"To place a burden... on the world."
Dersia seemed fixated on that sentence as she turned the page with a serious expression.
"Hmm."
"Does something come to mind?"
"I do have something, but since it remains in the realm of simple conjecture for right now, I am hesitant to speak of it."
At that moment, Ciel, who had been listening quietly from behind, interrupted.
"Master. Even if it is a conjecture, it is fine, so please explain what you just thought of in detail."
"... What?"
Dersia raised an eyebrow. However, Ciel’s spirit did not diminish in the slightest as she retorted.
"You always do this. Is it only once or twice that you brush things off saying I wouldn't understand even if I heard it, and then act alone?"
"Even last time, you went and committed an incident without any intention of explaining."
"Even a rough explanation is fine, so please speak about what you just felt; only then will Lord Jern feel at ease."
Having a guilty conscience, Dersia could not refute her and sighed as she answered.
"I did not speak because it truly is nothing special. During the last battle, the one called Suirak said something to the effect that this physical-realm could also be someone's heart-realm."
"What does that mean?"
"It is nonsense. It is not even worth debating. If the physical-realm is someone else's heart-realm, then what is that heart-realm composed of?"
"In the end, a heart-realm is composed of the physical-realm. It is merely sophistry, like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg."
She dismissed it sharply.
"However, since they are psychopaths capable of such thinking, I wondered if they might have established this plan. That is the extent of the story."
"Isn't planning different from executing?"
"That is also true. I still do not understand what this means. Spreading a burden... to the world? This implies overlaying an individual's heart-realm onto the physical-realm..."
Dersia furrowed her brow.
"No matter how much I think about it, I only reach the conclusion that it is impossible. However, the thought that the Red Lotus are merely ridiculous people chasing illusions does not strike me either."
"There must be some method."
"Jern. There is something I wish to ask you out of simple curiosity."
"What is it?"
She blinked her eyes as if genuinely curious and asked.
"Let us assume their plan succeeds, and your Deep Sea unfolds into the world."
"Through these booklets, I have seen the appearance of those things called deep sea creatures and know they are dangerous, but I have never heard about how much power they possess. What result do you guess would occur?"
I asserted without hesitation.
"It will fail unconditionally. This is a burden that cannot create fallen ones."
"Hmm, does that mean they can be easily disposed of? Looking at them individually, it seems they are not that strong."
"It is the opposite."
"... Pardon?"
"They are too strong. Far beyond the level of becoming a burden; if these guys are released into the physical-realm, the destruction of the Empire is confirmed before it even starts."
If the deep sea creatures are released, and if they consider humans other than my blood as targets— From that point on, there is no safe place on the ground. These guys can use Tide Sense. No matter where one hides, they will surely find and kill them.
At that speed, perhaps...
"It would take about 3 hours until half the population is deleted."
"Mm, I see..."
With a look of being appalled, Dersia lifted the back of her fountain pen and dripped ink onto the book.
"If that is true, there is no time. As it is an officer of the Red Lotus, there is much more I wish to ask, but for now, I will erase it."
"Erase it?"
"If the mass is digested like this, it will die. Then it would return to the Red Lotus with information about you, Jern. If that happens, what the Red Lotus will target becomes too obvious."
"... Can't we just keep it confined forever—" "We could, but it would also become a target for the Red Lotus. It is best to avoid troublesome matters. Therefore, I will erase the mass's memories."
"?"
Dersia spoke languidly, as if deciding on a dinner menu.
"I can erase, modify, and add to what is recorded in me by myself. However, since I have not yet reached the Heavenly Realm and am not perfect, I cannot touch that much content."
"I have a long way to go to reach the state of complete reorganization. Still... I might be able to add this much..."
Watching her muttering something while modifying the book, something suddenly came to mind.
"Is that a magic that was developed not long ago?"
"?"
"Yes. That is correct."
"... By any chance, you didn't make that to use on me in the elf country last time, did you?"
"Still, we have obtained a great harvest. Since we learned the Red Lotus's purpose for trying to create the Three Calamities, and what they intend to do with the created Three Calamities."
Dersia suddenly brought up a different story.
"You didn't, right?"
"However, we did not learn what we aimed for. The method to resist the creatures living in the world of the deep sea creatures and the Three Calamities."
"It seems the mass does not know either... but in other words, it means this officer of the Red Lotus who conversed with the mass knows the method to control them."
