*Hmm…?*
Madam Lichtenburg tilted her head after finishing a simple errand and returning home.
Erica, who had just left the house, was sitting in the living room.
Sitting silently and munching on snacks, the way her back trembled cutely made Madam Lichtenburg want to laugh.
Whenever she got angry, Erica couldn’t resist the sweet stuff; it was her habit.
Since it seemed that Erica hadn’t noticed her return yet, Madam Lichtenburg decided to smile and enjoy Erica’s back a little longer.
*I’m going crazy. I’m going crazy. I’m going crazy!*
Erica was shaking with anger while stuffing cookies into her mouth.
No matter how she thought about it, it was embarrassing.
She thought she might die from embarrassment.
How could she bow her head to a commoner?
And then she even apologized, using formal language!
Even if she was flustered after seeing blood, it was something her pride couldn’t accept.
But it wasn’t entirely baseless that she misunderstood.
With her neat school uniform and sturdy build, who would think that someone looking straight at a noble was a commoner?
From the fact that she outright used casual speech to a noble she met for the first time, it was already a look far removed from that of a commoner.
*But what could have happened…?*
As she calmed down from her excitement while consuming sugar, a new question arose.
The pool of blood in that warehouse.
And Schlus Hainkel, who looked exhausted as if he hadn’t slept for three days.
What in the world had happened?
Outwardly, there was no sign of injury.
So it couldn’t be due to an injury.
*Hematemesis…?*
What other way could there be to spit blood without an injury?
For Erica, hematemesis was the only thing that came to mind.
Was he suffering from an incurable disease?
*Huh?*
The incurable disease.
And the unusual entrance exam results for a commoner.
When these two connected, Erica gasped.
She recalled hearing a similar story before.
Someone who had no talent at all awakened to magic at an older age and, flaunting immense abilities, died suddenly within a few years…
She heard he had sold his lifespan to a demon. He gained magical talent in exchange for his life.
What if Schlus Hainkel was the same?
*Crazy bastard…*
Then, everything would make sense: the spitting of blood, the exhausted appearance, and how a commoner managed to be at the top.
The suspicion starting from minimal evidence soon turned into conviction within Erica.
*Hmm…?*
And Madam Lichtenburg, who quietly watched from behind, showed an enigmatic smile.
Hematemesis. And crazy bastard…?
The incomprehensible mumblings of Erica deepened Madam Lichtenburg’s worries.
*
Alright.
Schlus Hainkel.
Now I know this guy is the biggest idiot of idiots.
I’ve also accepted, albeit a bit dizzily, the fact that I need to maintain my position at the Imperial University for the entire first semester.
It’s already spilled water.
With a combination of knowledge and skills as a writer, I should be able to manage somehow.
… Or maybe not.
*But Mari…*
*Yes?*
I was currently eating.
No, it would be too pathetic to say “eating.”
Yes. I was dining.
A meal so lavish that I envied it.
*Didn’t you say you’d just clean? Why are you eating…?*
But the problem was that the person who made this was none other than Mari.
She clearly said she was just a caretaker.
If she wanted me to do some chores, she told me to find an attendant myself.
*You’re that weak, but you’re not hospitalized? How can you not eat? As a mother myself, I just couldn’t stand it.*
*Ah… I’m sorry for worrying you.*
*If you’re sorry, then eat!*
*Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.*
Is this what a mother’s heart is like?
In a world full of schemes and plots, there existed such a warm-hearted individual.
I didn’t have a memory of any character like that.
Ah. I guess it makes sense since she’s not a character I created.
*
*My contract ends today. I’ll likely be able to hire an attendant the day after the entrance ceremony, so I will prepare some food and leave it. Please take good care of yourself until then.*
*Really thank you.*
I can’t thank Mari enough.
She saved my life and treated me this kindly.
*Well, I’ll be going now.*
*Yes, thank you for your hard work, Mari. If you have any difficulties, feel free to contact me.*
*You want a student to ask for help?*
*Because you’re my benefactor. If I can help, I will roll up my sleeves and jump in.*
*Just saying that is already enough.*
*…*
It’s not just empty words.
Mari packed up her simple belongings and left the mansion.
