Chapter 1058 – 3 Questions
000
Cleon is surprised by her sudden change, and the guardian looks like he knew something would happen like this.
She left a slightly regretful comment to Cleon, saying, ‘Should we stop here?’ And then stood up.
With one wave of her hand, her magical wind flows and erases all traces of the messy room.
Looking at the sheets on the bed that moved on their own and the clothes that dried and became clean in an instant, I really felt like a witch in a fairy tale.
“I was very satisfied.”
When she turned her gaze towards the guardian who said that, she could see her with clothes on her body while looking towards her room.
Even if it was clothing – it was still at the level of underwear.
Moreover, liquid was still leaking from her chest, which could be seen even through her underwear.
＂That’s…＂
“Hehe. It seems like you have a lot of questions. It might look a little unsightly, so could you wait until I cover it up?”
In response to Cleon’s question, she was still smiling – her panting appearance from before had returned to her ladylike, relaxed self.
She snapped her fingers once again, and a bright circle of flame appeared beneath her, slowly moving from underneath her to the top, passing through her.
Once her clothes were made and put on from her passing parts, she looked no different from when she met Cleon.
“You said you weren’t fit to have children.”
“Yes, unfortunately. So, although this is for the child, it has no object… You can think of it as a simple secretion.”
Cleon didn’t respond for a moment to her somewhat lonely words.
But soon, the Guardian, fully clothed in her clothes, sits down next to where Cleon was sitting and faces her from a close distance-
For a moment she didn’t say anything and just looked straight into Cleon’s eyes.
In the awkward silence, only Cleon and her breathing sound.
A little later, breaking the silence—
“… Why, what’s wrong?”
It was Cleon’s side.
“Hehe. Well… I thought that if we didn’t talk about anything, this time would last forever.”
And to Cleon, who was in trouble, she spoke playfully once again and sighed softly.
Like a seductress who specializes in capturing and shaking people’s hearts, she seemed to be testing Cleon with her every movement and action.
At her actions, Cleon closes her eyes for a moment and then opens them and speaks.
“I’m sorry. Time…”
“Yes, I know. So, let’s end this fun ‘game’ with you.”
As she said that, she pulled her body away from Cleon and spoke.
“As a guardian, I must take appropriate action against outsiders who invade the mountain. For example, if you… Are heading towards the underground ruins, you need to block it. But one meeting, one night’s bond. As much as you filled my ‘unknown’, I don’t want to glare at each other with you.”
At the guardian’s story, Cleon would nod his head as if he were the same.
“So, unless you try to pass through the entrance to go underground from this mountain. I have no intention of imposing any sanctions on you and your colleagues.”
“… That’s a good thing.”
Unless, like the guardian of Mt. Chukryong, he appears and immediately imposes sanctions when something bothers him.
Cleon himself had no intention of deliberately making enemies and throwing himself into a life-threatening fight.
That’s why she nodded her head at her words and promised her not to go down from this mountain to the underground ruins.
＂Then… I’ll leave the main point here. The story after this is just ‘chitchat’.”
After talking up to that point, the guardian felt relaxed and tried to change the topic.
＂Chat…＂
“Yes, just chatting. There is still an unfinished story between us, right? For example… Our little ‘bet’.”
Her expression seemed to be a bit expectant.
Seeing that, Cleon would think of the story he had with her before her actions began.
‘Why is Cleon so special to her?’
─ Will the answer to her question be found in this short act?
The guardian’s eyes sparkled, as if he wanted Cleon to tell him the answer.
Then Cleon took a small deep breath and opened her mouth.
“To be honest… I’m not sure yet. You, my colleague – I mean. I can assure you that it has something to do with your colleague, ‘Lila Flamewatch’. No, it’s actually a bit strange to say they resemble each other…”
Cleon himself puts his unorganized thoughts into her mouth, and continues her speech as if making an excuse.
Then, she will nod her head as if she understands.
“It’s not just because her hair color or eye color is the same. A wave of magic… And…”
Cleon was about to say something, but she closed her mouth with an expression of a little shame.
Then, she will urge as if she is even more curious.
＂What is it? Talk about it.”
“… Ha. I know it’s bad for a person to say something like this, but… It’s just an inner feeling…”
What am I talking about? When Cleon spoke hesitantly with that expression on his face, the guardian immediately burst into laughter, saying ‘Ahaha!’.
“Surely! It’s a bit weird to talk about that!”
“… I know it well even if I don’t say it clearly.”
Ha. It was Cleon who sighed naturally.
“Anyway, the conclusion is ‘I don’t know.'”
The guardian will listen to Cleon’s answer until the end and conclude with a nod.
