Chapter 129
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129.
Gaia had been explicit about it.
When I asked if she could trace the sender of this message, she said the axis was twisted, making it difficult.
That axis contained space, an entirely different world. And....
'Time was there too.'
If what was twisted was time itself, there would be nothing strange about the sender of this message being Maribel.
Flare Dragon wore an expression of exasperation as my mind spun in circles.
-Thanks to you, my lifespan has gotten a bit shorter.
In other words, my speculation was correct.
The dragon grumbled at me with a sidelong glance.
-Even though you know I can read your thoughts.
"I apologize for that."
As I spoke those words, I realized that multiple restrictions were placed on the dragons as well.
It meant that while gods could not interfere, the rules established at the beginning of time still remained.
And the fact that Gaia, Flare Dragon, and even Maribel all singled me out meant there was something about me.
'This is really starting to feel like I'm the protagonist.'
I was gradually accepting this identity, but it still felt strange.
All the more so because I had always aimed to be an extra.
Since I had no intention of shortening Flare Dragon's lifespan and eliminating the main business of Clupea Borderland, this time I posed my question only in my mind.
'The reason I received a message in this form was surely....'
To respect their restrictions, I first erased Maribel's name from my thoughts.
Furthermore, I had to obscure the question itself as well.
I wanted to gain certainty that her choice to send the message in this form, one that evoked my past life, was an intentional act.
'Is this connected to how you deliberately chose the phrase "cooling system" as a metaphor for me?'
Flare Dragon rose from the sofa and simply smiled.
He did not answer "no."
That alone was enough.
*
My conversation with the dragon concluded with a trivial question that had been nagging at me.
"But how can the dragon, Maribel, and even Ian be called the Holy Maiden when none of them possess any holy power whatsoever?"
Weren't they fundamentally opposed to it?
Because of that, the Temple had plenty of ammunition to deny and criticize them, making them easy prey.
The Flare Dragon exited the innermost chamber and returned in the form of the Lizard, crawling up onto my wrist before speaking matter-of-factly.
-I cannot fathom why humans assume the Divine would wield only a single power.
It was an answer that made perfect sense.
Of course—a being of divine stature would naturally command all manner of abilities.
Holy power, magical force, even the inner energy of martial arts realms.
After all, they are the absolute creator of such worlds.
Having obtained various answers, we left the Lair and made our way to the Lord's Residence bedroom.
As soon as the Lizard spotted Paul on the way out, it scrambled onto him, displaying affection to comfort its beloved human companion over their brief separation.
I found myself thinking what a perfectly matched pair they were.
After parting with the Lizard, when I entered the bedroom, Cassian Artez wore an expression of considerable turmoil.
I could readily understand his state of mind.
I myself grew increasingly confused the more I examined the diary.
'I had genuinely believed her to be a weary office worker drowning in her duties....'
So I had felt a kinship with her.
Yet I also felt somewhat betrayed.
Thanks to the Flare Dragon not denying my words, I came to understand why Maribel had acted that way....
"...She truly was my mother?"
"Yes, though I suspect she fabricated that tone and situation entirely."
"Fabricated it?"
From the midpoint onward, I had posed more questions to myself than I had voiced aloud, so I began explaining methodically.
"As Ian knows, I have a weakness for overworked administrative officials."
"Indeed—the opposite of me."
"Ian is my superior, after all."
He received greater responsibility and compensation, so there was no reason for me to sympathize with his grueling workload.
But the administrative officials were my subordinates, so naturally I had to look after them carefully.
If they suffered under the strain and fled by submitting their resignations, that would be far more troublesome.
"I suspect she understood that. That if approached this way, I would sympathize."
It meant she knew I would grumble yet still leave room to help.
"Then does that mean Mother possessed foresight?"
"If you call it foresight, then perhaps."
But it would be more accurate to say she witnessed the past.
The trials they sent, the setting documents—all of it was based on the novel I had read in my previous life.
Seeing how the dragons had delved into my memories to craft appropriate words and spaces like cafés, it seemed reasonable to conclude that Maribel employed a similar method.
