Bella

A god I met once asked me this question. Who are you? To that repeated question, I couldn’t give a proper answer. I didn’t accurately grasp the intent of the question the god threw at me. But after losing Ellie, who was with me until the end, and regaining Luna, I realized the intent of the question far too late.

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The task I had to do was determined from the beginning. It’s something only I can do. No, it would be more accurate to say it’s a task designed for only me to do. The fact that I was possessed by a character named ‘Ross’ is no coincidence.

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So, I lied to Luna. So that my lie could act as a painkiller for her, just for a moment. I just need to turn the lies I’ve told Luna, as I’ve been doing, into the truth. Because I have no choice but to become desperate if I don’t want to lose Luna again.

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Opening the door of the clubroom and stepping out, the corridor of the academy’s basement came into view. As expected. This wasn’t some illusion shown by the 10th floor of the labyrinth, but the real Transcendence Academy, it seems.

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Suddenly, this thought occurred to me.

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Was it possible that the Holy Grail had been in the Messiah clubroom from the beginning? Considering Nelson’s sly personality, which I recently learned about, it’s entirely possible. Not recognizing the jewel right in front of his eyes, circling around and returning to the starting point, and belatedly realizing that the jewel is in front of him and gaining enlightenment… Doesn’t it fit with the headmaster’s setting of giving a lesson that I set?

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Moreover, the clubroom was originally the headmaster’s secret warehouse, and a place connected to the legend called the secret room in the academy. There couldn’t be a better twist to instill a sense of futility.

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I don’t know the truth. If it was really in the clubroom, would Roel and the cult leader not have known? Maybe it’s just my suspicion. But what can I do? A mere creature who has realized that the place it thought was the world was just a treadmill created by God has no choice but to suspect everything.

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With a complex heart mixed with suspicion and futility, I climbed the stairs and realized that someone was looking down at me from the end of the stairs. When I raised my head, I saw a familiar face. Ian, Bella’s hunting dog. With an attitude as if he had been waiting for me, I looked at him without a word.

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“The Emperor is waiting, -nim.”

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As expected, Bella was waiting for me. Since I was planning to head to the Imperial Palace to meet Bella as soon as I left the academy anyway, I didn’t refuse Ian’s offer and nodded right away.

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Following behind Ian, I realized that his steps were not heading towards the main gate that would allow me to leave the academy, but towards the Magic Department dormitory.

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Finally, the place I arrived at with Ian was not the Imperial Palace where the Emperor should be, but Bella’s personal laboratory in the academy. It’s a familiar place that I’ve visited several times.

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Ian, who opened the door to the laboratory, leaned against the wall next to the door as if not to interrupt the conversation. Does he have no intention of protecting Bella from me? Or maybe he thinks it’s meaningless. If so, it means Ian also knows the plan. After looking at his face for a moment, I stepped into the laboratory alone.

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“Welcome.”

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I let out a hollow laugh at the sight of Bella, who was sitting at a table full of coffee and desserts without any attendants or escort knights around, welcoming me. Taking the empty chair opposite her, I deliberately remained silent, waiting for Bella to speak first.

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As expected, Bella started talking as if she had been waiting.

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“Looking at your expression, it seems you’ve finally realized the truth. Is it because of the setting that you become stronger by losing something? Or is it that you only come to your senses after losing something? If it’s you, it might be both.”

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Bella seemed more excited than usual. Like a girl looking forward to a pleasant date, the curve of her lips didn’t disappear easily even as time passed. Her joy was unadorned sincerity.

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Honestly, it’s amazing. She’s probably the one who knows better than anyone that if I find out who the real culprit who killed Luna is, I will definitely repay them with the same death. The way she seems so nonchalant, even genuinely happy, was enough for me to unknowingly accept that she’s a mastermind who planned all of this.

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Seeing my convinced expression, Bella said with a smile.

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“You’ve probably noticed to some extent, but I still need to explain the parts that are lacking, right? Where should I start explaining? Your mistake? The beginning of the plan?”

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“…As you wish.”

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The order doesn’t matter now. What’s important is the missing parts that will bring out the details of the big picture.

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Bella quietly drank her coffee and ate the strawberry-topped whipped cream pie, leisurely thinking before opening her mouth.

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“Well, the initial plan wasn’t like this. Of course, I was going to help you prevent Roel from repeating his failures and save the world by using our own special ending with new methods that Roel hadn’t tried until now.”

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Bella continued, flicking the fork with whipped cream on the bottom.

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“But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a method. Even if I stopped Roel’s plan using the Holy Grail, all the methods to stop the final opponent, the God of Chaos, would have been tried by Roel in the previous world with advice from countless people, including me.”

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That’s right. In fact, even now, I can’t think of a way to stop the God of Chaos. I was just thinking of killing the cult leader. Wouldn’t that be the biggest achievement among the things a younger brother, a disposable item of inferiority, can do?