＂… Okay.＂
And Cleon also nodded and acknowledged her answer.
“But it was an interesting answer that I liked. The best thing is for you to come up with the answer yourself… But let’s say it’s half the answer.”
＂… Half-correct?＂
Cleon just tilts his head at her words.
“Yes. Ah, but I’m not going to give you the answer. If you are, you will find out naturally in the not-too-distant future.”
＂…＂
Although it is somewhat meaningful, the way she speaks as if she knows the future is something that bothers Cleon, but he must take a step back.
“In the end, the bet is yours to win.”
＂I see. Just look at the results. But I told you, right? It’s an interesting answer that I like.”
As the guardian spoke, she stretched out three fingers toward Cleon.
“Therefore. Although it is a little bit, I plan to compensate you. I will answer the ‘three questions’ to the best of my ability.”
Cleon blinked for a moment at her words.
And she must have looked at her face for a moment, as if asking if she was serious.
Three questions, then- also a question related to the bet from a little while ago-
“Ah, but I said it before. If it’s about a bet from earlier, I won’t answer. Since it’s my good intentions, it’s okay to have that level of restriction, right?”
“… Ah. I understand.”
Cleon could only nod his head calmly at her words.
It’s not like I’m reading this person’s thoughts.
Cleon had to think carefully about what he was going to ask her.
She is, so to speak, a living history book.
He was born at the end of the original world and is still alive today.
Of course, we may not know much about what happened outside the world of succession…
Nevertheless, any information that can be obtained from her will be valuable.
＂Uhm…＂
That’s why Cleon’s worries deepened.
If each question is precious, I even ask myself whether even if I were to think about it and ask it alone, I wouldn’t get much benefit from it.
“Hehe. Don’t think about it too hard. Wouldn’t it be the healthiest thing to use it to answer the questions you’re most curious about now?”
The guardian looked at Cleon’s expression and spoke as if giving advice.
When Cleon heard her words, he would sigh in agreement.
In the end, time is limited, so if you think too long, your search for ‘better questions’ will never end.
Just like that, Cleon first brought out to the public the question that was sticking out of his throat.
“… Then the first question. What on earth are you guardians?”
“… Don’t you want to turn around and hear the answer to the question about the bet from earlier?”
The guardian asked back as if he was a little taken aback by Cleon’s question, and Cleon shook his head.
“It’s not like that. It’s just… I think understanding you a little better will help us as we aim to reach the ruins in this mountain range.”
＂Hmm…＂
At her Cleon’s excuse, she quietly nodded her head as if she understood and opened her mouth.
＂Our guardians… As you know, the remains of the primordial world are buried underground in the Four Dragon Mountains. To be exact – Final Battle Weapon Type C – It is an artificial biological weapon created to protect this area and exclude intruders so that Leviathan’s technology is not leaked back to humanity.”
“… In other words, we are humans created by technology.”
At Cleon’s words, she nodded her head.
“Humanity at that time was truly standing at the end of history, and it felt like an unstoppable apocalypse was approaching. Because we failed to block the golden comet even after using Leviathan.”
As if she was talking about the not-too-distant past, she spoke in a somewhat carefree manner.
However, considering that it was a story about the ending faced by humanity living on this planet thousands of years ago, it was also a story that could not be heard so lightly.
“That’s it. … I was feeling a little uncomfortable about the existence of your guardians.”
“Oh. Are you talking about us?”
“The human race of the original world that created you must have already known that humanity has crossed an irreversible river and cannot avoid the end. But then – why did you try to prevent Leviathan’s technology from leaking out?
The reason they were on guard was to prevent technology so powerful and dangerous that it could lead to the death of the planet on which humanity lives itself from falling into the hands of humans again.
However, in many ways, it was an action that was difficult to understand for them to make these preparations, knowing that humanity was already over.
“… Ha. Indeed. The part I pay attention to is a little different.”
And the guardian looked a little worried after hearing Cleon’s words.
“Is it difficult to answer?”
“No. … Can I take what I just asked as the ‘second question’?”
＂What…＂
Cleon looked a little embarrassed by her words, but…
Soon, she nodded.
As she said, she decided that it would be a good time to follow her instincts and ask the questions she thought were most curious.
Then the Guardian answers Cleon’s question.
＂Our developer. … Therefore. They could be said to be humanity’s last group of scholars, and they knew about it through some kind of method. Even after humanity has come to an end, the stars have burned, and comets have taken everything away…”
She closed her mouth for a moment and then raised her hand and pointed at Cleon.
“A new human race will appear again and live on this planet. And for them, I don’t want them to end up in the same way they did.”
At her words, Cleon was also speechless for a moment.
