Chapter 793 – 793. Step Toward Immortality and Eternity
Starcheva Mansion.
I’m sitting there with a very serious air, and Seunghee, Mina, Anna, Minhee, Haruka, and Aki are sitting silently, glancing at me.
Se-Ah appeared shortly after.
I tried to say hello cheerfully, but noticed the heavy atmosphere and sat down in the empty seat.
“What? Why is the atmosphere like this?”
He says he speaks quietly, but the room we are gathered in is so quiet that his voice is surprisingly loud.
After saying this, he was a little surprised and immediately closed his mouth.
Although she has the appearance of a twenty-year-old, she is almost a hundred years old. But that appearance doesn’t change.
But that’s a good thing. It is better to keep the original appearance than to change under the pressure of time.
“I’ll tell you now that we’re all here.”
When I open my mouth, everyone looks at me.
“Now there are only eight of us in the world. There is no one on the ark anymore.”
It’s shocking information, but it doesn’t really surprise me.
Things I vaguely guessed because I personally experienced the passage of time.
Therefore, what I say now is nothing more than a confirmation.
Things I already knew would happen, the result of expecting this day to come.
Moreover, since we are all older, we are not easily surprised by such things.
It feels like the more days I live, the more cushions there are to absorb shock in my head.
Even so, it is inevitable that Se-Ah, Anna, Minhee, Haruka, and Aki have sad expressions because they are the people who have met them in person.
Moreover, Seunghee and Mina, who had never seen them, bow their heads and comfort them over their deaths.
A time to reminisce about those who have passed away in a solemn atmosphere.
After the short memorial service, I opened my mouth again.
“Now… It’s our turn. Even so, we just have to do what we’ve been doing anyway.”
The plan for ascension began a long time ago.
When I found out about the existence of the Ascension skill, I immediately shared the information with the seven women.
It’s just a hypothesis with no certainty, but it’s theoretically possible.
Something you can do right now.
But it doesn’t do that. We are… Because I will resist until the end.
“You just have to do what you’ve done so far. Spend time concentrating on what you each want to do. If you have a hard time, talk about it. Let’s address it right away without letting your emotions get bottled up. If there’s something you want to say to each other, say it right away… You know?”
The women nod their heads lightly because they all already know this.
“What we have to do is… Just love each other and live. Let’s live for a long time, laughing at the people who made the world like this.”
“Is that still valid? That it ends as soon as someone gets into trouble?”
I nodded and said to Seunghee’s calm words.
“Yes, that’s right. You can carry out the ascension plan at any time. So, if it gets hard, tell me. We can help each other and endure it as long as we can, and when it becomes really unbearable, we can use it right away.”
“I understand.”
A simple rebellion against the people who made the world like this.
The only revenge that can be taken.
That means surviving for a long time and stopping their plans as much as possible.
I don’t know what the plan is. I don’t even know why they chose the last one.
We just delay as much as possible so that it doesn’t happen quickly.
Besides, there is that reason, but I have another, bigger reason.
I just want to live with these women for a long time.
These are women I have already seen more times than most people in their lifetime.
But I still don’t get tired of it. Instead of getting tired of it, I just want to be together more and more.
It may simply be because there are a lot of numbers.
Seven. It’s not a small number. It’s a large number for one man to be greedy.
Besides, the only man for those women is me.
That’s the only thing I’m worried about.
Do they love me as much as I love them?
I returned to the original question about love.
And for now… We decided to take time to find the answer.
Allow as much distance as you want and go slowly.
All you have to do is keep your faith in each other.
I am confident of that. I am definitely confident.
Like a friend, like a lover, like a wife.
There’s no need to always have a burning love, right?
Sometimes subtly. Sometimes passionately.
You just have to do it that way. At least I think so.
And I believe they will too. Because that is love.
“Okay. Now… Let’s stop talking about heavy things. Let’s just talk about ourselves. It’s not easy to get everyone together like this.”
“Okay. I’ve been meaning to talk about that for a while now. How about extending the number of days we meet regularly?”
Some people nodded at Mina’s words.
Well, meeting once a month like now is a bit infrequent.
Now, we are each doing what we want to do and living where we want.
There’s no rule that says we can’t see each other outside the days we meet regularly. We can see each other as much as we want, but it’s still not easy to get together like this.
Because there are eight people. Even if there are only four of us, it is quite difficult to get together.
“15 days? Should we do that much?”
“I agree.”
“Me too.”
“Me too.”
“I’m welcome too!”
There is no one in particular against it. Well, no matter how much each person has to do, it’s not that busy.
“Okay. Then… Let’s just meet on the 1st and 15th of every month.”
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and the matter passed on like that.
“Now then… Let’s talk about what everyone does for a living. Seunghee, do you still draw?”
“Huh? If we’re going to talk, let’s does it while eating, right?”
Haruka’s words came out before Seunghee’s answer.
So, it’s time to eat.
Okay. I have to eat rice. You have to eat to live.
Everyone got up from their seats and headed to the restaurant.
As soon as he goes to the restaurant, Haruka opens his storage box with excitement.
“I knew this would happen, and I prepared a lot.”
“Oh, I have one too. Let’s eat what I made together.”
“I’m there too. I’ve prepared it too.”
Seunghee and Mina also open their storage.
Something… Everyone has a lot of food. It seems a bit much for eight people.
Well, not everyone eats it once anyway.
There will probably be a lot of food in the storage to share with everyone.
Especially Haruka, because she cooks a lot, to the point where it seems a bit excessive.
Even though Seunghee hasn’t even taken out all the food, SeAh picks it up and eats it with her hands first.
Anna sees that and imitates it.
Minhee asks Haruka how to cook.
