Kleio Asel, registered at age 17 (4)
“It happened many tis. When I was twelve, an unknown boy opened the door of the room originally used by Isiel. I saw him for the first ti, but his face was familiar. He looked like a ghost… but it was the son and male successor that no one wanted, Isiel’s brother. He wasn’t a ghost; he was just soone from the future.”
Arthur explained the details of the visions he saw. Despite his blank expression, Kleio’s head was spinning.
‘It seems that the old manuscript was mixed with the new content to create so strange internal consistency. Rather, should I assu that the character Arthur Riognan was completed earlier because he saw the future?’
“…Right. If that happened, I could predict these other visions will soday co true.”
“Alright.”
Arthur’s response was a mix of determination and resignation.
“Then, were there any future mories of the other princes?”
“Aha, mories of the future! That expression is just right. Right. The second oldest’ future mory’ is about lchior. Standing in the middle of a pool of blood, he raises his hand and points at . Then I say, ‘Fate will surely co true. You are…’, then the vision ended like that.”
Kleio, who wasn’t confident in his acting, worked hard to keep his face expressionless. That, too, was a scene from the manuscript.
‘It’s a minefield of spoilers.’
“Every ti I dread of it, I was so scared that I would go knock on my mother’s door. Anyway, the next one was less scary. In the third oldest mory, my eyes are stained red with blood, and Aslan strangles with all his might, yelling, ‘you shouldn’t have been born!’ Well, Aslan’s said that many tis already, so it wasn’t that surprising!”
Arthur laughed briefly at his own morbid joke. The prince seed to be telling the truth, but it wasn’t sothing that a seventeen-year-old could talk about calmly. Because of his reordered mories, the difficulty of the protagonist’s life was much greater than it had been in previous versions. The deterioration of the Palimpsest also most likely affected those changes in content. Kleio sighed internally.
‘No, he’s already grown up and co this far, but how can I correct that? Is it possible to cushion him little by little, so nothing he can’t handle cos his way in the future?’
“I’ve answered all your questions, so please answer one for . Is that skill about prophecy?”
“It would be okay to look at it like that.”
Just as he did with Dione, he matched Arthur’s assumptions. If he tried to diversify his lies, he wouldn’t be able to rember them later. If he found out about sothing like Editor’s Authority, he didn’t think anything good would co about from that. Perhaps it would even destroy the world, the worst-case scenario.
“You won’t give a definite answer anyway.”
“You would know better than anyone else. Prophecies are always in an incomplete form. The future that I can read is also lacking in several places, and the context is missing. It’s unclear what will happen before they actually happen.”
“Read… Your unique skill seems to be manifested in the form of reading.”
“…Yes.”
Dione and Arthur were the masters of digging up his words.
“Can you tell ? What you’ve read?”
There was no need to make up a lie. Instead, Kleio recited a sentence from the manuscript that mory evoked.
“There will be a dispute between two princes, and an era of war will arrive.”
“…”
‘That’s about you. Your suffering is proof that you are the chosen character.’
The protagonist, who would be at the center of the coming typhoon, stiffened in surprise. Then, chewing on Kleio’s words, he rubbed his chin. It was a habit of him being in deep thought, a minor detail that hadn’t changed from the last manuscript. In the forest where the afterglow of the sunset cast a shadow, they could hear the chirping of bugs. They sounded like a farewell to a century of peace. Kleio pulled up his ether and himself in it.
“‘Speak with faith.’ I, Kleio Asel, will stand by your side when necessary.”
‘Speak with faith’ was an old idiom, a simple etheric formula found in the basic swordsmanship textbooks. It was an expression of faith. Since it does not use a magic formula, there were no penalties for breaking it, and it didn’t guarantee loyalty like a [Covenant]. It was a declaration based on pure faith.
“I know your purpose and will. I will do my best to help you achieve it.”
“How long will that promise last?”
“Until Arthur Riognan becos the only king of Albion.”
It was a straightforward declaration without any hidden aning. Arthur’s eyes opened wide at Kleio’s determined affirmation. He had just lightly uttered rebellion and blasphemy. While Arthur was shocked, Kleio awaited the usual announcent from Promise. The golden letters appeared a beat later as usual.
[-User’s narrative involvent has rapidly increased.]
‘The author wants this sort of developnt. Arthur too.’
“Are you not making a [Covenant]?”
