"So, is that all? What should I do now?"
"Not yet. There's still one question left, and someone remains who's interested in you."
Someone interested in me.
I scanned the surroundings. It wasn't Sparkle or Lion. Raccoon, leaning against a rock, showed no reaction he might not even be alive.
That leaves...
I tilted my head back and looked up. Atop the highest rock stood a figure, radiating authority.
The figure wore a black cloak, completely concealing their hair and face behind a Mirror Mask. Yet their body's contours unmistakably revealed them to be a woman.
"She's a mirror. She might be a bit too intense for you."
My reflection appeared in her Mirror Mask:
Me, wearing a ridiculous Clown Mask and clad in black.
For a moment, my body swayed.
No.
It wasn't my body that swayed. It was an illusion. My consciousness had wavered. And I immediately recognized the culprit. There was only one person here capable of shaking my consciousness.
Raising Demonic Heavenly Energy in my right hand, I unleashed a punch toward her.
Demonic Heavenly Art: Dragon Fist.
The Demonic Heavenly Energy shot forward in a straight line, piercing through her body. Her form flickered and vanished.
Where did she go?
I frantically scanned my surroundings, extending my sense of presence, but detected nothing.
Thud.
The tips of fingers encased in white gloves brushed against the back of my head. I whirled around to see her wearing the Mirror Mask. Just as I was about to swing my fist at her, I realized the Demonic Heavenly Energy within me my mana was unresponsive.
Mana is clearly present, so why...?!
I could sense the mana, yet it wouldn't respond to my will. It felt as if my mana no longer belonged to me.
"There's no need to panic. I've merely temporarily bound your mana with magic. It will return to normal in five minutes."
Truth.
"What have you done to me?"
"Do you truly not know what I've done?"
"..."
"My apologies. I was curious about how much you knew and impulsively tried to provoke you. I admit it was rash and foolish. I'm reflecting on my actions. Won't you forgive me?"
"It's the truth."
The only visible part of the Mirror Mask her blue eyes shifted to focus on my clenched fist. Annoyed, I relaxed my grip. There was no chance of winning.
"That 'reflection' isn't about figuring out how to cast a more convincing Illusion on me next time, is it?"
A low chuckle echoed from within the Mirror Mask.
"You've seen through me."
It's the truth.
"So you knew I was aware of the Illusion. Not to brag, but there aren't many who can use Illusion. Maybe one in a million... no, one in three million people might have the talent for it. Most wouldn't even realize they're under an Illusion. And you weren't even affected. Have you ever been subjected to Illusion before? Or do you already know your true identity?"
I listened to her words. It seemed like a somewhat dangerous situation, but her voice was so pleasant that my... well, my lower regions were starting to react.
"..."
The original work's description flashed through my mind: "If we disregard everything else and focus solely on beauty, she is described as the Empire's greatest beauty."
"The Right to Remain Silent, is it? Very well. But don't forget that silence implies consent. How much do you know about Helten?"
"...I don't know everything."
That's the truth.
"Ah hah. That's a rather ambiguous statement. 'I don't know everything'... That could mean you know only one out of a hundred things, or conversely, ninety-nine out of a hundred."
"Is there something you want to learn through me?"
"Plenty. If I could, I'd tie you to a chair and interrogate you every day. But I'll restrain myself. Instead, answer this question."
"..."
Her blue eyes glinted sharply.
"What blocked my illusion? A skill? A trait? An artifact? Divine intervention from the Divine Throne? Don't give me that ridiculous nonsense about resisting with mental strength. No matter how exceptional a human's mental strength is in this world, it's impossible for them to completely nullify my illusion."
She seemed deeply troubled by this. And rightfully so. Even Kang Myungjin, the protagonist of the original work, had struggled for hours under her illusion. Ordinary mental resistance skills couldn't completely block her illusion; it was terrifyingly potent.
"The reason I'm not affected by illusions... it must be my Mental Resistance."
