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A woman appeared behind the Mad King.

“Is it really okay to let it go like this?”

“Deputy, do you even know who I am?”

“My apologies.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s a reasonable suspicion. It’s just a matter of taste. I hope when we meet again after some time, it will be a bit more enjoyable. If possible, bring a different body as well.”

The Mad King lightly swung his sword.

This was the 15th year of the current Emperor’s reign, on March 28.

It was a time shortly after spring had begun.

Population: 1,421.

A small town had vanished.

A signal flare had fired. The shameful Emperor, who bowed his head to the king, tried to move his heavy body.

*

Skylar looked around.

‘…The gamble was successful.’

A dark and damp cave.

Whether they had fallen asleep without lighting a fire, or whether this body wasn’t strong enough to carry them for long, a cold body lay next to him.

They were breathing and their chest was moving rhythmically.

Thank goodness…

—The thought occurred to him absentmindedly. He had never held such thoughts or feelings towards others before.

He felt strange.

…A peculiar sensation swept over his entire body.

‘Calmly.’

First, he needed to assess the state of himself and her. Skylar thought so and settled his feelings.

A damp, unpleasant cave. It was dark. There was no time to erase traces, and even if there was, the Bard wasn’t smart enough to worry about traces.

Although there was no concern about being tracked, you never know.

For now, he burned a scroll to create a barrier.

It was a simple type of magic that caused an uneasy feeling about someone entering, a fear-inducing kind of spell. There was no longer any worry about being caught.

‘Blood is low, mana is non-existent, stamina is… at rock bottom. Selina’s stamina isn’t looking good either.’

When first wielding magic, there are typically side effects. Veins that had been blocked for 20 years moved for the first time, so there must be pressure from all sides.

Magic is not about rewriting the world’s laws; it is about pleading.

When asking for the first time, one does not know where the other’s boundary of forgiveness lies, or what sort of offerings are acceptable.

‘I’ve overused it.’

Skylar took off his black robe and draped it over Selina.

Then, he consumed another scroll to create a flame.

Since there wasn’t anything suitable for firewood, he carefully placed a flame on the dirt that wouldn’t last long. Having supplied sufficient mana, it should last for a while.

Now, with this scroll, he was out of mana.

‘…It’s too dangerous to go outside to look for firewood.’

If it were his true self, not the body of a young boy…

Ha—damn it.

For now, he would just close his eyes and recover his stamina. He could think of some excuse to give Selina when she woke up.

*

He opened his eyes.

Skylar lay next to him, sleeping without a worry in the world.

He was a bit annoyed. Because of you, I ended up in this crisis… and you just passed out again without waiting for me to wake up.

Cleaning up the surroundings and lighting a fire was something to commend, but there was something more important than that right now.

‘Should I wake him?’

Waking him seemed the right thing to do. That was what he decided. But for some reason, he felt reluctant to wake him now.

Creatures lost in sleep are seldom disturbed, not even by beasts. Unless they are starving beasts… Recovery was the priority.

He had no serious injuries, but after forcibly teleporting over a long distance, his body was definitely in no good shape.

Most of the previous setting had changed, but the settings related to magic hadn’t undergone significant changes. This was evident from Skylar’s teleportation incantation.

It was the same as the incantation he had known before.

‘…If that’s the case, the mana consumption should also be the same.’

Assuming the change to the magic settings wasn’t that major, if he backtracked Skylar’s condition, it was as if he was in serious internal injury status.

He lit a fire just in case he might feel cold in that condition.

‘No, while it could also be to warm himself…’

…There were far more urgent things to address than this trivial matter.

For now, his mind was clear.

It was right to organize the questions he wanted to ask Skylar as much as possible.

The penalties of the status, the influence of intelligence status, narcolepsy, the bumbling habits—hazards that could activate at any moment.

The name “Skylar” was prominently on that list of hazards.

‘…First, what’s the relationship with the Mad King, Eyal?’

Skylar seemed to have some acquaintanceship with the Mad King. While not friends… at the very least, he acted as though they were at least rivals.

‘And about the divine body.’

He had already given false information to Skylar that his memories were missing. Regardless of whether Skylar believed it, he knew that Skylar lacked basic common sense.

