15
Chapter 15
I took another look around the Academy, having been too rushed to notice the interior before.
"Wow."
They said every kind of medical facility was here, right?
I hadn't noticed it on my way in because I was in such a hurry, but the Academy had been transformed to the point where it could practically be called a hospital.
"Isn't it amazing? It would have been even more impressive if you'd seen it transforming in real time."
Aria, who was supporting me, spoke up.
"Ah, sorry, I'm getting carried away, aren't I? It must be uncomfortable for you to support me, so let's go back to the hospital room."
"It's okay if you want to look around. I'm only here without a scratch because Mr. Quixote and Mr. Seo-ha protected me."
"Hehehe, that's why I grabbed a wheelchair."
Estella was holding a wheelchair, though I had no idea when she'd gone to get one.
"Why are you carrying it? You should have just pushed it."
"This is faster!"
She spoke as she set down the wheelchair she had been holding in one hand. She'd arrived via teleportation in the first place, so did the speed even matter?
"Now, put him in here."
Estella helped Aria settle me into the wheelchair.
"Shall we head off then?"
Estella then gripped the handles of the wheelchair.
"Estella, you're not thinking of..."
"Thinking of what?"
"I just imagined you sprinting at full speed while pushing the wheelchair. That's not actually happening, right? There are plenty of patients and injured people here. I'm a patient too!"
"I have all my licenses: Class 1 Large, Class 1 Special, aircraft, ships, and so on."
Why on earth does she have all of those?
"I feel like those are completely different things."
"I'm the best driver."
"You crazy bitch!"
I thought I could hear Aria asking Quixote what to do in the background, and Quixote marveling at the speed, but my screams were too loud for me to hear them properly.
Still, true to her confidence, she managed to reach her intended destination without crashing or hurting anyone.
It was a secluded spot.
"Alright, we've arrived."
"I wonder how she even found a place like this."
Despite the crowds, she had somehow managed to find such a spot.
"Now then, time for the promised Q&A."
"Right, we did make that promise. Please make the first question an easy one to answer."
"Then, who is the Constellation that becomes the master of my Stigma?"
"I don't know the True Name either."
In the original story, only a handful of characters ever had their True Names revealed.
Unfortunately, her Constellation's True Name had not appeared either.
"I didn't really expect the True Name. Honestly, even if you've seen the future, a Constellation's True Name isn't something easily known, right?"
"Still, the Stigma on your back is so huge that it basically screams, 'I've got something here!'"
"So, if it hadn't been so distinct, maybe I wouldn't have been as famous?"
She gave a light laugh as she spoke.
"The Tree of Life. That's what I remember."
"No wonder I couldn't figure it out after searching for years; the source wasn't even human to begin with."
"Well, that's right."
Constellations aren't necessarily human. Concepts, objects, or even fictional beings created by human imagination can become Constellations. Her case was no different.
"Now for the second question! Do you really know the future? Like, does it just appear before your eyes when you need it? Or can't you use it frequently in the short term? If you could use it consecutively, it would've been incredibly useful in combat. How far can you see when you look?"
"Calm down, just calm down. I'm not going anywhere."
I said, pointing to the wheelchair I was sitting in.
"Let me explain it simply for you."
Now, how should I explain this?
"Imagine a book was handed down to you one day."
"Yeah."
"That book contains the future. It's written like a story. You read the book, and it was quite long. As you kept reading, you started to get bored around the middle. So, you closed the book."
"And?"
"The book evaporated. That's exactly my situation."
"Huh? What do you mean evaporated? Does that mean you don't know the rest of the story?"
"The probability that I can't access it again or see the rest of the story in the future is very high. And since I didn't realize it was Future Sight, I just read it for fun."
"Ugh, then let's go recover your memories. It might be expensive, but one memory restoration should be enough."
I winced instinctively, knowing the 'red pill' truth about that process.
"No, it's okay. I remember it all. I recalled everything on the first day I realized. I wrote it down."
Saying I remember it all is a lie, but I bought a notebook on my first day in this other world and jotted down the main plot points.
Though I don't remember the finer details very well.
"Shall we move on to the next question?"
"About the star carving... is my case related to that too?"
There was a lot left unsaid in that question. But looking at her expression, I could tell what she meant. All the praise, expectations, and admiration she received.
The question of whether it was all a result orchestrated by others. The thought that she might have lived a more ordinary life.
"Yeah, it is."
I could have lied here, but I answered honestly. I couldn't lie to someone who had gone all out to help me when I asked.
"I see."
She seemed lost in thought for a moment, but she quickly relaxed her expression and continued her questions.
"What do you mean the Chancellor can't fight? He doesn't seem to actually engage in combat."
"Ah, for that, we have to go back a bit. You know about the Fifth Continent Purification Operation, right?"
"Yeah, that was practically a total war for humanity. Almost every Hero was mobilized. There were so many casualties."
"During that operation, he suffered a fatal injury that put his life in danger. Now, he's barely clinging to life."
"Then who is the Chancellor we've seen until now?"
"One of his disciples. It's information known only to a tiny fraction of Heroes, his disciples, and a few high-ranking officials from each continent."
"Then you're saying the only sane person among the three Great Heroes is on the side of the Order of Star Carving?"
"The only silver lining is that he mustn't be the one to take the spotlight. He's like the machinery behind the stage, setting things up so others in the Order can shine. If he were to stand out, all the attention would shift to him instead of the Order, so he isn't a major threat for now."
