Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Secrets of the World - 4
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The hero chosen by the world.
...
But in this case, am I the world?
I chose myself... Eh, I don't know.
"Finally, a gift for you. Though it's not really from me."
"Huh?"
"You royally screwed over Aktion last time by adding a law to the world's rules, right?"
"Haha. Should've saved it in the Avent Bureau."
"It's fine. You can watch it again if you want."
He continued leisurely.
"The ability you stole from Aktion with the Jewel of Greed? Its duration ended, and the rule you added back then vanished too."
"That means..."
"Yeah. You can add one new law to the world's rules."
My heart pounded for a moment.
As if testing me like he had many times in the past, he said,
"What law will you add? Something to screw over Aktion again...?"
"No."
"Then?"
"I'll decide that later. And why do you keep throwing these test questions at me?"
Impellium scratched his head awkwardly.
"Because you're my role model. You are."
"Geez."
"If you give the answer I expect, I can feel relieved. Relieved that the current me, who's imitating you, isn't wrong."
"I'm not that great of a person."
"You're not a person. You aren't."
He corrected me deliberately.
"If the word 'god' bothers you because of Adin, other terms are fine. Absolute One, Guide, Savior... Anyway, you're some existence that surpasses humans and heroes."
"All of those suck."
"Hmm. Is that so."
"Besides, whatever the past was like, I'm clearly human now. I don't know why, but."
Impellium started to say something.
But I shook my head.
No need to seek answers from Impellium.
"I'll check it myself."
"Ah, right. Yeah."
"..."
"Feels a bit empty. Like you don't need my help anymore."
He turned his body.
I turned too, and saw the party members with anxious faces.
They looked like they wanted to grab and shake me, demanding to know what was going on.
Serad opened her mouth.
"Impellium, now it's time to..."
"Whew. Yeah."
He greeted us.
"People of the world that birthed me and Serad. Now, we will part completely from our homeland."
"..."
"Even if a grown child succeeds in another land, they always hope their hometown thrives and stays happy, right? That's exactly how I feel now."
"..."
"Please handle Velosian, Aktion, and Idria well. Though we won't meet again, I sincerely wish for your success."
We all nodded with resolute expressions.
Soon, my vision began to blur.
The cozy, warm room's scenery too.
The red tea I'd always prepared.
And even Impellium and Serad's smiles.
I said to them,
"You guys make a good world too."
When I came to, we were sprawled out in the inn room.
As I got up groggily, my ears suddenly stung.
"Maide, what was all that Impellium said?"
"I held back from asking the real question and nearly burst."
"Bro calling you Absolute One, Savior, Guide? Even I think that's too embarrassing."
"Adwin, you were aware..."
"Everyone, ask one at a time. One at a time."
"Let's pick the one we most want to ask first."
Everyone nodded in agreement at Serein's last words.
As if they'd already silently agreed beforehand.
I tilted my head.
"What's the most curious thing?"
Neril spoke for them.
"You're not thinking of going somewhere, right?"
"...?"
"I mean, like Impellium or Serad, leaving this world alone? That's what we're asking."
What kind of ridiculous question is this?
I chuckled.
"That's what you're most curious about? At this point?"
But despite my laugh, everyone's faces were dead serious.
I had to straighten up too.
"No need to worry. That won't happen."
"From the first time we met Impellium, something felt off."
"Yeah. You talked about going far away and such."
In a way, Neril's intuition back then was right.
Not that I'd abandon this world and leave.
But I'd started as a mercenary, become a hero, and now I'm treated like something beyond even the heavenly gods of old on the continent.
One more step, and I'd surely become like Impellium or Serad.
That's what they're afraid of.
I said clearly, word by word,
"That absolutely won't happen. I won't leave you all behind."
Serein nodded.
"If you go, kill me first."
"You're casually dropping bombs like that."
"Maide is the core of this party no matter what anyone says. If Maide leaves, the party's over. I don't want to part from everyone."
Risel rarely grinned, teasing Serein.
"Well, that was your wish."
"Yes."
"Uh..."
"Since it's all out anyway, I'll admit it refreshingly. Yes, that's my wish."
Who'd have thought the day would come when Serein says something like that.
Everyone smiled softly.
I stretched.
"What's next on the curiosity list?"
"Let me see..."
"But even if you ask, I can't say right now."
"What? Why?"
"I'm not all-knowing. So, give me a little time."
From this meeting with Impellium, I'd learned countless secrets.
But I still knew nothing about 'me.'
Why Maide, the master of this world called Maide, became human.
Why Blood Letters appeared at age seven, and why Trail dwelled in me before regression.
I'm the master, so why did the Eye of Omniscience go to Trail, yet Blood Letters only shows to me.
Above all.
'How many sins have I committed in my life?'
With the final level up, I could now see my own sins.
I stood up.
"I'll head to my room for a bit."
"Huh?"
