episode_0012

Clack-

“Where are you going?”

“…”

He picked up the gladius that had been placed behind Roland.

And seeing him pack various things into his bag, Roland let out a hollow laugh.

“…Ha.”

Roland said sardonically.

“Why? Are you going to get up right now and go save her?”

“Then—”

Agapé’s demeanor turned fierce.

“You’re trying to drag a girl with no power and no fighting ability into mortal danger, calling her a hero, and you expect me to just watch?”

“It might not necessarily be mortal danger.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“That it won’t be entirely bad for Kara.”

His anger flared at the absurdity of “not entirely bad,” but curious about what nonsense he’d spout next, he watched Roland in silence.

“If Kara isn’t here, this continent will be destroyed.”

Hiss-

Roland lit a cigarette.

“She’s one of the heroes who inherited the strongest star’s power. She also has talent. Among the knights of the heroes’ order that will be formed in the future, if Kara isn’t there, they won’t be able to defeat the Armies of Death.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I am the Prophet of the Moon.”

A prophet who reads the future, who reads destiny.

“Besides—”

Just by stating he was a prophet, Roland began to nonchalantly persuade him to push Kara into mortal danger.

And as he kept listening to those words—

His anger slowly began to surge.

“It’s true that if Kara dies, the Armies of Death cannot be eradicated.”

“So what?”

“In other words, not only I, but other prophets know this too—”

Clack-

“Since she’s a hero who is practically the only key to overcoming this disaster, she won’t be sent into mortal danger recklessly.”

They will train her thoroughly, feed her all sorts of elixirs, until her cultivation has reached a level where she won’t die from most things.

The prophets will mobilize all means to raise Kara to her fullest potential before sending her to the battlefield, so as not to create a future where Kara dies, even in a million to one chance.

Therefore, at least in the fight against the Armies of Death, Kara will not die.

That was what Roland was trying to say.

“And since she will have defeated the great disaster that almost plunged the continent into ruin, she’ll suffer a bit until then, but after that, she’ll live a life of luxury and abundance, wanting for nothing, for the rest of her life.”

By then, she would be one of the strongest individuals on the continent, and she would receive the Emperor’s complete protection.

“So, it won’t be entirely bad for Kara either.”

It would be tough, but she wouldn’t die.

And in a future where she’s treated as a hero after her struggles, she’ll be able to live a happy life without want.

“…”

Rationally speaking, there wasn’t much to refute in Roland’s words.

He said she’d suffer a bit, but wouldn’t die and would ultimately live happily.

But there was still something he didn’t like.

“In the end, it’s all just for your own satisfaction, isn’t it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Has Kara ever said she wanted any of that?”

“…”

“You dragged her out arbitrarily, you arbitrarily treat her as a hero and plan to take her to a dangerous battlefield, so isn’t that level of treatment only natural? But—”

What are you saying it like you’re doing her a favor when it’s something that should be obvious?

“You’re talking too easily in the first place.”

“…”

“You’re not the one going. Kara is. Kara is the one who will suffer and endure pain, and it’s entirely Kara’s responsibility to eliminate the disaster that even those great prophets and the Empire couldn’t defeat. But—”

That it won’t be entirely bad?

“Bullshit.”

In the end, you’re just rationalizing your own hypocrisy.

Because sending a powerless girl to the battlefield in the name of the greater good is an act that can’t be considered just, no matter how you look at it.

“You disgusting bastards.”

He glared at Roland, truly spitting out words full of contempt.

“You, the prophets, and the Empire’s bastards are all the same. You act all high and mighty about things that aren’t *your* problem, while casually committing disgusting acts.”

You bastard.

“If I had known your true nature, I never should have befriended you in the first place.”

“…!”

“This is goodbye. Let’s never meet again.”

Creak-

As he opened the door and was about to leave, Roland spoke.

“You’re going to save Kara, aren’t you?”

“…”

“Shall I make a prophecy?”

Thud-

His footsteps halted at those words.

