I had a dream.
I saw the scenery of that place, the most beautiful place in my memory.
I remembered.
The terrible, agonizing days I spent there, like a nightmare.
"Oya, if you put it that way, even I'd feel pretty hurt, you know?"
Who was this pure-white handsome man standing before me?
I couldn't quite remember, but... for some reason, he looked slick and untrustworthy, like some useless layabout I couldn't rely on at all.
Yeah, that's right. That must be it.
This bastard was definitely human evil, no doubt about it.
Get lost, you math nerds! Ptoo! Ptoo!
"Ahahaha, you really do keep saying things that are completely, utterly wrong, just like always.
"Even if I look like this, unlike a kid like you, I'm the one in charge of the world's handsome big-brother position, a truly rare and legendary role.
"If I were to put it in your terms, I'd be something like the Creator's official setting, wouldn't I? And if we're being honest, wouldn't you be even more suited to that position than I am?"
What the hell are you spouting, you piece of trash.
"Oops, now you're saying it outright. As a proper adult, it's only right to punish a bad child like that, wouldn't you say? Here goes!"
Proper adults can all freeze to dea—agh!
The damned trash had somehow come right up to me, and whack... the white-haired handsome man swung his staff at me.
My head was throbbing like crazy, probably because a bump had formed where he hit me.
But seriously, why did it hurt this much?
Wasn't this just some stupid dream from exhaustion after all that hellish suffering!?
"You're still as dim and lacking in comprehension as ever. I already taught you this basic knowledge back then, right at the very beginning, and you've already forgotten it.
"What a waste that 'eye' you finally obtained is. You already had more than enough with the 'fragments' you'd gained.
"If you weren't going to use it, you should have given it to me as a keepsake. It's a one-of-a-kind thing, not even found in other parallel worlds, so it's incredibly precious."
As if!
Did he really think I'd planned all this and gotten it on purpose?
Even if I were to hand it over, there's no way I'd ever give it to you... damn it, it still hurts like hell.
What the hell did he do to make it hurt this much?
"Well, in the end, that pain is just a dream within a dream, so once you wake up it'll disappear in no time.
"Still, until then, it'll keep hurting.
"That's also a necessary measure, just like what I did for you when we parted."
Ugh, necessary?
What the hell was?
I had no idea.
I couldn't remember a thing.
"Good. If you still can't remember, then the measure must have worked.
"If possible, I hope you keep aging in that state without making trouble for everyone else, and die gracefully of old age.
"That would be the best ending."
He was spouting curses like a damn hex.
How did I end up taking someone like that as my master... master?
"Oops, my bad. Now then, one more hit before it leaks out of your head!"
Agh! It hurts, you jerk!
Getting hit over and over in the same spot with that thick staff really did hurt like hell.
If possible, I wanted to repay him with one good shot as thanks for this pain.
Unfortunately, maybe because this was a dream, my body wouldn't move at all.
It was like I'd been tied up by something.
"You only noticed now? You really are tied up right now. In a slightly suggestive way. It's called a turtle-shell binding, you know?"
What the hell are you doing, you piece of traaaash!
"Well, I was bored, so I tried it once. This is a complete mistake on my part. I'm so sorry my eyes had to witness something this filthy, sob sob."
I'll kill you! You trash bastard!
No matter what it takes, I'm definitely going to kill you!
I'll feed you nothing but apples every day, set you beside some bespectacled Chinese man, and shoot you full of arrows over and over and over again!
"By your logic, I'm already out of that line, right? I do feel a little sorry for the kid who got added afterward...
"Still, what can you do? This time, it really wasn't my fault.
"This handsome big brother is absolutely not the bad guy~"
Graaahhh!
I want to hit him!
Even if he burst into tears, I wanted to keep hitting him without stopping!
"Hahaha, the scent of flowers is especially lovely today. You really are entertaining. If possible, I'd love to introduce you to the other two as well.
"No, wait, has one of them already seen you? He's got a talent for clowning around, so apparently he wants to scout him as long as he doesn't use magecraft.
"Well, if it were the king in his youth, he'd probably try to kill you the moment you appeared before him."
Sob, justice is dead.
Even the evil right in front of me can't be judged.
