episode_0221

Sometimes, she had such thoughts. What if she hadn’t been dragged into this world. No, what if she hadn’t been drawn in as if possessed by that book…

‘Well, it’s a meaningless assumption, I suppose.’

Haru let out a self-deprecating scoff and shook her head. There was no point in recalling such thoughts now.

No matter what, she would have been drawn to that book anyway. Because every time she mastered the mysteries of magic and approached the truth of this world, there was a fact she couldn’t help but learn.

“…It was predetermined from the start, wasn’t it? That I would be dragged into this damned world. That Lee Hyunjin would also be dragged in…”

Haru leaned deeply back into the chair, a bitter smile on her lips.

And what she recalled was the past. Memories that were truly old now.

When she first fell into this world, she had survived several near-death experiences without knowing anything, and even after becoming the disciple of a Great Sorcerer, when she thought things might finally be a little better—

—That heaven-sent talent… If this master were to take it, would you resist?

Allen Greyer, the strongest mage in history, unparalleled before or since, harbored ill will towards her. Because her talent for magic surpassed even that Great Sorcerer’s.

Betrayal, despair, frustration, emptiness. Surpassing all of that by far, even a sense of skepticism that made her want to give up everything.

Originally, Haru had no intention of resisting. She had simply intended to surrender her talent according to Allen’s will, and then disappear.

Why? If asked for a reason, she could give countless, but she was simply tired of the constant repetition. The apocalyptic being that would destroy the world, the crushing weight of knowing the future alone…

—I shall take your burden. —Shouldn’t it be the inhabitants born in this world who protect this world?

Allen Greyer was an old man who could resolve all of that. His unique magic, attained upon reaching the pinnacle of magic—Future Sight.

A being who knew Haru’s existence, knew Haru’s true name, and could lighten Haru’s burden. That’s why, even when Allen tried to seize her talent, she accepted it generously.

“…”

She had tried to accept it. At first. If Allen Greyer, that old man, hadn’t happened to be the most avaricious person in the world and tried to touch Seol Hayeon as well, she would have certainly done so.

Thinking about it now, he was truly a horrible old man. Haru couldn’t help but recall such a sour thought. Do you know how old Seol Hayeon was at that time? Barely around ten years old. Although she herself had lived in this world for quite some time.

“…To even try to touch that child, truly, how could one not get infuriated?”

Letting out a small laugh, Haru, for the first time in a very long while, spoke in the manner of her past life.

Times she barely remembered anymore, the extremely faint days of being a young girl. She repeatedly wondered if her parents were doing well, if they were looking for her, yet the reality of not being able to picture their faces made Haru feel a terrible chill.

“Haa.”

In any case, things had turned out this way. Mages, after all, were not the type to add various assumptions to what had already happened. And for all her appearance, she was the most outstanding mage in modern times, so she needed to erase useless, unproductive thoughts.

Haru, trying hard to console herself, sprang up from the chair.

The young girl who had been steeped in helplessness, shedding only tears and resenting the world, was no more. Now, only the ‘Cult Leader,’ struggling to escape the terrible fate of world destruction, existed here.

Screech…!

“…”

Just then, Haru subtly turned her head at the sound of the door opening, a sound that seemed to scrape at her ears. Two figures stepped into this laboratory from the dark cave.

“…Ah, so you’ve decided to do it that way after all, darling?”

One was naturally a familiar figure to Haru. Eileen, her long-time colleague and a presence she trusted implicitly, like a vice-captain. But precisely for that reason, sometimes their goals diverged.

Basically, Eileen was faithful to Haru’s plan, but at this point, she was looking to find another method. Thus, Haru had anticipated that Eileen might bring in a slightly different variable.

There was no need to be flustered. Haru grinned, raising colorless mana above her hands. The world’s strongest realm, achieved in her youth by inversely murdering Allen Greyer.

Eileen was a strong woman, and the explosions she created with her iron fragments were a power even Haru couldn’t easily ignore, but—

“Where did you throw away your weapon, darling?”

“…”

“If you carelessly lost it, it’ll be even harder to face me, won’t it?”

The black staff was not in Eileen’s hand. She didn’t know where it had gone, but it wasn’t immediately visible. Had it broken when the two fought earlier? Either way, it didn’t matter.

“…Well, alright. Anyway, darling, you’re trying to break my will, aren’t you?”

Haru narrowed her eyes slightly and asked, and Eileen opened her mouth around that time.

“My thoughts haven’t changed. If we can prevent the destruction on this planet, I believe it’s worth trying in any way possible.”

“That’s something you can say because you don’t properly understand that destruction, darling.”

“Precisely because I don’t know, even more so. Isn’t it something you can’t know without confronting it directly?”

At the immediate reply, Haru frowned sharply. It was an answer she disliked, and at the same time, it greatly provoked her.

“…Not knowing anything.”

“…”

“Truly, don’t carelessly speak of ‘confrontation’ when you know nothing. Even for you, darling, I might get angry.”

Eileen was still a woman with little change in expression. To be so unperturbed even when Haru so openly expressed her displeasure. Haru almost worried distractedly for a moment that her appearance might be undermining her dignity, but it wasn’t important anyway.

