262 – The Word ‘Death’.

Elysia, wiping her mouth, shouted at me.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Elysia, who gasped at my approaching step as if she had seen a demon, reacted sensitively to even the slightest movement and exhaled.

“Don’t come…”

“…”

“You’re not human.”

“What?”

“You’re… not human, I said.”

I was taken aback by the fragile appearance of Elysia, whom I was seeing for the first time. They say she’s the most tender-hearted among the apostles, but still, she was the pillar responsible for the axis of heretics.

Elysia’s weakness made me tense instead.

With a trembling voice, Elysia spat out her question at me. It seemed she had no intention of answering the question I was thinking of, as she moved her shaky legs, distancing herself from me.

“Why.”

“…”

“Why can you stand there so normally?”

“Why, I am…”

“Rotten and crumbling from a bad fate! Why… why can you still be alive!!”

Unable to spit out a proper answer to Elysia’s aggressive questioning, I shut my mouth. It was strange to be asked why one was alive, especially when that person was living well and happily.

“…”

An apostle herself had asked the question, and I, unable to answer, simply straightened my sword and caught my breath.

Two keywords had reached my ears.

One was ‘death.’

The other was ‘someone who should not be alive.’

Elysia in the novel had an exceptional ability to see through people’s inner selves, but it seemed like the first time she spoke of ‘existence’ in this way. As if she was scared of the very existence of people.

She was a woman who didn’t tremble even in front of the Pope, but I couldn’t grasp how to react to this different side of Elysia.

One thing was certain.

I was not a regressor.

All of Elysia’s words pointed to ‘regression,’ but unfortunately, I was a possessor, not a regressor. And I didn’t even want such a power.

I shrugged off the unresolved question and decided not to think deeply about it. It must be the nonsense of an apostle spouting uncertain words, after all.

Thinking it was due to the influence of my resistance to black magic, or perhaps my resistance to mental magic, I keenly observed Elysia’s movements.

“No…”

Elysia clutched her head and exhaled roughly.

“This can’t be happening. I must have seen it wrong…”

“…”

“Ugh…”

In Elysia’s eyes, it was visible.

The emotions seen by those facing death.

The emptiness when being executed.

The injustice when killed in war.

The regret of not being able to protect a loved one.

And then.

“Ugh… Cough…! Cough…!”

She could feel the regret and mixed emotions of countless others emanating from him.

Elysia reached out her hand towards Ricardo. It was revolting and frightening, but she felt compelled to look closer, to understand what those emotions meant.

-Whoosh!!

She reached out quickly, but.

“Stop.”

She had no choice but to lower her hand at the cold voice of the Reaper.

Elysia took a deep breath and looked into the eyes of the man glaring at her.

The ‘grey’ of regret.

The ‘purple’ of mixed emotions.

And the ‘golden’ symbolizing confidence, all were present within him.

“…Sigh.”

Elysia clicked her tongue as she looked at Rowen.

Seeing the emotions of someone shining so intensely felt like it was tainting her own colors.

“A false hero has appeared.”

It was repulsive.

The earth resonated.

Just the gaze between the two monsters was enough to send winds howling across the entire mountain, sounding the alarm.

I held Chartia and Hanna, who had lost consciousness, and whispered softly.

“Let’s get out of here.”

The rest was left in their hands.

*

As the mountain disappeared from the map, peace arrived.

I laid the unconscious students in the village and exhaled calmly.

“Phew… Why is this guy so heavy?”

Especially after seeing Ruin, he sighed even deeper.

I kicked Ruin’s side with my foot as he lay there foaming at the mouth, unconscious. It was pitiful to see the supposed male lead reduced to spam.

It was his own doing, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for him, seeing how splendidly he had ruined himself.

“Idiot.”

“Ugh… Ahhh, don’t come near!”

“Even his sleep-talking is noisy.”

I shook my head.

On the village bench, the students who had somewhat regained their senses were seated. Yuria, Mikhail, Chartia, the Crown Prince, and others. Hannah seemed to be in the best condition of all. She was, after all, the strongest and most mentally resilient among them.

I watched Hannah rigidly report to Rowen and couldn’t help but smirk bitterly.

“I should’ve just played dumb.”

– How many people set out?

– 24, sir. No casualties.

– I see. Well…

I didn’t want to get involved in the matter, but seeing Hannah talk to Rowen, I felt a certain way.

‘Still, that’s impressive.’

No matter how much I disliked Rowen, I had to admit, Hannah’s ability to separate personal feelings from duty was commendable. She truly was her brother’s sister.

– That will be all.

– …

– If you need more details, you can come to the academy later to check.

– Hannah.

– …

– Can you spare me a moment?

– I’d rather not, Count.

– …

The conversation didn’t seem like it would end easily.

I carefully moved away and approached Chartia, who was sweating coldly.

