episode_0004

A little time passed.

Following the sun as it set beyond the horizon, the stars began to peek out.

An alley covered in strange shadows.

It was as if a black mist had fallen, making it impossible to see an inch ahead.

A scene that gave a somewhat dreamy impression.

It resembled a dream falling at dawn.

However, that scene was reversed as if it had never been.

*Snap!*

I lightly snapped my fingers.

Behind the clean popping sound, the mists that had swallowed the alley vanished instantly.

Leaving no trace behind.

“Hmph…”

In the space where the pitch blackness receded, I exhaled.

Perhaps it was because I used my abilities after a long time.

My fingertips felt a stinging sensation.

Did I overdo it too flamboyantly?

I brushed off the remaining shadows on my sleeve.

As I casually moved my hand, faint groans reached my ears.

“Ugh, oh…” “Ughhh…”

Two people were rolling on the floor.

The pig, and the escort knight.

Their shabby bodies, eyes rolled back, were swaying dizzily side by side.

I had directly hit them with ‘Lies,’ and it seemed they had finally broken.

From now on, they would live the life of invalids.

Becoming idiots incapable of anything, they would spend the rest of their miserable lives.

I silently expressed my regret.

“…I didn’t intend to go this far.”

If possible, I wanted to resolve it amicably.

Because I am a generous person.

However, when the name ‘Regia’ popped out of his mouth, I couldn’t tolerate it.

“Exactly~ People should know their place, shouldn’t they?”

For a mere extra to try to lay a hand on our protagonist.

It was an intolerable act.

If one crosses the line, they must pay the price.

“This is the price I exact from you.”

A sneer spread across my lips.

Gathering the blossoming mockery, I turned my back.

The danger was handled, so I intended to return to the lodging.

Just as I began to move.

“…”

Something touched my foot.

Recognizing its identity, I quietly knelt forward.

It was a boy who appeared to be around ten years old.

No, more precisely, it was his corpse.

A bloodied face.

His face was crushed, as if he had been struck with mana.

Had he been sacrificed to someone’s senseless rage?

On his hungry cheeks, only clear tear streaks remained.

With a slowly extended hand, I wiped his cold, stiff eyes.

“…How cruel.”

The slums were inherently such a place.

A place where people were killed simply for being immature and powerless.

“You had to die because you were young.”

All adults were once children.

But most don’t remember their childhood.

“My poor Leon Bert.”

Yet, even the right to forget your childhood wasn’t yours.

For your time stopped before you could become an adult.

May this street remember you.

And on behalf of the adult you could not become, may it forget your childhood.

*Rustle.*

I covered the boy’s face with a handkerchief from my pocket.

A moment of mourning, singing for a fleeting time.

Soon, I got up from the spot again.

‘I really should head back now.’

There was much to do.

It was a week until academy enrollment.

Especially since a very important event was scheduled for tomorrow.

Preparations were needed.

‘By the way… I feel like someone’s been here for a while now.’

Suddenly, I tilted my head at a presence I felt from a distance.

I stared, my brow furrowed, but…

Perhaps because I had just used my abilities, my senses were dulled by nausea.

Still, there seemed to be no need for caution.

There was no killing intent, nor any strange mana circulation.

Perhaps it was just a drunkard wandering nearby.

I settled on that thought.

If this scene were discovered, it would be troublesome.

With a sense of quickly escaping the spot, I moved towards the alley exit.

***

In the alley the Snake had left.

A figure, who had been hiding around the corner, emerged.

“…”

It was a girl somewhat unfitting for the slums.

Blue eyes resembling the ocean.

Her platinum blonde hair, reaching her shoulders, sparkled even against the backdrop of the night.

Although she wore a robe to conceal her identity, her inherent nobility was not easily hidden.

The girl cautiously looked around.

She seemed to be wary that the Snake might not have completely left the alley.

Fortunately, there were no suspicious signs.

Only then did the girl take her hand off the sword at her waist.

*Thud.*

The girl slumped down as if her strength had given out.

Cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

Her face remained expressionless, but it was true that she was quite flustered.

“…What in the world was that?”

She mumbled to herself.

The girl’s eyes unfocused as if recalling the recent scene.

A scene that was, quite literally, a nightmare itself.

With shoulders trembling involuntarily, the girl clenched her fists tightly.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

There had been rumors lately that the atmosphere in the slums was unusual, but she hadn’t heard anything about such a monster.

What exactly was happening?

She pressed her hand to her throbbing forehead.

The girl stood up.

It seemed she felt an investigation was necessary.

Regarding the ‘man’ she had witnessed.

“Should I go back for now?”

The First Imperial Princess of the Empire, Charlotte Little von Staufen.

A character called another protagonist of the original game ‘The Little Prince’s World’.

The Little Prince, Charlotte.

The girl moved quietly.

So as not to be discovered by anyone.

***

After a day filled with many events, I returned to my lodging.

I lay on the bed.

I wasn’t particularly tired.

I was merely recovering some of the power I had used so suddenly.

“It truly is a difficult ability to handle.”

I casually mumbled to myself.

Perhaps due to the aftermath of using the ability, a tingling sensation still lingered in my fingertips.

I gently clenched my fist.

“Hmm.”

It was a difficult ability to handle, but it was also just as powerful.

It was a power that could erase an entire continent if I so desired.

‘Unique Ability: Liar.’

The power to twist the natural order through lies uttered.

I can deceive everything I wish to deceive, and deny everything I wish to deny.

Not to mention, I can manipulate others as I wish.

It was an ability that could even influence objects, magic, nature… and even laws.

To give an example:

It’s easiest to recall the final battle the protagonist’s party had with Yuda in the original work.

“Hahaha! Even if you swing your sword like that, it won’t reach me?” “Because I am denying you.”

The Sword Saint’s strike missed.

As if mocking him, the Snake narrowly dodged it.

“Hmm~ Magic is a bit bothersome. Shall I set a rule here then?” “From now on, magic will not affect me.”

He casually absorbed the attacks shot by the mages.

Sharply honed mana. But it couldn’t leave even a slight scratch on the Snake.

“Oh dear! You almost killed me, Miss Regia.” “Indeed, the summoned beast you control is dangerous!” “Shall I make it disappear for a moment?”

The summoned beast controlled by the protagonist vanished. As if it had never existed in the world from the beginning.

“It’s getting a bit boring.” “Shall we… make the world a little more interesting?”

He denied a law.

When the boy clapped his hands once, the gravity of the entire continent was reversed.

People fell upwards into the sky.

A scene that could truly be called an apocalypse.

Along with the shimmering black mist, the Liar wore a sinister smile.

“…”

It was a scene that brought back trauma.

Damn it. You should be strong within reasonable limits.

Who the hell puts a bastard like this as the final boss and expects anyone to clear it?

It wasn’t for nothing that I had to try 1943 times.

The difficulty was insanely high.

One slip and it’s a wipe, one yawn and it’s a wipe, one blink and it’s a wipe.

Watching the protagonist’s party get brutally stomped like that, curses would automatically fly from my mouth.

Still, in the end, I succeeded in clearing it.

The problem was that I was dragged into this world before I could even see the ending.

“What a pity.” `=This sucks.`

Anyway, this body possessed such an ability.

The power to erase the world by myself.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely without weaknesses.

As powerful as it was, its efficiency was poor, making it difficult to sustain the ability for long.

Yuda in the latter half of the original work seemed to have overcome this problem, but I had no such thing.

I’m still a baby, only three years into possessing this body.

You should compare apples to apples.

In short, I can’t do things like ‘continental gravity reversal.’

‘I could try… but my power would probably run out first.’

This ability is like a battery.

Once all the lies I have are used up, the ability no longer activates.

The reason I can’t be a ‘Liar’ on the massive scale Yuda was, is the same principle as not being able to run a computer with the power of an AAA battery.

Furthermore, after using it once, I must recharge it to use it again.

Because there’s no way I can do anything with an empty battery.

