Chapter 82
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Prologue
Time passed quickly.
Suddenly, we had four cities, and the work came pouring in.
It was so much that even Mika Seitus, with her rebellious teenage phase, was hounded into working all day long.
So, one afternoon, while everyone was struggling to get through their daily tasks…
I alone was idly gazing at a book.
The very first page of the Book of Fate.
[Prologue (1)]
A new emblem that had appeared below the Epilogue after my visit to Lorraine's laboratory.
When I touched it with my hand, an explanation about origins and miracles surfaced in my mind.
“Hmm… Should I try it?”
I hesitated for a moment.
I had no idea what this function did.
I was worried it might send me flying back to some grueling past again.
“But now seems like the right time to try.”
Right now, after fighting a series of wars and battles to capture the four cities of Ilunael, Kinalo, Kashu, and Kushan.
The political situation in Norverge was buzzing like a disturbed hornet's nest.
However, there were no immediate threats looming before us.
The calm before the storm, perhaps? Fierce struggles were happening under the surface, but it wasn't a moment that required immediate military force.
As a result, Sea and Rivera were the busy ones, not me.
“Looking at Norverge as a whole… the situation needs to become clearer before we can prepare or respond… And even limited to Ailun, there’s nothing for me to do right now.”
There are a total of five cities in the Ailun region.
We've already taken the largest, Ilunael, and two of the remaining four have expressed their intent to surrender.
The Gale's Seven Heroes played a large role in this.
Torban of the Thunderclap was a local powerhouse with absolute support in Egina City, while Celine the God-Slayer and Ionis the Piercer of Heavens had a firm grip on Loen City.
I heard the negotiations were already finished, and our administrators were in the process of taking over.
There were no problems on that front.
‘The problem… is the remaining two cities…’
One had openly declared its independence, while the other was noncommittally testing the waters.
Galan City and Lundna City.
I needed to deal with them, but raising an army right now was a burden.
We needed time to strengthen our internal affairs to handle the sudden increase in population and territory.
Also, if we just rushed into conquest, disgruntled factions could remain and become a source of trouble for years to come.
All in all, more thought and preparation were needed.
‘So now is the right time.’
A great storm was approaching.
The divided Ailun region.
The anxiety and dissatisfaction the lords of Norverge felt toward me.
Once these began to escalate into real problems, I would have to run myself ragged for a while.
If I was going to do something, now was the time.
Before I got swept up in the storm and started flailing.
I traced the emblem symbolizing the Prologue with my fingertip again.
The explanation echoed in my mind.
[A miracle that allows an incomplete encounter with the origin]
I didn't understand a single word of it.
Incomplete?
Then what would a complete one be like?
The origin?
The origin of what?
A miracle?
Is meeting the origin the miracle?
‘I still don’t get it. I guess I’ll just have to try it.’
That's the only way I'll find out.
‘Well, it says it’s a miracle, so it can’t be a bad thing, right?’
Right. I made up my mind.
I placed my hand on the emblem of the Prologue.
Making a fervent wish.
‘Don’t take too long this time. And don’t be too hard!’
[Using Prologue.]
Along with a businesslike female voice,
‘Wha… huh…?’
*Thump*.
I collapsed onto the desk and fell asleep.
***
‘…It’s a dream.’
A Sword Master always has lucid dreams.
By habitually checking my senses, I could quickly distinguish whether I was in reality, a dream, or an illusion.
It was a pitch-black dream.
Everything around me was dark as smoke, and in the middle of it all, a little girl was crouched down, crying.
‘She’s crying so sorrowfully…’
Her whole body trembled as she wept with such sorrow.
So much so that I worried all the moisture might drain from her small body.
White hair with the faintest hint of pink.
The beautiful strands shook pitifully with her heaving shoulders.
‘Ah… this is my weakness.’
Even knowing this is a dream… I can't stand it.
I mean, a child is crying, right?
