Ch.380Dice (3)

I uploaded an illustration of Rina! It’s so beautiful!

*****

Rina grew up as a princess of the Empire of Minerva, experiencing numerous incidents and accidents throughout her life.

From a young age, she learned the proper conduct, etiquette, and facial expressions required of imperial royalty, and became politically aware early on.

Her political awareness caused her relationship with Marie to deteriorate, but that issue has been resolved now, so there’s no need to worry about it.

Perhaps her most memorable experience was being attacked by a demonized demon race while out on an excursion.

Despite being in a supposedly safe area and on a familiar route, the attack left her with significant trauma.

Due to this trauma, she developed habits of constantly surveying her surroundings, checking for safety, and approaching matters rationally.

Looking back now, she suspects that demon might have been part of a plot by demon worshippers, as it happened when public perception of the demon race was at its lowest.

After the Biography of Xenon appeared, everything changed, but her duties as a princess continued to pile up day by day.

Recently, her head has been aching due to events initiated by Issac, but these are problems that can be solved over time. The issue is just how long it will take.

The underground temple is particularly concerning. Despite clear evidence that a ritual was performed, they couldn’t determine who or what had been summoned.

More accurately, they “couldn’t” determine it.

‘The one summoned… was Issac…?’

Rina stared at the young man before her, unable to close her gaping mouth. Tea dripped down her dress, but she was too shocked to care.

The young man smiling awkwardly was Issac Dukar Mayshall.

He was the author of the Biography of Xenon, regarded as either a prophet or a returner, and now revered as a saint who saved the world.

That’s not to say his abilities as an author were lacking. The Biography of Xenon had caused a global sensation even before it was recognized as a book of prophecy.

His writing skills were so excellent that people said he advanced the literary world by several stages.

The Biography of Xenon was easy to read regardless of age, gender, or social class. The number of freshmen in Halo Academy’s literature department had nearly tripled compared to the previous year.

‘So all that knowledge…’

The Biography of Xenon was a novel so intricate and meticulously researched that people said it created another world.

In fact, there are many novels that create worlds. Even folktales or fairy tales create other worlds in a sense.

But the Biography of Xenon was different. Not only did it have vivid descriptions that made you feel like you were there, but it also had deeply moving scenes.

Above all, the appearance of a “steam locomotive” was something that couldn’t simply be attributed to imagination.

Could such a story really come from the mind of one person, a young man not even 20 years old? Absolutely not.

It’s meaningless to debate whether it’s possible or impossible. At least to Rina, it was “absolutely” impossible.

“Um… Rina?”

“Huh, what?”

Lost in thought, Rina snapped back to reality at Issac’s call. Looking down, she saw him discreetly offering her a handkerchief.

Rina looked back and forth between the awkwardly smiling Issac and the handkerchief before carefully accepting it. Her hands trembled from the shock she had received.

“Ariel?”

“Hmm?”

“Dad needs to talk with a friend for a bit. Would you like to bask in the sunlight?”

“Yaaawn… okay.”

While Rina was cleaning her dress, Issac made a request to Ariel. Fortunately, Ariel seemed to have just woken up from a nap and walked to the bed with tiny steps, yawning.

She then jumped energetically onto the bed and fell asleep basking in the sunlight, just like before. The sprout on her head tilted toward the window to receive more sunlight.

Once the situation seemed to have settled, Issac looked back at Rina.

Her hands were trembling like aspen leaves as she cleaned her dress.

“Phew…”

After roughly cleaning her soiled dress, Rina placed the handkerchief on the table and took a deep breath.

The stain couldn’t be completely removed, but wiping it with the handkerchief had at least alleviated some of the discomfort.

Rina patted her chest to calm her pounding heart.

However, due to the thoughts racing through her mind, her heart showed no signs of calming down.

In the end, she had no choice but to maintain her current state. She had already shown an embarrassing side of herself, so what was there to hide now?

With this resolve, Rina straightened her posture and faced Issac directly.

His golden eyes were beautiful as always, but they were filled with a deep sense of awkwardness.

“Are you feeling a bit calmer now?”

“…Yes.”

In response to Issac’s question, Rina nodded and habitually reached for her teacup.

But realizing it was empty due to her earlier mishap, she quickly withdrew her hand.

Despite having met countless people in social circles and heard shocking news before, this was the first time she had lost her composure like this.

“…Is what I just heard true?”

A question that encapsulated all her emotions and thoughts. Her trembling voice was filled with complex emotions.

Issac gave a bitter smile and reluctantly nodded. He originally had no intention of revealing this, but Ariel had become an unexpected variable.

Of course, he could have denied it to the end. But Rina was far from a fool.

She was probably piecing together the puzzle in her mind right now.

‘Indeed… there’s no other explanation. The reason he could consistently deny being a prophet or a person from the future was because this was the truth. But did he really come from another world? Like demons living in different dimensions?’

And as expected, Rina was unraveling the tangled threads one by one.

All the suspicious elements that had bothered her until now fit together like puzzle pieces in her mind.

Issac’s horizontal mindset itself could be overlooked. After all, Marie also had almost no authoritative attitude.

Although she didn’t stay by Issac’s side like other women, Rina prided herself on her observational skills.

‘If he came from another world, everything makes sense. There are two things that bother me…’

Where did he come from? And how did he realize he was a being from another dimension?

Did he really come from a dimension where demons live, or from a world she knew nothing about?

Above all, she doubted whether this young man was truly Issac Dukar Mayshall.

A young man born and raised in the Mayshall family, with the family’s symbolic red hair and golden eyes.

