Thoughts floated. Memories that could not align slipped away, causing noise.
Several images emerged within my hazy mind.
They were scenes that should have continued endlessly. Fragments of recollections passed through my mind like a rough chain.
My body, racing, sliced through the gaps in reality. Dozens of snake heads were directed toward me.
That was the first scene.
The subsequent memories remained sparse.
Sword and axe erupted in a rain of blood. Flesh and bone scattered with screams.
Yes, until this moment, it had been alright.
The golden trajectories and approaching tentacles burned away entirely. With Senior Delphine’s arrival, there were hardly any enemies left to hinder me.
No matter how terrifying a monster, it was just a newly born existence.
In terms of aura alone, there was no way to be a match for Senior Delphine, who was stronger than me. And just as always, she did not betray my expectations.
The next scenery that came to mind was a storm of rays surrounding my son-in-law.
This too was difficult, but I managed to overcome it. Using binding and dispelling, I bounced some rays away while scattering others. The refracted rays often collided with one another, causing countless explosions.
Above all, it was Senior Elsi’s spell, ‘Gust of Trust,’ that played a significant role.
The lightning that fell indiscriminately did not distinguish between friend and foe. Navigating through it was a hardship, yet what couldn’t even move, mere flesh, was bound to suffer more.
The sight of dozens of snake heads being electrocuted all at once was indeed spectacular.
As the current contracted their muscles, the snakes all raised their heads. They looked like sea serpents waiting for rain.
Or a bizarre symbol meant to commemorate a pagan god.
Regardless, the fact that the snake heads were incapacitated remained unchanged. I was only left with one last head.
It was Leorick.
The scenes that followed were even more fragmented.
A face morphing like charcoal sculpted by a child.
Alex and Betty.
I couldn’t bring myself to cut down either of them. The cost of the fleeting hesitation was terrifying.
A sensation struck as my abdomen was pierced.
Having endured so many penetrative wounds, I could tell.
This was a serious injury.
And losing consciousness, the place I awoke in was right here.
A dry voice created ripples.
“…What a pathetic sight.”
It was a familiar tone.
In response to the uninflected scolding, I struggled to lift my body. After encountering him a few times, I had come to understand.
That dry remark contained shades of reprimand.
Like squeezing water from a shriveled rag, it was a small, seeping emotion. Anyone who hadn’t been acquainted with him for long wouldn’t notice.
Still, the reason I could read his inner thoughts was simple.
He was me.
Blood-soaked golden eyes, black hair giving off a lonely atmosphere like a rain-soaked wolf.
The gaze looking down on me contained mockery and arrogance. It was an aura only those in an absolute position of strength could possess.
His low voice continued.
“Didn’t you say you’d protect everyone? And yet this is the result… not even funny.”
“Weren’t you the one who told me to look at the bottom?”
“Yeah, that was me.”
While he seemed to accept my point, I already knew.
He was never the kind of person to accept my assertions.
The trajectory of the life he had lived was like a scar. No matter how hard one tried to erase it, there was no way it could be eliminated. Furthermore, he likely never even thought about wanting to erase it.
It was a type of crime.
With just a single-minded desire to protect the world, it insulted all the precious beings he had cast aside countless times.
He had always claimed his path was right.
“But I never said to stir up trouble just to protect a few elves. Didn’t you see? I wrote for you to give up on the back of that letter.”
“Are you saying we should just leave that monster be? Humans and elves killing each other in misunderstanding?”
“That’s what always happens… for hundreds of years.”
His calm tone contained no sympathy or compassion.
He was a human who had lost even the emotions one should possess as a human. He wouldn’t empathize with my feelings.
“What’s a few more years gonna change? I wanted you to look at the bottom while seeing the elves. Those living there are the primary targets of the Dark Cult… inferiority complexes, defeatism, frustrations, and anger. All of those emotions become Delphrium’s prey. Furthermore, having you four among the elves would make it easy to gather information.”
The limit of my patience came around that time.
His low voice slid past my vocal cords. Heat radiated through the gaps in my clenched jaw.
“The elves of the village are not my tools… I can’t let those who don’t know how to fight act as spies?”
“For the sake of humanity, you must.”
The burden being placed on my shoulders felt all too obvious.
For a moment, my breath caught in my throat. The man’s golden pupils deepened.
“I keep saying, what you must discard, you must discard… you’re still sulking like a child. You’re whining because you lack the courage to let something go.”
“I’ve already given up quite a lot.”
For the first time, the man’s mouth was shut.
I barely controlled the emotions surging within me.
I merely added, as if chewing it over.
“Before receiving that letter, I… lost more than I could ever imagine…”
I stained my hands with blood.
