Chapter 193 : Chapter 193

Chapter 193: Confession (3)

The ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍rogue who threw the door open without knocking narrowed his eyes as he looked between me and the open window.

“What? ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Didn’t you go with Jing?”

When ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍I quickly changed the subject, Ratel, who stood at the door, tilted his head crookedly.

“You’re ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍confessing like this that you were pretending to sleep.”

“I’m ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍a light sleeper.”

At ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍my excuse, the bastard raised one corner of his mouth as crookedly as his posture.

“What a joke. You don’t even know Ria dropped you once while moving you on the way here.”

What? What happened?

Thanks to using my power several times on the island, I had fallen asleep as if fainting, but to think I hadn’t even known I rolled across the floor.

My whole body had already been aching anyway, so rolling across the floor a few times probably hadn’t made much difference.

“You caught me.”

When I admitted it obediently, Ratel straightened his posture with an unexpected expression.

The bastard entered the room and approached the bedside table with the candlestick, perhaps to light the room.

“I’m trying to be as honest as possible right now. I’m sorry I pretended to sleep. I wanted to be alone for a moment.”

At my obedient apology, Ratel, who had lit the candle, shook his head slightly.

“It doesn’t matter. Ria dropping you was a lie too.”

“......Right. It’s nice that we’re being honest with each other.”

If we were any more honest, harsh words would be exchanged between us, so this level of honesty seemed just right.

For me to confess my identity, and for the bastard to accept the truth.

“Did Jing follow Ria alone?”

“There shouldn’t be any need for me to follow too. You didn’t want to tell the others yet either, did you?”

I could not know whether this had really been discussed with Jing, but he was right.

How much I should tell Jing and Ria, whose brainwashing had not yet properly been undone, was something I needed to think about a little more.

Perhaps it would be better if they never knew for the rest of their lives.

While I was feeling relieved, Ratel lit the candle.

The candlelight flickering in the wind blowing in through the window illuminated Ratel’s face.

The bastard slowly opened his mouth.

“Then there’s no one listening now, so explain properly. What do you mean when you say you read my whole life?”

I felt my mouth dry, but now that I had come this far, I could no longer just gloss things over with lies.

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.

“......It means exactly what I said. I know the things you went through.”

Starting with that very small truth, the confession began flowing out more smoothly than I had expected.

Has telling the truth ever felt this much easier than lying?

“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.”

Ratel furrowed his brow as if he could not understand my words.

“You keep saying you read it, but what does that mean? Are you saying there was a prophecy?”

It was something similar to a prophecy.

“Similar. I read something that had your entire story written in it. In a world completely different from this one.”

***

Explaining a world where neither the Imperial Family, nor powers like magic, nor monsters existed took a short time, and explaining that for reasons I did not know, ordinary me, who had been living in that world, had crossed over here took a slightly longer time.

Ratel, who had waited silently until I finished speaking, brought out his first question.

“Then where is the original prince?”

“The highest probability is that he’s inside my body in the world I live in. The owner of this body definitely existed in the book too.”

“Who wrote that book in the first place, how did they know, and why on earth did they write it down?”

I had no choice but to think for a moment about this question.

I could set the rest aside, but the very last question caught me.

The intention of a fantasy novel author.

There was no way it could be anything other than entertainment.

“......Some people in my world. I’ve never met them myself, so I don’t know the method.”

I knew this answer was quite far from my resolve to tell the truth.

But this, at least, was something I thought there would be nothing good in saying.

That this entire world the bastard was living in was a world inside a novel.

Saying that everything he had experienced until now was nothing more than an illusion made by an author was far too cruel a thing to reveal to a person inside a book.

It was better to answer ambiguously, so he would think of me as something like an alien from a slightly higher-dimensional world.

“......In the world you lived in, are the lives of everyone in this world organized like that?”

“Maybe. But the only one I read was yours.”

For all I knew, the author of the book might have written other side stories alone, or passed them to an editor only for them to never be published as books.

