[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
Chapter 98 - Another Possibility (6)
Though I spoke confidently…
The chance of eting rlin directly during a mory playback was actually quite slim.
Neither she nor I could control the exact mont I would inhabit Kyle’s body.
All I could do was rely on luck or wait for the right mont to encounter her by coincidence.
But even then, it would be pointless if rlin didn’t trust .
After all, it wasn’t efficient for rlin to spend her entire life by Kyle’s side just to et soone she’d only just encountered.
Fortunately, at least one thing was certain.
Whenever a round ended and a new playback began, I would possess Kyle’s body on a fixed date.
March 11.
rlin had surely heard it as well.
The date I told her to rember.
Tick tock.
Regardless, I was once again viewing a new round.
I looked out the window.
The lush green gardens, drenched in spring foliage.
The familiar scenery of the Winfred Ducal Estate.
“March 11.”
The date was also perfect.
Exactly the day I’d planned.
rlin Trivia.
I wondered if she would rember my words.
On March 11, would she co to find Kyle again?
Lying on the bed, I stared at the familiar ceiling.
And then—
“Young Master.”
The voice of the old butler sounded from outside the door, and I sat up quickly.
“A woman nad rlin Trivia has co to see you, sir.”
I suppressed the smile that threatened to creep up.
With a composed tone, I gave the order.
“Show her in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Thankfully.
rlin had rembered what I’d said.
****
rlin Trivia.
With a serious expression, she approached .
“….”
Her green eyes swept over , slowly scanning from head to toe.
I looked back at her with my usual impassive expression.
It was a silent tug of war, each of us concealing our true thoughts.
After a mont—
“rlin.”
At her na, her eyes narrowed.
I spoke to her.
“March 11.”
“…!”
Her eyes widened, as if they might tear.
“Good, you rembered.”
“Ah…”
Unfamiliar emotions flickered across her face, one after another.
“…Is it true?”
“What is?”
“What you said, that I could leave—was that true?”
Her questions ca out in a rush, as if she had endured an entire round just for this mont.
“Yes.”
“…!”
“But it won’t happen right away.”
“What?”
Her face darkened at my reply.
But I had no choice.
I couldn’t tell her lies that would soon be exposed.
“Then… when will I be able to leave?”
When, indeed.
That, too, was uncertain.
To leave this world, she would need to et and cross dinsions, but that future event was already a “fixed occurrence” that had taken place.
“rlin, do you know how many tis you’ve repeated this life?”
“I don’t know. At so point, I stopped bothering to count.”
“Then there’s no other option. We’ll have to wait indefinitely.”
“…Are you kidding?”
I dodged her question.
Because she had been through endless regression, I couldn’t say anything uncertain lightly.
Suddenly, I recalled rlin’s final monts from a previous round.
To put an end to her endless regressions, she had chosen death without hesitation.
It was reminiscent of myself when I had taken the poison to finally et my end.
rlin had repeated that countless tis—dozens, perhaps even hundreds.
Her mind must have been shattered long ago by the endless cycle.
Despair.
That dark, sticky emotion must have slowly eaten away at her soul.
When she couldn’t endure it any longer, she chose death, over and over.
Hanging herself, leaping from buildings—performing those horrific acts countless tis.
She was a woman who had lived a life worse than death.
Realizing that, all my resolve drained away.
Even I didn’t understand myself.
Why was I saying these things now?
Did I think I could feel a sense of vicarious satisfaction by helping her achieve her goal?
I couldn’t make sense of it.
And yet—
“You don’t need to worry.”
I had no choice but to say it.
“If you wait, the ti will co.”
That was…
Just a way of telling her to wait.
“I don’t know how many more lives you’ll have to repeat.”
It was hardly comforting.
“But I told you.”
…I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“I’ve been watching all this ti.”
Seeing her descent into madness had stirred an inexplicable sense of kinship within .
“You’ve held on well, up until now.”
…In a way, it was also sothing I was saying to myself.
