“June?”
“It’s not June, it’s JiWoon. Ji! Woon!”
“G-yoon?”
“No, it’s Ji! After me, Ji!”
“Zi!”
This was the third time already. However, pronunciation of Hangeul was too difficult for this elderly.
“Ha!... Let’s just stop.”
Perhaps even his hormone excretion had turned into that of a middle schooler after his body was reversed. His temper was definitely that of a boy in puberty. However, the kindness of elderly Tardema was not that much different before. In fact, he kept smiling as though he was playing with his grandson.
“Just call me Abel. And stop calling me being from another world!”
JiWoon thought up of a pseudonym for himself. Abel. He was one of the mathematicians he had admired since young. The same Abel from the mathematics version of the Nobel Prize, the Abel Prize.
The name Abel seemed to be easy enough as the elderly’s laugh became louder.
“Haha, Abel, you say… that’s simple. Then you should call me Kyle too. It’s my nickname.”
“I dun wanna. It’s much easier to call you old man. If you brought me here. Why don’t you just stick up with that?”
“Hahaha, then do as you wish.”
In Kyle’s eyes, Abel’s cold attitude looked like nothing more than a child’s stubbornness. This young boy from another realm had a very different appearance, speech, and even reasoning. It was so fresh and enjoyable for him. This kind of delight was something he hadn’t felt for a long time.
“Then does your world really not have any magic? How do you live with such an inconvenience?”
“Instead, we have what is called science and technology. I want to tell you about it all, but we’d have to stay up for 4 days and 3 nights. Magic is nothing compared to it.”
“Ha! You’re looking at magic too lightly. The fact that we can talk to each other like this is also due to the power of magic, is it not?”
“……!”
He did think something was weird, and now he discovered why. At first, he thought that this elderly was a foreign person who was just good at speaking Korean. Much like Robert Halley. However, now that he found out about the existence of magic, he felt the minute difference. What he was hearing was definitely some kind of accent he had never heard of before, but the information that entered his head was very clearly Korean. This was interesting.
“Wow! That’s amazing! There’s something similar on Earth too, google translate……. But that wasn’t anywhere near this level! Can you do other things too with those tricks?”
Abel’s eyes started sparking. Curiosity started blossoming within him.
“It’s not tricks. It’s magic. It’s no mere fooling of the eye. It is borrowing the power from nature. The possibilities of magic are beyond your imagination.”
Kyle’s words were filled with pride. They say men are blind in their own cause – he was just like Abel when he talked about science and technology.
Eventually, Kyle made an expression filled with mysterious intent as he offered something to Abel. Now that, was a very suspicious intent.
“You said you wished to learn magic, Abel, so I shall teach you the basics. However! You must also visit me every day and tell me stories of your world. Please satiate this old man’s curiosity.”
“Well… that isn’t so hard.”
“Haha, I appreciate it.”
On the outside, Kyle looked like he was going with Abel since he was complaining so much, but that wasn’t the case. Abel was practically dancing on top of Kyle’s palms. In the first place, he was studying dimensional teleportation magic to research materials from other realms. The appearance of an intelligent life form was an incredible luck for a mage that was into research.
To Kyle’s eyes, Abel was just a treasure trove itself. A treasure more precious than all the wonderful artifacts in his possession. Such treasure must not be damaged.
“In your current state, it looks like you’ll cause a big trouble once you get below the 80th floor of the tower, so I’ll put a teacher by your side. Learn the common tongue of Kornos, and learn the state of affairs of the continent, and the empire’s laws too.”
Learning a language? Abel’s life was a series of studies alright. No, a series of pain instead? He endured through 10 years of Korean examination hell, and majored mathematics for 4 years during college. After that was a life of eating cheap food while studying for licenses… He was just done with all that, and now he was about to do it all over again! What’s more, this time, it was a field of a completely different dimension! He felt gloomy.
While Abel was knocked out in his thoughts, a swan-shaped pendant entered his eyes. It was a pendant that Kyle brought. Although it was shaped like a swan, it was peculiarly black colored instead.
“Here, take this. It’s an artifact necklace. There’s translation magic cast on it, so you won’t have any problems with communication while you are wearing it. But you can’t be lax on learning the language, alright? You can’t rely on magic forever. And this black swan represents our Tardema family.”
It seems like magic could be cast onto objects too. Abel received the necklace curiously. The shine made it look very expensive.
