Chapter 28
Chapter 28
In response to his prideful answer, I couldn’t help but ask.
“What family is Terezia?”
The man didn’t answer and just held my gaze for a long time.
A snake’s eyes staring directly from up close, bending down at the waist.
The strange silence heightened the tense atmosphere between me and Sian Terezia.
“Haa. Nevermind.”
But that tension eased instantly the moment Sian Terezia closed his eyes sharply.
He straightened his posture and sighed.
“You should figure out such basic things yourself. Next question.”
What should I ask?
It’s difficult without the system.
If I could, I wanted to organize the quests and skills I currently possess together.
If I knew which family Terezia belonged to and which country the person in front of me was from, I could have asked more specific questions.
“Will you answer if I ask questions later?”
“I might, or I might not.”
Sian Terezia said that his power and my power were the same.
Also, he said he thought I was the Pope because I was overflowing with that ‘power’.
Lastly, he mentioned that all that power had disappeared.
From this conversation, we can infer that Sian Terezia can sense the existence of the system and knows that it is a ‘god’.
And that he himself has the power of a ‘god’ as well.
I quickly racked my brain.
What should I ask?
Does this man in front of me have a ‘system’ like mine?
But I know about the ‘system’ because I was possessed into a game from 21st century Earth.
It didn’t seem likely that someone born and raised in this world would easily understand the structure of the ‘system’.
Then could he be someone possessed from Earth like me?
“…Then I suppose I should ask this.”
Sian Terezia, traces of Earth, the lake, the system, and god.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that all of these were interconnected.
And I thought that this could lead to the long-term destruction of the empire, or it could be a hint to prevent the destruction.
“Mr. Terezia, have you been chosen by god?”
Is this person the same as me?
“Why do you think that?”
His yellow eyes flashed ominously.
“Because you said your power and my power are the same.”
Sian Terezia remained silent without responding.
I didn’t add anything either.
Just as the silence was starting to become suffocating, the man opened his mouth.
“You say you’ve been chosen.”
When he says it like that, it sounds like the leader of a cult or something.
If the system were here, they would have laughed at my words, but unfortunately, they’re gone.
With nothing appropriate to answer, I just maintained my silence.
But the words that came out of Terezia’s mouth were puzzling.
“How pitiful.”
…?
He whispered kindly as if I were a pitiful animal.
“Looking at those innocent eyes, it seems this is your first time.”
“Pardon?”
He uttered incomprehensible words.
Taking a step closer, he was still wearing the same artificial smile as before, but the sense of discomfort intensified sharply.
“Chosen?”
His eyes, flickering with different colors, were half-crazed.
“I was chosen, you say.”
He muttered the word ‘chosen’ as if he were mad.
The pressure felt throughout my body was tremendous.
“…Is that being chosen?”
A pressure of unknown origin poured over my entire body, making me wonder if his claim of having power was a lie.
“…Huk.”
It was as painful as when the system went blank at the existence of ‘Sian Terezia’ not long ago. My breath caught, and I heard a distant ‘beep’ ringing in my ears.
I covered my mouth and bent over, trying to regulate my breathing.
But there was a hand gripping my face.
It wasn’t a strong force, but I was dragged along nonetheless.
When he gave up even his artificial smile, what was revealed was a half-crazed, somewhat broken appearance.
“Then it seems my god is now with you.”
“Kuk, the power…”
He grabbed me like a madman and whispered.
“Oh God, here I am, the one you said you cherished the most. Why don’t you answer me?”
He was gripping my chin and shoulder with such force that it was hard to break free.
I endured the power pouring down on me head-on.
The power was scratching beyond me, tearing up this room.
If I could feel it to this extent, I thought Cassis would notice.
He said his power and my power were the same, and judging by how well I’m feeling it, that doesn’t seem to be wrong.
But there was also a strangely alien sensation.
I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but I vaguely felt a grating sensation unlike when I usually tinker with the system.
Nevertheless, I could assert that this power belonged to the system, that is, it was indeed the power of god.
A migraine hit me as if someone was hammering my head.
My thoughts kept breaking off.
“Sian Terezia, who are you?”
Was Sian Terezia not someone with a system, but someone directly connected to god himself?
He was still full of madness.
With crazed eyes, he just muttered his own words.
“You never answer my words.”
The despair and resignation in his voice returned with even stronger force.
The power enveloping the surroundings grew more intense.
Beyond, I could see the glass window shaking and slowly cracking from the edges.
