Chapter 178 : Chapter 178

Chapter 178: Confession

“If ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍you’ve come to your senses, stop lying there and get up.”

At ‍​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍the familiar and irritating voice, I snapped open the eyes I had closed.

What ‍​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍entered my sight was pitch-black darkness and a crude rock wall whose outline was faintly visible.

In ‍​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍other words, the flame that had been charging toward me as if it would burn out my eyes until just now had vanished, and the room where the two suspicious people had been talking had disappeared too.

Then ‍​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍had I been dreaming until just now?

“I ‍​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​‍said get up if you’re awake. Did you finally go deaf?”

When I raised my body, cold sweat rolled down my forehead.

The moment one of them reached out in that empty space, flames had burst out, so at least one of the two had to be Imperial Family.

And considering the content of that conversation, that Imperial Family member was definitely......

“I said get up?”

Why had he been telling me to get up or not get up since earlier?

I was about to confirm the owner of the voice interfering with my thoughts when the sensation of my body being lifted like a radish being pulled from the ground nearly made me bite my tongue.

“Ugh...... What?”

When I raised my gaze in surprise, my eyes met the bastard who had grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and lifted me.

Cold golden eyes, golden eyes shining in the darkness. Their owner was, needless to say, Ratel.

Why is this bastard here?

I checked my surroundings once more, but as expected, there was not even a trace of the corridor where I had been standing until just now.

There were only natural formations around me, made as rocks overlapped and were carved away according to nature’s flow.

I wondered if I had dreamed it, but everything had been far too vivid to be called a dream.

“This seems like the orc burrow. Am I right?”

When I asked after regaining my composure, Ratel furrowed his brow.

“It’s the orc burrow. Though it doesn’t seem real.”

The bastard, who kindly answered despite looking as if he had chewed something foul, set me down as if tossing me, then crossed his arms and stepped back.

At any rate, it was the orc burrow.

Seeing as he had regained consciousness first, perhaps Ratel had also confirmed the two people.

“Did you see it too?”

When I asked directly, without any time to probe, Ratel, who had been standing there with a subtle expression, soon nodded.

“Yes. I saw it clearly too.”

“Did you confirm those two faces?”

When I asked hurriedly, the bastard frowned.

“Two?”

Only then did I realize that he and I were not talking about the same thing.

With his expression growing even more fierce, the bastard uncrossed his arms and straightened his posture.

“What two? Were they people? Or the Imperial Family?”

“No, I couldn’t see that, so I asked you...... Wait, then what did you see until now?”

As I came back to my senses and asked in the middle of answering obediently, the bastard rolled his eyes.

“I’m asking what you saw so clearly.”

When I asked again, the bastard, whose fierce air had diminished somewhat, gestured with his chin behind me.

“I meant that I saw your face get stepped on by orcs quite a few times.”

What?

It did not take long to understand that bloody content.

THUD!! THUD!!

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD!!

-Kkweeeek!!!

The ground rumbled, and the ceiling shook.

It was not a sound one or two could make.

The cries of orcs and the sound of footsteps were enough to make my brain hurt.

Even while I looked around in confusion, the sound grew louder and louder.

Before long, dozens of orcs appeared with a cloud of dust.

-Kkweeeek!!!!

The frenzied bastards charged toward me.

As I looked around for somewhere to dodge, my eyes caught Ratel, who had somehow opened more distance from me and was standing far away.

When did that bastard get all the way over there?

While a faint sense of betrayal raised its head, the swarm of orcs had already reached right in front of me.

But there was no accident where the bastards and I collided.

Of course, I was not sent flying, nor was I kicked by their feet and turned into pulp.

Because all dozens of orcs passed straight through me.

When I looked at Ratel again, he shrugged with a calm face.

“I told you I was watching your face get trampled.”

“......How many times did this repeat while I was lying down?”

“Well, about ten times?”

