Chapter 119

“Ugh…”

Have I awakened…?

‘Something… I feel like I just had an incredibly long dream…’

Looking back at what happened, I remember at least some of it, if not everything. It seems my previous musings about the trial feeling like a dream after it was over weren’t lies after all.

Not just me, but Stella, Uriel, and Evan were also slowly getting up, as if they had just awakened.

“What happened…”

“Ugh… My body… It doesn’t hurt…?”

“…”

Everyone looked around at their bodies as they woke up.

It seems due to the ancient technology or something, my last memory was falling from a great height, yet when I wake up, I have no injuries at all.

All that’s left is…

‘I can’t see…’

In my dreams, everything was clearly visible in front of me.

Now I can’t see anything, and even the sounds of objects are completely gone.

It’s made me realize once again that the reason I can hear their voices is because I can read the flowing thoughts.

I could tell how comfortable I was in that dream, and how I had spent such a dreamy time.

The desire to return to that dream world already creeping in can’t just be my imagination.

…

Talking about dreams, I suppose some might say.

If one couldn’t escape that world forever, wouldn’t it rather be better to live there until we grew old and died? Of course, if one were to settle down in that world without ever knowing a way out of the trials or without the intention to defeat the Demon King, it would indeed be correct to say they would live there forever.

Yet, ultimately, wouldn’t I be unable to return to the way things were?

Living there for a lifetime and dying wouldn’t change anything at all.

The world without the Hero and the Saint would eventually be destroyed by the invading Demon King Army.

For example, if I could lead all of humanity into a world without pain, separation, or conflict where everyone could live happily, how many people would actually accept that? That’s where the blind spot lies.

There would certainly be people who find happiness there.

Though, as a movie once mentioned, humanity living in such a world eventually went mad and all died.

In the end, nothing will change.

More than anything…

‘If I stay there as Evan’s girlfriend, I’d probably marry him and have kids!’

I was originally a guy.

It’s already frustrating enough to have entered this reality created based on a game in this absurd body; how could I possibly live a life of marriage and children, laughing and growing old there?

Don’t say something so nonsensical.

I will definitely go back.

My goals are far more important than dreaming about that.

I didn’t go through a year and a half of fun—no, torment—just to end up in a bad ending!

‘A dream…’

Now that I think about it, it does feel very dreamlike.

I was definitely with Evan at the end though.

In that Ferris wheel…

‘Did I tell my story?’

I wonder why I chose to remain in the trial, even though I could have ended it sooner.

I might have revealed my true feelings inside this ‘Aria’ persona, while acting as the Saint.

I think that was it, but I’m a bit unclear about exactly what stories we shared.

‘I feel like we had some important conversation.’

It felt like a dream.

I remember the details of our discussion clearly, but it feels just like something that didn’t happen in reality.

What can I say? When enough time passes, I’ll forget unless I decide to write it down somewhere.

What did I say at the end…?

‘Did I say… I like… him?’

…

…

…

Wait, what?

‘What did I just say…?!’

Now that I think about it, did I really tell Evan I liked him?!

As I suddenly recalled what had occurred, I inwardly screamed with panic.

What on earth did I say?!

Of course, liking Evan doesn’t mean I have any romantic feelings!

It was just… seeing my favorite character, the admirable and noble figure from the game, made me say it without even realizing; I’ve not liked him from the beginning!

If I really liked him, I wouldn’t have behaved that way in the first place, not to mention that it’s impossible for me to develop feelings for a guy even though I’ve been in this body for a while.

No matter how many times he saved me, even if he is one of my favorite characters, it couldn’t happen…

No way! Under no circumstances would that happen!

I shook my head vigorously.

Even so, I couldn’t shake off my anxious mind and, just in case, I turned to look at Evan.

I felt an overwhelming need to confirm how I truly feel about him right now.

Fortunately, when I turned to look at Evan, there were no abnormalities…

Abnormalities…

Hmm.

‘Is this something to call fortunate…’

I can’t see Evan’s appearance right now because I can’t see anything.

I can somewhat perceive him through the identification of Divine Power, but as I mentioned before, he doesn’t look like a real person…

It’s purely felt; that kind of beauty doesn’t work on me.

“Aria…? Aria!”

As I let out a sigh filled with relief mixed with suspicion, Evan, who was holding his head and looking around, turned to me, looking surprised, and hurriedly approached, fidgeting.

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt?!”

“Wow, Evan’s only taking care of his girlfriend.”

“Indeed~☆”

“… Huh?”

“Eh?”

Stella and Uriel exchanged giggles before getting startled.

At their reaction, Evan and I both turned to look at Stella and Uriel.

What did they just… say?

Girlfriend?

“What do you mean girlfriend… And what was that tone just now…?”

“Me too… It feels strange… As if I wasn’t myself…”

“…”

“W-What’s going on…?”

Evan looked at me with a perplexed expression.

Well, I also wanted to know a bit about that…

But, assuming the best guess based on what I know, it seems likely that the ones who didn’t receive recognition from the trial entered it and began to sleep, as if dreaming.

Since we gained recognition from the dungeon, we entered the trial with a strong sense of self, waking up only feeling a bit groggy and having confused memories. Within it, we remember everything like a lucid dream, but they are different from us.

In fact, I had hoped to be acknowledged.

In the game, if you just roughly put together a party and entered, you would receive a huge amount of experience for the whole party, and that was it.

But now, I can’t even tell if I received experience or not.

Anyway, it seems I wasn’t completely cast away, as I entered with them, meaning there was some recognition, but whether that meant growth and a chance to level up, I don’t know.

If it were a game, I could just check the numbers, but here in reality, that isn’t possible.

So… what I’m saying is, at that moment, Stella and Uriel were still as we knew them, which might have caused them to unconsciously use that kind of speech.

Even though we’re treating it like a dream now, we’ve been thoroughly immersed in the trial for quite some time, acting in that world, so it wouldn’t be strange for it to turn out that way.

In any case, while we were chatting and discussing the current situation, it happened.

Kugugugung!

“What… what is that?!”

– [Congratulations, Hero, on overcoming the Trial of Wisdom.]

“Isn’t this voice the same as the one from the beginning?”

– [You did not abandon your duties, surrendering everything in that world.]

“…”

Evan stood up silently.

“In the end, it’s all an illusion, meaningless things.”

Mental growth, the Trial of Wisdom deals with that.

“I will seize it with my own hands.”

Evan grew again as a Hero.

And it wasn’t just Evan who grew.

– [All your achievements and experiences will become your sustenance.]

As when we fell before, I began to feel magic power around us.

– [I hope… you carry that will to defeat the Demon King.]

The voice of the dungeon concluded, and the magic circle etched beneath the ground began to glow.

“I will accomplish it. Definitely.”

At that moment, the wave of Divine Power that surrounded us was cut off, and everything went dark.