So in the end...Anser and I ended up walking all over the city again, huh?
"…" And surprisingly, Anser is in a good mood today, so today his silence is that of a lively silence.
However, we're not here to have fun; we're investigating.
Frederick and July 14 stayed behind to train, since of course, they needed to know their limits so as not to reach them in the middle of a battle. Meanwhile...
Gene and Liam stayed behind learning new spells, or in Liam's case, potions.
「"Liam, can you create potions to make something giant?"」
All thanks to the request Anser made to Liam.
Although I'm curious, does Anser want to make something giant again? But what?
But on the other hand, perhaps it is Gene who is making the most effort by starting to use more of her witch powers rather than relying on imitations of other people's powers.
Using the powers of thousands of witches...will deplete Gene's stamina too quickly. And worse still, it would overload her mana.
I trust that she can do it, and I say...she must do it!
"…" All of them can die from any mistake, of course, except for July 14, Anser, and me, who are...almost immortal. No, actually... "…" Anser is the only immortal among us.
What would happen the day we all die, and he…
"No!" I immediately dismissed that thought; Anser will never be alone, unless someone kills July 14 or me, which I doubt Anser would allow.
Besides, we'll all are going to have children, and surely Anser will be the one with many children...I mean, if I were a woman, I'd want Anser to fill me with children.
Although I'm not a woman, so I couldn't be that sure.
"What's wrong, Jeon?" Anser's voice made me turn to look at him. "What was the point of that 'no'?"
"Ah…" Embarrassing. I forgot I was next to Anser. "It was nothing..." Yeah, nothing, nothing at all, he even managed to hear me? How silly! "By the way, where are we going?"
Anser seemed to hesitate for a second, but then he sighed and turned his gaze forward again. "To a house of stories."
"Huh? What's that?"
Anser looked at me with a face that said, 'Isn't it obvious?' and I think it was too obvious...
"It's like an audiobook for children."
Audiobook? Wait, how does Anser know what an audiobook is if they don't exist in this world? "How do you know what an audiobook is?"
"…?"
"…"
What's with that silly face, Anser?!
"You say something about my world and then you play dumb, huh…" I murmured, and I'm grateful that he didn't hear me and just kept walking.
Sometimes I think Anser is a reincarnation like me. I mean, if he were the same Anser I wrote about, he'd be walking alone, not with me, and besides, he wouldn't have accepted any other members into his sect.
Although, it is also influenced by the fact that he is partly forced to interact with others...
Or rather, I force him to do it…
"We arrived."
Anser stopped, and finally, looked ahead; it was a house among many in the city, however, it had a large sign with the name 'house of stories'.
"Woah…did Sherly bring you here as a child too, Anser?"
"No," The answer surprised me a little. "It was eight years ago that I used to sneak in here to avoid the sermons of the other sect leaders."
"Oh."
Anser running away? It's kind of funny to imagine, but knowing how depressed he was before...
"…"
«It's sad to imagine how stressed he must have been.»
And I don't feel that by apologizing for the shit I put him through during my edgy high school and college phase I've managed to fix things...
"You don't have to pity me, Jeon..." Suddenly, Anser's voice softened, and I felt the fabric of his glove on my cheek. It was a gentle touch with his hand, as if he was afraid of scratching me. "…I'm still alive, despite the times I've sought death, right?"
"…"
Eh…?
Why does my heart start beating so fast?
Since when has he been so bold?
"Thanks again, Jeon. Thanks to you, I can come back here and laugh at how childish I was hiding from the sect leaders..."
Laugh? Despite all the suffering I brought him?
"…" He's not supposed to thank me. Why aren't you mad at me, Anser? I wanted to play the hero, forgetting that you are real now, that you have real feelings…
And I failed every time.
"I…"
But I can't bring myself to ruin the smile on his face now. I don't want to ruin his good mood today.
"You are welcome…" So I could just say that.
"Eh! Mr. Ciro!" A girl came out of the story house, ran towards Anser, and gave him a big hug. "I heard what happened last month! I'm so sorry, uwaah!"
So, even everyone in Anarxie found out about the deaths of the sect leaders, huh?
"…" That suddenly made me feel...bad.
It's my fault.
"Torahime, I'm happy today, I don't feel so sad anymore...so don't feel sad, okay?" Anser calmed the girl, while stroking her head. "He's my Jeon. We came to hear your stories."
"Ah. Hello, I'm Jeon Kwonoo, I'm part of the Moon Sect—wait, did you say, 'my Jeon'?"
The girl, Torahime, looked at Anser and laughed.
"Ah, I see…" Then she let go, wiping small tears from her face, and then looked at me. "You're cute, now I know why you caught Anser's attention~"
Ha…haha…
"…"
Idiot Anser, why are you just blushing and smiling like a fool instead of saying something to this stupid girl?