[Covenant] was a formal oath made by knights to their king, like what Isiel Kision had sworn to Arthur at the age of twelve, what Arthur had sworn to Isiel at the sa age. But even if he could receive the sa [Covenant] back from Arthur, Kleio had no intention of accepting Arthur’s request.
“Huh. I hate that idea.”
“!!!”
[Covenant] was an irreversible oath sworn in ether. If you broke it, the loss would be trendous as you lost the most precious mories throughout your life. The last manuscript had described what would happen when soone broke such an oath.
‘The knights who violated their [Covenant] to Edward and advocated Philippe instead lost their mories. No, thank you.’
The type of mories lost differed from person to person. Sotis they only forgot about the things they owned, but so forgot about their families or lovers. The problem was that they couldn’t know what they had forgotten until they ran into it again. That was a price he couldn’t pay as Kim Jungjin. He would remain and live as Kleio, but he wasn’t willing to lose his mories.
‘I can’t go against the author’s will anyway. If only this guy is anxious about the [Covenant], then I don’t care.’
If Arthur died in the journey ahead, everything would perish with him. If so, he wanted to face that destruction with at least his mories intact.
‘I know it’s in vain. From the mont I opened my eyes here, NPCs like are at a disadvantage. But what should I do?’
The author was like the god of this world, and the protagonist was one of the world’s pillars. If the two opposed each other, the world would be divided, but the force of developnt beca strong when the two wills lined up. He knew that in the long-term story, Kleio was by no ans comparable to Arthur.
However, there was at least one thing that Kim Jungjin could not lose. Things like his mother’s rough hands and the peaceful breathing of his sleeping brother… If Kim Jungjin forgot, then the mories of those that existed in his previous world would vanish. The life of Kim Jungjin had been difficult, and the hardships he faced had no purpose or aning.
Unlike Arthur Riognan’s life, which was the center of this world.
“Arthur, you’ll know soday. Now, this world is spinning around you. That’s extrely unfair, but it’s also natural.”
‘Because you are the main character of this story.’
In this world of kings, Kleio’s words would sound just like simple taphors. That was especially the case for Arthur, who sought the throne. Nevertheless, Kleio chose to speak as soone standing at the boundary of the story.
“But I will never be your servant. Instead, I will act as a helper.”
Kleio reached out to Arthur for a handshake. It was a way of greeting two people of equal standing.
‘This guy will continue to increase his number of followers in the future, but it is correct not to sign an exclusive contract to get all that I can.’
The prince didn’t hesitate to grab Kleio’s hand firmly.
“‘Speak with faith.’ I, Arthur Riognan, am pleased to accept Kleio Asel.”
Arthur’s response was also out of good faith. There was neither Covenant nor coercion there, so they would be required to maintain that faith and belief.
“Don’t think about being treated like a prince in the future.”
“Have you ever treated like a prince?”
“It started like that. Are you sure you want to be respectful?”
“Oh, it’s awkward just considering it… Anyway, did you want anything from ?”
“Of course. Give the position of royal magic advisor when Zebedee retires.”
“Why? It’s an honorary job with no authority.”
“Give a pension instead. Three tis a professor’s salary.”
“You… I don’t know if you’re simple or greedy.”
“I’m not pretentious. Hearthstones, magic tools, and cash are always welco.”
“I have a future arch-mage, but he wants to go to waste. I don’t have a good sword in my hand, let alone magic tools.”
“We’ll see how it goes. Don’t go back on what you said later.”
‘Once the dungeon opens, that will change completely.’
“Okay. But, is that part of your prophecy?”
“10,000 dinars per question. I don’t answer for free.”
“Ahahaha. Hey, that was really funny.”
Arthur’s loud laughter broke through the darkness, so he missed the timing to say he wasn’t kidding. However, the laughter was contagious as Kleio’s grim expression soon faded as he laughed with Arthur. At that mont, more golden letters ca to mind.
[-User’s narrative involvent has rapidly increased.
=The cumulative percentage of narrative involvent is being calculated (□□%)]
‘What, now it’s being displayed as a percentage?’
Kleio, distracted by the unfamiliar ssage, didn’t see the Door of Mnemosyne begin to radiate light behind him.
Faint light ford in the middle of the empty door fra before quickly extinguishing. Subsequently, the edge of the broken wall gently vibrated. Having detected the irregularities, a flock of birds flew away, but the boys who hadn’t noticed it left the forest indifferently.
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