Kail and Sera had briefly left, leaving Izuna alone with the Saintess for a private conversation. This meant she could finally bring up the sensitive topics she hadn’t been able to discuss until now.
“Saintess, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Izuna Hela, a third-year in the Administrative Department at the Academy.”
“Oh my, you’re a senior! I’m Lagraisha, a second-year in the Special Department. Nice to meet you, Senior. Oh, feel free to speak casually.”
“…No one in their right mind would dare speak casually to the Saintess just because they’re older.”
Whether she was worldly-wise or not, Izuna stared at the seemingly naïve Saintess before quietly opening her mouth.
“I was the one who asked for you to be summoned here today, Saintess.”
“Is that so? What seems to be troubling you that you’ve called me here…?”
“Saintess, are you truly unaware?”
With that, Izuna unleashed her full ability: the power to read others’ information. It was an absurdly powerful skill—one that, when she first awakened it as a child, overwhelmed nearly everyone around her, including her own father.
She could even see through humanity’s ugliest desires, making it impossible for her to trust anyone. Perhaps that’s why she grew up so small and frail—tormented by people’s greed, unable to sleep properly or eat the food they offered.
“How do you think you appear to others?”
But the Saintess couldn’t be read. It was as if something massive was deliberately shielding her information. Given that she was a Saintess bestowed with divine powers, it wasn’t hard to guess what that “something” might be.
Perhaps this was what people referred to as God.
As Izuna gazed intently at her, the Saintess began to giggle softly, sensing something.
“Ah, I see. Yes, I understand.”
The Saintess, lost in her own thoughts, finished her monologue with a bright smile directed at Izuna. The next moment, their eyes met.
This time, Izuna stared directly into her pupils—the very source of her ability. As their eyes locked, Izuna was able to peer deeper into the Saintess.
“A-ahhh…?”
In truth, Izuna Hela gaining such an ability was a kind of error. In the game world of Diaros Academy, which projected this reality, she was originally just an ordinary person without any special powers.
But due to some unknown reason, a global glitch occurred, and Izuna Hela awakened a new power she never should have had.
It was, in a way, akin to having the “Eye of God.” A power that allowed her to see what shouldn’t be seen and perceive things with greater clarity.
“What… what is this?”
And upon realizing Izuna possessed this ability, God showed her even more through the Saintess.
The original source of this world.
That is, a certain game from Earth.
“AAHHH—KYAAAAAHHH!”
An overwhelming torrent of information flooded her mind, enough to make her brain scream. It was a massive data dump from Diaros Academy that should have been processed by a computer or similar device.
Information akin to the truths of the world surged in like a tide, ravaging her brain.
“The game… Diaros Academy…? What is this—”
At that moment, Kail and Sera rushed over after hearing her screams. They quickly checked on her condition but soon backed off, seeing no immediate danger.
Izuna cautiously raised her head to look at the Saintess, who was still grinning ear to ear.
“You… yooouuu…”
“What you saw, I cannot know.”
Though the Saintess wielded divine powers freely, she couldn’t peer into herself. Humans could see others clearly but remained blind to their own hearts.
However, she could still guess what Izuna might have seen.
“Welcome to this dreadful reality.”
The fact that this world was a fake reality created for amusement.
A story so unbelievable that even if told, only a handful would believe it.
The Saintess smiled warmly at Izuna, who had fallen into the same hellish situation.
Seeing that smile, Izuna realized she had crossed a river she should never have crossed.
…
…
…
“That’s something both me and this guy already know.”
“Huh…?”
Turns out, it wasn’t such a big deal after all.
* * *
Hearing Izuna muttering to herself, I realized she had somehow uncovered the truth about this world.
It’d take a real idiot not to notice when words like “game” and “Diaros Academy” were spilling out of her mouth.
Needless to say, I’m no dummy.
“Let’s calm down, Senior.”
I steadied Izuna, who was trembling as she stared at the Saintess, then proceeded to talk with the two of them. Though Izuna didn’t explicitly mention what she had realized, it didn’t really matter.
“So you’ve figured out this world is actually a game?”
“You…! How do you know that?”
“Well, because I knew already.”
“Wait, Kail!? You can’t just—”
Sera called out to me, alarmed, but I ignored her and continued to gaze intently at Izuna.
Finally understanding, Izuna nodded slowly.
“I see… So that’s why those titles…”
“Huh? What titles?”
“Never mind. So does that mean… you’re currently playing this world? That you can leave anytime you want?”
“Uh… not exactly.”
Explaining was tricky. While it was true I had played a game based on this world back on Earth, I still didn’t fully understand how this world came to be.
All I remembered was dying crushed under a weightlifting plate, only to suddenly be reborn here. That was it.
If anything, the person who likely knew more about this world wasn’t me—it was someone else entirely.
“Sera.”
“Ugh, I guess it’s time to spill the secret I’ve been hiding.”
Sera, who retained her appearance and name from Earth, was the one I looked to. As I turned to her, the other two followed suit, their heads snapping in her direction.
Under the sudden collective gaze, Sera shook her head and covered her face with her hands, seemingly unbothered by the embarrassment.
“Just hurry up and explain.”
“Don’t get so worked up. When else am I supposed to look cool…?”
After a bit of teasing, Sera pouted slightly, sticking out her lips. Realizing this wasn’t the time for jokes, she hesitantly opened her mouth.
“Hmm, you probably think this world is a game… but that’s actually a bit wrong.”
“Wrong?”
“While everything in this world is based on a game… that doesn’t mean it *is* a game.”
It made sense. If this world were truly a game, I—an NPC—wouldn’t have been able to become an Aura Master or break the system to defeat boss monsters ahead of schedule.
Ultimately, this world was merely incredibly similar to a game—it wasn’t one.
Listening quietly, Izuna grew impatient and started pressing her for answers.
“So why does this world resemble a game so much?”
“Ah, well… that’s because of me.”
“Because of you?”
“Yeah… um…” Sera scratched her cheek awkwardly, glancing around before continuing. “Someone once asked me if I wanted to live in a world of my own design.”
“Who said that?”
“Uh… I don’t know?”
“Anyway, someone asked if you wanted to live in this world, and when you woke up, you were here?”
“Yes! So this world exists probably because of me…”
As Izuna listened to Sera’s explanation, she turned to me with an expression that screamed, “What nonsense is this kid spouting?”
I felt the same way. Shaking my head, I quietly apologized to Izuna.
“Sorry. She’s a bit dumb.”
“…Yeah, seems like it.”
“What?! No way! You’re dumber than me! And your grades are worse too!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
In the end, Izuna didn’t get the answer she wanted and started to grow gloomy. At least she wasn’t looking like she was about to die anymore, having realized this world wasn’t just some model garden for someone’s amusement.
Watching her somewhat relieved expression, I carefully pondered.
“Who sent us here again?”
A person capable of sending others to another world?
Where could such a person even exist?
And why was I here?
Even after learning Sera’s secret, there were still countless things I couldn’t understand.
