The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 166

Although it was created as fiction, once it is created, that world exists.

“That’s correct.”

I received confirmation from God about the truth.

“Then why am I here?”

“Well… no, no, Kang Jaewon. You used the solar emblem on Christmas. And the owner of your body, Judas, that child prayed on Christmas. He didn’t want to kill.”

In the memory I shared with Eliza, Judas clearly did that.

He prayed that he didn’t want to kill.

It is also true that I used the solar emblem on Christmas.

“And the third one, Eliza Di Bevel. She also prayed on Christmas. She wanted to escape from the dull and boring things. She wished to be taken somewhere or for something to liberate and save her from this miserable world.”

“…….”

“This is exactly that appearance.”

God opened their hand.

A transparent orb appeared above their hand, forming a shape.

I saw young Eliza.

A snowy Christmas.

Lonely in her bed before sleep, she prayed alone.

“I want to escape…”

A revenge she never started herself.

For a brief moment of weakness, she wished.

“Someone, save me…”

Eliza missed Maria.

But Maria, at the time, was disguised as someone who had died.

Therefore, Eliza hoped that someone would save her instead of Maria.

“Kang Jaewon. Eliza. Judas. All three of you made wishes at the same time, according to the absolute time of the great universe. You three became one. What an incredible coincidence, truly a miracle. And the solar emblem that contained your wish is an item that brings about miracles in that world.”

Incredible coincidence.

It truly is no different from a miracle.

I don’t know if it’s a good thing.

But since I met Eliza, maybe it’s a good thing after all.

“Ugh… That thought just now, that’s a bit much. I’m being too sentimental.”

“……”

“Hey, I’m God. Don’t hit me. Let go of the strength in your fist.”

“Well, everything’s fine… but why did I have to go through something like this?”

It’s bad luck that I’ve been possessed by someone like Judas, who was Eliza’s assassin and nearly killed Maria.

Since it was Judas who made the wish.

But why did Eliza and I have to reach this conclusion through such a tragedy?

Did we really have to experience such an absurd fate?

“Well… I’m not the one in charge of that, so I don’t know.”

“Aren’t you God?”

“Well, in human terms, yes. But if you broaden the concept, it’s not necessarily that simple. The entire universe moves according to an unintentional flow called ’cause and effect.’ The possession of your body and the provision of quests and rewards are part of that cause and effect. I am a kind of… assistant to that cause and effect. If I were to put it in your terms, I’m more like an ‘apostle’ than a god.”

“So… what about sun gods, evil gods, and such?”

“Well… I don’t have the authority to access the secrets of that concept, so I don’t really know. They’re just parts that have fallen away from cause and effect. I just speculate that they are lower-level apostles than me.”

“How does a god not know… Well, then what about magic or miracles?”

“That’s… difficult to explain in your language. If I used my language, your brain would melt… To put it simply, it’s one of the rules that make up that world, like gravity, electromagnetic fields, strong and weak forces, those kinds of things.”

“Mm…”

The great universe. Cause and effect. Rules. Concepts.

Words that are hard to understand keep popping up.

Expressions that seem to carry meaning beyond the simple definitions of those words.

It seems that God doesn’t want to explain the contents of those higher-level terms.

“You’re quite perceptive.”

Right, I got confirmation from their mouth too.

I’m not that curious about it.

I don’t think I’d understand even if I heard it.

Anyway, I’ve heard enough.

If I kept listening, my head might explode.

At this rate, I might even forget why I’m here.

I want to go save Eliza soon.

“Are you satisfied with ending the conversation now?”

“Enough.”

“Then tell me. What price do I need to pay to bring Eliza back?”

“Memory.”

“…Memory?”

“Enough with terms like the continuity of existence… It’s simple. If you want to bring Eliza back, you have to sacrifice either your memory or hers.”

“Then… does that mean I’ll lose all my memory?”

“Not necessarily. It will take the most important memories that make up the person. The part that can no longer exist as you are now. So, it could be all your memories or just part of them. You won’t know until the time comes.”

I nodded quietly.

“Anyway, that means it can be revived.”

“That’s not something you should take so lightly… Are you sure you can handle it? Losing your memory is not as easy as you think.”

“What I’m worried about…”

I stood up from my seat.

It’s about time to end the conversation.

“Is that Eliza will die forever.”

For some reason, God nodded and smiled warmly as if they liked my answer.

“Yeah, I knew you’d come to that conclusion. That’s good. It’s nice and straightforward. So firm about it, I’ll send you. To the world of the dead.”

God stood up, following me, and gestured.

