"But... is there really no version of in this possibility? Could it be like the last world, where another Jenkins with the sa na lives here? That must be how she knew my... No, that's not right. She recognized from my face. It can't be like the last possibility."
He speculated internally, continuing to comb Queen Windsor's hair. He'd never done anything like this before, but he often ran his fingers through Chocolate's short fur. He figured the two tasks must have sothing in common.
"Jenkins Williams."
She spoke his full na softly, her face graced with a gentle smile as she looked at him through the mirror.
"I've known this na for a long, long ti, but today is the first ti I've ever spoken it aloud."
"You know ?"
He asked slowly, carefully and deliberately drawing the comb from the crown of her head to the very tips. The motion t no resistance from tangled strands; her hair was of exceptional quality, incredibly smooth.
"No, I don't know you."
Queen Windsor denied it, and the slight shake of her head briefly hindered Jenkins's combing, but he was able to continue. Standing so close behind her, he could sll her scent.
It was faint, yet deeply comforting.
"What am I thinking?"
He chided himself internally, then realized that he had only ever noticed the color of a young woman's hair, never its actual condition.
"I possess the vast majority of my mories, from my earliest recollections to the present mont. I can clearly recall everything I've done in the past. Especially after becoming an Enchanter, my ever-growing soul and spirit have given an even more detailed grasp of those mories."
She spoke as though she were narrating a story:
"But I've understood for a long ti—though I can't say exactly when it started—that these mories are not my own. This world doesn't have such a long history, and I am not that old. All of it is false."
Jenkins didn't pause his combing this ti; he had already suspected as much. A world without him... of course it would give rise to such bizarre events.
This proved it: both the original Jenkins and the current stranger were crucial to the world's stability. No matter which soul piloted the 'Jenkins Williams' identity, and no matter the direction the individual nad 'Redemptor' might steer the material world, the very existence of Jenkins Redemptor Williams was of monuntal importance to the entire world.
"So when did you realize?"
Jenkins asked, following her lead.
"From what my mories tell , this idea has been with for as long as I can rember. But to be precise, this world and I have only existed for less than an hour. So, this idea must have simply appeared in my mories along with my own creation an hour ago."
The logic was a bit convoluted, and it took Jenkins a mont to grasp it.
"It sounds incredible, doesn't it? Even my realization that this world is false is a conclusion brought to by false mories."
Queen Windsor remarked, then added in a soft complaint:
"Have you truly never combed a young woman's hair before? Even if you're only combing a little at a ti, must you keep pulling on that one small lock?"
"My apologies."
"I've never t you, yet I know of you. I was able to perceive the falseness of this world from within my mories precisely because I was aware that it was missing a person nad Jenkins Williams. By the sa token, that very awareness was also granted to by those false mories."
The implication was clear: the Windsor speaking before him seed to know everything.
"What exactly do you know?"
"I know this world is an illusion. I know soone would appear here, making it real for a short ti. And after they leave, everything will vanish."
She suddenly reached backward in a very awkward posture, catching the hand with which Jenkins was combing her hair. He naturally tried to pull free, but was surprised when she, still seated, twisted around and grabbed his hand more forcefully.
"I also know that if you existed, everything here should be yours."
"You're right... huh?"
This place should be his ho, but sothing was off. This was the stranger's ho, not the original's. The last two worlds had already proven that in a tiline where the stranger never arrived, the house on St. George Street was perpetually for rent—and never actually rented out due to rumors of it being haunted. It had nothing to do with the original Jenkins.
But his Lie Godhood judged her words as truth. Therefore, Jenkins concluded, the "Jenkins" she knew of—the one who was supposed to exist—was most likely not the wanted fugitive.
"But why is that? Why does she know of , and not the original?"
At first, he couldn't quite grasp it, but then a thought struck him: possibilities were based on reality. Perhaps when he had entered and exited the last two possibilities, the Mysterious Realm had already detected an anomaly and initiated so kind of corrective chanism.
This solipsistic world wasn't so rigid simulation run by a giant computer; the idea that it could change in response to reality seed perfectly plausible.
"Including . I should be yours, too."
Because Queen Windsor was seated while Jenkins stood, she had to tilt her head up to look at him.
"Sorry, what do you an?"
"If you existed, everything here would be yours. I don't believe the aning of that statent is particularly profound."
"What do you really want? Where are my friends?"
"They're safe."
Queen Windsor smiled, turned back to the mirror, and gestured for Jenkins to resu combing her hair. Unlike the Jessica Windsor of the previous two worlds, this Windsor was a genuine demigod-level Enchanter. Subduing Magic Miss would likely have been easy for her, but Jenkins wasn't certain what the outco of a fight between the two of them would be.
"My mories tell I prepared a great many things in anticipation of your arrival, including purchasing this house three years ago. But, as we both know, this world has only existed for an hour. Everything I know is what I'm supposed to know, not what I've actually done. It's a curious phenonon, one that signifies your importance to my existence."
Jenkins didn't respond. He held the comb in his right hand while his left gently stroked her hair. His hand was very close to her neck, almost resting against the back of her head. From this range, he could unleash either Blasphemous Creation or Knowledge Bestowal almost instantaneously.
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