Chapter 108
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: The Backside World
“Are you coming around a bit?”
“Ah. Yes.”
I drink the water she handed me and steady my body.
After throwing myself into the sea of the Backside World to escape the Blood Demon.
Once my wits returned, I pulled myself together as best I could.
My body feels off.
I must have taken quite a hit crossing through the Backside World.
My sense of self seems intact, but my body feels heavy and sluggish somehow.
Yet at the same time, it’s overflowing with power, leaving me with this odd sensation.
“Good. So, can you talk now?”
But first, I need to deal with the Adel in front of me.
She’s sitting across from me, staring with clear interest.
Well, her face is masked, so I can’t see it, but that’s the vibe.
Adel speaks in a relaxed tone, almost indifferent.
“How did you end up here?”
“Uh……”
I avert my gaze slightly.
What do I even say?
Should I just come out and say I crossed through the Backside World?
She probably won’t believe me. I literally appeared in this world out of nowhere.
The Backside World could make that possible, sure. But the issue is whether she’d trust someone like me.
Does Adel even know who I am to begin with?
In the original [Shardia Academy], did Adelheit von Valdrion ever meet Kline Leonhart?
If she did, then I’m in serious danger right now.
Two identical people? She might see me as a threat and have me dealt with under the Third Imperial Princess’s authority.
And am I the same age as this timeline’s Kline? What if the ages don’t match?
Looking at this Adel, it’s definitely not my time period.
Crossing the Backside World definitely shifted me to a different worldline.
The problem is I have no way back to my original world—or even how to find one.
“You look lost in thought.”
Adel gazes at me with what feels like a smile.
Hidden by the mask, but I can sense it.
“Even that reminds me of the man I knew. I suspected as much when I saw your face.”
“Uh, um. You know me?”
“Of course. The eldest son of the empire’s premier noble house. No social graces, no networking, obsessed with the sword, and rumors say he’s jealous of his little sister—what a weirdo, right?”
“……You didn’t say that to his face, did you?”
“I did. He didn’t care, though.”
Wow.
Why is this worldline’s Adel such a sharp-tongued one?
A few exchanges, and she’s already subtly roasting me masterfully.
But why take it out on me?
Yell at this world’s Kline.
“Sigh. Sorry? It just brought back memories of wasting my breath on that paper tiger. I took it out on you when you’re innocent.”
“No, it’s fine. You’re the Third Imperial Princess, after all. I get it.”
“Hmm.”
Adel suddenly stands and grabs my face, turning it this way and that.
Her slender fingers brush my skin, making me flinch, but she doesn’t seem to notice.
Peering through her mask with piercing eyes, she says,
“Indeed. Must be because you crossed the Backside World—you’re not the man I knew.”
“Pardon?”
What?
Did she figure out how I ended up here?
……How?
“Why so surprised? Was your world’s me not into magic? That’d be shocking.”
“No, she was very interested. But what does that have to do with it?”
“How could it not? Reach the pinnacle of magic, and you inevitably touch the Backside World. To not know an imperial’s magical achievements—shall I sentence you to death?”
“Spare me once. I won’t forget next time.”
“Heh. If only that guy had your sense of humor, things might’ve been better.”
Adel shakes her head and beckons me.
Follow her, I suppose.
I trail behind her.
I have no idea where she’s headed.
Asking her got me nowhere—she wouldn’t answer.
She made it clear she didn’t want to say, so I dropped it.
Instead, I decided to probe what she knew about my situation.
“They say crossing the Backside World has long been known as a gateway to other worlds.”
Adel explained leisurely.
For some reason, her ease felt like enlightenment—or resignation.
“This world is your future. The man I knew was much older than you. But your case seems even more special.”
“Because it’s not the future from my world’s perspective.”
“Exactly. The man I knew wasn’t humorous or smiling like you.”
“……”
“You said the woman you met was the Blood Demon? Yes. This world is under grave threat from her and the Crimson Blood Cult she leads.”
Adel described the recent state of this world in her clear voice.
Vampires that appeared in the world a few years ago.
The empire, Aonia, and Fried losing ground to their assaults.
Now they’re finally uniting forces to hold them back, but it’s not going well.
“……”
I quietly followed her, deep in thought.
I’d grasped what worldline this was.
Probably the original [Shardia Academy]. Somewhere after the protagonists enter the academy and some time passes.
Too early, and the Crimson Blood Cult wouldn’t be this threatening.
Too late, and Adel would see Kline Leonhart as an enemy.
So, right now, before Kline Leonhart joins the Crimson Blood Cult.
However……
Then what do I do?
How do I get back to my original world?
The Blood Demon could raid our mansion any moment.
And I need to apologize to Ariel.
“Wondering how to get back?”
“! ……Yes.”