'My memories from my previous life are not entirely vivid.'
I could recall my work habits and fragmented human relationships, and novels I had read for leisure came to mind sporadically, though not completely.
Usually, people who undergo possession remember at least how they died, but I have no memory of that.
Perhaps the other version saw things more clearly by arbitrarily sifting through my memories than I did myself.
'Maybe the trials and those setting documents were things they actually witnessed.'
I wasn't the author, that much was certain, but I wondered if perhaps a friend or someone close had written them, and I'd somehow come across the files they created in the process.
Caught between these wandering thoughts and Cassian Artez's gaze fixed upon me, I found myself forced to make a single decision.
Truth be told, I hadn't completely hidden it until now.
'But saying it out loud made me sound like I'd lost my mind.'
It was far too protagonist-like!
Suppressing the revulsion that threatened to break out in hives, I opened my mouth to Cassian Artez.
There were limits to giving a clear explanation without speaking further.
"There's something I haven't properly told you, Ian."
"Hmm?"
"I'm actually...."
I felt a subtle tightness in my chest as I spoke the words.
"This is my second life."
*
Cassian Artez accepted my confession, drawn from the depths of my courage, with an almost anticlimactic simplicity.
"I've already met Roselita Salice, who is not you."
"That's true, isn't it."
His words brought immediate understanding, but—
The problem was that we'd experienced far too many abnormal situations.
"Still, thanks to that, I understand now why Roselita could work this way from childhood."
"Now that you mention it...."
I let my body fall against Cassian Artez's chest.
Thinking that this had become a habit I could no longer escape.
His arms naturally drew around my waist, and his embrace was so comfortable.
"The Emperor seemed accustomed to all the unconventional documents I submit."
"Are you saying the Marchioness imitated your methods?"
"Likely with high probability."
Before this journey began, I'd reviewed not only materials on the Liarden Duke House but also some records from Peony Palace.
Since Peony Palace had been completely sealed off so no one could access it, what I could view as an aide was extremely limited.
'But those few documents were incredibly easy to read.'
All other documents were continuous text, but only a few from Peony Palace had something like formatting applied.
The calculations were also far more concise than what was commonly used.
It wasn't quite as efficiency-focused as my methods, but it gave the impression they'd adopted what they could.
"What I'm actually curious about is how you can communicate with me now."
"There were scrolls sent with perfectly timed intervals."
I affirmed Cassian Artez's words.
"And why it was me, specifically."
"Huh?"
"Of course, it's true that I end up saving you in your childhood. But if Maribel was going to ask someone anyway, wouldn't it have been better for her to contact you, her own son?"
After all, she passed away while giving birth, so she could have only seen Cassian Artez as a newborn at best.
Of course, the trials themselves were supposedly constructed around the ordeals that Original Roselita experiences in the source material.
'But most of them are things that Original Cassian goes through alongside her.'
There were even crises that should have come to me but went to Cassian instead.
That's precisely why it seemed so strange.
Wouldn't it have been better to give him the hint directly?
Of course, even though she sent it to me, he ended up learning everything anyway....
'If I had a personality similar to Original Roselita, I would have tried to solve it alone.'
Isn't that a bit dangerous?
If I had been neither Original Roselita nor like my current self—if I'd been some cowardly sort—there was a real possibility I would have simply ignored it all and run away.
As I stood there bewildered, weighing the various possibilities, Cassian Artez spoke to me.
"Roselita, shouldn't you think about it backwards in a situation like this?"
"Backwards, you mean...?"
"If the sender of this scroll is your mother, then she's interfering from the past into the future, right? In that case, it seems like you're the only option available."
Only me...?
No, if I twisted my thinking a bit more, it seemed to suggest that because such an unusual existence as me existed, she could accomplish something that should have been impossible.
"The reason the dragons regard you as special, the reason you must be the one to resolve this—I believe there's a purpose behind all of it."
At his words, I recalled what Flare Dragon had mentioned.
-That is why you stand in that place.
-To find a way to save this world.
And if the result of that was my existence....
'Did Maribel summon me, this version of me, into this world?'
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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