Chapter 4: The Price of a Mask.

“Remember this. You almost didn’t wake up. It wasn’t just pretending to be dead, you really died and came back to life. Half of your insides were torn out. And that right arm is……”

“Why did you push yourself so hard knowing the situation? Haa-, I’ve found a spare prosthetic, but buy a new one later or do whatever you want.”

“Thanks, Selena.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t have cared about someone like you if it wasn’t for the promise I made with Ciel. And this is really the last time I’m cleaning up after you.”

“Yeah, I know. Still, thanks.”

“……Just one question. Really, did you have to go this far?”

Silence hung in the air at that question.

And after a long time, Seo Jin answered.

“Because it’s necessary.”

With this, the flow of the story was back on track.

Through all the efforts and countless arrangements, he succeeded in creating the same kind heart and strong faith in the child who was the protagonist of the original story.

And the girl, who will finally overcome the death of her mentor and awaken, will grow further and become the strongest psychic.

And in the end, she will become the hero who brings victory to humanity.

As destiny dictates.

Now that everything is following the original flow, Seo Jin’s role was no longer needed.

No, rather, it was harmful.

Because he would only become a variable that would twist the fixed development again.

That’s why……

“What are you going to do now?”

“As you said, all this crap is over. Do you have any plans now?”

“I don’t know….”

“Don’t hesitate and tell me. I think I deserve to hear it after helping you this much.”

“Okay, should I open a shop or something?”

“…What?”

“Like a cafe. I can still make coffee, though.”

“……Are you serious?”

“Thanks for listening to my request. See you next time.”

A pair of eyes watched his departing back.

She crossed her arms and stared at the door Seo Jin went out for a while.

A beautiful woman with a cold impression. The frowning brows of the silver-haired woman, which created an even colder atmosphere, grimaced for a while as if something was terribly displeasing, and muttered something in a low voice.

“You fool…”

But unlike her hardened expression, there was some pity in her voice.

Time passed quickly.

A day, a month, a year-

And one day. All TV channels were fixed to one news.

The Allied Forces have eliminated the last encroachment cluster on Earth, a victory report.

The moment that glorious moment of victory was shown on the screen, the whole world was filled with boisterous cheers. It was like a festival. On the streets, in the squares, even if only beyond the relayed screen, they sent enthusiastic support to the protagonists of the victory that ended the long, long battle.

Sword Saint, Witch of True Flame, Butcher, Guardian, Knights Templar-

Among those heroes of reversal, only one person shone the brightest.

A girl who had grown up so beautifully that she could not be compared to when she first met her.

Now everyone in the world knew.

Her beliefs. Her victory.

Now that everyone was earnestly cheering and watching, it finally came to fruition.

Encroachment has disappeared from this world and humanity has won.

He finally came this far.

Seo Jin was also watching all of those stories.

And now he was able to swallow the duty that Arcel’s death had left him, the last piece of that responsibility.

Savior.
Hero of the Allied Forces.
Miracle of the 47th Defense Line.
The strongest Aegis.

These are achievements that refer to only one person.

Because she was a true protagonist who had overcome such hardships.

Even after the war ended, her name could be seen everywhere.

News or TV screens, radios, any media was eager to shed light on the hero’s every move. Thanks to this, Seo Jin also encountered the girl’s footprints in his daily life.

Whenever he found a familiar face on the screen, something tickled Seo Jin’s heart. Five years that he had been with her ever since they first met. It would be a lie to say that he didn’t become attached to her.

But now Seo Jin was no longer qualified to approach her again.

Because all he had done was deceive her so far.

From the first time they met, everything he showed the child was acting. A mask to give her a good belief. There was no true self in that action.

He had only clumsily imitated Arcel’s personality and role.

That’s hypocrisy and deception at best.

Even if he was generous, Seo Jin was just a scammer who would use the child for his own benefit.

That’s why all the wars were over, but now he didn’t have to worry about the flow or development of the original story…

It was right to disappear for the sake of that child’s future.