In other words, if he could be used, he could be utilized however much was needed.

He was unsure why the blessing he chose manifested as a divine body, but at least two humans were targeting his eyes.

Skylar and the Mad King.

The two seemed to have a common purpose. However, Skylar, for some reason, didn’t seem to want to get involved with his eyes. He appeared to have stumbled into this entanglement and seemed to be trying to utilize that ‘entanglement’ itself.

‘And the heart of the gods.’

Skylar had told the Mad King.

‘You think of using something that has no heart—don’t you?’

Additionally, he had expressed surprise at using magic even after losing the god’s heart.

In other words, Skylar had possessed a divine body in the past. Like his eyes.

And perhaps it had been taken away by someone else.

‘If I had to choose a suspect, it would be the Mad King, who was present at that time.’

There were still two more questions to ask.

Skylar told Eyal he was a ‘mad old man with two brains.’ I wanted to know the meaning behind that. I had some guesses, but I needed confirmation… certainty.

And the last question.

‘What did you mean when you said we would eventually gather again? That we have too much time?’

I was confused.

Ultimately, all these matters would be resolved when Skylar woke up. However, I wanted to shake him awake right away. That impulse surged within me.

In the end, my choice was to do nothing.

Having a mantra of continually moving forward without stopping, my steps— which had never halted—first stopped here in this strange other world.

I looked around and caught my breath.

Right now, all I wanted was to rest.

I turned my gaze back to Skylar.

A choice presented itself.

–
1. [Murder]
2. [Strangulation]
3. [Assassination]
4. [Slaughter]
5. [Homicide]
…
99. [Do nothing.]
–

As if it were forcing me to kill him right here… the status screen was compelling me to choose ‘murder.’

The status screen wanted me to survive. He threatened my survival.

I selected option 99.

Time drifted on—meaninglessly.

The world flows on its own, even if a person does nothing. As if one less person had no issues at all.

The fire, burning without firewood, gradually dimmed, and my body began to grow cold again.

Skylar’s complexion improved slightly, stirring as if he might wake up, only to cease movement again as if dead when a little wait was given.

I repeatedly tightened and relaxed.

I was hungry. My head throbbed. My body ached. My joints screamed. Sleep was overwhelming me. But I knew I couldn’t sleep.

I rose to my feet.

I approached Skylar’s side.

He opened his eyes.

Perfect timing.

“…Actually, I’ve been awake for a little while now.”

“Busted.”

“Hey!”

“Just kidding.”

I looked down at him.

As he cautiously met my gaze, he slowly sat up.

Scratching the back of his head, he avoided eye contact.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

“Why not?”

“No, it’s just… you seem like a person who could joke around too— which doesn’t sit well with me.”

“You know what question I’m going to ask, right?”

“Yes.”

Finally, it was time for the long-awaited Q&A.

I hoped his answers would be satisfying enough to cover the costs of getting caught up with the Mad King, an entity that had nothing to do with me.

If not, this dangerously short journey would end here.

“I’ll explain everything.”

“I hope you can explain everything.”

Skylar eyed me.

He seemed to be assessing what kind of ‘me’ I was now.

I felt a sense of resentment.

While I was genuinely interrogating him, the one being interrogated seemed filled with thoughts of outsmarting ‘dumb me.’

My expression furrowed.

Skylar also looked like he had ‘made a mistake,’ avoiding my gaze again. The cautious look disappeared, replaced by a more assured boyish face.

Sparks flew between us.

More accurately, a sense of sparks seemed to be flying.

If this standoff were a scene from an anime or a comic, sparks would surely be flying.

Now, before he could fully rise, I recalled the question at the top of the list I had organized…

‘No, but there was something I needed to confirm first.’

I slowly extended my hand towards him.

He looked at me.

“You said you were a wizard. Is that correct?”

“…Yes.”

“Then let’s make a contract.”

“What kind of contract—”

“You already know? At this moment, vow to answer with truth and no lies.”

“Magic is a fair trade. The reason that contract previously established was because you offered an equal value in return. Such a contract is impossible.”

“When my questions finish, you can ask yours.”

“…Alright. Let’s make a contract.”

He took my hand.

It was the somewhat clumsy beginning of a game of truth.