This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 12

There was something I had to confirm for that.

“Umm, Yoonseo.”

“Yes…?”

“Can you only control water? Or have you not tried to control anything else?”

Whether her control was limited to water or if she could manipulate other things freely, as she just demonstrated, was a crucial question.

It might seem trivial, but this was indeed an Important Matter.

Depending on whether it was the former or the latter, our path forward could vary tremendously.

‘I hope it’s the latter…’

If Yoonseo’s talent after her Awakening allowed her to manipulate objects without using her hands, akin to telekinesis, it could open up countless possibilities.

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

I could think of hundreds of possibilities.

If even a few of those could be realized, wouldn’t the adults looking at Yoonseo see her in a whole new light?

Lost in such thoughts while waiting for Yoonseo’s answer, I noticed her brows furrowed in concern before she shook her head slowly.

“I… I don’t really know…”

It seemed that due to the need to hide the fact she had awakened her abilities, she had never tried anything else.

Well, that can’t be helped.

We had no choice but to try now.

‘I wish it was telekinesis…’

Muttering that to myself, I began scanning the area for something safe to drop on the floor.

“Oh, if you can pick that up, can you try lifting that towel over there?”

Pointing to a towel hanging on the rack, Yoonseo’s gaze naturally followed my finger.

“Okay… I’ll give it a try.”

Uncertain if she would succeed, it seemed she was willing to attempt it anyway. Unlike the water she had already demonstrated, lifting a towel was her first try, and this time, she puffed out her cheeks and began to focus on the towel hanging on the wall.

How long had passed in that state?

“Ugh…”

Was she getting a headache from frowning so hard?

A groan escaped Yoonseo’s lips.

‘Looks like it’s not working…’

Does this mean her ability is strictly limited to controlling water?

Then there was something else I needed to check.

We had to confirm whether her control was limited to water alone or if she could also manipulate any liquid.

After telling Yoonseo to wait a moment, I stepped out to the Bathroom to gather visible items.

And based on the results of that experiment, I was able to define Yoonseo’s abilities somewhat.

‘So her ability is controlling liquids freely…’

While it might not be as versatile as true telekinesis, depending on how she employed it, it didn’t seem bad at all.

However, what concerned me was the glaring pros and cons.

The downside, of course, was that she could only manipulate the ‘liquid’ tied to her talent.

If she could freely control liquids, what would she do with that?

If nothing else was within reach to manipulate, she might as well be an ordinary person.

On the other hand, if there was a water source nearby, or even rain, she could showcase an incredible power unmatched by any Hero.

Thus, the urgent task at hand was… indeed overcoming that downside.

What would it take?

She needed to reach a point where she could manipulate moisture in the air to create weapons even in an empty environment.

I couldn’t help but wonder if that seemed too demanding for a mere seven-year-old kid—

‘If she’s to be called a genius, she has to hit those marks.’

If she succeeded, she’d surely astonish the talent management agents from the agency, accustomed to seeing many Awakened individuals due to professional reasons.

The problem was whether my imagination could be turned into reality…

To achieve that, I had to help this seven-year-old understand that even in what looks like empty air lies a ‘liquid’ she can control.

‘Is that even possible…?’

To be honest, I wasn’t particularly confident.

After all, she was just a seven-year-old, and I hardly knew her.

It was merely a common knowledge level, not something I could explain trembling with nervousness.

‘Tsk…’

If I had known I’d be explaining concepts like this to a seven-year-old in my lifetime, I would’ve begrudgingly embraced the science track despite my dislike for math.

It was an overly challenging task for a liberal arts student like me.

But I had to do it.

‘First…’

I changed locations.

Staying in the Bathroom like this felt a bit off.

But I also didn’t want to return to the living room.

Yoonseo, who wished to keep her Awakening a secret from her parents because she didn’t want to be captured, I felt I needed to maintain her secret until I found the right moment.

So I brought her to my room, but it seemed odd for her to enter here since she had only ever played in the living room until now.

Following me into my room, Yoonseo looked a bit awkward.

She even kept gulping, which suggested she was quite tense, so I decided to carefully ease the mood.

“If you’re thirsty, do you want me to get you something to drink?”

“Uh. Yes?! Um… yeah…”

Yoonseo didn’t refuse my friendly offer.

So I left her alone for a moment and went down to the kitchen to grab some juice from the fridge.

‘I remember she didn’t really like orange juice.’

