How the Reincarnation Seat Destroys the Original - Chapter 94



Only Noblemtl

Episode 94. Unquenchable Thirst (2).

“Since you made that decision, have you… felt a little more at ease?”

As Mabel began to tell the story of how she had given up her family’s… no, more precisely, her parents’ love, the god Janus, who had been silently listening to the child, asked in a low voice:

The question is whether it has become more comfortable.

Mabel laughed silently at that question. It was a hollow, empty laugh that no child of that age would ever laugh at, but it was also filled with sadness.

“If a thirsty person in a dry desert sees an oasis created by a mirage, would that person not head towards the oasis?”

Even if he knows that it is a mirage and feels like he will die of thirst at any moment, he will definitely walk towards the oasis because there might really be water there.

Mabel let out a small whisper and lay back on the bed. She reached out her hand to the pure white ceiling and lightly squeezed it. The child closed her eyes.

“I think that’s what parental love is like. Since I’m their child, it’s something I can’t help but desire. Because I didn’t receive it, I ended up longing for it even more.”

At 17, I had given up on receiving my parents’ love. But I felt like I would receive it someday as long as I stayed close to them. Even though I knew it would never come true, I couldn’t let go of that hope.

“It’s easier if you let go. I also heard you ask why you foolishly can’t let go of that string and are holding on to it. What is family? I find it really… difficult.”

I hate myself for once again expecting such shallow hope from them.

“I thought that if my body moved away, my heart would naturally move away, so I enrolled in a university far from home.”

“…university?”

Can I ask this now? Mabel opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him at the slow question from the god Janus who seemed to be pondering it for quite some time. She smiled and briefly explained the educational system she had been in in her previous life before continuing the story.

* * *

The study she chose to pursue in order to be loved by her parents gave Mabel in her previous life quite a few choices.

Mabel applied to a university in Busan, which is quite far from her hometown in the capital region of South Korea.

Was it because both my grades and my test scores were high?

Mabel was accepted to the university she applied to, and stood in front of her parents holding her acceptance letter.

“I got into college… As I said, it’s in Busan, so it’ll be hard to go to school from my parents’ house. I’m going to go in the direction of becoming independent.”

There was no congratulations or words of appreciation for her hard work. Her parents only gave her a bankbook when she said she was becoming independent.

A bank account in his name. There was money in that account with numbers exceeding hundreds of millions printed on it.

“What is this…?”

From the day she swore she would give up her parents’ love, Mabel decided to go to a distant college, and she told her parents about this decision without delay.

The day that money started to be deposited into her bank account was the day she had told her decision. Mabel looked at her parents with a hopeful look.

Did you prepare this for me?

Because I am independent, I am worried, so I am doing this to myself… .

“Don’t go down there and say that we didn’t even provide support. That money would be enough for an independent fund.”

“I never expected you to go to the same college as your older sister or brother. I’ll give you what you need. That and the money for college will be enough. I’ve already talked to your mother. Stop making a fuss.”

After hearing her mother and father’s words, Mabel bit the inside of her mouth and tightly held the bankbook in her hand.

Until the very end.

Her parents once again crushed her hopes, which had not even begun to sprout properly.

I wanted to throw this bankbook away right now and yell at them, saying, “I don’t need this kind of stuff. Please give me love, I won’t expect it from you like my sister and brother do… Just… Just give me attention and love.”

But the only reaction she got was indifference. Mabel smiled, knowing full well that that was all she could get.

“… I won’t make you worry. Thank you.”

Because laughing is easier than crying.

“So,” Mabel answered with a smile.

I thought I wouldn’t get paid, but reality was cold and I needed money to become independent.

Mabel went down to Busan alone, looked for a studio near the university, and after signing the contract, she returned to her parents’ house and unpacked her bags.

One carrier. That was all Mabel could take from her parents’ house in this large house. With only one carrier, Mabel left home and became independent without anyone to see her off.

College life was more enjoyable than I expected.

Is it because I just studied vaguely?

Mabel, who had a hard time thinking about what she liked and what she enjoyed, chose the department of business administration, which she thought was the safest for her and the most suitable for standing alone and getting a job at a company.

“Is it true that college students have this much homework? Homework, then homework, and then homework…? Haha…”

College life was busier than I thought.

But Mabel was actually happy because she was busy and didn’t have to think about anything else.

Perhaps it was because I came to a place far from where I had grown up since childhood. There, I was able to make friends who did not know my parents or my older sister or brother.