“…Haa, alright, then that’s settled. You’re not planning to give up, are you?”

The person she addressed this time was not Eileen. More precisely, while including Eileen, Haru intently gazed at the figure beside her. A boy, or perhaps a young man, with shimmering light silver hair, conjuring ice crystals at his fingertips. His name, holding great significance for Haru in a different way than Eileen, was Lee Hyunjin.

Having come from the same world, they could understand each other better than anyone. However, because their respective goals were slightly different, Haru intended to advance her relationship with him after first avoiding destruction. Annoyingly, he had only read the prologue of this world’s original story.

…In any case, his value was immeasurable. A fellow countryman, the one and only male who shared the same world as his home.

“Hmm.”

Haru tapped her temple with her index finger for a moment, thinking about something. She wasn’t unaware of Eileen’s plan. She had already heard the proposal. So, it was about having Lee Hyunjin copy her abilities, thereby creating two authorities over space, wasn’t it? There was a question of whether it would proceed smoothly, but it was a plan with reasonable justification and feasibility. It was just that Haru believed even that wouldn’t be enough to prevent destruction.

She ended her brief contemplation and showed a gentle smile on her lips.

“Alright, then. Lee Hyunjin?”

“Why?”

“I’ll make you a splendid offer. It’s something that won’t harm you either.”

“…?”

Lee Hyunjin tilted his head once at the sudden words. A proposal at this timing, was she asking him to surrender? However, Lee Hyunjin had no intention of giving up, even if it was for the sake of saving the world (?). After all, if they could create two wielders of that fearsome spatial ability, wouldn’t their chances against the apocalypse increase by about 1.5 times? So, even if Haru suggested surrendering, Lee Hyunjin wouldn’t follow, but then.

“Won’t you take me as your wife?”

The words Haru uttered the next moment, placing a hand on her meager chest, were beyond imagination. For a brief moment, Lee Hyunjin was completely stunned, his body stiffening rigidly. And after a moment that felt like an eternity, the only reaction Lee Hyunjin could display was to show a question mark.

“??”

Lee Hyunjin looked at Haru with a genuinely flustered expression. An expression that seemed not to understand what he had just heard.

“Heh heh.”

But Haru remained leisurely throughout. She was confident that Lee Hyunjin wouldn’t be able to refuse her offer.

“Isn’t that right, Lee Hyunjin? You accepted Eileen’s proposal simply because you wanted to have me, didn’t you?”

“…No, that’s not…”

“What do you mean ‘not’? Your sticky gaze, looking at my body even now, clearly reveals what you think of me.”

“…”

Lee Hyunjin’s lips clamped shut in a straight line. Had he lost his words, or was it so accurate that he couldn’t even think of refuting it? Either way, it was a cute reaction, so Haru gave a coquettish eye-smile and continued.

“Then it’s simple. If we move to the moon together and you take me as your wife, isn’t it a win-win for everyone? We won’t even need to have this unnecessary confrontation.”

“…”

“Come on, don’t be swayed by Eileen’s proposal. After all, if you take my hand, you can spend 365 days a year buried in my nakedness, can’t you?”

At this point, she subtly fluttered her flowing clothes, exposing her bare skin. Predictably, Lee Hyunjin’s gaze was utterly captivated by the exposed skin. Haru, certain that her opponent was almost won over, decided to deliver the final blow.

“Come on, come here quickly. If I absolutely have to intertwine my body with a man, I thought there’d be no one but you, who came from the same world as me—”

“Wait.”

“…?”

However, she couldn’t finish her sentence. Before that, another voice interrupted, pulling Lee Hyunjin’s arm decisively. Eileen had, at some point, flung off her top and violently pulled Lee Hyunjin’s face into her chest.

“…?!”

“D-Darling…?”

At that sudden and violent, truly undeniably violent, physical attack, neither Lee Hyunjin nor Haru could suppress their astonishment. Lee Hyunjin’s head was buried in breasts that were only slightly smaller than watermelons. Eileen’s expression was still subtle, but even so, perhaps a little embarrassed, she flushed faintly and whispered softly.

“…If you’re going to rape Haru now, I’ll give you the right to enjoy my body too, Lee Hyunjin.”

“…”

“Wha—!”

Lee Hyunjin’s body jerked violently, and Haru screamed, her mouth agape.

“A-A-Are you crazy, Eileen?! Y-You hated men, didn’t you?!”

“Well, I did, originally.”

“Then…?!”

At Haru’s incredulous and disbelieving retort, Eileen looked down at Lee Hyunjin and shivered slightly. Just then, his faint breath seeped between her cleavage.

“Hmph, *ahem*. Well, uh…”

“…”

“I don’t actually dislike him that much. Aside from his slightly perverted side, he seems like a genuinely honest and decent person.”

Eileen spoke with slightly ragged breaths, and Haru retorted with a hollow laugh.

“Are you serious?”

“Actually, the latter part is a bit exaggerated.”

“…”

Haru repeatedly opened and closed her lips, sputtering as if she couldn’t think of anything more to say, and Eileen replied with the smile of a victor.

“If you don’t like it, get bigger breasts, Cult Leader.”