Chapter 108 - One Day (3)

“That shameless bastard...!”

Beyond the darkness, someone I could not identify ground their teeth.

Unlike before, everything they said was now being [translated].

“Calm down, child. Fragments of your Padak days are showing.”

Their voices were still indistinct, though. Like a song recording riddled with noise, they seemed to recede at random, only to sound abruptly beside my ear.

“Anger and jealousy do nothing to help our deliberations.”

“I’ll kill him!”

“Death King, was it? It’s been a long time since one person caused us to convene twice. How long has it been since the Heaven-Slaying Star?”

“And the bond between those two is growing stronger. Could that be a coincidence, too?”

Then it happened.

“... This is troublesome.”

The chattering voices stopped short. Silence settled all around. Into the space that had been filled with idle chatter and pleasant conversation, a single emotionless voice sank.

“If immersion had reached a full 100%, we could simply turn back one day from the butler’s perspective. If it had been 90% or lower, we would only have to turn back one day from the Death King’s perspective. But of all things, it is 99%.”

I had heard that voice before.

“It is ambiguous. Whose side should we take?”

The master of the Tower.

I swallowed.

“I... believe we should turn back one day from the butler’s perspective.”

“Convince me.”

“The numbers alone support that. An immersion rate of 99% means I am 99% the butler, with only 1% of myself remaining. The butler’s share is overwhelming, so it is only right to use him as the basis.”

“Yes. But [Regressor's Clockwork Watch] is a skill you obtained. Death King, it is your skill. Only the person who possesses a skill can use it.”

An unseen gaze, concealed by darkness, swept across my face.

“Would it not be right for you to regress?”

“...”

“Do not be nervous. I am merely asking about something that interests me.”

Do not be nervous, the voice said kindly. But that consideration was impossible to accept. With every word, every phrase it spoke, I felt as though a long snake were crawling up the back of my neck.

“... That is far too one-sided a view.”

“Hmm?”

“Please consider the butler’s position. Throughout my attempt to clear the stage, the butler and I fought over who would possess the body. I was devoured by the butler, but that also means the butler devoured me.”

In other words:

“The butler fought me fair and square and won. As his prize, he took my skills. [Regressor's Clockwork Watch] is now his skill, too.”

“Oh?”

The serpentine voice wavered strangely.

It took me a moment to realize that it was laughter.

“You have a point. Yes. Just as you, Death King, copied the Flame Emperor’s skill and made it your own.”

“...”

“I wondered who would win if two regressors fought. But to think you would return to a time before he obtained his skill. Even my humble self admired that idea. No, it surprised all of us.”

My humble self.

The supreme being of the Tower referred to themself in self-deprecating terms. Spoke politely.

As though they would be courteous to anyone.

That made them all the more ominous to me.

“It was remarkable. You could simply have chosen to flee and keep out of the Flame Emperor’s sight. But you did not. Why?”

At the Tower Master’s question, those who had remained silent spoke up.

“Revenge. That bastard never forgot what was done to him, not even in death. So he chased down the guy who burned him and finished him off. But even so, dying 4,050 times? Vicious little bastard.”

[The Moon That Contemplates Blindness curses you.]

“It was his sense of justice. The Flame Emperor killed many people, and he would have killed even more. He must have thought he couldn’t leave him alone. The thought and feeling that ‘this must not happen’ moved the Death King. Yes, he is a just man.”

[The Princess Who Walks Through Mirages blesses you.]

The serpentine voice nodded.

“Yes. That must be so. Sometimes he would have stabbed his own throat out of vengeance, and at other times taken his life out of justice. But vengeance and justice are both commonplace. There is only one thing that impressed my humble self.”

Someone picked up the Tower master’s words.

“That it was the only way to defeat the Flame Emperor with 100% certainty.”

[The One Who Legislated the Beginning quietly declares.]

“Yes.”

The master of the Tower laughed.

“Death King, your heart burns with raw passion, but your mind is cunning. Always, without fail, you seek a way to win with 100% certainty. That is why I am looking forward to this. Have you come prepared with an argument that will convince us with 100% certainty?”

This was the decisive moment.

I could not back down now.

“Yes.”

“Let us hear it.”

“I... We have done nothing wrong.”

I spoke toward the place where the serpentine voice lay coiled.

“This is entirely a mistake, an error committed by the Tower. The very fact that it cannot decide whether to turn back one day from [the butler’s perspective] or [my perspective] is a problem. If the Tower were perfect, this error should never have occurred.”

“Yes. I concede that. And?”

“We are victims of this error. Please compensate us.”

“...”

I forced myself to speak confidently.

“And we deserve credit for discovering the error. Without us, you would not even have known it existed, would you? Please reward us.”

Silence.

A moment later:

“How insolent.”

