Chapter 26
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Episode 5 - Hunting Festival [6]
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As I left the classroom, my thoughts were in complete turmoil.
But I shook my head; in truth, I already had an idea of how my fate would be filled with so many things.
I knew Adel's story, I knew the stages of his growth, and above all, I knew his ending.
Everything that means a destiny filled with darkness were the words I told Professor Melissa.
Misfortune, oblivion, abandonment, suffering, and death.
The meaning of all those words is what fate will bring upon me.
Above all, the last word.
Death.
The setup behind Adel's death as one of the final villains was the following.
Adel uses one of his traits that increases both his stats and the power of his traits.
The problem is the only side effect of that trait.
'His body simply self-destructs with no way to stop it.'
When Adel keeps that trait active, he can only live for three minutes, that's all.
After that time, he self-destructs, thus bringing about his death.
'But am I really destined to die?'
That was truly my ending.
Would I really end up with the exact same ending as in the game?
Perhaps my death will be different, or perhaps it will be the same.
So many questions, and the worry was beginning to grow.
Not knowing what my future in this body will be, a body about which I know almost nothing.
Only its story and its ending.
But this world is Holy Land, a game where every action you take leads to a completely different ending.
Most likely, my ending will not be fighting against Lumina and the other characters and self-destructing on the spot.
No, perhaps it will be another ending, not the one set in the game.
'Even if it's only a small hope, at least I know I won't die the way Adel originally did.'
I was certain of that, but at the same time…
'I don't know what my ending will be.'
If my destiny is Dark from beginning to end, then I will probably die.
'Then why am I wasting my time in this Academy, searching for ways to overcome every chapter?'
A deep feeling I could not explain arose within me.
What am I even supposed to be doing if I'm going to die anyway?
Is it really worth reaching the end of this game?
Do I really need to seek the answers to the questions I asked myself on the very first day?
What is the reason I transmigrated right after finishing Adel's character?
'What am I supposed to do?'
I remained sitting silently in yesterday's pavilion while "looking" at the lake.
The sound of the wind and the birds reached my ears, yet at the same time I heard nothing.
I simply remained still; no further thoughts crossed my mind.
I did not even try to look at the lake using my True Sight.
The fairy that had previously been sleeping on my head had already awakened.
She stood on my shoulder and patted my head with her tiny hands.
Then Alice's voice managed to pull me out of my blank state.
〖Don't tell me you're thinking about what you're supposed to do and that everything you're doing, and everything you planned to do from now on, is meaningless〗
"..."
She seemed to let out a long sigh.
〖No one knows this, but I devoted my entire life to the sword; I was born an orphan in an orphanage when the world was constantly under attack by the Abyss, and I could have died on any given day〗
She remained silent for a few seconds.
〖Then, one day, a Swordsman appeared, saw my talent, and said he would become my master; one of his friends was a Summoner, and his Summons saw the darkness at the end of my fate. I knew what that meant, just like you do, but…〗
I already knew what she was going to say next.
〖I didn't stop. I grew stronger, I even created my own sword art, and since I was going to die anyway, I threw myself onto the battlefield, fighting endlessly. In the end, I didn't die immediately; years passed, yet I still didn't die. I had probably surpassed fate because I had become strong enough〗
Yes, she was that strong; she had reached 11 stars, also known as a demigod.
Someone who could live for thousands of years without aging and preserve their youth forever.
Someone whose death would be difficult to even imagine.
And yet, in the end, she died.
〖Even though I died, I never gave up; throwing myself onto the battlefield didn't mean I was surrendering. I simply wanted to see whether fate would truly take my life away. In the end, it did, but I didn't die because I was weaker〗
"..."
〖You know, I actually died because I wished for it. In truth, I could have lived; I wasn't wounded badly enough to die, but as someone who had reached 11 stars, I looked back and realized I had done nothing particularly special, nor anything that could make me smile〗
Everywhere she looked, there had only been violence and blood; a life like that gave her nothing to smile about.
So Alice wished to rest; even her future had already become uncertain.
She would live without any goal or anything left to fulfill.
〖But until now, I've seen that you, disciple, are searching for some answer, some goal, or some dream, whereas I had none of that and still surpassed my fate, yet at the same time I chose to end things there〗
I lowered my head as though staring at my hands.
