Chapter 129
Chapter 129
It didn’t take long to receive the quest.
To be precise, after having an animated conversation with the System and leaving my room to go down to the reception room, I immediately ran into Sian…
[SYSTEM | Quest ‘Eyes That Seem to Have a Story – Sian Terezia’ has arrived.]
As soon as I received the quest, I instinctively felt that this was ‘the’ quest that would allow me to approach the ‘secrets of the world’ that the System had been talking about until just now.
‘But why is the quest name like this?’
I frowned deeply as I opened the quest to check it. And so…
*
“…Irina, what’s wrong with your eyes?”
“What’s wrong with my eyes?”
“It’s like you’re looking at me with pity.”
How did he know?
Right now, I felt sorry and sympathetic for Sian Terezia no matter what he did.
“You really… must have suffered.”
“Why are you suddenly like this?”
I now understood why Sian hated the gods so much. Honestly, if I were in his position, I would have already used every means possible to destroy the world.
[Hehe… don’t hate us too much.]
[There were circumstances, you know.]
The newly received quest wasn’t simply about me completing a mission.
If I had to explain, it was closer to an immersive game that you play when clearing a story-based quest in an RPG game.
However, the progression happened so quickly that it was somewhat disorienting.
Anyway, the quest ‘Eyes That Seem to Have a Story – Sian Terezia’ literally showed me, as if I were witnessing it firsthand, why Sian Terezia had such sorrowful eyes.
When all he felt was happiness, oblivious to the coming destruction… the arrival of the destruction… and still, Sian persevered in his fight.
Then came the regression, again and again—Sian Terezia swallowed by despair… and yet, regression repeated over and over.
With each repetition, you could see Sian gradually losing his mind.
To be honest, I would have done the same in his place.
The quest didn’t cover how Sian prevented the destruction. The quest focused solely on explaining what Sian had experienced and why he had become the way he was.
I looked once more at Sian standing before me.
That inscrutable gaze and sly smile he had when I first pulled him from the water had mostly faded now.
Still, after living for hundreds of years in a completely destroyed world, now having proper meals three times a day and living well in a place where destruction hadn’t yet arrived, his eyes had lost some of their deadly intensity.
“Irina…? Your gaze seems quite impure.”
“It’s nothing.”
I shook my head and plopped down in my seat. Ijin grumbled about why I was so late, then started talking excitedly.
While my brother adorably chatted away about how his sister had come after a long time, I just quietly listened, holding a wine glass.
“Lord Sian, are you really leaving now?”
“Leaving?”
Ijin held onto Sian with a regretful voice. I questioned the unexpected comment. Sian didn’t answer.
He seemed to be staring blankly into space, holding a wine glass that had just about one sip left.
‘I feel bad.’
[…Even though you now know what happened to Sian, he is still someone who says he will destroy the world.]
[As I’ve always warned you, Irina, you need to be more cautious.]
I snorted at the System’s words.
Previously, when the System said such things, my reaction was ‘Is that so? But still!’
But now… well.
The days Sian endured were nothing short of devastation. If he was hailed as a hero, the son of a god, then they should have protected him to the very end.
But Sian had only fought almost entirely alone.
Armed only with the divine power that the gods had thrown to him.
He had virtually no companions.
In the end, those endless repetitions were a burden Sian had to bear alone.
I could now understand why Sian Terezia had looked at me with pity as soon as he heard I had been chosen by the gods.
[Irina.]
The System called me quietly.
I remained still for a moment, then turned my head and took a sip of wine.
‘So, System, I can no longer support you blindly.’
[Irina.]
[I know why you’re acting like this. But there are more circumstances in the world than you think.]
Ding!
Right on cue, another quest arrived.
[SYSTEM | Quest ‘System Error – Sian (1/4)’ has arrived.]
This quest also seemed to proceed in the immersive format like the one I had just received.
Given that it was deactivated, it looked like I needed to find four related quests.
Having to find four of them, hmm.
[Aren’t you curious about the secrets of the world?]
[For just four quests, we’ll tell you the secrets of the world~]
Sigh. I completely closed the System window and refocused on the reception room.
“Well. I’m not sure what to do.”
Sian closed his eyes, looking somewhat tired.
“Originally… I had too many thoughts, so I just came here thinking, ‘Let’s give it a try.'”
Sian was always confused. He said he didn’t know what he wanted to do, whether he wanted to destroy the world or if he loved this place.
He thought he wanted to destroy it, so he accepted Leilyranda’s proposal and helped her.