“…”
An intense silence settled over the room.
rlin looked stunned, unable to even process what she’d just heard.
Her green eyes trembled violently.
As she lowered her head, her chin quivered slightly.
Her lips moved silently for a mont before she finally parted them to speak, her words slow.
“…Promise .”
rlin asked to promise.
“…From now on.”
Her voice, usually sharp, was laced with vulnerability.
“From now on…”
With great effort, she managed to get the words out.
Her voice was barely a murmur, trembling so much it was difficult to understand.
“Promise you’ll keep watching …”
Her hardened shell cracked, revealing a weak, fragile interior.
Her lowered head obscured her face, but I didn’t need to see her expression.
In that mont, rlin looked different to .
From the first ti I’d started playing the original story, when she’d boldly demanded I take her to my world, she had never sat well with .
Because I couldn’t see through her intentions.
Because everything about her seed suspicious.
But I had been wrong.
All rlin wanted was to escape her suffering.
People say you can understand a lot from seeing one thing.
Yet sotis, even after seeing everything, you can still miss a single, crucial detail.
“…Listen.”
Only now did I realize.
“I’m… tired.”
In this world, the victim trapped within—
“So… promise …”
Was not just .
“Please…”
I couldn’t bear to treat her coldly anymore.
Maybe I was losing it, but a faint smile crept onto my face.
“I promise.”
I spoke clearly.
“I’ll keep watching over you.”
A small promise, perhaps, but—
“For certain.”
I would hold it close.
****
No one else rembered rlin’s death.
Only I did.
Only I rembered her death.
In this round, she hadn’t chosen to destroy the world.
She simply lived an ordinary life and t an ordinary end.
Afterward, I continued to view the mories.
rlin kept dying, returning, and dying again in endless succession.
In the next round, and the round after that, the regression continued, round after round.
But rlin, knowing that I was watching, didn’t desperately try to survive, nor did she choose a aningless death.
On so days, she vented her anger.
On others, she wept.
On yet others, she scread as if driven mad.
At tis she resigned herself, and other tis she chose death again.
But she never forgot to co looking for .
March 11.
The date each new round began.
She never missed it, not once.
“This is awful. Why do nobles eat this kind of food?”
“I agree.”
On the days we t, she would ruthlessly criticize the food of this world.
“Gomoku? What’s that?”
“Listen carefully, I’ll explain.”
Sotis we’d sit across from each other and play Gomoku.
“So, this world is fake?”
“Is it a shock?”
“Not really. Sohow, nothing here seed quite normal anyway.”
We would also have serious conversations.
“Does your world have gods?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’m not religious.”
“Maybe that’s why you got transmigrated here?”
“What?”
“Just kidding.”
And sotis, we’d share idle chatter.
“If I go to your world, would I be able to adjust?”
“It’d be a bit tough.”
“…Then you could help , couldn’t you?”
“Well, with your face, you might actually adapt pretty quickly.”
“…”
Lying in the mansion’s garden, rlin’s face flushed red.
It amused , and I let out a small laugh.
Then one day—
rlin said to .
“Thank you.”
Those words carried her genuine feelings.
Having spoken her true thoughts, she smiled softly.
— Playback concluded.
The playback ended.
I raised my head blankly, staring into space.
— Progress: 61%
There were still countless rounds left to view.
But even so, watching rlin’s gradual transformation was surprisingly enjoyable.
— Would you like to replay the mories?
I gave a small nod.
Just as I was about to start a new round—
— External interference detected.
A new notification appeared, and the world began to shake.
The pitch-black space was starting to flood with bright flashes.
— [Item: Lethe’s Tears] effect is now ending.
What?
Wait a mont.
There are still so many rounds left to view.
If the playback ends now, what will happen to rlin, who remains over there?
— Promise .
I had promised.
— That you’ll keep watching .
That I’d keep watching over her.
— Thank you.
I can’t leave now.
“No…!”
Blinding light exploded, forcing my eyes shut.
And with that—
I lost consciousness once again.
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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