episode_0067

… … … … …

A few days have passed since the drinking game with Taeyang that I feel embarrassed just thinking about. I still feel embarrassed when I think back on what happened that day, but as time goes by, I can forget it to some extent, like a hazy dream.

From that day on, the Sun began teaching me how to use magical equipment.

“Okay, hug the teddy bear tightly and concentrate.”

Following her instructions, I held the teddy bear in my arms and closed my eyes.

At first, I felt nothing. It was just the feeling of hugging a soft doll. That was it.

But as time went by, something began to change. I felt a slight vibration coming from the doll, and I could feel warmth at my fingertips.

“Can you feel it? That’s magic.”

I nodded at Taeyang’s words.

“Yes, yes… … It feels warm and tingly.”

“Okay. Now focus on that feeling. Bring that energy up inside you.”

I tried my best to concentrate as instructed by the Sun. At first, nothing happened, but gradually, I felt the energy coming from the doll grow stronger.

“Wow… … That’s amazing.”

I let out a gasp without realizing it, and the sun smiled with satisfaction.

“You’re doing great. You’ll be able to handle that teddy bear soon.”

I smiled at her words, my heart fluttering at the prospect of being able to use magic.

“Mr. Sun, what kind of magic can you do with this teddy bear?”

The sun thought for a moment and then answered.

“I said small magic before, right? Well, among small magic, things like fireballs and ice picks… … look difficult.

So… … something like generating light about as bright as a flashlight, or firing rocks?

Kid, I can hit you a lot harder than you can hit yourself.”

The magic that can be used even with magical equipment is the rock-throwing magic. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed.

“I see… …It’s simpler than I thought. So, is it impossible to learn real magic? Even if you try hard?”

The sun answered with a slight sigh.

“Kid, there are two ways to use magic as you think it is. One is for someone with innate magical powers to become a sorcerer, and the other is for a highly intelligent person to train all their life from a young age to become a sorcerer.

And this planet has such a low magic power distribution in the atmosphere that it takes several times as much effort and time to use magic as it does where I live. It’s incredibly inefficient.

Most of those who are called the Awakened of Earth for nothing use abilities related to physical enhancement.”

I don’t fit into either of the two conditions that Mr. Sun mentioned, and even the environment is so unfavorable to Earth. I bowed my head in shame at the cold reality.

“I see… …I guess I just can’t do anything.”

The sun smiled awkwardly. Then her hand stroked my head.

“Don’t be disappointed, though. Even if you just use the Rock Throwing spell well, you can easily kill an armored soldier. In your metric system… … Hmm.

It’s like firing a 1kg rock that’s a bit harder than granite at a speed of 200 to 250 kilometers per hour.

At this level, it is said to be more powerful than the slingshot of a skilled slinger.”

“Heh… … Hearing that, the rock launching magic seems pretty great.”

After hearing Sun-nim’s explanation, even the seemingly insignificant rock-throwing magic felt quite powerful.

Although I still regret not being able to use the ‘great’ magic from games and movies, I decided to be grateful that I could handle this special equipment… … the teddy bear.

But there was still one thing that bothered me. I opened my mouth cautiously.

“Mr. Sun… … Um, but can I ask you one thing?”

“What is it, kid?”

“Can’t this teddy bear change its appearance? With something like a cane or a necklace… … .”

The sun smiled playfully after hearing what I said. It must not have been a simple illusion that her smile seemed sinister.

“Why, are you embarrassed? Because you think it’s unmanly?”

“No, that’s not it… … .”

“Don’t worry. It’s actually better because it’s unexpected, right?

Imagine you’re fighting with someone and you take a teddy bear out of your bag. No matter how cool-headed they are, they can’t help but let their guard down, right? ”

“Ugh… … .”

She had a point. But the thought of having to hug a teddy bear and use magic still made my face burn.

“Unfortunately, there is no way to change your appearance. So let’s think positively. Rather, it suits you well, right?”

“It suits you… … .”