The chair disappeared, and a small boat appeared.

It was a long, thin wooden boat.

“Get in this boat. It will guide you to the place you want to go.”

“Ah, before I go, I have one request.”

“…A request?”

“It’s about Maria, Eliza’s real mother. Honestly, I’m not sure what happened. I don’t know if she’s dead or alive. So could you, somehow, help with that?”

“What…? Hey, what kind of crazy person are you…? No! Not everything can be handled just because I want it to!”

“Ah, come on! Just do it already! I listened to you talk so you wouldn’t be bored! Originally, as a reward for the dimensional portal, I had the right to go find Eliza right away, but I decided to spend my time on you!”

“…Why is it that only when it comes to these things, you’re suddenly so smart and logical?”

He sighed, as if resigned.

With that, I became the person who made a god sigh.

I wasn’t exactly happy about it.

“Ha… this feels like things are going weird… Well, okay. I’ll try my best.”

“I need a clear promise, not this vague answer about trying your best.”

“Alright, alright! I’ll do it, geez….”

“Thank you.”

“…You sure are polite.”

The god let out a small laugh, as if in disbelief.

“But remember. I can send you off, but finding Eliza is entirely up to you. You may never find her, even if your world is destroyed. It’s a huge place. It’s not even under my jurisdiction, so I can’t help you directly. Still, you won’t change your decision, right?”

“Why do you keep interfering when I’m the one going to find my master?”

I snapped back at the god, who kept prattling on.

He smiled, as if satisfied.

“…Yeah. You’re just as great as I remember. Truly a brilliant intellect.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

After glaring at him irritably, I sat down on the boat seat.

The boat gently rocked.

Left and right, swaying with the waves.

My body and the boat became gradually transparent.

The god waved his hand at me.

“Honestly, this was fun. So, aside from Maria, I’ll prepare a few gifts for you.”

“I’m not the type to refuse gifts, so I’ll graciously accept.”

“Good luck.”

With that last voice, my consciousness was sucked into somewhere else.

***

The god watched the boat pass through a white veil.

“…It’s really amazing. As expected, we are ourselves.”

As he watched the figure grow distant, he smiled bitterly.

Unlike himself, he hoped that Judas would not fail.

“To make that happen, I guess I’ll have to prepare a gift.”

***

The boat moved forward.

There was no rower, yet the oars on both sides moved by themselves.

With great force.

There was no sound of rowing or cutting through water.

It was simply quiet.

The surroundings were the same.

A vast, endless darkness.

Twinkling starlight scattered here and there.

The boat was crossing the universe.

This was a void somewhere in the universe.

‘So vast…’

Only the immeasurable darkness filled the space.

Even the nearest light seemed terribly distant.

Due to the profound spatial depth, the boat seemed to be moving slowly, but I could tell.

The boat was really, truly moving at an incredibly fast speed.

I had never seen the speed of light, but this might be close.

Yet, the boat did not shake.

I looked at the wooden cup placed at the bow of the boat.

It contained water.

As the boat began to traverse the universe, the voice from the god explained.

‘Water of Memory.’

Drinking that water and placing the empty cup back in its place would return the boat, with Eliza and me, to our original world.

However, if I drank the water, I would lose my memories.

The water would continue to refill itself, no matter how much was discarded, and it couldn’t be drunk by anyone else.

Only I or Eliza could drink it.

If the cup were lost, the boat would return, so there was no need to worry about that.

‘Memory…’

Eliza and I.

Whose memory should I offer as payment?

‘Nothing’s easy…’

While I was lost in thought, the boat arrived at a light.

Like diluted paint, my vision swirled into a mixture of colors.

And when I regained my senses, the boat had docked at a landing.

A thick mist covered the area.

I stepped off the boat and onto the land.

Squish. The moist grass crunched beneath my feet.

The air at the dock was very humid.

‘This is where Eliza is…’

The afterlife. The underworld. Whatever it’s called.

‘So, now I have to find Eliza here…’

I heard it was so vast it was nearly impossible to fathom.

There must be countless souls here.

It might be harder than finding a needle in a haystack.

But it didn’t matter.

I took a bold step forward.

‘Still, I’ll make it.’

After walking a few steps away from the mist, a white figure flickered ahead.

‘…A person?’

The white was the clothing.

The figure had long, black hair.

It was a woman.

A shape I couldn’t possibly be unfamiliar with.

“Eliza?!”

The woman in white fluttered away into the distance.

It seemed as though she was beckoning me to follow.

“Eliza-!”

I ran after her figure.