Hack! Cough! Cough! Ugh!
…
It had been ominous since long ago.
It was strange that Cern left Linda in that condition.
Cern, who was here with his daughter, didn’t even try to fix her.
I had somewhat expected it.
But now that the truth was confirmed, it felt even more bittersweet.
Cern hadn’t simply not fixed Linda.
It was that he couldn’t fix her.
“Yoo Jin… is it you…?”
“I heard it was cataracts. How did you know?”
“You little brat… not completely blind yet…”
Cough, cough Cern was getting up while coughing.
Beside him, his wife and daughter held him up with worried faces.
Seeing that made me smile involuntarily.
He said he was going to take care of the family he had neglected.
It seemed like he successfully reunited with them over the last three years.
Even though Cern looked like a dying old man now, he appeared happier than ever.
“Did you come to scold me? I’m sorry… for not being able to stop my Linda… I should have at least left a warning… Honestly, I thought you were dead and just forgot about you.”
Cern was honestly pouring out his feelings.
He sounded embarrassed, but I didn’t feel hurt or disappointed.
After all, this was the norm.
It was special for someone to wait for three years, firmly believing that a clearly dead person was still alive.
“It seems you’ve lived quite happily.”
“I mean, I have… but I haven’t had a day without worry. I’m an old man, but my child still has days to live…”
Cern trailed off again, coughing.
Given the remnants of the world’s destruction he had heard, there wouldn’t have been a day of peace for Cern.
But now he could relax.
I could see Cern’s worried face gradually returning to calm.
“Don’t worry. I’ve returned. You can close your eyes peacefully now.”
“You brat! Cough! Hack! Ugh! What do you mean treat me like a dying corpse when I’m suffering from a cold? If that’s the case, just disappear!”
…
Weren’t you dying?
Thinking about it, Cern was still in his sixties.
He just looked so old; it didn’t seem like death was coming anytime soon.
Feeling a bit awkward, I approached Cern, who was sulking and turning away.
“I need a clockwork machine. Strong and solid.”
…
“How much?”
“Enough to withstand 9th-tier magic’s subordinates.”
“What the… Am I supposed to make a weapon of mass destruction? I can’t make a machine that withstands 9th-tier magic, but I won’t be able to find a core that can handle that. What kind of mana stone would it even be…”
“I’ve already got the mana stone to use as a core, so no need to worry. Just the clockwork machine is enough.”
…
Cern stared at me, mouth agape and eyes wide.
He looked like he wanted to ask how I got that mana stone, but he seemed to hold it in with a cough.
Thanks to that, we didn’t go off on a tangent.
“I can make a clockwork machine like that, but as you can see, my eyes… I guess I’ll need to rely on my daughter.”
“But… Linda has lost her arms and legs during the process of me overpowering her. She’s not in a state to work.”
Fortunately, by removing part of Draken, Linda had completely returned as a trustworthy ally.
But the problem was that all her limbs were severed.
Though she began emergency repairs, it seemed it would take quite a while to reattach her limbs precisely enough to work.
At the very least, a whole day…
And then there would be the time needed for Linda to assemble the new clockwork machine, by then the world might already have perished.
“Hehehe. While Linda is certainly my precious daughter, I wasn’t referring to her. I’m offering you this young lady. Come, greet her.”
“Ah, hello…”
…
A small girl stepped forward shyly and bowed her head.
I was momentarily taken aback.
What am I supposed to do with this girl?
“What do you mean? I’m supposed to marry someone else.”
“You brat! You think I’d be willing to give my precious daughter to you?! Cough! Ugh! I’m telling you to let her handle it! She may look unreliable, but her skill is definitely there. She’s a student I taught myself before my eyes turned this way, and one of the few engineers I acknowledged…”
Cern was yelling in excitement.
Cern acknowledges her?
This little girl?
With Cern’s personality, he wouldn’t let her off just because she was his daughter.
That means she must possess skills far superior to all the engineers he’s encountered.
If Cern said so, I have no choice but to believe it.
“Then, I look forward to working with you. The required specifications are all written here, so you can get to work right away. If you need materials or parts, contact the Alliance through Linda. Please, do not hesitate to request anything at all.”
