The Tales of an Infinite Regressor

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 61 – The Puppeteer IV

“Huff…!”

Bloodshot veins appeared in Jung Sangguk’s eyes. His mouth and tongue were gagged by puppet strings, preventing him from speaking, but it didn’t matter.

Body language is a universal language, after all. Jung Sangguk’s entire body was thrashing, emitting SOS signals.

I felt sorry for him, but my priority wasn’t the parents; it was the child. Jung Sangguk’s struggles only provoked Lee Hayul.

“…….”

Without a word, Lee Hayul drove an awl under his fingernail.

Rip! The nail tore apart. Suddenly, another competitor in the same business was opened up.

“Mmpphhffh!”

The excessive bleeding from this competitive overreach caused Jung Sangguk to faint.

I mourned inwardly. It was all because he was born in the wrong era. Had he been born during the Japanese occupation, a traitor of his caliber wouldn’t have undergone fingernail torture.

I spread my hands.

“Lee Hayul, I have no intention of interfering in your business with Jung Sangguk. As I mentioned earlier, my goal is merely to persuade you to come to the academy.”

“…….”

“Let me introduce myself again. I am Doctor Jang. I eradicated Ten Clans in the Korean Peninsula. Currently, I serve as the vice principal at Freiheit Academy.”

By this point, it was appropriate for Lee Hayul to introduce himself. But that didn’t happen.

The housemaid marionette who had opened the basement door for me stood behind Lee Hayul’s wheelchair. She opened her mouth and spoke in a puppet’s voice.

“Lee Hayul. Puppeteer.”

“Hmm. I understand your caution, but can we not converse using your own voice?”

“Impossible.”

“Why is that?”

Lee Hayul opened her mouth wide. Her neat teeth were visible, beyond which lay an abyssal darkness.

I tilted my head.

What is this? Unless she’s mistaken me for a dentist, this pose makes no sense.

At that moment, the housemaid spoke like a puppet being ventriloquized.

“Vocal cords. Disabled.”

It was an unexpected revelation.

“She can’t produce sound.”

“…….”

“Therefore, she can’t converse.”

Only then did I understand that the disabilities afflicting Lee Hayul extended beyond the loss of her legs.

A physical language disability.

…If so, the girl before me must have endured extreme discomfort before her abilities awakened. The inability to move. The inability to communicate.

Moreover, considering her status as an illegitimate child of a prominent politician, one could add the constraint of social status to her burdens.

Indeed, the ability known as [Puppeteer] was nothing short of a miracle for Lee Hayul.

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s alright.”

Lee Hayul closed her mouth. Her expressionless face as a puppeteer revealed no emotion.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Hmm.”

“How did you find this place?”

It was a bizarre scene.

Although the housemaid was speaking, the conversation was between Lee Hayul and me. The direction of the gaze and the voice didn’t match.

Despite the strange feeling, I kept eye contact with Lee Hayul.

“I followed Jung Sangguk. It was suspicious when he asked me to wait at the lodgings for two days. I saw him entering this Dollhouse and decided to eavesdrop for a while.”

“…….”

The girl’s eyes softened slightly.

It seemed she liked the term “Dollhouse.”

“Thanks to that, I could listen in on your conversation with Jung Sangguk. If you saw me rampaging upstairs, you’d know I’m good at using aura.”

Lee Hayul tilted her head.

“Aura?”

“…Yes.”

I manifested an aura on my palm. A dark flame. My aura was achromatic.

“This. Earlier, you infused golden aura into the puppet strings, didn’t you?”

“So, it’s called aura.”

“Some people call it internal energy. It’s a matter of preference. Some call it demonic energy, others pronounce it as aura. Did you learn it on your own?”

“Yes.”

“Impressive.”

“That’s what the Magical Girls said, too.”

For reference, Magical Girls were the strongest group of awakened individuals in Japan, and later, they essentially took over the role of the Japanese government as members of the “Magical Girl Council.”

How such a ridiculous situation came about… well…

For now, let’s just say awakened individuals tend to be stronger the crazier they are. There’ll be another chance to talk about them.

“Magical Girls? Did they try to recruit you?”

“Yes. I declined.”

“Could you tell me why? I’d like to know to reduce the chances of failure.”

“They’re weird.”

“…….”

“They wear dresses with lots of frills, have terrible fashion sense, end their sentences with ‘nya,’ and they’re abnormal.”

“…….”

