Richard posed the short question without a subject, but Jin—whose mind moved like lightning—immediately understood what his friend wanted to hear and gave the answer he was looking for.
“You mean Teacher Obert? Hm… I don’t know. She’s strange. Fascinating, really. In some fields, I get the feeling she possesses knowledge that surpasses even mine.”
At Jin’s reply, Richard couldn’t suppress a snort. It wasn’t that he was belittling Astrid. He simply couldn’t imagine anyone in this world being smarter than Jin.
“Don’t scoff, you idiot. I’m serious. She’s hard to understand.”
Jin frowned as he spoke. Richard couldn’t wrap his head around it. He hadn’t sensed anything particularly extraordinary about her.
“But she’s quite different from the rumors. The stories painted her as a wingless angel—completely pure and ethereal. The Angel of Aub Street.”
Jin continued in a playful tone.
Richard wholeheartedly agreed. The woman they had met seemed so far removed from the legend that he had half-wondered if they had brought back the wrong person.
“I thought the same. But she said it herself—rumors always come with a little exaggeration, don’t they?”
When Jin heard that, something amused him; he stroked his chin and let out a small, quiet smile. He remained lost in thought for a long while before speaking again, this time with unmistakable sadness in his voice.
“That woman… she seems to think I only have a few months left.”
“Jin, don’t say weak things like that.”
Richard cut in sharply. Every time Jin spoke this way, his heart plummeted.
Every physician who had examined Jin had given the same prognosis: he wouldn’t survive beyond three months.
Richard had desperately silenced them, forbidding them from uttering those words in Jin’s presence. He couldn’t bear the thought of his friend giving up.
Yet the man who was sharper than anyone else in the world had read the truth in their eyes without needing to hear it spoken. It was heartbreaking.
“Richard. It’s time… to start thinking about how you’ll lead the Liberators without me. You can’t keep denying it.”
Jin’s voice trembled with unshed tears. Richard clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles whitened. He felt like he might break into sobs at any second.
He had met Jin when he was four years old. Twenty-eight years had passed since then. Twenty-eight years of being closer than brothers—of living as one. The thought of carrying on alone after losing him was unbearable.
“No. Don’t talk like that, Jin. You’re not going to die.”
I won’t let you die. Richard swallowed the words he couldn’t bring himself to say aloud.
“What about that kid? Rodant.”
He changed the subject abruptly, trying to lighten the suffocating atmosphere.
Jin gave a faint, appreciative smile at the attempt.
“Hm. He’s exceptionally bright. I’m thinking of teaching him personally. He reminds me of myself as a child.”
At that, Richard snorted again despite himself.
“What child could possibly match your childhood brilliance?”
When Richard countered, Jin replied teasingly.
“You’re right. Maybe not quite on my level back then… but still very sharp. If I teach him well, he might even be able to take my place one day.”
Richard felt another wave of unease at the sight of Jin’s darkening expression.
“If only I had enough time left to teach him…”
Jin’s lonely voice drifted away into the quiet air.
★
“This is Louie—noona, our technician.”
At Rick’s introduction, a woman with vibrant orange-red hair stepped forward and extended her hand.
Her short, practical haircut was striking. Most women in this era wore their hair long—including me.
She wore sturdy overalls with suspenders. When I took her hand, she shook it vigorously up and down with infectious energy.
“Hello, Teacher Obert! Rick’s told me so much about you.”
Her face was covered in freckles, and her olive-green eyes sparkled with cheerfulness. She looked about the same age as Rick, yet I could hardly believe this young woman was the one who had developed Richard’s revolver.
The Liberators seemed to be a gathering place for geniuses. Jin, Rick, Louie—every one of them.
“Hello, Louie. I’m Astrid Obert. It’s nice to meet you. Looking forward to working together.”
I returned her bright, friendly smile with one of my own.
“Ah—by the way, how exactly does the plumbing in the bathroom work?”
Just like with Rick’s explanation, I suspected I wouldn’t understand Louie’s either, but curiosity burned anyway. It was a question I had never once thought to ask in the modern world.
“Please speak comfortably, Teacher. I’m only a year older than Rick, so I’m still pretty young.”
Louie replied with easy warmth. After dealing with nothing but grim-faced men for so long, talking to a girl close to my age felt like pure bliss.
“R-Really? Okay then.”
I stammered slightly as I dropped the formalities. Louie grinned widely and led me straight into the bathroom, then pried open a section of the wall to reveal the inner workings.
Embedded in the wall were glowing circuits that looked almost electronic—and alongside them, beautifully radiant red and blue gemstones.
“See these?”
Louie pointed at the gems. I nodded faintly.
“This one’s a water-affinity mana stone. It produces clean water. And this one is fire-affinity—it heats the water to whatever temperature you want.”
I could only nod blankly as she explained. This was clearly the product of something closer to magical engineering than pure science.
“So… with these, it works permanently?”
Mana stones. I hadn’t even considered such a thing.
“Hm, no. Once the stored mana runs out, we have to replace them.”
Louie answered.
So it was more like a battery. But weren’t mana stones supposed to be incredibly valuable?
“Aren’t mana stones expensive? Is it really okay to use them in every room like this?”
Rebel forces usually carried the image of poverty and struggle. Yet coming down here had shattered every one of those assumptions.
Honestly… life here seemed far more comfortable than anything Astrid had experienced on the surface.
“It’s fine. Mana stones are practically everywhere around here. There’s even a mana stone mine nearby. And the leader has incredible business sense—he’s invested in all kinds of ventures and made a fortune.”
At Louie’s casual explanation, I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping again.
Jin… isn’t this character way too overpowered? He’s brilliant, handsome, leads a massive rebel army, and now he’s a business genius too?
