Chapter 626: While the Mind Reader Slept
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 626: While the Mind Reader Slept
One morning, Shei opened her eyes.
It was the first time in a long while that she had slept so soundly, without a trace of tension. A pleasant languor enveloped her, despite the sharp pain in her shoulder blades and the ache that pulsed through her muscles. In fact, that soreness only made her deep slumber all the sweeter.
It was time to get up. As her body’s internal alarm woke her, Shei felt a presence beside her and turned her head.
Hughes was asleep, facing her.
Was it because he was the King of Humans? His face was handsome, with no sharp edges. He sometimes gave off a slick, roguish impression, but that was an aura Hughes deliberately crafted—a strategy to control the physical and emotional distance between himself and others. It was something only he, a mind reader, could do.
But when he was asleep, he couldn't maintain that facade. It was a subtle difference Shei had only noticed after watching him for so long, one that Hughes himself hadn't been aware of until he read her mind.
Shei silently savored the sight of his sleeping face, a smile born of long-held yearning spreading across her lips.
He is kind, because he understands hearts. But he is also cruel, because he understands the hearts of others, not just mine.
Perhaps the two were sides of the same coin, an inevitable trait for the Beast King… That was likely why he could never give his heart to Shei completely.
Still, Shei’s heart was his. It had been, through countless regressions.
I want to hold him. I want to press my lips to his. I want to fall asleep held completely in his arms. I want to be touched. I want to share the same breath. I want to be comforted. I want to reveal everything and have him read my mind.
But that desire…
Stop, Shei.
The Heavenly Counter Domain whispered to her. As Qi circulated through her body, her emotions, memories, and longing gradually went numb. The overwhelming feelings began to fade.
Hughes refused to reveal his mind-reading ability, out of respect for others' thoughts. If people knew he could read their minds, they would become afraid of thinking itself. That was something the King of Humans would never want.
So, whenever Shei met Hughes, she had to seal her memories and return to the weak, precious Shei of the 14th timeline, the one who had first met him. The foolish, dishonest Shei who was always putting up her thorns and doing so many things she would later regret.
But it didn't matter.
Because the Shei of the 14th timeline, with her memories sealed, was still Shei.
Inevitably.
She would reach the same conclusion.
*
‘What? What’s going on? Why? Why is Hughes sleeping next to me?!’
Ugh, so noisy. Who’s making such a racket in my head? A guy can’t even sleep.
I woke to the clamor of thoughts in my mind. When I opened my eyes, I saw Shei, still asleep with her eyes closed.
No, she was pretending to be asleep. Having woken up, she’d been startled to see me and had simply shut her eyes and remained still.
‘How did this happen? Why didn’t I notice him getting into my bed? No, why did Hughes crawl into my bed in the first place?! Was I really so tired that I slept through it all?’
You’re the one who grabbed me, so I had no choice. You’re still clutching my sleeve, and you haven’t even realized it? Hah. What a pain. Let’s see how long it takes for you to figure it out on your own.
‘Should I get up? Should I hit him? Or should I cut him with Chun-aeng? Wh-what should I do?’
Hit me? Cut me? Hey, your thoughts are a little extreme!
At risk of getting blindsided in my sleep, I deliberately stretched. Shei’s hand, still gripping my sleeve, was pulled up along with my arm. Only then did she sense something was off.
‘…? Why is my hand…? Holding onto Hughes? Huh?’
Don’t ask me, you’re the one who should know! On the bright side, you could say we’ve gotten close enough that you rely on me even in your subconscious.
Anyway, it’s your fault I had to sleep here against my will. I muttered to myself, leaving no room for misunderstanding.
“Hm? Is Shei-ssi not up yet? Still holding onto my sleeve. What kind of grip doesn’t weaken even in sleep?”
“…Mmm.”
‘O-okay. I don’t know what’s going on, but if I just loosen my grip…’
The grip on my sleeve began to slacken. She was trying to let go without me noticing, but it wouldn’t be any fun if she got away that easily.
“Then again, I guess a grip that held on all night wouldn’t just let go now. Not unless Shei-ssi is awake. I wonder when she’ll wake up.”
“…”
The grip tightened again. She must think it’s strange, too, right? Good. While I’m at it, let’s completely erase her suspicions.
“Still, it was kind of cute when you were lying there saying, ‘Mmm, Hughes. Sleep with me…’”
“I never said that!”
Shei shot up and shouted. Tsk. Guess distorting the facts that much was a bit of a stretch. I feigned ignorance and asked back.
“What? You were awake?”
“I just woke up! And there’s no way I’d say something like that!”
“Oh? And how can you be so sure, Shei-ssi?”
“What’s there to be sure about? I know myself! I’m not the kind of person who would say something like that!”
True, you didn’t say that. But what are you going to do if I just make it up?
“Then who was it that grabbed my sleeve and wouldn’t let go?”
“Th-that…! How should I know!”
“If you don’t know, who does?!”
I can’t get a read on her. Her favorability seems to have gone up quite a bit, but reading her thoughts, it doesn’t feel like she’s particularly conscious of me. And yet she grabs my sleeve?
It feels like she’s playing hard to get. This is tough, really tough.
“Shei-ssi. I’m the type of person who doesn’t stop a woman who’s coming and doesn’t hold onto one who’s leaving.”
“…? But you’ve abandoned plenty of women, haven’t you?”
“Why are you bringing that up now?”
I’d appreciate it if you called it a beautiful parting, not abandonment. Anyway.
