Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World – Chapter 126

Author: rolypoly

A large franchise cafe in a quiet Hongdae. In a space where both part-time workers and citizens had evacuated, a man sat alone, drinking coffee.

With a soft smile, he stared at the gate before his eyes. Monsters emerging from the gate, and the heroes confronting those monsters.

The woman sitting beside the man, who was a step removed from the fierce battle, tapped the leg of his chair with her foot.

“Hey.”

Why was this man acting like this here? She couldn’t understand it at all. After all the information she had provided him, he was wasting time in a cafe like this? Even the man sitting next to him, who didn’t say a single word and was as stiff as a block of wood, was even more irritating.

“What exactly are you doing here?”

“I’m passing the time.”

After taking a sip of the vanilla latte that matched his atmosphere, he frowned as if it were too hot.

Then, the other man, who had been sitting motionless beside him, finally moved. With swift precision, he opened the lid of the vanilla latte and began fanning it with his hand.

“Huh?”

She watched the scene with an incredulous look. However, she didn’t add any further comments. The reason was simple.

She wasn’t curious about the relationship between those two.

“Where did the woman you always drag around go?”

“As for her, she has been working too much lately. She is on a brief vacation.”

“Haa.”

“Speaking of which, is it a vacation for you too, San Ihyeong-ssi?”

Han Jeyu’s tone was always soft. His pace was slow, and it was easy to be deceived by his low, melodic voice, but the content of his words wasn’t quite so sweet. If anything, it was sharp.

“If you’re an S-class hero, you should be over there with them.”

“Well, I suppose so.”

She pushed back her red hair and looked at her comrades through the window. But what could she possibly do?

As an S-class Appraiser, she was treated well by the Association, even joining the SH2 unit, but her combat power was non-existent. She might handle ordinary people, but it was precarious for her to survive a battle against monsters. To put it simply, she was a flawed S-class.

“In the first place, if I were a proper hero, I wouldn’t be involved with the likes of you.”

“Hahaha, that is true. Hmm.”

Han Jeyu said that and then checked the time once.

By this time, they had likely succeeded in stealing the necklace. And there should have been some change within the dome.

Screeech—.

“Shall we get moving?”

“Are you leaving?”

“Why? Would you like to come with me? I would welcome that. I’d like to see the look on their faces when they’re shocked.”

Han Jeyu laughed, placing one hand on his chest and extending the other toward her. San Ihyeong waved her hand as if disgusted.

“No thanks. Nothing good comes from being caught with you.”

“It seems Ha Cheongwon-ssi has already caught on, though?”

“….How do you know that?”

“…My, my. Seeing the atmosphere turn bloodthirsty in an instant, you really are an S-class, San Ihyeong-ssi.”

The cafe was suddenly filled with murderous intent. The man who had been silent stepped forward to protect Han Jeyu.

“In the first place, didn’t you prepare yourself to be caught? Perhaps because of that, San Ihyeong-ssi of this regression was quite easy to coax. Isn’t it strange? Was your mind impatient?”

“This regression?”

What did that mean?

As San Ihyeong furrowed her brows, Han Jeyu paused for a moment before speaking again.

“…Ah, it seems I hadn’t mentioned that far yet. ….It’s fine. I’ll tell you about it next time. Our time is up, so we must be going now. Well then, I look forward to your continued cooperation.”

Han Jeyu bowed his head slightly. When he looked up again, his eyes were curved in a gentle, smiling crescent.

“Mr. Traitor of the Association.”

Adding one last remark in a low voice, he turned around, his coat fluttering over his shoulders. Even his exit looked like that of a villain. Left alone in the cafe, San Ihyeong slumped over the table.

Vrrr— Vrrr—

The phone continued to vibrate next to her as she lay listless, but San Ihyeong did not answer. It was better for her mental health to ignore the name displayed on the screen.

[ Precognition Four-Eyes ]

Buried deep in her arms, she muttered.

“….How can I ever face you.”

***

Entering the unknown space, Verite first checked her hands. She could see, but she couldn’t see her hands. She felt as though she were waving her palms in the air, but still, nothing was visible. Yet, a certain figure was vivid.

[ What is this? Is it you…. who spoke to me? ]

And Verite was certain that the figure was the one speaking to her.

Speaking? The speaker?

Verite couldn’t yet judge what expression to use.

Whish. This time, something circled her rapidly. The felt wind was the evidence, but even the body that felt it was hidden in darkness and invisible.

[ …You aren’t royalty, are you? Well, it’s been an age since those fools were unable to call me forth, so I suppose it stands to reason. ]

Unable to call it forth? The royalty?

“Are there… specific conditions to call you forth?”

[ Hm? Of course. If there were no conditions for summoning the World Tree, could it even be called the World Tree? ]

“…World Tree? B-but isn’t the World Tree just like a giant tree?”

[ Look here, child. A great being isn’t a great being for no reason. If it were just a tree, there would be no reason to revere it as the World Tree. However, it is peculiar. Half of your body is not royal, yet I feel the aura of royalty. This sort of case is rare. ]

The World Tree circled around her.

A plain, scrawny girl. Not particularly talented in magic. Not the type of talent suited for the world created by that royalty.

[ …Furthermore, you are not a liar. ]

There was only one condition the royalty set when they first made a contract with the World Tree.

‘I will create a world you have never seen before. A world filled only with falsehoods, without truth. Well, don’t you want to see it?’

The first King was a fellow who pursued nothing but cruel amusement. Since such a kingdom couldn’t last long, it was the World Tree itself that had granted permission.

“I’m not a liar?”

[ At least not in the world I created. Originally, liars are incapable of feeling guilt. To them, it is not a sin but a tool for survival. Even if they blame something, they blame the tool, not themselves. That is how humans are. ]

This child was different. The only emotion surrounding her entire body was guilt, making it difficult to sift through and find other emotions.

