The Name You Call Me
"I'm fine." I said in a calm voice to the trembling Mikhail. No matter how many times she swung her sword, she wouldn't be able to hurt me. Even if she poured aura into the blade. Even if she aimed for a vital point while I was off guard. Mikhail's sword could never reach me.
"Stop!"
"I'm really fine." The gap between her and me—
"I am." —existed because there was a wall.
"Strong, after all."
—Kagagagak!
The sword thrust forward with great force sent Mikhail's body skidding across the floor. Unable to steady herself after the heavy impact, she staggered. I clicked my tongue and let out a bitter laugh before lightly loosening my wrist.
"Shall we begin the after-hours lesson?"
"Just kill me already! I don't want to hurt you!"
"Does that mean you think you can beat me?"
"That's not what I meant! I just… I don't want to hurt you…"
"Don't worry. I won't charge you for the after-hours lesson…"
I swung my sword lightly.
—Kagak!
Mikhail caught the blow, holding back tears. The reason I cared for Mikhail wasn't just because she was a friend. There was also a selfish reason—I wanted her to make this world peaceful. Luin, Mikhail, Yuria, and the Crown Prince. These four were the central figures in the novel. I had no choice but to treat them favorably.
The novel I possessed was titled The Strongest Ones at the Academy Like Me. What could an extra like me possibly do? Flattering them was the only privilege a possessor had, so I enjoyed it to the fullest.
"Counterattack."
"Please… just…!"
"Do it."
Unfortunately, Luin had crossed the line, but in a world where the protagonists existed, there were still things I had to be careful about.
"Hold your sword properly."
"…Don't do this. You don't have to do this."
"No." I spoke firmly to the trembling Mikhail. "This is necessary."
Only then would Yuria's plan fail. Yuria had probably drawn this picture—a scene where someone chooses death for the sake of a loved one. Because she had drawn such a provocative scene, she was staying on this battlefield where sword strikes kept raining down.
"Good… This is the picture. Make it more heartbreaking… more…!"
But there was one thing Yuria had overlooked.
"Let's start again."
"…Stop it!"
"Grip your sword tightly."
I was someone who could beat Mikhail without any burden. Rather, this was a good opportunity to relieve stress and train her further. After all, I was a selfish person. I had burdened them just to lighten the weight that came with being a possessor. In countless stories, possessors sacrificed themselves for a happy ending, but I had no such merciful heart. I was already overwhelmed just by the young lady's happiness. I had to stop Hanna's wandering, and keeping the people within my fence smiling was already more than enough. If the protagonists wavered, I would have to move to protect the peace that had collapsed.
"…"
Mikhail had to stay strong. Only then could an extra like me enjoy life relatively peacefully.
"If you don't focus, your arm will be cut off."
"Kugh…"
"Yes, just like that…"
The more hardships Mikhail overcame, the less danger she would have to bear. How could I hate her? The current me simply couldn't show my dislike. But… well, that's how it is.
"Please stop!"
Now that she had entered my fence as well, what could I do? I flashed a wry smile and shook off my sword. Mikhail, breathing heavily, looked at me with tearful eyes.
"Stop now… It's all my fault. Please, just stop…"
"Listen."
"Ricardo!"
"Listen. How long are you going to keep hiding?"
Right now, I stood here feeling both affection and resentment toward Mikhail. The anger at the academy. The memories from the slums. And the compassion I felt as one person. I gripped my sword, carrying all those complicated emotions.
Mikhail looked at the sword that wouldn't leave her hand with resentful eyes.
"I… I can't do this anymore."
She spat out her sorrow through forced movements.
"I said I can't do this anymore!"
Heavy tears began to fall from Mikhail's sobbing eyes. She said she wanted to cut off her own arm right now if she could, lowering her head to the ground with a pitiful gaze.
"Why… why do I only end up hurting you?"
"Misa."
"Why do I have to become trash in front of you!"
"Misa…!"
"I know! I know it too! I know I'm a piece of trash! Frustrating, stupid, the kind of trash that only makes people sigh—I know it too…!"
This was troublesome. If she spilled all the information I had worked so hard to hide like this, I wouldn't know what to say once she regained her senses.
"But… I was finally trying to change a little…! Keuk…"
Moreover—
'She… remembers.'
It seemed she had recalled the past. 'Since when?' I bit my lip as I watched Mikhail speak ill of herself. Things had gone wrong. Originally, I had planned to kill Yuria and return as usual, but seeing the mask of "Misa," born from Mikhail's consideration, begin to crack made everything complicated.
The words she spoke—
"Why… why do I always end up hurting you!"
"…"
"We never even got to talk…! I couldn't even explain why I did what I did…!"
Those were words she couldn't have said if she hadn't remembered the past. I bit my lip and clenched my fists. 'Too soon.' Mikhail probably wasn't ready yet. The sign that this relationship would break earlier than expected made my lips go dry. Mikhail couldn't be allowed to break the way the status window had shown. I couldn't predict what kind of outcome this would bring, neither for the novel's future nor for Mikhail herself.
