Chapter 51

Chapter 51. World Construction (2)

Balun was so flustered that he even turned around for a moment. He wondered whether the children’s father was standing behind him.

But there was no way anyone else could be in this Mindscape besides those three children and himself.

That meant the person those children were calling was undoubtedly him.

‘Good heavens. A father at sixteen.’

No. His age would change soon, so was he a father at seventeen?

Well, sixteen or seventeen, it was more or less the same thing.

Although he was deeply flustered, luckily one of the things Balun was truly good at was controlling his expression. Balun quickly hid his panic and put on the most benevolent smile he could.

“I’m sorry. Dad was wrong.”

At the same time, Balun hypnotized himself.

‘I am a dad. A dad with three children at that…….’

He failed.

It was hard to immerse himself, so to speak.

He decided to think of it another way instead.

‘I am a dad raising three puppies…….’

Thinking of it that way helped him get into the role a little.

“Were you very upset? Because I did not even give you names?”

He continued speaking while crouching to meet the children at eye level.

“Dad did not know well enough. That was why I did not think to give you names.”

“…….”

“But it was not because I never thought about you. We are going to be together for the rest of our lives.”

“…….”

“I thought about you every day. I waited eagerly for the day I could speak with you. That feeling, at least, was truly sincere.”

“…….”

“So would you please forgive me?”

Balun spread his arms wide. He saw the three children hesitate.

They tried their best not to show it, but to Balun’s eyes, it was obvious.

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“You won’t abandon us?”

“Of course not. Why would I abandon you?”

Balun was one hundred percent sincere.

He had no choice but to be.

What madman would throw away axes with such outstanding performance?

He intended to use them until he was old enough to smear filth on the walls.

“Now, come here.”

Balun beckoned.

The children approached hesitantly and slipped right into his arms. Along with the soft, tender sensation of their skin, he smelled milk.

“Dad. Then do we have names?”

“Of course.”

“Hehe.”

The two girls smiled.

Seeing that made Balun feel somewhat guilty.

‘I am sorry. I did not even register your births…….’

In truth, Balun could not help feeling wronged, but that did not make the fact that these children had sulked disappear.

“My name is Crimson Moon?”

“Yes.”

“Then I am Blue Moon?”

“That is right. Do you like it?”

“Yes! A blue moon! It is pretty!”

“I am a red moon.”

“Hm?”

“Right?”

“Th-That is…….”

Balun was a little flustered.

That was not what the names meant.

‘No, that is not the character for moon. It is the character for axe…….’

He wanted to correct the fact, but he hesitated. He felt as though the children would be disappointed.

Think about it. Black Axe, Blue Axe, and Red Axe. How thoughtless were those names?

Balun had meant to make them unique by giving them names in Chinese characters with meaning, but in any case, he felt they would likely be quite disappointing.

‘Wait. But how do they even distinguish Chinese characters?’

Could they possibly have some kind of language synchronization function?

“Yes. That is right. I named you that because your eyes are like the moon.”

“Hehe.”

The two children beamed softly.

Compared to them, Black Moon did not react much.

His expression said that something displeased him.

“Black Moon. Do you not like your name?”

“No. I like it.”

“Then why are you so sulky?”

“We do not have a house.”

Balun’s head tilted on its own.

‘A house?’

What house?

“Dad. Look at this. There is nothing here. There is only grass. Right?”

“That is right.”

“Then how do we sleep?”

“Hm?”

“Are we homeless beggars?”

Balun blinked blankly. What? Homeless beggars?

“Dad. Look. If we sleep in a place like this, our faces will freeze crooked. We will freeze to death.”

Black Moon patted the grassy dirt ground with his hand.

“Dad. Do you want us to freeze to death? You do not like that either, do you?”

“Hm? Yes. I do not.”

“Then you should build us a house, right?”

“Y-Yes. I should. I should build you a house.”

Balun was deeply curious.

‘Where did he learn to say things like this?’

They were supposed to be pure spirit souls.

“You really mean it?”

“Of course!”

Only then did Black Moon smile.

Then he spoke to Blue Moon and Crimson Moon.

“You heard him, everyone? Dad says he will build us a house. Now we are spirits with a house too. We do not have to sleep on the street.”

“Yahoo!”

“We are getting a house!”

Watching Blue Moon and Crimson Moon cheer with both arms raised afterward, Balun was left speechless.

‘What in the…….’

“Dad. Let us go quickly.”

“Hm? Where?”

“We have to build the house.”

Black Moon promptly grabbed Balun’s hand.

“Where are we going?”

“To find a house site.”