Seeing as she’s a character I’ve never created, she would likely live quietly and die quietly, not interrupting the main story.
I probably would never meet her again unless I sought her out.
It felt so strange.
Perhaps it was because she was the first person I met in this novel that I didn’t know, making me feel even more attached.
While others all strongly felt like fictional characters, Mari felt like a real “person.”
*How strange.*
That said, I kept feeling an odd sense of discomfort.
There were definitely parts of this world that I hadn’t described.
In other words, pedestrians passing by.
Or the many staff members working at the Imperial University.
But just because I didn’t describe them, it didn’t mean ridiculous things like dragons hovering over the school would appear.
That would definitely break the plausibility.
Mari was definitely not a character I created.
Though my memories were a bit vague, I could recall every extra’s name well enough, so I was sure of that.
If she were a character I didn’t describe, there wouldn’t have been a need to add her as the “former” caretaker of the single dorm room.
Just having it set that the room was left unattended until an attendant was hired would have been enough.
That meant Mari wasn’t just a character added for no reason.
It meant she was added for a specific reason. To not break the plausibility.
And the clue was surely within the novel I wrote.
Though she’s a character I didn’t describe, there must have been a paragraph within what I wrote that metaphorically hinted at her.
When that thought crossed my mind…
*Shit.*
My forehead creased as a curse slipped out.
Mari Ayle. The “former” caretaker of the single dorm room.
Now that I think I know who she is, I spat out a curse and dashed out of the mansion.
I had no specific destination in mind.
Somewhere Mari might have gone.
I believed she was likely headed toward the residential area, so I dashed down the nearest alley.
*Shit, shit, shit.*
At the very beginning of the novel, I had made a very brief description.
The kingdom’s intelligence agency had an accomplice among the staff of the Imperial University.
But the moment his contract ended, he became worthless as he left the Imperial University.
He was turned into a bomb with no value but the risk of exposing the agency’s activities.
In the end, the agency killed him.
If my guess is correct, that person would be Mari.
To be honest, I had no idea what I was thinking when I made that description.
It wasn’t a foreshadowing, and it didn’t influence the later story at all.
It was just one of those countless useless settings that naturally made its way into the writing.
And because of that mindless act, someone dies.
The character I brushed over with a few words became a living person here, complete with eyes, nose, and mouth, and then died.
*Crazy.*
Beyond that alley, the flow of mana didn’t seem right.
A slight magical response was leaking, one that a normal person would never detect.
I could immediately see what it was.
A recognition-interfering barrier. A low-level barrier that only blocks sound and sight with a small amount of mana.
As I predicted what might be happening behind that barrier, I accelerated even faster.
*Ugh… Ugh…*
*Shh. Shh.*
*…*
Right after turning into the alley, my whole body froze.
What appeared there was Mari, groaning with a pale face and a knife stabbed in her abdomen.
And there was a burly man covering Mari’s mouth.
The moment I saw him, I knew who he was.
After all, there’s only one muscular guy like that in the intelligence agency.
Field agent, Iskandal.
*Who the hell are you… Hah, fuck. I’m screwed.*
*…*
One second. My eyes met his, and a moment of silence passed.
What my expression was, I wasn’t sure.
But one thing was clear; I was so wound up that I had no time to think.
*You have to die!*
*…!*
Iskandal drew his knife and charged straight at me.
The knife tip shot toward me like lightning, and I instinctively ducked to avoid it.
*Cough!*
But at that moment, Iskandal’s knee kicked me right in the solar plexus.
In a split second, my focus shattered, and my vision went dark. When I finally regained it—
*What the fuck—*
Iskandal was on top of me, stabbing down with his knife turned backward.
The knife fell towards me with terrifying speed, and I desperately grabbed his hand and the guard, barely managing to stop it.
…No, it wasn’t I who stopped it. If Iskandal wanted, he could have pierced my chest right away.
*Ugh! Ugh!*
*I’m sorry. I hold no ill will, but since you saw this, you have to die. Do you have any last words?*
What a fucking ridiculous thing to say.
Crazy bastard.
But thanks to that, I bought some time.
*…I guess you have nothing to say. Then fare thee well.*
My hands trembled, and the balance of strength broke, as the knife slowly began to descend.