There was no way since the Sun Himself had nailed it down as impossible. Still, I can use magic thanks to this teddy bear, so I can’t help but be grateful.

… … … … …

It was really constructive and good to learn how to use the magic teddy bear from the Sun.

Just as I was about to hug the teddy bear and practice again as she had taught me, I suddenly had a strange feeling.

It was as if the teddy bear’s eyes were looking at me. It was probably an illusion, but the strange feeling continued to grow stronger. It was as if someone inside the teddy bear was watching me.

“This teddy bear… … I already knew it, but it really must be an amazing piece of magic equipment.”

I muttered and picked up the teddy bear to examine it closely. It looked like an ordinary doll, but when I held it in my hand, I felt a slight vibration. And the vibration was as regular as a heartbeat.

“This is really amazing… … Are all other magical equipments like this?”

It’s as if the sun is like this teddy bear. I don’t mean that she looks like a bear… … What should I say about this?

So, it feels like the sun is looking at me through this teddy bear. Her playful yet sharp eyes come to mind.

“Hey, that’s ridiculous. It can’t be true, right?”

He shook his head and laughed. It wasn’t like he was installing a hidden camera, and how could he see someone else through the eyes of a teddy bear? And Taeyang wasn’t the kind of person who would do something like that. It was a really ridiculous fantasy.

I put the teddy bear in my bag and looked at my watch. It was almost time to go to work.

“I should probably head to the logistics center soon. I’m going to be late.”

I hurriedly started getting ready for work. I changed my clothes and packed my bag, and looked at the teddy bear again.

“Ugh… …You should go with me too, buddy. I’ll be counting on you all day.”

After talking to the doll, I found myself smiling for some reason. I felt secure, thinking that this small, cute teddy bear would give me special powers.

“Okay, let’s go!”

I went out the door, talking to the teddy bear in my bag. After all, it was much better to work hard than to eat rice while doing safe work. I felt like I could work hard today too.

On my way to the distribution center, I kept thinking about the teddy bear in my bag. I imagined how I could make better use of this magical device, what amazing things I could do.

“The Sun said that if you get good enough, you can create small flames, um… …like lighting a cigarette?”

It might seem pretty cool to light a cigarette by creating a flame with your fingertips without a lighter, but that idea had a fatal flaw.

“It would look weird if I hugged a teddy bear and lit a cigarette. I don’t even smoke in the first place… … .”

I arrived at the distribution center with useless fantasies in my head, and those fantasies continued endlessly even while I was working my part-time job.

… … … … …

A long day at the distribution center ended. I looked at my watch and saw that it was already late at night.

Normally I would have taken the bus, but today I felt like walking home. It only takes about an hour to walk home anyway.

“Hey friend, let’s go for a walk after a long time?”

I walked out of the logistics center, carrying my bag and talking to the teddy bear. The chilly night air felt particularly refreshing. The streets were quiet, and only the occasional car lights passing by illuminated the darkness.

But as I walked, I felt that the road I was walking on was quite familiar.

“… … … Ah.”

Yes. This was the road I was walking that day.

By ‘that day’, I mean the day when the rice-sacks of the Human Defense Society committed armed robbery. I saved a woman who was being robbed by them, and was beaten to death instead.

“I was really scared back then… … .”

Memories of that time came back to me. The menacing appearance of the rice-sack robbers, the fear I felt, and my reckless actions of stopping them and saving the woman.

Although it was a bit disappointing that the woman I saved ran away without even saying goodbye, looking back on the tense situation, it was something that couldn’t be helped.

It was a really scary moment. Thinking back now, I had a lot of bad relationships with the rice-sucking guys from the Human Defense Society. Like the robbery at the supermarket, and the robbery in the back alley of the street I was walking down.

And I always felt strangely courageous when I saw those rice-headed guys. I still wonder how I could be so courageous.

But after that incident, I heard some shocking news. That day, the Human Defense Society guys who were committing robbery in this neighborhood were brutally murdered.

“That kind of thing happened, so wouldn’t there be another robbery on this street today?”