What thoughts did I harbor when I first saw the light at birth? A child’s thoughts as the dawn brushed past their eyes wouldn’t be many, I suppose.
I must have wanted to live well. The weak-looking prince lost his mother early and faced countless hardships while growing up. Fingernails were ripped, blood was shed, and flesh was torn.
If there’s anything I didn’t forget amidst the crushing pain, it was my mother’s teachings. Trust people, for the nature of humanity is wicked. How could I give up so easily?
It was stubbornness. I couldn’t let go of my own foolishness that deemed all teachings to be right. Even knowing it was wrong, I repeated the path I had walked and struggled over what could have been easily passed.
I am not an adult.
I’m not that great of a person. I am merely someone who happened to gain the opportunity of reincarnation by luck.
By chance, I touched the power of a dead dragon, and perhaps it would have been pitiful for someone. It wouldn’t have been strange to crumble in that reincarnation, and if the goddess hadn’t intervened, I might have fallen to the dead dragon and reigned over the world.
I harbored love in my heart. It didn’t take long to realize it was merely my own illusion, but that didn’t break my heart.
My first crush was painful, but the bond I met again was sweet. I could cling to the impossible dozens of times. Even knowing my entangled fate, I challenged it.
It didn’t have to be protected, yet I wanted to grow strong and die before that person.
I wielded a sword and saw the end with it.
I felt relieved. Perhaps it was because I first had such feelings upon reincarnation, I could slowly move forward afterward.
I had gone mad at the fate that didn’t change even after dying several times. I tore my own throat and inflicted torture upon myself, wishing for eternal death. Do I still wish for that death? Well…
Robert chuckled to himself at the absurdity. At first, safety was my goal. Now, it wasn’t.
The connections I had built were not trivial, and I realized it clearly through this incident. The connections and life I carried were not so light. I had way too many desires left to let go of and die without regret.
I couldn’t act mindlessly. I admit, this time’s sacrifice was reckless. I could have stopped at the point of just a little injury with a greater effort.
If I had deployed magic with Adele, we could have ended with just minor injuries. It was the name Adele that turned my eyes. I valued my own life far too lightly.
Amidst the vividly crumbling light, that man who was once a duke let out a sigh. The space crumbled away, now buried in darkness, leaving only the flickers of a light that barely wriggled.
Even the myriad of things could be called mixed. It was the inner self of one who had undergone a hundred reincarnations—not a normal person.
Even if only fragments remain as I crumble down, would that really be ordinary? Simply perceiving it can generate understanding.
Just feeling it can lead to progress. Let alone if you are the master residing within, facing your inner self that has preserved all the time you’ve gone through.
Even if the space crumbles, it doesn’t mean you can wake up right away. The energy received from the goddess, buried like frost in the heart, began to circulate throughout the body.
Cold and chilly like the winter wind, yet it carries Adrian’s kindness within. Just like the playful smile Miragen always showed, there was a unique charm to it.
The coldness akin to winter wind reminds me of Adele. It might be a bit embarrassing, but I couldn’t help but feel strange emotions every time I thought of the three women. It had been a long time since I discarded the idea of choosing just one. Either death or, if not, take all three.
‘Not that greedy.’
But it had to be this way. Someone who was not chosen must not be sad. If I were to accept the hearts of all three, and if their feelings were to go astray, at that point, I thought I would leave the continent entirely.
Even to a place where I couldn’t find Adele. In the imagined world, I had distracting thoughts. I acquire knowledge I didn’t know. I search for the route I had never seen and open up the previously inaccessible channels of magic.
The sword, something I held to protect.
That’s why I need to become stronger than anyone else. Am I stronger than anyone right now? Not enough. I was far from being able to slay a dead dragon, and still a bit short of facing all demons unharmed.
In the imagined world, even if I swung the sword, my body wouldn’t grow. After all, growing physically would only make me a little stronger.
What I needed was to fully reach the enlightenment I had only felt weakly until now. My breath becomes ragged. As the imagined world collapses, Robert’s energy trembles.
It was the same in the real world. The overflowing energy from my pounding heart. The magic that began as a tiny spark filled the room.
Adele and Adrian’s complexions began to turn pale. There weren’t many emotions flashing through their trembling eyes.
They were flustered, perhaps hoping that Robert was about to wake up. What if he doesn’t wake up? That can’t be— as that conviction surged, my hands stabilized Robert’s magic.
Thump, thump.
That my heart is beating means magic is flowing. If the heart stops, magic will also cease. Robert noticed the external influences and moved his magic even more actively.
In the hundreds and thousands of imaginations wielding swords, I discovered the route. What read from the energy infused by the goddess was the power of the dead dragon. That great evil could naturally take shape just by feeling its power.
It hides mountains and covers the sky. Just by roaring, the earth trembles. Just by locking eyes, all beasts go wild.
The scales cannot be easily pierced by a sword, and no matter how powerful a magician might be, even a small flame created by a dragon is hard to defend against.
“Saintess, what on earth—!”
“It seems he’s trying to wake up.”
As Adrian answered flatly, just as he thought, the reaction happening within Robert’s body was close to resurrection. Flames erupted from the body, which had perfectly healed all wounds.
