Chapter 171 - 169

Chapter 171: Chapter 169

I was back in the endless white space again, and the first thing I did was shout.

"GRAMPS! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!"

"Look at what you did, you little brat!"

SMACK!

Something smacked the top of my head.

"OW!" I clutched my head and whipped around. "What did I do?!"

Of course, I still couldn’t see him.

’Coward.’

"Did you really have to harm yourself just to talk to me?" Grandpa Benjamin’s voice echoed through the space.

"What made you think I would harm my precious body?!"

"Because you only get to speak to me when you lose consciousness or get badly hurt."

I frowned. "But no one hurt—"

SMACK!

I rubbed my head again. "What did I do now?!"

"You overexerted yourself by shouting even though you just woke up."

"Oh..."

I slowly remembered screaming at the ceiling like a possessed cat because my grandfather decided to drop a life-changing secret and disappear before I could interrogate him.

I smiled awkwardly. "Hehehe..."

Grandpa Benjamin let out a long, exhausted sigh. "Are you laughing right now?"

I immediately straightened my back. "No, sir."

"Good."

I nodded obediently when I remembered something. "How did you know I fainted?"

"Right now, I’m inside your consciousness..."

"And...?"

"I’m watching all your memories from that world."

I froze. "What?"

"I can’t believe you immediately got kidnapped by a dragon."

"STOP!"

I immediately clutched my head as if physically holding it would somehow prevent Gramps from accessing the embarrassing parts of my memories.

"Did you almost watch someone have sex?"

"I-IT WAS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES!"

Silence

"You managed to become a professor?"

"Of course!" I proudly puffed out my chest. "I’ve always been talented!"

"Who in their right mind would hire a hot-headed brat like you?"

"GRAMPS!"

"Did you threaten them again during contract signing?"

"IT’S CALLED A SKILL!"

Silence

"You money-grubbing brat."

"What now?!"

"Since when did I teach you to extort your customers?"

I gasped in offense. "The prices are justified!"

"Are they?"

"YES!" I pointed angrily into the space. "I only raise the prices for the rich ones, and thirty percent of the profit goes toward providing energy stones to people who can’t afford them!"

"..."

I frowned. "I thought you watched my memories?"

"Some of them were boring."

"Come again?"

"No."

"Urgh!" I threw my hands into the air. "You’re so quick to notice my bad deeds, but you somehow missed the good things?!"

"You did a good deed?" His voice sounded genuinely shocked.

"GRAMPS!"

"What?"

"WHY DO YOU SOUND SO SURPRISED?!"

"Nothing."

"YOU’RE JUDGING ME!"

"I raised you. I know exactly what kind of person you are."

I crossed my arms. "Well, apparently, you don’t."

"Blanca."

"What?"

"You threatened a nobleman with a contract because he tried to negotiate your prices."

"HE STARTED IT!"

"Exactly."

"He was being annoying!"

"You charged him an additional fifty percent."

"It was an inconvenience fee."

"You made that up on the spot."

"That’s called entrepreneurship."

"If you’re such an entrepreneur, then why are you giving away carved energy stones for free?"

I immediately looked away. "You already know the answer."

"I want to hear it from you."

My face twisted. "No."

"Why not?"

"It’s too cringey."

"Say it."

I crossed my arms and glared into the space. "Absolutely not."

"Blanca."

"No."

"Say it."

"Gramps, I swear to God—"

"Say it."

I groaned and covered my face with both hands. "Why are you suddenly acting like a strict teacher?"

"Because I want to hear my granddaughter say something nice for once."

"That’s incredibly suspicious."

"Blanca."

"Fine!"

I threw my hands down and immediately regretted agreeing.

"...It’s because I know what it feels like."

"..."

"When I was younger, people always treated me like I could have anything I wanted because of our family."

I scratched my cheek awkwardly.

"But that doesn’t mean everyone gets to have that."

Grandpa Benjamin remained silent as I continued staring at the blank floor.

"Those energy stones aren’t cheap, and people need them to control their Hysteria."

My voice became quieter.

"If I can make something that keeps someone from suffering..." I shrugged. "...Then I don’t mind giving some away."

"Are you sure that’s your answer?"

"Yeah."

I slowly looked away.

’Well... the main reason for giving away energy stones was so people would talk more about my shop and make it trending...’

But obviously, that was not something I needed to say out loud since I had just given a heartfelt speech.

