Chapter 97 - Another Possibility (5)

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 97 - Another Possibility (5)

The black mist covered the continent.

Gradually, the monsters tore down the walls, breached the defenses, and swallowed up desolate villages.

Screams echoed across the empire's streets, while in the center of the squares, countless homes were engulfed in a massive inferno.

Monsters swarmed, and diseases spread.

Children wailed for their lost parents, while decaying corpses, horrifically rotted, began to fill the streets.

Under the blackened sky, the empire sank deeper into utter despair.

When even the Imperial Palace—the sun of the empire—finally crumbled…

Isabel, Luna.

And.

Merlin.

Without exception, all of them perished.

— Playback concluded.

And so, the world was destroyed.

The moment I realized that, I felt my breath catch in the overwhelming chaos.

Every possible future had been twisted beyond recognition.

The horrific change was beyond any comprehension.

Why Merlin had suddenly started choosing death at some point.

Why she hadn’t chosen it this time.

And…

“Why the black mist…”

Why the trigger for the world’s destruction had been pulled.

All these anomalies pointed toward one single possibility.

In that moment, something Merlin had once whispered to me flashed through my mind.

— As you know, this world is a constructed one.

— One day, I realized that horrible truth.

A constructed world.

She had found it utterly repulsive.

— Ah, I’m just a pawn on a set board.

She had called herself a pawn.

No matter how hard she tried to resist, she could only play out the predetermined fate laid out before her.

— Some are born with the destiny of saving the world, while others, for no reason at all, bear the hatred of many. And still others are forced to relive their lives over and over, paying for failing to fulfill their assigned roles.

Then I understood.

Why each word Merlin had spoken to me struck a strange chord of familiarity.

The more we talked, the more I felt a deep, indescribable sense of kinship.

— Eventually, I just grew tired of it all.

— This world, and living a life surrounded by hatred.

Merlin was suffering under a terrible curse.

Dying hundreds of times, struggling for centuries in endless torment, only to be thrown back into a nightmarish life, again and again.

“…Regression.”

Finally, everything made sense.

Why she chose to end her own life, and why, in the end, she chose to destroy the world.

How many times had she gone through regression?

What had broken her so completely?

Before I had time to dwell on it, a window appeared before me in the air, asking the familiar question.

— Would you like to replay the memories?

I looked at it silently.

After a moment of hesitation, I nodded slowly.

****

When I opened my eyes, I was in Kyle Winfred’s room.

As soon as I collected my thoughts, I checked the date.

March 11.

Exactly when a new round began.

“…So it’s started again.”

It had started over.

Which meant the previous round had come to an end.

The black mist.

In the end, that terrible disaster had destroyed the world.

As soon as I gathered my wits, I immediately summoned the old butler.

A new round had begun, so there was still work to be done.

“You called, Young Master?”

“I need you to investigate someone. Her name is Merlin Trivia, female, location…”

Investigating Merlin Trivia had become something of a habit for me.

Whenever a new round started, Merlin was the only thing that ever changed.

“Merlin Trivia, you say?”

The old butler tilted his head in confusion.

“What is it?”

“Oh, it’s just… that’s the same name as the woman who has just come to see you.”

“The same name?”

“Yes, her name is also Merlin Trivia.”

Merlin Trivia had come to see me.

In all the countless rounds I’d observed, I’d never experienced anything like this.

“Where is she now?”

“She’s waiting at the mansion’s front gate.”

“Escort her to the reception room.”

“Understood, sir.”

She had come looking for me—or rather, for Kyle.

For what purpose?

What could she want so urgently that, unlike in all the other rounds, she had refused to choose death and had come to find Kyle instead?

“Young Master, I’ll lead you to the reception room.”

The old butler returned to my room and led me to the reception room.

As I entered, I saw a woman seated there.

Merlin Trivia.

Her familiar appearance left me momentarily speechless.

“So, it’s you?”

The corners of Merlin’s mouth curled up as she saw me.

“Kyle Winfred. Known as the illegitimate child of the Winfred Dukedom, but in truth… originally of the imperial family’s collateral bloodline, aren’t you?”

Her sharp green eyes bored into me.

“It struck me as odd. A man like you, who has no connection to me whatsoever, persistently sends people to investigate me in every single round. Why?”

Her sudden question was unexpected.

Yet, Merlin’s expression remained strangely blank.

