Treadmill

,It sounds similar to the name of the cult, the Chaos Church. Is that a coincidence?”

As I spoke in a voice subtly requesting an explanation, Estelle raised one corner of her mouth.

,It can’t be a coincidence. The cult’s doctrine is that everything started from chaos. Only the purest chaos can maintain the order of the infinite universe. So, the cult’s position is that humans were originally bound by chaos. That’s why they study and use the power of chaos.”

When I created the villain group called the pseudo-cult, I didn’t really think deeply about it. The latter half of the story was mainly about the typical conflict between the hero and the Demon King, so there was no need to set the cult in detail.

Therefore, I just decided to call it the Chaos Church, based on the pseudo-cult that follows what is commonly called [Chaos]. There was no separate intention or plan.

The cult was in the position of a mid-boss who was active in the early and mid stages. As they leave with Bella, their story will end in vain.

Estelle continued in a serious voice.

,I heard that there used to be many people who handled the power of destruction. They were called transcendents, heroes. There is a saying that they once built such a powerful force that they could even destroy God. But unlike chaos, destruction influenced the fate of those who wielded that power.

Tragic deaths, betrayals, self-destruction. They left their names in history books in that way and left the stage, and their power naturally collapsed. I heard that the cult dealt with the few remaining ones because of the danger.”

I sighed at the word “dealt with.” In the end, the power of destruction was pushed back by chaos.

The fact that destruction could influence my fate and that I couldn’t use my strongest weapon when fighting the cult was a big problem.

At this rate, I might have to give up the Spear of Destruction. No, that was very likely. Because I had another destruction besides the Spear of Destruction.

Touching the Ring of Covenant on my finger, I said weakly.

,Then I won’t be able to fight the cult that uses the power of chaos with the Spear of Destruction.”

,Of course not, you idiot. What did you hear until just now! Destruction is fundamentally a power similar to chaos. It’s literally similar, but it’s different, so you can’t use the power of chaos just because you use the power of destruction. The opposite is also true.”

As I scratched my head, Estelle shook her head as if she was pathetic and continued.

,Even if it’s chaos of the same nature, there’s a difference in density. Just like how even a believer who knows how to handle chaos can be killed by a cult executive with one finger, the fight will be different depending on how much chaos and destruction you have. The reason why the power of destruction didn’t work on Dwayne must be because the amount of destruction in the spear was insufficient.

If you increase the power of destruction in the spear, you can even destroy chaos. Of course, I don’t know how to do that.”

I sighed at Estelle’s words. In the end, there was no way to solve this problem right now.

The fundamental problem is that I rely on the ability of the spear, not my own ability, like Roel. But I’m not a genius like Roel. Without the help of tools, I’m just an inferior student who can’t even make a fire, like a primitive man.

While I was thinking that I should find out more about destruction, Estelle suddenly asked.

,What are you going to do in the future? It’s vacation now, so you have more time. Are you going to start working in earnest when Ember returns?”

,No. I’m going to train this vacation to focus on growth.”

,Training?”

Estelle asked back in a flustered voice, as if she hadn’t expected my answer.

,There are no problems that need to be solved right now. I’m going to grow as much as possible this opportunity and start erasing names from the Death List from next year.”

,Hmm, you don’t want to fully disclose information about the future to me? Wouldn’t it be better for me to prepare in advance?”

I hesitated about what to answer Estelle, who was subtly probing, and shook my head.

,No. It could be dangerous just with that.”

,What… do you mean? Are you saying that I might act arbitrarily if I know the future?”

Estelle’s voice was louder than usual, as if she thought she was being suspected. I immediately shook my head to clear up the misunderstanding.

,All the information sold to Modiste so far is secondary information that does not affect the happy ending that everyone wants. Frankly, I don’t know what kind of variables will arise just from that. There is a saying that the future changes just by observing it.”

I paused for a moment and looked at Estelle. It was very uncomfortable that I couldn’t see her expression because she was wearing a mask. I couldn’t tell if Estelle, who was staring at me, understood my explanation, so I had no choice but to add an explanation.

