This World is too Cruel to Men

There was one thing I had to check.

“Hey, Yun-Seo.”

“Yes…?”

“Can you only control water? Have you tried controlling anything else?”

Whether she could control only water, or if she could manipulate other things as freely as she had just shown.

It might not seem like a big difference, but it was a pretty important question.

The direction we take from now on will vary drastically depending on whether it’s the former or the latter.

‘I hope it’s the latter…’

If Yun-Seo’s Awakened talent was the ability to freely manipulate objects without using her hands, the ability that would have been called Telekinesis in the first round, then the possibilities would be truly endless.

‘Just considering the applications shown in movies and novels…’

Hundreds of ideas came to mind.

Even if only a few of them could be realized, wouldn’t the way adults look at Yun-Seo change?

As I was waiting for Yun-Seo’s answer while thinking such thoughts, Yun-Seo, who had been lost in thought with her brow slightly furrowed, shook her head.

“I… don’t know…”

It seemed she hadn’t tried anything else because she had to hide the fact that she had Awakened her talent.

Then there’s no helping it.

We’ll just have to try it now.

‘I hope it’s Telekinesis…’

Muttering that to myself, I looked around for something that would be okay to drop on the floor.

“Ah, if you can lift that, can you try lifting it?”

I pointed to the towel hanging on the towel rack. Yun-Seo’s gaze naturally followed my finger.

“Yes… I’ll try.”

Did that mean she’d try, even if she wasn’t sure if it would work or not?

Unlike the water, which she had already demonstrated once, it seemed that lifting the towel was a first for her.

Yun-Seo puffed out her cheeks slightly and stared at the towel hanging on the wall.

How much time passed like that?

“Ugh…”

Perhaps her head was throbbing from keeping her face scrunched up.

A groan escaped Yun-Seo’s lips.

‘It doesn’t work…’

So, it wasn’t Telekinesis, but an ability to control only water?

Then there was something else I had to check.

I had to check whether she could control only water, or if she could control any liquid.

That’s why, after telling Yun-Seo to wait a moment, I left the bathroom and grabbed everything I could find.

And as a result of the experiment, I was able to roughly define Yun-Seo’s ability.

‘The ability to freely manipulate liquids…’

It might not be as versatile as Telekinesis, but depending on how it’s used, it might not be bad.

However, the one thing that bothered me… was that it seemed to have very clear advantages and disadvantages.

The disadvantage, needless to say, was the condition that she could only manipulate ‘liquids’.

What good is it if you can freely manipulate liquids?

If there’s nothing to manipulate around, she’d be no different from an ordinary person.

But what if there’s a water source nearby, or even if it rains?

Then she would be able to show a powerful side that wouldn’t lose to any Hero.

Therefore, the most urgent thing… is to overcome that disadvantage.

To do that?

She needs to be able to control the moisture in the air and create weapons out of nothing.

I wondered if the conditions were too strict for a kid who was only seven years old—

‘To be called a genius, she has to do that much.’

That much would be needed to surprise the Talent Management Agency staff, who have seen countless Awakened due to the nature of their job.

The problem is whether what I’m imagining is actually feasible… To do that, I first need to explain to the seven-year-old in front of me that there’s an ‘liquid’ hidden in the air, invisible to her.

‘Is it possible…’

Honestly, I wasn’t very confident.

Not only was she a seven-year-old, but I didn’t know much about it either.

I only knew common knowledge, not enough to explain it to someone else.

‘Tsk…’

If I had known that I would one day be explaining this to a seven-year-old kid, I would have forced myself down the science track, no matter how much I hated math.

It was too difficult a task for a pure humanities person like me.

But I still had to do it.

‘First…’

I changed locations.

It felt weird to keep doing this in the bathroom.

But I didn’t go back to the living room.

Since Yun-Seo kept her Awakening a secret from her parents because she didn’t want to be ‘taken away’, I thought I should keep the secret as much as possible until she felt it was okay.

So, I brought her to my room… Was it because she had always played in the living room and had never been in my room like this before?

Yun-Seo looked awkward as she followed me into my room.

She even kept gulping, so I thought she must be nervous, and I carefully spoke to her to help her relax.

“If you’re thirsty, should I get you some water or something?”

“Uh, huh?! Ah… yes…”

And Yun-Seo didn’t refuse my offer.

So, I left Yun-Seo in the room for a moment and went down to the kitchen to get some juice from the refrigerator.

‘She didn’t really drink orange juice.’

