Chapter 69

“I’ll show you an interesting scene, so please listen to my story.”

Twella said.

Like powerful sorcery, Al Terua felt his consciousness sinking the moment he heard Twella’s words.

‘It’ was coming from far away.

The anxiety was brief—soon, peace arrived.

There was no need to fear.

The visitor wasn’t a stranger.

Al Terua opened his closed eyes.

He lowered his gaze and looked down at his two hands. He clenched and opened his palms, moved his fingers as if playing keys, then looked straight ahead.

“Have you arrived?”

Twella asked.

Al Terua pondered briefly.

“Winte.”

“Yes.”

It seemed no lengthy explanation was needed. The woman before him had already foreseen everything, so it was only natural.

How long had it been since such an interesting discovery?

Winte wore a broad smile.

“You seemed certain I would come.”

“Because you’ve always answered whenever I called.”

“My tendencies don’t change.”

He looked around. According to the information Al Terua had gathered, this place was called the special education area, or the special livestock pen.

“Is ‘it’ coming soon?”

“Yes.”

“There’s no way to avoid it.”

“None. Everyone gathered here will die. No matter what you do, that fact won’t change.”

“That’s not true.”

Winte shook his head while maintaining his smile.

“Facts aren’t fixed. Your existence is proof of that.”

Winte approached Twella and placed his hand on her shoulder. Fear bloomed on the woman’s face.

“You’re still afraid even though you’ve already seen everything?”

“You’re…… a monster.”

“An obvious thing to say.”

He examined the woman calmly.

The Designer’s breath had touched her, yet surprisingly, she stood about one step removed from the Designer’s intentions.

“Fate is boring. When things flow only according to their natural order, it becomes tedious.”

Winte circled around Twella.

She was tempting material. He wanted to split open her flesh right now and find the Designer’s flaw. What subdued the rising desire was the woman’s voice.

“You won’t kill me.”

“Fate is meant to be twisted.”

“But your tendencies are firm.”

Winte laughed lowly and waved his hand. Two coffee cups he cherished and carried with him appeared in midair.

“Drink. It’s one of the few remaining coffees in the world.”

“I’ll enjoy it.”

Though her response was bold, the woman’s hand holding the cup trembled mercilessly. What could be moving this shabby, tiny life form?

After taking a sip of coffee, Twella’s face relaxed completely. As if she’d even forgotten the fear consuming her body, she looked down at the cup with wide eyes.

“This is…… truly delicious. I’ve seen and felt it dozens, hundreds of times, but actually tasting it is different.”

“Different—that pleases me.”

Entities that knew how to enjoy coffee deserved respect. Winte gave the woman time to savor her last supper.

“I’d like to drink more.”

“Mm.”

“But I can’t, right? This is a gift bestowed by the Designer.”

“Did I even tell you that much?”

“Yes. You’ve always told me things I didn’t know. Not once has the information overlapped. That’s only natural, of course. Because you know everything. That I see the future, and that I’ve seen that future far too many times.”

Twella returned the coffee cup.

“You’re a monster. A far more frightening existence than the thing that will soon descend upon this land. But your madness isn’t biased. You’re fair to everyone.”

“And?”

Winte listened to the woman’s words with interest.

“You’re cruel. So cold that even if thousands, tens of thousands of humans like me die, you won’t bat an eye.”

“That’s correct. I’ve killed with my own hands too.”

“Yes, that’s right. At the same time, you won’t tolerate a single human—no, it doesn’t have to be human—anything you’ve taken interest in perishing in vain.”

Nark jetted from Twella’s body.

Without going through a sorcery system, she simply drew forth and pulled pure mana.

The blade of honed nark was aimed at Twella’s throat.

Just before the surging mana could sever her neck, Winte moved his pupils slightly.

The nark dispersed.

Twella exhaled a feeble breath. Tears barely beaded at the corners of her eyes.

“If I’d left you alone, you would have died just now.”

“But you didn’t leave me alone.”

“It’s best not to be certain about the future.”

“No. I’m certain. You’ll watch over me. Because I’m an irreplaceable toy.”

“Hard to refute—that’s quite an enjoyable thing.”

Winte gazed into the woman’s eyes.

Eyes that had seen countless various events that would occur in the future.

They seemed to contain vitality, yet when you looked deeper…

“It would be more comfortable if you died now.”

Winte read the woman’s inner thoughts. Twella flinched, then soon wore a resigned smile.

“Have you also seen what I’ve seen, Lord Winte?”

“No. I don’t know what you saw. You’re different from the Orc Tribe shamans. Orc Tribe shamans see the confirmed future only once, but they can’t observe infinitely close to it like you.”

“If only I’d seen it once, it wouldn’t be this difficult.”

A deflated voice came through the woman’s lips.

“If it’s hard, you should have just died. If you’d slit your throat without seeking me out, long rest would have come.”

“I did. I thought about it countless times. But…… That one always saves me.”

The woman smiled.

That smile contained no resignation, no regret, no resentment. Just endlessly pure joy.

“Have you ever had an unrequited love, Lord Winte?”

“Love. A truly difficult complex of emotions. I’ve felt it indirectly very many times. When I immerse myself in your societies and live an ordinary life, I meet a partner, marry, and have children. I definitely feel tenderness in that process.”

