episode_0042

“Are you the warrior I think you are?”

“Yes and no. I’ll explain in detail. And to answer in advance the many questions you’re curious about but haven’t had a chance to ask, this space is a dream, but it’s not a dream. From the moment you feel bored watching your friends’ sparring, you can say that it’s not real at all.”

“Are you saying that you have been controlling me since then?”

“The word control is a bit misleading. If you didn’t have free will, you wouldn’t have met me. Even if you say you don’t know me, why do you have free will, I can only say that. Because it’s information you can’t understand yet. Also, that’s why the man you care about didn’t follow you on your walks. Because it’s not real.”

“You answer without even listening to me. Are you reading my mind?”

“I’m not a mind reader. I’m just getting closer to ‘omniscience’. First, Lillianne, let me explain the warrior you were curious about properly. ”

As soon as the man and warrior finished speaking, the surroundings suddenly changed. The suffocating smell of blood, the disgusting smell of cooked flesh, and the sound of metal clashing could be heard continuously. No matter where you looked, it was a battlefield.

“Just a few hundred years ago, humanity living on the continent of Saleshbach was on the verge of extinction. The humanity of this continent possessed abilities far superior to those of you and my previous lives, but they were unable to properly fend off the endless stream of monsters.”

When I turned my head at the man’s words, I saw a huge monster with four arms. Each of those arms was holding something that looked like a blunt weapon, but it didn’t seem to be particularly important. The soldiers who fought against the monsters with swords were so big that they could barely reach the monster’s knees. So even if the monster didn’t swing its weapon, it would lose its balance and fall over.

Those monsters were not elite, but were just a bunch of rascals that numbered in the hundreds or thousands. From the start, the difference in strength between them as a species was hundreds of times greater, which was a hopeless difference in power─it was easy to see that the talk of humanity’s destruction was not an exaggeration at all.

“As you can see, the power gap is clear. Even if there was no command, the Demon King, the pinnacle of monsters, advanced to wipe out humanity with all his might.”

And what was revealed in the changed scenery was a man who was truly worthy of the title of Demon King. No, it was thought to be male, but the gap between him and humanity was so clearly felt that it was difficult to tell if gender existed.

Although its physical appearance is not that different from that of an ordinary human, if you look at the blazing light emanating from its eyes and the magical power that seeps out through the gaps in its armor covering its entire body and slowly erodes its surroundings, anyone would think that it would be easier for this being to destroy humanity alone than to turn over the palm of one’s hand.

“I was summoned to this continental crisis. It must have been a familiar development to me and to you at the time. It’s called a summoning to another world. A continent on the brink of destruction, a powerful demon lord, and a hero being summoned. It’s a standard development, and I thought the same thing. ”

At some point, the location changed to the royal palace, and the man in front of him was sitting in a bewildered state inside a huge magic circle. Then, as if showing the passage of time, the scenery began to change rapidly.

“Of course, it wasn’t easy. Even though I had acquired great powers that surpassed those of humanity as a so-called ‘special privilege’, it was hard for me to adapt right away as I was an ordinary office worker. Mentally and physically. That’s why I saved my colleagues. ”

After the conversation, four men and women were seen. They looked like they were fighting with each other, but they also had smiles on their faces, so they seemed to be on good terms.

“These are the four heroes you know. These four and I have swept through countless battlefields, faced death together dozens of times, and eventually defeated the Demon King. However, while my fellow heroes were enjoying the happiness and honor of finally saving humanity, I couldn’t help but have the same doubts as you.”

“Why didn’t the Demon King kill you directly from the beginning?”

The man nodded.

“In fact, the very fact that the Demon King’s army and humanity’s war was established is absurd. If the Demon King had wanted to, he could have trampled the continent in three days. I could not help but naturally know this as I traveled around the battlefields of each country, and I felt it when I risked my life and cut off the Demon King’s head with the Holy Sword.”

“The Demon King never intended to destroy humanity from the beginning. He wanted to kill me from the beginning. That was my thought.”

“Once I had that thought, it grew out of control. As a warrior, as a hero who defeated the Demon King, I would have been the most honorable being on the continent, and I could have gotten my hands on any beauty I wanted. It was a future that was beyond my means as an ordinary office worker, but when I was summoned here, I remembered that the supposed god had told me that if I defeated the Demon King, he would grant me any wish.”

