Chapter 20 – Escape (3)
[Translator – Peptobismol]
Chapter 20 – Escape (3)
“Your soul… it was kidnapped?”
Merlin’s gaze pierced through me.
‘…Crazy.’
It’s not just a bluff.
Soul, and kidnapping.
The implications of the preceding two words are all too clear.
Possession.
Merlin is convinced that I am a possessor.
Then, could she possibly know about my regression too?
The truth that this world is a world within a game?
And furthermore… about the existence of the system?
I couldn’t discern Merlin’s intentions.
If she decided to keep the location of the Holy Relic a secret, what would happen?
The hairs on my skin stood on end.
A cold sweat, like tiny beads, trickled down my back.
“Judging by your reaction, it seems to be true.”
Merlin chuckled and turned her back swiftly.
“Merlin Trivia, I was wondering how you knew the name I erased from my distant past… So, you weren’t a human from this world to begin with? Impressive, you’ve thought it all out from the beginning.”
“…”
“No need to be so on guard. I have no intention of being hostile to you right now.”
“…How can I be sure of that?”
“How can you be sure? Well…”
Thump–
Merlin plopped down on the sofa in the corner.
“You already know, don’t you? There is not a single person in the Empire who can help you except me.”
It’s true.
Because information about the whereabouts of the Holy Relic can only be obtained through Merlin.
“Did you say you were looking for the Holy Relic?”
“…Yes.”
“That’s quite strange. What reason could someone from another world have for searching for the Holy Relic?”
“A lifetime of wealth and glory? Supreme power? If not that, then…”
A sardonic laugh escaped her lips.
Then, she looked at me with chilling eyes.
“To tear through the dimensions.”
The temperature inside the shop dropped chillingly.
With half-lidded eyes, Merlin continued in a languid tone.
“To forcefully tear through the dimensions, to return to your original world, isn’t that what you’re after?”
Tearing through dimensions.
At that intense implication, my head spun and my heart pounded.
I mentally rehearsed my guard against Merlin and spoke up.
“It sounds like you’re saying having the Holy Relic would allow you to tear through the dimensions.”
“You heard correctly. That’s exactly what I meant.”
“How can you be so sure I can return to my origins body? Couldn’t I end up falling into an entirely wrong world?”
Merlin gestured, and a chair floated lifelessly in mid-air.
The chair that hovered in the air soon dropped right in front of me with a thud.
Merlin gestured as if indicating for me to sit on the chair.
With my gaze fixed on her, I slowly sat down on the chair in front of me.
“No need to worry about that. There’s ultimately only one dimension that the kidnapped soul can cross over to.”
“Just one?”
“Yeah. Where else would a lost soul be able to cross over? Before being kidnapped… or more accurately, the world where you originally lived, is the only one.”
Ah, I can return.
The hope of being able to escape from this damned world turned into certainty, and I let out a sigh of relief involuntarily.
“Where is the Holy Relic?”
“Well, if you want information, you have to offer a worthy price, don’t you?”
“…Stop beating around the bush and just tell me what I need to know.”
As I asked urgently, Merlin’s eyes flashed with determination.
“What I want is simple.”
“What is it?”
“Someday, when you successfully activate the Holy Relic and finally cross over dimensions.”
“And then?”
“Take me with you. To the world where you used to live.”
“…Are you insane?”
I stood dumbfounded, blinking my eyes.
Merlin was clearly telling me to take her to the world where I used to live.
‘…Is she crazy?’
I couldn’t help but burst into a hollow laugh.
Unable to contain the rising suspicion that gripped me, I asked Merlin.
“Why do you want to leave this world?”
Her response was blunt…
“You don’t need to know.”
It was a clear refusal.
Merlin urged me to make a choice, whether to proceed with the deal or to refuse it in order to avoid probing into my insignificant past.
It was a problem that didn’t require much consideration.
My purpose has never changed, not even once.
“…Alright, let’s make the deal.”
“A great choice. Then…”
With Merlin’s gesture, documents, a quill, and holy water flew one after another.
The quill danced over the documents spread out in mid-air.
After compressing the magic to its limit and a couple drops of holy water fell, a faint light engulfed the interior of the shop.
“Check it out.”
Geass, and a top-grade one at that.
What did I just see?
It’s not like these things are made so easily.
“…Huh.”
I skimmed through the contract lightly.
Merlin agreed to fully cooperate with me in securing the Holy Relic, and in return, I would take her with me when crossing the dimensional gate.
I noticed small clauses that promised not to cause any problems in the world we’d enter.
Alongside assurances that no harm of any kind would befall me, Merlin boldly pledged her own soul as collateral.