The bastard, who confidently confessed that he had watched someone else’s face get stepped on ten times, approached me.

“So, did watching that make you feel a little better?”

“No. Maybe because you weren’t actually stepped on, it wasn’t all that satisfying.”

Before the words saying he would personally mess up my face with his own hands came out of the bastard’s mouth, I struck first.

“You said it repeated ten times. What’s the cycle?”

“Before wondering about something like that, don’t you still have something to explain to me?”

But this time, the bastard did not seem inclined to take my circumstances into account.

I knew.

I had been prepared for the fact that we could not simply let this matter pass, and that the bastard would need reasons he could accept.

Though I had not been prepared to face him without even having time to prepare.

As expected, people reaped what they sowed.

If I had known I would meet him again this soon, I would not have done something as cowardly as mentioning his brother in front of him...... Yes, even if I had known, I would have done it.

Now it was time to harvest the fruit of the seed I had sown.

I could gloss over it if I wanted to, but......

“Fine. I really can’t run away anymore now.”

“What does that mean?”

The bastard reacted sharply to my mutter.

Even if he did not put me on edge like that, I really did intend to answer honestly this time.

“......First, killing the leader was just a gamble.”

“A gamble?”

“Yes. What kind of gamble it was is something you’ll naturally learn once we get out of here, so let’s set that aside for now.”

I pointed in the direction the orc swarm had disappeared.

“For now, I think following those bastards comes first.”

“Does that mean you know how to get out of here?”

Well, something like that.

When I nodded, Ratel opened and closed his mouth several times, let out a sigh, then repeatedly opened and closed his mouth again as if he had something more to say.

Even though he probably had plenty he wanted to question me right away, escape or not.

Instead of threatening to pull out my tongue if I did not explain why I had spoken as if I knew his brother so well, Ratel walked past me with an expression that said he was displeased to death.

Surprised by his reaction, which was more obedient than expected, I followed behind him.

***

The farther we followed behind the orc swarm, the more the terrain gradually began to look familiar.

“This is where I was pushed along the first time.”

When I muttered while looking around, Ratel stopped walking for a moment.

“Are you taking the shortcut again this time?”

The bastard, who had kept his mouth firmly shut until now, spoke for the first time in a while.

“Yes. And this time, I’m walking there with my own feet.”

At my strong assertion that this time, I would not be carried in the hand of a mad horse like him, the bastard clicked his tongue.

“What? Did you think I’d risk biting my tongue to death and let you carry me?”

“That wouldn’t have happened in the first place if you hadn’t tried to deceive people and run away.”

Trying to run away was half true, deceiving him was true, and being caught trying to deceive him one more time was true too, so I closed my mouth.

But just because my words stopped did not mean my feet could stop too.

Our advance in silence continued.

The silence continued until we reached the cliff Ratel had climbed with one hand while holding me like luggage.

Before another meaningless argument could begin, I quickly climbed the wall.

Ratel glanced at me once, then soon passed beside me at a frightening speed and climbed up onto the cliff.

The bastard sat down with a thud as if to show off and looked down at me.

Fine. If watching me struggle helps you feel better, do as you like.

Fortunately, it was not harder than climbing in the real world.

The rocks embedded in the wall were not very different from the real world either, so they were easy to step on.

Come to think of it, there were not many things that were very different.

The pillars that had served as markers at the fork just now were not very different from the real world either.

As I compared the real world and this place in my head, a strange sense of déjà vu brushed past me.

But before I could uncover the cause of that déjà vu, Ratel’s voice fell above my head.

“Since when did you know?”

“......Know what?”

Even though my question came one beat late because I was stretching out my arm, the bastard, who had been silent for a long while, answered as if muttering.

“That I was overlapping you with my brother.”

At the words admitting that he had been overlapping me with his lost family, I nearly slipped.

That is being far too honest.

“......When you jumped off the boat after me. Common sense says there’s no reason to go that far to save me.”

“You must have worked hard pretending not to know for that long.”