The reaction happening in Robert’s body was close to resurrection. Flames ignited from a perfectly healed body.
Life energy that even the Saint’s miracle couldn’t fill surged from the heart, circulating throughout the body like a freshly born child.
This was different from before; it felt as if a magic power close to resurrection was stirring within. Enduring this process depended on the alignment of the inner self and reality.
It was a sound that could only perfectly match if both handled magic power equally. Be dangerous. Clearly, if they failed, it was evident they would be separated forever without achieving harmony.
How could perfect alignment be attained if their hearts were not connected? A mere mortal would not have even attempted it, but Robert and Adrian simply circulated their magic power without hesitation.
From the heart to the legs, from the legs to the arms, from the arms to the chest, from the chest to the head.
It would be hard to find something more difficult than this, but the weight of the bond they had built made it not difficult at all. Now, just by hearing each other’s voice, they could tell what emotions each held.
With a loud explosion of magic power, Adele surrounded the room with her magic. She didn’t want others to notice this commotion.
Robert’s inner world was shattering at a faster pace as well. Yet, it was filling up quickly.
He was moving toward a realm he had never reached before, now realizing that he had talent, finally seeing the light after so long. Turo had filled a lot in his absence, but it wasn’t about Turo’s importance in capturing the dead dragon.
‘Returning to the starting point.’
It wasn’t that one could catch a dragon just by extending a sword in some stance. As he simply thought of the will to kill, something responded in kind.
The tightly shut corners of his mouth twisted. He had an inkling of what it was. The realization that felt so far away was drawing closer as his body stirred.
Sword, body, mind.
How he caught it, how he swung it, and with what heart he severed it—those countless images surged forth. It didn’t take long for them to blend together naturally.
From the once empty eyes, a sharpness emerged. Just like a closed flower bud blooming, as the surging magic calmed down, Robert’s breathing gradually stabilized.
It was coming back. He wasn’t such a fool or an idiot that he wouldn’t realize that, and so, with a subtle expression, Adele tightly grasped Robert’s hand.
With the hand that still lacked a ring, it grabbed the left hand that had the ring on. If he were to rise and see his finger, what would he say?
-…What the hell is this?
Imagining throwing the ring away in disbelief filled his mind. Would that really happen? Maybe it was something he could take offense to. It had been a confession made in his unconsciousness.
Believing their hearts were the same was just a misunderstanding, and he might have had feelings for another woman. In reality… he might have already done so with the Saint or the Princess.
-I prefer Miragen more.
-I prefer Adrian more.
Adele’s expression hardened as she took a deep breath. It wasn’t easy to hide the killing intent directed at Adrian beside her. What would she do about the Saint if that were the case?
Adele’s expression, swallowed in confusion, stiffened. It wasn’t easy to hide the killing intent towards Adrian next to her. What should she do about the Saint then?
In the past, she would have acted immediately, but now that wildness had been tamed for quite some time. She wouldn’t act rashly, especially if it was something Robert would dislike; Adele could endure it for as long as necessary.
Wiggle.
As magic power fully spread, Robert’s body began to move little by little. Consciousness and flesh were united, and now that consciousness was returning.
There was no need to hold onto magic anymore. The resurrected body, the returned mind. Within the completely vanished dream world, Robert’s eyes stirred awake. The inner world was no longer needed.
It was time to return to the world again.
The frequency of the body’s wriggling increased. Adrian quietly contained tears that were about to burst. It was better to treat him as usual.
If he looked like he was anxious to see him, that would be quite embarrassing.
“…Robert.”
Finally, when the wriggling stopped, a blue eye moved between the slightly opened eyelids. Immediately rushing over, Adele took his hand.
It was so fast that Adrian, who hadn’t mastered the art, couldn’t even react.
Umm—
For a moment, the cracked voice that hadn’t spoken for days was heard, but upon realizing Adele was in front of him, Robert smiled faintly.
He had so much to say. About the ring on his hand, and even things he wanted to share with Adrian and Miragen.
Of course, he had no intention of doing that now.
It could wait until everything was over, so he could at least muster a response. The expanded awareness made him feel a different world than before.
He knew instinctively where the other ring was, even without seeing it. Naturally, he rose and reached out to pull the ring from the box.
As he took Adele’s hand to slip the ring on, her eyes, living in a stopped time, blinked for the first time. She wore an expression that couldn’t believe the ring on her hand.
Illusion? Hallucination? Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. Even if he were to die now, Adele felt enough joy to die smiling.
“I think I like you too.”
Huh…? Uh, yeah. I, too… like you…“
Though he was speaking to another woman in front of the one who had already accepted his heart, what could he do? After all, as he had to embrace all three women… it was something he had to prepare for at least once.
Seeing Adrian, whose demeanor had turned markedly cold compared to before, Robert chuckled and parted his lips.
He had no intention of saying sorry.
After all, there was no time for that, so it was enough that he had responded immediately after waking up.
“I’ll move forward.”
He would slay the Dead Dragon and end this confusion. It was time to conclude life number 101. Regardless of how that end would be, Robert wanted to finish everything within a week.
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