But that was all. That wouldn’t make this girl royalty, nor would it make her special.

Normally, her body would have immediately run rampant, unable to endure my sap. Especially since the blood of the royalty who made the contract isn’t flowing through her, and her very existence isn’t being welcomed by the world.

“E-excuse me… then.”

Verite had been listening to the World Tree, but there was no more time. Even at this moment, Samela would be dying in the world on the other side of her consciousness.

“Can you lend your power to me, since I’m not a liar?”

[ Hm? ]

“I heard that if you drink the sap, the royal relic, you can have infinite mana. That’s why the royalty protects it so fiercely. Since I’ve drunk the sap too, can’t I borrow a bit of your power?”

[ Ahh, so my legend was being passed down like that. ….Yes, yes. Well, that’s not entirely wrong. But in that case, we must form a new contract? ]

“A new… contract?”

A voice that could be either male or female suddenly drew close to her ear. A thick whisper began to entice her.

[ I promised the First King that I would only lend my power to the King of Liars. But you are not a liar, so to lend you power, I must completely collapse the original world. ]

“Completely….”

Completely collapse the world?

The sentence didn’t fully resonate. Did it mean it would no longer lend power to the liars?

[ Even I didn’t expect the kingdom founded by the First to last this long. It’s truly absurd. Even though it’s a world filled with liars, it ran just fine. In fact, the side filled with good people perished faster. It was boring. But you are interesting, so it’s fine to form a contract again. ]

“…That means if I just make the contract again, I can use your power, right?”

[ Yes. If you make the contract, you won’t become a monster because of my power. ….Well, though there will be a slight side effect. ]

“A side effect?”

[ It has nothing to do with you. Well, will you contract? ]

“I-I’ll do it! Now, please do it right now!”

Samela is dying even now. Verite firmly believed she was the only one who could save her. Whether it liked Verite striking her invisible chest or not, the World Tree that had been circling around stopped.

Light gradually seeped into the invisible form. It wavered like an aurora, then shrank like a star. After several transformations, the World Tree had suddenly become Verite. The same height, the same build, the same face as Verite.

Verite reached out her hand to Verite.

[ Now, girl. If you take my hand now, you will become the most powerful being in this dimension. When you move your fingers, flowers will bloom; on the ground where you take a step, grass will grow. But simultaneously, on the day you stop breathing, fire will spread to all mountains, the ocean will become a desert, and the sky will turn red. ]

Such massive power. Compressing all that power and shoving it into the body of a single girl was an adventure even for the World Tree.

However, it was an entity that had lived an eternal life. Shouldn’t there be at least some fun in this tedious life of a tree to be a consolation?

And the World Tree was sensing it. The power behind her, which was protecting this girl even within its own dimension, however faintly. An unknown power that did not belong to this dimension. It wanted to actually see that power.

[ If you want to contract with me, take this hand. ]

Verite’s hand, which had hesitated in every choice, immediately grasped the hand of the World Tree.

“I’ll contract!”

[ A good choice. Then, watch closely. Everything is your fate, the result of your choices. ]

Fwaaaa—

A pure white light enveloped her vision.

When Verite, who had squeezed her eyes shut, opened them again, she was still in that thicket.

Without a moment to look at anyone else, Verite immediately folded back Samela’s clothes. The wound on her waist, where she had been struck by a sword, seemed to have opened wider than before. Placing her hand over the wound, Verite spoke softly.

“「Guérison」.”

A healing magic incantation she had overheard in the royal castle. If that dream-like contract were real, it would surely be effective.

Simultaneously with her incantation, Samela’s wound began to slowly, slowly shrink. A power that was like a miracle. The wound that had been so severe had completely healed before long, and new skin was budding. Samela’s face, which had been furrowed in painful sleep, had also turned peaceful.

“…Ah.”

A miracle. Verite felt she understood why magic was called a miracle.

Now she had become a real mage. All the lies she had told until now had become the truth, and she was no longer a liar.

“I suppose you’ve made a contract with the World Tree?”

“Ah, silver-haired mister.”

“My name is Yoo Hwashin. So. Is the treatment finished?”

Hopping down from the bed, he crouched next to Verite and poked Samela’s shoulder.

He had planned to treat her directly once his stamina had returned to some extent, so was it a relief that he didn’t have to?

‘But it’s strange. Normally, when someone contracts with the World Tree, this girl should run rampant.’

In fact, the hell had to be established as a hell in the first place for her to leave this dimension.

Therefore, she had to play her role in the hell. If Verite didn’t become a monster, would she even want to leave this world?

‘Has something gone completely wrong?’

“There they are!”

“The rebels are over there!”

Two soldiers peeked through the bushes and immediately let out a shout. It seemed they had been caught up by the soldiers.

“It seems we’ve been caught. That’s why we should have just killed this girl.”

“That method is useless now.”

At Wang Hao’s words, Hwashin shrugged and stood up. Since they could use mana now anyway, the kids would fight well. So there was no need to worry about this part anymore. What remained was the method to take Verite out and close the hell in this perfectly fine situation.

“W-wait a minute… something’s wrong with my body…”

Just then, the throat of one of the soldiers who had pursued them turned purple, and soon his entire face turned ashen.

“W-what, what’s going on.”

The purple throat began to swell like bubblegum, and the other flustered soldiers stepped back.

“U-u-uugh, m-me, why am I like this right now—”

However, he wasn’t the only one who had begun to change.

“U-uaaaak!”

“My body, my body is strange!”

“Everyone, get out of—….”

Jeong Mueum, who had been staring blankly at the scene, turned pale and tugged on Yoo Jian’s arm.

“N-nuna. What is this—”

Tiring.