Knights and Nobles (5)

He stopped in front of the fallen Arthur and Kleio, who were huddled together. Arthur had tried to save his precious colleague Kleio, and Kleio had tried to keep the world he was supporting safe.

“The condition that there is someone you want to save even at the expense of your life makes humans strong and weak.”

The prince bent gently toward them as if looking at something strange.

“Since you have completed the double load flawlessly, I must give you an answer.”

Kleio struggled to hold onto the words flowing into his dying mind; Melchior’s sighs revealed truths that Kleio had been eager to learn.

“This pain has been repeated many times, and in the past, it would take my honor. However, it is the first time I’ve been given an existence capable of alleviating my pain.”

Melchior’s voice ringing from afar awakened Arthur. The third prince was still, his eyes closed, but ether pooled around him. The crown prince paid him no mind, however, as he stared at a being that had never existed twice.

“Repetition wears everything out. The same is true of pain and joy. I wondered if this was a blessing as a result of my adversary, or a gift of condolence from a fickle god, but… it was neither.”

Melchior’s voice was clear and without emotion, but the content betrayed his tone.

“I know that wasn’t given to me; it’s not mine, like everything in this world.”

Kleio’s eyes, blurred with tears and sweat, managed to regain focus as his heart pounded. There was neither resignation nor anger in Melchior’s face, as he admitted it. That made Kleio afraid. Melchior was willing to preserve his dignity even though he had suffered terrible pains that resulted in his defeat, the loss of his honor, and even his death. What was stronger than hatred was belief, and what was stronger than anger was the conviction to put one’s justice into practice. Kleio’s hand trembled as he held Arthur… Or perhaps it was Arthur who was shaking. The distinction was meaningless at that moment.

“Yes, of course. God is one who doesn’t respond, so all these events could be a coincidence.”

Melchior cared not for the rules of the universe that weren’t designed for him. He was trying to disobey.

“The king of Albion can exert an incomprehensible influence on the laws of our universe at the moment of coronation. I tried to break this coffin or turn it away. But that failed.”

He was bound by the narrative’s frame, but he was trying to break free of that frame. Could he be seen only as a character in a book? Kleio trembled, and in sensing that anxiety, the ether circling around Arthur [Reinforced] him. The area around Kleio began to shine lightly as the young prince was preparing himself unconsciously. Melchior smiled.

“My brother is a just and faithful child. I could never hate this boy defined as my younger brother. The only problem is that we are two, and the crown is only one. I want a miraculous moment wherein divinity dwells in a human body as the instrument of my protest.”

Kleio couldn’t ignore the desperation of these two Riognan brothers. There was the warmth of the life he saved and the declaration of one who resisted fate. Did one read the manuscript, the one proofreading it without attachment, and the outsider who passively performed the authors will have the right to change those lives? What was the purpose of rewriting it eight times? Was the author’s intent to only reach a fixed end? From the start, Jungjin didn’t know how this story ended. He could no longer feel -The Prince of the Albion Kingdom- was one in which he only had to survive to the end.

Delicate fingertips touched the gruesome-looking wizard, protected by the prince’s ether. The long fingers suddenly tried to crush the boy’s neck. The younger prince’s [Reinforcement] strongly resisted the attempt at violence, but Melchior didn’t care if his fingers bled as he tried to squeeze out Kleio’s breath. Arthur’s ether and Melchior’s unique skills were opposites, as had been the case since Arthur was born. Melchior knew if he compulsively used his skill, no one here would be safe.

He had slain Arthur in his third and fifth lifetimes. Then, the world had ended. Then, it repeated again. He didn’t want another iteration. His hand fell away, losing its will. The frustration of this world was familiar to the crown prince, a rote procedure by this point.

“Of course, you wouldn’t want the future I’m planning. You will prevent me from possessing that miracle. I want you to fail, but I also want to thank you. This mind can coexist without contradiction at those two things. Aren’t humans designed that way?”

What remained with Kleio as his mind faded was the sound of quiet but clear laughter.

***

Four days passed following the demon attack. A magnificent funeral was held for the fallen duke. While burials were customary in most of Albion, cremation was held at the Tristein estate. It was said the remains of the first duke, Lancelot, was cremated and spread through the harbor of Zekabre. Kleio and the children, who were both outsiders and heavily injured, heard about it after the fact.