It took a long time from the extinction of mankind in the original world until the emergence of mankind in the successor world.
Because we had to wait until the burned earth returned to its original state and a new human race was created through ‘Adam’.
For such a long time, the existence of humans disappeared from the stars, until they reappeared.
Since it was not recorded, it was not possible to know exactly how many years had passed, but it might have been in the range of a thousand or ten thousand years.
“Yes. Another question on your face. Hehe. It seems like every time I hear an answer to a question, another question arises.”
“… I should have thought about it more and asked questions.”
For some reason, Cleon couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been deceived by the guardian.
This is what happened, and with the last question, I decided to fall into her favor.
“… How does that ‘group’ know the future?”
“—Even in the primordial world, magic existed. Unlike in the world of succession, it has been kept as secret as possible, hidden from public notice.”
“So, that group was also ‘wizards’?”
＂Some of it.＂
She answered Cleon’s answer tempo, and even after answering, she covered her mouth.
＂… I won’t answer the additional question you just asked.＂
＂… Ah, ah…＂
I guess what I just said should have been typed as a question originally.
“Whoa. Anyway. As you said, some of them are ‘wizards’ and some are ‘scientists’. What. After Dr. Einswaltz’s ‘Magic Mechanics Theory’ was published and ‘magic power’ was added to humanity’s energy sources, ‘scientists’ studied magic power, so in a sense, they could be called ‘magicologists’. Yo.”
＂Ah, Einswaltz…? Magic attribute mechanics theory…?”
“Illustration. He was an important turning point and a great historical figure in the original world, so it came out naturally. In other words, he is a great scientist who announced the existence of energy called ‘magic attribute’ to the public in the original world. Thanks to his presence, mankind was able to use magic power like electricity, and mankind was able to grow its technological power explosively.”
＂And, indeed.＂
Cleon answered with a slightly trembling voice.
And she was silent again for a moment…
“… How much did we talk about?”
She said as if she had forgotten the original topic after talking too much about it.
“There is still no answer to the question of how that group knew the future.”
“Ah, that’s right. They were scientists and wizards, and they predicted the future through various methods. The original purpose may have been to prevent humanity from destruction. At some point, they realized that the inevitable end would come even if they intervened, and they tried to change that.”
＂…＂
I feel like I’ve heard it before somewhere.
In the near past, someone told me this story…
“Surprisingly, that group is still alive and well. To be precise, those who know its existence just call it by its name as they please.”
“──Babel.”
There, Cleon finally confirmed her guess.
The moment when Diora changed from the princess’ servant to a dragon knight.
And, a mysterious group of scholars who predicted and guided her own actions.
＂Oh my, you knew.＂
＂… Coincidentally.＂
─Now that I think about it, I was talking about Dio.
Babel knew to some extent what would happen in the future through some means.
So perhaps Babel of the inherited world has inherited the technology to predict the future that Babel of the original world left behind?
“… Okay, this makes three. To what extent have your questions been answered?”
There, the Guardian clapped his hands and asked Cleon a question.
“… Ah. Thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to clearly understand that you are not the ‘enemy’.”
＂… Hehe.＂
At Cleon’s answer, she smiled.
＂A disaster that continues from the original world that remains in the inherited world. In some ways, using technology from the original world to eliminate that disaster might be a reasonable decision.”
And she speaks as if she understands Attis and Cleon’s actions.
“That’s why even more so. It’s important. In the end, when it comes to technology and weapons – who uses them and how they are used is important.”
And she’ll snap her fingers.
Then─
Shuung! At the same time, she, including Cleon, is driven by her magical power.
Before he knew it, ‘Galatea’ had returned to Cleon’s waist.
[W-what!? Cleon! You’re back!]
＂… This.＂
＂It’s a simple transfer magic. It just returned to the designated location.”
The guardian said this to Cleon and looked up at the sky.
In the still, black and dark sky, the rain had stopped before I knew it.
“Time… Hasn’t it been that long?”
＂Yes. Because I knew you were pressed for time.”
She answered and snapped her fingers again.
Then, a huge blanket appeared in front of Cleon.
It’s literally big enough to cover even a person with a huge body.
“I will return to the place I must protect. And this as a parting gift. The animal you are trying to protect is not an ‘unknown’ entity or anything to me… But I don’t want to see her sad because you can’t protect her.”
With those words, she disappeared in an instant before Cleon’s eyes.
＂Transfer again… Or did you cancel the alter ego? ＂
Cleon looked at the place where she was standing.
And, upon seeing her footprints clearly left on the spot—
Once again realizing that what she had met was not just an illusion, she picked up the blanket lying on the ground and began to walk.
