190 – Collapse – 5

The fall of a civilization.

This was the end that all civilizations participating in the Civilization War feared.

It was also the fundamental reason why NPCs who converted to Letans appeared.

“I know well what you want to say, but we had no choice either. If we lose the Civilization War, we either become slaves to the civilization that last killed the Civilization Representative, or perform labor under the system’s judgment. Even if we wanted to convert to Letans… we had to do it before the last representative died.”

“So? Did Kurenai pull off such a troublesome stunt just to prevent the entire civilization from becoming slaves?”

“Yes. Because as long as this barrier is not breached, at least we can live freely within here…”

“Freedom?”

Renka ended up shutting her mouth at Gi-jun’s remark that pierced the core.

Eun-shin, who still had not grasped the situation, was only blinking his eyes… and tried to quietly step back so as not to get in the way of the conversation between the two, but he failed as Renka noticed it and tightly grabbed his hand.

“Uh, that is.”

“Shin, just stay still.”

“Yes, please stay by my side.”

“Yes.”

Having secured her totem in that manner, Renka’s complexion improved significantly.

Gi-jun stared at her with a sullen expression, then imagined the scene where the barrier disappeared and she became a slave to some other civilization, parting ways with Eun-shin.

It was not a very pleasant thought.

“And so?”

Gi-jun served tea to the two and continued speaking.

At this point, Lucy kindly explained to Eun-shin what had happened so far, and he, with an expression as if he could no longer trust anyone, had stopped his thinking and was merely performing his role as a totem.

“I understand the reason why you have been observing us all this time. But I really can’t figure out what you want. You said you would become slaves if the barrier disappeared, yet you want us to undo the barrier?”

“It is better than living locked up in a birdcage like this and dying one by one.”

Renka said, biting her lips.

“In the first place, we were against creating the barrier. Rather than waiting for death trapped inside the barrier, we wanted to live as slaves and look for a chance to escape that plight. But Lady Kurenai did not let us go. That is also the reason why she rewinds time every time. So that we would forget all our memories each time and obediently be offered as sacrifices to maintain the barrier…”

“And when outsiders occasionally get caught up in it, you sacrifice them instead?”

“Yes. We intentionally created a flaw in the barrier and exposed the coordinates so that they could enter here through spatial magic.”

Although it was something he had expected to some extent, hearing it from the mouth of someone involved made him dumbfounded anew.

Renka carefully read Gi-jun’s face at that part and spoke cautiously.

“What was surprising was that you, Lord Deity, were dragged into this barrier even though a condition was set to only draw in those weaker than Lady Kurenai. I do not know well what happened at the end of the last loop, but the fact that you all survived and Lady Murasaki was sacrificed instead…”

“It is roughly as you imagine. Kurenai, who drew us into the trap, realized she was doomed, so she hastily sacrificed Murasaki and rewound time.”

“As I thought…”

―I got it.

Lucy spoke from there with a refreshed expression.

―The contractor failed to resist the spatial teleportation itself, but resisted the condition itself that filters who enters the barrier. That is why it was a partial resistance!

‘Indeed.’

Recalling the message that had appeared when he was first dragged into this barrier, Gi-jun also nodded his head naturally.

This event, which had initially seemed like an absurd accident, was actually no different from a tightly woven trap.

Nothing had happened by chance.

The only reason Kurenai’s trap had been dismantled was simply because Gi-jun’s unique skill was beyond standard specifications.

“No, it wasn’t just me. The reason you are retaining your memories is probably thanks to your unique skill, right?”

“…Yes. It is called Purifying Lotus, and it has the ability to quickly free me from all kinds of abnormal statuses. Since I only told the person who was originally our Civilization Representative, Lady Kurenai does not know about my unique skill in detail.”

Hearing it like that, it felt like a degraded version of Gi-jun’s unique skill, but it probably had some other functions.

Gi-jun let out a long sigh and drank the tea.

Of course, he had intended to remove the barrier from the beginning anyway.

Nevertheless, hearing about the shrine maidens who had been reduced to waiting for their approaching death in a birdcage without knowing anything made him wonder if it was indeed right to destroy the barrier like this.

―We are not in a position to think about things like that right now, are we?

‘That is true. Even if they could maintain the barrier, it would still require sacrifices to maintain it anyway.’

Although many of the things he had faced since coming to Leta were frustrating and uncomfortable, this matter was by far the peak of them all.

