Chapter 98 - Another Possibility (6)

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 98 - Another Possibility (6)

Though I spoke confidently…

The chance of me meeting Merlin directly during a memory playback was actually quite slim.

Neither she nor I could control the exact moment I would inhabit Kyle’s body.

All I could do was rely on luck or wait for the right moment to encounter her by coincidence.

But even then, it would be pointless if Merlin didn’t trust me.

After all, it wasn’t efficient for Merlin to spend her entire life by Kyle’s side just to meet someone 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.

Merlin had surely heard it as well.

The date I told her to remember.

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.

Merlin Trivia.

I wondered if she would remember my words.

On March 11, would she come 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 named Merlin Trivia has come 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.

Merlin had remembered what I’d said.

****

Merlin Trivia.

With a serious expression, she approached me.

“….”

Her green eyes swept over me, slowly scanning me 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 moment—

“Merlin.”

At her name, her eyes narrowed.

I spoke to her.

“March 11.”

“…!”

Her eyes widened, as if they might tear.

“Good, you remembered.”

“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 came out in a rush, as if she had endured an entire round just for this moment.

“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 meet me and cross dimensions, but that future event was already a “fixed occurrence” that had taken place.

“Merlin, do you know how many times you’ve repeated this life?”

“I don’t know. At some 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 Merlin’s final moments 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 meet my end.

Merlin had repeated that countless times—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 times.

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 time will come.”

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 time.”

Seeing her descent into madness had stirred an inexplicable sense of kinship within me.

“You’ve held on well, up until now.”

…In a way, it was also something I was saying to myself.

“…”

An intense silence settled over the room.

Merlin 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 moment before she finally parted them to speak, her words slow.

“…Promise me.”

Merlin asked me 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 me…”

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 moment, Merlin looked different to me.

From the first time I’d started playing the original story, when she’d boldly demanded I take her to my world, she had never sat well with me.

Because I couldn’t see through her intentions.

Because everything about her seemed suspicious.

But I had been wrong.

All Merlin wanted was to escape her suffering.

People say you can understand a lot from seeing one thing.

Yet sometimes, 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 me…”

Was not just me.

“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 remembered Merlin’s death.

Only I did.

Only I remembered her death.

In this round, she hadn’t chosen to destroy the world.

She simply lived an ordinary life and met an ordinary end.

Afterward, I continued to view the memories.

Merlin 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 Merlin, knowing that I was watching, didn’t desperately try to survive, nor did she choose a meaningless death.

On some days, she vented her anger.

On others, she wept.

On yet others, she screamed as if driven mad.

At times she resigned herself, and other times she chose death again.

But she never forgot to come looking for me.

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 met, she would ruthlessly criticize the food of this world.

“Gomoku? What’s that?”

“Listen carefully, I’ll explain.”

Sometimes we’d sit across from each other and play Gomoku.

“So, this world is fake?”

“Is it a shock?”

“Not really. Somehow, nothing here seemed 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 sometimes, 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 me, couldn’t you?”

“Well, with your face, you might actually adapt pretty quickly.”

“…”

Lying in the mansion’s garden, Merlin’s face flushed red.

It amused me, and I let out a small laugh.

Then one day—

Merlin said to me.

“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 Merlin’s gradual transformation was surprisingly enjoyable.

— Would you like to replay the memories?

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 moment.

There are still so many rounds left to view.

If the playback ends now, what will happen to Merlin, who remains over there?

— Promise me.

I had promised.

— That you’ll keep watching me.

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]