow her specialized abilities to danger detection and pathfinding. Framing it this way lent significant credibility to her past actions. 

But there was one point to address. So far, her ability activation has been heavily self-protective. For example, during ruin explorations, if left alone at a fork in the path, she’d tremble and refuse to move forward. But the moment she grabbed my sleeve, her demeanor changed. In other words, her ability seemed to involve others’ perspectives.

So, how did she sense my frustration when we were apart? I came up with two hypotheses. First, her Luck reaching 101 might have upgraded her range-limited ability. Second, when we mixed our mana at the trap point previously, some remnant of that connection might have lingered. Both theories had flaws when considered separately, but together, they seemed to fit.

At that moment, An-Sol, who had been burying her face in the food, suddenly looked up, pouting.

“Ugh, Oppa.”

“Hm? What’s up?”

“I’m sorry. I was so hungry I ate everything.”

She looked crestfallen, and I let out a light laugh.

“Haha, it’s okay. Just watching you eat makes me feel full.”

“Hehe, really? Hehe.”

At my words, An-Sol twisted her body shyly. Watching her, I decided to set my thoughts aside. Digging too deep would lead to an endless spiral, and it’d be better to figure things out slowly over time. For now, since she was here, I figured the best approach was to make the most of her in addressing the current situation.

“Let’s clean up, let’s clean up.”

An-Sol was diligently tidying up what she’d eaten. Watching her quietly, I spoke in a calm tone.