The charging method was as follows:

“I confess to myself: I did nothing today.”

Immediately after the short, echoing sentence, a blue screen appeared before my eyes.

*Ding!*

[A small amount of ‘Lies’ has been recovered.] [Current output remaining: 57%]

Should I call it an ability true to its concept?

It was a system where it charged by telling lies.

The more perfect the lie, and the more emotional change it causes in the listener, the more effective it is.

“I ate stew for lunch today.”

*Ding!*

[A small amount of ‘Lies’ has been recovered.] [Current output remaining: 57.5%]

“I am currently outdoors.”

*Ding!*

[A small amount of ‘Lies’ has been recovered.] [Current output remaining: 57.8%]

“I hate games.”

*Ding!*

[A small amount of ‘Lies’ has been recovered.] [Current output remaining: 58.4%]

“I am not human.”

*Ding!*

[Lies…]

You can roughly see it like this.

In truth, such trivial lies don’t yield much charge, but it’s still good to keep doing them.

Because I always need to be in a state where I can use my abilities.

Perhaps some other method will emerge over time.

For now, it was the best option.

It also felt like practice for having lies on my tongue.

So I lay on the bed, murmuring lies for a while.

‘Come to think of it… is tomorrow already the day that event happens?’

A thought suddenly came to mind.

Following that, my indifferent lips curved into a sinister smile.

Something interesting will happen tomorrow.

Ripples spread through my calm heart.

I savored the surging anticipation, bringing the day to a close.

***

The next day, after a full day had passed.

I finally left the lodging around evening, as the sun was slowly setting.

It was to head towards the event.

Hiding my fluttering heart, I walked slowly.

*Whoosh.*

Even as the sun set, was spring still spring?

Flower petals clung to every passing breeze.

It was a harmonious scene.

As I traversed the street, I reached my destination before long.

In fact, I hadn’t just walked.

I had used ‘Lies’ midway to deny space.

I had shortened a distance that would normally take over an hour by carriage to less than 10 minutes.

*Ding!*

[Current output remaining: 81.7%]

With the mechanical sound in my ears, I raised my head.

A colossal building came into my blurred vision.

For a building erected in an secluded area, its exterior was excessively extravagant.

‘It’s exactly as I saw it in the game.’

The Empire’s largest slave auction house, Apple Tree.

It was an illegal facility operated by a ‘Businessman,’ a big shot of the underworld.

And it was also the backdrop where a certain character’s story began.

I approached the grand entrance.

A gatekeeper blocked my path, as if to check the guest list.

“Only those with reservations may enter Apple Tree. May I have your name, please?”

Of course, I hadn’t made a reservation.

Instead of answering the question, I subtly raised my right hand and spoke.

“Could you look this way for a moment?”

“Yes?”

The moment our gazes met.

*Snap!*

I snapped the fingers I had prepared.

Immediately after, the focus disappeared from the gatekeeper’s eyes.

The broken doll seemed to twitch, then soon lost its reason and froze in place.

I whispered towards those eyes.

“Step aside.”

“…Reservation confirmed. I will escort you to the special seating.”

“How kind of you.”

“I hope you have a good time.”

And so, I leisurely stepped into the auction house.

Perhaps because the brainwashing hit him directly, the gatekeeper gave me quite a significant seat.

A high-class seat with a clear view of the stage.

I hummed a tune and leaned back into the plush seat.

“We express our gratitude to all those who have visited ‘Apple Tree,’ the finest auction house, today!” “Before the main auction begins, a few announcements…”

The lively voice of the host, chattering excitedly.

Regardless of that, my attention was entirely focused downwards.

My current location. Below the auction house, there is an underground prison.

A place where illegally abducted demi-humans were imprisoned to be sold as slaves.

The person I was looking for was probably also underground.

A character from the game ‘The Little Prince’s World’.

A supporting character who helps the protagonist, and who would one day become a Sword Master and a great asset.

“It’s time to meet the Fox.”

From now on, I intended to overturn this auction house.

To rescue her.