It seemed she didn’t like the characteristic sourness of orange juice, so I picked grape juice instead.

Then, I poured it into a cup, added some ice, and was about to head back to the room… but as soon as I was about to leave the kitchen, a thought struck me.

Since things had turned out this way, how about starting right now?

I poured everything I had painstakingly prepared into the sink and returned the cup to its empty state.

It was all for this.

‘As expected, water is self-service.’

Of course.

Didn’t our ancestors say that a thirsty person digs a well?

If you’re thirsty?

You just have to make your own water to drink.

With that thought, I triumphantly entered the room with the empty cup and placed it in front of Yun-Seo…

‘Hmm, as expected.’

Naturally, the reaction I received was a bewildered look.

Of course.

I had offered to get her water, but the water had disappeared, and only an empty cup had been delivered.

“Where’s… the water?”

“Why? Are you thirsty?”

I asked with a grin, and Yun-Seo nodded slightly with a flustered look.

“Actually, our family motto is ‘water is self-service’.”

“What’s… self-service?”

“It means you have to get your own water to drink.”

As soon as I said that, a bewildered expression appeared on Yun-Seo’s face, as if she was saying, “But you said you’d get it for me?”

Then, her expression changed to a slightly sulky one.

At that point, I couldn’t just keep smiling, so I explained the reason for this in the most serious voice I could muster.

“I mean… you know what you showed me earlier? Can you fill this cup with water using that?”

“Yes… I think I can.”

“Here too?”

“…Uh, huh?”

Yun-Seo looked bewildered.

“Can’t you? You said you think you can.”

“But… this isn’t the bathroom…”

Her saying it wasn’t the bathroom meant that it was impossible because there was no water around.

“No, there’s water here too.”

“Where?”

I pointed my finger dramatically at the air for the genuinely curious Yun-Seo.

A question mark appeared on Yun-Seo’s face.

From her perspective, there was no water to be seen, but I was confidently saying there was water here, so she was puzzled.

“Liar.”

“I’m not lying. It’s really here.”

“Hmph, I don’t believe you.”

“I’m not lying! Do you know what air is?”

I thought she might not know… but thankfully, she did.

There was no reason for her to look indignant as soon as I said that so proudly.

“I know! It’s what you need to breathe!”

Wow, she even knew that.

Was she a well-educated kid?

Anyway, thanks to her, I had one less thing to explain, which was good for me.

“Then, of course, you know that there’s water mixed in this air, right?”

Unfortunately, she didn’t know that much.

“L-Liar!”

Judging by her incredulous shout.

“It’s not a lie…”

“If that’s true, then my clothes should always be wet, but they’re not!”

Wow, she refuted it like that?

“…That’s because the water droplets are super tiny.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“I don’t think so… I think you’re lying…”

“I’m not lying! Do you know about rain clouds? The ones that make it rain?”

“Yes.”

“Those are actually made of water droplets in the air that clump together.”

Is that right?

It must be.

Actually, what was important now wasn’t whether it was right or wrong.

It was important to make Yun-Seo realize that even in seemingly empty air, there was something she could manipulate.

If she could grasp that?

Wouldn’t it be possible to control the moisture in the air?

And if such precise control becomes possible…

‘Would that be possible too…’

To be honest, there was something else Yun-Seo could manipulate besides the moisture in the air at this moment.

And not just a little bit like in the air, but a large amount.

‘Is it true that 70 percent of the body is water?’

If, and only if, Yun-Seo could control even that?

Wouldn’t she become the strongest Hero against living creatures with blood flowing through them?

It would be over if she just blocked the blood flow to the brain.

‘Of course, it won’t be easy…’

Thinking back to what she showed in the bathroom, Yun-Seo easily controlled still water, but struggled to control the water flowing from the faucet.

If that was the case even when she could see it, the blood inside a living creature, which is invisible, would be many times more difficult…

Therefore, it was just my small wish that ‘it would be great if that were possible…’ There was no need for her to hone her talent to that extent.

Honestly, that’s too much.

‘Showing the potential is enough.’

As the saying goes, a sharp awl will eventually pierce through the bag, but it’s not good to stand out too much.

There’s also the proverb about the nail that sticks out getting hammered down.

So, the position Yun-Seo should take is just a ‘promising prospect with a bright future’.

For that, she needed to be able to perform the task I just gave her, not necessarily freely, but at least once or twice when she wanted to. So—

“Come on, try it.”

Hey, try, try.