episode_0202

I had some idea why. She had even mentioned it herself directly at one point.

It was probably a period when, both internally and externally, she was experiencing many hardships as a protagonist.

Because of this, I made time to speak with Regia alone.

“Young Master-nim… I came because you suddenly asked to meet, just the two of us.”

“Welcome, Miss Regia. I just wanted to have a chat. Was it rude of me to ask?”

“Oh, no, it’s not! It was just sudden, but if it’s a conversation with you, Young Master-nim, I’m… rather happy…”

“That’s a relief, then.”

I offered a faint smile.

It was, after all, the transmigator’s duty to take care of the main and supporting characters’ mental state.

We walked along the academy street, chatting about this and that.

After a few trivial sentences accumulated, I finally broached the main topic.

“Miss Regia. Have you been troubled by something lately?”

“Huh? What do you mean by that…?”

“Well, your complexion has gotten noticeably darker.”

“Did it show a lot, by any chance? I tried my b-best to hide it…”

“The others seemed to have a rough idea too. We’re not just ordinary acquaintances, are we?”

“…”

Had I hit the nail on the head?

Regia bit her lip for a moment.

Beyond her trembling green eyes, a deep sorrow was reflected.

The girl, who seemed lost in thought, soon parted her lips.

And then, she confessed about the shadow that tormented her.

“Sometimes… I feel worthless.”

Her shoulders hunched.

The clumsy protagonist confessed her weakness.

“Everyone else is growing… but I feel like I’m stuck in place, constantly falling behind.”

Perhaps it was a kind of inferiority complex.

Emilia, who had pioneered the realm of her unique magic.

Irene, who had broken through a wall and become a star in the night sky.

Charlotte, regarded as the strongest Domain User of modern times.

Neria, who had recently joined, blessed by the stars since birth.

With such monsters by her side, she couldn’t help but compare herself.

“I wanted to be helpful to Young Master-nim too. Just as you were so generous to me, I wanted to be someone who could lend strength to others. It might be presumptuous to say so…”

Inferiority complexes generally come in two types.

One is the kind that puts up thorns towards others, and the other is the kind that whips oneself.

In Regia’s case, it was clearly the latter. She was, by nature, born with an inner self as pure white as the first snow.

Her inherent nature wasn’t brave enough to harm anyone.

She was only harsh on herself.

“Even so, I’m always lacking.”

I listened to her laments without a word.

Objectively speaking, Regia was quite strong.

Only a few around her were in a league of their own; she herself was one of the academy’s top powerhouses.

She could easily overpower ordinary faculty members. She was among the top ten forces I could deploy in an emergency. At her age, it was a level where one could find no rival.

Currently, Regia’s power was comparable to Charlotte’s, who had been called the strongest.

‘Regia, Irene.’

Excluding those two who were beyond comparison, there was no one in the academy who could defeat her.

Moreover, even when compared to the original story, Regia was growing at an astonishing speed.

Originally, by now, she shouldn’t have been able to defeat even professors, let alone upper-mid-tier students.

But she had not only reached the peak but was also looking up at a world beyond the stars.

From others’ perspectives, such laments might even sound like deceit.

‘Still.’

I understood.

The reason she was still so anxious, despite achieving such steep growth, was…

“Miss Regia, you’re afraid, aren’t you?”

“…”

It must be because of the memory of almost losing someone due to her own inadequacy.

More precisely, when the cult attempted to abduct her.

Irene, who had rushed to the scene, stopped them, but she fell into a coma as a backlash.

It could have easily become an irreversible tragedy. If it hadn’t been for me, it surely would have.

That seemed to have become a trauma for Regia.

“-Y-Young Master-nim! Miss Irene…!”

“-I’m sorry… It’s b-because I was lacking…”

“-I was so scared, thinking you two… *hic*… had been hurt…”

“-Thank you, *gasp*… thank you for coming back safely.”

It must have been a heavy burden for the fragile protagonist.

She must have thought that if she had been stronger, if she had shone brighter, no one would have gotten hurt.

She must have blamed herself, thinking it was all her fault. Regia was originally that kind of person.

As if understanding, the pink-haired girl timidly nodded her head.

A gloomy light in her pupils.

“Miss Irene was in danger because of me, wasn’t she? And you, Young Master-nim, too.”

“As I told you last time, it wasn’t your fault, Miss Regia.”

