Chapter 27

Before I could even finish my words, a tinnitus that felt like my eardrums would tear rang out.

At the same time, bright red blood spurted from my throat.

I barely covered my mouth at the sudden situation.

“Keoheuk…!”

I barely swallowed the blood that tried to surge up again, but a pain like my wrung-out intestines being torn to shreds with a knife followed.

This is crazy, it hurts like X!

Barely panting, I curled up on the bed and desperately wished for the pain that felt like an eternity to subside.

If last time it felt like an elephant was trampling my insides, this time it felt like they were being torn apart with a knife.

It seemed like Albedo was shouting something, but I couldn't hear it well.

After a few minutes, what floated above my finally cleared vision was a bright red warning message, as if written in blood.

[Warning!!!]

[You must not tell the truth to the characters of the game.]

[If you convey the truth while enduring the pain, the game will be reset.]

I gritted my teeth as I looked at the system window that completely filled my vision.

Crazy! Tell me that from the beginning!!

If you had told me from the beginning, I wouldn't have even tried. It's not like you're playing with people.

Annoyance surged, and I hit the innocent mattress with all my might.

Though it wouldn't do any damage to the system.

It just left a little of my hand’s blood on the bedsheet.

《Theo, are you alright?》

The ringing in my ears finally subsided, and I could hear Albedo’s voice, albeit faintly.

Right… you’re several times better than the system.

Only after taking a few more breaths could I finally answer with a proper voice.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

《This isn’t a normal mana reflux. The flow is similar to when you collapsed, vomiting blood. Is there… some connection?》

Hah, you sharp fellow.

Well, its shell may be a paltry and slightly cute lizard, but its core is an ancient demon that even God was said to be wary of.

So was that why the system tried to stop me? Because I was trying to tell the most dangerous being once it knew the truth? What on earth is the system thinking….

I painstakingly organized my complicated thoughts and barely answered Albedo’s question in a faint voice.

“…Yeah.”

The reason I vomited blood that time was because I had overused the skill the system provided me.

And, the reason I suffered sudden pain just now was a kind of penalty the system inflicted on me.

The situation and the cause may be different, but the root was the same.

《It punished you for trying to tell the truth?》

Hitting the nail on the head again.

Right, that’s it. As I nodded, a pain shot through me as if my insides were having a party.

X-bal, I get it. I won’t say anymore, so don’t threaten me.

As I frowned, Albedo also stopped prying. It was a considerate gesture in many ways.

I wiped the blood from my mouth and was about to wipe the blood from the bed too, when the door burst open and Zephyros entered.

“Theo, I was sorry earlier. I was being too sensitive, wasn’t I?”

The apologizing fellow was holding some kind of box in his hand.

I didn’t know what it was, but the sweet smell that wafted as soon as he opened the door suggested it was a dessert.

Oh, it looks delicious. Though my mouth was still full of the smell of blood. As I smacked my lips, the dessert box rolled onto the floor.

No, my dessert!!!

“Hey!!!!!!”

Zephyros’s shout echoed in the room.

Why on earth is he like that, ah… the bed. The uniform and the bed were covered in blood. Damn it, I should have cleaned this up with my skill first.

Albedo, who had been quietly observing the situation, hid itself under the pillow with a swish and apologized.

《I’m sorry.》

Damn it, for crying out loud…!

You think an apology is the end of it? You damn lizard!! Just you wait until I get back! Don’t think you’re getting any snacks from now on!

* * *

As soon as Zephyros caught me coughing up blood, I was dragged to the infirmary.

I said I was fine several times, but I had no choice but to follow his threat to come quietly before he knocked me out.

Huh? If you misjudge your strength while trying to knock me out, you could break my neck and kill me.

Upon seeing me dragged by Zephyros in my blood-soaked uniform, what Professor Artemia said was this.

“Is coughing up blood a hobby of yours, by any chance?”

Who in this world has a hobby like that?

At Professor Artemia’s heart-wrenching question, I shed sad tears.

Just then, the infirmary door burst open.

“Theo.”

The person who entered was my father.

How long had it been since I saw my father? It hadn’t even been a week, but it felt like I was seeing him for the first time in a very long time.

I was about to greet him happily, but my father strode in faster than that, grabbed my shoulders, and looked me over.

“Are you hurt somewhere again? Don’t hide it, speak.”

“I’m fine….”

My father, lightly ignoring my words, looked at Professor Artemia and asked with a serious expression.

“Artemia, by any chance… Theo doesn’t have a serious illness, does he? Or perhaps his chronic illness has relapsed.”

What flickered across my father’s face was clear fear.

Thinking I had made him worry needlessly, I squeezed my father’s hand on my shoulder.

“I’m really fine.”

The strength in my father’s hand on my shoulder increased. Soon, as if that too would hurt, the strength was released.

“Don’t say you’re fine.”

The expression on my father’s face as he said that was surprisingly cold.

But, what was clearly settled in that expression was a violent emotion that seemed like it would crumble messily at any moment.

“You only ever said you were fine back then too…!”

Is he remembering the time when the real Theo was sick?

