chapter_0196

“……What?”

Aria asked in a dazed voice, her previous emotions of anger and resentment suddenly gone.

There was only one meaning to the statement that she had once been a protagonist.

“The first…… novel……?”

“Yes. I was once the protagonist of another world for a time. However, despite being in such a significant position, I accomplished nothing and eventually met an unexpected death, leaving an indelible wound on those close to me. Especially, as you well know, on a certain person.”

There was no such content in the fragments of the shattered world. No, there couldn’t have been. It was a secret that only Latina had kept to herself for all these years.

“Sin flows through my veins, Aria. I hid the truth in the shadows, scattered it beyond time, and passed on all the blame to a single human. So, I, too, have always felt compelled to be special. I have often thought that I must be the one to protect others, that there is no one else who can do what I do.”

Perhaps she hadn’t even confessed this to Mira.

“Do you think I wouldn’t understand your feelings?”

“……”

Aria couldn’t answer. She was too shocked by the unexpected confession, and she couldn’t understand why Latina suddenly revealed such a big secret.

To persuade her? Just for that reason, she revealed her biggest secret? The cards were all on the table, and there was nothing left for the loser.

“But one thing I can say for sure is that you are not wrong, Aria.”

“……What?”

A completely unexpected statement. Aria’s thoughts stopped for a moment. Who was right? Me? Why?

“Why…… are you?”

“Anger and hatred are natural human emotions. Whether they are right or wrong, it is not a sin to be angry and resentful about an unjust situation. If I had been in your shoes, I would have felt resentful, and this is also an undeniable truth.”

-However, it is not right for you to be sinless. While human emotions themselves cannot be a sin, the actions that result from those emotions are clearly in the realm of sin.

Latina’s soft addition echoed in Aria’s ears, but the following words didn’t echo; they sank deep into her heart.

“I see the weight of a thousand years pressing down on you. Time is consuming you, but it is also the very thing that sustains you. It’s time to let go now. It’s not about denying your sins but facing them, accepting that the path you’ve walked was wrong, and embracing the mistakes you’ve turned away from.”

A tear flowed from Aria’s eyes, a different kind of tear from before.

“I felt the same way when I first met Mira. I wondered if all my efforts had been in vain, if I had done something wrong. After all, despite my efforts, I couldn’t have done what you did. Although it may not be as long as yours, I have also put in a considerable amount of time and effort, so how could I not have felt the same way?”

What did she mean by “considerable time”? Aria wondered. Had Latina also been trapped in regression, or was there another meaning? It was impossible to know at the moment.

“I won’t tell you to accept it unconditionally. Everyone has their own life and thoughts, so I won’t tell you to just let go of your pain and resentment. However, attaching too much meaning to it is also wrong. There’s no need to be so different just because you’re special or a protagonist.”

“……Then what am I?”

After a while, Aria, who had been crying silently, finally spoke.

“If I just let go of the time I’ve been through…… what am I? Why did I have to go through all this? Why me?! What am I to you!”

“You have always been Aria April.”

“……What?”

“Whether before or after experiencing such things, in this moment and in the future, you are always Aria. Just as I have always been Latina. And you will continue to be Aria as long as you don’t lose yourself in time and sin.”

“Lose myself?”

Her tearful eyes turned fierce. Latina calmly met her gaze.

“What am I to you? What does it mean to be Aria April-like? How do you know so much about me that you can say such things so casually……!”

“Why don’t we find out together?”

“……What do you mean, nowㅡ”

“What kind of person do you want to be, Aria? Do you want to be a kind and gentle person like the one in the novel? If so, you can be. Or do you want to be a passionate person who freely expresses their emotions? You can be that, too. As long as you don’t turn a blind eye to your past sins and justify the path you’ve taken, the path you take will be Aria.”

Aria’s eyes returned to their original state. The tears that had stopped flowing began to fall again. They were tears of a different meaning than before.

“And, you’re not alone anymore.”

“……What?”

