Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: 15. Death Ledger - Ending (1)
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"...So this day has finally arrived."
A short while after the world had been thrown into chaos by those super lottery tickets and gacha-like ceilings.
The day that every citizen of the Empire both longed for and desperately wished would never come had arrived.
The air date for episode 20 of Death Ledger.
And the day Death Ledger would reach its conclusion.
That's right.
Today marked the historic day when the anime Death Ledger wrapped up its two-and-a-half-month journey on a high note.
As such, the Grinebalt Duke had canceled all his scheduled business for the day and had been waiting for Death Ledger to air well before the episode was set to begin.
Someone else seeing this scene might mock him for making a fuss.
But to the Duke, at least, Death Ledger was something he took utterly seriously.
Because unlike the previous animations Raguna had created, Death Ledger held special meaning for him.
'This anime... Death Ledger is like a child to me. Which means I can't just watch its ending lightly. Never!'
That's right.
In truth, this anime Death Ledger had originated from the Duke's own idea.
Of course, the Duke had only provided the idea itself and hadn't helped with the actual production at all.
Still, he felt a strange sense of pride in having contributed to the creation of Death Ledger.
And so, the Duke sat quietly in front of the television installed in the Grinebalt Duke's mansion, waiting for Death Ledger to air.
But for some reason today, someone was loitering right beside him, disturbing his peaceful anime viewing.
"...What in the world are you doing here, Deneb?"
"What do you mean? Where else would I be if not in my own home, Father?"
It was none other than Deneb El Grinebalt, the young Duke of Grinebalt, who had plopped down right next to him—in the prime spot for watching the anime.
"That's not what I mean. As far as I remember, you were never into anime. So what are you doing here?"
The Duke stared straight at Deneb's face as he asked.
Deneb cleared his throat awkwardly and averted his gaze.
"...It's nothing much. To be honest, Mecha God Chronicle was utter trash, but Death Ledger turned out to be surprisingly watchable. The psychological warfare bouncing between those two geniuses was pretty good, I'd say. And since I started with episode 1, I figured I had a duty to see it through to the finale."
"....."
In other words, he'd become a fan of Death Ledger.
But why beat around the bush like that?
'That personality of his.'
Well, up until now, he'd only ever shown disdain for Raguna and his animations.
Suddenly confessing to being a huge fan of Death Ledger would be a bit embarrassing, sure.
As the Duke silently nodded to himself in understanding.
"And I wanted to watch the protagonist of Death Ledger, Louis, crush Alpha head-on and ascend as the god of a new world—live. Missing a historic moment like that would be like wasting half my life, right?"
"...W-what did you say?"
In that instant, the Duke whipped his head around to stare at Deneb without thinking.
What had Deneb just said?
Who... beat whom?
"Ah... Come to think of it, you might not have noticed yet, Father, since you've just been watching Death Ledger for fun. My apologies. Did I just spoil it for you?"
"...Spoil? What?"
"Exactly. After analyzing Death Ledger's next developments as objectively and coolly as possible, I concluded that Louis killing Alpha is the only ideal ending. More precisely, any other conclusion would lack plausibility."
Deneb shrugged as he said this.
The Duke could only sneer at his son's arrogant tone.
"Ridiculous. Episode 20 of Death Ledger, airing soon, ends with Alpha's victory and Louis's death. It's laughable that you don't even know something so obvious and spout nonsense."
"You might end up embarrassed yourself, Father, lecturing me so confidently."
For some reason, Deneb stubbornly kept up his cheeky attitude toward the Duke.
Finally, the Duke felt the need to knock some sense into his son and remind him of his place.
"Fine then. How about a little bet?"
"...A bet?"
"Yes. I'll stake this on Death Ledger ending with Alpha's victory..."
Thud.
With that, the Duke pulled something from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"T-that's...!"
The moment he saw it, Deneb's eyes widened.
"Five lottery tickets for the Death Ledger replica goods raffle. They're valued higher than most currency in the capital these days. Well? Sufficient stakes for a bet, don't you think?"
"...Fine. I accept."
Deneb, as if it were natural, pulled lottery tickets from his own pocket and set them on the table.
'Kukuku... Fool. Falling for such a cheap provocation.'
Gazing at Deneb, who had taken the bait, the Duke chuckled wickedly to himself.
Why?
Because the Duke already knew exactly how Death Ledger would end.
He hadn't gotten an advance screening of the finale from Raguna to savor Death Ledger to the fullest.
But that damned state council meeting had spoiled the ending for him: 'Louis's death and Alpha's victory.'
Back then, all he wanted was to dig out his own ears for the unwanted spoiler.
Who knew that spoiler would come in handy like this!
'This bet is mine. I'll take all those raffle tickets from you.'
The Duke sneered inwardly at his foolish son, oblivious to the bet's predetermined outcome.
And at that moment, the broadcast of Death Ledger's finale finally began.
The first thing that appeared was Alpha, agonizing over the Death Ledger.
After exhausting every method at his disposal, Alpha had finally uncovered the Death Ledger's existence—and that of its original owner, the Reaper.
「A notebook that can kill a human just by writing their name... To think such a horrific thing existed in this world...」
Alpha sighed, staring at the Death Ledger in his hand.
「This is the most terrifying mass murder weapon in human history. Things like this should never exist in the human world.」
Thus, Alpha had succeeded in figuring out how Zodiac killed criminals without lifting a finger.
「The Death Ledger's final rule... If it's not used for over a month, the owner dies... And Louis is still alive. Does that mean Louis really isn't Zodiac...?」
But the fake rule Louis had written in threw him into a situation where he couldn't deduce Zodiac's identity.
However.
「No, Louis is definitely Zodiac. That's certain. And Marie is clearly the second Zodiac too. So there must be some trick.」
Alpha refused to drop his suspicions of Louis to the end and decided to use his final resort.
「Let's conduct a test.」
「...A test? What kind? 」
「I'll verify if the owner really dies after a month of not using the Death Ledger.」
In the end, still suspecting Louis and Marie, Alpha resolved to test the Death Ledger's power for real.
「...Dangerous. If that rule turns out to be fake, Marie could be executed by humans.」
「...I see, Louis. So this is what you were aiming for. Using the Reaper to kill the Reaper. You truly are the devil incarnate.」
Watching this, Marie's Reaper hardened his resolve while gazing at Alpha.
Gulp.
Watching that scene, the Duke and Deneb both swallowed hard without realizing it.
The long battle between the two geniuses was finally reaching its end.
Louis, toying with every human and even the Reaper to his will.
Alpha, unraveling the Death Ledger and the Reaper with nothing but his brain.
Who would emerge as the ultimate victor in this clash?
'Well, it's already set to end with Alpha's victory, anyway.'
As the Duke watched the TV with a somewhat relaxed expression.
「...Ugh.」
Stagger.
Alpha, lost in thought while staring at the notebook, suddenly collapsed to the floor.
Vitality began draining from his body.
His heartbeat started slowing.
This symptom—could it be—
「Ah, Alpha!」
Seeing Alpha tumble to the ground, Louis rushed over and supported his body.
But in that moment.
「...!」
Alpha saw it.
As his breath faded, Louis's lips curled into a smirk.
「Louis... So that's how... it was...」
「I was... right... after all...」
Thud.
With that, Alpha quietly closed his eyes.
And seeing Alpha like that, Louis flashed a brilliant smile.
"....."
But the Duke watching this scene couldn't bring himself to smile.
No, Raguna.
Didn't you definitely say... that Death Ledger ends with Alpha's victory and Louis's death?
Did you... lie to me?