This isn't right... this isn't right at all...!
"Well, let's stop the jokes here. Then, as planned... this is my final advice."
The wind changed.
The air changed.
The white figure before me wore a serious expression and asked me for my answer.
"You probably don't remember anymore, but... just like back then, you should think it over carefully.
"If you keep going like this, that will truly be the end.
"You definitely won't be able to come back, and you'll no longer even be human."
Words I couldn't understand at all.
And yet, for some reason, I knew the answer to them.
It was the same vow I had made before, and the same now without change.
My resolve, my dream.
Good and evil had nothing to do with it.
Right and wrong were meaningless to me as well.
Then was I simply supposed to live however I could?
Was I supposed to lock myself inside the currents of history, society, and the crowd, and spend my whole life being swept along by them?
If that was what counted as good, as righteousness... then I would still reject it without hesitation.
Even if the end was not a happy ending.
Even if not even the slightest salvation was granted.
I would live and die for my own 'romance'.
"Your stubbornness is still as strong as ever. Well, I did count on that point and let you off back then.
"Me, and 'he' as well."
Why was that?
Why did I get chills at the very end?
As if a blue blade had been pressed to my throat.
Honestly, I couldn't understand it.
"Then, before we part, a short supplementary lesson.
"You probably already know this, but the place you're in now is the Age of Gods that this side has passed through. It's not as good as that, but it's still a much better environment than the Britain of old.
"It's not like the Root is far away in the same way it is in this modern age, but the gods over there have blocked the road just in case, so access is difficult all the same.
"For the residents of that place, that alone is already more than enough."
I already knew that much.
If this world had been in the same environment as the Age of Gods, then monsters that escaped the Dungeon to the surface wouldn't have decayed like that.
In other words, the weakened monsters on the surface are proof that the mystery of this world is neither as abundant nor as infinite as one might think.
Rather, it's strange that the Dungeon's power of birth still hasn't faded.
"As for that side... well, you could say the Dungeon was just being the Dungeon. I don't really have anything more to say than that."
I wasn't expecting anything in the first place, though?
"You really are a fellow with no cuteness at all. A bad boy like that needs a beating, they say? Nyoho, nyoho~!"
Damn it!
The heavy seriousness from just a moment ago vanished in an instant.
He really did just hit people whenever he felt like it.
They say adults who bully grown-ups have some serious illness.
So you're going to die of a disease.
And after you die... this flower field will be mine, agh!
"Hahaha, you really did learn only the worst things. I'm going to have to properly deal with you today."
Seriously!
Stop hitting me, you old man!
"To continue the story... the conclusion is that I'm begging you not to overdo it, young stranger.
"This time's 'reproduction' was quite dangerous. It wasn't at the same level of completion as that 'Sword King,' but it did come pretty close in its own way.
"As you know, your 'reproduction' isn't omnipotent. That's why you had to borrow mana and even 'magecraft' and pay all sorts of unnecessary costs for it.
"You already know what it means to be lacking in your own abilities, don't you? If you don't keep your balance, you'll end up in tears."
Hehe, I don't know anything like that, teehee?
"Ha. Ha. Ha."
Agh! Agh! Don't smile expressionlessly while hitting me!
It really, really hurts! Agh! Agh!
"I already knew from the moment we first met, when you had the nerve to provoke me without a shred of fear, that you were that kind of fellow... honestly, you're hopeless."
I-I have no regrets in my life...
"Anyway. I'm begging you, just take it easy.
"No matter how abundant the mystery in the atmosphere may be, it's still a finite resource of this 'world,' and you yourself are also finite.
"It seems you've even made some kind of deal with that world's 'Gaia,' but there are limits.
"Just how much did you trade this time?"
At his words, I fell into thought for a moment.
Uh, let's see... roughly... I can't remember?
"Looks like you handed that part over too. By rough calculation, was it about ten years' worth?
"Even if it's a part that doesn't matter much, to think you'd trade the memories that make up your identity as a resource.
"I'd tell you to just offer your life as the price instead, but you're already doing that, so... tsk tsk tsk."
Just as he said.
The way I obtain mana through a deal with Gaia is roughly like this.