“You know, don’t you?”

“Know what?”

“That I’m reliving my life over and over. You know, don’t you?”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

Her gaze was so confident that I couldn’t even attempt to deflect the question.

“At first, it was just a suspicion. But now I’m sure.”

She rose abruptly from her seat.

“You’re clearly human, yet there’s no stench of decay.”

One step.

Then another.

“What are you?”

Merlin took slow steps toward me.

“Why do you keep meddling?”

Somehow, the question felt familiar.

When we first met, she had asked me the same question.

“Answer me.”

Her sharp gaze scrutinized me from head to toe.

For a young woman’s face, she looked terribly exhausted.

“Are you here just to watch me lose my mind? Are you curious to see how I’ll die this time? Does it amuse you to see me alone, struggling in a world that plays out the same way every single time?”

A torrent of resentment poured from her.

Misplaced anger and reproach spilled forth.

“Ha.”

Merlin laughed quietly, as if finding it all amusing.

But the laughter quickly faded from her face.

“You irritate me.”

Her voice was low, brittle, like a sound that broke as it left her lips.

“It drives me insane.”

Her dry tone was oddly hollow.

That wasn’t exactly what she’d said, but that’s how it sounded to me.

At first, it was mere curiosity.

As she’d said, Merlin alone broke free from her assigned role in this world that ran the same course every time.

Then, at some point, as she kept choosing death, I began to feel a strange kinship with her.

I pitied her.

It was too wretched.

If I hadn’t had the hope of returning to my original world, if I were condemned to an endlessly repeating life, I would have made the same choice as her.

Eventually, when she finally gave in to the world’s malice and chose to destroy it…

“….”

I had no words.

I wasn’t in a position to worry about anyone else; nothing in this world mattered to me, aside from Diana.

And yet, somehow…

For some reason, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Maybe I was simply tired from viewing the memories on repeat.

I couldn’t be sure of the exact reason myself.

“I was just watching.”

I broke the silence in a calm voice.

“Watching?”

“Yes.”

“Why? For what reason?”

“Because your situation is similar to mine.”

I left out any words of sympathy.

I never had any intention of pitying her.

I had no intention of feeling sorry for her.

I simply couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

“Similar?”

“You could say they’re close enough.”

Merlin paused at my words.

A faint tremor flickered in her eyes, then disappeared.

“…Are you regressing too?”

“No, not that.”

“Then what?”

“I’m not sure what to call it.”

“This isn’t the time for games.”

“I’m serious.”

At that, her face darkened.

I chuckled and continued.

“Are you planning to destroy the world again?”

“If I am, are you going to try to stop me?”

I understood.

She thought that if she completely ended the world, this cursed cycle would stop as well.

But it wasn’t a good idea.

All that would happen was the world would reset.

“I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“…Explain.”

“When a person recovers from a major illness, they develop immunity to lesser ailments. The world works the same way. Even if you unleash black calamities or whatever, a hero will emerge to counter it, and new solutions will appear.”

The world, bound by causality, has self-correcting mechanisms.

In other words, no matter how much she twists things, the end result will always be the same.

“….”

Her fingertips trembled slightly.

It was, without a doubt, the real Merlin behind her strong facade.

“There’s no need to worry.”

Before I realized it, I found myself speaking words I hadn’t intended.

“One day, you’ll leave this place too.”

It was impulsive.

I couldn’t hold myself back.

“To a real world, one that wasn’t hastily constructed.”

At my words, Merlin’s mouth fell open.

“Wait, what do you mean by that?”

“Ah, I’m feeling drowsy.”

“What? Explain properly! You’re saying I can leave? Me?”

I couldn’t give her a proper answer.

In truth, my mind was already growing hazy.

“Answer me! No, you have to answer me. Please… I’ll do anything. Whatever you want…”

As my consciousness began to drift, Merlin’s voice echoed in the distance.

Her tone was so desperate that I felt I might say something even more if I kept listening, so I closed my eyes halfway.

“…Merlin.”

A completely muffled voice rose from deep within me.

“March… 11th.”

March 11th.

The point where a new round begins if the memories are played back.

Merlin’s voice echoed as if underwater.

Listening to that faint sound in my ears, I murmured softly, as if squeezing out my last bit of strength.

“Remember…”

With that final word…

“…it.”

Once more, I lost consciousness.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]