In other words, there might exist writings with some other person among the countless people in the book as the protagonist.

At my answer that I knew only his story, Ratel fell silent for a moment, then opened his mouth again.

“For someone who knows the future, you seem to struggle a lot.”

“That can’t be helped. For many reasons, things have changed a lot from the original future.”

Most of them were because of me, but this was not a good time to say even that.

“It seems that book isn’t all that absolute either.”

Ratel said that in a slightly relieved voice.

I obediently nodded.

“Right. So there’s no fixed fate for you from now on either.”

Ratel looked at me with a complicated expression.

The bastard was accepting my words more quietly and obediently than I had expected.

I thought he would hold a knife to my throat like before.

“Why are you suddenly telling me everything?”

Still, perhaps suspicion did arise, because the bastard brought out a late question.

“I said there were parts that diverged from the future I know, right? Dito growing his power too quickly is one of them. That means the situation is too urgent to let your stubbornness or suspicion waste time. It would be troublesome if Dito gained power first and you died.”

“That much was something I was prepared for.”

“The others probably aren’t. You’re not the only one who dies now.”

At my firm answer, the bastard closed his mouth.

The mention of others dying would probably bother him more than the mention of himself dying.

Because Ratel was that kind of bastard.

A human who knew the value of other people’s lives a little better than he knew the value of his own.

“I’m not saying this to chip away at your pride. I’m telling you reality. Dito will sacrifice the other members of the Imperial Family in the Imperial Court and gain even greater power. Whether you can catch up to that speed is the point of victory.”

It was quite a humiliating thing to say, but Ratel did not get angry.

“You need to grow quickly. Faster and more accurately than your original pace. For that, you’ll need the knowledge I have about the future, and my power.”

“That’s some incredible confidence.”

“I came from another world and even know the future, so making you stronger should be no trouble.”

When I showed confidence with its own basis, Ratel twisted his mouth slightly.

“Did you just laugh at me?”

“Of course not. You are a harder-to-believe existence than this world’s god.”

Does it end up like that?

Well, the reason I did not feel this world’s god was godlike was ultimately because I had been dragged in from an outside world.

Because I was an alien existence that did not suit this world.

From my perspective, the existence of God was similar to a demon in a foreign horror movie released in a theater in Korea.

You could call it the alienation that came from differences in the environment one had lived in.

From the perspective of someone in this world, I would probably be the same.

Then does that mean I’m the demon role to that bastard?

“Wow, that’s really creepy.”

When I grimaced at the cringe-inducing comparison that flashed through my head, Ratel looked at me with a puzzled face.

“No, it’s nothing. At any rate, I’m telling you everything only to help you, and to help myself. I also felt quite keenly this time that a liar can’t be trusted.”

After being hit in the back of the head a few times by that Imperial Family bastard pretending to be a child, even I had realized some things.

“This isn’t an opportunity that comes every time, so ask if you have anything else to ask. I’ll answer as honestly as possible.”

As if organizing his thoughts, the bastard was silent for a while.

When enough time passed for five more drops of candle wax to fall, Ratel opened his mouth.

“If everything you said is true, then the current me seems no better than the me in the life you read. So why are you still saying you’ll help me?”

I looked at Ratel, who was quite talkative today, for a moment.

“I told you. I’ve watched you for a very long time.”

For a length of time similar to the bastard’s life, I had read the book where he appeared as the protagonist.

From an elementary school kid who had no money and wandered around public libraries, until I became an office worker nearing thirty.

“If you see yourself save the world more than a hundred times, you won’t be able to avoid helping yourself either.”

I was too embarrassed to say it directly, but it meant the period during which this deficient bastard had been a hero to me had been that long.

After saying it, I felt a little embarrassed and quickly moved toward the door.

“Is that all your questions? Then shall we slowly go out and follow Jing and Ria?”

It was the moment I grabbed the doorknob to go outside.

“So you’re saying...... you aren’t the real owner of that body, and you aren't the Imperial Family either.”

