Ch.339Chapter 339. Changing Little by Little

I swallowed dryly.

Once again, I became acutely aware of the powerful force of fate that was completely beyond my control.

Is trying to save Lady Serpina the wrong thing to do?

If I continue to avoid it, perhaps more people will be sacrificed while the end remains unchanged.

Is there really no way for her?

As much as I don’t want to believe it, no matter what we do, is everything “predetermined”… and we can’t go against it?

“Lost in thought again?”

“Huh? Ah…”

Oh no.

Serpina is already anxious enough; I shouldn’t show such a distracted appearance.

“No. It’s nothing.”

“That’s a lie.”

“Can you say that with certainty?”

“Yes. When Swen lies, the corner of your right eyebrow twitches slightly.”

“…What?”

I couldn’t help but be surprised by those words, so I answered with a somewhat dumbfounded expression.

“Everyone has habits. I can see them. Of course, unless I’m with someone all day, I can’t gather as much information as I do when watching you… but once you become aware of it, you can read a bit of someone’s mind through repeated practice.”

So that was the secret to how she read my thoughts so uncannily?

“I see… That sounds like something from another world.”

At my words, Serpina chuckles with amusement, “Kuhuhuh.”

“Your spiritual eye is even more impressive. My ability is just a parlor trick in comparison, isn’t it?”

“Even if it’s just a parlor trick, my lord possesses outstanding talents in other areas as well. Wouldn’t it be fair to say you’re close to being a perfect ruler?”

“Is that a compliment or flattery?”

“Both.”

“Huhuhuh. Are you trying to get on my good side?”

“Yes.”

“Uh…?”

Serpina was startled for a moment, stammering before her face turned bright red.

This expression she sometimes shows is so adorable. I tease the ruler just to see this face.

“I’m joking.”

“…You really say whatever you want in front of the Emperor, Swen.”

“Indeed. Looking at moments like this, I think I’ve changed a lot too.”

“Changed?”

“Yes. I’ve moved between quite a few countries, you know.”

At first, I only wanted to return to my original world as quickly as possible.

That’s why I joined Unified Monarch Lunarian.

The first experience was the battle with the Brans forces. Then, as an envoy, I met Lynn and ended up receiving three thousand gold instead.

Somewhere in that process, I became embedded in Lunarian’s forces and found myself wanting to protect her.

After Lunarian’s forces were crushed under the fierce military boots of the Brans army, I joined Lynn and met many people.

Among them was someone I could never forget, someone incredibly important—Irene.

Irene Juliette.

My personal knight who promised to wield her sword for me, and the first woman I ever loved.

The second time was to save Irene. For that reason alone, I betrayed Lynn and enlisted in the Aeshus forces under Yurie.

There I met another fateful person—Reika. The continent’s first and greatest magician, an incredibly cute and gentle person like a small animal.

Yurie didn’t value me and Irene much, and I didn’t serve her seriously either.

Looking back now, it was probably the most carefree time of my life. I didn’t suffer much mental anguish then. With no responsibilities to bear, each day naturally felt lighter.

That’s not to say I did nothing. The battle against the Brans forces. That was my only way of repaying Yurie in my own way.

And then.

After hearing advice from someone with an intelligence of 100, I volunteered to be an envoy to Serpina’s forces.

There, Yurie made the shocking decision to abandon me.

And because of that decision—

“That’s how I came to meet you, Lady Serpina.”

This was an incredibly meaningful event in my life.

Serpina von Einhart. The tyrant hated by all.

But she was merely atoning for Einhart’s sins, not a bad person. Neither as a ruler nor as a human.

And.

I came to love such a Serpina.

This is perhaps the most dramatic part of my change.

Another ruler had entered my heart, which had previously served only Lady Luna.

Even if the type of emotion was somewhat different, the fact that it had penetrated my heart remained unchanged.

“Come to think of it, how many countries have you been through, Swen?”

“You’re exactly the fourth.”

“I see. If you’ve wandered through that many countries, perhaps it would be strange if you hadn’t changed.”

I smiled at her and said:

“But you know what?”

“What?”

“You’ve changed too, Lady Serpina.”

“…Me?”

Serpina puffed her cheeks slightly and—

“Are you saying my way of speaking has changed?”

“No, not that. I mean from before. Just… you’ve become more honest, I’d say. It’s not just about how you speak, but your attitude, you know? Things that are much more important.”

“Hmm.”

After listening to my words, she tilted her head for a while, then eventually let out a “puhehe” laugh and said:

“If I have changed, and if it’s in a positive direction—I think it’s all thanks to you, Swen. I mean it.”