“God, is that deal still valid? A voice from somewhere said to me as I muttered to myself, “It’s valid.” I replied, “I want to know everything.””

The man smiled bitterly and tilted his teacup.

“If there’s something I didn’t think about, it’s that the being is not a personal god, but rather a programmed system, so you took what I said literally. If you think about it logically, shouldn’t you tell me about various circumstances and plans related to me? But I ended up knowing everything as I said.”

“I want to know everything.. The word “wanting to know” also includes the meaning of not knowing. So I am not omniscient, but I am just getting closer to it. Even now, I am gaining new knowledge. And I have come to know the truth about this continent, and the world. So I erased all records and memories of my existence, and hid behind the world.”

“Isn’t it quite convenient when the other person answers in advance without having to ask a question? I don’t have many opportunities to talk to anyone, so I like it when I talk a little more. Anyway, if there’s a truth to the world… this world is like a piece of clothing that has been patched dozens of times.”

“If there is a hole in your clothes, you will have to patch it up. However, if the hole is bigger than you thought, you will have to bring in another piece of cloth and patch it up. If this happens repeatedly, it will be filled with cloths brought from various places. If the cloths are of the same material and color as the previous clothes, there will be no difference. But what if they are not?”

“Let’s say the first piece of clothing is a very ordinary piece of clothing. But if the next piece of clothing has the property of not burning, then this piece of clothing will be a little bit fireproof. Next, what if it has the property of glowing in the dark? This piece of clothing will have that property as well. If this is repeated countless times, clothing with incredible variety and possibilities will be created. That’s the world.”

“You’ve probably experienced it too. Those so-called disposable villains who are intelligent enough, but act irrationally and strangely when they get involved with me, the ‘main character’. Convenient settings that exist here and there regardless of technological advancements… If I were to list them all, it would be endless. ”

That was something I had no choice but to agree with.

After realizing the memories of my past life, I have always lived with a subtle sense of discomfort and unease. It is only now that I can recall them specifically, but the foods that I vaguely thought of as ‘food from my past life’ were all famous foods, or they were people who picked fights without making proper judgments.

“So… is this world just a world in a novel? You and I are just characters in a novel?”

“Don’t you know that’s not true? It’s not like it’s meaningful to divide reality and unreality, but anyway, that’s not what you’re worried about. This world is just a separate world with many conditions attached that say, “If it were a novel, wouldn’t it be like this?” ”

“Honestly, there are things I understand but don’t want to understand, so I’m more curious about your intentions than the truth of the world. Why are you telling me this?”

“If an all-knowing being were to show favor to someone, what would be the reason?”

The man asked me a question instead. I calmly thought about the intention of the question and answered.

“Is it difficult for you to know about your past life?”

“To be exact, previous life transfer summons… whatever it is, it would be anyone who could be considered an ‘outsider’ from this continent’s perspective. Just as there is an order to things, I am already learning about the continent’s knowledge, so it would be natural for an outsider to come in and delay that.”

The man shrugged his shoulders and said that my answer was correct.

“Knowing everything is really boring. If you are someone who really likes books, but you have so many books around you that you have memorized every word on the page, wouldn’t you be interested in a new book that comes along while living that kind of life?”

“Just something to pass the time for you?”

“You could just read the book, but observing things, talking to the author, or looking at his previous works would also relieve boredom. In fact, I called you here just to relieve my boredom, and as you can guess, you won’t remember the conversation we had or the memories of me at all. It’s different from the expression “remember” in the first place.”

“You called me here without permission, and that’s quite rude.”

“Isn’t etiquette ultimately about avoiding fights? As long as I’m here, there’s no chance of me fighting with anyone, so I don’t think I need to be polite. And as a person…”

The man smiled meaningfully.

“Anyway, that’s the end of the conversation. I’ve seen a lot of foreigners so far, but your journey is the most anticipated. I hope the content of your book is different from what I expected.”

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visor!

The sound of swords clashing brought me back to my senses.

What were you thinking?

As I was absentmindedly watching Ayla and Mathias’s duel, I remembered what I had been thinking before I lost my mind. Yes, the forest was beautifully colored, so I was planning on going for a walk.

“Aila, I’m going to go for a walk, so take it easy.”

“Ugh~”

Even while they were clashing swords, Ayla turned her head to me and answered. It was clear that the gap in skill between her and Mathias was still that large.

I headed toward the nearby forest, walking slowly. I felt Yugram following me silently.