novelraw Chapter 114
Chapter 114
Ch.114 Perhaps I’ve Just Discovered This World’s Original Ending
The next morning.
I decided to head to the imperial capital with Icira, Mia, and Aria—four of us in total.
“Are you all ready?”
Icira asked from my room, and I nodded.
“Yeah. All set.”
“Good. Teleport.”
As soon as she spoke, a blue light enveloped us.
Instantly, the scenery changed.
“Where’s this?”
A familiar garden.
Beautiful flowers bloomed all around, colorful stones paved the ground, and a grand fountain stood at the center.
“The Imperial Palace?”
“Heh heh. It’s been a while. You’re Hans, right?”
At a table in the garden, the Emperor and Auros were enjoying tea.
“Oh? Long time no see, Lord, Your Majesty.”
“Grandpa! It’s been so long!”
Aria bowed deeply to Auros, who beamed and patted her head affectionately.
“Yes, Aria. It’s been ages. Have you been well?”
At his question, the white-haired girl puffed out her cheeks and shot Mia an adorably indignant glare.
“Big Sister Mia’s been bullying me, so I haven’t been well at all!”
“Ah… Aria?”
Mia looked flustered, which made Auros burst into hearty laughter.
“Heh heh—so a High Elf’s been tormenting our dear Aria? Tell me, how has she troubled you?”
“She keeps hugging me all the time, never gives me anything tasty, and just keeps feeding me vegetables!”
Well… being an elf, isn’t that only natural?
“Kek kek! Our poor Aria must’ve been so frustrated! I’ll have a word with that High Elf. You there—”
Perhaps it was the Dragon Lord’s summons, but Mia responded with unusual tension.
“Y-yes, my Lord?”
“No need to be so nervous. Aria is indeed adorable—but don’t pester her. She’s the dragons’ treasure, after all.”
Though he spoke like a cheerful old neighbor, Mia clearly took it differently.
“I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize I’d offended Lady Aria!”
“Heh heh… Goodness, no need to shrink like that. Anyway…”
The Lord turned to me with a warm smile.
“How have you been?”
“I’ve been well—but…”
The Emperor’s eyes, fixed on me, were far from kind—more like he was looking at someone utterly loathsome.
“Baron Hans, have you been well?”
His tone suggested he personally had been anything but.
“Y-yes… I’ve been well, though…”
“Heh heh, Friedrich—don’t glare so harshly at your rival.”
When Auros casually called the Emperor by name and chided him, Friedrich sighed.
“Haa… He acted without consulting me on a matter of great consequence.”
Was it because I’d moved the entire fortress?
The Emperor seemed displeased.
Maybe I should’ve built political influence instead?
Had I done so, I’d likely wield more sway in the palace now.
It was regrettable—but taking the lead in politics meant endless exhaustion: bureaucratic duties, bribes, constant maneuvering.
That’s precisely why I’d chosen to run a trading house instead.
But it was too late to undo now.
I knelt on one knee before the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, I am deeply ashamed. Though my actions were driven by loyalty to the Empire, I have offended your dignity. For this, I deserve to die a hundred—no, a thousand times over.”
“Sage?!”
“Brother?”
“Brother! Why are you suddenly doing this?!”
My companions rushed over, supporting me anxiously.
“Your Majesty! That’s too harsh! The Sage acted only for the Empire!”
“Even if you’re Emperor of humans—you’ve no right to treat someone striving to save the world this way!”
“You’re mean, mister!”
Scolded by Mia, Nephert, and Aria, the Emperor looked utterly flustered.
“What? I didn’t say anything!”
Auros took the Emperor’s stunned hand and spoke gently.
“It’s a bit odd for me—a dragon—to interfere in human affairs, but this is enough. Or are you unsatisfied with having dragons as your allies?”
At Auros’s pointed remark, the Emperor exhaled.
“No. How could I be dissatisfied when the dragons aid us? Rise, Baron Hans.”
I stood up, and he continued.
“Though I’m displeased you acted without my counsel, your merit in securing the dragons’ support is undeniable. Thus, this matter ends here.”
With the Emperor’s pardon granted—
“I thank Your Majesty for your grace.”
“Enough of that. Now—what brings you here?”
“It’s about the King of the Dead… I met him.”
As I recounted last night’s events, the Emperor shot me a sharp look.
“So while the Hero Party crossed to the New Continent searching for you, you were idling away time with another woman?”
“Ha ha… well…”
Frankly, the Hero Party chasing me felt like a horror movie.
I’d hoped to vanish quietly—but since that failed, here I was.
“Heh heh—let the young man enjoy a bit of romance! Why glare over something so natural? Now, about this Selena—you said she seems to possess a Gift?”
I nodded at Auros, who watched me intently.
“Yes. Selena said it’s strange the King of the Dead would retreat after merely seeing the dungeon. But when I traveled with her, I never sensed she held a Gift…”
Only then did the Lord close his eyes tightly and stroke his chin thoughtfully.