“Same here. If I’ve changed positively, it’s all thanks to you, Lady Serpina. If we both keep changing little by little like this…”

—Could we change even a terrible fate?

Unable to speak those final words, I held back, and instead of asking further, Serpina slowly rested her head on my shoulder.

She smelled of yuzu. A scent that always calms my heart whenever I smell it.

What kind of chemical reaction would occur if the yuzu scent mixed with my body scent?

With such foolish thoughts, we felt each other’s warmth.

In a space just for the two of us, filling the air with various idle talk—

And so, another night of ours was passing by.

* * *

And—

Serpina didn’t miss the fleeting moment in her conversation with Swen.

‘He said fourth…’

Fourth.

The rulers Swen had served were Lynn, Yurie, and herself, making it the fourth.

—Before Lynn, someone who was already a ruler is his true lord.

This was an extremely important fact.

She already knew that Swen had another ruler he served.

What was important was that this person wasn’t simply someone he thought ‘should rightfully be considered a ruler’ in his heart—but someone who had already raised an army once.

This narrowed it down.

One of the many small nations that existed just before the Brans forces unified the Central Continent.

Swen had served one of them. Who was it?

‘…’

She had someone in mind.

But she needed to find out more.

She needed concrete evidence.

‘Swen. If only I could know exactly who is in your heart…’

* * *

By the time I arrived at Kelstein Castle, located at the entrance to the Northern Continent, after leading part of the troops from Balhart Castle, I heard news that territories around Einhart Castle were being invaded.

And in the process, power close to magic had been detected.

“Is that true?”

“Yes. As you mentioned, it seems that magicians have joined the rebel forces.”

“I understand.”

I turned my head to look at the pink-haired archmage with a determined expression.

“What do you think, Reika?”

Taking the asymmetric force Reika away from the occupation forces was a big loss for them, but with the border expected to be quiet for a while and reports of three magicians appearing, bringing Reika along was an unavoidable choice.

“It seems the reports about magic being used aren’t lies. However…”

“However?”

“The fact that three appeared at once bothers me.”

Actually, this wasn’t the first time I’d heard this.

As soon as Reika heard the news, she repeatedly asked me, “Three appeared at once?”

“I was about to ask about that—is it really that strange for them to appear simultaneously?”

I thought it was strange too, but I wanted to know why she had come to such a conclusion.

It was rare for the timid Reika to speak with such a confident voice.

“Yes.”

“Do you have any basis for this? The fact that people are awakening to mana isn’t just proven by you, but also by Tifa who appeared in Lunarian’s forces, right?”

Reika looked slightly surprised at my words.

“Uh…? The magician who appeared in Lunarian’s forces was named Tifa…?”

…Ah.

I inadvertently mentioned the name, but publicly, it was only known that “a general from the Southern Continent suddenly started using magic,” and the name wasn’t widely spread.

It would be natural for someone who hadn’t been in Lunarian’s forces or crossed swords with them not to know.

Still, Reika wasn’t the type to pry into such things, so I’ll try to gloss over it.

“I happened to find out. I have my sources.”

“I see… As expected, you’re amazing, Sir Swen.”

Fortunately, it seemed to have passed without issue.

Making a slip of the tongue in front of Reika—I must be quite lucky.

“The thing is… there haven’t been enough magicians appearing to establish a trend, so I can’t definitively say it’s strange based on concrete evidence.”

“But you seem quite confident about it, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

She nodded and looked up at me with an unusually serious expression.

“It’s just… something that stands out to me.”

“What is it?”

“Well…”

At my question, Reika hesitated for a moment, then returned to her former self.

Breaking into a cold sweat and looking apologetic—

“I-I’m sorry! It’s just, I haven’t sorted it out clearly yet… I’d like to run some tests, but there’s no proper way to…”

“Well, you can explain it slowly. The point is that it’s strange, right?”

“Yes, that’s right…!”

Nod, nod.

‘It seems there’s something I don’t know about.’

Even as someone who had poured 10,000 hours into magic, there were many new things for me to learn.

For instance, the existence of healing magic or that decorative treasures were actually weapons capable of receiving mana.

These were things I could never have known just from playing the game.

Similarly, Reika, who had mastered magic, probably sensed some kind of discomfort.

Reika was the type of person who performed worse the more you rushed her.

With people like her, rather than pushing, it was better to wait patiently, even if it was a bit frustrating.

“Please tell me when you’ve sorted it out. I’ll be waiting.”

“Yes…!”

Whether there were three magicians or whatever else—

‘Those who dared to rebel will thoroughly pay the price.’

With burning determination, I entered Kelstein Castle with Reika.