I didn't bother mentioning that he would become a huge problem later on.
"And seriously, what was with you being in so much pain earlier?"
"Ah, my ability? I don't feel pain during combat, but it all hits me at once a while after it's over. I call it something like Pain Delay."
Thinking back to the agony I felt then, some of the pain I endured for a month must have been delayed until now.
"No wonder. Sometimes during sparring, I'd hit your shins really hard because you were being annoying, but your expression didn't even change."
"No wonder my shins would hurt like hell whenever I lay down to sleep."
"Hehe, sorry."
"Just drop dead."
"Hmph."
"Anyway, why were you making such a fuss just now?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Uh-uh, you said you'd be honest, but here you are lying. You little brat."
I tried to avoid her gaze, but she grabbed my head and forced me to look at her.
"Answer."
"Ahem, well, according to the original plan, the Star Radiance you awakened wasn't supposed to be used yet."
"Huh?"
"Originally, it's the kind of power where you'd wear a crown and be able to take down about three of Reika's lackeys in a single blow."
"Oh."
"So... I thought, 'If she gets it a bit early, it's good for you, good for me, good for the citizens, and the enemies we'll face will hate it. It's basically total luck, right?'"
"Keep talking."
"And then, a power I've never seen before just popped out?"
"So when you apologized before, you weren't saying 'Sorry for putting you through so much,' but 'Sorry for tricking you'?"
"Of course I meant the former. It would be a lie to say the latter wasn't there at all, but the former weighed more. I hope you can understand that."
Perhaps because it was such a secluded spot, a heavy silence lingered as neither Estella nor I spoke.
"I'm sorry."
"Fine. If you do it again, you're dead."
"Understood. Um... I feel like I messed up your 'build' a bit. Is that okay?"
"Putting it that way makes me feel like a game character. But whatever, whether you awakened a different Star Radiance or not, we ended up saving everyone, right?"
"Hmm?"
"It was a successful plan. Though quite a few people were critically injured. Luckily, it's the period when travel between the Fifth Continent and others is possible. I even heard someone came out of that closed-off Holy Kingdom! Did you plan for that too?"
I continued to run simulations in my head.
The best outcome was saving everyone, so I initially considered ways to stop the terror attack entirely, but I concluded it was impossible given the massive wall that is Lumiere and the difficulty of proving an attack would happen.
Constant casualties would have a devastating effect on her mental state.
Therefore, this plan was the best method I could devise.
Of course, there were probably better ways. Though it's meaningless since I couldn't think of them for a whole month.
"This brat is spacing out again."
She snapped me back from my wandering thoughts.
"Sorry, it's an old habit. When I have too much to think about, I forget what I'm doing and just drift off."
"Gosh, you wouldn't even notice if someone carried you away. Seeing your reaction, I guess you didn't intend for it to be this way."
"Exactly. I tried to minimize the damage, but thinking about it, the main targets all ended up with results beyond my expectations."
"So, how do you feel about it?"
"Not too bad."
It was a secluded spot, but from here, the Academy was visible in a single glance.
I looked down upon the Academy.
"Yeah, take a good look."
'You asked why I went that far, right? I always failed to protect everyone, but seeing the things I did manage to save made me feel good. That was all. Protecting and watching over their daily lives was the reason. Simple, right?'
A sentence from the original work came to mind. I had wondered for a moment if that was enough to feel good about, but I let it go.
"No, I should correct myself. I think I do feel good. But can I keep doing this? Even the plan to obtain the crown fell through. This is just the beginning; only more irrational, cruel, and painful things lie ahead. I'm far too lacking to handle what remains."
Now I think I understand the feeling.
Therefore, I feel a sense of regret.
These were things that even the original version of her, with power that felt almost omnipotent, had failed to achieve.
Perhaps it wasn't the worst, but the lesser of two evils, and while I believe the current outcome is the best possible, the road ahead could lead to an even more horrific result than the original.
"Since I'm lacking, why don't you fill in the gaps?"
"It'll be impossible for me to fill them."
"True, I'd have to be quite something to manage that."
"I want to argue, but I have nothing to say."
"Then so be it. As long as the result is good. Even if we fail, don't be too heartbroken; how can one person achieve everything?"
She usually acts like a child, so why is she being so mature now?
"What are you looking at? Did you fall for me?"
I guess not.
"Maybe a little?"
Still, since I'm in a good mood, I'll play along for a bit today.
"You're being too... Huh? What? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Are you sick?"
"What's wrong with him?"
"What is wrong with him?!"
Wasn't that exactly what I just said?
"Ow."
She smacked the back of my left hand.
My left hand hurts.
"Why are you being a prick even when I'm playing along?"
"Ugh, for a second, I felt something rising in my stomach."
"I'm done talking to you."
After watching the Academy for a while, we headed toward my home.
My inability to move was due more to the sedative given after my seizure than the injuries themselves, and since the injuries were well-treated, I didn't need to worry; they told me to just monitor my condition and visit the hospital for a check-up if any problems arose.
Although hospitalization was recommended (mostly by Aria), it didn't seem to be a major issue, and I also decided to go home because I thought of Luna, who must have been starving since breakfast.
"Daddy!"
My cat has grown a lot.
She can even speak now.
I looked at the girl in front of the Front Door shouting "Daddy" at me.
"I'm hungry!"
Ah, I need to go to the hospital.
A psychiatric hospital.