Crazy bastards laughing like someone who just cracked a hilarious joke in casual conversation.
I’m probably the only one here with a grim face.
There’s a lot I want to say. But there’s so much that I don’t even know where to start.
Alright, let’s begin with the most immediate problem in front of me.
“Give me back my coffee and sandwich.”
The world being on the verge of destruction? That kind of thing happens so often now that it barely fazes me anymore.
It’ll work out somehow. And with that in mind, having my coffee and sandwich snatched right in front of me is actually the bigger deal.
Stop eating it already.
You both have plenty of money. Why are you stealing a regular citizen’s lunch like mine?
That damn undead bastard doesn’t even need food in the first place.
And so, I reclaimed my coffee and sandwich from the two people…no, the two monster-like beings.
“So, what are we going to do now?”
“……”
“……”
“I guess I’ll have to go buy another egg sandwich.”
“I’d appreciate it if you bought one for me too. I’ll have a black coffee.”
“Fine.”
“Aha.”
So the end of the world isn’t as important as a sandwich and coffee?
Well, it’s not like I’m the one who caused this mess, so I can let that slide. But the fact that the actual culprits are acting like this just makes my blood boil.
That silence right before I said I’d go get a sandwich…it had the vibe of “Why are you asking me about this?” and that just made me angrier.
“Aren’t you going to fix this? Deus, you’re the one who caused this.”
“Let’s get the facts straight. Why are you blaming me for something my other self did?”
“You created him!”
“Not quite. That guy completed himself. From the middle on, I was completely dead. And he only started making a mess after he was fully formed.”
Deus said it like it was no big deal.
I really want to kill him. He’s already dead, but I want to kill him again. And yet I can’t.
He is an Archmage, after all.
“And besides, I can’t act anyway. When I begged the Great Sage to bring me back as an undead, he set a condition.”
“A condition…?”
“I’m only allowed to observe. That was the condition the Great Sage gave me.”
“…You should’ve told me that earlier.”
If I’d known that, I wouldn’t be this angry. Seriously, even shamelessness has its limits.
“And I feel the same way. It’s not really right for someone who’s already dead to interfere in the world of the living.”
“…Ha.”
I had nothing to say.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
“So you’re saying you’re going to remain a bystander to the very end?”
Still, that doesn’t excuse what he’s already done.
No matter what excuses he tacks on, he was the one who created the machine that’s rampaging right now.
And even though he’s fully aware of that, he’s doing nothing…
“That’s why, at the very least, I came to tell you.”
“……”
Ah. Right. He did do something.
I was too annoyed to remember, but at the very least, he did come to inform me.
…Though the problem is that’s all he did.
And honestly, it doesn’t even feel like he’s taking this seriously.
“It’s about your attitude.”
In the end, that’s the only thing I could say in protest, however weakly.
Your attitude sucks!
“What, my attitude? This is how I’ve always been. Nothing new there. Tsk tsk.”
“……”
“And let me correct a few things. I doubt my other self is actually trying to destroy the world.”
“He’s trying to extract the planet’s core.”
“Think about it. The moment he pulls out the core, the world will collapse. How’s he going to refine it into a spaceship power source and fly into space before that happens?”
“…You have a point.”
Come to think of it, that’s true.
Even if Deus is a genius, he can’t manipulate time.
If the core’s removed and the star collapses, we’ll all die before he ever makes it to space.
“There’s probably some countermeasure. The star has to survive if he wants to leave it. Even if he’s become a machine, I doubt he’s forgotten basic decency.”
“Then…”
“Yeah. The real problem lies elsewhere.”
Deus and I both looked toward Lapis, who was approaching from a distance carrying a tray.
“My other self doesn’t know that the core holds that monster’s true body.”
“Can’t you just tell him?”
“Me? I don’t know… doesn’t sound like a good idea. If you were in my shoes, could you guarantee one of the two wouldn’t go crazy if they met each other?”
“……”
“Well, I’m fine since I’ve been watching the whole process unfold, but my other self might be confused, not knowing exactly when he died.”
He keeps making valid points, which only makes it more annoying. Seriously, could he not be so right all the time?
“Even if someone’s going to deliver the message, it shouldn’t be me. Like I said earlier, I intend to remain a bystander to the very end. The fact that I came to talk to you like this is already out of the ordinary.”
“…Haa.”
What can I even say?
Every single thing he says pisses me off, but I can’t argue because he’s not wrong. That’s what’s so frustrating.
He’s like that one guy during spring cleaning who somehow gets assigned the easiest job and then shrugs like, “What do you want me to do? The teacher assigned it this way.”
“It’s not like I told you to defeat me or anything. Just pass on the facts and try to convince him properly.”
“There are plenty of other people besides me. Like Immun, or Prince Theseus.”
Why me, seriously?
Why is it always me that all these lunatics cling to like I’m their personal problem solver?
“Immun’s not capable enough. He doesn’t have the silver tongue you do. He’d end up a corpse the moment something goes wrong.”
Fine, I’ll admit that.
Immun does have his limitations.
“And Theseus…my other self would be on guard against him.”
“……”
“No matter how dumb he is, you can’t underestimate him in terms of sheer power. If it were me, the moment I deemed Theseus a threat, I’d shatter his psyche first.”
Hasn’t he already done that? Shattered him so hard there’s nothing but dust left?
Does Deus not know? Or… does that mean there’s still more psyche left to crush?
Just the thought sent chills down my spine.
Up until now, Deus had never truly been hostile to anyone, so I hadn’t realized it. But this guy is seriously terrifying.
“He’s all grown up on the outside, but inside he’s just a clueless, indecisive kid.”
“That’s harsh.”
“Tell me I’m wrong. That pacifism of his was like a fragile piece of glass. It was bound to shatter. He’s just been lucky so far.”
