episode_0109

“Are you going to keep doing things like this in the future?”

“I meant it literally.”

Cecilia stopped in her tracks. Because of that, I—who had been leaning on her halfway while walking—nearly tumbled forward.

“Why’d you stop all of a sudden? If it’s just nagging or talk about the future, I’ll hear plenty of it later anyway.”

“Don’t even think about brushing it off with such a vague answer, Eric. There’s no dangerous situation for you to worry about right now, so doesn’t this seem like the perfect opportunity to ask?”

“So, about my future plans—we should take more time and discuss them together when everyone’s gathered—”

“By then, Eric will just run away again. And when you reach your limit, you’ll carry out some method none of us could’ve imagined—without hesitation. Just like this time.”

“You think you have the right to say that? Whose fault was it that this incident happened in the first place? At least I have prophecy as an absolute reference point.”

“Absolute? Prophecy isn’t absolute. It’s not as if it’s the one and only absolute truth. If every prophecy were true, then so many prophets wouldn’t have been executed as frauds or traitors.”

“Are you saying there were other reasons prophets were executed?”

“Yes. But before that—”

Cecilia stopped walking and pulled me into an embrace, as if lifting me up.

“We’re here.”

“Part of me wants to say we should get separate rooms… but that’s impossible now, isn’t it?”

“Why bring that up now, of all times?”

Cecilia strode into the room and flopped straight onto the bed. The bed—large enough to comfortably fit four people, let alone two—sank softly under her weight.

“Couldn’t you at least keep up appearances?”

“It’s not like anyone’s watching besides you and the goddess. And you’re not so narrow-minded that you can’t overlook a little deviation like this after barely surviving a life-or-death crisis, right?”

“No. It’s because I have to sleep there too. It’s dirty.”

“Don’t worry about trivial things.”

Without a care for the state of her clothes, Cecilia began rolling around on the bed.

“Sigh… Beds really are the best. I thought I was living modestly, but I guess civilization isn’t so easy to give up after all. Yes, that’s another reason to protect the world.”

“Glad to hear it. More importantly, about what we were discussing earlier—”

Leaving Cecilia fused with the bed, I sat down on a nearby chair. Seeing this, she lay on her side and met my eyes.

“Prophecy, in the end, only shows the most immediate future. Even if the one who believes in it doesn’t act, countless variables can change the prophecy. Just look at what happened this time—didn’t it turn out drastically different from the prophecy you saw?”

“Are you trying to say fate can be changed by human will? That’s romantic, but—”

“I’m pointing out that your prophecies are no exception. You know this too, Eric. Prophecy isn’t absolute. You never know when it might go awry—when you might die.”

“……”

“No, perhaps it’s even more terrifying for you than for ordinary people. At least ordinary people can’t know their future at all. But the horror of death striking the moment you think you know everything… must be even harder to bear.”

“If I cared about that, I wouldn’t have gathered all of you in the first place. I did it because it was something only I could do—because I wanted to. Don’t pity me for my choices. It just makes me feel worse. And let me remind you again—wasn’t this whole incident caused by you putting too much faith in my prophecy?”

“That’s exactly why I’m telling you this. As your party, we need to realize just how fragile your prophecies are as guideposts.”

“This was a special case.”

This situation was largely beyond my control. By the time I noticed something suspicious, Cecilia and Chris had already made their own plans and resolves. Even if I’d tried to stop them, they would’ve just caused another incident soon after.

So, I intervened to steer things in the direction I wanted while keeping them in check. In the end, I just ended up being dragged along.

“A special case… Then can you swear that something like this will never happen again? That if we just follow your lead, you’ll absolutely be safe?”

“What?”

“Swear it, Eric. If you do, I won’t say anything more to you about this.”

“I can’t do that.”

An immediate answer.

It wasn’t something I could lie my way out of, and if I didn’t give a clear answer here, Cecilia would keep tormenting me. No—there was a good chance she’d team up with the other three to completely tie me down.

In that case, it was better to confront this head-on. With that in mind, I decided to counterattack.

“Speaking of which, do you know what kind of illusion Fairchild cast on me?”

“Huh? Th-that was…”

Seeing Cecilia fluster, I got my answer.

“Judging by your reaction, someone told you?”

“Yes… She showed you your ideal reality…”

“Then doesn’t my being here already answer your question? I chose all of you over that world—and I chose to bear the responsibility that comes with it. Even if you’re the Saint, you can’t undermine someone’s resolve like that.”

“Do you not regret it? If that place was truly your ideal world, wanting to stay there would be a natural human impulse. Unless, of course, that world was incomplete to begin with.”

“That’s a dangerous thing to say for a Saint. Are you asking me to prove whether paradise exists?”

If a perfect paradise existed, no one would willingly leave it. But if someone did, it would prove that paradise wasn’t perfect. Yet Cecilia shook her head gently at my question.

“Of course not. I’m not asking for such a pointless proof. That proof would collapse the moment you added a simple condition anyway.”

“A simple condition?”

“If they left paradise not of their own will, but by force. For example, if the creator of that paradise expelled them… they’d have no choice but to leave, no matter how wonderful it was.”

Sharp.

True to her title as the Saint, Cecilia seemed almost certain that the goddess had helped me escape the illusion. Without her, I would’ve gradually dissolved into that world, clinging only to a fading sense of unease.

But even so, I could confidently tell her:

“The goddess doesn’t command. She only offers choices. I thought you of all people would know that.”

The goddess of this world isn’t powerful enough to act unilaterally like some tyrant. If she were, she would’ve defeated the Demon King herself. Instead, she appoints a champion—a proxy—and forges the perfect weapon for him, the Holy Sword. Even then, she’s so uneasy that she appoints a Saintess imbued with her divine power, all just to exert her influence.

The only reason she could interfere with Fairchild’s illusion was because Fairchild itself was a holy relic derived from her.

“She only offers choices?”

“Right. And it was me who chose the path of staying with all of you from those choices. I won’t ask you to thank me, but at least understand what it means.”

“…Was that world beautiful?”

I answered without hesitation.

“Of course it was the best.”

“Hehe, an immediate answer again.”

For Cecilia, who had already lost me helplessly in previous loops, there was no clearer proof than this. Hearing my words, her expression finally relaxed, as if relieved.

“Then… I have one last question. You don’t have to answer this one if you don’t want to.”

“Saying that just makes me more uneasy.”

“Are you prepared?”

“Prepared?”

“No matter what Elia or the others think, I have no intention of giving up on something like this. If I can protect you from danger, I’ll do it—and I’ll never let the few be sacrificed for the many. Even if additional casualties occur in the process. Can you still understand me and keep guiding me, even if it’s nothing short of torture for you?”

The “few” Cecilia spoke of was none other than me. Just the look in her eyes made that clear. After returning from the previous world, her priorities had undoubtedly been set. I should’ve realized it the moment she entrusted everything to me in that underground chamber.

She could’ve abandoned me for the sake of the world—for the sake of defeating the Demon King. But now, she would no longer weigh me against others.

“This incident with Fairchild—if that thing had gotten out, there would’ve been far greater casualties. I would’ve been fine, but countless people would’ve lost their dreams and been left broken. Were you prepared for that too?”

“If it’s for the world’s sake, what choice do we have?”