Noticing that the unique sour taste of orange juice wasn’t her preference, I chose grape juice instead.

Pouring it into a cup with some ice, just as I was about to return to the room—

That’s when a thought struck me.

Since I was at it, why not start right now?

I poured the carefully prepared juice down the sink and returned the cup empty for that purpose.

‘Of course, water should be self-serve.’

Absolutely.

Isn’t it our ancestors who said that a thirsty person digs their own well?

If you’re thirsty?

Then you’ll create the water to drink.

With that thought, I confidently entered my room, placing the empty cup in front of Yoonseo expectantly—

‘Well, just as expected.’

Unsurprisingly, the only thing I received back was a bewildered look.

I mean, of course, she would be confused.

I hadn’t asked her first; I just went ahead and said I’d bring her water, but suddenly I handed her an empty cup instead.

“Where’s the water…?”

“Why? Are you thirsty?”

Smiling sweetly as I asked, Yoonseo nodded with a slight look of panic.

“Actually, our family motto is ‘water is self-serve.'”

“Self-serve? What’s that?”

“It means you have to serve yourself the water you want to drink.”

Before I could finish my sentence, her face displayed a look that said, ‘But you said you’d bring it to me!’

Then her expression soured into a slightly pouty one.

At that point, I couldn’t keep smiling any longer, so I explained why I had pulled this stunt in as serious of a tone as I could manage.

“What I mean is… you remember what I showed you earlier? Can you fill this cup with water using that?”

“Um… I think I can.”

“Can you do it here?”

“…Uh, okay?”

Yoonseo’s expression was a mix of confusion and determination.

“But you said you can’t? You think you can, don’t you?”

“But… this isn’t the Bathroom, you know…”

The implication was that there was no water around, making it impossible.

“That’s not true. There’s water here too.”

“Where?”

Genuinely curious, Yoonseo raised her finger to point at the air.

As she did, a question mark popped up on her face.

From her viewpoint, there was nothing that looked like water around, but I confidently claimed that there was indeed water present.

“No, it’s not a lie.”

“It’s really there.”

“Hmph, I don’t believe you.”

“It’s not a lie! Do you know what air is?”

She might not know, considering her age, but thankfully, it seemed she did.

If not, she wouldn’t have made that surprised look when I started bragging.

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

Wow, look at her go. Maybe she’s had a little early education?

Because of that, I felt glad that I only had to explain one less thing.

“So then, you know there’s water mixed in the air?”

Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to grasp that.

“That’s a lie!”

Seeing her shout like she couldn’t believe it was unexpected.

“It’s not a lie…”

“If that were true, my clothes would always be wet, but they’re not!”

Wait, she’s actually arguing against me in that way?

“…The water droplets are just tiny.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“I don’t think so… it seems like a lie…”

“It’s not a lie! Do you know about dark clouds? The ones that rain?”

“Yeah.”

“Those are actually formed by water droplets in the air clumping together.”

Right?

I think that’s correct.

What’s important at this moment isn’t whether that’s true or not.

What’s crucial is making Yoonseo realize that there’s something for her to manipulate, even when it looks like nothing exists.

If only she can grasp that part well?

Wouldn’t she be able to control the moisture in the air?

And if she could manage that level of detail…

‘Can she do that…?’

To be frank, there were more targets that Yoonseo could manipulate at this moment than just moisture in the air.

Much more than just a sprinkle of it.

‘Was it 70% of the body that is made of water?’

If, hypothetically, Yoonseo could also control that…

She would become an incredibly powerful Hero against any being with flowing blood, right?

A simple blockage of blood flow to the brain would mean the end of their game.

‘Of course, it wouldn’t be easy…’

Recalling her earlier failures, Yoonseo could manipulate stagnant water with ease but struggled with the running water from the faucet, so the unseen blood flowing inside a living organism must be exponentially harder.

So really, it would only be a personal wish of mine, ‘It would be great if she could achieve that…’ and there was no real expectation for it.

Honestly, that would be too much to ask.

‘Just showing potential would be enough.’

As they say, a talented person will eventually stand out in some way, but too much attention also might not be advantageous.

Isn’t there also a saying that the odd nail gets hammered?

Thus, Yoonseo’s position should ideally be that of a ‘promising figure with potential.’

For that purpose, I needed her to reach a level where she could pull off my earlier challenge at least once or twice when she wanted, even if it was tough to do freely.

So—

“Hurry and give it a try.”

Hey, try, try!