“The moment you step away from that role, everything becomes meaningless.”

“Just because you over-immerse yourself in a role doesn’t mean you truly become it, right? Isn’t that so?”

Winte looked up at the sky.

The gloomy sorcery engraved along the barrier was vibrating.

Soon, it would descend.

“Unfortunately, there’s no time.”

“No. There isn’t.”

“So what will you show me?”

“Not here, but there. I’ll show you the Designer’s clear error.”

Winte reached out and touched Twella’s forehead. A refined image was transmitted.

Gray.

A world where everything crumbled.

A giant garbage bin.

“You’ll remain there alone?”

“Yes.”

“Compared to that, death is a blessing. Ah, there’s no need to explain. You would know better than anyone.”

Twella’s face twisted grotesquely, then regained its calm.

“Do I seem foolish?”

“I’ve experienced you people countless times. Your bodies and the minds within them—I’ve examined them beyond counting. I thought I understood you perfectly. I prided myself on having created categories to encompass everything. But you’re truly……”

Winte carefully selected and selected his words before speaking them.

“A crazy bitch.”

“I suppose so?”

“Do you want your devotion to be praised?”

“No. I don’t want that.”

“If things flow according to my reasoning, you’ll become an object of curses, hear all sorts of insulting words, and ultimately be forgotten. Your actions will ultimately be meaningless……”

The woman interrupted.

“But he’ll live. That’s what I want.”

“You’re truly insane. Even after seeing everything, you’ll make that choice?”

“Yes.”

Winte examined the woman once more.

“How many years should you be considered to have lived by Human Tribe standards?”

“Let’s see. About four thousand years?”

“Short, but far too long for a human.”

“Yes. It’s long. I’ve had far too long an unrequited love.”

Twella closed her eyes tightly, then opened them.

The woman who’d shown diverse emotions disappeared. What remained before him was the dregs of time, worn down and worn down until there was nothing left to wear away.

“Among all the humans I’ve seen, you’re the most terrible.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“The finest compliment. If I could only keep you alive, I would have saved you and kept you by my side for observation.”

The barrier was opening.

Preparations to accept its master were complete.

“You can’t stop it with a mental entity. That one has also grown quite a bit.”

“Are you proud?”

Twella’s gaze also reached the sky.

“That the monster you raised has grown so large?”

“I didn’t raise it. I just threw it a few clues.”

“You’re so cruel.”

“Call me fair. I merely gave a few cookies to the children the Designer didn’t embrace.”

“The world might end.”

“Your world?”

Winte said with a smile.

“Natural order is boring. Fate is dull. Since the Designer has retired, the world will change. I’ll watch it. Like a movie, no, it’ll be a long drama. Just thinking about it makes me laugh.”

Winte lowered his gaze.

The woman’s hand was gripping his collar.

“I’ll trust your fairness. Just as you helped those bastards, help us too.”

“My principle of action is singular. Interest.”

“I know!”

Twella thrust her face forward.

“I’m an irreplaceable toy to you, so you absolutely must grant my request.”

“Frightening.”

Winte removed Twella’s hand.

“I understand what you want.”

Twella took one step back.

“I’ll live cursing you for the rest of my life.”

“That’s fine too. But human willpower isn’t infinite. In that place, you’ll come to regret this choice. Then you’ll think, I should have died comfortably instead, it would have been easier that way.”

He whispered softly.

Courage born from ignorance is pitiful.

But courage exercised despite knowing is foolish.

The woman wanted to make the worst choice even after realizing everything.

“But I’m not good at caring for humans.”

“I know. So I asked my close companion. It’ll watch over Quil.”

“Isn’t that too heavy a burden to pass to your close companion?”

“I suppose so. But it won’t listen to me. I told it not to come…… it really is a disobedient bird.”

“A communion of souls. Two yet one. You’re truly a tempting experimental subject. I couldn’t be more regretful.”

“Please don’t forget that regret and keep your promise.”

“I’ll promise. Your wish will be fulfilled. My covenants have never been broken, so you can rest easy.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Twella stroked her chest and exhaled a long breath.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Go on.”

“Save Quil.”

“I’ll try to save him. What comes after is that Human Tribe’s choice. Most likely he’ll commit suicide. The next possibility is his mind gets crushed and he becomes neither alive nor dead. Even if he endures with extremely low probability, your unrequited love won’t be rewarded.”

Winte wore a deep smile.

“Because I’ll absolutely never tell him the truth. You’ll be an object of curses for Quilbion for the rest of his life. Remembered as a cruel traitor before being forgotten someday.”

He wanted to shake her.

He wanted to see where the limits, the boundaries of Human Tribe endurance lay.

“So how about dying now?”

“If I’d given up even once, I would have died comfortably long ago.”

Twella’s mouth twitched before a gentle smile settled on her lips.

“But he never gave up. Not even once. I watched thousands, tens of thousands of times, and he always came to me. He’s really strange. I can’t understand why he goes that far. So.”

The woman composed her expression and spoke.

“My unrequited love won’t change either. So don’t tell him. That’s enough.”

*

Quilbion stared blankly down at the coffee cup. The past Winte had hammered into his head slowly dispersed.

“Lord Winte, you are truly…… a fucking bastard.”

“Is that so?”

Winte answered while looking up at the sky.