[The God Who Dances in the Void glares at you.]

“Listen to the way that lowborn wretch talks. Want your entire existence minced?”

[The Moon That Contemplates Blindness attempts to kill you.]

The voices seethed and boiled.

“Enough.”

But the moment the serpentine voice parted its lips, everyone fell silent again.

“Interesting.”

“...”

“What interests me, yes, is your unquestioning belief that my humble self will properly [compensate] and [reward] you. Why? Why should I do that? I could simply disavow it and turn away.”

“Because...”

I answered plainly.

“Because you have always, without fail, wished us good luck.”

The Tower.

Whenever a stage was cleared, we hunters heard a voice.

『You who climb the Tower.』

『May fortune be with you.』

That was all.

But it was unmistakably encouragement.

“You are a supreme being, yet you do not mock us. You do not despise us. You do not push us in any particular direction. A hunter who wishes to stay on the first floor can remain there forever. To hunters who climb higher, you wish good luck and ask only that they take care.”

A refuge for those who wished to rest.

A wish for success for those who took up the challenge.

“And that is not all.”

The children of the Infernal Mansion.

The Demon King who shed red raindrops.

The peony, forever lonely in the snowy wilderness.

The heart repeating ten days without end.

“Every single person you have granted a floor in the Tower is lonely and sad. You built the Tower by gathering only people whose stories would end in tragedy.”

I believe:

“You are good.”

The Tower Master before me is a benevolent supreme being.

“You never interfere when we fight and kill one another. Because you respect our freedom. But you will certainly compensate us for harm caused by an error in the Tower.”

Because that was the Tower’s responsibility, not ours.

“Thank you for building the Tower.”

“...”

“I’ve wanted to tell you that for a long time. Last time, I didn’t have the chance. I always wanted to thank you... Without the Tower, I would have lived like trash in the outside world anyway. Ah, no, I lived like trash even after entering the Tower, but...”

I had lived badly.

I had lived badly, but I had been able to take that life back.

“If it weren’t for you... I could never have gone back over 4,000 days on my own. Never. You all called it vengeance and justice... but I only managed to endure because, somewhere, there was someone watching over me. That’s all.”

I lowered my head.

“Thank you.”

I bowed at the waist.

“You have my sincerest gratitude.”

There was a long silence.

“Yes.”

Someone whispered.

“I do like him after all.”

[The Princess Who Walks Through Mirages expresses fondness for you.]

“Me too. It’s been so long since a human came here and expressed gratitude that I can’t even remember. Wait, has there ever been one? Perhaps he’s the first.”

[The Primordial Staff expresses fondness for you.]

“... For some reason, children these days start out hostile toward beings like us. It’s because the world is so harsh. I think they need someone to blame and condemn.”

[The God Who Dances in the Void expresses fondness for you.]

“Hah. They simply don’t want to acknowledge anything above them.”

[The Moon That Contemplates Blindness looks at you with displeasure.]

Then I heard laughter.

“Indeed.”

It came from the master of the Tower.

“Certainly. He does have a rather endearing side.”

“...”

“I am merely a mirror. Death King, if I seem good to you, it must be because you yourself are good.”

The serpentine voice smiled.

“Tell me what compensation you desire.”

“I wish to regress twenty-four hours from the butler’s perspective.”

“And your reward?”

“Lady Silver Lily’s...”

My heart pounded with nerves.

“Please preserve my lover’s memories.”

“I see.”

The serpentine voice chuckled.

“You could ask for an incredible skill as compensation, you know? You did discover an error in the Tower, after all. You deserve a generous reward. Shall I enhance [Regressor's Clockwork Watch] for you?”

Temptation.

“You could turn back time as far as you wished, rather than only a day. Or how about enhancing [Rebirth of a Hundred Ghosts]? I could let them inherit not only their memories, but the abilities they possessed in life.”

“I don’t need that.”

I knelt.

“Please.”

Respectfully, I lowered my forehead toward the place where the voice resided.

“I want to live together with the person I love.”

“...”

Then a hand stroked my bowed head.

Very, very slowly.

“Death King.”

[The meeting is concluded.]

“May fortune be with you.”

[May fortune be with you.]

* * *

[Readjusting immersion rate.]

[Your current immersion rate is 99%.]

[Regressing twenty-four hours.]

.

.

.

* * *

I blinked.

“...”

The first thing I sensed when I opened my eyes was the scent of spring flowers wafting through the window.

My head felt hazy.

It was as though I had been dreaming for a long time.

“Ah.”

A voice that sounded both unfamiliar and familiar came from nearby.

“You’re finally awake, Butler. That was quite a long nap.”

Lady Golden Silk Blossom, the baron’s daughter.

My mistress.

“... My lady?”

“Yes, your one and only lady.”