What kind of trouble was this, all because of that damn lava worm?

Or rather, should he say it was a relief, because if it had not been for that guy, he would not have even known such a thing was happening behind the scenes of Leta…

“For now… I understand for now. I have no intention of falling for the same trick. Just as you want, I will settle things with Kurenai soon.”

In fact, if it was simply a matter of putting an end to her, it was possible right this moment.

At Gi-jun’s confident reply, Renka wore an expression as if a thousand emotions were crossing her mind.

“Ah…! Thank you, but Lady Kurenai, who wields the power of the Holy Relic, is by no means easy. If something goes wrong, she might even open the gates of the underworld…”

“It is fine.”

Gi-jun replied, tapping the frozen Eun-shin to wake him up.

“That is exactly what I have been waiting for.”

“Jun hyung, wait a second.”

Gi-jun chuckled at the sight of Renka standing frozen with her mouth wide open, and just as he was about to leave his seat, Eun-shin, who had barely succeeded in accepting the situation by then, caught him.

When Gi-jun looked back at Eun-shin, he spoke with a somewhat subdued expression.

“Hyung, in the future… please don’t hide things like this. There might be nothing I can do, but still. I hate that you are suffering while I am left out like a fool, knowing nothing at all.”

“…I’m sorry. I thought it was consideration, but it wasn’t.”

“I know how you feel, so it is fine. Honestly, I have also had fun here during this time.”

The two exchanged bitter smiles.

At the end of it, Eun-shin, who glanced at Renka still tightly holding one of his hands, nodded faintly and added.

“Don’t worry about Renka. I will protect her.”

“Protect her, my foot. Just be careful not to get eaten up.”

“Huh?”

* * *

Even after knowing that time had been wound back once here, Laura and Eun-shin devoted themselves to training in Taoist arts and Shikigami arts respectively.

Although it was the power of the barrier that wound even their statuses back to a month ago, for some reason, the progress of the two seemed much faster compared to a month ago.

It was at a level that could not be brushed off as just their imagination.

―Perhaps the contractor’s influence remains in their bodies. I am glad the past month did not go to waste.

“Is it possible that if I activate my Unique Territory, the memories they already forgot might return? It would be nice if that happened.”

Even if they did not show it directly, his party members must have been greatly shocked that their memories of the past month had vanished.

As Gi-jun watched Laura and Eun-shin sweat and train, he quietly burned his hostility toward Kurenai.

On top of that, they were not the only ones making ‘progress’…

“She is acting increasingly proactive.”

Of course, he was referring to Renka.

Since she had been closely marking Eun-shin one-on-one as if there was no longer any need to hesitate after confessing the truth to Gi-jun, it reached a point where it was impossible for even the extremely dull Eun-shin to pretend not to notice anymore.

Although he had various thoughts about the relationship between the two, looking strictly at her actions themselves, it was honestly refreshing enough to clear his chest.

Yes, that kind of proactiveness was exactly what he had expected from his previous party members!

If Ji-hye or Eun-shin had acted so boldly, wouldn’t a decision have been made long ago, and wouldn’t someone have stuck to him already?

―Hmm, perhaps last time, she restrained herself because she thought Eun-shin might die anyway.

Lucy made a sharp point, as always.

―But now that she knows the contractor is a trustworthy person, and she knows that fool won’t die, she might be acting proactively.

“Still, Lucy, her trusting me means that while Shin won’t die… it also means she will become a slave. No matter how it turns out, they will eventually part ways.”

―Yes, which is probably why she is rushing all the more.

The self-proclaimed spirit of love, Lucy, calmly nodded her head at his words and spoke.

―Since she will be dragged away as a slave anyway, wouldn’t she want to have a burning, passionate love before that?

“But that is disregard for Shin, isn’t it? Even if Shin really falls in love, he will be deeply hurt if they part ways right away…”

―Since when did you mistake love for a relationship where one just blindly considers the other person, contractor?

A terrible remark that made him want her to apologize to Gi-jun, who dreamed of pure love, popped out.

―Reason cannot defy emotion. Besides, weighing every circumstance so carefully, when on earth would you ever date, contractor?

“Kh…!”

However, it was also a remark that pierced like a sharp thorn into the heart of Gi-jun, who had ultimately failed to date until now because he weighed every situation so carefully.

“Lucy, aren’t you being too harsh on me lately?”

