Chapter 40: Chapter 40

Kleio Asel, registered at age 17 (4)

“It happened many times. When I was twelve, an unknown boy opened the door of the room originally used by Isiel. I saw him for the first time, but his face was familiar. He looked like a ghost… but it was the son and male successor that no one wanted, Isiel’s brother. He wasn’t a ghost; he was just someone from the future.”

Arthur explained the details of the visions he saw. Despite his blank expression, Kleio’s head was spinning.

‘It seems that the old manuscript was mixed with the new content to create some strange internal consistency. Rather, should I assume that the character Arthur Riognan was completed earlier because he saw the future?’

“…Right. If that happened, I could predict these other visions will someday come true.”

“Alright.”

Arthur’s response was a mix of determination and resignation.

“Then, were there any future memories of the other princes?”

“Aha, memories of the future! That expression is just right. Right. The second oldest’ future memory’ is about Melchior. Standing in the middle of a pool of blood, he raises his hand and points at me. Then I say, ‘Fate will surely come true. You are…’, then the vision ended like that.”

Kleio, who wasn’t confident in his acting, worked hard to keep his face expressionless. That, too, was a scene from the manuscript.

‘It’s a minefield of spoilers.’

“Every time I dreamed of it, I was so scared that I would go knock on my mother’s door. Anyway, the next one was less scary. In the third oldest memory, my eyes are stained red with blood, and Aslan strangles me with all his might, yelling, ‘you shouldn’t have been born!’ Well, Aslan’s said that many times already, so it wasn’t that surprising!”

Arthur laughed briefly at his own morbid joke. The prince seemed to be telling the truth, but it wasn’t something that a seventeen-year-old could talk about calmly. Because of his reordered memories, the difficulty of the protagonist’s life was much greater than it had been in previous versions. The deterioration of the Palimpsest also most likely affected those changes in content. Kleio sighed internally.

‘No, he’s already grown up and come this far, but how can I correct that? Is it possible to cushion him little by little, so nothing he can’t handle comes his way in the future?’

“I’ve answered all your questions, so please answer one for me. Is that skill about prophecy?”

“It would be okay to look at it like that.”

Just as he did with Dione, he matched Arthur’s assumptions. If he tried to diversify his lies, he wouldn’t be able to remember them later. If he found out about something like Editor’s Authority, he didn’t think anything good would come about from that. Perhaps it would even destroy the world, the worst-case scenario.

“You won’t give me a definite answer anyway.”

“You would know better than anyone else. Prophecies are always in an incomplete form. The future that I can read is also lacking in several places, and the context is missing. It’s unclear what will happen before they actually happen.”

“Read… Your unique skill seems to be manifested in the form of reading.”

“…Yes.”

Dione and Arthur were the masters of digging up his words.

“Can you tell me? What you’ve read?”

There was no need to make up a lie. Instead, Kleio recited a sentence from the manuscript that Memory evoked.

“There will be a dispute between two princes, and an era of war will arrive.”

“…”

‘That’s about you. Your suffering is proof that you are the chosen character.’

The protagonist, who would be at the center of the coming typhoon, stiffened in surprise. Then, chewing on Kleio’s words, he rubbed his chin. It was a habit of him being in deep thought, a minor detail that hadn’t changed from the last manuscript. In the forest where the afterglow of the sunset cast a shadow, they could hear the chirping of bugs. They sounded like a farewell to a century of peace. Kleio pulled up his ether and himself in it.

“‘Speak with faith.’ I, Kleio Asel, will stand by your side when necessary.”

‘Speak with faith’ was an old idiom, a simple etheric formula found in the basic swordsmanship textbooks. It was an expression of faith. Since it does not use a magic formula, there were no penalties for breaking it, and it didn’t guarantee loyalty like a [Covenant]. It was a declaration based on pure faith.

“I know your purpose and will. I will do my best to help you achieve it.”

“How long will that promise last?”

“Until Arthur Riognan becomes the only king of Albion.”

It was a straightforward declaration without any hidden meaning. Arthur’s eyes opened wide at Kleio’s determined affirmation. He had just lightly uttered rebellion and blasphemy. While Arthur was shocked, Kleio awaited the usual announcement from Promise. The golden letters appeared a beat later as usual.

[-User’s narrative involvement has rapidly increased.]

‘The author wants this sort of development. Arthur too.’

“Are you not making a [Covenant]?”