Right in front of me.
A child is crying!
“Hey, kid. Why are you crying?”
I approached and asked nonchalantly.
Kids have a tendency to cry even harder if you're too gentle with them.
Indifferent, yet kind. That was just the right balance.
“Who are you?!”
The child quickly wiped her tears and glared at me.
Oh… Is she from a noble house?
The sharp way she questioned me was quite dignified.
Come to think of it, her clothes are almost identical to that coat Lorraine was wearing.
White, with pockets, and reaching down to her knees.
Somehow it adds to her dignified air, but… she's still just a kid.
“I’m Lansen. Want some of this?”
I rummaged through my pocket.
Since it's a dream, I can pull anything out of my pocket.
What I took out was a snack from the Age of Magic.
Any child who eats this crunchy, sweet-and-sour treat is bound to stop crying.
But this kid didn't even glance at the snack I offered.
“This is my dream. How did you get in?”
What is she talking about? This is my dream.
I explained this calmly, but her denial was firm.
“No! It’s my dream!”
She's a stubborn kid…
Those sharp eyes. Daisy was like that when she was little.
“Fine. Let’s say it’s your dream. So why are you crying?”
There's no point in getting into a pride battle with a child.
I subtly unwrapped the snack and placed it in the little girl's hand.
“It really is my dream…”
The little girl mumbled but unconsciously took a bite of the snack.
And her eyes widened into circles!
“It’s delicious!”
Her tears stopped, and her cheeks flushed with pure joy.
This is it! This is why I carry snacks.
“Right? It’s pretty tasty.”
“I’ve… never eaten anything like this before.”
Huh? Your first time? You seem like you're from a wealthy family. Why?
Did your family go bankrupt?
The little girl furrowed her brows and retorted.
“Because I’m not a child! I don’t normally eat things like this!”
“You are a child.”
“No!”
“How old are you?”
“…Eight.”
“See? A child.”
“No! I’m… a ‘hero.’”
A hero.
The weight and resonance in that word… were not something a child's mouth should utter.
The usual excitement and flutter of a child saying, ‘I’m going to be a hero!’ were nowhere to be found. Instead, it was a mix of bone-deep weariness and a responsibility she was barely clinging to…
Slightly,
I got angry.
Even though I know it's a dream.
I got angry.
“Why are you a hero?”
“Because everyone asks me. What they should do. And I have to tell them.”
“The adults? They ask? You?”
“Yes.”
“Those are strange adults. Run away.”
The more I spoke, the hotter my head grew, but the little girl shook her head firmly, bitterly.
“I can’t run away.”
“Why?”
“If the world ends… everyone will be sad. Bishanti, Kerurus… Hamack will come back even more injured.”
Bishanti. Kerurus. Hamack.
I’d heard those names somewhere before.
Where did I hear them?
Anyway, the little girl cherished those people, and that was why she couldn't run away.
“Honestly…”
I scratched my head.
“This kid keeps hitting my weak spots. I don’t like kids like you.”
The little girl trembled at my words.
“What?! I don’t like you either! Barging into someone else’s dream!”
“Whatever. I dislike you more.”
“I dislike you more, more!”
“I dislike you as much as the entire continent.”
“Then I dislike you as much as the sky, no! The universe!”
*Pfft*.
Only then did a smile touch my stiff lips.
“That’s it! Just like that! Act just like that. Act more like a kid. Okay? Don’t grow up too fast. It breaks my heart, you brat. It really does.”
I bent my knees to meet her eyes.
Gazing at her, I could see the slight puffiness around her eyes, still wet with tears.
I gently pulled the child into a careful embrace, as if holding a fragile egg, afraid it might break.
The child’s body flinched.
I patted her small back.
“You’re going through a lot.”
“*Hic…!*”
The child desperately held back her sobs.
Right. This is what I hate, what gets on my nerves. It makes my heart ache. Why is a little kid holding back her tears?