I was not about to ruin it with the fact that my business instincts were also involved.

"Are you sure you’re not giving away energy stones so people will talk about your shop more and make it trend?"

I immediately choked. "I would never!"

"Blanca."

"I WOULD NEVER!"

"Your memories are right here."

I immediately clutched my head again. "STOP LOOKING THROUGH THEM!"

"Then stop thinking about it so loudly."

"I DON’T KNOW HOW TO THINK QUIETLY!"

Grandpa Benjamin sighed. "So that really is the reason."

"No!"

"Thirty percent goes to charity for publicity."

"That sounds terrible when you say it like that!"

"How else should I say it?"

"It’s called strategic marketing!"

"With free energy stones?"

"Exactly!"

"Let’s just answer your questions before I smack you in the head again."

I immediately sat down on the endless white floor.

"My dad. I want to know everything about him."

"Which dad are you talking about, since you have many dads?"

"GRAMPS!"

"Hot-headed brat."

"The story?"

"Fine," he let out a sigh. "I have twins."

"Go on."

"Vulcan—the man you believed was your father—and Hephan, your real father."

’So Dad from my original world and my real father here were twins?’

That explained a lot.

"As you already know, only one person from every generation was chosen."

"And that was my father?"

"Yes."

"Hephan and Vulcan were complete opposites. Vulcan focused on business, while Hephan only cared about reading."

"Reading?"

"Reading."

"And that’s somehow important?"

"Hephan had already read the novel before he was sent into that world."

"So lucky..." I muttered as my face became completely unreadable.

Gramps chuckled. "That’s probably why he managed to finish his mission so easily and return home."

My eye twitched.

My father entered the world after reading the entire novel.

Meanwhile, I entered the world knowing a handful of names, the photos, and absolutely nothing useful.

’What kind of unfair difficulty setting was this?’

"I also had the same reaction as you when I found out."

I immediately looked up. "You didn’t know what to do too?"

"No," Gramps answered.

"No?"

"I meant I also thought Hephan was lucky."

"Gramps."

"What?"

"Why did you let me think you were relating to my struggles?"

"Because it was funny."

I slowly stood up. "Where are you?"

"Why?"

"So I can smack you."

"You’re literally unconscious."

"THEN WAKE ME UP."

"I’m a hundred percent sure you got that attitude of yours from your mother," Grandpa Benjamin said, laughing.

I froze. "Have you met her?"

The amusement in his voice slowly faded. "No."

I sat back down.

"Your father was always a man of few words."

I listened quietly.

"But after he returned from that world, he started talking more and more about your mother."

My ears slowly perked up. "He talked about her?"

"Almost every day."

Grandpa Benjamin chuckled softly.

"He looked so happy whenever he talked about her. More expressive than I’d ever seen him."

I couldn’t help smiling. ’So Dad really loved Mom.’

"He talked about how beautiful she was. How stubborn she could be. How she would chase him around even when he tried to avoid her."

I covered my mouth. ’That sounds familiar.’

"But day by day, he started changing."

My smile slowly disappeared.

"He began spending more time locked inside the library, searching through old books."

"For what?"

"A way back."

"He wanted to return to that world?"

"Yes."

Grandpa Benjamin sighed. "I don’t know how he did it, but he succeeded."

"He actually found a way back?"

"He did."

There was a faint hint of amusement in Grandpa Benjamin’s voice.

"He rushed out of the library, found us, and announced that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with your mother."

I sniffed. "I didn’t know both my parents were such fools."

"Excuse me?"

"Dad gave up his entire life there just to return to Mom, and Mom gave up her own happiness to protect Dad." I rubbed my eyes. "I don’t even know if they’re still alive."

"..."

"Or why I grew up there instead of here."

"About that..." Grandpa Benjamin cleared his throat.

I looked up.

"Have you already figured out your Soul Art?"

"You mean my Soul Weapon?"

"No. Your Soul Art."

"...Soul Art?"

"It’s a unique ability that belongs specifically to you, and if you recklessly and excessively overuse your Soul Art, it consumes your life force."

I frowned. "What does that have to do with me?"

"I don’t know exactly what your father did."

That immediately made me nervous.

"But it seems he used all of his life force and attempted to send you back here."

"What?"

"He succeeded, but your beast remained there, and without your soul being complete, that must have been the reason why you were so weak throughout your childhood."