X
“This diary feels more like a memoir.”
Jin Seong-ha’s impression after reading Teacher’s diary.
Sa-on’s expression froze coldly; Se-on’s was complicated.
“T-Teacher… missed family more than we thought…”
Even if Da-on were here, her reaction wouldn’t differ much.
Teacher’s life before being “Teacher.”
The confusion-filled diary inevitably evoked sympathy.
Jin Seong-ha and Sa-on reread it several times.
“Handwriting changes.”
“Yeah. Like a different person.”
Ion stayed silent.
“This part.”
Jin Seong-ha pointed.
[Must not disappoint Joy.]
“Don’t disappoint Joy. And this.”
He flipped to scribbled memos after diary entries.
His finger stopped on [Apostle].
“Suspicious, right?”
Exactly the parts Ion hoped someone would find odd.
“Leader, remake <Hunter and Hero> mentioned Apostles. Extremely powerful, absolute—creators of the system.”
“Yes.”
“That being knew Breeder. And I think ‘Joy’ here refers to the Apostle.”
“Yes, I think so too.”
Convenient—sharp people made conversation easy.
And Jin Seong-ha wasn’t the only one.
“Then ‘April 18 Descent’ means Apostle descent. If system creator, rewinding time would be easy. Scary.”
Despite saying scary, Sa-on grinned viciously.
“……? W-Wait, explain to me too…”
Se-on asked, but Sa-on ignored. Da-on would’ve kindly explained for him to follow, but the only gentle orphan was working in Idea.
Jin Seong-ha went further.
“If Joy is the Apostle’s name… there could be others named after emotions—Sadness, Anger, Love.”
“No ‘Joy’ in seven deadly sins—so four basic emotions?”
“Maybe.”
“Hopefully not twelve like the apostles.”
Ion fiddled with Sanse leaves, pondering.
Can I give the answer here?
Everyone focused on him.
Sa-on asked,
“What do you think, our On-on? Four? Or more?”
If I say seven…
Ion hesitated, stroking Sanse.
“Seven… maybe. There’s the term ‘seven emotions’…”
Sa-on immediately searched “seven emotions” on tablet.
[Human’s seven emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, love, hatred, desire.]
“Six more Apostles. Better than twelve.”
“Looking at it, Joy feels way friendlier than Anger or Hatred. Fighting Anger or Hatred Apostle sounds suffocating; Joy Apostle feels negotiable.”
Jin Seong-ha and Sa-on accepted Ion’s guess instantly—even treated it as fact. Ion felt awkward.
They continued reasoning.
Ion didn’t join; Se-on rolled eyes trying to keep up. Ppuru with sparkling round eyes seemed to understand better.
After a while, conversation reached:
“Seven Apostles each govern an emotion. Purpose: made system, sent Breeder to raise disciples… but what’s the goal?”
“Ugh, hate thinking. Noona should’ve come instead.”
They’d deduced this far by putting heads together.
Sa-on searched “Apostle” again.
[1. Person devoted to sacred cause. 2. Twelve disciples Jesus specially chose to spread gospel.]
Jin Seong-ha said,
“If Apostles chosen to spread god’s gospel, here the gospel is ‘emotion.’”
“Makes sense. God created Apostles to spread their assigned emotion to humanity.”
Their theory:
Stuck here.
If true, “crafted story to give humans joy emotion”—contradictory.
<Hunter and Hero> tormented characters, not made them joyful.
Better reasoning than expected.
Ion was quietly impressed.
Changing “to humans” to “to god” fit reality.
But human-centric thinking was hard even for them to escape.
Should I give more hints?
Ion hesitated again.
Wanted to—but…
Apostle might notice me.
[Joy] was definitely watching nearby.
The protagonist was talking about it.
Ion bit his lip.
Sa-on noticed Ion’s trembling shoulder.
“Hey, Ion. You okay? Shivering?”
“f*ck.”
Sa-on lowered voice.
“If pushing too hard, stop. I get what you’re trying to say.”
Ah… misunderstanding.
Thinking Ion bound by something like gag contract. Struggling from backlash of too many keywords.
“Yeah. Leader, don’t strain. You don’t look good.”
“…Yes.”
Ion let the misunderstanding stand—no more to say anyway. Going further risked Apostle suspicion.
Unwanted attention could reveal he was [Sadness]’s abandoned celestial baby—trouble.
Wait.
Something odd.
If [Joy] didn’t know Ion was [Sadness]’s abandoned celestial infant…
Then memoir’s “Celestial Lost Child Returns Home”…
Really not me?
Truly not?
Thoughts jammed. Brain creaked.
“Let’s conclude: Joy-governing Apostle planned <Hunter and Hero> to give joy to god, sent Breeder.”
Jin Seong-ha’s calm voice restarted Ion’s brain.
Sa-on and Jin Seong-ha together—progress lightning fast.
With Il-on and Da-on, even smoother.
They’d reached the conclusion Ion wanted.
Now they knew most of what he did.
Jin Seong-ha even deduced from “split” in diary, identical handwriting/appearance—Breeder split from one being.
Didn’t stop there.
