The Paradox of Perfection

Looking back, I figured we were awkward enough to not be close. Ellie was meeting me after years, and I had regained a memory I wanted to forget. There was a gap where feeling awkward was okay.

But I never felt awkward talking to Ellie. No, I actually enjoyed it. Maybe it was because we were childhood friends, or because we had revealed everything to each other. However, it was clear that our conversation was interesting to each other.

,”…So, I ran away here, making a passage to avoid that crazy Roel.”

When I told Ellie about what I had experienced in the world waiting for destruction before coming to this world, she put her right hand to her lips and pondered for a long time.

,”…Certainly, the contradiction of Roel Oppa pointed out by Raelran is strange. I need to investigate.”

Ellie muttered like that, got up from the sofa, looked around the room, took an old book from the bookshelf, came to my side, and opened it.

“Last year, I studied curses and potions. I was wondering if there was a way to create good synergy if I combined it with elemental magic. I remember reading data on black magic with similar effects back then.”

Ellie frowned slightly, turned the page, and stopped.

“Here. The Secret Twins part.”

I read aloud the part that Ellie pointed to with her finger, shoulder to shoulder.

,”…It is a phenomenon in which one of the twins, who were originally destined to be born as twins, kills the other child with the umbilical cord in the mother’s womb and absorbs it as nutrients. The child born in this way absorbs all the love, destiny, and luck that the original sibling should have. Even the most precious, untainted soul. Absorbing all of that makes them a superior being than ordinary people. In most cases, even the parents and the person themselves do not know that there were originally two people… But you know best that I’m not a twin, right?”

I looked at Ellie with eyes asking for an explanation. Ellie shrugged her shoulders, which were touching, and tapped the part that said ‘absorbing all of that’ with her fingertip.

“That’s why I said it’s similar. I’m just showing this for explanation. Look, it says here that they absorb everything and become a superior being than others. Since one person has the souls of two people, it’s only natural. But you still have your soul, and Roel said he can feel your soul too….”

Ellie quickly turned the page. Then, she stopped at the ‘Subordinate Love’ page and began to read the contents.

,”…They can sense the existence of the subordinated target wherever they are, and can obtain the emotions and knowledge that the target feels.”

Ellie closed the book and explained to me with shining eyes.

“If a magic that combines two black magic spells was used on you and Roel when you were in your mother’s womb, it’s enough explanation. But….”

For some reason, Ellie’s expression is dark. She had an expression that she wasn’t sure about her words.

“There’s a part that can’t be explained with that alone?”

At my question, Ellie pushed the book aside and sighed.

“Yeah… First of all, the Secret Twins have a fatal side effect. Because there are two souls, the body can’t handle it and they die young. This is the case when they say geniuses die young. Even if they don’t die young, one soul never grows, so they eventually go crazy due to the imbalance of the soul.”

,”…Looking at him trying to kill his colleagues and younger siblings without hesitation for his own benefit, it seems right.”

At my muttering, Ellie narrowed her eyes and slapped her thigh with her palm, telling me to be serious.

“And ‘Subordinate Love,’ like the name, has love as a trigger condition. But you in the womb wouldn’t know about Roel Oppa’s existence, and you wouldn’t be able to love him. Even if the magic was used after you were born, the decisive contradiction is that the target of ‘Subordinate Love’ dies within 10 days. But Roel Oppa said it was for a lifetime for you, so this doesn’t make sense either.”

Ellie sighed deeply and leaned back on the sofa.

“I tried to explain it with the most likely thing, but in the end, it’s a conclusion that doesn’t make sense. The effect is similar, but the result is different because you are alive.”

I stroked my chin, organizing Ellie’s explanation in my head.

“There wasn’t any magic or curse on my body, was there?”

,”…Except for the Oblivion magic in your head, there were no traces. That’s why I can’t explain it at all. If Roel felt that you came from another world, there must be something magical inside you! This doesn’t make sense magically!”

Ellie frowned and pouted as if frustrated. I also sighed and scratched my eyebrows, feeling like something was bothering me.

“Doesn’t make sense…?”

Strangely, this insignificant word bothered me among Ellie’s many explanations. I don’t know the exact reason either. But I realized that this was a decisive clue.