Aki compliments Mina on how delicious it is.
I don’t think everyone has lived for close to 100 years.
Women who still do the same things they did in their 20s.
Looking at that, I think once again that physical age is important.
I think that the soul is also fading due to the aging body and the increasingly uncomfortable body.
And that hypothesis has some credibility.
The women in front of me are like that. Even though they’re that old, what they do isn’t much different from what they do in their 20s, right?
Of course, my thoughts and way of thinking have matured a lot.
No matter how old I was, I ate so much that I couldn’t help but say I grew older.
In any case, it is definitely not the behavior of a 100-year-old grandfather or grandmother.
If that were the case, this place wouldn’t be this lively right now.
I think that’s really fortunate.
I think we’ll be able to stay like this for a while longer.
That’s how we will be able to live an immortal life.
No. It may not be so grand as to talk about immortality.
Anyway, no one knows what will happen to us next.
The longest a human can live is at most 100 years. But you’ve already surpassed that, right?
I know that the longest-living person in the world is around 120 years old.
That level will be overcome without difficulty. Because I don’t think it will be very difficult.
And what follows is an unknown world. A road no one has ever been on.
We must go towards that place. An exploration without any precedent or reference material.
“Is drawing fun?”
“It’s fun. I’m still doing it because it’s fun. But since there’s no one to evaluate it, how can I know if I’m drawing well or not?”
“Show me. There are seven people here to look at you. If we say you drew well, you can become the best artist in the world.”
“The best in the world… Isn’t that a bit much? Doesn’t that include all the artists who have already existed?”
“Is that so? Then it is the best in existence.”
“I think you’re making fun of me.”
“I’m teasing you. Why am I teasing you? Anyway, show me. I’m curious. I’ve never shown you properly before.”
“I don’t think I have the skills to show it yet.”
As far as I know, Seunghee has been drawing for 30 years.
30 years. Really… It’s an easy number to come up with, but it’s still enough time to become a craftsman.
Seunghee is probably so humble, but she probably has great skills.
“Later. Come and see it when all the paintings are on display at the atelier. There are still a lot of empty spaces.”
“When does it get full?”
“Well? How many years won’t it take?”
“A few years… Yes. Well, you can wait as long as you want.”
Because we move over time, we have become accustomed to spending years of time doing something.
It’s good to have something you can focus on like that. At least it won’t be boring.
While eating, we continue to talk about each other.
Mina falls in love with musical instruments.
It seems that music is her aptitude, and she is familiar with various instruments.
She will also be writing lyrics and composing songs. She has already released ten solo albums.
It’s a shame that it can’t be revealed to the world. There are a lot of perfect songs.
I don’t really know what Se-Ah is doing.
SeAH living in Japan.
After the owner and daughter of the ryokan we used to frequent passed away, I have been managing the place myself.
I’m sure they’re probably doing something related to Japan… I don’t know what it is.
I saw her sometimes come to Haruka and Aki and ask them something.
Well, you’ll find out that too someday. If you wait, they will tell you eventually.
Anna grows flowers.
A large glass greenhouse built behind the Starcheva mansion.
There are probably quite a few flowers there.
When you say greenhouse, it’s almost like a botanical garden, right?
Since there is plenty of time, and you can use your skills, the things you do are bound to increase.
In fact, you have to open it wide. Because it ends too quickly.
If you want to focus on something for as long as possible, you have no choice but to have endless tasks or lofty goals.
Minhee studies.
I am indeed. She’s the woman I don’t understand the most. How can I study as a hobby?
Okay.
I know she has good hair.
She was a smart woman who was a doctor even before the world collapsed, right?
Even though she thinks medicine has no more meaning because she has the skills, she continues to study medicine.
Because she’s an amazing woman. I really can’t understand it with my head.
Minhee clearly wants to become a necromancer.
Otherwise, it makes no sense to delve into medicine like that.
Or maybe they’re trying to create a chimera? What is it… Genetic engineering? Biotechnology? Something like that?
I don’t know. I’m sure you’ll figure it out well. How can I understand someone who says studying is fun?
Haruka is also a cook.
Japanese, Korean, Chinese, French, Italian… From bakery to pastry chef.
I learn to cook whatever I can just put in my mouth.
There is no problem with supply since you can procure an unlimited amount of materials through lotteries and wishes.
The funny thing is… This means that you raise your own cows, chickens, and pigs. And that too organically.
Anna grows vegetables and other things, and Aki catches things like fish, so you probably won’t be unable to cook because you don’t have the ingredients. Fortunately.
Aki is also a swordsmanship.
Actually, if you find out… She is truly a scary woman. She’s been practicing swordsmanship for about 80 years, right?
Even if Aki doesn’t use her skills and shoots sword winds with her sword, I think I can believe it.
To be honest, when you see her holding her sword, she is sometimes creepy. It feels like the person itself has become a sword.
Looking at things like that, Aki is becoming a true swordsman.
No, he is already a real sword saint. What more should I do to become a swordsman?
If you’ve done that much, you’re a swordsman.
A noisy meal and conversation between people who haven’t seen each other in a long time. Small talk and pleasant laughter.
After spending the day like that, we each dispersed to our own places.
As we have done so far, we will continue to repeat this kind of life from now on.
We will continue to do what we want, meet, chat, and then disperse.
How long can I really do this?
When will our spirit, freed from the limitations of the body, be crushed by the weight of time?
That’s something to find out from now on. Surrender to the flow of time and take your time. Relax.
I hope it lasts a long time. Forever… That’s greedy, but I’ll leave that as my goal.
The bigger your dream, the better, right? It’s a difficult wish to come true, but I still have to try.
Now we’ve only taken a few steps.