"Stop it."
"I wanted to change too…"
"Misa, stop!"
"I… I wanted to stop now…!"
Memories sometimes become a heavy burden.
—Kwa-ga-ga-gak!!
"Stop now…"
Mikhail didn't seem to realize that burden. If so—
—Kwaaaak…
—then this ill-fated relationship had to end by Mikhail's own hand. That would be for her sake. I loosened my grip on my sword as I watched Mikhail's approaching blade.
*
To Mikhail, this moment felt like hell. —I'm fine. Because Ricardo's smile as he calmly received her sword felt so pitiful. Even in a moment where she knew everything, the only thing she could do was hurt him. Swinging her sword. Insulting him with cruel words. Brutally rejecting his kindness. She had learned the sword and worked hard to become stronger so she could return to that child from her memories with a better appearance, but the result of her efforts had become thorns like a cactus, so she couldn't smile. When her own efforts were strangling him to death, how could she possibly laugh?
"Stop now…"
It would be better to just stop. The desperate efforts she had made only made the version of herself in those faded memories seem even more hideous. The burden kept piling up. The weight on her shoulders grew heavier and heavier until it reached a limit she could no longer bear. There was no more room to stack anything else.
—I am strong, after all.
Her legs were already shaking so badly she was about to collapse, so why would he say something like that?
"…"
At that moment, a cold voice dug deep into Mikhail's ears.
"Just a moment."
"…"
"Perhaps."
"…"
"Do you think I'm friends with Mikhail?"
"Huh…?"
"You seem to be mistaken."
Ricardo's voice was cold.
"You weren't originally like this, were you?"
"…"
"Honestly, it's hard to adjust when you're acting so different from usual."
Ricardo spat out words that sent a chill down her spine, as if she had ice in her mouth, and looked her straight in the eye while crossing swords. As if to say it really wasn't true. Mikhail asked in a trembling voice, her heart pounding as she looked directly into Ricardo's eyes.
"…You're that kid, aren't you?"
"What?"
"The one who cried with me in the slums… Lee Min-hyuk."
"What are you talking about? Lee Min-hyuk? That's quite a peculiar name."
"What are you saying… Stop pretending you don't know."
"You seem to be under a tremendous misunderstanding…"
Ricardo's sword dug in even harder, lightly grazing her side as it passed.
"I was born a Desmond."
"…But to me, you were clearly—"
"A lie."
"What?"
"It was a lie."
"A lie?"
"I lied because I thought there might be something to gain from it."
Ricardo asked Mikhail in a cruel voice.
"Was the person in your memories as violent as me?"
"…No."
"Did he hit people carelessly and annoy them?"
"No…"
"See." Ricardo sneered as he glared at the flustered Mikhail. "You picked the wrong person."
"…"
"Did you have a nightmare or something?"
"Really not?"
"No."
—Thud!
Ricardo kicked Mikhail hard in the stomach and let out an annoyed sigh before brushing back his hair.
"I thought there might be something valuable here, but all I got was dragged into some strange incident."
"…"
"Think about it. If I were the person you remember, would I have grown up like this? That person wasn't some grumbling thug. He probably grew up to be a fine adult."
Ricardo's gaze wasn't looking into her eyes. He was staring at something above her head, his expression repeatedly hardening and relaxing. Mikhail didn't notice the change in Ricardo. To her, it felt like a violent storm was raging right now. She hadn't thought of it. The fact that all of this was a lie. What the Blue Window had shown. Even the Archbishop's lies. She couldn't bring herself to think that everything was false.
"Don't be fooled!!!!"
Yuria's shout struck Mikhail's ears hard.
"Don't be fooled…! I know for sure! That bastard is that bastard from back then!"
"What do you mean, 'is'?"
"Kid… don't ruin my script."
"Let me have some fun too."
"You…!!!"
Mikhail's body couldn't move according to her will. Whether it was the truth or not, she couldn't stop this hand anyway. The moment Ricardo's sword and Mikhail's sword met—
'Wait…'
Mikhail belatedly realized the flaw in Ricardo's words.
'He called me Mikhail…?'
The way he had pronounced "Lee Min-hyuk" so clearly. And at some point, he had started calling her "Mikhail."
'From the very beginning…'
"Liar…"
"You realized it too late."
'He already knew.'
When the strength left their crossed swords, Mikhail's blade deeply cut into Ricardo's body.
"You crybaby kid."
—Seogeok.
"You grew up splendidly."
***
'…'
With half-closed eyes, I quietly looked at Mikhail, who stood still.
'Did she awaken…?'
Mikhail was walking toward Yuria with a cold expression. Honestly, the Archbishop's orb had been a bit scary. 'I can't be late for bath time.'