“A house site?”

“Yes. We cannot build a house just anywhere.”

“Uh, that is true, but…….”

“I know you are bewildered. But there is no need to hesitate. More than it is our task, this is your assignment, Dad.”

“My assignment?”

“Yes. It is something you must do someday. It is better to do it now.”

‘What kind of situation is this?’

He truly did not understand a single thing.

***

As he wandered around with the three children in search of a house site, Balun thought deeply.

What did Black Moon mean by his assignment?

Several possible answers came to mind, but one seemed the most likely.

‘It seems that the act of building a house in the Mindscape is connected to my growth.’

Of course, he could simply dismiss it as a dream, but he already knew it was not.

Balun had experienced many things and learned many things in the civilized world over a short period of time.

One of them was mystery.

Mysteries such as mana and magic.

In this world, such things truly existed, and the Mindscape was the same.

Just as mana existed even if it could not be seen, the Mindscape was not a dream even if it looked like one. It was a world that truly existed inside him.

‘The Mindscape is a kind of spiritual world. If powerful people such as Sword Masters and Archmages possess Mindscapes, it must mean their spiritual abilities are that outstanding.’

Then what did it mean to build a house in the Mindscape?

‘It means increasing and strengthening my spiritual ability.’

Only after his thoughts reached that point did Balun finally feel as though he vaguely understood why these children were acting like this.

This was not simply about needing a house.

‘Perhaps they are trying to help me.’

Perhaps they were willingly extending a helping hand to their master, who was wandering without even knowing how to become stronger.

“Dad. Let us do it here. This place is good. It is perfectly backed by a mountain and facing water.”

Balun’s thoughts broke off.

Even if he understood the reason for building a house and all that, he truly could not accept this.

“Black Moon. How do you know about being backed by a mountain and facing water?”

“I just know?”

“You just know?”

“Yes. Anyway, I want to build it here. What about you two?”

“I do not know. I will follow Big Brother’s opinion.”

“Then me too!”

He learned something new.

It seemed that Black Moon was older than Blue Moon and Crimson Moon.

Then were these three siblings?

“Now it is Dad’s turn. Since we found the house site, you just have to build it.”

“You want me to build it? The house?”

“Yes. I will teach you how to build it.”

Black Moon pointed at the ground with his finger and spoke.

“Imagine the house you want to build, Dad. Think of building it here.”

“You want me to imagine it?”

“Yes. The more specific it is, the better. But it will probably be difficult. Your power is still weak, Dad.”

‘My power is weak?’

What power?

“All right. I will try.”

Balun did as he was told.

‘If it is a house, a cozy log cabin would probably be good. It has charm, and it would be decent.’

Balun imagined a log cabin. It had a chimney connected to a fireplace, and a wooden fence surrounded the house.

There was a bench in the spacious backyard, so they could rest at any time while enjoying the scenery.

Finally, when he imagined the layout of the house taking shape here, something amazing happened.

RUMBLE!

The ground suddenly shook, and the house began to be constructed.

A log cabin and the fence surrounding it.

Balun merely blinked. What on earth was happening? He had only imagined it, yet a house had appeared in an instant.

‘Good heavens, I really am experiencing all sorts of things.’

At this point, he felt as though very little would surprise him anymore.

“What do you think? Do you like the house?”

“Hmm, it is not very good.”

Black Moon shook his head.

“Why?”

“The house is too shabby. This will not even have heating or air-conditioning. It will not have electricity either.”

“Heating and air-conditioning?”

“Instead of this, can you build a concrete house? A detached house. Ah, I do not like red bricks.”

He withdrew his statement that very little would surprise him anymore.

“How do you know about things like that too?”

“Hm? I do not know. I just know?”

“Were you perhaps Koreans in your previous lives?”

“Koreans? What is that?”

All three tilted their heads.

As if they truly had no idea.

‘Forget it. Whatever happens, happens.’

For now, he would just finish everything.

“Then I will build it again?”

“Yes.”

“Hurry!”

Balun erased the log cabin.

When he imagined erasing it, it happened quickly.

Now, the next part was the problem.

‘A concrete house…….’

It was a more complicated building, but it was actually easier than the log cabin. The image was too clearly engraved in Balun’s mind.

‘It should probably have a stylish design. Then let us make it clean and modern with gray or white tones.’

The detached house in his imagination quickly took form.

A modern and stylish single-story detached house with a yard and enough space to park one car.

RUMBLE!

That house was built in an instant on the meadow with the mountain behind it.

“Oh!”

“What do you think? Do you like it?”

“It is good, is it not?”