Latina reached out to Aria.

“I see the loneliness in your heart. I see the thousand-year-old loneliness that has hardened. You were lonely, Aria. Your obsession with destiny, your desperate attempts to enter the world, and your relentless pursuit of being special all stemmed from that loneliness.”

“I, I…… I……”

“I’ll be by your side. Forgiveness is not my role, so it’s impossible, but if you face your sins head-on and move forward, I’ll be there for you. So, don’t stay in the darkness any longer. In the darkness, you can’t see your shadow, so now it’s time to step into the sun and cast your shadow.”

The outstretched hand was clasped. Aria, who was fumbling, put all her strength into her fingertips.

“You don’t have to be special anymore, Aria April.”

.

.

.

Latina opened her eyes. Her eyes were still gray. I sighed with relief. It seemed she had succeeded somehow, as she had said she would.

“Is it okay?”

“Of course.”

Latina tried to get up, but as soon as she realized that I was holding her hand and supporting her back, she lay back down.

I felt a heavy weight on the hand supporting her back.

“What about Aria? Did you kill her?”

“No. I didn’t kill her.”

“You didn’t kill her? Why?”

I had expected her to ask me to finish the job since she had used Aria as a shield during the fight, switching souls, and since she had fought me in that form.

“It’s not my place to judge her sins. In this world, I’m just an outsider, so it’s right to let those who received the damage decide.”

That made sense. So far, if I didn’t kill first, I would either die or be captured, so I had no choice but to kill, but if there was no harm, it was right to give the other side a chance.

Aria’s true victims were the four people, and the one who had lost her best friend.

“That’s one thing, but……”

Latina looked around. Her eyes fell on the spot behind me where the Holy Spear was.

“Is it okay to be so relaxed?”

“It seems fine for now, but I don’t know what will happen later. Aria’s knowledge didn’t have a solution for this situation either.”

The Holy Spear was still holding back the increasingly severe distortion, preventing the time axis from twisting. The light branches, like tree branches, fixed the time axis as it tried to twist, and the golden light absorbed the world.

It was unclear how long it could last.

“The attempt to fix it must have failed.”

“Yes. I tried what I could, but it didn’t work.”

I had tried to make time flow or turn it back, of course. None of it worked.

I needed to go back and meet the Goddess and the Demon God. They were gods, so they should be able to come up with a solution.

For a while, Latina, who had been poking my puffed-up cheeks, opened her mouth.

“……Maybe the world itself has reached its limit.”

“The world itself has reached its limit?”

“Yes. This world has already repeated the same time thousands of times. On top of that, time has been forcibly stopped, and it just received a huge shock. It wouldn’t be strange at all if the world itself has reached its limit.”

“So what do we do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

I blurted out, surprised by her casual answer. Latina replied nonchalantly.

“How would I know how to fix a broken world? And if I did know, I would have told you already. It would be ridiculous to die now that we’ve survived and met again. That’s not going to happen.”

“That’s true.”

Latina got up. I got up as well. Our eyes met, and an awkwardness settled in. Latina had a calm face, so it was probably just my own awkwardness.

“What are you doing with that weird expression?”

“……Nothing.”

I held the Holy Spear. If I could just fix this, I would have plenty of time in the future. So there was no need to hastily spill everything I wanted to say right now.

“Latina, you go back first. When you go back, the Goddess and the Demon God will come here, thinking it’s over. Ask them for a solution.”

“I understand. Have you thought of a way to send me back?”

I drew a magic circle with my left hand. A blue line appeared next to Latina, turning into a circle. It was a dimensional portal to the clubroom. They should all still be there if nothing unusual had happened.

However, before I could go there, another visitor arrived.

“Mira! Are you alrighㅡ Heeeek?!”

Leona rushed in with the Holy Sword, then screamed when she saw the bloody Latina.

‘Right. I forgot to clean the clothes.’

Leona had seen worse sights while fighting monsters, so it seemed this was an unexpectedly shocking situation.