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“While I was worrying, a sage came to me. Yes, I also think it’s like a fairy tale development. The emperor in distress receives advice from a sage and gains great enlightenment.”

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The fork, which had been moving around in the air, stopped. The whipped cream on the back fell into the coffee, but Bella, who was staring straight at me and lost in thought, didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe she didn’t care about the coffee she wouldn’t be drinking anymore.

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“The important thing was always the perspective. I thought Roel was the most important in the plan, so I thought from his perspective. But that was wrong. Roel isn’t the king. He was an important piece that had to be protected until the last moment for victory. Because in chess, you can never win without the king.”

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Bella, who raised her hand and stroked her cheek, shone her golden eyes and continued speaking in an excited voice.

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“A piece that can sacrifice itself for the king to checkmate. Yes, the piece that could end everything was you from the beginning. I had forgotten that the fact that you were possessed by Ross was God’s plan to defeat the God of the Chaos Cult. So, I realized. The grand plan created by God.”

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I gave a bitter smile at the sight of Bella’s eyes shining with joy as if she was thinking about that time. After a moment, Bella touched her lips with her fingertip and said.

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“The wise emperor, who finished a long discussion with Nelson, immediately took action without hesitation.”

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“Brutally murdering Luna?”

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Even at my sharp words that came out reflexively, Bella only smiled brightly.

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“That’s right, because that’s the beginning and the entirety of the plan.”

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“…The entirety?”

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It was an incomprehensible statement. I know that she secretly manipulated me to revive Luna using the Holy Grail that Roel was aiming for, but Luna’s death is the entirety of the plan?

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“Yes. The entirety.”

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Bella, who put down her fork on the table, said with a bright expression.

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“In this plan, Luna’s death isn’t important. What’s important is that Luna, who had died, was revived again through your efforts.”

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“Why?”

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I asked that, but somehow I felt like I knew what answer Bella would give even without hearing it.

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“Because someone who has lost something precious will desperately try not to lose the precious thing they barely managed to regain, to the point of throwing themselves into the fire.”

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Finishing her words, Bella gave a snake-like smile. That smile sent shivers down my spine. A sinister thought flashed through my mind. Did the strategist Eunice, who read the situation, and the mad strategist Raelan really not notice Bella’s plan until the end? Did they notice Bella’s plan but pretend not to know for the sake of victory?

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If it’s Raelan, there’s a high possibility that he secretly helped Bella’s plan succeed. He’s a strategist who moves for his own victory, not for his loyalty to me. Since I made him my ally by using that in the first place, I didn’t feel a great sense of betrayal.

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“Now you won’t hesitate. Because you’ve realized what your role is, what you need to do to save everyone. That the last connection of Ross isn’t a coincidence, but all planned.”

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I finally smiled then. Because I finally realized exactly what my role is. I now understood everything, the reason I was possessed by Ross, and the reason the administrator intervened and sent me to another world.

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All of me,

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For the last move decided by God.

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Only I,

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It’s something only Ross can do.

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Bella, who got up from the table, approached me. I could feel the subtle scent of perfume from her as she leaned her face towards my ear. Bella, who raised the corner of her lips, whispered to me in a low voice.

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“Lastly, your mistake was that you passed on your memories to another desperate person who could nonchalantly throw away their life for Roel’s victory.”

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I met eyes with Bella, who raised her head. I gave a bitter smile at the expression filled with arrogance that only the person who trapped me in a terrible trap could make.

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“You’re surprisingly bad at lying.”

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At those words, the arrogant expression that had appeared on Bella’s face disappeared in an instant. It’s only natural. It would be strange if Bella, who survived the struggles in the Imperial Palace and countless assassinations and politics, made an expression in front of me that completely revealed her inner thoughts unless it was on purpose.

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There’s something missing from the reason why Bella killed Luna is the entirety of the plan. In fact, I can now guess what it is even without hearing it. The fact that Bella waited for me at the academy, and the fact that Roel hasn’t shown himself until now, are all because… this play hasn’t ended yet.

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I let out a deep sigh. And I said, forcing as much breath as possible into my lungs.

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“I wanted to save you. So that you could be happy with Roel until the end, unlike in the novel.”

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Bella gave a bitter smile. She didn’t say anything. But her expression tells me.

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That it can’t be helped.

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Yeah, I also gave a bitter smile looking at her.

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It can’t be helped.

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Because the characters in the novel have their own roles.

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So, we’re just doing what we have to do.

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I used the last remaining quantum jump.

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After digesting the knowledge gained through the quantum jump, Bella, looking at me as I slowly opened my closed eyes, smiled and asked.

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“So, what do I look like to you?”

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At the eyes filled with pure curiosity, I replied with a greedy smile.

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“Chocolate. A very sweet-looking one at that.”

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Kuduk―――

Kuduk―――

Kuduk―――

It was so sickeningly sweet that I felt a sense of rejection.