As flawless as it gets.
She was so meticulous that it felt like she was overly concerned about me.
Although it is still questionable, the highest level of Geass is an absolute covenant that even beings beyond the rank cannot break.
Since it is a covenant imprinted on the soul itself, the Geass remains intact even across dimensions.
Moreover, wasn’t Merlin Trivia recognized as a saint rather than a villain in the lore book?
I sighed and finished signing.
A moment later, a strong gust of wind swept through, accompanied by a sensation of being pulled.
[Translator – Peptobismol]
Whoosh—
The gust swept through the shop and soon subsided.
As I straightened out my scattered hair and lifted my head, Merlin’s smiling face was pinned to my eyes as if engraved.
“The Holy Relic is in the Royal Palace.”
I was taken aback by the unexpected information.
The Holy Relic is hidden in the Royal Palace where the Royal Family resides, breaking through their strict security and guards to infiltrate the inner sanctum.
The moment it felt like things were getting complicated, a gentle voice rang in my ears.
“Princess, Rudine Eckart.”
A faint voice echoed in my ears, capturing my attention.
“The Rosary she wears around her neck. That is the Relic you are looking for.”
Rudine Eckart.
A woman of Royal blood and the embodiment of beauty.
And, a candidate for the main heroine in the game.
Suddenly, a fragment of memory flashed through my mind.
The Rosary, a unique grade artifact of the Royal Family that has been passed down from generation to generation to the Princess of the Empire.
Above all else…
— Once worn, the Rosary resonates with the wearer’s magic, making it impossible to remove by conventional means.
— Hmm? As far as I remember, it’s impossible to remove it unless the wearer dies.
I swallowed the rising curse words.
‘Fuck.’
The already high difficulty level had just doubled in an instant.
“How are we supposed to get that out?”
I asked with a dumbfounded expression, and Merlin replied nonchalantly, as if it were nothing.
“We just have to kidnap the princess and kill her. Simple, right?”
A question mark popped up in my mind.
Damn, that’s ridiculously simple.
Rudine Eckart, like Merlin, also hates Kyle Winfred, fitting her position as a main heroine candidate.
Especially Rudine, she’s a crazy woman rivaling Luna herself.
She has a dual personality, where the exterior and the interior are completely different.
Recalling Rudine’s appearance from the previous run made me shiver involuntarily.
‘I almost died because of that woman more than once.’
She pretends to be a gentle lamb on the surface, but at crucial moments, she’s ready to stab others in the back without hesitation.
With her remarkably high intelligence, she’s adept at schemes, and her emotionless demeanor is chilling.
Thanks to that, I fell for her traps and almost died more than five times before filling the progress bar.
But now, Merlin is telling me to kidnap and kill such a woman?
I asked Merlin with a shaky voice.
“Do we have to kill her?”
“Of course.”
A firm answer.
I already feel my mind drifting away.
“Don’t worry about her status. I have a disguise Holy Relic, so it won’t be that difficult.”
“…I’m relieved to hear that.”
Brushing off the dust on her clothes, Merlin stood up from her seat.
That’s when it happened.
— 21%
— 22%
— 23%
…
…
The progress rate started rising abruptly.
— 26%
— 27%
…
…
The rate of increase was abnormal.
It’s not the kind of increase that the system casually overlooks.
After a moment.
[Scenario Progress Rate: 30%]
The progress rate settled at 30%.
At the same time, the system window that floated in the air shook violently.
[Scenario Progress Rate『#1 Checkpoint』Achieved]
[Revealing the penalty]
The system started acting up.
Finally, the truth about the penalty, which had been blank since my regression, was driven into my eyes like a stake.
◆ Penalty
: The heroines inherit memories from before regression.
A spasm ran through my eyes.
Isabel and Luna.
The myriad of absurd actions they took flashed through my mind like a film.
‘This is real…’
I had a rough idea, but I just didn’t want to admit it.
No, I just wanted to ignore it altogether.
But the text floating in the air stubbornly confronted me.
With malice from the system, my hands clenched into fists.
It was dreadful.
This entire situation.
A single sheet of paper floated down into the air.
I bent down to check the contents of the fallen document.
“Oh, that.”
Merlin tilted her head and then opened her mouth as if it was strange.
“Luna Winfred, and Isabel Yustia.”
“… ”
“Now that I think about it, weren’t Luna Winfred and Isabel Yustia your sister and fiance?”
“Ah.”
“I heard they’re coming to the Imperial Capital together to attend Rudine Eckart’s coming-of-age ceremony.”
Fuck.
To hell with this shitty world.
[Translator – Peptobismol]
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