Chapter 193 - That Wasn't My Intention, But (1)

The light that filled my vision faded.

The three of us were dropped into an empty, pure-white space.

The Black Dragon leader, the Paladin, and me.

"Mmm. This stage was nice! We got something unexpected out of it!"

The Black Dragon leader stretched. Heave-ho. With her fingers interlaced, she bent her waist right and left with remarkable form, looking for all the world like a middle-aged badminton club member warming up on the hill behind town.

"I want to hurry down to the City of Heavenly Ascent and get Black Knight established first..."

"That will be difficult. We have to clear the floors consecutively through floor 40."

"I know... Ah, seriously! If word gets out that the [Diva of the Night Sky] is making a comeback, more than a few people will go wild! There are people who miss your piano playing, you know."

"Nothing is final yet."

The Paladin gave a wry smile and tapped the Black Dragon leader's shoulder.

"Oh, why not?"

"Didn't I tell you not to use that old nickname? In any case, my return to the stage is not confirmed. I must explain it to my partner and ask permission."

"Not permission. [Royal assent]."

The Black Dragon leader clicked her tongue.

"That lover of yours... It's an illness. Far too possessive. Does it even make sense to make you wear a helmet all the time so nobody else can see your face?"

"It does. That very possessiveness is endearing."

"Good grief, listen to you. Talk about a hopeless case..."

Just as the Black Dragon leader sighed,

[Viper, who guides the Demonfolk, declares the stage cleared.]

[Sword Star, who guides the Conforming Humans, declares the stage cleared.]

The companions who hadn't joined us began arriving one after another.

They had probably already cleared their quests and waited for the others to declare the stage cleared.

Light flared outward.

A moment later, a one-eyed swordsman and an elderly swordsman stood there.

"Yo, long time no see."

Viper, the Heavenly Martial Sect's leader, waved his right hand casually.

Anyone would have taken him for a dashing knight-errant. But having read His Majesty the Light Novel Emperor's innermost thoughts, I could no longer take even his greeting of [Yo] at face value.

How sad.

I really hadn't wanted to know...

"You all declared the stage cleared like you'd planned it. Hey, you three haven't secretly formed an alliance of nations or something, have you?"

"Well, we did make something far more exciting than an alliance of nations."

"Huh? Seriously? What? What is it?"

"It's a secret."

Viper looked as though the curiosity was killing him and peppered them with questions, but neither the Black Dragon leader nor the Paladin was an easy target. If our Tower held a [Poker-Face Acting Contest], those two would be battling it out for the championship trophy.

In the end, Viper got nowhere and fumed.

"No, damn it. What the hell! Since when did you three get so close? You're famous for acting all aloof. Damn. I feel left out."

"..."

Meanwhile, Sword Star watched us with an exceedingly complicated look in his eyes.

Surprise? Guilt? Regret?

So many emotions were mixed together that even I had trouble reading them.

[The Princess Who Walks Through Mirages manifests.]

While we chatted, the constellation in charge of the stage quietly appeared. As always, the princess looked sleepy, as though she had just woken from a nap.

"Everyone here? Nobody missing?"

We nodded.

"Good. Well done, everyone. Then, to get straight to the point, nobody failed this stage. Not one of you kids failed to clear your quest. Ideally, at least one person should be eliminated on each floor..."

"That's a bit of a problem," the princess murmured.

"I don't like fussing over little things, but mula... The Tower Master places enormous importance on formal elegance. Sorry, but I'll pick whoever performed worst among you and eliminate them. Let's see. Obviously not the Death King..."

"Wait."

The Paladin raised her left hand.

"Are you saying one of us must be eliminated?"

"Yes."

"Tell us why."

"There are several reasons. I'd like to tell you everything if I could, but... I'm under restrictions here. Hmm. I used to have free access up to security clearance level 6, but now it feels like I can only discuss things up to level 3 at best?"

Then the princess's eyes turned toward my face.

"Actually, someone of my standing shouldn't be doing [this sort of work]."

"..."

That's right.

I remembered who the princess was.

'A being with greater authority than the constellations.'

A pillar of the Tower.

I had met the pillars before. When I took Hungry Ghost onto my side, and when I obtained the skill [A Regressor's Love] for Raviel.

It was a secret only I knew—not even the Sword Emperor knew about it.

"The theme beyond floor 30 is self-awareness."

One of the pillars spoke.

The Black Dragon leader, who loved the Tower more than anyone, reacted immediately.

"Theme? What do you mean, self-awareness?"

"All right, I'll take one question per person."

The princess smiled.

"It's your reward for clearing floor 34. You're unusual kids, so this sort of reward is more to your taste than Race Points, isn't it?"

My fellow hunters' eyes lit up.

We lived in the Tower, yet knew nothing about the Tower itself.

Why had it suddenly appeared in the world?

Why was each floor structured differently?

Countless hunters had thirsted for answers, but could never find them. There was simply no one who could answer their questions.

Now that someone had appeared before us.

"Ask in order, starting with the lowest-ranked. Oh! No conferring with each other. If it's something I can't answer, I'll honestly tell you I can't, so don't worry. You can ask something else then."

"..."

Silence fell.

We exchanged looks. The condition that we couldn't confer kept our mouths shut. The Paladin looked at each of us in turn, then nodded.

"What is the purpose of the Tower's existence?"

"That's too broad a question. The Tower is a world. If you ask me the purpose of a world's existence, I'll have to get very philosophical. Is that what you want?"

"... No."

"Then refine your question."

The Paladin thought hard.

"... I want to know how a Tower is built. Our world has a Tower. But there are worlds without one. [Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] was one, and so was [Tales of Sormwin Academy]. How is a Tower made?"