“I… I just didn’t want to make excuses.”

“I think that’s an admirable attitude, though.”

How could there be such a fragile yet upright person?

Though weak enough to break countless times, she possessed the will to repeatedly reinforce herself with steel armor.

Even if she wasn’t complete yet, she was the protagonist I admired.

A faint smile blossomed on my lips.

And then I murmured softly.

“You’ll surely do well.”

To the sunlight hidden beyond the dark clouds.

To my protagonist, who might be downcast now but will soon shine.

“Because Miss Regia is that kind of person.”

I recalled a scene from the original story.

A girl descending with a pure white light, in the center of a world burning with blood.

Pink hair fluttered in the swirling wind, and a fresh green glow shimmered in her pupils.

Angelic wings sprouted from her back. It was none other than Regia’s final awakened form.

The chorus descending with starlight erased the pitch-black darkness that had seeped into the earth.

It erased despair and delivered carefully folded hope.

[I won’t… leave you alone anymore.]

[Let’s go back together. To the home everyone is waiting for.]

[To a place where it’s okay not to be alone.]

Undeniably the most praised masterpiece scene in the original.

It was the part that convinced everyone why Regia was ‘the protagonist.’

There was a reason why her fanbase was so solid, even though her growth speed was frustratingly slow.

Because the emotion that returned at the end was overwhelming, precisely *because* she was clumsy at first and her growth was slow.

“I believe it.”

Regia was destined to reach the pinnacle.

Irene, Neria too… she would become so strong that they couldn’t compare.

Because in works of fiction, the protagonist is naturally destined to become a being who leads the world.

A being who finds light from all unreasonableness. A being who doesn’t lose, even when their color has faded.

That was the protagonist I saw.

That was the ‘you’ I saw.

“So, Miss Regia, please believe it too.”

However.

On the other hand, I didn’t wish for such a future.

I wanted you to remain a child forever.

‘Regia’s awakening condition is… the death of someone precious.’

A character she had grown close to, or a close friend she was emotionally attached to.

Only after losing one of them did the girl awaken her dormant true nature.

It was beautiful, but at the same time, a cruel price.

I wished you wouldn’t get hurt.

Even though I knew it was impossible.

“That you can do it yourself.”

“But… what if, even then, I can’t…?”

“Even then, it’s alright. I’ll be by your side, Miss Regia.”

“…”

I stroked her pink hair.

Her scent, reminiscent of spring, subtly colored the tip of my nose.

I then whispered.

“Don’t be afraid. No matter what mistakes you make, no matter what failures you face… I’ll be supporting your back from behind.”

Regia didn’t reply.

She merely stared up at me, as if entranced.

In response, I gave her a mischievous smile.

With a hand I subtly lowered, I took her hand.

“Heh heh.”

The ring finger where I had once placed a ring.

I slowly caressed it.

The ring that had once protected her, only to shatter into a handful of dust.

As I realized the emptiness, Regia muttered.

It was a reaction that clearly showed her upset.

“I-I’m sorry. I ended up breaking the ring…”

“It’s alright. I had wanted it to be used for that purpose from the start.”

“Even so… it was a gift from Young Master-nim, so I wanted to cherish it.”

“I’ll put a new one on you later. Someday, when we become adults.”

“Y-Yes…?”

Regia was flustered, as expected.

Her cheeks slowly flushed.

“Th-that means…?”

“Do you dislike it?”

Her face reddened in real time.

Her head was burning with heat.

Perhaps driven by embarrassment, even her eyes were moist.

The girl mumbled a few times, then soon bowed her head deeply and replied.

With her slender fingers, she timidly clutched my sleeve.

“P-Please do…”

“Heh heh. It seems I’ve made you look forward to it.”

A fresh breeze blew.

We were walking side-by-side across the academy street.

I subtly looked at you, who was filled with warmth.

At you, who had brightened considerably, with some of the dark clouds lifted.

‘Yes.’

I wanted you to shine like that.

Without being stained by the night, possessing eternal youth.

***

Weak child.

It won’t go as you wish.

The world has already boarded an irreversible tide.

In the future where I tread, no light shall exist.

So resign yourself. Despair, wail, and paint a cruel regret.

For you are merely a doll deviated from fate.

Not even a single tear shall be yours.

“■■■■.”

I shall go to meet you.