Secret Rendezvous
"Useless trash. Burn it all and dispose of it. Prepare the 14th batch of Murians."
I thought I'd seen enough misery already.
"It hurts... it hurts so much..."
I figured nothing could surpass the tragedy of the magitech engineer and the demon god.
"Endure it! Do you have any idea how much funding and time we've poured into you? Suck up that pain!"
I never imagined that a constellation bearing the divinity of Wisdom could have endured even greater torment,
"You! You bastard! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
let alone that she was still suffering through that horrific agony even now.
That's why I'd taken it lightly.
I'd assumed a god's mental fortitude could shrug off any chains, no matter how strong.
I'd thought reliving even the most agonizing memories through dreams wouldn't be an issue.
What the hell was game, character, event?
Someone out there was barely clinging to life, unable to bear a lifetime of pain, and here I was grinning like an idiot, scheming how to weave it into the Akashic Archive and balance the character stats.
I felt utterly pathetic for agonizing over that.
"No... stop... please..."
The moment a groan of agony escaped the lips of her who had become a constellation,
I lost the confidence to keep sustaining her dream.
I'd planned to build the game from her dream and heal her curse bit by bit.
Ching!
"I'm sorry, Constellation."
I couldn't just stand by and watch any longer.
I tore through the dream's veil that had imprisoned her and reached out a hand.
"I'm truly sorry for making you relive such painful memories."
The pain, suffering, sorrow she'd endured—I couldn't even fathom it.
"I think I can break these chains."
A curse of knowledge?
The more continental knowledge she gained, the stronger the curse became, and even with the authority of knowledge, she couldn't break free?
Fine. Let's give it a shot.
Whose knowledge is more profound and vast?
Let's see if your curse can withstand everything I throw at it.
Hummm!
Beyond her fading dream, I unfurled my own.
My golden hair gradually darkened to black.
My present-life form dissolved, my past-life self returning.
My mental world overlaid the illusion beyond.
"Mind hanging out for a bit? I'm smashing these chains right now."
Not many good memories, but now they lingered as nostalgia—my homeland.
Memories from a distant past I could never return to.
An Earth utterly unlike the Raipania Continent, advanced though it was in magitech.
Neon signs blazed in dazzling arrays,
concrete skyscrapers filling the view.
Descending slowly to the sidewalk with her, I knelt on one knee and offered my right hand, palm up.
"You..."
"The nightmare's over, Princess."
Even if this otherworld was a fabricated dream,
if it could heal the wounds of her pain-filled reality.
"I'll show you as much as you want. The knowledge beyond that will save you, Princess."
The girl took my hand.
Excitement from escaping the pain? Her cheeks flushed red.
"Take good care of me..."
"I'll serve you with utmost devotion."
Like a knight escorting a noble lady, I bowed and guided her.
"Whoa, that's a huge river!"
"It's called the Han River. Isn't this night view stunning?"
"...Yes... it's so beautiful..."
Guided by the boy, the girl marveled at the lights filling the far side of the vast river in the dark night.
A sprawling nightscape embroidered with multicolored lights.
Unlike anything from her knowledge of Raipania.
A night view too beautiful to pierce even with the authority of knowledge—this otherworld's wonders.
Thud!
The husk weighing down her mind shed one layer.
"Whoa, it's enormous!"
"Huge, right?"
Even craning her neck upward, she couldn't take in the colossal tower.
No matter how advanced Raipania's magitech, no tower this massive had ever existed.
Not even the one from mythic times, destroyed by the gods' wrath, could have been so grand.
How was this possible?
Magically feasible?
Her mind's knowledge couldn't explain it.
Thud!
Another layer of the husk weighing her mind shed.
"No mana, yet that speed!"
"Watch out! Over here."
Gawking at the passenger cars, she wandered into traffic and nearly got hit; the boy yanked her back urgently.
She tumbled softly into his arms from the momentum.
"You okay?"
"...Yes."
Her voice a tiny whisper.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Her heart raced faster than ever before.
"Look, a long ride."
"W-Wow! It's so long!"
The subway, with crowds boarding and alighting.
She gasped in awe before it.
"How does this even move?"
"Not sure myself, but I think it's electricity."
"...Electricity?"
That lightning magic power?
Not just for destruction?
A phenomenon beyond her existing knowledge.
Thud!
The remaining husk inside her began to fray faintly.
"An amusement ride...?"
"On a whole other level from Raipania's. Wanna try?"
The speeding roller coaster.
"Kyaaah!"
The girl screamed and clung to the boy.
He burst out laughing at her cute reaction, missing the upturned corners of her mouth.
"People usually take photos here. Stand there? I'll snap one for you."
"N-No! I wanna take it together!"
She forcibly hooked her arm through his and dragged him.
He chuckled and asked a nearby passerby to take the photo.
"Colpop..."
"Right. Want one?"
She took the cup he offered.
As he skewered a piece of his chicken with a toothpick,
"Ahhh."
She opened her mouth.
"...What're you doing?"
"Ahhh!"
She pointed inside her mouth with her finger.
"You want me to feed you?"
"Ahh!"
"No, I gave you your own, Princess... Ah, got it! Here."
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The countless experiences at the amusement park, unforgettable memories—they tore her husk to shreds.
Where to next?
Foreigners love Myeongdong, maybe there.
As the boy pondered tourist spots in his mind,
"Huh? Whoa, Prince!"
"...Yes? Did you call me?"
The boy followed her pointing finger.
[Adult Goods Store]
"Wh-What's that place?"
"Uh... well... you see..."
How to explain?
I mean... I don't really know either. But I'd set it so she could read the signs—why ask?
"I... don't know what it is, so I wanna check it out. Can we go?"
The girl pleaded earnestly.
"Ugh... Sorry. I've never been in there, so the interior isn't rendered."
"...Oh?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm~. I see."
The girl turned away with a meaningful expression.
"Prince."
"Yes."
"Have you ever had a lover before?"
"...Why ask that out of nowhere?"
"Just curious."
The boy couldn't sense the sordid desire writhing within her.
"Prince! That iron lump is flying!"
"A ship that goes underwater?"
"Wow, an elevator that goes this high!"
"No other races here? ...Huh? Only humans?"
"Ta-da! How's this outfit, Prince? Super cute, right!"
"Dal! Prince, gimme another one!"
"Did you just splash me? Take this!"
The boy and girl roamed Earth's corners.
No matter Raipania's magitech prowess and civilized heights, it paled against modern Earth.
Humanity's pinnacle, built without mana.
Those shocking sights chipped away her husk, piece by piece.
"Ahh, Prince. I'm so happy."
"Really?"
Good.
The boy smiled faintly.
The chains binding the girl were nearly gone.
If Earth's knowledge wasn't enough, he'd pull in fiction—SF worlds, martial arts realms—but no need now.
"Where to next, then? Anywhere you wanna go?"
So many spots unseen. Overseas landmarks too.
He'd never visited in life, but media glimpses made rendering easy.
The girl approached the pondering boy.
"This time, I wanna go there!"
"Where..."
Turning, he gaped at the glowing red sign.
MOTEL
......Huh? Where did you say?
"Heh heh heh."