"I'll check calmly through the complete Eye of Omniscience there."
"Ugh... Waiting will be tough."
"You won't feel like you waited. Using the complete Eye stops everyone's time. Even those who turned fame into power."
Everyone nodded, convinced.
I moved to my room.
Then Trail asked.
[Can I come too?]
'Why not.'
[Cough. No, you're leaving the party members behind.]
'You're... different.'
Damn, there's a perfect word for this guy, but it won't come to mind, tickling the edge of my thoughts.
'Anyway, it's fine. Follow me.'
[...Thanks. Maide. For real.]
'But time stops for you too anyway.'
[You ruin the emotion in one second!]
I ignored him and entered my room.
Trail grumbled before saying,
[But if time stops anyway, you could've just done it in that room.]
'No mirror there.'
[Eh?]
'This room has one... There it is.'
I took a deep breath and stood before the mirror.
Then carefully looked up above my head.
It said this:
- First, please set the definition of sin.
Huh?
What's that supposed to mean?
Tap.
Then a screen appeared.
[Congratulations, Maide. You've become the hero chosen by the world.]
I inhaled lightly.
[Currently, the world has no master.]
[And the current Maide is not this world's master either.]
[Defeat the Demon King, become the world's master again, and then set the definition of sin.]
I thought for a moment and asked,
"I can already freely see others' Blood Letters. Why say the sin definition isn't set?"
[That's following the definition set when past Maide was the world's master, by inertia. Shall I adjust to that setting if you wish?]
"...No."
[I figured you'd say that. You have no memory of being the master then, so it'd feel like being judged by a stranger.]
What is this.
It's just text, but it feels like a gentle smile.
"Who are you?"
[I monitor if the world's laws operate properly and assist heroes when the Demon King appears. A sort of advisor.]
"..."
[Why not check directly instead of more explanation? What secret do you want to see?]
"..."
After that, I spent what felt like nearly seven hours in this room.
To Trail, Neril, and the others, it must've felt instantaneous.
I checked all the world's secrets.
Why Aktion, once a hero, ended up like that.
The heroes before Impellium and their exploits.
How the other worlds heroes nurtured with gifts are faring.
The hidden stories of past heroes.
Secrets of Idria I'd missed, hiding in history to harvest lies.
And countless more secrets.
"Whew."
I exhaled deeply.
What a day.
From the party with Impellium, tons of info flooded my head, making it dizzy.
[Anything else you're curious about?]
"I think I've seen most of it."
[Good work.]
"No. I said 'most.' A few more left."
[Go ahead.]
Now for the important part.
"Why am I human? Why was I a baby on Baharma Mountain?"
<...>
"And who is Trail? Where did Kaild come from?"
<...>
"Finally... who are you? What's your name?"
I naturally expected the Eye to activate.
But the screen text was unexpected.
[No.]
"Huh? No? With the complete Eye of Omniscience, there's something you can't show?"
[No, not can't... I just don't want to.]
...
Come to think of it, Impellium got rejected similarly.
Ridiculous.
This guy's fundamentally different from the indifferent screens that just showed fame stats.
"Why not?"
[Just don't want to.]
"Hey."
[Night's deep. Why not rest?]
"No time passed. Quit stalling and show me."
The screen wiggled around.
Suddenly, old memories surfaced, and I chuckled.
'Trail used to do this too.'
Tweaking angles or shaking to express emotion.
Is this guy the same?
[I'm low on power from overusing... need to recharge...]
"Fine. If you really don't want to, I won't force it."
[Maide.]
"I'm not the forcing type anyway."
[Unchanged as ever.]
Unchanged?
Well, yeah. I've never forced anything on my party.
Offense mentioned it several times.
[I'll show you later if I feel like it.]
"Your personality doesn't seem great."
[Harsh words.]
"Anyway, now we can talk, but what do I call you? Can't you at least tell me your name?"
The screen stayed quiet, as if deep in thought.
As I pondered asking again, a sentence appeared.
[When you were the world's master, you called me this: Bion.]
Bion?
I've heard that name.
-Bion Kunze.
I tried to exclaim in shock.
Tap.
But the screen vanished first.
"...What the hell. Seriously."
[Eh? What?]
The Eye disconnected, time resumed, and Trail asked.
I thought quietly before saying,
"You're Trail, right?"
[Get a grip.]
"Yeah. Never mind."
My gut says the screen will reveal all secrets eventually.
No need to push now that I have the complete Eye.
The urgent thing is sharing the many secrets I learned with the party.
"Let's go back."
[Making that enlightened face alone.]
Trail grumbled but didn't argue.
We returned to the room where everyone waited.
"Huh? Already back?"
"Time stopped, so. Still, really quick."
"Bro. What'd you see?"
I answered Adwin's last question calmly.
"I'll tell you everything, one by one from now."
That night, I shared all the world's secrets I'd learned.
We pulled an all-nighter.