I had to take the lives of Guildford, Alex, and countless others into my own hands.
Eventually, I even tossed my own body away.
Was this still not enough?
The man did not answer my queries. He merely observed my complexion that averted its gaze and threw out a remark.
“From now on, you’ll have to discard even more.”
It was a merciless piece of advice.
All I could manage was a wry smile. Come to think of it, he had always been like this.
Even if it seemed strange, there was always intent hidden beneath. At least it wasn’t in a direction that would harm me.
Yes, that was the case.
Yet, my thoughts abruptly halted as if caught on a pebble. A new question began to bloom in my mind like smoke.
Then what about this time?
“…Do I really have to give up?”
It was a simple question.
Like a criminal waiting for retrial, it seemed as if I had inadvertently become a captive of hope and was lamenting.
The man would not entertain this.
He rarely let out a scoff.
“Yeah, it’s still too early for you… You’ve even missed the last opportunity right before you.”
“Then why did you ask me to bring the imperial princess?”
A sudden silence fell in the air as the man seemed taken aback.
Once more, the dry golden gaze focused on me. I met that gaze directly and asked.
“And why did you teach that skill to Ceria? Why did you discard yet another letter?”
“What letter… what are you talking about…?”
“Empathy Percentage.”
The man’s mouth, which was attempting to play ignorant, clamped shut.
That’s right. A letter from the future cannot be touched by anyone.
Not to mention, I was the only one who could see it. Even the ‘me’ from the future could not be an exception; he had acted as if he had never seen the contents of the letter.
However, doubts began to blossom recently.
Lately, he had seemed to give advice as if he knew the content of the letter. Previously, his insights had been surface-level, but recently, that was not the case.
Especially during the time of the elves’ village, it felt as if he knew the entire situation.
This meant our senses were shared to a certain extent.
More than anything, if he could touch the letter, there was no other explanation. It wasn’t like I had drunkenly thrown it away somewhere.
“Since the empathy percentage increased, could it be that I was allowed to touch the letter? That’s why you could discard the second letter.”
The man did not respond until the end.
He was, in fact, a poet. Suddenly, my voice rose.
“What was in that letter? And why did the imperial princess and Ceria have to come to the Northern Region? Who is the old lion of Yuridina…!”
“Brat.”
With a clap, the man’s hand struck the air.
Before long, his hand revealed a bloodstained letter. I couldn’t understand the principle of where it had appeared from.
My eyes were fixated on the new clue.
It must be that letter. The item that was in the torn empty envelope.
And the moment I carelessly took a step forward.
The world tilted.
It felt as if I might faint. My legs weakened, preventing me from walking properly. A sharp headache hammered against my skull like a bird pecking on a tree fruit.
It was now time to regain consciousness.
Amid my swirling vision, the man’s voice mixed in.
“Sometimes, not knowing can be a good story. You’re still far from shouldering all the burdens.”
Stop talking nonsense.
I’m not a child that you need to protect.
Even though I wanted to say that, my body wouldn’t listen. Instead, as I wobbled, I fell forward, and meeting the man’s gaze became a struggle.
I could only spit out a few broken words amidst my hazy consciousness.
It was a voice that couldn’t even form language.
“I am not… you…”
And my consciousness went dark.
When I opened my eyes, I was in a dim room.
My sight relied solely on a feeble light. My eyes, slowly opening, had finally accepted the light for the first time in what felt like ages.
How long had I been lying down?
It was an elegant bedroom. It seemed that Senior Delphine had guarded me and retreated to Yuridina Castle until the end.
She was truly an impressive woman, no matter how many times I looked at her.
I still couldn’t believe the fact that I had spent the first night with such a woman.
As my senses gradually returned, I had to experience a strange sensation.
A gaze keenly observing my lower half.
Not even realizing that I had awakened, a pair of pink eyes were fixated around my groin.
And then, hands attempted to reach out, only to draw back.
It was a comically unholy sight for a saintess.
As soon as I regained consciousness, I had to swallow.
“…What are you doing?”
“Eek!”
The saintess nearly toppled backwards in shock.
Her eyes, mixed with embarrassment and confusion, turned to me. She then began to ramble nonsense.
“I-Ian! You’re awake? So, um, about that… I-I absolutely! Absolutely wasn’t trying to commit sexual assault! You know that, right? I-I’m a saintess!”
Seeing the woman mumbling with a tearful expression, I was certain.
I had returned.
In the end, without defeating Leorick.
It was a grim homecoming.
Seeing the bright-red face of the saintess, there lingered a fleeting thought that it was somehow all good.
But it turned out I was not the only one waiting for my return.
A shocking piece of news awaited me.
Accompanied by a bloodied letter envelope adorning one corner of my bedside.
