Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Maximilian was a reincarnator. In fact, there were more.

That’s not the point; what happened to them?

The hero disappeared. He went into hiding somewhere in the deep mountains of Tylesse, abandoning his wife and daughter.

No one could understand it. But Ivan thought he could. That’s...

“Did he go back... ?”

Ivan lowered his head with a pale face.

Could he go back? Was the condition killing the Demon King? What about me... what’s my condition...?

-Crack—!

His vision brightened, and his head jerked. The pain came after. Ivan felt his numb cheek and turned his gaze.

Enrique was looking at him with sad eyes.

“Get a grip, boy. We’re not done talking.”

“...Enrique.”

“Yeah. You recognize me. Good.”

Enrique sighed as she buried herself deep in the sofa.

This guy is not getting enough sleep. No, he’s not getting enough rest. I just realized why.

It’s not a matter of mental illness caused by the war. This guy is now alienated. He recognizes this place as reality while at the same time wishing it wasn’t reality.

Therefore, he could not have rested. He must have been lonely for a long time. He must have chewed on the loneliness of every night and been tormented by the ideal of every day.

Reincarnators. Wanderers who were ‘brought’ from another world. Enrique felt sorry for these people. Especially in the case of this taciturn and twisted madman.

She looked her disciple straight in the eye and slowly spoke.

“They all say they brought their own stories. There are very few records left, but it was the case in most cases. Some had stories, some had legends or myths, some had novels, sometimes they were plays, and there were also cases where they described something else.”

“...They were all different...?”

“Yes. As I said, they had their own stories.”

There is no commonality in what story led them.

But they all felt that they had fallen into the story they longed for.

It is impossible to grasp how, or in what way, this happened.

“They... what kind of ending did the reincarnators meet...?”

This was the most important question that Ivan was holding. What fate was in store for him?

“Some disappeared again, some died, and others remained.”

“The hero, Maximilian?”

“As you know, he went into hiding. Well, I don’t know if he’s gone back, or if there was another reason. I can’t go and ask him, and I have no way to meet him.”

Ivan lowered his head with a dizzying feeling.

Everyone has a different story, everyone has a different ending... what is his ending? Is it to be forever trapped in this world? Is there no way back? He want to believe that death is not the only ending...

Thump!

Enrique banged the desk. As Ivan raised his head, she looked at him with sad eyes.

“So, how do you see us?”

“...What?”

“In your world, are we just peripheral characters in a novel? In your worlds, do we just end up as ‘characters’ consumed by lines of text?”

“That’s....”

“No. That can’t be. It goes without saying, right?”

In a world where a million stories are intertwined, if there are a million protagonists.

Does the protagonist have to see the other protagonist as a supporting role?

No, no. They are all simply the protagonists of their own stories. So then...

“Then are your world and this world fundamentally different worlds? Is that place reality and this place just a fragment of a story? No. I am alive, breathing, I hate sunlight, I hate blessings, I drink blood, and I enjoy tea, just like you.”

“Enrique...”

“Maybe you think you’re just a supporting character? Don’t say ridiculous things! You are the protagonist of your life, and I am the entirety of mine!”

Her eyes were burning as if they were about to devour Ivan.

Ivan looked at her face quietly.

“You don’t want to be a supporting role, right? Then how do you think of us? What did you think of me? Ivan. Little Ivan. Did you live thinking that the king you respected was just a supporting role in a story? Did you laugh inside while saying ‘Do not mourn those who have left first’?”

“No, I would never....”

“Then live. Live your story and end your story. The ending that the story will meet is not something that fate or the world decides. That’s something you have to decide.”

At the end of each story, there is a different ending.

A thick voice rang out from above his head. When he turned his head, he saw a military flag. The military flag of Krasilov.

It’s an ally. Kim Sunwoo lowered his shoulders and bowed his head.

The man was riding a horse, so he must be someone important. Since he was under the military flag, he must be the commander.

“What is your name?”

“My name is Ivan Petrovich, sir.”

“How old are you?”

“I am sixteen.”

“Your position?”

“I am a conscript.”

The man, with his back to the sun, had his face hidden. His appearance, with the sunlight shining like a halo, was blinding.

“Turn around.”

He followed the commander’s orders and turned around. Ivan thought he was telling him to go back to the main camp.

His eyes were filled with so many corpses that he couldn’t see the ground. Countless bodies, both demons and humans.

When Kim Sunwoo was about to frown, he heard a voice that seemed to comfort him.

“Look up. Look at those who are standing.”

Only then did he see others. Not corpses, but people.

Survivors. The wounded, the ones who were barely standing with their broken spears, the ones who were shaking and somehow still alive.

“Originally, this campaign was destined for defeat. The situation demanded shifting forces to other fronts.”

“.... Long live Your Majesty!!”

The commander’s words caused the attendant behind him to scream. The burly man continued speaking without a care.

“But they survived. Ivan Petrovich, look at those you have saved. Stand tall. You have saved them, and the villages behind them, and the families and residents of those villages somewhere.”

The commander got off his horse and stroked his head. It was a big hand.

“So stand tall. ‘Little’ Ivan.”

“...I am not little.”

He was taller than the average height of this era. He had become to the point where the inspector thought of him as an adult.

“When I was your age, I fought like you and earned the name ‘Great Ivan.’ I dare not be called by the same name as me.”

“Long Live Your Majesty...!!”

The attendant screamed again. The man with the big hands patted Ivan on the back once and then got back on his horse.

“Treat this child and teach him.”

“Will you take him in?”

“I’d rather raise a lion in a zoo. Just make room for him. If he reaches a position where he can stand on his own, won’t you see him again?”

The commander rode away, leaving Kim Sunwoo standing there in shock.

Kim Sunwoo, who had been called “Little Ivan” by the commander, felt a strange sense of excitement and pride. He knew that he had done something great, even if he didn’t know what it was. He was determined to live up to the commander’s expectations and become a true hero.

It was five years later that he met the man again.

Five years later, he was assigned to the “Royal Guard.”

After that, he was called “Little” Ivan. It was a very honorable title.

***

Ivan did not have nightmares that night.

Since he had seen the late king for the first time in a long time, Ivan was able to fall into a deep sleep.

***

[“???-Rank Quest” The Gardener of St. Jan’s University -Cancelled-]

[Your miraculous luck has stopped your dice. You have survived.]

[Goal: Kill Ivan Petrovich, the gardener of St. Jan’s University -Cancelled-]

[Optional Goal: Persuade Ivan Petrovich -Cancelled-]

[Optional Goal: Conceal information -Cancelled-]

[Additional Goal: Survive -Cancelled-]

[Failure Penalty: Death -Cancelled-]

“What the hell is this? Really, what the hell is this...! Give me an explanation!!”

Eugene screamed as he stared at the blue light display.

Of course, this damn status bar didn’t give him any answer.

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