“Yes. And what’s the deadline…?”
“By tomorrow. There are no extensions. By tomorrow, at the very least the core must be completed, even if other things are unfinished.”
“Hieee…”
The girl gasped and looked back at her father.
Her expression seemed to question if this was right, but Cern simply nodded calmly.
Yes, a top-tier engineer should be able to take on such an absurd task.
…
…
…
News spread throughout the world.
The hero, Yoo Jin, who had vanished after defeating a necromancer, had returned.
He had eradicated the remnants of the undead army and tamed the Great Demon.
There was a minor issue with the betrayal of the first fleet, but it was quickly suppressed.
The world regained peace.
Now there was nothing left to threaten the current world.
There was no longer a need to worry about an unknown enemy suddenly pouring demonic energy or an undead army stabbing you in the night.
A world where everyone could sleep peacefully and kick their feet up.
The Alliance declared the completion of such a world, and began the process of disbanding.
It was over.
The long, drawn-out war was finally over.
There were some voices doubting if this was truly the end, but those were drowned out by hopeful people.
No ominous voices were heard anywhere.
… Did I become complacent?
I should hope so.
Focusing on the light of the ultimate technique spreading everywhere, Yoo Jin murmured.
The light had completely covered the city, conveying its essence to Yoo Jin.
Joy, elation, and the thoughts of people enjoying their daily lives trickled in.
Yet among them, the dark shapes lurking made Yoo Jin’s expression twist.
Draken’s powers had not all been reclaimed yet.
Most had been retrieved and concentrated on Linda, but some of Draken’s powers he left for monitoring remained scattered around.
And this was the same for those within the Alliance.
Except for those personally involved in searching my inner world, nothing about the operation could be disclosed.
That’s why only the three heroines, Belphegor, and Mi Jeong shared the overall plan.
The rest didn’t even know an operation was underway and pretended to disband the Alliance while ending the war with the unknown enemy.
The operational stages were scattered all over the world.
The clockwork machine was being made by Cern’s daughter.
The mana stone to be combined with the clockwork machine was being inspected by Tay.
And the remaining airships were under modification.
Everyone involved in the operation wouldn’t even know what they were doing.
They would merely think that I was doing my usual eccentric things.
But when everything is pieced together, my ultimate weapon to fulfill my ambitions will be complete.
My ambition…
And my mind was still uneasy.
After all, everything was based on my ambitions.
Even though there was a secure way to save the current world.
I was afraid of being forcibly returned to reality, so I couldn’t choose that.
Betting everything on the destruction of the current world, I was engaged in a gamble.
Do I even have the right to do this?
I can’t shake off those reflections within me.
… It’s frustrating.
What’s?
… Yoo Jin only thinks of others. He never considers himself.
…
Isn’t that a different problem?
Mi Jeong bit my arm, puffing her cheeks in mild anger.
|People treat you like a hero, but no matter how I look at it, I don’t think so. A true hero doesn’t lose confidence that the path he walks is the right one.|
“That’s true. I’m a coward who can’t be sure of things based on intuition alone.”
That’s why I’m weak against investments or gambling.
Born an ordinary citizen.
Without clear evidence, I can’t jump in, and I always regret it only after the time has passed.
|But is that really a bad thing? I’d rather have someone like you, who questions and agonizes, than those who walk the wrong path thinking they’re right. And despite your deliberation, you always walk the path you believe in. You hesitate, but you never give up. That’s what makes you special. A reason to be special even though you’re not a hero.|
…
|I want to give you more confidence.|
Belphegor, who had slipped smoothly out of the sheath and transformed into a humanoid form, whispered in my ear.
|That being said, he has lived through a time span unimaginable for us from the depths of the void.|
“I know that too.”
|So now imagine. When an intelligent entity gets to know the existence of the current world one day, what kind of emotion would arise? What would it feel like to realize that it’s not alone in this vast emptiness?|
…!
My eyes widened at those words.
I seemed to understand a little why Draken was racing towards the current world without regard for means or methods.