“If you’re lonely, just say the word. If you were a man, Shei-ssi, I would have refused, but you’re a woman now, right? That’s just barely within my acceptable range.”
“I was a woman from the start!!”
The brief morning commotion passed without any real trouble. For a while, Shei hissed at me like a cat whenever our eyes met, but that was short-lived. Like the Regressor she was, she soon remembered another matter and got straight to the point.
“Hughes. We need to meet the Mage King.”
I hadn’t been able to read much of Shei’s last timeline since the memory stream was cut off midway. I was curious about what had happened, but Shei was more focused on the future than on reminiscing about the 12th timeline, which she barely remembered anyway.
“Above the Floating Castle, there is a calamity.”
The moment I heard those words, I had no choice but to focus as well.
“What? Above? Not on the Floating Castle?”
“That’s right. Higher than this. The Star of Great Sin, ‘Pride,’ is floating there.”
The Floating Castle itself was a structure that existed above the clouds and sky. Higher than anything else on this planet. And there was something even higher than that?
“‘Pride’ is the Floating Castle’s ultimate weapon. When the war intensifies and the castle is attacked, the Mage Federation drops Pride on the Empire. That’s the Great Descent.”
Just thinking about it made Shei shudder. A scene flashed through her mind.
The Empire was in the northwestern part of the continent. Though calling it the northwest was an understatement since more than half the continent was under its domain, it was undeniably far from the Military State.
But that colossal destruction was visible even from there.
A flame streaked across the sky, tracing a steep trajectory. It had derailed from the path of the sun and stars, falling diagonally toward the earth.
Shei could only watch the fall of a star that desired the end of civilization, a star that could neither be stopped nor avoided.
And the scream of Mother Earth shook the entire continent.
Shei later heard that both the Empire and the Sanctum had resisted it, and had been partially successful. But the aftermath alone brought about a terrible disaster. Even the Military State, on the opposite side of the continent, suffered from successive earthquakes and storms.
After finishing the recollection she hated to revisit, Shei continued.
“…It’s no use trying to persuade the Mage King or stopping the fall of ‘Pride’ somehow.”
Naturally, both Shei and the Sanctum had made stopping it their top priority. And it seemed they had succeeded in some timelines. But the problem didn’t end there.
Shei bit her lip until it bled as she spoke.
“Because the King of Sins takes ‘Pride’ for himself and pronounces a death sentence on the world.”
I had wondered how the King of Sins, who was just a single human, could destroy the world.
But what if Shei’s words were true? It didn’t even have to be the King of Sins. The Mage King alone could destroy the world!
“We have to deal with ‘Pride’ to prevent the world’s destruction.”
I heard the story. Mm-hm, you must have been very busy.
But here’s the thing.
“Shei-ssi. How are you going to do that?”
What can I do?
“From what I hear, ‘Pride’ is the Floating Castle’s ultimate weapon, a last resort. What are you going to say to the Mage King? ‘Abandon ‘Pride’ and give up its power’? If I were the Mage King, I wouldn’t even listen. And he didn’t, in fact.”
“…That is a problem.”
“And it’s a problem if he does listen. What if he just decides to execute you on the spot for being an insolent fool?”
“…That’s also a problem.”
I couldn’t read the Mage King’s power. He surrounded himself with an immense amount of space, making it impossible for me to get close enough. And yet, he had effortlessly nullified the Blue Tower Master’s unique magic.
Just how strong was he? It was beyond what Shei or I could even fathom. It would take someone on Nevida’s level to stand a chance against him.
…But was his unique magic the full extent of his power? I highly doubt it.
In the end, Shei couldn’t come up with a viable solution either. We were just sitting at the desk in silence, lost in thought.
“Hello. Good morning.”
The door opened, and the Blue Tower Master barged in. Striding into the room with her long legs, she smiled lightly and held out a piece of clothing to me.
“The one you gave me then. Thanks, I put it to good use. I washed it clean, so you don’t have to worry.”
“You didn’t have to wash it.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s a matter of basic courtesy, and preserving my dignity as a woman.”
“No, I mean, a piece of clothing that was draped over your shoulders has more collector’s value.”
“Hee hee. I’m not sure if I should be pleased or displeased by that.”
Smiling lightly, the Blue Tower Master sat down across from me, creating a chair out of crystal. She hadn’t knocked, and we hadn’t invited her in, but she showed no sign of awkwardness. An infiltration as natural as breathing.
Shei, who was far from sociable, was taken aback by the Blue Tower Master’s casual demeanor.
‘This is weird… I’m the one who’s been traveling with Hughes, and I knew Elisha first. But they both seem closer to each other than to me.’
Well. That’s because you… Never mind. What’s the point in saying it? I turned away from the pouting Shei and greeted the Blue Tower Master.
“Where’s Lankart?”
“Lankart went down to the Lower World for a bit. He was slacking on his investigation of the Tree of Corruption. It’s all well and good that he brought you two here, but without objective data, he has nothing to submit.”
“He’s smart, but not very meticulous. A classic genius trait. Can’t explain things to other people.”
“I sent a few aides with him to assist, so he should be fine.”
“You’ve already mastered how to handle Lankart.”
“You pick it up naturally. Anyway, with a few of my subordinates away, I have some free time. I was thinking of making you two a proposal.”
The Blue Tower Master rested her chin on her hand and looked intently at Shei and me.
“You two. How would you like to learn magic from me and try to rise through the ranks?”