She didn’t spend any of the money in her bank account, except for the money she spent on renting a studio apartment, and she earned living expenses and pocket money through part-time jobs.

“Oh, really! I’m an adult now and I don’t understand why there’s a curfew!!! — Didn’t you say you live alone? I’m so jealous!!!”

There were times when I felt something was off, often when my friends would talk to their parents on the phone or envy them for not having to worry about their parents interfering with them.

Other than that, it was a satisfactory life.

Although I am busy, I have an enjoyable college life, good relationships with my classmates, and although it is difficult, I have earned my own money through my own efforts.

As soon as I graduated from college, I started working in the marketing department of a company that was recommended to me by my professor.

“– Mr. is a very bright person.”

“How can someone be so positive? — Hey, what do your parents do?”

“Our company’s positivity king is — oh my! He’s the positivity king again this year. Was that the third year in a row until this year?”

The company she worked for gave out awards with various names every year-end.

Rookie of the Year Award.

Positivity King of the Year Award.

King of the Year Award.

Negligence of the Year Award, etc.

She won the Positivity King Award for three consecutive years, and people in the same marketing department as well as other departments nicknamed her the Positivity King.

And her only hobby was reading web novels.

On weekends when she didn’t have to go to work, she would wake up after lunchtime, make herself a meal, set out her favorite snacks and drinks on the bed, and laze around reading web novels. She loved that time.

“Become a handful of ashes…?”

Mabel, who had read everything worth reading on the web novel platform she always used, searched through a list of novels that seemed to be in the hundreds in search of a new novel, and what she found there was a novel called ‘A Handful of Ashes’.

“Is this an old novel? What a boring name.”

Unlike the frequently seen titles such as S-class, SS-class, SSS-class Hunter, Reincarnation, and Return, this work has a plain title that catches the eye.

The novel, which I thought was an old novel, was surprisingly recent and was currently being serialized.

To be honest, if you only look at the title, it doesn’t seem like it would be that interesting. It’s been 30 minutes since she found a novel that looked interesting. She pressed the prologue with the intention of reading the free part.

Become a handful of ashes. When asked to describe her first impression of the novel, only one word came to mind.

“It’s a novel like white rice.”

Ordinary, nothing special.

It was a simple novel about a hero overcoming trials and becoming stronger with his companions to save a world from destruction.

However… this novel didn’t have any stories about the main character’s family, and the main character didn’t even think about his family, which made it a little more comfortable for Mabel.

The novel, which only describes the exchanges of feeling a sense of belonging, feeling stability, and giving and receiving love from people who are not related by blood but are not family, in a simple style, strangely made me press the next episode and the one after that.

A handful of ashes. Shortened to a handful. Ashes. At midnight, the next episode would come up, and she would always read the newly uploaded episode before going to bed and then fall asleep.

One episode per day starting from episode 110.

On weekends, she would occasionally start from the prologue and read steadily, one handful at a time.

“Huh…? Could this be the last episode?”

It had been about three months since she had habitually watched the latest episode of Han.Jeom.Ae before going to bed. When she saw the title of the episode that had been uploaded, she jumped up from her bed where she had been trying to sleep.

“Episode 200. Become a handful of ashes.”

“No?”

I thought the pace was slowly picking up, but it’s only 200 episodes? Isn’t there still more to be solved? Or not? Has most of it been recovered?

When she pressed the 200th page with trembling fingers, wondering what this was, and after reading to the end, she bowed her head.

“Thank you to all the readers who have been with Han.Jum.Jae so far.”

Looking here and there, looking there and there, rolling back and forth, it was complete.

Would you mind writing a side story?

Lars. Won’t it tell us what happened to the world the protagonist saved? Won’t it show us what kind of life Cloris and Adrina live without Lars?

I wonder if the notice was posted.

I looked to see if the author had a social media account, but it seemed like the author didn’t have one, and I couldn’t find any mention of a side story anywhere.

“This is… ridiculous!!!”

– Knock knock.

– Tadadak.

She commented on the last episode for the first time.

“Author, a side story!!! I need a side story!!! Will you write a side story? It won’t end like this. A handful. Of times, right? If you see it, please reply!!!”

However, the only replies to his own comments were ‘The author has appeared, lol.’, ‘Yes, the next failed novel.’, etc., and other people’s comments. The author never left a comment.

The next day, Mabel received a phone call.

“…father?”

It was a call from his father, whom he had not contacted for 6 years, including his leave of absence from university, and 3 years of working life, right after he came down to Busan right after graduating from high school at the age of 20.