"Ah, yes."
I got up from the seat next to Dersia and sat on Ciel's side. She naturally stroked my head and nodded.
"For Lord Jern to survive, contact with the Red Lotus will be inevitable."
"... That is the conclusion. In the end, it means their knowledge is required."
Dersia sighed and closed the book. From the closed book, black ink bubbled and flowed out, covering the desk. It looked as if it were bleeding.
"It is finished. The mass has died, but all they will know is the fact that the Empire caught on and sent Dersia, and in the process, the mass was caught in a trap and died instantly."
"This is incredibly impressive."
"I put quite a bit of effort into it."
"I see."
Even though I hadn't said much, Dersia, perhaps feeling a prick of conscience, stood up and opened the door.
"Ahem, I will return first with Ciel. Since you have the status of an Imperial Envoy, you can handle things appropriately tomorrow and return. And..."
Dersia glanced at the bed where Rahyan was lying and added.
"Are you really not going to reveal the truth to your father?"
"Yes."
I nodded.
Rahyan is not Rahyan. But that doesn't mean I am Rahyan either. So is there any need to poke at it and create problems?
"If you leave the puppet as is, there may remain room for the Red Lotus side to intervene. In the end, it is just a meaningless deception. I think it is right to reveal the truth and deal with everything."
"Well, I can't deny that."
Ultimately, an artificial lifeform created by the Red Lotus. No one knows what side effects might exist. Still, the option to kill did not exist.
The moment the word 'kill' is used, it has already become so.
"However, I do not think the Red Lotus's goal is to massacre the kingdom using these puppets. Their main purpose would be to create a base where they can hide, as seen in the book."
"Since they have only maintained the status quo without much disturbance until now, even if they return, it will not change significantly. And..."
I looked at the sleeping Rahyan and smirked.
"If he were truly being dominated, he wouldn't have helped in catching the mass."
"Resolving this matter so quickly is entirely thanks to that guy. Rather than a puppet, I want to think of him as a separate human they created."
"... You haven't changed."
Dersia looked at me with a peculiar expression. Various emotions were mixed, but summing it up, she didn't look too bad.
"When you return, let us talk about the Red Lotus then. And do you have a sensation that the burden has worsened in this battle?"
I tried waving my arm. The feeling of wading through water currents had become slightly more severe than before, but it was bearable.
"A little bit. Still, thanks to the Water Barrier, it isn't that severe."
"I will have to research that as well... understood for now. Let us meet at night after departing tomorrow."
"Yes. Understood."
When Dersia and Ciel left, only Rahyan and I remained in the room. I put the mask inside my clothes, prepared, and organized the situation. The deep sea creatures were not created separately during the process of me awakening the heart-realm, but are a characteristic of the heart-realm of the Three Calamities.
I knew the reason for the existence of the deep sea creatures, but the situation was still in a fog. Since what was needed was to find fragments that could control this rather than the reason. If it is part of the characteristic itself, it is much harder to touch.
"Mmm..."
Thinking about it, there is one strange point. If we assume all of this is true— '... In the end, what happened to me?'
The Red Lotus did not torture me. The Great System does not come into existence unless it is intentionally created. Yet I am a Great System, one of the Three Calamities, and the Deep Sea.
It means I am an entity where the worst absurdities overlap and overlap again. This is a coincidence? I can't treat it with weight right now because I have to deal with the deep sea creatures immediately, but it was certainly a strange matter.
'I don't know.' I pondered for a few minutes, but no answer came. Unavoidably, I woke Rahyan first.
"Rahyan, it's all over. Wake up."
"Ugh, mmm..."
I wanted to carry him on my back and return, but checking with Tide Sense, there were many guards even at this dawn hour. Tension was evident on their faces. Even though they received an order from Jahiyan to maintain secrecy, they had heard the fact that a colleague had died.
Going back carrying the prince on my back at this point... mm. It seemed nothing good would come of it. It was better to wake Rahyan and move together.
Rahyan rubbed his eyes, looked up at me, and blinked as if the sleepiness hadn't left yet.
"Brother Horn...?"
"Yeah. It's all over. We repelled all of the Red Lotus."
"Re, really?? Phew, that's a relief..."
Rahyan let out a sigh of relief and blushed as if embarrassed.
