Verl had been screaming while slamming the ground, then snapped his mouth shut when he saw Renawill.
Even he found it shaful, since a full-grown adult–a man at that–was crying in front of another person.
But he couldn’t help it.
Verl had worked desperately for the past twenty years to prevent the Dark Day event.
His starting point had been the worst–the nation of elves, Kaurelia. The place far away from Tilette Academy where the events unfolded was where his second life had begun.
He had spent over a decade adjusting in elf country, having to find strange encounters and make connections in the anti.
Most of all, the elves’ way of thinking and living was difficult to understand for Verl who had originally been human.
“...That girl and I had a lot of similarities.”
Verl told Renawill as much as he could. Of course, he didn’t say that he and Aether were fellow countryn, as it was obvious he wouldn’t believe it even if he ntioned it.
Instead, he said it in a roundabout way that made sense to Renawill.
“Being an elf, school life was difficult and it felt like I was an outsider. And it was the sa for her.”
“A Golden-Eyed and elf, what an unlikely pair.”
“...After so conversations, it turned out that we shared the sa hobby. We liked similar things, and the future we hoped for wasn’t all that different, either. We didn’t show it at school, but I was close enough with her to talk about my struggles.”
Renawill nodded.
“So you and that child were best of friends?”
“I thought so.”
“So that would be why she was willing to sacrifice herself for you at the end. I see, then that makes sense.”
The mont when Tortoise was making its final attempt, Aether had pulled Verl by the arm and leapt forward in recoil. She had ended up taking the water blast instead and revealed to the world that she was a Beast.
“...I wouldn’t be here if it hadn’t been for Aether at the ti.”
“From your words, it sounds like she’s an angel rather than a Beast.”
It was becoming more ambiguous as things went. Just what kind of Beast would develop Flare for humanity and throw themselves on the line to save a friend?
“Not that Beasts don’t have any sense of comradery, of course, but it isn’t to the point of saving soone else. Beasts basically take the idea of survival of the fittest as truth, after all.”
Even allies were ruthlessly abandoned if they were weak. That was the world of Beasts.
“From their perspective, I was a hand to be discarded. I’m weak. Aether had no reason to save . Yes, if she had been a Beast.......”
“I understand, I do know what you are trying to say.”
Verl couldn’t raise his head for a while.
“Are you calm now?”
“...Yes.”
“I do not see what you are crying so miserably about.”
Renawill had no idea. Verl and Aether were previously born and grew up in the sa world. They shared the sa culture and thought in similar ways. To Verl, in this world that he was thrown into, Aether had been the only person who he could talk sincerely with.
“If you were born as a man, then stop crying and start thinking about what to do. The world isn’t going to end because a friend is gone.”
“......It might.”
“Hm?”
Verl even talked about Dark Day. Aether created an incredibly powerful bomb and entered it for the art fest. If that technology fell into the hands of the Demon Army, the Empire would be done for.
Hearing this, Renawill went pale. But he soon regained his composure and continued speaking.
“I simply don’t get what your relationship with that child is. But no matter, a relationship can be fixed even if it has been broken. Isn’t that so?”
Instead of being disapproving of Verl, Renawill comforted him the best way he could.
“I, too, have lost many of my loved ones in the war. Just recently, it was my two daughters.”
Verl knew this as well. Klara and Klais Hasfeldt. The two people were missing....... considered dead, actually.
“When I lost my wife at first, I despaired. I could only think about destroying all the Beasts, and I still do. But as I grew older, my mind changed a little.
Renawill said.
Despairing didn’t change anything. Ti still went on. The situation grew worse, and the Beasts were constantly watching for opportunities to descend from the Elankayas.
“If you do not do anything at this ti, the situation will continue getting worse. Powerlessness begets idleness, and idleness begets powerlessness. So if there is sothing that needs to be done, then get up when you must and take care of it, and save the emotions for later.”
In a way, it was basically philosophy of mind. Just grit your teeth and bear it. Don’t just cry, figure out the pile of assignnts before you. It was sothing that he had heard endlessly back on Earth, 21st century Korea.
Verl hated the people who advocated for ntal fortitude, thinking they were being old school. There were so many things in the world that didn’t work by putting in effort alone.......
This ga, for example. Was it fated to end up like this? He suddenly started hating the Goddess. It seed utterly hopeless.
[SYSTEM : The Fourth Trial is currently in progress.]
[SYSTEM : Note that the world will end within a year if you do not overco this Trial.]
There had only been one chance. The best way had been to manage Aether’s stress levels the best he could so that the Fourth Trial wouldn’t be triggered. And since that failed, he had thought that it didn’t matter what he did now.
However.
Still.
“Let’s say that that friend is a Beast. Are you able to accept her?”
“......Of course.”
He, she, wasn’t a Beast. Wasn’t a monster. She struggled with expressing herself, but she had a bigger heart than he thought.
Why, think about it. She beat the hell out of him but then visited him regularly from the next day. Ca and asked him if he was doing okay. Beasts would never waste ti doing such things.
“How interesting.”
Renawill said as he chuckled.
“Even Heerlein and that girl Freyr. At least three of you are trying to defend her. She’s quite blessed.”