"Ah, you're suddenly getting right to the heart of it. Can I tell you? Hmm, I think I can."

The princess reached into the white floor. Her hand slipped in, and the ground parted like tofu as she pulled out a pillow. Hugging the peach-patterned pillow to her chest, she slowly began to speak.

"You just have to live the life of the unhappiest person in that world."

"What?"

"Please bear with me if parts of my answer are vague. As I said, my security clearance has been lowered. But anyway... There's a master who built the Towers. That master lives the life of the unhappiest person in each world in their place. A world with a Tower is somewhere the master has already lived and passed through. A world without a Tower is somewhere the master hasn't visited yet."

"What..."

"Next."

The Paladin tried to ask something more, but the princess firmly turned her gaze away.

Next was the sixth-ranked hunter, Viper.

Viper was squinting his lone eye.

"The unhappiest person? Can you even decide something like that?"

"Exactly. It's difficult. Unhappiness is largely relative. Sometimes there are candidates whose suffering is hard to compare."

The princess smiled.

"So you would have to live multiple times."

"..."

"Next."

The fifth-ranked Count and fourth-ranked Inquisitor had been eliminated. Thus, the Black Dragon leader was next.

Having heard answers she had never expected, she stared sharply at the princess.

"What is this theme you mentioned earlier? To beings like you, is the Tower an amusement park, and are we nothing but a spectacle struggling inside it?"

"Ahahaha!"

The princess burst out laughing.

"Oh, if only! My life would be so much easier. To answer your question first, absolutely not! Not at all! A theme is simply something like the intent behind a test's questions."

"The intent behind the questions?"

"Yes. For example, people cultivate themselves throughout their lives, don't they? People often talk about raising children, but as they raise their children, they also raise themselves. They come to understand themselves. In that sense, the theme beyond floor 30 is self-awareness. That's all."

"Why give us a test like that..."

"Next."

The princess turned her gaze to me.

"What will you ask, Death King?"

I looked at the little princess before me.

'There wasn't a being like this before I regressed.'

More precisely, she hadn't appeared.

Before my regression, no matter which walkthrough I read, I never saw the name [The Princess Who Walks Through Mirages]. There wasn't so much as a mention.

'The princess must have appeared because Hamustra fell.'

Hamustra had said he was a fairly high-ranking constellation.

Since a constellation of his rank had fallen, the princess had presumably descended to fill his place.

'And Hamustra fell because of me... So there's a good chance the princess's appearance is entirely my fault.'

In that case...

I decided on my question.

"Why are you particularly well-disposed toward me?"

It was puzzling.

The princess slept often. She didn't seem to enjoy working, either.

And I was the reason she had ended up doing [this sort of work], as she herself had put it. If anything, she should have resented me, with no reason to feel positively toward me, yet she treated me with goodwill.

"Mmm."

The princess looked troubled.

It seemed I had asked a question she didn't want to answer.

"... There are too many people listening right now. I'll answer you privately in a little while."

"What?"

"Next."

"Uh, wait—"

"Neeext!"

The princess resolutely moved on. I had no choice but to shut my mouth.

"Hmm."

Finally, Sword Star, the last person with a question remaining, stroked his chin.

"What lies at the very top of this Tower?"

"Ah, the memories you've made along the way sparkle like beautiful treasures... Sorry, that was a joke. Anyway, I can't answer that question. If I did, Mula-Gaga... Nail!"

The princess squeezed her pillow tight.

"Seriously! Anyway, the master of the Tower would be furious."

"Understood. Then who is the strongest swordsman you know?"

For some reason, my attendant spirit squared his shoulders.

Sparkle also trembled repeatedly, making its presence felt. Was it sending Morse code? R... e... p... a... n... t...

But, cruelly for both of them, the princess named someone else entirely.

"The Duke of the Peerless Sword."

Her answer was immediate.

"In terms of strength as a swordsman alone, no one can match the Duke of the Peerless Sword. Zaqu... No, aren't these restrictions too severe? Ugh. Anyway, a duke in a certain kingdom, a noble with [the right to kill anyone except royalty without punishment]. In other words, strong enough to kill anyone, wouldn't you say?"

"How great is the gap between that person's skill and mine?"

"Meaningless," the princess said bluntly.

"You have to be on somewhat comparable levels before you can discuss a gap in skill."

Sword Star's eyebrows twitched.

"... You mean it isn't even worth discussing?"

"Yes."

"..."

"Don't let it hurt your pride. The Duke of the Peerless Sword is a Primordial Duke. A monster who has lived for over two thousand years. Oh, I shouldn't say monster... Anyway. More like a natural disaster. You probably won't ever meet in person, so you can rest easy."

Sword Star clenched his fist tightly.

Not only I, but my other companions were a little shocked.

'Not even worth comparing.'

The old man had abandoned all his wealth and standing in the outside world to throw himself into the Tower. He had honed his skills with nothing but a sword in hand, only to be dismissed to his face. Though his expression remained blank, his pride had clearly been wounded.

"All right, while I give the Death King his answer... The rest of you kids, wait a little."

CLAP!

The princess gave a small clap.

My companions were enveloped in light and vanished in an instant. They had been transported somewhere. Before I knew it, only the princess and I remained in the white space.

"..."

The princess hesitated, watching my expression.

I had no idea why someone who had risen beyond a constellation to become a pillar was acting this way around me.

"Why have you been acting like this?"

"M-mmm..."

The princess set down her pillow.

"Sorry!"

Then, out of nowhere, she bent down and planted her head in the pillow.

I was startled.

"What are you..."

"I'm really sorry, Death King!"

The princess shouted with her head still pressed into the pillow.