,Every time I change something in the future, there will be cases where it can’t even start and ends. The Death List is for preventing things that interfere with the ending in advance. I plan to use such information as planned as possible. Because there is no variable as big as the flow changing for someone who reads the future.

If it’s something really necessary, I’m thinking of disclosing the minimum necessary information like Bella’s case, but it’s best for each other to know only the remaining important flows.”

This was not about greed for information or gaining an advantage in the relationship. Literally, I was afraid of variables.

It’s already a novel with a fixed ending. Even though many things have changed just because I possessed it, there was always a vague fear in my heart that my actions might change the ending.

,The conclusion is that you’re only going to give me the minimum amount of information. You greedy pig!!!”

As if acting in a play, Estelle swung her small fists around.

,I can’t pass on important information to someone who doesn’t believe that I see the future.”

Estelle shrugged at my counterattack.

,Okay, I can’t fully trust you yet. Of course, you presented various evidence, but it’s important to be sure about things like this, right? When Ember comes back with her younger sibling… let’s talk about this again!”

,Okay.”

It seemed like the conversation was coming to an end. After taking back Patulga’s magic book and putting it in the space warehouse. I looked at the shiny, glossy desk made of old wood and said the last purpose of visiting Modiste.

,Ah, and give me some money. As much as possible.”

,…?”

I could feel her being dumbfounded behind the mask, but I said playfully with a brazen smile.

,We’re in this together now.”

***

I was scolded by Estelle for a few minutes, but I was able to receive more money than expected.

I had been living on the money I received from Roel as pocket money, but now that I had Estelle, a partner with a strong pocket, I didn’t need to be conscious of Roel’s eyes.

Everyone must have gone home and the club room was empty, but I headed to the club room as usual. In fact, I had nowhere else to go, and now the club room was my home.

It felt a little bitter that there were five of us when we left, but I was alone when I came back.

Perhaps because there were few students left in the academy, I didn’t meet anyone even on the stairs leading down to the basement of the main building.

Lycann’s special training starts next week. I don’t know what kind of training it will be, but it’s training that even Roel had a hard time with. To prepare myself, I was planning to lie on the bed and roll around diligently.

But an unexpected person was waiting for me in front of the club room.

The girl with black hair that reached her shoulders, white skin so transparent that you could see the blood vessels, clear features, and beautiful eyes that resembled obsidian that attracted people’s attention had a calm expression as if she was thinking about something.

I never expected her to come here, so I was embarrassed and had no choice but to stop walking.

But Ellie, who was leaning against the wall, turned her head as if she heard the footsteps echoing through the hallway. When our eyes met, I felt a strange feeling as if someone was lifting my heart.

Ellie greeted me with a bright smile as always.

,Hi, Ross!”

It was Ellie who I hadn’t met separately after meeting with Roel. I felt embarrassed by the sudden meeting and Ellie’s behavior, which was the same as usual, unlike me.

I moved my steps again and approached Ellie.

,Hi… ahem! Hi.”

My voice was hoarse, so I cleared my throat and greeted her again.

At that sight, Ellie shone her obsidian-like eyes and smiled beautifully.

,I heard you were admitted to the ward and I was worried.”

As she said that, Ellie suddenly took a step closer to me. As we got closer, a pleasant scent rode the wind and rushed to the tip of my nose.

,It’s nothing. It happened during training….”

I trailed off at Ellie’s gaze, which was staring at me. I felt like the place where Ellie’s gaze reached was heating up as if it had received the hot summer sun.

,I’m glad then. I was actually very worried.”

At Ellie’s words that she was worried about me, a strange feeling reflexively soared. To deny it, I had no choice but to bite my lip.

Have I not let go of my feelings for Ellie yet? I didn’t like that. I forcibly thought about Luna. Rather than calming down, I felt like I was being crushed by guilt. I didn’t want to use my feelings for Luna like this.

Ellie, who was looking at me as if observing, said quietly with a soft smile.

,Thanks to your advice that day, I was finally able to achieve my dream.”

Ellie said as if savoring the words, then exhaled a short breath.

I felt like I suddenly wanted to cover my ears with anxiety.

,I, I’m officially dating Roel oppa.”