She had black blood. As soon as he learned that, it was confird that she was a Beast.
If a Beast wanted to be on their side, then shouldn’t they lure them over? He recalled the conversation he had with Aether once more.
“......There is a saying. There are no hopeless situations in the world, only hopeless people.”
“.......”
“Anyway, tell if there is anything you need since it seems like you know sothing.”
“Are you saying you’ll help so pathetic guy like ?”
“As you said, isn’t this a global ergency? We need to get that child back if possible, since you said she was your trusted friend.”
Verl bit down hard on his lip. His shoulders slumped, and his locked hands kept shaking. To be honest, he wasn’t confident.
It wasn’t that there was no way to bring soone back from a Corrupt state, but it was so difficult that it was virtually impossible.
To make that route possible, you needed to be extrely powerful. Either start off at max level, or have an Elite Elental or higher.
High level, skill, luck, and an Elental.
A route that could be attempted when all these things were in place. The strategy that no one succeeded because of that.
“.......”
Verl glanced up. There was a hot cup of tea on the table, which Renawill had brewed with magic.
“It’s steeped lavender. They say it’s good for calming the nerves.”
“...Thank you, Sir.”
“You look exhausted. This is it for the questioning. You can return if you wish, but take so ti to think before that. Whether you will continue to attend Tilette, or if you will head north to find that friend. Whichever you choose, I will do what’s in my power to help.”
Turning around, Renawill gave him a wave. Click. When the door closed, there was no other light except for the lantern.
“.......”
Verl suddenly opened up the Status Window.
There was a Quest window to one side, and when he put his hand on it, a magnifying glass appeared. It was the icon for searching for sothing.
[Enter search word : Spring of Purification]
[(Location) Spring of Purification]
[Where the wicked gather to have their sins pardoned. Located in the middle of the ruins where the Ancient Elentals sleep, a giant spring sits in the center.]
[When a character with ‘Breakdown’ or ‘Corrupt’ status enters here, they will receive continuous damage. The stress level will go down as much as the health damage taken, and they will receive a ‘Penance’ effect. After 1 day of ‘Penance’, the ‘Breakdown’ status is removed, and after 30 days of the sa process, the ‘Corrupt’ status is removed.]
[The ‘Corrupt’ status can be removed by dwelling in the spring for 24 hours. But in this case, a heavy penalty is applied to the remaining lifeti.]
It was virtually the only solution that the ga made. If Aether wasn’t brought here ‘voluntarily’, then there was no way to prevent the destruction of the continent.
The chances of a Corrupt Golden-Eyed repenting was close to zero. Not once in all the tis he had played did this happen.
Verl asked himself.
Is it impossible?
“It will be.”
Verl asked while drinking his tea.
Is it really impossible?
“There’s no way I can take her there when she’s Corrupt.”
Verl got up from his seat and asked.
Why is it impossible?
Does he, she, an only that much to you?
“......No.”
Verl downed the hot tea all at once.
It hurt. His tongue and throat were burned.
Crack! Clenching his teach, he put down the cup.
─ It’s a contract. You and I are in this together, until we defeat the Demon King. At least I can trust you since we’re from the sa place. If you betray , you know, right? The one who breaks it first will get beaten.
**
Yeah, co to think of it, that was what they talked about.
“No, it can’t be impossible.”
Contracts were made to be fulfilled. Promises were made to be kept.
Aether, that person, valued promises more than anything. She didn’t like it when they were made and broken like this.
But he was trying to run away first; this couldn’t happen.
“I was the one who wasn’t trusting.”
Verl quickly opened the Stat Window. He hadn’t gone into the Stress Managent tab since that day. Corrupt. Because he didn’t want to see that word.
[Aether : 65 - ‘Corrupt’ Status]He hadn’t seen been seeing things. The word ‘corrupt’ was still there, in bold.
But.
On closer look, it was strange.
It needs to be 85 or higher to cause Breakdown or Corrupt....
He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
[65]He thought it was 85 at the ti, but seeing it again, it was 65.
Did I see it wrong? Or am I dreaming right now?
The stress level couldn’t have gone down in that ti. This was information from that day. The stress level didn’t update unless he saw the person in proximity and opened the tab again.
Then this an one thing.
That guy handed over control of the body on purpose.
She was Corrupt even before getting hit by Tortoise’s attack. No, that couldn’t even be called Corrupt. It was only that the original personality had taken over the body.
Verl took deep breaths. Why hadn’t I thought to check this again? His heart pounded like he had run a marathon.
A chance, there was a chance.
This wasn’t a ga. That was what he had decided long ago. Verl had montarily thought of Aether as a NPC in a ga.
He swept his hands over his face. It was as Renawill said. This wasn’t the ti to be crying, but the ti to do sothing.
“...Hold on.”
Aether’s intelligence stat was a thousand, higher than the Demon King, and it wasn’t much different for the transmigrator.
It was a sophisticated sche that had deceived everyone in the Academy, the world, and even himself. He wouldn’t have realized if it hadn’t been for the Stat Window.
I’ll definitely get you back.**
Approximately one year until the end of the world.
Verl took out his staff and left the checkpoint.
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