The fairy flew in front of me, crossed her arms, and looked as if she were pouting.
As if telling me to ignore my fate and focus on the present instead.
Then Alice finally said:
〖If you think you'll die and that everything you wanted to do will become meaningless, don't give up. I may have only known you for a week, but I've seen more of you than anyone else has. Believe in yourself, Adel〗
At her final words, I finally opened my mouth, raised my head, and looked at the fairy.
"What if I really die no matter what I do?"
〖Then become the strongest. Do the same thing I did: become so strong that no danger exists that can threaten your life〗
Ironically, even the strongest eventually die someday.
But I'm not seeking death someday; at the very least, I want to fulfill all my purposes. No.
If I accomplish all of that, then dying afterward will no longer matter.
It would simply be something natural: every beginning has an end.
And every end has a new beginning.
'Well, that new beginning might not exist, but… that doesn't matter.'
I let out a soft sigh, absorbing my master's words of comfort and strength.
"Thanks. I guess I simply overthought it."
〖Yes, you overthink too much. Back then, I simply kept ignoring the fact that I would eventually die〗
If Alice had a physical body right now, she would probably hit me on the head.
"Then, if you decided to end things and rest, why am I talking to you?"
In response to my question, Alice answered without hesitation.
〖First, because I wanted to pass my swordsmanship on to someone else and… second, my past self is gone, and my current self is someone different.〗
"That makes some sense."
〖Think whatever you want, but if you spoke with my past self, you would notice the difference. My past self no longer exists; she is resting, and my present self is experiencing a new event.〗
Shaking my head, I grumbled.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."
Lost in thought, I looked at the fairy sitting on the table in front of me.
She smiled when I looked at her, as if she had noticed my gaze.
"What name should I give you?"
I thought about it for a moment, but honestly, I had no idea what to name her.
If there's one thing I've always been bad at, it's naming things.
You have to acknowledge your own flaws, unlike those protagonists who think the names they come up with are amazing or sound cool.
"How about… Liora."
A soft voice, yet at the same time extremely quiet, reached my ears as clearly as day.
Diana sat down in front of me, her gaze fixed on the fairy before her.
"Liora, a name inspired by yellow lilies or white ones… no, wait, what color are this little fairy's hair and eyes?"
Now that I think about it, she's a Light-attribute fairy; normally, in games or novels, that would be represented with yellow or golden colors.
But in Holy Land, the color of the Light attribute is white.
Diana answered my question.
"White. Eyes. Hair."
I lowered my gaze to the little fairy, who was exchanging glances between Diana and me.
"I guess that works, then Liora it is."
The fairy, no, Liora, smiled as she made tiny little hops.
'It's a shame she can't speak, but she's just as intelligent as a human.'
As a newborn, her intelligence was at least that of a small child, not a baby.
'But if I obtain the blood of a true fairy and give it to her as food, she can evolve into a true fairy and gain the ability to speak.'
Well, if I get the chance, it wouldn't be a bad idea to obtain the blood of a true fairy.
It might be difficult, but the auction that will lead into chapter two could contain such blood.
Shortly afterward, Liora returned to my head, then lay face down as if it were a bed, and fell asleep.
"She. Adorable."
Diana said. She no longer stuttered around me, but changing the way she spoke would be an almost impossible task.
'Well, she's still an adorable character.'
I'm not Diana's creator; the one who actually created her was my assistant.
Of course, I helped most of the time, but she was his creation.
"You had never seen a fairy before, right?"
She shook her head.
"No. Never."
"It's true, you managed to hatch your egg."
Diana's expression fell. Realizing it, I sighed and smiled.
"Well, it's a shame, but maybe you'll succeed next time."
She nodded energetically, as if my words were more than just a small consolation.
"Yes. Yes."
After that, I simply talked with her for about thirty minutes; then we decided to go hunting.
Besides, tomorrow is the day the Demonic Beast appears.
'I just hope this damn fate doesn't screw me over.'
Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll only be the Demonic Beast.
And not some anomaly that never appeared in the game.
'But if I'm Adel… then it's not impossible for an anomaly to appear.'