Just before the tip touched my chest, I whispered internally.
*Selection and concentration. Use it on strength.*
*Huh…?*
His expression turned to one of shock.
The knife stopped. No, it was actually being pushed up more and more.
My deceptively thin arm was pushing aside his double-thick muscle arm.
And I instinctively pulled one arm away and threw a fist into his jaw.
*Thwack!*
It all happened in an instant.
I had never seen my own arm move that quickly.
With no afterimage left behind, my arm shot out and there was nothing left in the place it passed.
What should have been there, namely his head, was gone.
I stared blankly for about three seconds at that horrific sight.
Blood and flesh began to rain down like a shower from the sky.
*Hah… Hah…*
Covered in red, I stood up, pushing away the headless corpse.
For someone who had never done anything but scribble words and hide in a corner, it was a scene too unreal.
What had just happened? No, just what kind of crime had I committed?
In that moment of realization, I hurried to Mari, who lay there with a pale face as if dead.
*Mari! Mari! Can you hear me?*
*Ah. Schlus…*
Mari turned her head and looked at me.
Just as I felt relieved that she was alive, I examined her abdomen.
The blood gushing out was forming a puddle.
Even I, ignorant of medicine, could tell it was a catastrophic amount of blood loss.
With my left hand, I pressed down on the wound, putting my weight on it to apply pressure.
But the blood just wouldn’t stop, leaking out beside my hand.
Where the hell could I find something to apply pressure, like a string or an elastic band?
*Schlus… It hurts…*
*Even if it hurts, hold on. That’s the way to survive…*
*Schlus…*
*Please stop talking.*
As I turned around, I noticed Mari holding a small pocket watch in her delicate hand.
Why was she holding that in a moment like this?
I couldn’t see any suitable tools to stop the bleeding.
Should I just carry her and head to the hospital?
*Can you promise me you’ll let my son know…?*
*You can tell him yourself. Stop saying weak things.*
*Please…*
*Alright. I’ll let him know. Is that good enough?*
*…*
*Mari?*
*…*
A strange energy began to creep in.
The fountain of blood that had been gushing from my hand had now ceased.
I turned my head.
Mari was frozen with her eyes wide open.
I gently placed my hand on her neck to check for a pulse.
The pulse was gone. In other words, she was dead.
With trembling hands, I closed Mari’s eyes.
During that moment, I suddenly recalled something I had seen in a documentary long ago.
Even when the pulse stops, a human’s hearing and brain can stay alive for a little longer.
*Yes. I will definitely let him know. I promise you…*
I leaned close and whispered into Mari’s ear.
No matter what, I would carry out your will since you saved my life.
*Shit…*
I heard footsteps in the distance.
There was just one person.
No need to confirm who it was.
The protagonist, Siegfried Hertlocker.
I opened Mari’s tightly clenched hand.
I took the pocket watch from her hand, a simple pocket watch without a strap.
I had no time to suppress my anger; I had to escape the scene just like that.
Leaving Mari behind.
*
After that… what happened?
I don’t remember well.
I immediately crossed the road and returned to the single dorm room, washing off Iskandal’s blood and flesh from my body.
That’s when I discovered.
My right shoulder was dislocated and all my fingers were broken.
*Damn it. Just how did you exercise to make this happen?*
*…*
I went straight to the hospital and got scolded by the doctor.
Fortunately, there were no broken bones, but my fingers and shoulder joints were all dislocated.
They put everything back in place and wrapped me in bandages.
Once the treatment was done, I stepped out onto the terrace and leaned against the railing.
My arm throbbed painfully.
*Hah…*
This is the world of the novel.
A fictional world.
Not reality.
I would just be returning to the real world after seeing the ending, and I wouldn’t particularly care what happened to this troublesome world.
Or so I thought.
No matter who died or got hurt in this world, it shouldn’t matter to me.
*This damn…*
But someone died.
Not a fictional character I created.
A person I didn’t know at all.
In this fictional world, a non-fictional character was alive and breathing.
The moment that character died, the wall between fiction and reality crumbled.
From now on, I could no longer perceive this world as fiction.
Along with that realization, a personal emotion settled deep within me.
Hatred. Amusingly enough, I found myself hating the protagonist I created.
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