I Want to Hear Your Story (5)
I Want to Hear Your Story (5)
"Why?"
Kiel's voice trembled, unable to contain the surge of emotion.
"Couldn't there be a way for you both to survive? Must you always concede like this?"
Olivia watched him quietly, then spoke.
"You seem to be mistaken. This isn't a concession."
"...Then what is it?"
"In fact, it's more like I'm dumping it on you."
Olivia meant it.
If she remained in these memories, she would be forced to carry out the Genocide Route. There was no way around it.
'Why the hell would I do that again, was I insane?'
Killing one or two people would be bearable. The mind of an Archmage wouldn't break over so little.
Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands? She might even keep her composure on a battlefield where hundreds of thousands of lives were snuffed out.
But the Genocide Route didn't operate in units of mere hundreds of thousands.
Tens of millions, hundreds of millions, maybe even more.
And it wasn't simply killing, either.
She would gather refugees fleeing for their lives under the pretense of offering them shelter, then annihilate every last one of them.
A process more inhuman than this would have to be repeated dozens of times over.
The way those betrayed humans wailed in utter despair had been so vivid that she had felt it even from behind a monitor.
Of course, if the price of genocide had been a return home, she might have gritted her teeth and tried it at least once.
But this place only existed within memories. Doing something like that here would be meaningless.
And besides, she no longer had the stomach for it.
Kiel muttered,
"...A life isn't something you can just 'dump' onto another person."
He was right.
You donate an organ; you don't say you're dumping it on someone.
Who would dare describe a life as something to be dumped? No one except the person doing it.
But that logic, at least for Olivia, didn't hold.
"Then I must be the sole exception. Because I really do intend to dump it."
"..."
Kiel sighed deeply.
'What on earth...'
Only after several breaths could he finally shake off the suffocating feeling in his chest.
"Olivia. I can support you as much as you need. If I secure His Majesty's approval, access to the Imperial Library is even possible. If you want, I can seek out your master, the Gold Tower Lord, right this instant. We can find a solution quickly—"
"Kiel."
Olivia cut him off.
"I'm truly grateful, but I don't need your help. This is my business."
Olivia was serious.
'Not helping me is helping me!'
But she couldn't say that out loud, which was maddening.
Honestly, Kiel going out of his way to offer help was a very positive sign. It meant his favorability had climbed that high.
But...
[Remaining Time: 2:16]
Drawing the line now was the right move.
What if she asked for his help and Kiel actually figured out a way to 'preserve a separated ego'? That would be a massive headache.
Because in the first place, her ego had never been separated.
She was only here briefly, inside a past memory.
And so.
"Just leave me alone."
"...Leave you alone?"
"It'll resolve itself if you do."
"Resolve? Did you just call it a resolution?"
Kiel's expression was baffled. A moment later, it shifted into fury.
Finally unable to hold back, Kiel exploded.
BANG! CRAAAASH! CRAAAAAASH!
Kiel slammed his fist down on the desk. With each repeated blow, the splinters of wood dug deeper into his fist. Drip, drip, blood streamed down.
Kiel glared down at Olivia with bloodshot eyes.
The air in the room sank, heavy and oppressive.
"..."
Kiel spoke.
"If you vanish, is that a resolution to you?"
Deep down, Olivia wanted to nod and agree that he was right.
But she couldn't.
Kiel's presence was simply too overwhelming.
"Half a year ago, you saved me. I made a vow then. If your life were ever in peril, I would save you by any means necessary. And now, you're telling me to stand by and watch you die."
Both of Kiel's fists trembled violently.
"...Is that truly what you want?"
A moment of silence hung between them.
Olivia quietly nodded.
"..."
At Olivia's answer, Kiel's lips moved soundlessly, like a man struck speechless. He rubbed his forehead, his eyes, his mouth in sequence with one hand.
Emptiness, then a lament, then despair.
Then, very slowly, he asked again, his voice as if his heart were being wrung out.
"...Is it really?"
"Yeah."
"...Really? Are you certain?"
Kiel asked again and again.
But the answer did not change.
"Yes."
Slumping in utter defeat, Kiel collapsed back into his seat. As Olivia watched him, a message window surfaced before her eyes.
[Remaining Time: 0:45]
It was nearly time to wrap this up. If she left things this ambiguous, she had no idea what might happen the next time...
