“I’m going to stay by your side… I’ll be your companion. *Hic…* I won’t rebel or say anything you dislike. So, please… please send Schlus back to the original world. It’s a request…”
“……”
Julia was doing her best to speak clearly while her tears streamed down.
Her once pretty white nightgown was now muddy and torn, smeared with blood, a complete mess.
Yet, Julia didn’t move away, wrapping herself around Schlus, whose chest was sunken, struggling to breathe.
“Ah… Aah…”
Schlus Hainkel’s pupils wavered.
Only then did he realize.
To Julia, he was nothing but a villain.
Even being alone in a world with nothing wouldn’t earn him her heart.
Of course, Julia would play along with whatever he said and smile.
But that was all an act.
An act to send the real ‘Schlus’ back to his original world.
To Julia, he was not the real Schlus Hainkel.
Only a villain who tried to kill the real Schlus Hainkel.
“Damn…”
What meaning would there be in obtaining the companion he so desired, only for her, a woman who wore the face of his former lover, to live her life hating him?
Perhaps it would be even more painful than being alone.
Every time he discovered the hidden forced smiles within her, every time he recognized the tone of her act, it would tear his heart apart with pain.
He made such a foolish decision.
Having completely skewed his judgment due to the loneliness that had continued for so long.
Schlus Hainkel admitted this and extended his right hand.
At that moment, a bottle of elixir appeared out of thin air and landed in his palm.
It was a bottle made over the course of nearly a hundred thousand years, gathered drop by drop from across the continent.
Schlus Hainkel opened the lid of the bottle and let the contents trickle into Schlus’s mouth.
And then he secretly splashed a drop toward Julia.
Instantly, Julia’s elbows and knees healed as if they were washed clean.
“*Cough! Cough! Cough…!*”
Soon, Schlus’s collapsed ribcage returned to normal, and he let out an odd coughing sound as he stood up.
His breathing was back to normal.
Immediately, Schlus hugged Julia and positioned her behind him, becoming extremely cautious.
“Calm down. I have no intention of harming you now.”
“Does it look like you’ve calmed down? If I can’t kill you, I can’t go back—”
“I’ll send you back. Both of you.”
“What’s the condition?”
“None. Just go.”
“……”
Schlus was slightly surprised by the change in attitude from just a day before.
The Schlus Hainkel from this world, who had seemed like an excited child when he first arrived, had now become melancholy as if he had lost everything.
“Are you going to be okay?”
“Seriously… Are you pitying me? Why? Are you going to stay here and be my companion?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then just go quickly. Before I change my mind. You need to go back and see the ending.”
Looking at the smile of the omnipotent transcendent, Schlus felt a bit of pity for him.
A man left alone in a world with nothing.
He had lost everyone precious to him and was unable to even achieve the goal of watching the ending of the story, which was his final challenge in life.
Now, he had no choice but to remain forever submerged in loneliness without any way to escape.
But that was entirely his responsibility.
It was all the result of his mistakes and choices.
Suddenly feeling a chill throughout his body, it struck him that this was not just someone else’s issue.
“Is there no dimensional coordinate or some direct way to connect to your world…?”
“I don’t know.”
“Damn, I don’t know either. If you open it, you’ll figure it out on your own.”
“Let’s do that.”
He remembered the way.
He wouldn’t miss it on the way back.
Schlus Hainkel held onto himself and shook hands.
Then he took Julia’s hand, leaning down to kiss her knuckles when—
“Ts.”
Fearing he’d leave behind lingering attachment, he let go.
He then thrust his hand into the air, beginning to tear through space and time.
Even as a tiny gap opened, an enormous amount of authority was being siphoned from his body.
“Get out quickly!!!”
Finally, a violet crack burst forth, widening the gap.
Even while holding onto it, his powers were dissipating like crazy.
Realizing time was short, Schlus, without hesitation, embraced Julia and jumped into the crack.
*Boom…!*
“*Ha… Ha…*”
Moments after the two vanished, the gap closed immediately.
The empty air in front of him closed as if it had never emitted a dreadful light.
Breathing heavily, Schlus Hainkel looked at his hands.