‘Is it obsidian?’
Actually, it was made from the highest-grade black sapphire. It wasn’t like magic could be cast onto any ordinary stones. It must be able to harbor sufficient mana, and must also be able to harness mana from nature all by itself. As such, artifacts with magic enchanted on them could only be made with very special jewels and gemstones, and their prices were astronomical. Though, with zero knowledge of magic, Abel would not know about this at all.
“Thank you.”
Bows.
Receiving the gift, Abel bowed to show appreciation. He was more or less reasonable now and was becoming more polite.
“Oh, don’t go below the 80th floor yet. It will be quite a shock.”
The 80th floor through 89th floor was Kyle’s personal space. From 70th to 79th was a space for 7-circle mages. Likewise, 60-69 was made for 6-circle mages.
“It’s fine. I’m actually quite strong you know.”
Abel spoke in confidence.
“Hahahaha.”
Kyle laughed out loud as though he was having fun.
“Huh? Why are you laughing?”
When Kyle mentioned ‘shock’ it wasn’t about Abel, but the rest of the members of the tower. It was natural that he was laughing.
Kyle continued to laugh as he watched Abel’s doubtful expression. This boy’s eyes were so clear now that he looked at it.
‘Is it her present at the final days of my life…?’
Perhaps a coincidence, perhaps not – Abel’s brown eyes kept reminding him of Ariella.
Perelman was the sole person that could enter floor 80 and above among the ones in Northanc Tower (other than Kyle himself). His main work was administrative affairs of Selion City. Considering that Kyle was absorbed in his magic research, he was practically managing all of Selion City. From Earth’s point of view, he was the head secretary or a prime minister of this territory.
Perelman was currently teaching a boy that was said to be from another world under Tardema’s request. What that meant was that Perelman was the only one that Tardema trusted with his secrets.
“So there’s an emperor?”
“Yes! And Duke Tardema is a noble.”
As the son of an activist father, this was a very difficult thing for Abel to accept. A nobility system! What was fortunate was that old man Kyle was not a peasant but a noble.
“No wait. Aren’t there any republican countries here?”
“I do not get what this ‘democracy’ you’ve been talking about for quite a while, is about. The people select the king?”
“There is no king in the first place. It’s all an equal society! Everyone’s equal! Though, nowadays, we get differentiated by what ‘spoon’ we had in our mouths when we were born…….”
“Mm… that’s an interesting world.”
The one who was surprised was Perelman instead. When he was requested with teaching him the common tongue and the state of affairs of the empire, he thought that this was a simple thing to do. How was he supposed to know that the place Abel used to live in was so far from common sense? He felt that lessons would be tougher in the future.
“So do I need to kneel and stuff if I meet the emperor? Would I get scolded if I call him with ‘hey’?”
Abel threw a risky question to Perelman in attempt to make him stop using stiff speech.
A series of absurd questions. Despite that, Perelman kindly answered.
“It is up to you to call him whatever you wish. However, I think that you will be executed by beheading for the crime of insulting the emperor.”
He was so indirect about saying that he should shut up and kneel if they ever met. The people of this world spoke of frightening matters with such kind-looking smiles. Abel smiled awkwardly after hearing Perelman’s frightening answer and switched topics.
“You said that elder Kyle was some Duke. Is that some rank?”
“Generally, nobles with territory and the ability to take tax are differentiated into five stages. From the lowest, it is Baron, Viscount, Count, Marquis and then Duke. Other than the emperor and the Archduke, you can consider Duke the highest.”
So old man Kyle was a pretty high person…… However, he couldn’t relate the two at all since he always wore a tattered grey robe like Gandalf. In fact, Perelman in front of him was much more suited to be called Duke.
Stylish white suit from top to bottom, as well as a black swan-shaped boutonnière that accentuated it, as well as the black tie and shoes to go with it!
Both formal and stylish. He could feel the force of a handsome middle-aged man in his 40s. His coolness was overflowing! The perfect suit-fit!
“Oh, I’m curious about something…. You manage this city, right?”
“I do.”
From what Abel saw, this guy was the true power.
“Wow, old man Kyle… you only have the CEO business card…….”
“CEO business card? What does that mean?”
Not knowing the words from another world, Perelman couldn’t guess what that meant at all. What’s anything got to do with cards? No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t fit it into context at all.