“First, at your current level, having awakened this cursed power, it will be difficult, but you’ll be able to defeat the knights. Of course, there are more futures where you sustain fatal injuries and die, but you’ll still survive in about 30% of futures.”

“…”

“If you manage to survive that, only the Prophet of Light will remain. While there’s a strong perception that prophets aren’t combat-oriented, if they use the Divinity, a privilege granted only to them, you’ll die with a fifty percent chance. Ah, the reason I raised the probability to fifty percent is because there are quite a few futures where the Prophet of Light is too arrogant and dies at your hands.”

Thump-

Roland staggered to his feet, leaning on his staff.

“Only then will you escape with Kara. It will take a considerable amount of time to find the catacombs’ exit and escape, but fortunately, you and Kara, being lucky, will escape the city more easily than expected. And without even time to enjoy the outside world for the first time, having killed the Prophet of Light and kidnapped the hero, you’ll be ‘expelled’ by the prophets and forced to flee across the entire continent.”

Out of a myriad of futures, only one.

There was only one future where he overcame his trials, ultimately developing his own power and growing strong enough to protect Kara.

But even that single future, where he survived the longest, didn’t have a bright ending.

“And then you die. Your life force will reach its limit due to the rampaging cursed power, Kara will be left alone, and eventually she will be taken to the Alliance and become a hero. What’s more, due to the hero’s delayed arrival, 80% of the continent’s population will be annihilated before the disaster is finally overcome.”

Of course, this isn’t the only way.

If you somehow persuade the Prophet of Light with my help as the Prophet of the Moon, you’ll have the option to go with Kara, who will become a hero.

What then will happen in that future?

To tell you in chronological order—

“First. You somehow reach the peak of Mount Minerva, the prophets’ holy site. And the prophets will see you, corrupted by the cursed power, as an eyesore, and you’ll fail to persuade them and be executed. Of course, you’re not executed in all futures.”

But it’s too early to rejoice simply because you succeeded in persuading them.

The future after that probably won’t be easy either.

“Second. Assassinations by various methods.”

High-ranking individuals, including the prophets, will see you as an eyesore and try to kill you.

“It will be a critical moment, but if you survive this too, you won’t have to worry about assassinations for a while. Because by then, Kara, who will have begun to grow slightly stronger than you, will have gained influence, and your punishment will be temporarily suspended due to Kara’s ‘earnest plea’.”

But the trials don’t end there.

“Kara will become incomparably stronger than you. She hasn’t been corrupted by cursed power like you, and she possesses the power of a legendary hero along with a genius talent for swordsmanship.

With that talent, she’ll grow at a terrifying pace and become a hero very quickly, and as time passes, you, who will need Kara’s protection, will increasingly become a hindrance to her.”

But who are you? You’re Agapé, after all.

That Agapé, known throughout the land, felt urgency at the thought of becoming a hindrance to the woman he protected, and began to push himself even harder.

Training, training, training, training, training.

“Aside from the minimum sleep and meal times a human needs, you’ll force yourself to train, even skipping meetings with Kara.”

Surprisingly, at that time, you’ll begin to grow stronger at a considerable pace.

But even this will bring you greater trials.

“Because you’ll die from overwork due to overly strenuous training, or—”

“Due to renewed assassination attempts, they’ll send you on dangerous solo missions, wanting to naturally kill you without Kara knowing.”

And finally—

“Kara will abandon you.”

Hearing those words, Agapé was most deeply shaken.

“…Why?”

“It splits into exactly two futures.”

He spread his middle and index fingers.

“In the first future, Kara, unable to watch you suffer and wither away both physically and mentally under all sorts of threats, will get engaged to a hero from a prestigious family as the price for protecting you. Unable to overcome your self-loathing and despair due to your own incompetence, you will commit suicide in less than half a year.”

“…”

“Don’t make that face. There’s one more, even worse future.”

The even worse, and worst, future.

“The second future.”

Roland, folding his middle finger, said.