I got up from the sofa. And I walked around the room and stopped in front of the mobile iron plate. There is a phenomenon that doesn’t make sense between Roel and me. Then….

A flash of lightning passes through my brain. The puzzles that had been scattered aimlessly in my head fall into place. I turned around to Ellie, feeling a thrill that made my whole body tremble, and shouted.

,”…Then, we just have to make it make sense.”

“What?”

Ellie tilted her head with a bewildered expression. I picked up the chalk and wrote a large word on the blackboard.

[Plausibility]

What cannot be explained magically can be solved with plausibility.

“Plausibility…?”

At Ellie’s eyes asking for an explanation, I took a moment to organize my thoughts. After recalling a sufficient story to explain the plausibility, except for the fact that I possessed Ross, I explained it to Ellie.

“Such a law exists in the world…? How did you find out? If plausibility really exists, it is impossible to be aware of plausibility! Denying what is obvious is itself against plausibility! It’s the biggest contradiction!”

That’s a sharp point. Is she really an Archmage? It was still difficult to persuade her with a hastily made-up story. But I couldn’t reveal the possession, so I had no choice but to ask Ellie.

“I can’t explain it in detail, but… this is definite information obtained from another world. Plausibility exists. Just… it’s hard to believe, but believe it.”

I thought this was just whining, but unexpectedly, Ellie nodded her head slightly without refusal. As I let out a sigh of relief, Ellie muttered softly.

,”…I don’t want to doubt you anymore. It’s more persuasive because it’s not persuasive. So, I’ll put my head together with you on the assumption that everything you say is true.”

“Thank you.”

I turned around and tapped the word [Plausibility] written on the blackboard.

“If plausibility really worked between Roel and me, there must be a reason for it. If we find that, we can solve all the contradictions.”

“So, that means we have to find the cause of what happened, not find an explanation for what happened?”

Ellie, who had gotten up from the sofa and approached me, picked up the chalk. After pondering for a moment, Ellie turned her head to me and met my eyes.

“Do you know how to find out the raw materials of medicine in alchemy?”

“Can you explain it to me, kind you?”

At my joke, Ellie smiled faintly and moved the chalk.

“It starts with analyzing the results. It’s easier to go back the way you came than to find the starting point of the road. Think about it from the moment you guessed that plausibility worked.”

At Ellie’s words, I started thinking about why the perfect protagonist Roel needed to absorb something from me.

But Roel is a naturally talented person even if he doesn’t absorb my talent and emotions. Above all, the character Ross is a suddenly added consumable of inferiority complex. Is there really a reason for plausibility to work? It wouldn’t be because I possessed Ross. Plausibility had been created before that.

I wrote on the blackboard to organize my head full of thoughts.

“Roel is perfect. But he can feel and take everything from me… Is there really a reason for plausibility to work to that extent?”

Ellie silently circled the word perfection several times with chalk. I looked at Ellie because I couldn’t understand the meaning, and she said with a smile.

“It’s just strange. I was wondering why you are so sure that Roel Oppa is perfect. To be honest, I thought you, who I know, would never admit Roel Oppa for the rest of your life.”

“Well….”

I couldn’t explain to Ellie that there was such a thing as character settings. There wouldn’t be anyone who could easily accept that they are a character in a novel.

“Roel is good at everything and is loved by everyone.”

As I avoided her gaze and mumbled vaguely, Ellie answered right away.

“But isn’t the explanation that he’s perfect strange?”

I felt puzzled at Ellie’s words. Isn’t she his lover who knows better than anyone that Roel is perfect?

“Why is that…?”

“The word perfect is rarely used in magic. Except for special cases, there is no situation where the word perfect can be applied. So, I thought that plausibility might have been applied to the reason why you are so sure that Roel Oppa is perfect.”

Ellie’s words seemed to pierce my heart. At the same time, a thought flashed through my mind. I muttered without realizing it.

,”…Yeah, perfect.”

“Huh…?”

I ruffled my hair. I think I know now. What plausibility worked on. Why perfect Roel needed me.

I gave a hollow laugh.

“My mistake wasn’t just one.”

The reason why plausibility worked arbitrarily.

That’s because there was a setting error in Roel too.