Black Moon grinned.

“This is it. This is what I mean.”

“I am relieved you like it.”

“Yes. It is sturdy, so it does not seem like it will break. Right, everyone?”

“That is right.”

“It looks safe.”

When Black Moon asked, Crimson Moon and Blue Moon immediately answered.

‘Break?’

What was going to break?

Were intruders going to come in or something?

“Then we are going to look around the house. Can we go inside?”

“Of course. Look around as much as you like. It is your house.”

“No, it is not.”

“Hm? It is not?”

“It is not your house. It is our house.”

“Ah, that is right. It is our house. Haha.”

What a fastidious little fellow.

“Dad, let us look around together.”

“All right.”

He held the children’s hands and looked around the house.

The interior was laid out like a typical Korean-style home, which was, in fact, only natural.

Balun had imagined it that way.

Three rooms, a bathroom, a veranda, and a living room.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes! It has heating and air-conditioning, and the water works well. The electricity works too.”

“I am glad you like it.”

“But there is something I do not like.”

“What is it?”

“There is no TV. There is no computer either. There is nothing fun. Dad, did you not imagine those?”

“No, I did. But they would not be created.”

That was truly what had happened.

It was not only the TV and computer. He imagined various modern objects, but only about half of them had been created.

“Then, well, it cannot be helped. Your power is still weak, Dad.”

“Power?”

“Yes. If you become stronger, Dad, you will be able to make more things. If you make many things, we will become stronger too. So you need to become strong quickly, Dad.”

“I should.”

When Balun nodded, Black Moon stared intently at him and held out his small hand. Balun clasped that hand.

“I look forward to being with you.”

“Hm?”

“Use us often. We get bored.”

Balun flinched. The children had suddenly approached him and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

As Balun was feeling that ticklish and soft sensation with a blank expression, his vision suddenly began to swirl.

‘Huh? Could it be that I am leaving the Mindscape……?’

Soon, darkness dyed everything completely.

When the darkness disappeared again and he opened his eyes, Balun realized that he was lying on a soft bed.

He had returned to the real world.

“You really are incredible. How can you stay in the Mindscape for a whole day?”

Balun blinked. Seria stood before him with her arms crossed, glaring at him.

“Seria?”

“Yes. It is me.”

“You said it has been a full day? Then a day has passed?”

“Yes!”

No wonder he was extremely hungry.

His mood felt strange. He had clearly experienced something unrealistic, yet it had been filled with a sense of reality.

He was certain that what he had experienced had not been a dream.

“What on earth did you do?”

“In the Mindscape?”

“Yes. What on earth did you do that allowed you to make the Ego Weapons grow after only two meetings?”

Balun tilted his head.

‘Grow?’

What did that mean?

“Do these weapons grow too, by any chance?”

“Of course.”

“Oh!”

Balun grew excited.

‘No, were these growth-type weapons?’

No wonder that elf had acted so proud.

If she had the ability to make something like that, she had every right to be proud.

‘Then will their attack power increase if I level them up?’

He hoped that would be the case.

“All Ego Weapons begin as seeds at first. It is the master’s role to make those seeds sprout and grow.”

Seria continued.

“To put it simply, the growth of an Ego Weapon is determined by the master’s ability. It can become a great tree large enough to embrace, or it might fail to sprout at all.”

“I see.”

“Usually, they cannot even sprout. The majority of Ego Weapon users cannot even make leaves, let alone grow them into trees.”

“Then what level are my children at? Have they sprouted?”

“What level do you think they are at?”

“Hmm.”

Balun pondered. Honestly, he did not think they were at an especially impressive level.

“Are they just beginning to sprout?”

“Wrong.”

“Do not tell me they have not even sprouted?”

“No. They are saplings.”

“What?”

“You have already grown these children into saplings.”

Balun blinked in bewilderment.

‘Saplings?’

Why?

“That is why I am curious. What on earth did you do in the Mindscape to make them grow this much? Enough that I can feel these children’s mana so clearly.”

“In the Mindscape?”

“Yes. If you spent an entire day there, you must have done something.”

“I built a house.”

“What?”

Seria froze.

Soon, shock colored her face.

“W-Wait. You built a house? In the Mindscape?”

“That is right. A detached house. A stylish one at that.”

“Good heavens.”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“…….”

“Can you not hear me?”

She did not hear him.

Because she was so shocked that Balun’s words did not reach her.

‘Impossible. A guy who cannot control mana or Aura built his own world? Is something like that even possible?’

Seria looked at Balun.

Balun, who was merely looking puzzled without understanding a thing, seemed like a monster.