Though I'm not sure what would happen if she used her full power against me.
"...It's a Trait."
Not a Trait from God's Atlantis, but one from the Pleasure World App. A simple wordplay, really.
Truth.
And the System accepted the wordplay. After all, it wasn't technically a lie.
"...I see. You're my natural enemy, then. I thought there were none among humans... I never imagined you'd actually exist."
She strolled around me, her hands clasped behind her back.
"Cut the Grass and Uproot the Roots, they say. Should I kill you now, while it's easy?"
Truth.
I tensed my body. Less than five minutes had passed, so my mana remained dormant.
She continued, "But if they're not an enemy, there's no need to kill them."
Truth.
This woman was genuinely torn between killing me and sparing me.
"Enough, Mirror," the leader of Helten said.
"The Heavenly Demon is a member of Helten. Since he's a comrade, don't even think about killing him. The moment you hesitated, you'd already decided to spare him."
"...You're right, Boss. I'll take charge of this rookie. I'll personally assess his usefulness. If he proves valuable, I'll even nurture him to some extent. It's always wise to keep your natural enemies indebted to you."
Truth.
"Hmm. Fine. But are you sure about this? You..."
"This one knows my true identity. No problem."
Does my opinion even matter? Still, it's not bad. The Mirror Mask showing direct interest in me is dangerous, but she's a high-ranking executive. If I play my cards right, I could become an executive of Helten even faster.
"Understood. Then the Heavenly Demon will be handled by the Mirror Mask... Heavenly Demon, you haven't forgotten I still have questions for you, have you?"
"I'm not stupid enough to forget what I just heard."
False.
"..."
"...I just forgot because it was too trivial to remember."
"...Right. Then here's the question. Heavenly Demon, you are..."
He paused, and I felt an inexplicable sense of unease. But I couldn't run now.
Will he ask me to remove my mask? I plan to deceive him with my face, but there's a chance I'll be exposed. No. That wasn't a question.
As anxiety churned in my mind, he asked, "Are you a Returner?"
"..."
All eyes turned to me. The Boss, Sparkle, Lion, Mirror even the raccoon nestled in the arms of the man leaning against the rock craned its neck to stare at me.
The Boss, leader of Helten, knew the details of Atlantis from Cycles 1 through 7. Among them, Cycles 2 and 5 had featured Returners. His question implied he sensed something similar in me.
This... now that I think about it, it's not a bad idea.
I had already lied to the Lord of the Heavens and the King of the Demonic Heavens, claiming to be a Returner. Therefore, there was only one possible answer.
"If I claim to be a Returner, they'll have no choice but to make me an executive. The information and knowledge a Returner possesses are that valuable."
Therefore, as long as I met the minimum requirements, I could become an executive of Helten.
Having reached this conclusion, I addressed the group waiting for my answer.
"I'm something similar to a Returner."
Truth.
I could sense everyone's shock at my answer, except for the Boss.
The Boss, wearing an octagonal mask, calmly nodded.
"Understood. You may leave now. Mirror Mask and Pesica will assist you with Helten's affairs."
Just then, Sparkle, wearing a jewel-encrusted mask, urgently stepped forward.
"Wait, wait, wait! Boss, wait!"
"What is it?"
"This Rookie's value is at least 100 billion... no, over 1 trillion Pennies! Are you just going to let him go like that?"
"Sparkle, a Returner's future isn't set in stone. The moment they return, the future becomes distorted."
"But they're still a Returner! Their knowledge and information must be genuine! Rookie! Do you know my true identity?"
Sparkle asked me. I grinned.
"I do."
Truth.
"Want me to spoil something for you?"
"Yes! Please do, Rookie! I absolutely love spoilers. I even find out the ending before watching a play!"
Lie.
Sparkle bowed respectfully. I chuckled at his obvious lie.
Since I've already intervened, the future will diverge significantly from the Original Work anyway.