Ruuuumble.
The door, secured by a locking spell, rattled. Someone was trying to force it open from the outside.
'Who is it?'
Olivia frowned. As far as she knew, there was no one at this point in the timeline who could undo a sevenfold lock...
Wait.
This was the Gold Tower, wasn't it?
That was the moment.
A splitting pain tore through her head. It was agony she couldn't endure without clutching her skull.
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[Within a Clue, you may only make contact with one regressor!]
[Access will be forcibly terminated shortly!]
'What the hell is this...'
Olivia's thoughts went no further. The instant she registered the message's content, her consciousness blinked out.
In the next instant, Olivia's body slowly crumpled to the floor.
*****
BANG!
The mages threw down the tools they were holding in a haphazard heap.
No matter what kind of trickery was at play, the door absolutely refused to open.
"This seems impossible."
"Can't we just use a seal-breaking spell?"
"It's not that simple. The spell formula's difficulty is extraordinary."
The clustered mages clicked their tongues in frustration.
That was the moment.
"The Tower Lord is coming!"
The murmuring corridor fell silent in an instant. At Melina's appearance, the mages parted to the left and right like a wave.
Melina, who had come down to check on the commotion from the lower floors, clicked her tongue. The sight of the mages drenched in sweat and sprawled on the ground was a spectacle to behold.
"Tsk. Hammers, crowbars, axes... Anyone would mistake you for a band of thieves. What on earth has you lot in such an uproar?"
Melina gestured at the aide holding a hammer, demanding an explanation.
"Duke Kiel dragged Olivia into a private chamber."
"And what about it... What did you say?"
"He has barricaded himself inside the laboratory as we speak."
"Then you should have called me sooner, you idiots!"
Melina strode toward Olivia's room in great, long steps. Then she pounded on the door like a madwoman.
"Kiel! If you don't open this door right now, your house is finished tonight!"
"It seems a soundproofing spell has been cast."
"A s-soundproofing spell? Our Livi is in on it too?"
Melina clenched her jaw.
'This can't happen, you brat! Kiel, that bastard, is out of the question!'
Kiel had been instantly demoted from 'Duke' to a mere 'bastard.'
The level of the locking spell was hardly trivial. Not a triple or quadruple, but a full sevenfold locking spell. A sophisticated piece of magic that even most elder mages could not undo.
At this level, they would at least need the Tower Lords of the high-ranking Magic Towers.
'Has our Olivia already grown this much... No, stop that.'
"How long ago did the two of them go in?"
"It has been about thirty minutes."
"Th-thirty minutes? That damn sword-jockey brat! I gave him respect because he's a duke and he dares make a move on our Livi?"
Golden magical power rippled around Melina's body. Sensing the killing intent within it, the mages began edging backward.
"Get back!"
"Deploy a barrier!"
Something like a tiny black hole appeared before Melina's hand. The surrounding air began to get sucked into it.
Ruuuumble.
Magic that devoured magic.
With the sound of iron chains shattering one after another, the laboratory door dissolved into dust and vanished.
CRASH!
"Kiel! What in the hell were you thinking...!"
Melina kicked the door in and burst inside.
And then Melina saw it.
Olivia collapsing like a kite whose string had been cut.
Olivia's eyes were dead and black. Her lips were frozen a corpse-like blue.
As if her very soul had fled her body.
The last thing Melina saw was the desk shattered to pieces and Kiel staring back at her with blood dripping from his fist.
"KIIIIIIIEL!"
A roar erupted from Melina's throat.
Rage warped the space into a vast distortion. The ceiling flipped, and the walls began to splinter.
SHIING! SHIIIING! SHIIIIING!
Blades of wind tore through everything in their path.
But they never reached Kiel.
Because Melina, realizing that Kiel had no intention of dodging, stopped the casting.
"You bastard...!"
A grinding noise came from Melina's mouth. Suppressing a deep fury, she glared at Kiel for a long, long time.
"I-I did nothing...!"
"Silence!"
Melina's hands trembled as she gently examined Olivia.
"I don't want to hear your excuses."
Melina carefully lifted Olivia into her arms. The girl's body was as cold as a block of ice.
"Get out. Now."
"Meli..."
"Duke Kiel!"
Melina's body shook with rage.
"Get out this instant. Before I kill you."