From a biological perspective, Issac was clearly the biological son of Hawk Ducar Mayshall and Annah Ducar Mayshall.

However, it was impossible to know whether the soul residing within him was originally Issac’s or a soul that had crossed over from another dimension.

“…I won’t ask you to prove it. But I’d like to ask a few questions, if that’s okay?”

“Go ahead. Since I’ve already been found out, refusing would only raise suspicion.”

“How many people know about this right now?”

“Cecilly and Arwen. And now you, so three in total.”

Rina nodded at his answer. It was a bit surprising that even Marie didn’t know, but considering her personality, it was understandable.

She was a woman who would love Issac sincerely regardless of his true identity. She had fallen for the person himself.

Issac himself probably didn’t feel the need to tell her. With all the talk about being a returner and whatnot, it would only complicate things further.

“So they also know that you crossed over from another dimension due to a demon worshipper’s summoning?”

“No. They don’t.”

“They don’t… Then I’ll ask one important question now. Will you answer it?”

“I’ve already been exposed, so why not? But if my father or Sister Adel comes in, we’ll stop immediately.”

That’s fine with her. This could potentially affect the entire world, so it should be treated as confidential and approached with caution.

In fact, discussing this in such an open place was already quite dangerous. But her rising curiosity made her hasty.

Rina took a deep breath again, then slowly opened her eyes, which she had closed tightly, and looked at Issac.

He seemed ready to answer her question, with a somewhat relieved expression on his face.

Finally, Rina moistened her pink lips and asked in a careful yet curious voice.

“So… Issac.”

“Yes?”

“What kind of world did you live in before coming here?”

With this one question, she hoped to understand how Issac was able to write the Biography of Xenon.

What kind of world would one have to live in to have such imagination? What kind of life would one have to lead?

Humans fear the unknown, but at the same time, they are curious about it. This is one of the reasons humanity has been able to progress.

And what Rina wanted was beyond that. It was the story of someone who had lived in a different dimension.

“Before I answer, I want you to know something. Unlike what you might think, I lived a very ordinary life. I didn’t have high authority like you; I was more like a commoner. I don’t have the ability to create the steam locomotive described in the Biography of Xenon. I’m just a writer, the kind you can find anywhere.”

It was a request he had made to others as well. As he said, Issac was mindful that he was far from being a genius.

Just a writer who was good at writing and loved history. But he wasn’t at the top of his field either.

He was like a pebble on the street, not a threat to the world.

“That doesn’t matter. You’re important, but what’s more important is the world you lived in.”

“Why?”

“You said you were ordinary, right? In a world where even Xenon is ordinary, would that world be ordinary from our perspective?”

“…”

Issac found Rina’s persuasive words convincing. From this world’s perspective, it would certainly seem that way.

So how should he explain it? Issac pondered deeply.

The Earth he lived on was culturally and scientifically far more advanced than this world.

However, Earth had no magic, let alone mana. Not to mention monsters that threatened humanity.

Trying to explain all of this one by one felt a bit overwhelming. Moreover, it was unlikely that Rina would be able to understand it.

‘Ah. This should work.’

If he organized it well, he could come up with a good answer. So he told the tense Rina.

“This might sound a bit strange to you. The world I lived in had only humans.”

“Humans… What? Only humans?”

“Yes. No beastmen, elves, dwarves, demons, angels, or even monsters. No mana or magic, and the existence of gods is not clear. Since their existence is not clear, there’s no divine power either. Just humans, vast expanses of nature, and the plants and animals that live there. That’s all.”

Rina’s reaction to Issac’s answer was quite amusing.

“…What kind of world is that? It sounds incredibly boring. And can development happen with only humans? Can humans build civilization without elves?”

Her expression suggested that she thought it was an absurd story and that he shouldn’t lie.

From the perspective of someone living in this world, it would feel that way. Issac could fully understand her feelings.

“Do humans there live over 100 years? Do they live up to 1000 years like elves?”

“No. In the distant past, it was hard to live beyond 50 years. Even in my time, living beyond 100 years is difficult.”

“Then how… I just can’t understand. What kind of world…”

“Well, if I had to explain… Rina.”

“Yes?”

“How do you think about the sky?”

Issac suddenly asked about the sky. Rina frowned for a moment but recognized that the question came from Issac.

He never asks meaningless questions in situations like this. There must be an intention behind it.

After thinking for a while, she spoke based on what she knew.

“It’s where the gods reside, and only the chosen ones can swim there. That’s why angels have wings, right?”

“Right. And what else?”

“From a religious perspective, all life is born from the earth and ascends to the sky when they die.”

“Hmm. I understand how you think about it now.”

A typical old-fashioned mindset. But people like Rina are the norm and what’s considered normal.

After organizing his thoughts for a while, Issac spoke to Rina in a tone as if reciting a poem.

“A place where humans soar through the sky with their creations.”

“…What?”

“A place where humans can navigate vast seas without wind using their creations.”

“…”

“A place where humans can converse with people all over the world using their creations. And…”

Issac paused briefly before continuing slowly.

“A place where humans can destroy the world with their creations.”

These refer to airplanes, ships, the internet, and finally, nuclear bombs.

There was no point in explaining each in detail as it wouldn’t resonate much and would be difficult to understand, so he explained it in this way.

Issac looked at Rina, who seemed somewhat dazed, and smiled gently as he concluded.

“This is the kind of place it is. What do you think?”

And Rina’s response was…

“Pfft. Don’t make me laugh.”

Unexpectedly.

“How can such a ridiculous world exist? And humans do all that?”

She showed strong denial stemming from her racial perspective.