For a girl who was currently stripping her father’s fingernails, this was quite an odd statement to make.

Anyway, this bit of small talk served well as an icebreaker between us.

Lee Hayul was surprisingly communicative. If you ignored the strange puppet voice.

“Is it okay if I ask why you’re trying to kill Jung Sangguk?”

“Huff…?”

Jung Sangguk reacted to the word “kill.” Even though he was dragged into the basement and had his fingernails torn out, he hadn’t expected his daughter to kill him.

But Jung Sangguk was meant to die.

In the 18th turn, Lee Hayul killed Jung Sangguk, hanged the housemaid, and then took her own life.

Everyone here, except Jung Sangguk, considered his death to be an inevitable event. Lee Hayul naturally responded to my question.

“He betrayed my mother.”

Mother? Was she referring to Lee Hayul’s biological mother, Jung Sangguk’s second wife?

“He said he’d bring a doctor. That there was medicine. That her treatment was progressing. But my mother died.”

“Mmph…!”

“My mother wanted to stay in Korea. He forced her to come here. And then he abandoned her.”

Lee Hayul’s “voice” remained unchanged. It was the same unvarying mechanical sound.

However, Lee Hayul’s “eyes” blazed as if melting gold. That was the true temperature she held inside.

“I remember. Since I was five, he rarely visited our home. He found my mother annoying. Me, too. He was afraid to stay in Korea, scared we’d be discovered.”

“Mmppph!”

“The day my mother died, I awakened. This is revenge for her.”

Jung Sangguk desperately struggled, trying to deny it. The old wheelchair he was strapped to creaked as it shook.

…I could feel the sincerity in Lee Hayul’s words.

But I also knew that sincerity doesn’t guarantee the truth of the past or the future. That’s the most painful reality for us humans.

“Can I hear Jung Sangguk’s side of the story?”

“…….”

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Lee Hayul looked up at me sideways. Her golden eyes seemed to be searching my face for any hidden intentions.

She nodded.

“I don’t mind.”

“Phhaaah!”

Jung Sangguk’s tongue finally regained its freedom. Though it was still tangled with spider webs, it slackened slightly.

“Th-This is a lie! Doctor Jang, don’t believe the words of a child who tortures her own parent! I am Jung Sangguk! Jung Sangguk! A man who sacrifices himself for his country and people!”

“Ah, I apologize. I pretended otherwise at the party, but I actually consider the Second Provisional Government a kind of farce.”

Jung Sangguk looked confused.

“Pardon?”

“The Fukuoka officials treated you well out of courtesy, not interest. Mr. Jung Sangguk, why would awakened individuals who stayed in Korea and got along with the Ten Clans feel favorable towards you?”

“…….”

“And as I mentioned, my goal is to bring Lee Hayul to our academy. Right now, I just want to verify if her claims are true. As you know, a teacher needs to understand their student’s family background to some extent.”

“I’m telling you, it’s a lie!”

Jung Sangguk shouted.

“How did I neglect them? Huh? How did I neglect them! If I wanted to hide my second family, would I bring them here and make a big deal about it? Think about it! If I really wanted to neglect them, I would’ve left them to die in Korea!”

“…….”

“Sure, it’s tough living here, but Korea, you know! The Ten Clans! That damn bastard! The Korean army! Our military was wiped out! The North Korean army was annihilated, too! With someone like that roaming around, should I have left Soyoon and Hayul there to die? Was that right? Yes! I’m a traitor! I, Jung Sangguk, am a traitor! But I wanted to save my family. I came to Japan, begging to save my family!”

Jung Sangguk’s words also felt sincere.

But I knew that simulating pain is a politician’s instinct.

“If I were a selfish man thinking only of myself, I wouldn’t have cared for Hayul! But how can a daughter, no matter how upset, persecute her parent like this- mmph!”

Once again, spider webs wrapped tightly around Jung Sangguk’s tongue.

At first, I thought Lee Hayul had forcibly sealed Jung Sangguk’s mouth.

But she hadn’t.

“Brought them, and neglected them.”

Jung Sangguk’s mouth moved. Though the sound was his, the words were not.

They were Lee Hayul’s words.

Whether intentional or driven by emotion, Lee Hayul was controlling Jung Sangguk’s tongue, teeth, and throat to speak her thoughts.

“This house was originally shabby. I rebuilt it using my ability to control people,” Lee Hayul stated.