“As Kara supports you for a long time, you’ll become increasingly desperate and engrossed in training, breaking down, until one day you’ll have a huge fight with Kara. After that, your relationship will sour, and with time, you’ll become worse than strangers. And…”

Kara will become bound to a hero from a prestigious family, and get engaged to that person.

In the end, she’ll become a member of that family, and after the defeat of the Armies of Death, she’ll formally hold a wedding.

By then, the existence of you within Kara will have been forgotten.

The woman you love most will enter another man’s arms, having forgotten your very existence.

What will become of you then?

“I won’t go into specifics. But you’d do well to know this one thing.”

By then, a quick suicide will be the most lenient of the fates that will befall you.

“Exactly ten years.”

That the futures I’ve spoken of so far will happen within exactly ten years from this moment.

“You should bear that in mind, Agapé.”

“…”

“Is it truly possible for you to become strong enough to protect Kara in that short span, and to keep her from dying?”

No.

“It’s impossible. Don’t harbor hope.”

“…”

“From the start, your destinies are entwined like that. One soul shines as brightly as a star, while the other’s is so dark it doesn’t even allow light.”

In the end, no matter how much you love each other, you are destined to make each other unhappy and cause each other pain.

So I’ll say it again.

“Don’t harbor any hope.”

Just forget Kara, and wish her well.

Thud- thud-

Plop-

Roland threw a small pouch in front of him.

“Kara left here a long time ago, so don’t even think about chasing after her. Oh, and now that I think of it—”

Kara and I have already finished talking, so don’t even think about chasing after her.

Whatever your feelings may be, unlike you, Kara has already accepted it.

Creak-

Thud-

With those words, Roland walked past him and out of the hut.

Roland’s presence gradually faded, soon disappearing completely.

“…”

He picked up the pouch on the floor.

And as he carefully opened the entrance, a familiar object caught his eye.

A white lilac ring.

The ring they had exchanged as a promise of marriage was inside.

Trembling-

As he carefully picked up the ring, a small note came along with it.

With trembling hands, he picked up the note and unfolded it.

“…Kara.”

Inside, there was writing in Kara’s handwriting.

He didn’t need to read it at length.

Because there was only one sentence inside the note, he shed tears the moment he unfolded and read it.

[I’m sorry. I don’t think I can keep my promise.]

“…”

Drip- drip-

Clang—

His grip loosened, and he dropped his sword.

Soon after, starting from his hands, his limbs lost strength, and he collapsed onto the spot.

‘It must be a lie.’

Right, Kara wouldn’t say something like that.

They made a promise.

She said they’d always be together.

This writing is fake. It’s not Kara’s writing.

But the handwriting is unmistakably Kara’s.

Do you *truly* want to believe Kara didn’t write this?

“Yes,”

I’m going to ask her.

Don’t be swayed by a piece of writing like this; go ask Kara directly right now.

You can do that much, Agapé.

But—

‘Why can’t I stand up?’

Thump- thump- thump-!

‘I have to stand up.’

What are you doing, not standing up?

Are Roland’s words important? You should go save Kara right now.

But why—

“Why can’t I stand up—!”

Pound-! Pound-! Pound-!

He tried to put strength into his legs, but they wouldn’t obey.

His body wouldn’t move regardless of his will, so he continuously pounded his legs.

But in the end, he couldn’t stand up.

Because Roland’s words echoed in his mind.

Because the power contained in what he called a prophecy had unsettled his heart.

And because Kara’s letter made him cry until his head ached.

Pound- pound- pound-!

He tried to get up somehow.

But in the end, he couldn’t stand up.

Several hours passed.

Only then did his legs, which he had pounded until they were bruised, regain strength, and he was finally able to stand up from where he was.

But even if he chased after her now, would he be able to meet Kara?

She must have already left this city, gone so far that he could never catch up.

In the end, he had repeated the mistakes of the past.

When his mother left, he had hated himself so much for being unable to do anything.

This time too, he had let the most precious things slip away without doing anything.

He was filled with hatred.

He was filled with intense hatred.

More than after losing his mother—

He hated himself, intensely.