Protecting Something (4)

Reed had a dream.

He was familiar with it by now, and he could easily recognize what it was.

It was definitely a dream of the past.

-Reed.

Reed looked up at a man whose face he didn’t know well. He knew that this was his childhood.

Judging by the gentle tone of voice, it must have been his father.

“Yes, father.”

-Isn’t studying difficult?

It wasn’t difficult.

Reed had been praised as extraordinary when he was young, and it was because he was genuinely smart, not just flattery.

Reed nodded his head.

“I can handle it on my own now.”

-I see.

His father seemed relieved, but Reed knew that it wasn’t a relieved expression.

It was a worried face, as if he knew that Reed would face a huge wall in the future.

-Adeleheights is loved by many people. Thanks to the virtues accumulated from our ancestors, we can live comfortably like this.

“Don’t worry, father. I’ll become a magician who can live up to your expectations.”

-It’s good to live up to my expectations, but always cherish the people around you. Our family’s eyes are always special. They can see through people and know their abilities.

“The eye that sees talent.”

It was not just an ability that Reed had, but a trait passed down through the bloodline of the Adeleheights family.

-Seeing someone’s ability is good, but at the same time, it can be a bad thing. You may end up seeing them only for their abilities, not as a person.

“What’s the difference?”

-Depending on what you prioritize, the way you view people changes. But they’re not fools either. They’ll know what you’re thinking.

“I think I understand what you mean. I’ll be careful not to become that kind of person.”

The middle-aged man smiled. And he gently stroked Reed’s head.

-When you come of age and graduate from college, you must take over our family business. It’s the most difficult task that our ancestors couldn’t solve, but I believe you can do it.

The voice of the middle-aged man was gentle like a loving father, but there was an undeniable sense of apology in it.

As if he was passing on a heavy burden to his young son, doing something that he shouldn’t.

-You must… protect it.

***

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Dream big tl dot com

***

Reed greeted a guest who he had mixed feelings about welcoming.

Isel and Rachel. The saintess of the Althea Order had visited the Silence Tower for personal reasons.

It wasn’t that he disliked them, but it was not a pleasant thing for them to visit often due to political issues.

As he entered the reception room, Reed had an intuition that they weren’t here for personal reasons.

Rachel was standing far away, and only Isel was sitting there to greet Reed.

The personal reason was just an excuse.

There was no doubt that someone had come to deliver a secret that should not be known.

Reed gathered himself and asked them.

“What brings you here?”

Isel opened her mouth with a heavy expression.

“The truth is…”

What she said was all about what happened last night.

As Reed listened to her words, he felt as if his head had been struck by a hammer.

An intruder had attacked. The fact that the intruder was a human who had been a hero in his previous life.

And the fact that the man was trying to drive Reed into despair.

“…That happened.”

“…”

It was definitely not a laughing matter.

A shocking truth that couldn’t even bring a hypocritical smile to his face.

Reed pondered over her words for a while, biting his lip.

“You didn’t accept that request, did you?”

“Yes.”

If she had accepted, she wouldn’t have come to talk like this.

And Rachel wouldn’t have been standing so far away.

“That hero… the audacity of that guy. Trying to send me to the gutter, and asking such a thing from a former colleague? He must have been arrogant enough to think you would accept.”

“If it had been someone else, they might have thought so.”

Isel nodded her head slightly.

“The reason he said that is that he knows what I’m looking at. So… he was sure I’d think the same way as him.”

Reed showed a surprised expression at her confession.

“The same thoughts as that man?”

“I… actually knew.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the path the seven fates are heading towards. I knew where those fates were heading. And… at first, I also thought that fate shouldn’t change.”

“…”

Reed’s mouth went dry.

What Isel was saying now meant that she had not only been watching, but also harboring thoughts of stopping him.

“What’s the reason?”

“If even one of them changes… humanity will face a disaster they cannot handle.”

“Is there a reason why all seven of them must be intact? If all seven are… isn’t that the scariest disaster?”

“The seven are a community on one boat. If one side is missing, they are irreplaceable to the other side. If the fate of the seven does not change, they will face a never-ending disaster.”

“A never-ending disaster?”

“Even if they are killed, humans will suffer. Magic will boil, crops will dry up, and only despair will remain for those who tread on the earth… that’s the kind of world it will become.”

Reed knew what she was talking about.

It was a description of the landscape at the beginning of the second half of the game he had played, “Disaster 7”, when the seven disasters began to unfold.

A gloomy world with no hope.

If they hadn’t defeated Larksper, who was destined to be the seventh disaster, they wouldn’t have even gained hope.

“The hero must have worried about such a world. He realized that the moment the world he had to protect adapted to the changed fate, it would become a mess. So…”

“He declared himself to become a disaster.”

Reed couldn’t move.

He pretended to be calm, so as not to show any trembling in his limbs.

‘Did I… meet the hero at that time?’

The descriptions were the same.

He was annoyed not knowing what kind of villain he was, but when he found out his identity, his anger rose to the top of his head.

‘I have to maintain my sanity.’

If he gets caught up in emotions and becomes angry, he could make a mistake.

‘The monsters were created using Rosaria. If Rosaria doesn’t change her mind… there won’t be a disaster.’

…He wanted to think that, but seeing Isel’s staring face, Reed couldn’t think carelessly.

Reed recalled the time when there were originally seven disasters.

‘Though it seemed unreasonable… the result was ultimately happiness. Right…?’

Reed’s mouth went dry.

In the original story, all the disasters were defeated, and not only Reed but also the final boss, Cosmo, was put to rest.

And the world returned to its original state.