Lady Golden Silk Blossom chuckled. Was my reaction amusing? She was looking at me through narrowed eyes.

Anyone could see that she now carried herself as a young lady thoroughly accustomed to the capital. There was no trace of the girl who had been famous as a tomboy back home. I could not help feeling wistful about that. Of course, only her appearance had become refined; at heart, she was still the same girl.

...

What was this?

“I came back from dinner with His Highness the Crown Prince, and what should I find but my butler fast asleep in a chair? I was rather annoyed that you abandoned your mistress and went to sleep without permission. But you looked so cute asleep that I decided to forgive you.”

“My lady...”

“Oh? You look as though you’re about to cry. Did you have a nightmare?”

A nightmare? Was that it? Had I had a nightmare?

An inexplicable tightness filled my chest. The feeling that I had just forgotten something terribly important. Something that slipped farther away the harder I tried to remember it, never letting me catch hold of it.

“With His Highness...”

To shake off that feeling, I deliberately changed the subject.

“Did you enjoy your dinner with His Highness?”

“Yes. Quite. Listen, Butler. His Highness gave me a blue coral ring today!”

Lady Golden Silk Blossom beamed. Blue coral was the name of a gemstone. It was not particularly valuable, but in the southern Empire, it was often used when proposing to a lover.

“And in the student dining hall, in front of all the other young ladies and gentlemen! Honestly, His Highness the crown prince may be a fool, but at least he’s a fool who knows how to make someone happy. I wonder what expression the Ivansia ducal heir will make when she hears!”

Suddenly, I could not breathe.

“The Ivansia ducal heir...”

“Ah, you’re curious too, aren’t you, Butler?”

“...”

What was it?

What was it, really?

The pounding in my chest echoed as a tremor in my throat.

“Raviel...”

Lady Golden Silk Blossom stared at me incredulously.

“Butler? Calling the ducal heir by her name outright is a bit... Even if we are the only two here, that is far too rude. Mind your manners. Your manners. Sometimes you know even less about etiquette in the capital than I do.”

At that moment:

-■■■, ■■ ■ ■■■. ■■. ■■ ■■■ ■ ■■ ■■■■!

My head buzzed.

[■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■.]

I clutched my forehead in pain.

“My lady... do you hear some sort of sound?”

“A sound?”

Lady Golden Silk Blossom tilted her head.

“What sound do you mean?”

“I’m not quite sure myself. It sounds as though someone is shouting...”

“Uh, Butler. At first I thought you were joking, but now I’m starting to worry too. Are you ill? Does your head feel hot? Shall we go to the infirmary?”

“... No. I’m sorry for saying such strange things.”

I rose from the chair.

“I seem to have a slight headache. It’s not a cold... I’ll step outside for some fresh air. Would that be all right, my lady?”

“Ah. Yes, go ahead.”

Lady Golden Silk Blossom looked worried.

“Shall I come with you?”

“No. I really am—”

-■Gong■ ■ bas■■!! ■■ ■■! ■ ■■ ■!!

“...fine. I’ll probably feel better after a short walk.”

“All right. Go on, then. Don’t be too late.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I left my lady’s room and stepped out of the dormitory.

It was a night when white magnolia blossoms hung like moons.

But even after I entered the garden, the unease in my chest did not subside.

[“This was before I became a regressor.”]

I walked.

[“His Highness the Crown Prince came to be with Lady Golden Silk Blossom.”]

I walked without direction.

Like a sleepwalker walking through a dream.

[“I was so bitter, so terribly bitter, that I turned to the sword passed down in my family and made a wish.”]

[“Please let my love last forever.”]

[“And then my life became eternal.”]

At the end of my aimless path stood, absurdly enough, the Ivansia ducal heir’s enormous residence. A place I had passed by before, but never once approached of my own accord.

A place with no connection to me.

[“My heart has been fixed in place ever since that day.”]

There should have been none.

“...”

Why had I come here?

‘Let’s go back.’

To the place where my mistress waited.

‘Go back.’

With that thought, I took a step.

‘I have to go back.’

Yet for some reason, my feet did not turn around. Even as I thought that I had to return, my steps carried me forward. My hand pushed against the iron bars of the gate.

CREEEAK

The gate opened easily.

The ducal house’s guards were not at their posts.

“...”

How very strange.

Perhaps I was still trapped in a dream.

If so, everything made sense.

The way I passed through the gate and crossed the garden for no reason.

The way the blossoming cherry trees and magnolias in the garden made my chest ache without cause.

The way my steps flowed naturally onward, because somehow I knew every turn in the duke’s daughter’s residence, though I had never once been invited there.

“You’ve come.”

The way the duke’s daughter stood at the far end of the corridor.

[“I will be waiting for you.”]

The way she looked at me with a small smile.

“I was waiting.”

Everything.