I don't understand why it took me so long to realize. Maybe I was just in denial because it was too irrational.
This world… my brother's novel that he planned and I wrote had become reality. There was no mistaking it.
I hopped from body to body, nearing Benedict, my hands in my scrub pockets. My eyes gazed around us. The once capital of a great country was now in ruins.
And this man in front of me…
…was the protagonist of that very story.
The Dominion Knight of The Federation.
Benedict Leyendecker.
It was during my time in the psych ward where I had begun writing Imperfections of a Knight. My brother, Levi, had recently passed away then. He left me a portable computer ("A laptop, you mean?" Junhan had corrected again) with hundreds of notes and the outline of Imperfections of a Knight. It's a bit of a mouthful, so I'll call it Imperfect Knight.
I was baffled. My brother was a jock, not the type to indulge in the arts. Unlike me, who was a painter at the time.
But it was real. Levi really had been secretly basking in writing. He had an outline ready. Yet something was even stranger…
« Thanks for agreeing! Here's the outline [ioak-outline.pdf] »
A message was sent to that laptop that day. It was sent by Levi but the laptop had been in transit for weeks. Never mind that. I found out it was a commission. This novel he planned wasn't created for the sake of himself. No, it had been a commission! That meant it was the idea of someone else.
But who could it be? There were no other written notes on that portable computer about other novels or essays he had written and there were no further messages with the user who messaged him. I checked their profile— it had been deleted. It was as if the laptop was created for the sake of Imperfect Knight.
"Who are you?"
It wasn't long before I arrived where Benedict was and the tip of his sword was inches away from my nose.
Strangely, he realized my presence a little too quickly.
I raised my hands in surrender.
"How strange. You noticed me right away. In any case, I'm not here to fight. The round is over."
I couldn't help my grin. The protagonist was standing in front of me!
"Not for me," said Ben in that deep voice that once was a figment of my imagination.
He was almost exactly how I imagined. Scratched armor, sharp jawline and… hm? Were his eyes always blue?
"Huh?"
What did he mean by that?
An interface surfaced in front of Ben.
[You failed the round]
[You are now unable to synthesize a skill of singularity]
My mouth was agape. So this was the question mark part of the round.
He really was the same as how I wrote him. A damned bastard, hand-held weapon supremacist that resented Word users. But of course, he only hated them because he couldn't understand how to use a saying. He was a jock like my brother. I'd be surprised if he began writing a book as well. And the only reason he survived the first round was because he killed a behemoth. Had he not defeat the behemoth, he surely wouldn't get away with a slap on the wrist.
"I had a feeling this would happen," uttered Ben, sheathing his sword. "It was the same as in my former world."
This brat really is as bitter as in the novel.
He glanced above the screen and when he realized I was still there, he unsheathed his sword to face me again. His eyes glowed in anger.
"You."
—are still here? Is he going to say that?
"You have no respect for the dead."
He and Johnny are both sides of a coin. When we meet again, I'll definitely introduce them.
His sword got closer.
"Wait, wait! You're not going to kill me, right?"
It was my damn brother's fault for making him so fierce! I had to rewrite multiple scenes because he kept killing people he found annoying.
"Maybe I should if you don't stop following me."
How rude!
I stepped away. "Is this better?"
"Your death is."
"I haven't done jack shit!"
Benedict looked a little guilty. Just a little. And began walking away, sliding his sword back to its scabbard.
"Where are you off to now?"
"To the next scenario."
"Don't you mean round? This isn't your world, remember?"
He halted his walking, as well as the clanking of his armor. His aura seemed dark and— oh my, he's pissed.
Ben slowly reached for his sword again.
"You don't seem to have respect for the living as well."
I closed my eyes in hopes he won't actually kill me and raised an offer. One he couldn't reject.
"Let us be comrades, Benedict."
"You know my name. Are you some sort of harbinger?"
"Indeed. And I am certain you will savor my help."
When I opened my eyes after a long pause, he was walking away.
[Your reward will be sent in a moment...]
[Check your mail]
Well, I guess I can't just force him to be my companion out of the blue.
I checked my mail.
[You have received a saying: «An eye for an eye, a leg for a leg»]
—————
User
↳ Reverie Lorenzo Schneider
Attributes
↳ Linguist (Uncommon), Nurse (Common)
Sayings
↳ An eye for an eye, a leg for a leg
➤ The user may, in exchange for something of their own, earn humongous strength through trade by burning. The traded item will be given to the hereafter for the dead to feast on.
↳ I am not lead, I lead
➤ The user's charisma is increased.
Skill of Singularity
↳ □
Skills
↳ Strength Level 17
↳ Agility Level 2
↳ Endurance Level 3
↳ Word Level 18
—————