Letting the bastard’s sulky remark pass in one ear, I did not stop climbing up.

“It must have been funny when I told you to say save me too.”

This time, at the self-mockery I could not let pass, I looked upward.

I remembered when the bastard was talking.

Because I had also regretted realizing that what I had thought was just a fight of pride was something he had wanted to hear from his brother.

By the way, how broken did that bastard think my personality was, for him to think I would make something like that into a laughingstock?

“There are so many funny things in the world, so why would something like that be funny?”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?”

His face was hard to see, hidden by the darkness.

Though his voice alone was calm.

Well, since I had decided to be honest, whether the bastard got angry or not, this time too I decided to say exactly what I thought.

“Because there wouldn’t have been anything good about saying it.”

“Why wouldn’t there have been? If you’d told me earlier, I would’ve......”

Perhaps because his emotions had grown intense, the bastard raised his voice, then trailed off.

“You would’ve what? You would’ve tried to separate me from your brother by searching for my bad points, or you would’ve tried to distort the brother in your memories.”

There was a high chance he would have chosen the former in the end.

“I just thought I’d leave soon, and then naturally, there would be no reason for you to overlap me with your brother anymore.”

Of course, the bigger reason was that I did not want to make myself uncomfortable by saying something unnecessary until then, but I was not so tactless that I would say that honestly.

“At any rate, what I’m saying is that I never made fun of you. It was just uncomfortable.”

“......”

“And I held back until now because I thought you’d get hurt, but most of the things you say aren’t funny enough for me to even call them funny.”

Especially the jokes. They really did not suit my taste.

Though they might have contained sincerity that I desperately wished had been jokes.

“It seems you’ve built up a lot of complaints until now.”

After a short silence, a sarcastic voice spoke from above.

“There won’t be anything to make you uncomfortable from now on. The things you’re worried about won’t happen either.”

“That’s enough. Just do as you please.”

“What are you telling me to do as I please?”

“Do as you please, whether you think of your brother when you see me or not. We have to travel together from now on whether I like it or not, so how can I worry about every little thing like that? Ah, I don’t mean really do whatever you want. I mean don’t force anything until you accept it. If we spend time together, you’ll naturally learn that I’m a different person from your brother.”

Now only two more steps would get me there.

I reached out and continued speaking.

“Anyway, other than our hair color and age, we probably don’t have anything in common.”

At that moment, a rough force snatched my wrist.

Before I could come to my senses at the feeling of my eye level and field of vision changing at once, this time a voice came from in front of me.

Ratel, who had lifted me with one hand, was standing in front of me this time.

I briefly marveled at his ignorant strength, then glanced down, and the distance below was dizzying.

I had thought he was just waiting first to annoy me, but had he been watching me climb slowly for this?

Thinking that I had trusted Ratel far more than I myself realized, I opened my mouth.

“Even if you drop me from here, you won’t kill me. This isn’t the real world.”

“I can repeat this as many times as I want.”

Yes, even if it did not kill me, if it could make me suffer, it was enough of a threat.

It was not as if I would be pleased to receive torture like that for a long time either.

“I think I roughly know what you want to hear. You’re asking why I’m talking like I know your brother so well, right?”

When I saved him the trouble of saying it himself, Ratel silently stared at me, affirming it.

Like it or not, I had to be with Ratel’s group from now on.

Then how long would trivial lies maintain the relationship between the bastard and me?

How far would this damned bastard, who did not listen to anyone’s words in the slightest, follow the words of someone he could not trust?

“......I know the things you went through.”

In the end, I decided to speak one very small truth.

Since the contents of the original work had become this twisted, the fixed ending no longer held meaning for the bastard, and it was too late for me to pull out.

“I know the things you were supposed to go through in the future too. What trials you would face, what people you would meet, what conclusions you would reach. Everything.”

I took one deep breath and opened my mouth again.

“Because I read your entire life.”