Although the idea of getting Anser's attention...
No.
This isn't even my body, how can anyone even think I'm cute?
"You're cute too, Torahime." And suddenly Anser's smile changed to a grimace when I said that, and then he grabbed my wrist. "…But Anser is more cute."
And he smiled again.
"…" Are you serious? Is this guy the jealous type too? I can't believe it...I thought for a moment that Anser was someone difficult to understand...but his face really says more than his words. "Awesome..."
Torahime laughed, and then opened the door wide. "Come in, I'll tell you all the stories you want."
We both nodded, and went inside.
Inside, the walls were covered with drawings of Torahime with various children, and in fact, all of those drawings were of children. While on the floor there were crayons scattered about, and cushions, in the middle of the circle of cushions was a chair.
Torahime sat down in the chair, adjusted her dress, and pointed to the cushions in front of her. "Please."
"Thank you."
And then we both sat down.
"So, what do you want to hear?"
"I want to hear it again..." Anser said. "About the history of the people here."
There's even a story about the people here, huh? Now I see why Anser suggested coming here.
"So…that story will be…"
***
When the end of the world came to our world, many were not prepared.
Perhaps, for those who are fans of isekai, seeing strange lights appear in the sky was a symbol that it would take them to a fictional world that they were so fond of.
But, curiously, most of those people who longed for another world were the ones who did not reincarnate.
Reincarnation? Yes. Reincarnation exists; it is very much a reality in this world.
It's a very dangerous assertion to say that everyone has reincarnated. Even so, when we all arrived in this world and awoke in other people's bodies, we all believed we were the only ones reincarnated. But it wasn't like that.
Soon inventions from our world began to flow into this one; using magic to become almost unstoppable; firearms, pills, lamps, solar energy, kineticmagic energy…
And the list of inventions goes on, all based on the previous world, including children's toys and stories.
However, three centuries ago, our reincarnated ancestors, the original ones who arrived in this story after their death, confirmed that at least half of the people in this world...they lived a past life.
They all died, but upon learning that this world was completely different, they were all considered insane.
And they never knew exactly what world this was.
***
So, in the end...
"…"
In this world, have most people also reincarnated?
"Torahime, were your ancestors among those reincarnated persons?" Perhaps the answer was obvious, but I had to make sure.
"Yes."
So...all those people were reincarnated as background characters because they didn't know this world was part of a story...still, no one suggested this world was a story? There were billions of characters, half of them reincarnated, and my readers didn't?
Only Liam and I reincarnated as one of the main characters.
But, why?
"Did any of the reincarnated suggest that this world was from a novel? None?" But Torahime denied it.
Damn…
So...perhaps everyone who knew this story didn't reincarnate because of the high probability that they would try to change history like I did?
But still, wouldn't that have been better? At least so many people wouldn't have died.
But, following this hypothesis, how is it that there was an exception Liam and me?
Liam had confessed to me that in her past life she used drugs to forget her life, and perhaps the moment she died was when she was high and had forgotten the novel, and perhaps the 'system' thought she had never read the novel.
But in my case...I am the author! And I died knowing that I still had to finish my story!
…
Right?
"Nobody knew anything about this world, and few of the reincarnated died at the hands of demons or while being controlled by ghosts."
So, the possibility of finding someone from that era is impossible.
"…"
At least that's a sign that...having at least the minimum knowledge of the story I wrote, they were able to reincarnate as characters close to the protagonist.
"…"
So...is there a possibility that the Anser in front of me has also reincarnated?
However, he seems to have no memory, unlike me or Liam; he seems like a character in this story, yet at the same time, he breaks with his role as a character.
Who truly controls Anser? What truly resides within his soul?
"Thanks for the information, Torahime."
At least now, I know that, truly, my memories are not completely healed...and yet, how can I recover them?
"Torahime, when will the next full moon be?" Anser asked, "Well, the reason?" Anser's true power fully recharges during full moons, and if we can face Randy on a full moon...it will be better.
"Eh? You'll be the one leading the attack on Mr. Randy? Incredible!" Then, Torahime shuffled some cards in his hands. "In exactly four nights! Make sure you stay hydrated—"
Slash.
Torahime's head fell to the ground.
Well, at least I wasn't the only one who noticed.
"I was surprised that you had remained calm all this time, Anser." I commented.
Anser sighed, sheathing his sword, and then began to walk around the place. "The moment that demon didn't question me calling him 'Torahime' was when I realized…"
At least he was smart enough to spot the demon.
"Even so, how does a demon already know what we're going to do?" I got up from the floor, and Anser and I searched around the room for the real 'Torahime'. "At least it gave us some useful information."
Anser just snorted, and then, under a chain leading to the attic, the bound body of a woman fell, which Anser managed to catch; the woman's mouth was tied, but she was still alive.