"I'm sorry, as a prince, I should have been awake since it's something happening to our kingdom, but I suddenly became tired..."
"It's fine. It's thanks to you telling us who that guy was. You did enough of what you had to do. You can be proud."
"If that's really true, I couldn't ask for more. Since I was young, I really struggled because of how I'd suddenly get like that whenever I did something..."
I scrutinized the happy-faced Rahyan as he spoke. ... Looking at him like this, he just looks human. He uses magic too.
It is fortunate that making them seems extremely difficult. If mass production were possible, they could have done the crazy act of creating falling ones out of the puppets they made. Or perhaps they made them for that purpose in the first place.
I shook my head to clear the idle thoughts and patted the guy's shoulder.
"Let's go back to the room first. Sleep soundly today."
"Yeah... Ah, right. Brother. Come to think of it, I got a new ability!"
"What? What kind of ability?"
I tilted my head at the sudden words. Rahyan began to explain with twinkling eyes.
"Today at the banquet, I met the most people in my life and tried really hard, you know?"
"Yeah. You did."
"I think it's thanks to that. Around this evening, I realized what my ability is."
"Really?"
That piqued my interest. Since the situation was urgent, I had just let it pass saying 'I see,' but I was actually quite curious about Rahyan's method of seeing other people's worlds. As I listened, Rahyan proudly raised his hand.
"Look at this!"
"Look at what?"
"Look a little closer!"
"?"
Nothing was visible. But looking a little closer— A very thin, semi-transparent plate was wrapped over his skin.
"This... what is it?"
"I experimented too, and I have this kind of ability!"
Rahyan separated a candle from a nearby lantern and lightly brought his palm to it.
"Hot, ouch..." ...
And startled, he pulled his hand away. He must have thought there was an ability to block it, but I guess not. I frowned and brought a kettle containing cold water.
"What will you do if a scar remains? Give me your hand."
"No! It starts from now!"
Rahyan made a determined expression and brought his palm over the candle flame again. I moved to stop him, but this time his expression was different. I couldn't find even a fragment of pain.
"It doesn't hurt at all!"
"... What?"
"This is my magic. I can avoid suffering pain I've experienced once!"
"...!"
"And, look at this."
Rahyan showed his palm that was touching the candle flame. Fire was burning on top of the shimmering membrane. To be precise, the fire was blazing.
Even though Rahyan's hand was the only thing to sustain combustion, that part alone remained fine. For a long while, the fire burned until Rahyan blew it out with a whoosh. Even after appearing to be extinguished, it flared up again and did not stop.
Eventually, his hand returned to normal only after I poured water on it.
"It becomes like this. Whatever this is."
"It adapts to the situation."
"Uh, yeah, it seems like that."
I know this ability.
Water Barrier.
The small world that protected me from the Deep Sea. I spoke slowly.
"That you... could see the worlds of other fallen ones."
"... Brother?"
"Since you had contact with a fallen one from a young age, your heart-realm judged so. That it had to adapt. To that world."
My Water Barrier wrapped around me to survive the danger called the Deep Sea and became a small diving suit. Even at this moment, it is struggling to keep me alive. Rahyan's danger was the fallen one.
His Water Barrier, which had been in contact with the mass since childhood, in order to protect its master. To warn him, if there was a fallen one nearby, it sensed it in some way and implemented that world similarly. It's not that the Water Barrier has intelligence.
It merely adjusted its body to survive. If I hadn't been drowning in the Deep Sea all day, my Water Barrier would have done something similar.
"A-are you okay? Why did your expression suddenly turn pale? Are you hurt somewhere?"
As I stood in a daze, Rahyan asked worriedly. I forced a smile and nodded.
"... It's nothing. I just had something to think about for a moment. Shall we go back?"
"Ah, okay!"
Right.
It really is nothing. A puppet follows the original's magic. It is a fact of that extent.
It isn't even that strange. If humanity was implemented as is, the world would also be composed similarly. The problem is one thing.
So, if my world, the world Rahyan's body possesses, is the Water Barrier. Whose is the Deep Sea? Where did it come from?
"It wasn't the time to blame others..."
I muttered to myself so Rahyan wouldn't hear and sighed. The Red Lotus didn't torture me?
Correct.
No one has ever tortured the me of this world. The Great System came to be without reason? That isn't it.
The me from South Korea. ... That memory was the fallen one.