His hands were trembling.
“*Ha… Haha…*”
He could feel no power of omnipotence anymore.
He could sense it immediately.
He returned to the body of an ordinary human.
The only difference from other humans was that he wouldn’t age or die.
“How the heck do I farm grapes now.”
There was a vineyard that spread across the entire land that had once been a kingdom.
Now, he was at a complete loss about how to harvest it all and make wine with this feeble human strength.
“It was somewhat enjoyable…”
He hadn’t felt so joyful for the past 24 hours in a hundred thousand years.
Even though his ugly form was now revealed, it would still become a memory he could reflect on at any time.
Whenever he felt lonely, he would unfold the memories of today as if flipping through an album.
With a bittersweet smile, Schlus Hainkel stood up—
“……?”
He spotted something shining in the distance.
Curious, he walked over and found a large tree root.
Between the tree roots, there was a gap just big enough for a person to squeeze in.
Peering through it, Schlus discovered a piece of paper glimmering in the sunlight.
It wasn’t paper from this world.
Schlus Hainkel picked it up, entranced.
It was filled with beautiful handwriting.
– Schlus Hainkel. If you are reading this letter, we must have returned safely to our original world. First of all, I want to sincerely thank you. The Schlus next to me says that I can only return by defeating you, but I believe there is another way. Even in a different world, you are still Schlus Hainkel. I believe in your kindness…
“*Ha.*”
He couldn’t help but flip the letter over, unable to read it all at once.
Schlus Hainkel knelt down and wept endlessly.
All the words he had longed to hear were contained within.
Even so, there were still many words left to read on the back of the letter.
Read slowly.
One line per millennia.
Schlus Hainkel made that promise.
*
72 hours since Schlus Hainkel went missing.
The carriage that arrived at the institution came to a rough stop.
A girl with green hair in a thin silk outfit jumped out and took a deep breath.
“It’s been a while.”
A girl from the subhuman race clad in armor welcomed her.
The Holy Knight Commander, Pelaine, greeted her.
The two exchanged light greetings and began to walk down the street side by side.
“First of all, thank you for coming at my call. In this chaotic situation, it’s a relief to have a powerhouse like Trie-nim here at the institution.”
“Yes…”
Although she had come here for a different reason, she decided to go along with that narrative for now.
She had rushed over after hearing the news of Schlus’s disappearance.
The training she had begun to protect him would be meaningless if he was gone.
“That’s over there…”
“Yes. Lichtenburg Mansion.”
The Lichtenburg Mansion, which had crumbled with ongoing repairs.
Looking at it, Trie felt a tickle deep in her chest.
To suddenly disappear, enveloped in a purple light—such a thing was hard to believe.
How could such a thing happen…?
Feeling a surge of emotion within, Trie turned to look at Pelaine.
Pelaine wore a calm and serene expression.
“Aren’t you sad?”
“I’m saddened. If I were to express the extent, I wouldn’t even be able to find the right words, but I am extremely sad. However, Lord Schlus has given me a mission. I will do my best to fulfill that.”
“I’m sorry for asking such a question…”
“It’s fine.”
Trie realized just then that she had thrown a rude question and bowed her head.
She missed her friends.
She wanted to see Aintz, Erica, and Iris.
Surely they would have some clue about Schlus’s chances of returning.
Being privy to secrets even the royal family didn’t know, perhaps Schlus had whispered something to them.
As she was about to head towards the Imperial University—
*Rumble…!*
“Huh?”
A cracking sound erupted from afar.
Instinctively, Trie and Pelaine’s eyes widened as they looked in that direction.
From the collapsed part of Lichtenburg Mansion, a purple flash erupted.
“Schlus…”
Before they knew it, Trie was running towards the mansion, her heart racing.
Pelaine followed closely, sprinting after her.
“*Ha… Ha…*”
Trie crashed against the bars and peered inside.
The purple crack was gradually shrinking, hiding itself in an instant.
In its place, something appeared—
“*Ha ha…* I knew you’d come back…”
A man holding a small girl.
Schlus Hainkel stood in a room that was half-destroyed and fully visible.
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