‘I missed it because I was sick… I know how closely these knights are emotionally connected to the duke.’

Melchior announced the duke’s disastrous end, omitting certain parts as appropriate. It was possible because Mietsu and Isiel’s entry was delayed, as the stairs had collapsed during Pyton’s attack. In other words, there were no witnesses to what had happened.

‘But there were a lot of people watching from a distance.’

The newspaper reporters and photographers who joined Melchior sent telegraphs to the capital, excited about the huge scoop they had caught. Not only the major daily newspaper, but that of the northern part of the world were ignited by the subject of battle, the new duke, and the resolute prince’s leadership.

-Blessing of Albion, the leader of our generation-

-The leadership of the prince verified in the fierce battle-

-Tristein’s evil attack ends… Duchy passed to Sir Tasserton Tristein-

No matter how deteriorated he had been, Melchior ruled the tone of the papers. The appearance of the prince seemed to be growing in delusion by the day in the papers. The number of knights praising Aslan decreased as the front pages followed Melchior’s actions once more. Tasserton, for his part, paid no mind to any of it except for Melchior’s comfort. He had also appeared in the newspaper, with his long bangs raised and dressed in robes, looking noble.

‘Though the reality seems a little different. How arbitrary are these photos?’

The 23rd duke stood beside the prince reading a memorial message and was the only one with his gaze away from his father’s coffin.

‘He is a noble, after all.’

Although he was a loyal knight in the past, Tasserton’s actions, which obtained the covenant, was more of that degree.

‘What the hell is he a reincarnation of? Is it of the first duke of Tristein? It’s another new thing.’

As he guessed, it didn’t seem to mean the manuscript’s revision.

‘Then, like Dione, except for those who didn’t appear in the last manuscript, all the other characters must be reincarnated. But that title doesn’t appear. Oh, what the hell is it?’

“Whoo…”

With a long sigh, Kleio twisted his sore back.

‘There was too much happening in a single night. I wanted some peace for a while, but then there were those rapid developments.’

Kleio had been unconscious and sick for three days, not from ether depletion, but from a cold. That was the price he paid for laying on the cold floor of that building for as long as he had. The cape of the summer garden wasn’t a perfect defense this time around. Arthur was fine in a day and a half, and the rest of the children had recovered in a day, but Kleio was alone in bed.

However, it wasn’t all bad as they had gained a lot to go along with their troubles. Arthur’s level had risen to 6, and Kleio had achieved level 5 himself. The Angellium twins both reached level 4 as well. Everyone had received a tremendous amount of training during the vacation, raising their level quickly.

‘Even my own skill has become great.’

Kleio stretched out his hand while he laid down. He could see Promise on his left and faint lines on his right. A new 2cm line had been drawn along the back of his hand, marking Editor’s Authority. When he tried to activate it, a short message appeared.

[Unique skill: Diegesis

―Expression type: Undecided

―Activation condition: Not satisfied]

As announced when he activated it before, it wasn’t a skill that could be executed by thought alone.

‘I can’t use it my way, but it is classified as a unique skill.’

He had gone through his memories of his liberal arts class -Understanding the Dramatic Arts- to figure out what that name meant.

‘In theater and literature, it is a technique in which events within a work aren’t shown as actors acting, but rather spoken by the author’s representative. Well, something like that… right?’

It was times like these he wanted a Google ring. It felt like his fever was rising again. Kleio, lying on his back after waking from a nap, recalled the message that had appeared when it activated.

[―The gist of Diegesis is described in the manuscript.]

He had never seen a message like it so far.

‘But since you said that this would be described in the manuscript, this writing seems creaky. At times. I’ll have to check when I need to use Editor’s Authority.’

There was also the message he heard.

『When you share a sincere will with a being deeply involved in the security of the world, the honorable favor of God comes to earth.』

Compared to the clerical nature of Promise’s messages, that was rather poetic. This new skill Diegesis appeared to be classified as a different behavior than what was involved with the manuscript.

‘Is it possible since the level of narrative involvement has increased?’

Kleio was in a strange mood.

‘After taking the blue pill, I thought that I would become a main character someday if my level of narrative involvement increased.’

Whether Kleio wasn’t able to escape this world, it wasn’t a big deal.

The problem was, as always, Arthur and the crown prince.