“Your Highness.”

“…”

“You’ve been through quite an ordeal.”

“Sigh…”

“Are you okay?”

“…”

Shartia remained silent. She just stroked her face with her dry hand, seemingly uninterested in responding to the advances of the world’s most handsome man.

‘This is awkward…’

Perhaps it was because she had just met the apostle, but she seemed mentally overwhelmed. Knowing that the handsome man’s flirtation could be a great comfort at such times, I, as someone with experience, sat next to Shartia and offered clumsy consolation.

After all, I had received comfort from the lady too.

– Damn! Riccardo almost died!

There was nothing to emulate, though.

“Chuckle.”

A true gentleman would stay silent and simply be there in such moments, so I quietly closed my mouth and waited for Shartia to regain her spirits.

“Huff.”

About three minutes passed, and Shartia lifted her head with a deep sigh. She seemed to have quickly sorted through her complicated thoughts, calmly exhaled, and then carefully began to sip from the glass of water I handed her.

-Gulp.

“You.”

“Yes?”

“What exactly are you?”

Shartia asked, looking at me with eyes full of suspicion.

“You’re always there when something happens… Do you have the ability to see the future or have foresight?”

I scratched the back of my head with an awkward smile at her astute question. It made me think, ‘Is that what being a student council president is all about?’

Shartia sighed with a worried expression.

“It’s all so strange. This incident, and even the ones at the academy, they’re just too odd.”

“You could think that.”

“Huh?”

“Because I’m such an exceptional person.”

“…Don’t joke around.”

I teased Shartia with an ambiguous smile. After all, people with good intuition are easily shaken by vague answers.

“Heh…”

I chuckled lightly, further complicating Shartia’s thoughts.

“If I could see the future…”

“Gulp…”

“Would I have stayed attached to the academy?”

“That’s… true.”

Chartia nodded in agreement to the abruptly ended suspicion, and soon murmured as she gazed at the ripples in her glass of water.

“Thank you.”

“…”

“Thank you for helping me. If it weren’t for you, everything… would have died.”

“If you repay me with abundant wealth…”

“…”

“Just kidding.”

Chartia said with a crushed pronunciation, gripping the glass tightly as if indignant.

“This time, it was mostly my fault. I failed to make the right judgment and tried to solve everything foolishly with our own strength.”

“That’s correct.”

I nodded in agreement with Chartia’s words and offered her a bit of comfort.

“But, anyone would have done the same in that situation.”

“Huh?”

“This incident was more premeditated than you think. It will be difficult to sort things out when we return, but yes, I think there was a harvest.”

I looked at where the church used to be and raised my glass.

“It seems like it ended not too badly.”

“You… as expected.”

I rose from my seat with a meaningful smile and walked away, slipping my hand into my pocket with chic.

“Thoughts are free… Aaack!”

And I nearly tripped over a stone.

“Pfft…”

Chartia snorted a laugh and shook her head. Muttering to herself, ‘I must be crazy,’ she watched my retreating figure and let out a small sigh.

“Thank you.”

I waved my hand and walked on for a while.

Checking on Mikhail’s well-being.

– Are you alright?

– How did you…!

“I came because I missed you. Of course, it’s not you I wanted to see.”

…

I even managed to soothe Yuria’s ragged breathing.

“Huff… Huff… Ricardo!”

“Oh my… Aren’t you clinging too much? I can feel your chest.”

“It’s a relief… Such a relief!!”

“Of course, it feels good.”

I walked for a long time.

And then.

“…Butler.”

I could see Hannah with a heavy expression.

It seemed like Hannah was deep in thought. Overwhelmed by Rowen’s formidable power, feeling a vast gap and at the same time, indebted to Rowen for his help. It would be strange if her thoughts weren’t complicated.

The flower of the prosecutors, the being that all prosecutors aim for and strive to become. I thought she might be feeling disillusioned about her solo ambitions to succeed.

I looked into Hannah’s eyes with a small smile.

“Why did you call me?”

“I…”

Hannah clenched her fists and bowed her head.

“I think I heard something I shouldn’t have.”

“What? I don’t understand…”

“By any chance, Butler.”

Hannah looked straight into my eyes and said.

“Are you married?”

“…?”

“No, that woman said so. That you have many entangled relationships.”

“?”

At Hannah’s words, I let out a hollow laugh with numerous question marks floating above my head.

“I haven’t even dated, let alone divorced.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Ah… Okay?”

Hanna glared at me, her breaths coming out in huffs.

“Really?!”

“Yes.”

“You’re not seriously sulking over just that, are you?”

“…It’s not just that. Now that there’s someone to persuade.”

“What?”

“Never mind.”

“What is it?”

Hanna and I burst into laughter, sharing stories for a while.

And then.

Hanna thought to herself.

-How many times has it died…?

The word ‘death,’ that is.