“Pft- Even that! In times like these, that’s a luxury and a blessing! Why don’t you understand that now that you’re grown?”

“Lies. Your house was completely different.”

Then a very strange thing happened.

Both of them were using the same tongue and mouth to converse. No, to argue.

Lee Hayul’s words came out choked and mechanical, probably because Jung Sangguk was resisting.

But his resistance failed. So the two ended up alternating as they spoke, as if they had forgotten my presence entirely, their emotions clashing violently yet diverging on a single path.

“Of course! I’m the head of the provisional government! If I lived in a shabby place, it would disgrace all the Koreans exiled here! Do you even understand how much the Japanese care about appearances?”

“Why did you stop feeding mom when she was sick and bedridden? Why didn’t you visit her?”

“I told you! I was out of my mind back then! Busy! And where do you think food comes from, the ground? Everyone was starving and struggling!”

“And mom’s funeral?”

“Of course I couldn’t go! I keep telling you! I’m not just one person. The future and hope of Korea depend on me!”

“You said you wanted to save your family. Just a moment ago. Then why suddenly talk about the country?”

“That was at first! Only at first! When I started looking after the Koreans here, I felt a sense of duty! Do you think a person stays the same forever? Does a traitor remain a traitor for life? Should a bad person just be killed? How can you be so harsh? Even if the whole world wants to kill me, family should protect each other!”

“Lies.”

“No, it’s not!”

“You didn’t protect us.”

“I couldn’t protect you! Yes! I’m sorry, Hayul. Okay? Dad was wrong!”

“Another lie. You didn’t apologize. Only after you knew about my abilities did you apologize. Why can’t you admit your lies? Why live like this? Why?”

“Why can’t you understand your father’s sincerity!”

…It was like a bizarre play.

I was speechless, watching a scene unlike anything I had ever seen before.

On one side was a child who couldn’t speak until she awakened her ability. On the other side was a man who had always been able to say anything.

Normally, we think of dolls as things that can’t speak.

But isn’t someone who says anything also a kind of doll? After all, if words never convey true feelings, aren’t they similar?

“You’re not my daughter! You’re a madwoman who tortures people!”

“You’re not my father either.”

Their anger had reached its peak.

But I thought they were both wrong.

Jung Sangguk was a doll too.

When he was the mayor of Busan, he was a doll that said anything to gain favor with the citizens. As the representative of Fukuoka, he was a doll that said anything to win Japanese support.

To him, words didn’t matter at all. It didn’t matter if he called the exiled group the Second Provisional Government. It didn’t matter if he renamed Fukuoka to Busan.

The only difference was whether it was his country or a foreign one. Jung Sangguk was a lifelong slave to national power, a national puppet.

If language defines a person’s essence, then Jung Sangguk was mimicking essence.

Something that imitates a human. Don’t we call that a doll?

Strangely, the genes of a doll were passed down to a doll.

For Lee Hayul, who grew up watching her mother and father, the essence of a human was imprinted as a doll.

Parents, whether they intend to or not, inevitably pass down some legacy to their children.

Even the parts he had ignored, his child couldn’t ignore. She couldn’t look away.

That was the fate of being human.

“Lies.”

“It’s not a lie…!”

And if someone had dedicated their life to power, they must also accept this kind of end.

In a battle of spirals that would never intersect, the one who holds the stronger power always wins.

Before they came to Japan, and shortly after arriving, the one with power in their family was undoubtedly Jung Sangguk. He had the power to control other dolls.

“Lies. Everything. All of it.”

But not anymore.

Now, the master of the “Dollhouse” was not him, but Lee Hayul.

“Guh—Hnng?”

Jung Sangguk’s neck was constricted.

Lee Hayul said nothing. Just as she had been since birth. She looked at her own blood relative the way she did when she was born.

The puppet strings dug into his skin.

A choking, convulsive sound.

“……! ……!”

A bit of struggling.

And then.

“……”

The doll went limp.

The basement fell silent.

In the end, the last words of a politician who had stirred up this apocalypse were these:

It’s a lie.

Everything.

All of it.

A testament cut into three words. Three segments of a broken neck.

As I looked at Lee Hayul, drenched in blood, I wondered whether those last words were closer to the truth or another lie among the many Jung Sangguk had uttered in his life as a politician.

“……”

Some might think that because those words weren’t spoken by Jung Sangguk’s own will, they can’t be considered his final words.

Maybe so.

But they were undoubtedly his legacy.

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]