This world’s Adel has this strangely sage-like aura.
Master of magic, piercing insight.
She glances back at me and says,
“Then how about we chat?”
“Pardon?”
“We’re almost there. A little walk and it’ll come into view.”
“Still no intention of telling me the destination?”
“Nope. I vowed never to tell Kline Leonhart.”
“I’m not that man.”
“Just younger. Still him, right?”
Adel chuckles and makes her request.
“Tell me about your world’s me. The young Adelheit……or rather, the Adelheit different from ‘me.’ Her story.”
“……”
“Then I’ll tell you.”
I nod silently.
Obviously, to return home, I need to accept the deal.
Even if it’s not just that.
Talking black history with my fiancée from the future.
Nothing could be more entertaining.
**
The mansion is in chaos.
The servants I’ve always seen moving frantically.
The family knights frowning and murmuring among themselves.
Ariel drifts through it all, thinking,
Why?
It doesn’t make sense.
Missing? What does missing even mean?
She flips through the mental dictionary.
Trace lost, whereabouts and survival unknown.
Whereabouts unknown?
Impossible.
Ariel knows. Where Kline is.
She could sense him if she tried, even now.
She should be able to.
I can’t feel him.
Kline’s presence is gone.
As if he shot up to the heavens or sank into the earth.
Not the slightest trace.
……Survival unknown?
Terror grips her suddenly.
Just imagining it is unbearable.
Part of her wants to kill the servant who just reported to her.
Don’t spout nonsense.
You don’t get to speak his name.
But Ariel holds back.
She knows her brother would be angry.
Mother would too.
And she vowed to live normally now.
“……”
But it’s so empty.
She still can’t believe it.
Can’t accept it. So she’ll go to Mother.
Ariel opens the Duchess’s door with trembling steps.
“Send the Third Imperial Princess and Lady Elishia back to their territories. Staying here will only be harder.”
“Yes, Madam.”
“Yoru……just have her stay. She has nowhere else to go.”
“Understood.”
Mother is giving orders to the servant.
She looks like she has more to say.
But Ariel has no energy to care.
Right now,
she needs to run to Mother and say something, anything, or she’ll die of fear.
“Mom.”
“……Yes?”
Mother’s blue eyes turn to Ariel.
Her stiffened expression softens.
It’s an effort.
Not to be harsh with her daughter, even in this chaos.
“Ariel. Are you okay? You must be shocked.”
“No. It’s not. Mom, it’s not true, right? It can’t be. Brother can’t just vanish. Right?”
Ariel pours out words like a bursting dam.
The news she heard returning to the mansion.
She can’t trust a mere servant’s words.
It has to come from Mother’s mouth.
Then she’ll say no.
The absence of Kline she feels even now isn’t real.
So.
“……Ariel.”
Mother pulls her into a tight embrace.
Comforting her frightened daughter.
Ariel trembles, instinctively sensing it.
“It’s okay. We can’t find Kline right now, but we will eventually.”
“Why say that? What happened while I was gone? Why is Brother missing?”
Mother’s face hardens briefly.
Debating whether to tell her.
Hesitating if Ariel can handle it.
But Ariel urges her relentlessly, so Ash sighs and speaks.
“……Kline went after you and went missing.”
“Huh?”
That one sentence.
Why does it hit her head so hard?
Ariel’s face drains of color.
Ash notices immediately and hugs her tighter.
She has to tell her. Ariel needs to understand the situation.
“The knights found traces—said he jumped off the cliff edge. Massive bloodstains nearby, unknown source.”
“……”
“But it’s okay, Ariel. The knights said no signs of battle. Not a height to die from falling, and we’re searching now. Don’t worry, alright?”
“……”
Ariel can’t speak.
She just stares blankly at the ceiling in her mother’s arms.
Brother is missing.
The moment she accepts it.
She pushes away from her mother.
“Ariel? Where are you going?!”
“Outside. ……I’ll find him. I can find him.”
“No, Ariel! Wait! It’s night—search tomorrow……!”
“Sorry. Still, I have to go.”
She leaves her protesting mother behind and exits the mansion.
She can’t sense Kline’s presence, and everyone says he’s missing.
The shock left her rattled.
Yeah, she wasn’t thinking straight.
No need to rely on others.
Ariel will find Kline herself.
She’s connected to the Backside World.
So, definitely.
“……”
-No.
That’s not it.
Because she’s connected to the Backside World, she knows.
Kline doesn’t exist in this world.
As if only he was torn away.
No.
Impossible.
She can’t accept it.
Who decided? Who?
Ariel grits her teeth and soars into the sky.
Even humanized by the Sword Emperor’s intervention, she’s still superhuman.
The place where her brother went missing.
She heads there to confirm with her own eyes.