―This is all— because I think of the contractor and want to correct you, since I’m so kind. It is fine to become a superhuman who controls himself perfectly, but as a human, one must have that kind of foolish and impulsive side!

“I wonder from what standpoint she is evaluating this.”

However, their bittersweet relationship met its end faster than Gi-jun could settle things with Kurenai.

Around the time nearly twenty days had passed since time was rewound, Renka suddenly vanished without any warning, and Gi-jun witnessed Eun-shin practicing Shikigami arts with a pale, lifeless face.

Of all times, a message arrived from Kurenai at that exact moment stating that the preparations for the ritual were complete, making Gi-jun’s state of mind even more complicated.

―Wow, she is an enemy, but I’m honestly impressed. To think she tries to settle it at such a dramatic timing! To make it so one has no choice but to look forward to the plot twist in the next episode…!

“Lucy, are you under the delusion that you are watching some drama right now?”

Of course, because Gi-jun could not say, ‘I also want to kill you right away, but our kid seems to have caused an accident while dating your kid, so won’t you wait until we clear that up?’ he obediently agreed to perform the ritual that night.

While gathering all his party members to have them prepare, he arranged a private meeting with Eun-shin to hear what on earth had happened.

Well, he had expected it to some extent.

“Well, I received something like a confession. …But I thought of Hye nuna, and I just couldn’t.”

“I knew it.”

When Gi-jun pressed him because he wanted to confirm exactly what had happened, a truly shocking statement popped out.

Renka had actually raided Eun-shin’s bed.

For some reason, it was a story he had heard somewhere before.

“Is there by any chance some kind of brainwashing device that guides people’s actions in this barrier?”

―Maybe Renka just learned it from them?

Of course, Eun-shin had gently rejected her, but Renka had desperately clung to him, saying she wanted to leave a trace of love before parting ways.

He said that even though he told her he liked someone else, she had approached him saying just one night was fine, and as a result of him rejecting her somewhat strongly, Renka had been deeply hurt and vanished.

“Sigh, Shin, you haven’t been able to cast off your Earthling sentimentality either.”

―I have a lot to say, but I won’t.

“I’m sorry, Lucy, but that trend is a bit outdated.”

It was certainly not something to be said by Gi-jun, who was stubbornly refusing the constant approaches of Laura and Tilla on the grounds of liking Biche.

However, Eun-shin went a step further than Gi-jun.

“She probably doesn’t actually like me. Because we are in this frustrating situation, she is just over-identifying with me, whom she happened to meet by chance. Once we go outside the barrier, she will quickly forget about someone like me.”

―He is a real idiot.

Unlike Lucy, who criticized him harshly, Gi-jun felt like he could understand his feelings…!

Honestly, when he had first begun to exchange feelings with Biche, he had also thought that he would never have been able to meet such a cool, kind, and perfect beauty like Biche if he had not happened to be isolated in the tutorial channel by chance.

“Shin, there is one thing you are mistaken about.”

“…What is it?”

Eun-shin looked up at Gi-jun with a lack of confidence on his face.

Gi-jun knew well that it was a gaze filled with a complex state of mind that looked down on his own worth endlessly, yet wished for someone to deny it and acknowledge him.

This was their problem.

Time had passed, but somehow there was no one whose heart had properly matured.

“You said it was chance, but that is exactly what destiny is. Of course, it might have been fine even if it were someone other than you, but the one who was actually there was you.”

“Hyung, you read that in a novel or something, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

Gi-jun, replying honestly, patted Eun-shin’s shoulder and comforted him.

“Besides, frankly speaking, if she goes outside the barrier, Renka won’t be in a position to leisurely date anyway. Knowing that, are you still saying that? That Renka will forget you and fall in love with someone else?”

“Honestly, that is also a problem. It’s not like I can take responsibility…”

“Drop all of that and speak solely from your heart.”

“I like Hye nuna.”

“I know that too, you idiot.”

He hit him a bit hard.

Only then was the broken TV fixed.

“I don’t think it is right to part ways with Renka like this either.”

“Then worry about the consequences later and go look for Renka first.”

“…Yes!”

Gi-jun chuckled at the sight of Eun-shin leaping up and running.

However, the situation was not resolved as clearly as in a youth drama.

In the end, Eun-shin could not find Renka until the ritual began.

For her figure could be found at the place where the ritual was being held.