[Covenant] was a formal oath made by knights to their king, like what Isiel Kision had sworn to Arthur at the age of twelve, what Arthur had sworn to Isiel at the same age. But even if he could receive the same [Covenant] back from Arthur, Kleio had no intention of accepting Arthur’s request.

“Huh. I hate that idea.”

“!!!”

[Covenant] was an irreversible oath sworn in ether. If you broke it, the loss would be tremendous as you lost the most precious memories throughout your life. The last manuscript had described what would happen when someone broke such an oath.

‘The knights who violated their [Covenant] to Edward and advocated Philippe instead lost their memories. No, thank you.’

The type of memories lost differed from person to person. Sometimes they only forgot about the things they owned, but some forgot about their families or lovers. The problem was that they couldn’t know what they had forgotten until they ran into it again. That was a price he couldn’t pay as Kim Jungjin. He would remain and live as Kleio, but he wasn’t willing to lose his memories.

‘I can’t go against the author’s will anyway. If only this guy is anxious about the [Covenant], then I don’t care.’

If Arthur died in the journey ahead, everything would perish with him. If so, he wanted to face that destruction with at least his memories intact.

‘I know it’s in vain. From the moment I opened my eyes here, NPCs like me are at a disadvantage. But what should I do?’

The author was like the god of this world, and the protagonist was one of the world’s pillars. If the two opposed each other, the world would be divided, but the force of development became strong when the two wills lined up. He knew that in the long-term story, Kleio was by no means comparable to Arthur.

However, there was at least one thing that Kim Jungjin could not lose. Things like his mother’s rough hands and the peaceful breathing of his sleeping brother… If Kim Jungjin forgot, then the memories of those that existed in his previous world would vanish. The life of Kim Jungjin had been difficult, and the hardships he faced had no purpose or meaning.

Unlike Arthur Riognan’s life, which was the center of this world.

“Arthur, you’ll know someday. Now, this world is spinning around you. That’s extremely unfair, but it’s also natural.”

‘Because you are the main character of this story.’

In this world of kings, Kleio’s words would sound just like simple metaphors. That was especially the case for Arthur, who sought the throne. Nevertheless, Kleio chose to speak as someone standing at the boundary of the story.

“But I will never be your servant. Instead, I will act as a helper.”

Kleio reached out to Arthur for a handshake. It was a way of greeting two people of equal standing.

‘This guy will continue to increase his number of followers in the future, but it is correct not to sign an exclusive contract to get all that I can.’

The prince didn’t hesitate to grab Kleio’s hand firmly.

“‘Speak with faith.’ I, Arthur Riognan, am pleased to accept Kleio Asel.”

Arthur’s response was also out of good faith. There was neither Covenant nor coercion there, so they would be required to maintain that faith and belief.

“Don’t think about being treated like a prince in the future.”

“Have you ever treated me like a prince?”

“It started like that. Are you sure you want me to be respectful?”

“Oh, it’s awkward just considering it… Anyway, did you want anything from me?”

“Of course. Give me the position of royal magic advisor when Zebedee retires.”

“Why? It’s an honorary job with no authority.”

“Give me a pension instead. Three times a professor’s salary.”

“You… I don’t know if you’re simple or greedy.”

“I’m not pretentious. Hearthstones, magic tools, and cash are always welcome.”

“I have a future arch-mage, but he wants to go to waste. I don’t have a good sword in my hand, let alone magic tools.”

“We’ll see how it goes. Don’t go back on what you said later.”

‘Once the dungeon opens, that will change completely.’

“Okay. But, is that part of your prophecy?”

“10,000 dinars per question. I don’t answer for free.”

“Ahahaha. Hey, that was really funny.”

Arthur’s loud laughter broke through the darkness, so he missed the timing to say he wasn’t kidding. However, the laughter was contagious as Kleio’s grim expression soon faded as he laughed with Arthur. At that moment, more golden letters came to mind.

[-User’s narrative involvement has rapidly increased.

=The cumulative percentage of narrative involvement is being calculated (□□%)]

‘What, now it’s being displayed as a percentage?’

Kleio, distracted by the unfamiliar message, didn’t see the Door of Mnemosyne begin to radiate light behind him.

Faint light formed in the middle of the empty door frame before quickly extinguishing. Subsequently, the edge of the broken wall gently vibrated. Having detected the irregularities, a flock of birds flew away, but the boys who hadn’t noticed it left the forest indifferently. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om