“Don’t carry it all by yourself. Try to trust the adults a little. Aigoo… How hard must it have been.”
“*Sob... sniff... hic!*”
Her sobs began to leak out.
*Pat, pat*.
I continued to pat her gently as I spoke.
“And if things get tough, tell me. Anyone giving you a hard time? I’ll take care of them all for you.”
“Waaaaaaah—”
Holding the child who was now bawling her eyes out, I continued to whisper.
“And from what I’ve seen, the world doesn’t end so easily. Even when the Age of Myths ended, the Age of Magic began. And after the Age of Magic ended, we opened the Age of the Sword… Yeah, it just keeps going on like that. Leaving traces behind.”
…Is it because the kid keeps crying?
I've become sentimental, too.
It’s not like she’d understand what I’m saying anyway…
Just like that, while patting the child, I woke from the dream.
I was slumped over the desk in my office. Not much time had passed.
For some reason, a single tear trickled down from the corner of my eye.
‘What the…?’
Setting aside the primary question of why I was crying,
“Don’t tell me that dream was the [Prologue]?”
No way. It was supposed to be a miracle obtained by consuming a broken causal link, wasn't it?
I was nervous and even a little excited… but all I got was a dream about some pitiful kid crying her eyes out…?
Just as I was about to be disappointed…
*Shhhk—*
A change occurred in the Book of Fate.
[The Book of Fate is being updated.]
- From now on, time travel will not be forced. It will only activate when the corresponding record is read aloud.
- Selectable time travel destinations are now available. One destination is added per level.
- The time ratio between the past and present has been adjusted to 12 to 1.
- An estimated time to mission completion will now be provided.
- The absorption efficiency of twisted worldlines has doubled.
- The level cap has been raised. It is now possible to upgrade to Lv. 3 when the twisted worldline reaches its threshold.
Along with the messages that scrolled up over the book,
ten bars were engraved on the cover.
The four on the left were black, and the six on the right were white.
At the far right, it said Lv. 3.
I understood intuitively.
‘Ah… If I turn all those white bars black, the Book of Fate will be upgraded again? To Lv. 3.’
It seems there was no such thing as Lv. 3 before.
Besides that, all the changes were surprising and useful.
Enough to resolve most of the inconveniences and anxieties I had felt until now.
But… what I couldn't understand at all was why these changes had suddenly occurred.
All I did… was have a dream.
‘What is this, really…?’
I had no way of knowing.
***
In a distant time.
A man hurried his steps from early in the morning to attend to the most precious of heroes, the 'Hero'.
“Have you risen?”
As always, he asked cautiously from outside the Hero's bedchamber.
“Mmm…”
Inside the chamber, buried in the bed, was a very small girl.
Her white hair, tinged with a faint pink, rustled under the covers.
Soon, a small head peeked out.
It was the very same little girl Lansen had seen in his dream.
The little girl answered in a hoarse voice.
She had cried so much in her sleep that both her eyes and her throat were a mess.
“Uh… I’m awake now.”
“Did something happen?”
Surprise was mixed in the man's voice.
Although she was only eight years old, the great 'Hero' was always awake before he came to rouse her.
And why was her voice in such a terrible state?
“I just… had a dream.”
“What kind of dream was it?”
“Well…”
The little girl was lost in thought for a long moment, saying nothing.
Then, a slow smile spread across her lips.
“A dream from the far, distant future.”
“Pardon?”
The man couldn't understand her words, but,
*Creek!*
the girl's door had already swung open with force.
The little girl, now wearing a white gown, was dashing toward the laboratory.
“I think I’ve found a way!”
“W-Wait! It’s dangerous to run!”
The man hastily chased after the little girl.
Heedless, the little girl ran with all her might.
Because she was a hero, because she had to be a hero… The child who had always hidden her emotions now wore a bright smile, full and innocent, just like any other child her age.
For some reason, her mouth tasted sweet and sour.