But as he watched the world crumble, he once again became overwhelmed with indescribable feelings… and so he went through quite a turbulent period, he said.
Unable to bear that confusion, he had come to the South region, deciding to follow his heart. After coming to the South, he met my brother who was busy picking grapes, and when he learned this was Seike, he lessened his suspicions somewhat and followed Ijin.
And so he had lived, mindlessly beating down the demonic beasts of the South.
“What were you planning to do?”
“I thought about returning to where I came from.”
“…”
Where could that be?
The lake in Luwin where I first pulled him out? Or the Luwin mansion where he opened his eyes and spent quite a long time in this world?
Or was it the now-vanished Obedih Empire where he was born and raised?
Whatever it was, it didn’t sound like a particularly good answer.
“But it seems my mind has changed a bit.”
Sian said that and looked at me.
“…”
He stared at me intently and then grinned.
All the smiles he had shown so far had been somehow ominous.
But this time was different.
He smiled as if somehow relieved.
“Irina, I think I’ll give up on destroying everything after all.”
“…Really?”
So quickly?
Was our conversation that beneficial to him?
I had hoped he would give up his plans to destroy the world, but after learning about his past, I felt I could understand why he might want to.
Naturally, because I want to live and continue witnessing the beauty of this world, I would oppose him.
Yet now, he wonders if he should give up on destruction entirely.
To my incredulous question, Sian slowly nodded, gently closing his eyes.
“Why, why?”
“…Because I love it.”
He leaned back completely on the couch and tilted his head back. His eyes remained closed, and his grayish hair was slightly fluttered. Soon, his chest rose and fell with his even breathing.
Warm autumn sunlight was shining through the window, and the wind was blowing pleasantly. The peaceful sounds of the South could be heard in the distance.
Sounds I’d heard so many times they felt tiresome.
Sounds I adored and never ceased to enjoy.
“Irina, it seems I do love it after all, just as you said.”
Indeed…!
I was moved, feeling as if a completely misguided attachment figure had returned to the right path. I quietly covered my mouth and looked at Sian with moist eyes.
And then…
“What?”
“What did you say? No way!”
“That’s right, no way!”
Ijin and Yen, who were also in the reception room, stood up firmly opposed.
The previously peaceful reception room of Seike suddenly became noisy.
“What’s this about?”
“Why aren’t you saying no, sis?”
“That’s right, Lady Irina. While Lord Cassis is at the border fighting hard against demonic beasts, how can you be sitting here with such a moved expression?”
Huh?
Ijin had jumped up in alarm with Yen to protest, but at Yen’s remark, he whipped his head around.
“W-wait a minute. Why is the Grand Duke being mentioned here? What kind of relationship do you have with him, sis?”
Ah…
“Eh, you didn’t know, Count? They’re probably dating. It’s already a rumor all over the capital, but I guess news travels slowly to the South.”
“What? Sis, why didn’t you tell me?”
“…”
I was confused.
Only Sian was calmly pouring wine into his glass and drinking it contentedly amid the confusion.
“Anyway, how can you be so happy about Lord Sian’s confession when you have Lord Cassis?”
“…It’s not like that.”
“Anyway, I object! With that white hair, such a frail-looking person doesn’t suit Lady Irina.”
“…I’m telling you, it’s not like that.”
“He seems to have a lot of debt and is rather bland. For men, a good physique is the best.”
Yen gave a thumbs up and winked, saying “men know men best.”
“Anyway, Lord Sian is not acceptable!”
To Yen’s vehement objection, Sian casually responded from behind.
“That’s right, I’m not acceptable.”
He nodded with an unburdened expression I had never seen before.
“After all, I am married to my country.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Silence returned to the reception room. All that could be heard was the chirping of birds coming through the open window.
“Unfortunately, Irina, I cannot accept your feelings.”
“…I’m not interested either.”
“Oh, really? Then that’s good.”
Sian smiled annoyingly with his eyes curved into crescents. It had been a really long time since he had smiled like that.
I was slightly irritated, but I felt a burden lifted from my heart.
“Still, Lord Sian, I’m glad.”
“You should be. If you turned against me, you would never be able to defeat me.”
I suppose that’s true. I meant it was good that Sian seemed to be doing well, but perhaps I was the one who should be truly relieved.
“But Irina, there’s something you shouldn’t misunderstand.”
“Yes?”
“I won’t save the world a second time.”
Ah, of course, of course.
You can’t ask someone who’s been through countless regressions to do the same thing again.
The one who needs to save the world is our hero, Cassis.