"Woah."
Anser untied her, and the woman ran out of the place, frightened and screaming in horror at the sight of the demon's rotting body.
"Those kinds of demons need to keep their victim alive to maintain their appearance; it's disgusting…"
And once again, Anser did not disappoint me. "We should change our order; what if Enver takes it upon himself to tire Randy out? He's a demon, and besides, he looks more agile than you and I on the battlefield."
"…" I knew Anser would hesitate. "No."
He still doesn't trust Enver, after all.
So, I walk around and head towards a cabinet full of books, looking for a specific one, while I observe him.
"He said he'd be on our side, we just have to tell him our plan, and he'll surely do it; he hates Randy, or at least, that's what we can tell."
"Are you torturing me?"
Anser's sudden serious tone made me turn to look at him, for real.
"He murdered Sherly, Layla, all the members of Sherly's sect...and you trust that he will help us and not kill us? Why do you have to trust my enemy? The person who hurt me? Are you really that cruel, Jeon?" Every word was a direct attack on me; his cold gaze was different from when he had looked at me a few moments before; he was angry.
And when he felt he was about to deliver the final blow, he turned around and went to the other bookcase.
"…"
Perhaps my suggestion was stupid.
"I'll talk to Renato; perhaps he'll be able to face it until the full moon arrives..." Even so, there was the problem that Renato had to distract Randy for at least 10 hours until the full moon arrived. "Even so...it's a long time…"
"Talk to Randy."
Anser's simple suggestion made me think.
What would make him talk for at least five hours straight?
"…" I was going to say it was a stupid suggestion, but no, in fact, I could talk for five hours straight, even longer… "That's a good idea."
How would I get him to talk for five hours? Easy, by revealing the Lahn scroll. Randy would surely be completely surprised that I'd try to play the victim, and while that's happening...
The Third Round Sect, the Sect of Wisdom and Redemption, in addition to our sect, would take care of all the Rosicrucian people.
Randy's downfall is imminent, and furthermore, I will secretly make a plan with Enver and Yanshan in case something goes wrong.
The chances of winning are at least 90%, considering Randy's health condition; perhaps all we need to do is steal his abilities and avoid killing him.
Anyway, he's Anser's only remaining father, and it wouldn't be right to kill him, at least not for now.
「"H-Hyung! D■n't di■! Please!"」
"…Huh?"
And suddenly, in my head, my editor's voice echoed, but in addition to that; I could see the image of my mother.
It's impossible.
My mother...no..she…
She would never cry for me, would she?
She hates me. She hates me…
"Jeon?"
"…"
What are these images? I feel like my head is splitting in two.
How could I have been so compatible with a villain's body? Maybe it's because of all the memories from my past life, or maybe...
…Because I am actually the villain here?
"JEON!"
I felt the ground beneath my knees, and almost in an instant, the ground slammed into my face. I could feel my whole body; it was very strange, like I was simply in a trance.
But I could do it, I could remember, I could see...
…I was able to see her.
"…어머니." It was the only thing I felt my lips release.
And the last thing I saw was Anser's worried face.
I'm sorry.
***
It was an unusually quiet night.
It's 'unusual' because it was nighttime in a hospital, a place that's usually full of noise, isn't it?
It was then that, in one of the rooms, a man and a woman were talking; they were speaking as if the sick person were not present, despite only being unconscious.
"Ma'am, I know you warned Hyung about all this, but—"
"It was all his fault!" The woman's voice, at least fifty-something years old, said. "He knew his father had a history of cardiovascular problems, so what did he do? He simply pushed himself to the limit, and look where he is now!"
The young editor sighed, and when he looked at the window, where the man they were talking about was on the stretcher, he noticed that he was waking up.
"Hyung!" They both immediately ran to either side of the bed. "It's a relief that you're okay!"
"…" The man was wearing a hospital gown and had a pacemaker implanted in his heart. He looked still disoriented, turned to look at the woman; his mother. "…Mother."
And the woman, with a harsh look, gave a scandalous sigh of relief, but it seemed more like anger. "How many times did I tell you? Did what happened to that foreigner really affect you that much?"
Of course, his mother...never agreed that Jeon Kwonoo wanted to help a woman like Marie Bondwitch.
And yet, he disobeyed her, and when she died...she took a part of Jeon's life with her.
"…Her name is Marie..."
"I don't care, if she was as important to you as you say..." A brief pause, fraught with tension. And a mother's worry. "So don't die like she did, and live like she would have wanted to live."
"…"
Everyone remained silent.
It was so easy to ask to live, but so difficult to fulfill.
"I can't," He assured. "This life... once I finish my novel, I'll have nothing more to do in this world. My usefulness to this world is over, Mother."