“Anyway, I seem central… so the occasional gaze I feel—identity roughly guessed.”
“What gaze?”
Jin Seong-ha explained the gaze hiding behind things, watching him.
No need for Ion to ask—Sa-on did.
“Now?”
“Not now. Getting craftier—not 100% sure. If owner really Apostle, good it’s not watching now.”
Ion’s heart sank.
Not good at all.
Talking about Jin Seong-ha and Apostle—yet not watching.
Meaning… watching something more important, bigger problem elsewhere.
Big incident in Idea? Or another world?
Luckily, Ion had a way to check Idea: Sage’s Mirror. Better later, not now.
“Then set a signal. Jin Seong-ha, when you feel the gaze, do this hand sign.”
Sa-on held index and middle finger together upright.
Come to think, Sa-on spoke casually to Jin Seong-ha last time too. Jin Seong-ha didn’t mind.
Sa-on always thought he was oldest.
Jin Seong-ha seemed to know and allow it.
“Detecting isn’t easy… but I’ll signal. Better have code word too. If I say ‘sloth,’ understand.”
“Why sloth?”
“I like animals, Leader likes plants—combined them.”
“Corny bastard.”
Sa-on laughed. Ion, knowing Sa-on long, recognized it as genuine amusement—not sarcasm.
They’d grown close while Ion was in Idea.
“Conclusion: Joy Apostle planned scenario for god’s joy, sent Breeder.”
Jin Seong-ha said.
Ion thought,
If only I could add ‘for god’s joy’…
But couldn’t.
Sa-on asked,
“Our On-on, what do you think? Seven? Or more?”
Ion had said seven earlier.
Now everyone stared.
If I confirm seven…
But he’d already said it.
“Seven emotions… probably seven Apostles.”
They accepted instantly.
Conversation continued without him.
Ion silent; Se-on struggling to follow. Ppuru seemed to understand better with wide eyes.
Time passed; talk reached:
“Seven Apostles each govern emotion. Purpose: system, Breeder raising disciples… but goal?”
“Ugh, hate brainwork. Noona should’ve come.”
They’d deduced this far together.
Sa-on searched “Apostle” again.
Jin Seong-ha:
“If Apostles spread god’s gospel, here gospel is ‘emotion.’”
“Makes sense. God created Apostles to spread assigned emotion.”
Theory:
Stuck.
“Give joy to humans via story”—contradictory, since story tormented characters.
Ion impressed.
Better than expected.
Changing “humans” to “god” fit.
But hard to escape human-centric view.
More hints?
Hesitated.
Wanted to—but…
Apostle might focus on me.
[Joy] definitely watching close.
Protagonist discussing it.
Ion bit lip.
Sa-on noticed trembling.
“Hey, Ion. Okay? Shivering?”
“f*ck.”
Sa-on lowered voice.
“If too much, stop. I get it.”
Misunderstanding.
Thinking gag-contract-like bind. Struggling from keyword backlash.
“Yeah. Leader, don’t push. You look bad.”
“…Yes.”
Ion let it stand—no more to say. Further risked suspicion.
Unwanted attention could reveal [Sadness]’s abandoned celestial baby—trouble.
Wait.
Odd.
If [Joy] didn’t know Ion was [Sadness]’s abandoned infant…
Then memoir “Celestial Lost Child Returns Home”…
Really not me?
Truly?
Thoughts jammed. Brain creaked.
“Let’s conclude: Joy Apostle planned <Hunter and Hero> for god’s joy, sent Breeder.”
Jin Seong-ha’s calm voice restarted Ion’s brain.
Sa-on and Jin Seong-ha together—lightning progress.
With Il-on/Da-on, smoother.
They’d reached Ion’s desired conclusion.
Now they knew most of what he did.
Jin Seong-ha deduced from “split,” identical handwriting/appearance—Breeder split from one being.
Didn’t stop.
“Anyway, I’m central… so occasional gaze—identity guessed.”
“What gaze?”
Jin Seong-ha explained gaze hiding behind things.
Ion didn’t need ask—Sa-on did.
“Now?”
“Not now. Craftier—not 100% sure. If Apostle, good it’s not watching.”
Ion’s heart sank.
Not good.
Talking Jin Seong-ha and Apostle—yet not watching.
Meaning… watching bigger problem elsewhere.
Idea big incident? Or another world?
Luckily, Ion had Idea check: Sage’s Mirror. Later, not now.
“Then set signal. Jin Seong-ha, gaze felt—do this hand sign.”
Sa-on held index/middle together upright.
Come to think, Sa-on spoke casually to Jin Seong-ha last time too. Jin Seong-ha didn’t mind.
Sa-on always thought oldest.
Jin Seong-ha seemed to know/allow.
“Detecting not easy… but I’ll signal. Code word too. Say ‘sloth,’ understand.”
“Why sloth?”
“I like animals, Leader likes plants—combined.”
“Corny bastard.”
Sa-on laughed. Ion, knowing Sa-on long, recognized genuine amusement—not sarcasm.
They’d grown close while Ion in Idea.
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, The Game of Kings is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : The Game of Kings
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