‘Oh no, we’re already short on money.’
I’ll have to squeeze some money out of the system when it comes back.
Just as I was trying to think of something else to forget the increasingly intense headache…
Bang!
“Irina!”
The door burst open as if it was being torn off, and Cassis appeared.
In the blink of an eye, I was free from Sian Terezia’s grasp and behind Cassis.
Perhaps because there was someone else to take Sian’s power instead, I could finally breathe.
I pressed my forehead hard while barely catching my breath.
It was much better than before, but traces of the headache remained.
I raised my head to check the confrontation and let out a small gasp of admiration.
‘Wow.’
Cassis was standing in front of me as if to protect me, holding a sword, with the blade touching Sian Terezia’s nape.
It seems Sian has the power of god, but our Cassis can subdue someone like Sian Terezia in an instant.
“Sian Terezia.”
“……”
“Whether you’re a hero of the ancient empire or royalty, that’s of no concern to me.”
I stopped clutching my head and looked up at Sian.
Hero?
Royalty?
What’s this, there was something I didn’t know?
I blankly watched their confrontation.
“The only fact that matters is that you threatened my person in my space.”
My person.
I quietly mulled over the words Cassis had uttered.
It seems I only hear the words I like even in this situation.
“That will be the only problem.”
Cassis’s sword was touching Sian Terezia’s neck with barely a gap. Even the slightest movement would cut him with the blade, but Sian seemed unbothered.
I couldn’t read Sian’s expression at all.
Until now, I was scared of his smile, but seeing him so expressionless like this made me think his artificial smile might be better.
The headache not subsiding made it even harder to make sense of this situation.
All I could do now was just open my eyes wide and strain my ears, trying to remember this moment.
“……”
Cold, bead-like eyes met mine.
“Mr. Terezia.”
I called out to him softly without realizing it.
At my voice, focus suddenly returned to Sian’s eyes.
He blinked slowly as if waking from sleep.
Miraculously, the intense power enveloping this room slowly began to dissipate.
Finally, when he completely withdrew his power, peace barely returned to the ruined room.
Only then did Cassis put away his sword.
Sian slightly bowed his head and pressed his fingertips hard against his eyelids.
As an unbearable silence filled the space between the three of us, murmuring sounds could be heard through the half-torn door.
The first to appear was Isiel.
“Hey kids, are you alive?”
“……”
“……”
“Irina? Are you alive…?”
He, who had shut his mouth at the hostile atmosphere in the room, called out to me in a small voice.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
The headache has completely disappeared now.
Cassis stared at Sian Terezia for a long time as if urging him to answer, but the other didn’t budge.
In the end, it was me he turned to.
His gaze demanding an explanation pricked my conscience.
Ah, Cassis.
I don’t know either.
I just asked if he had been chosen by god.
But how come both Sian and the system react the same way, really.
However, if I told Cassis this content as it is, I felt like I would be chased out while being called crazy.
Let’s smile for now.
“I know, right?”
“Irina Seike.”
“I really didn’t say anything special. It seems that what I carelessly said was stimulating to Mr. Terezia.”
As I was trying to make excuses, a clear voice was heard from behind.
“What a mess.”
“Mr. Terezia!”
“I wasn’t myself, sorry.”
He spoke with a sly face, just like when we first met.
Looking around the room and clicking his tongue, he said to Cassis.
“I came out to the world after a long time and lost control.”
“Is that all?”
“Sorry. You’re the master of this mansion, right?”
As someone who remembered what he had said while holding me, I knew that this was an explanation that omitted many parts.
And it’s quite a simple excuse for the state of this room.
I raised my hand and spoke to try to ease this hostile atmosphere even a little.
“I think you should compensate for this.”
“Huh?”
“This mansion is such a historic place. To make a room like this in such a place, you can’t just end it with a simple sorry, can you?”
Sian smiled brightly.
Smiling with that snake-like face only made him look cunning.
Still, his smile looked much better than when he was consumed by madness.
I gave a thumbs up and said,
“You look much better when you smile.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Keep smiling from now on.
Don’t act like a madman like before.
I really thought I was going to die.
With no system, I thought I was going to die from a migraine before paying off all the debt.
Sian narrowed his eyes and smiled mischievously.
“Irina.”
What?
Why are you calling me by name on your own?
But I was a small fry in front of this trace of the empire’s destruction.
“Yes, I’m Irina.”
Yes, yes, I am that Irina.