Carefully avoiding revealing too much, I began to speak.
"Harmo, the Merchant Prince of the West."
"Yes, that's me, Rookie."
"You'll die within ten years. Cause of death: freezing. You'll freeze to death in a very cold place."
Truth.
"...Oh. I should probably get some flame-attribute items to avoid freezing to death."
Sparkle turned to face the Boss.
"Boss! I'll take charge of this Rookie! With him and me, we can rule Atlantis! With money, of course! Long live capitalism!"
"Don't be ridiculous."
Mirror Mask placed his right hand on my left shoulder.
"I've already claimed him. Don't act so pathetic, Sparkle."
"Mirror Mask is right. One of our rules is 'first come, first served.'"
"No! No! But still !"
"No."
When the Boss spoke firmly, Sparkle finally backed down, but the look in his eyes as he glanced at me was unsettling.
"An interesting spoiler for my life. Now I'm curious too. What happens to me in the future you know?" the Mirror asked me.
"You'll die within ten years."
Truth.
"...Hmm. How will I die?"
"Your chest will be pierced by a spearman's spear."
Truth.
"...That's unexpected. If I were to die, I thought it would be at the hands of a god. But judging by your words, this spearman isn't a god."
As he spoke, the Mirror glanced at a man holding a spear Lion.
"What is it?" Lion asked.
"Nothing. I just mentioned spearman and thought of you. Among the spearmen I know, none are stronger than you."
"...If you betray us, that future might come to pass."
The atmosphere between Mirror Mask and Lion Mask grew increasingly cold.
I stepped between them, as if to separate them, and said to Lion Mask, "Lion, you too will be defeated and die in a battle against the Spearman."
"That is the truth."
"...Hah."
The eyes behind Lion Mask widened into circles before curving into crescent shapes.
"Hahahaha! I'll die fighting the Spearman?! How amusing!"
"That is the truth."
Lion Mask slung his spear over his shoulder and strode away. Sparkle called after him, "Wait! Where are you going? Aren't you going to ask about the Spearman?!"
"Knowing would make it boring. If I'm going to die within ten years, that means he's weaker than me now. I'm going to train while I wait for him to come."
"Ah, yes. I see."
Lion Mask disappeared.
The Boss rose to his feet.
"Let's disband. We all have our own duties."
"Boss, aren't you even curious about the future?"
"I told you, the future is twisted and meaningless."
"But there's still some meaning, isn't there? We make money off that little bit of meaning!"
"...I'm not interested."
The Boss left.
The Dominator has set the following:
In 30 minutes, Territory 3,709, Star Discrimination will be closed.
That meant we only had 30 minutes left here.
Tap, tap.
Raccoon, who had somehow crept up beside me, pressed his paw against my calf. I stared at him with a questioning look.
"What about me?"
Even hearing it again, Raccoon's thick, gravelly voice seemed incongruous with his appearance.
"I don't know."
That is the truth.
"Didn't I say earlier that I don't know everything? I didn't even know Helten had an executive like you."
"...How boring."
Raccoon vanished along with the man leaning against the wall.
I was about to turn to the mirror and tell it to get us out of here when...
"Wait, Lord Heavenly Demon!"
I glared at Sparkle. The bastard had somehow gotten right in front of me.
"Aren't we comrades? I won't waste your time with long speeches. Cooperate with me, and I'll make sure you get your share. You won't regret joining forces with me. I'll put you on a mountain of gold."
"...What are you doing, Sparkle? I'm taking charge of this one."
"Aren't we fellow Helten comrades? I'm not causing any harm..."
I met Sparkle's gaze and shook my head. This guy wouldn't back down easily. Even if he retreated here, he'd definitely come back to bother me later. It was better to throw him a suitable bone now.
"Merchant Prince Harmo."
"Yes, Lord Heavenly Demon. Please speak."
"Let's make a deal."
"A deal... As a Returner, you're already aware of my Unique Trait."