Chapter 114

How many days have passed since we entered the world of trials?

“Haah…”

“Umm…”

We still had not found any clues regarding what the trial required from us.

At first, I thought that it would be fine to just pass the time, and that we would eventually figure it out, but as days went by without finding anything, that thought began to fade.

It seemed that we needed to learn something to even start worrying, but without any information, we were unable to think at all.

However…

‘This is fun.’

Living in this world was incredibly enjoyable.

Although it was just a matter of how others perceived it, being in a romantic relationship with Aria… and even though this wasn’t the world we lived in, we could all enjoy our time together.

“What’s up with you two?”

Stella, who had been quietly observing us, asked reluctantly.

Uriel was also looking at me and Aria with a concerned expression.

“Hmm…”

I wondered if they might know something.

It would be a good idea to ask them once, as there might be meanings we weren’t aware of.

With that thought in mind, I asked Stella.

“Do you know what wisdom means?”

“…If you don’t know what it means, I’m a bit worried.”

Stella responded as if she found it hard to believe.

…

To be honest, I felt the same way.

At first, they referred to it as the trial of wisdom, so I thought it would be some kind of trial where we needed to solve problems, but that was far from the truth.

How could anyone accept this as a trial when we were thrown into an entirely different world without any information?

The place where we fell right after saying we would begin the trial from the dungeon was just this, so I only thought it was a part of the trial.

If it wasn’t, I might have thought we had completely fallen into a different world.

“So? What do you think?”

“Well… the term wisdom does have various meanings, but the basic meaning is the ability to understand and judge something.”

“…”

If that’s the case, this trial we are facing makes even less sense.

Where on earth is the element of having the ability to understand and judge anything in this situation?

“In other meanings, it could refer to being wise and solvent. The ability to control emotions and bring public interest and peace? It describes a kind of virtue that allows for proper judgment and reasoning.”

Stella mumbled as she looked up the definition on her smartphone, realizing there were indeed deeper meanings.

‘Proper judgment and reasoning… emotional control… public interest… peace…’

Hearing that, I started to feel as though I had a grasp on what this trial might be demanding.

‘Could it be…’

Even though I thought that might not be the case, it was hard to dismiss my current line of thought.

There were various things about wisdom, but it was stated to refer to a prudent mind capable of making correct judgments about the current situation, controlling emotions, and creating public good or peace… such a mind that could reach conclusions.

I wasn’t sure if this was indeed what the trial required.

If I had known that, I wouldn’t have struggled from the start.

However, one thing was certain.

‘I don’t want to leave this world…’

I know that this place isn’t the real world.

Still, what I want, and what Aria wants.

Even though we weren’t the two people we used to know, Stella and Uriel, too… in this world where everyone is having a good time…

Throwing off the obligation of having to defeat the demon king, being able to be friends made this world incredibly sweet.

It was only natural, for this world was a paradise for all of us.

*

Even if I felt I had a clue, it wasn’t easy to figure out how to act right away.

If anything, it made things only more confusing.

It didn’t even precisely state what the trial of wisdom was demanding; I was only barely catching a tail…

In other words, I had just grasped a clue.

I wasn’t even sure if this was the right clue, but if it wasn’t, there was nothing else that came to mind, so I clung to it in desperation.

Sitting in the same spot as a week ago… after wandering around the city all day, I explained everything to Aria.

What kind of assumptions I had made, and what conclusions I had reached.

“Hmm…”

After I finished explaining everything, Aria was silent for a while.

I wasn’t sure if what I had said was correct, but I thought it was better to share in case it stirred some conversation.

I didn’t say it like it was an enormous revelation.

It was difficult to remember, but the simple act of recalling something signified it wasn’t a particularly hard story.

This world was like a paradise filled with our wishes, and the trial of wisdom posed to us was whether we would abandon all of this and leave to fulfill our obligations as heroes and saints.

I asked Aria if that was the kind of trial the dungeon was trying to present.

Aria didn’t answer for a while.

Did she think that my guess was surprisingly on point, or did she believe I was talking nonsense and was rejecting it?

Having shared everything, I sat quietly, waiting for Aria’s response.

“Indeed… since it’s the trial of wisdom, it’s not impossible that it could have been presented in that way.”

“That means…”

“Yes. If it weren’t, I wouldn’t be able to see it with my own eyes and hear it with my own ears like this.”

“…”

I wanted to tell Aria that it wasn’t like that, but I felt saying that would render everything I had shared meaningless.

I nodded silently.

“Is that so… would the trial require us to give up everything in this world and decide to return to the original world to face the demon king?”

“…I’m not sure about that either.”

The act of making such a determination itself was an incredibly challenging task.

With respect to the obligations I bore… and the people remaining in the original world, all those are important to me, but when asked if I wanted to leave this place, I found it hard to answer immediately.

While there might be hardships here of its own, at least for me, there was no place as enjoyable as this.

Most people born enjoy proper education, and even I, who lived in a world of magic, would find it very comfortable to indulge in things that might seem trivial and take for granted… where no one dies and everyone lives peacefully.

It was entirely different from a world where everyone struggled for survival, where death was rampant.

I sometimes thought this place might be one of the worlds aspiring towards the ideal society everyone seeks.

But I knew.

Such a world cannot exist.

“What do you think about this world, Aria?”

“This world… so you mean the place we’re in right now.”

“Yeah.”

What would Aria think?

Perhaps she was seriously considering that we should return to the original world. She had always displayed such demeanor, so no matter how much she could see and hear and didn’t need to sacrifice herself, would she still think such a world lacked meaning and yearn to return to the original world?

That’s what I thought.

I imagined she would definitely tell me not to say such nonsense and insist that we should aim to return to the original world.

However,

“Well…”

Aria turned her head slightly with a faint smile.

“Aria…?”

I opened my eyes wide.

I thought she would answer right away, so why…

As she said that…

“I’d like to stay here a bit longer…”

She had a look that expressed she didn’t want to return to the original world.

‘That’s unexpected.’

Is she really a hero?

Even though it’s only been a week since I started grasping what this trial might mean and it’s starting to take shape, it seemed that I would figure it out soon even without providing specific hints.

Well… when I first entered, I really had no idea, but upon taking a proper look, I found that there was a “Find the Differences” activity that depicted a place similar to this world.

I never expected that the “Find the Differences” game would transform into entering the world directly like this… but if the trial was as I knew it, then what the dungeon demanded was to confirm whether I could engage in a fight against the demon king while abandoning what I possess, to test my resolve.

It could be seen as slightly different from a trial of courage to check whether I had the courage to confront the demon king… and whether I could overcome the fear of the unknown.

That was a relief, at least.

‘What’s the rush to leave already?’

Since time isn’t flowing anyway, I thought I’d rest here for a while longer before heading out.

It felt like I hadn’t even reached a conclusion yet, so perhaps I should give myself more time to think things through.

I smiled inwardly as I gazed at Evan’s face, which I had never properly seen until I came to this world.