The bastard’s uncharacteristically small voice caught me.

When I turned back to look at Ratel, the bastard was standing there with a complicated face.

Seeing how he was not even looking this way, it did not seem like he had asked a question.

It was more like a mutter he was repeating to himself.

“Why? Are you disappointed? Because I’m just an ordinary person with nothing to do with the Imperial Family?”

His gaze, which had been fixed on the floor, turned toward me.

I had said it like a joke, but a little sincerity was mixed in too.

Because now, it would have become awkward for him to freely resent me for being Imperial Family.

“What are you going to do if I say yes?”

In the end, that was no different from saying he really was disappointed, so I shrugged.

“What am I going to do? You’ll just have to accept it.”

“If you’re going to give such a bland answer, why did you even ask in the first place?”

Perhaps irritated by my dull answer, the bastard demanded.

“Whether you feel disappointed alone or not, that won’t make me the real 7th Prince. I’m telling you to make a smarter choice than wasting time using me as an object of resentment.”

“And what is that smarter choice?”

“It means putting aside the personal aversion for a while and sucking me dry of what’s useful. Things getting this tangled can’t be helped.”

In the end, it meant he should shut up and listen well to me, but seeing as no sarcasm or curses returned, it seemed the bastard did not particularly have a complaint about my opinion.

“Right. It can’t be helped.”

After muttering that, the bastard pinched the nearly burned-down candle wick between his fingers and extinguished the flame.

Right before it went out, on Ratel’s face illuminated by the candle’s final struggle, there was a faint smile.

No, did I see it wrong?

There was no way to confirm it again.

I did not have the will to do so either, but the sound coming from downstairs announced the end of this conversation.

BANG!

It was a thunderous sound that made it impossible to tell whether it was the sound of a door opening or the door falling off.

***

“Ratel, pack your things and come down! Lord Ran, can you walk?”

“Ran, tell us if you can’t walk! I can carry you properly this time!”

Thanks to Jing and Ria rushing in, the quiet house grew noisy in an instant.

When Ratel and I went down the stairs, Jing approached us in one stride and looked us over.

“Did nothing happen to either of you? No one came while we were gone, did they? You did not open the door either, did you?”

Then he poured out questions as if Ratel and I were four-year-old children.

“Jing, do you know what you’re saying right now?”

“If someone had picked the lock and come in, we’d be in a position where we should be more worried about the other party.”

When Ratel and I answered in order, only then did Jing seem to calm down, and he cleared his throat.

“Ahem. I was a little excited. At this age, I saw something that strained my heart......”

What happened for him to be that shaken?

If Jing was reacting like that, then whatever it was, it had to be something serious.

Idan, who was not here, was probably involved too.

“Did Idan try to inform the Temple of our existence?”

When I asked, Jing and Ria looked at each other as if deciding who would answer.

“No, that’s not it.”

Ria, who had pushed her robe back, opened her mouth.

Contrary to my expectation that she would look a little depressed, Ria’s expression after taking off her robe was bright.

Even with a bruise on one eye.

“Were you hit?”

“How many times did you hit him?”

When Ratel and I asked at the same time, Ria hurriedly waved her hands.

“I wasn’t hit and I didn’t hit anyone. This is just from bumping into something on the way out.”

“It would be best to explain the details while packing.”

Jing suggested to Ria, who was speaking incoherently.

“Ah, right! We ran here because of that!”

Only then remembering it, Ria hurriedly moved toward the stairs.

“We need to run away quickly! Soon, the Temple people will search the whole village for what the villagers took. If we don’t run now, we don’t know when another chance will come.”

If Idan didn’t sell us out, then why are the Temple people attacking?

When I asked with my eyes as we climbed the stairs together, Ria quickly continued her explanation with an “oops” face.

“Right now, there’s a whole mess happening in the Temple.”

It was not particularly helpful in understanding the situation.

***

Just as Jing had expected, Idan was standing blankly alone inside the room.