“……”
“It’s better if he stays out of this.”
“…I see.”
Well, he’s not wrong.
The more someone clings to their sense of justice, the more unpredictable they become once their mental state breaks.
It’s not uncommon for someone once revered as a saint to turn into a notorious serial killer overnight.
With that in mind, Deus’s judgment isn’t exactly off base.
But still…
“Are you sure that judgment isn’t clouded by personal feelings?”
Even with that in mind, the force that is Theseus shouldn’t be taken lightly.
Deus had said that if it were him, the moment he deemed Theseus a threat, he’d destroy his mental state.
If he knows himself that well, shouldn’t the reverse be possible, too?
If the Deus standing right here could just support Theseus mentally, there’d be no greater asset.
“You said it yourself earlier. He’s basically a big dumb kid.”
“Theseus is kind of cute, though.”
“Prince Lapis, we’re having a serious conversation right now. Please don’t butt in.”
“Oh my, how cold.”
I gently pushed Lapis aside, who clearly couldn’t read the room.
Also, Theseus is not cute.
What exactly is cute about that hulking brute?
“I watched, in real time, as your other self shattered Theseus’s psyche in the Veldani Mountains.”
“So, he already did it, huh?”
“Yeah. Still, judging from how Theseus reacted back then, it looked like the two of you were pretty close.”
“He’s like that with all his acquaintances. Not that he has many.”
“Funny how defensive you’re getting. You usually ignore everything I say.”
“……”
“Just as much as Theseus thinks highly of you, you think just as highly of him.”
The scriptwriter had spent a lot of time with Theseus. Considering his nature, that was odd.
Was he only assigned to watch over Theseus? That can’t be it. When Theseus went missing, he couldn’t even figure out where to begin searching.
And it made no sense that Deus would keep someone around who wasn’t useful to him.
He’s the kind of person who, even after taking Immun in as a disciple, just left him to figure things out on his own later.
Which leads to one conclusion:
“Just as Theseus saw you as a father figure, you must have seen him like a son.”
“Don’t say something so gross.”
Did it hit a nerve?
Deus waved it off, but there was a bitter look on his face.
“Still, I can’t deny that maybe… there were personal feelings involved.”
“Nice of you to admit it.”
I finally won.
I managed to beat this damn lunatic in a verbal exchange.
“So? What about you? Are you planning to use Theseus?”
“Use? You talk about people like they’re tools. I don’t really care either way.”
Use Theseus?
Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I touch a ticking time bomb like that?
I told Deus to try explaining things properly, but me? I don’t stand a chance.
I’m too much of a dark-hearted person to deal with a pure hero of justice like him.
I wouldn’t even know how to convince him.
“I’m not going to do anything. There’s no reason I have to.”
“Oh? Then what?”
“There’s someone better suited for it than me.”
Theseus is the kind of person who’s too rigid, completely inflexible.
The type who won’t accept even the slightest moral ambiguity. Someone like me could never convince him.
I’ve been involved in some shady stuff, whether I meant to be or not. To put it simply, I’m emotionally twisted too.
Not that I’m saying I’m a criminal or anything.
It’s more like… I just wander through gray areas.
But someone like Theseus, someone pure white, wouldn’t even tolerate that shade of gray.
So the only person who might be able to steady him again… would have to be someone just as close to pure white.
“Immun, is it?”
Deus muttered as if something had just clicked in his head.
Correct. As expected, he’s smart enough not to need a full explanation.
“But he won’t be enough. This isn’t something brute force can solve.”
“I know.”
That’s probably why you came to me.
Still trying to dump the whole thing on me? That’s a bit much.
And…
“Don’t tell me… you knew things would end up like this from the start. That’s why you went on about qualifications and dumped the gear on me, isn’t it?”
The other Deus I met in the Veldani Mountains had said it—
That there were holes in his memory. That he’d written the script to bring me there in order to eliminate any variables.
But let’s think about that again.
Someone like Deus, not even considering the possibility that his memory might fail? That’s absurd.
The Deus I know would’ve backed up his memory just in case, even if the odds were one in a million.
But he didn’t.
Why?
“You manipulative old bastard.”
The Scriptwriter.
Deus gave a gentle smile.
Which meant the script he’d written was far more extensive than I’d ever imagined.
“Where does it start?”
“From the very beginning.”
“Why me, of all people?”
“You’re misunderstanding something.”
Deus put on a show,
While wearing his usual air of ease.
“Why do you think it had to be you alone?”
“……”
I ran my fingers along the empty coffee cup, thinking.
It wasn’t just me. Someone else could be called the protagonist of his script, too.
“Ha…!”
The scriptwriter, now corrupted into a program, had lured the gears to the Veldani Mountains, forcing them to kill and be killed.
The same went for Immun.
But then, one thing…something I’d forgotten came back to me.
“You mean, provoking Immun and sticking him on me was part of the plan from the start?”
“That’s right. Immun may be dumb, but he was a decent man, wasn’t he?”
Immun had attacked me, believing I was the villain.
That came from a message Deus had sent while he was still alive.
Immun said he received that message after Ryute died.
That means the scriptwriter was still alive at that point.
– He must have had his reasons, too.
Back then, I thought it was nonsense, but Immun had been right.
That message that made me out to be the worst kind of bastard—
It wasn’t a joke.
“I enjoy ensemble dramas.”
“Ha…”
This damn old man…
***
Creta.
A man in ragged clothes appeared in that lively village.
“Hoo…”
Staggering, but relentlessly pressing on toward his destination.
Without hesitation, Immun moved to meet Theseus.
His wounded body swayed without direction—
“But you mustn’t fall here. If not you, who else could become the hero?”
But his steps remained firm.
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