Memories, lifespan, vitality, body parts that can be regenerated later, and so on.
Among the things clearly belonging to me, I gather together the ones that can be converted into mana, especially the more efficient ones, and offer them to her as payment to obtain the mana I need.
In the first place, the self is the soul.
And what maintains the self is memory.
Lifespan doesn't even need to be said.
Vitality is jing, high-purity energy.
On top of that, body parts are a traditional sacrifice and offering of sincerity passed down since ancient times.
In short, the method I use could be called human sacrifice in the broad sense.
"If it's possible, there's nothing more efficient than that.
"Usually, with your excellent negotiation skills—flattery—you could probably get the amount of mana you want with just a few strands of hair and trivial memories like yesterday's three meals.
"But this time, you went a little too far.
"If it were the usual you, you would have prepared extra Mystic Codes or rituals to reduce the risk first... but you rushed too much.
"You're still far from done being 'human,' aren't you? Was it really that unforgivable?"
Of course it was.
There was no way I could forgive it.
Even if none of this was especially important on a world scale or some grand, humanity-level achievement, it was something I did because I liked it, something I simply wanted to do.
Why would I forgive someone who criticized me like that?
Even if he was beautiful, there was no way I could forgive him.
Honestly, I felt like I'd be over the moon if I could land one solid hit on him.
He should pick on someone he can actually bully, hmph!
"Yes, yes.
"But I'm saying this again and again: don't do this next time.
"That old aftercare for justice ends here. I can't help you any further.
"In the first place, you've already completely stepped outside the scope of this side's 'Araya,' so whatever happens afterward doesn't really matter to us.
"Even if your self eventually collapses and turns into 'that thing,' this side no longer needs to care.
"But death has already been with you since the previous world. If you really do collapse and 'that' comes out, then 'he' will kill you first before that happens.
"That part was mutually agreed upon, so even you can't object. Understood?"
I didn't really understand what he was talking about.
But judging by how strongly he emphasized it, it must have been important.
So I simply nodded and said I understood.
"And to think you'd ruin such a promising beauty like that.
"And that outfit from back then, too.
"You pretend it's not the case, but... heh heh heh, you totally copied me, didn't you?
"I guess you liked me more than you let on, huh? Something like that."
Get lost, you damn bastardtttt!
"Hah!"
I woke from the nightmare with a scream.
Cold sweat was pouring down my whole body.
"Th-that was one terrifying nightmare."
Thanks to that, I felt disgustingly filthy and sticky after waking up.
I'd been too exhausted yesterday and just went straight to sleep, but I should hurry up, regenerate my missing arm with medicine, and go take a shower right away.
And after I finished showering, when I came back...
"Huh? I woke up early today for some reason? Am I feeling good?"
As expected, I couldn't remember a thing about why that had happened.
*
"Now then, what will happen after this?"
The 'flower' smiled.
After 'that child,' a connection had somehow been made.
A meeting that should never have been possible in the first place.
And yet, precisely because of that, the child was all the more impossible to ignore.
"You are an outsider. For someone like you to survive as yourself, you need roots. Thick, strong, and numerous roots that spread through the world under the name of 'connections.'"
That child had not originally been born here.
A child who had crossed over from an alien world by some coincidence.
And so, wherever he went, he was nothing but an outsider, an unpredictable danger watched by the 'world' at all times.
"Here, he somehow managed to endure with the Clock Tower Familia... but even that was impossible in the end."
Aside from a select few, the child had no connections that could be called roots.
Anything else he had was nothing but enemies, including herself.
They were only flimsy threads of fate that would make them hostile to each other someday, if not now.
That was why the child's roots were so fragile, and in the end, through one incident, the child was cast out from this place.
"Originally, that would have been the end of the story. Who would have thought that writer, who's so picky about people, would step forward and bring about a 'miracle'?"
As expected, anything outside this 'eye' was always delightful.
Remembering a moment from the past that had already passed, the 'flower' smiled once more.
May it be so.
May happiness be the ending that awaits that child, that 'disciple.'
"Well, for now, the route is still progressing normally toward a bad ending, though."
"Pou."
The 'beast' beside it gave a low cry.
As expected, you're a trash bastard, too.
Merlin, die, Fou.