As if startled by the sudden intrusion, his eyes were wide open, and in his hand was a thick ledger.

Several things that looked older than it were rolling near his feet, so Ria could guess why the room had been quiet.

And what that meant.

Ria approached Idan and opened one of the ledgers sprawled across the floor.

What was recorded in scrawled handwriting were the villagers’ births and deaths.

Records to check whether the villagers had paid tribute on time.

“What did you want to confirm?”

At Ria’s cold voice, Idan’s body flinched.

Instead of listening for an answer, Ria checked the part Idan had been tracing with his finger.

It was her own name.

Thick ink lines covered her name, which had not even been marked as dead.

The carelessness was enough to make a hollow laugh escape.

“They could have just marked me dead. What is this?”

At the self-mocking laugh, Idan looked at Ria.

“......The rest of them are all like this too. Whether recent or old.”

“Because they were people who would never return. They wouldn’t be able to collect tribute from them anymore.”

At Ria’s cold answer, Idan bit his lip.

“Seeing how they’re not marked dead, it might just be a mark that they left the village......”

“Do you really think that? It also means not a single one of them ever returned to the village.”

Cutting off Idan’s words, Ria quickly turned the pages of the ledger.

“When I think about it, it is strange. The fact that not a single person returned to their hometown, and the Temple people who erased their names right away as if that was only natural.”

Ria closed the dusty book and placed it into Idan’s arms.

“Believe whatever you want to believe. The Lucha Competition will disappear soon anyway. One or two times at most. However many times it happens, the winner will definitely die.”

Until they were certain the holy object no longer ate people, they would continue the Lucha Competition.

Until then, they would keep calling in winners like emergency rations, and when they were no longer useful, kill them repeatedly.

Idan, who had been listening to Ria’s words while pale-faced, opened his mouth.

“......How can we stop it?”

“What else is there besides pretending to be dead and running away? Like I did. There’s nothing we can do against the Temple.”

At the cold advice, Idan’s eyes lit up.

He gripped the record sheet until his hands turned white and looked at Jing and Ria.

“That doesn’t mean we can just let this pass.”

Ria thought that a small ember seemed to rise in those eyes that looked calm at a glance.

***

“Idan knew quite a few things while working under the priests until now. Things like the place where the tribute collected to hold the Lucha Competition is kept. He scattered all of it in the middle of the prayer gathering, so now the Temple is in chaos.”

“The timing was appropriate. For such a thing to happen in the middle of the priest’s sermon.”

“Haha, right. The moment he said, ‘He shows mercy to the people of Abalan!’ money started raining from the sky. Who wouldn’t lose their senses?”

Perhaps just remembering it was funny, because Ria burst into laughter.

“Are you saying the people picked it all up? The priests must have stopped them.”

At my question, Ria, with an “oops” face, moved the hand she had stopped for a moment again.

“They tried. Before that, Jing and I shoved through the people and ran outside. Then the villagers followed us out in a frenzy too. Of course, there might be some people left to help the priests. Idan, who shamelessly slipped in among the people, stayed there too.”

Perhaps because thinking of Idan complicated her feelings again, Ria’s laughter faded.

“He still doesn’t seem to think the deaths of the people were the will of Great Emperor Sierra. He didn’t seem to believe in the existence of the holy object yet either. He said it must be something the Temple did on its own. Well, at any rate, he said he’d stay here and do what he has to do. If the Lucha Competition is held again, this time he’ll become the winner and help people escape.”

“The one thing he’s excellent at is self-justification.”

Ratel, who had finished packing and came down, spoke as if amused.

“Still, thanks to that, I can leave feeling relieved. Now let’s hurry out. Soon, the Temple people will search the whole village to recover what the villagers took.”

Ria, who had thrown Idan’s house door wide open, gestured for us to hurry outside.

After Jing, Ratel, and I went out, Ria took one last look at the inn that had been Idan’s and her home, then closed the door.

With steps that had become much lighter, she and we left the village behind and hurried along the road.