And the woman frowned. "Is that so?" She picked up a notebook with trembling hands, along with a pen. "So why don't you write another story? Kwonoo...your mother never understood you, your father...I doubt even he loved you, but we don't want you to die, not yet…" She placed the pen in Jeon's hand, however, he could barely hold it. "Hey…"
The desperation in the woman's eyes was palpable even to the editor present.
The desperation to encourage her son to live, even when in his eyes, vitality no longer existed.
"Kwonoo, listen to me, listen to your mother..." And tears began to flow from the woman, trying to encourage her son to at least make a mark in the notebook. "Please…Kwonoo…"
But, by this point, it was already too late.
"…Hyung."
Jeon threw the pen aside, and then looked out the window, taking in the cityscape. "Do-Woo. Let's talk alone."
The young editor, Do-Woo, looked at him, adjusted his glasses, and nodded, tearfully leading the man's mother out of the room.
Once alone, he sat down next to the man. "Yes?"
"What will the ending be?" The question is concise, direct, and clear.
The young man seemed confused, then, with a small, nervous smile, he said; "What do you mean, Hyung? The ending? What ending are you talking about?"
Jeon looked at him, with tired eyes. "I'll die soon, Do-Woo. I would like to hear a proposal for the ending of Mr. Detective."
«So that's what it was.»
That's what Do-Woo thought. If it was true, he was the one who saw all of Jeon Kwonoo's decline as a writer in each of his stories; moreover, he still didn't know how to understand the mind of this writer. There were times when he was a tyrant with the story, and other times when...he simply decided to give the villains a chance.
He was a god of his own extraordinary history.
However, right now, it seems that it can't go any further.
And that's not what Do-Woo wanted.
"…I don't know, Hyung. To me, you're still too complex to know what a suitable ending would be for the story."
And Jeon didn't complain, because he knew he was right, and simply gave a slight smile. "You're still a brat, huh?"
Do-Woo brought forward the same pen that his mother had given him, this time to indicate not that he should write another story, but that he should finish that story.
A silent request, which only required a look.
"…"
"You are the creator of your own story; no one can close the story you decided to create. Even if you want to give up now, just keep writing. Even if, in the end, it turns out to be nonsense."
It was so easy to say, and at the same time, so easy to do for a writer like Jeon.
"…So, I will die writing."
«If this story was my reason for living, it will also be my reason for dying.»
He squeezed the pen one last time, and began to write in the notebook, with all the strength he could muster, and with the handwriting he could manage. "The day the ending is published, perhaps, will be the day I will die, Do-Woo."
And the young editor knew it.
So a tear dared to leave his eyes.
"I grew up reading Mr. Detective during part of high school, and honestly? It was a pleasure meeting you and working with you this time, Hyung."
"You want to make me cry, brat? You won't succeed," Do-Woo chuckled at Jeon's words. "Come tomorrow, I'll have the grand finale finished."
And Do-Woon allowed himself to smile sincerely at him. "Okay."
And just as Jeon promised, Do-Woo returned the next day, and Jeon handed him the entire notebook filled with words; that was the end of the story.
"…Hyung…" Even with trembling hands, Jeon dared to fulfill his final goal: to bring to a close a story that had accompanied him for so long, and which, in turn, had accompanied many others during stages of life. "Thank you…"
Jeon's mother was peeling an apple for him, she looked calmer, unaware that Jeon had already predicted his own end.
"In the end, he was able to please his mother once again." The woman said, not with bad intentions, but speaking the truth.
Jeon smiled at Do-Woo, a weak smile, then looked out the window.
He didn't say it, but his eyes showed how much he longed to die, so he could be with his beloved Marie.
A love that perhaps Do-Woo will soon have too.
"I promise we won't let you down with the final volume, Hyung."
"They'd better."
And that, perhaps, was how the final volume of Mr. Detective developed. Mr. Detective ended on August 16th. All stock sold out, and the story concluded with a 4.8-star rating.
And on that same August 16th, was the day its author, Jeon Kwonoo, passed away from a heart attack.
His mother was the one who attended to the thank yous, before the autograph signing, and before the last meeting that Jeon should have had with his fans.
"Perhaps my greatest regret was reminding him so much how easy it was to die, and that he chose to seek it out, instead of influencing him with the fact that living wasn't so bad."
And for many mothers, no matter how much they criticize their children, in the end, they love them. Or at least, they love them after they die. As in the case of Jeon Kwonoo.
And the ending of Mr. Detective had a conclusion that no fan expected or could interpret, and the only one who truly understood the meaning of that interpretation of the work was Jeon Kwonoo.
However, those who failed to finish it by the end of the day on August 16th died on August 17th and traveled more than 500 years into the future, where they were reincarnated, and now it was their turn to live this story firsthand.
An extravagant ending, for an extravagant person. Isn't that right?