Seo Jin habitually touched the prosthetic hand on his right arm.

He had lost it in the last battle he said goodbye to the girl.

He would rather think of it as the minimum atonement.

The price for deceiving and manipulating that child.

“Hoo-“

Seo Jin shook off his miscellaneous thoughts with a sigh.

It’s all in the past.

Yunia became the best hero of humanity and found her original destiny.

Now Seo Jin only had to live his own life.

The place he found like that was this shop.

A small one-story cafe hidden between the alleys of the city center.

As he had said sometime in the past, Seo Jin opened a coffee shop.

Perhaps because it was a shop in a secluded and remote place, there were not many customers.

But he didn’t expect income from the beginning. Rather, it was comfortable and good.

He just needed some work.

In order not to be foolishly stuck in the past even after everything was over. It was enough to have a justification to sort out even a dry life.

Even though all the stories were over, Seo Jin was still living in this world.

Now it felt somewhat natural.

It had already been 10 years since he had fallen into this world without any signs.

There were many hard and painful things during that time…

They are all past memories.

It became a story that he put aside in one corner of his heart and looked back on.

Seo Jin was now able to accept it.

The destiny as a person living in this world in the future as well.

Seo Jin, who opened the shop on time, started working as usual.

He divided the ingredients, separated them according to their expiration dates, cleaned up the garbage left over from the previous day, and did this and that, and it was already well past noon.

Not a single customer came.

Could it be because it’s located in a remote corner? It’s usually nice because it’s convenient….

Today, it was particularly quiet. He felt a little bored.

There were no people, so he took out a simple sandwich to take an early lunch.

The lazy afternoon sun shining through the window.

The scenery of the alley he looked at while resting was very quiet as always.

Seo Jin, who was immersed in that peaceful daily life, had somehow fallen asleep.

“Coffee? Thank you every time. Really.”

He immediately realized it was a dream at her voice.

“The one you make is the best after all.”

A nightmare that endlessly exacerbates the longing heart.
A terrible dream that he would rather not wake up from.

Whether she knew this feeling or not.
Arcel, she in the dream, only showed the same smile as always.

That beautiful and radiant smile that Seo Jin had lost due to his mistake,
That he can only draw in memories now…

“Hehe, I’m serious? I can’t lie.”

Whenever he met her again even in a dream like this, Seo Jin wanted to beg to die.

He was really sorry.
He lost you because of my mistake, and I stole your role.

He couldn’t even dare to ask for forgiveness.
Still, he wanted to say it once, just once.

He really tried hard so far.
He really did his best.
So really… he really missed her…

But Seo Jin in the dream couldn’t even say that one word.

He was just spouting trivial stories while trapped in his memory.

He was just wasting the time that he didn’t know was so precious.

It was so unfortunate and unfair that-

“So, how was your day today?”

Just watching her smiling without a care in the world made his heart feel like it was about to burst.

But Arcel in the memories only showed a gentle smile.

Like back then when he couldn’t go back.

“……After all, I’m here because of you-“

Seo Jin woke up with a start.

He wondered when he had fallen asleep, and when he checked the clock, it was already well past noon.

After being blankly frozen like that for a while, he shook off the dregs of emotion with a deep sigh.

It was familiar to sort out the guilt of waking up alone whenever he faced Arcel even in a dream like this. But he just couldn’t get used to the piercingly painful heart, so he had no choice but to swallow it forcibly.

After a long time, Seo Jin, who had managed to come to his senses, got up from his seat.

Fortunately, the shop was still quiet, as if no customers had come during that time.

And his eyes met.

A very beautiful blue light. And the all too familiar, sea-colored eyes.

At first, he thought he hadn’t fully woken up from his dream, that he was seeing things.

But the chillingly cold voice was reality itself.

“Teacher.”

Facing the girl who had grown up much more than when he last saw her, Seo Jin couldn’t say anything.

“Have you been well all this time.”

The color caught in those eyes looking at him was no longer upright and good faith, but rather….

Because it was a chillingly thick fragment of emotion.