I felt sorry for unintentionally stirring up my father’s fears.

“Lisitoel, calm down a little.”

At Professor Artemia’s words, my father, as if realizing his mistake, released the strength in his hand and took a half step back.

My father looked at Professor Artemia, as if demanding an explanation.

“It’s not a chronic illness. That has been completely cured, so you don’t need to worry.”

“…Then why does he keep coughing up blood?”

Vomiting blood was not a light matter to be overlooked.

“How would I know.”

My father frowned deeply.

At that, the professor opened my mouth, checked inside, and took further measures like diagnosing my body with magic.

“Does it not hurt or anything when you handle mana?”

“It’s fi… it doesn’t hurt.”

I swallowed the words ‘I’m fine’ that were about to come out unconsciously and answered Professor Artemia.

This was just the system threatening me not to say anything unnecessary. It was difficult to see it as a special illness.

“For your father’s sake, you’d better rest in the infirmary for today.”

“I have a Basic Elemental Magic lecture in the afternoon, though?”

“I’ll submit the relevant documents.”

“I’m really not sick, Father. Zephyros just made a fuss and brought me here.”

“Theo Lisitoel. Listen to me.”

My body flinched at the cool warning.

It was the first time my father had been so firm.

“…I understand.”

I didn’t want to cause my father any more worry.

Perhaps feeling sorry for my gloomy appearance, Professor Artemia, who had been observing the situation, carefully added.

“Why don’t you let him attend the class?”

“Artemia, don’t say strange things.”

“If he can’t keep up with the class, Theo himself is the one who has to bear it. Instead, let’s have him come to the infirmary right after class and rest in the infirmary for today.”

“I’ll do that!!”

I quickly raised my hand.

If I miss any more lectures, it will really be irreversible.

I really refused to get an academic warning!

“…If you’re sick anywhere, tell Beatrice right away and come back to the infirmary. I’ll tell Beatrice in advance.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Only after repeatedly telling me to take care of my body did my father finally leave.

Professor Artemia, who had watched the whole scene, muttered as if she was fed up.

“There’s a limit to being overprotective.”

You can say that again.

Well, it can’t be helped, though.

Feeling a strange sense of embarrassment, I just fiddled with the back of my neck.

* * *

After Professor Artemia also left, telling me to call her if there was anything wrong with my body, I, left alone, rolled around on the infirmary bed.

How long had it been since I was completely alone after making a contract with Albedo?

If so, I should ask the system right away.

“Why can’t I tell people the truth?”

The reality is just a game. ‘You are actually just code made of 0s and 1s’ was certainly information that would be shocking.

But, was there a need to warn about it so brutally?

[Information you do not have access to.]

[If you repeatedly deduce and access the information, a penalty will be imposed.]

At the blatant threat, I flopped my head onto the pillow with a sigh.

So I can’t know yet.

“Then let’s ask something else instead.”

Actually, there was something else I really wanted to ask.

“Can Lerwon still be saved?”

Lucian in the game was too late.

Lucian didn't notice Lerwon’s pain and shadowed scars, and couldn’t prevent his corruption.

And in the end, he couldn’t save Lerwon.

That was Lucian’s biggest failure and the beginning of the slippery slope to destruction.

Actually, there might have been a very simple way to prevent that tragedy.

Killing them both in advance.

Killing Lerwon before he becomes a monster that will shake the world.

It would be possible with the absolute power the system gave me. I had a strange conviction.

To be fair, neither the master of Golden nor her heir, Lerwon, were good people.

People who had incurred grudges everywhere, to the point where it wouldn't be strange if they died at any time.

The fact that they had incurred grudges meant that they had accumulated that many evil deeds.

Iris Viden goes through a series of events and changes into a supporter of the protagonist, but until then, she was a villain who tormented the protagonist at every turn and schemed behind the scenes.

Moreover, Lerwon is the final boss of Part 1.

If I save Lerwon, all the future I know will be twisted.

I don't know what kind of storm a huge change that shakes the foundation of the main story, not a trivial change, will cause.

“Perhaps a future more harsh than what I saw will come.”

The day might come when I regret not having saved Lerwon.

“Thinking rationally, it’s a card that should be discarded.”

But, I didn’t want to do that.

…Because he had been so terribly unhappy until now.

Even if he can’t be happy, it’s okay for him to be less unhappy than he is now, right? He deserves that much, doesn't he?!

“But, I want to save him.”

So, give me conviction in my question, system.

The conviction that saving Lerwon is the right answer.

Only then can I save Lerwon without any hesitation.

It was that moment.

Tiring! I heard the now-familiar notification sound.

+++

Main Quest

The heir of Golden, Lerwon, can still be saved.

Save Lerwon, and prevent him from contributing to the destruction.

-Reward: EXP 10,000, Golden Elixir

-Failure: Death

+++

The system window, shining with a golden light for the first time.

What first caught my eye were the five words, ‘Main Quest’, and the two words, ‘Death’, that followed failure.

What the system demanded of me was a truly harsh price.

But, strangely, I found myself laughing.

“Hahahaha…!!!”

This was more than enough for an answer.

Right, let’s give it a try.