“Hmm… that is odd. The King of the Dead can wield dark magic, but he shouldn’t be proficient in ordinary spells…”
As he pondered silently, Aria tugged my hand and asked with innocent eyes,
“Brother, why are you always chatting with girls?”
“Huh?”
Her unexpected question left everyone—including me—flabbergasted.
H-how was I supposed to explain this?!
“Aria! Don’t say things like that. Come here.”
Icira shot me a look of utter disdain, as if I were a germ.
“Don’t talk to Hans anymore. I’m scared you’ll end up like that womanizer.”
“Mommy, what’s a womanizer?”
“A womanizer is someone like Hans—surrounded by women all the time.”
My face involuntarily fell at their exchange.
“Huh? Then what exactly is a womanizer?”
With wide, innocent eyes, Aria innocently repeated the harsh word.
“Don’t worry about it, sweetie. Just know—you shouldn’t get close to people like him.”
“But… Brother gives me lots of tasty things!”
-Zap!
Icira shot me a glare, then fixed Aria with a stern look.
“From now on, whenever Hans offers you something, say ‘No!’ Understand?”
“But… I don’t wanna!”
-Pfft!
-Hehe…
Everyone except me burst into laughter.
“Oh my… my stomach hurts… I must be getting sentimental in my old age.”
Auros wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling.
“Anyway, Hans—I’ll answer your question. Unless I witness it myself, I can’t tell if someone has received a Gift.”
A short sigh slipped from me.
“Ah…”
“And remember—a Gift is power bestowed by the gods. Sometimes, it transcends human comprehension.”
Transcends human comprehension?
In the game, all traits were quantified:
Leah, for example, ignored a fixed amount of magic resistance.
Or a sword that increased critical damage by a set value.
But this seemed different. I pressed further.
“For example?”
“Hmm… the power to stop time, or erase one’s self.”
I was stunned by such unimaginable concepts.
“What? Is stopping time even possible?”
That would be absurdly overpowered!
When I stared at Auros in disbelief, he gave a meaningful look.
“Well—if he truly had time-stopping abilities, he’d have shattered the Seal Stones and subdued you all by now. But the King of the Dead retreated… so it’s likely not that.”
“But… what does that mean…?”
“Whatever it is, it’s probably not the King’s own unique Gift. That Selena you mentioned—she likely holds this power. But I can’t say what it is.”
Then he turned to Nephert behind me.
“You’re blind, yet remarkable—possessing three Gifts: Absolute Senses, Archery Mastery, and Swiftness…”
“I already heard about that.”
When I confirmed it matter-of-factly, the Lord tilted his head.
“Oh? You knew beforehand? Who told you?”
“Hans, my brother.”
“Ho? So the rival truly is different. I also heard from Icira how you arrived here—that there was an entertaining game based on this world?”
I nodded at Auros’s amused smile.
“Yes—but far too much is off.”
Up through the ‘Dragon War,’ the story followed what I knew.
But from ‘King of the Dead’ onward, events diverged unexpectedly.
“Oh? What’s off?”
Curious, he leaned forward. I pulled out ‘Equality.’
Auros flinched.
“You intend to kill me?”
“What? No! Not at all—”
The Lord sighed in relief, then scolded me.
“Whew… Good thing. For a moment I thought you’d suddenly turn on me. Next time, speak before acting—don’t startle people like that.”
“Ah… sorry.”
Once I apologized, he asked,
“So what’s strange?”
Three major anomalies stood out—I addressed the first.
“In the game, no character knew of ‘Equality.’ After all, it’s modeled after a revolver from my world.”
‘Equality’ resembled a modern Earth revolver.
How could a fantasy world have a firearm design that didn’t exist until the last century or two?
It was pure absurdity.
Thus, this design must originate from my world—
meaning the god who created it either visited Earth or knew of it.
“Hmm… gods can cross dimensions. Perhaps it was modeled after a weapon from your world.”
“Then a second mystery remains.”
“What’s that?”
“In the game, characters mistook this weapon for a magic wand—they never recognized it as divine. Yet people here act as if it’s always existed.”
“True. The Prophecy Scroll first mentioned ‘Equality’ thousands of years ago.”
The Lord nodded as if it were obvious.
I revealed the weapon’s secret.
“The issue is—this design is recent even in my world. At most, it’s been around 100 or 200 years. So the god must know about my world… very recently.”
“Perhaps an omnipotent god enjoys amusement in other worlds?”
Auros might be right…
“But then—why create and sell a game called ‘Destiny’ in my world? Why would an omnipotent god go to such lengths? And if everyone here existed in that game… why hide Selena so thoroughly?”
Surely the gods had a purpose in selling the game.
Then why conceal the final boss?
Unless… the final boss was absurdly overpowered—
or designed to make the game unwinnable.
If an open-world game ended in global annihilation, sales would plummet—
and if that undermined the gods’ goals…
Perhaps I’d just uncovered this world’s original, hidden ending.
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