232. Truth of the World – Addendum

Sorry for the delay.

Previous Synopsis:

After beating a zombie to a pulp with Heroic Hymn, my level went way up and I obtained Administrator Privileges.

≪—Notice from the Chaos Frontier System Server.≫

≪An ‘Invitation’ has arrived for Kudo Kazuto.≫

≪Do you wish to access the Chaos Frontier System Server?≫

「……」

I am bewildered by terms I’ve never heard before.

What happens if I select Yes?

「…I’m curious, but maybe it’s better to wait for Libera-san to come out…」

She would likely know something.

She should be coming out of “Holy Territory” soon, and if I consult her then—

≪Confirmed.≫

≪Accessing the Chaos Frontier System Server.≫

「……Huh?」

Why?

I haven’t given an answer yet.

Then, the scenery warped and twisted, and my consciousness went dark.

「…Where is this?」

When I came to, I was in a strange space.

Countless gears floated in mid-air, and between them, equally countless lines of light were flying about.

There was no floor. Despite floating in the air, I felt no anxiety; I had a solid sensation of standing firm.

≪Welcome to the Chaos Frontier System Server.≫

A voice spoke.

It’s that voice I always hear in the announcements.

Usually, that voice echoes inside my head, but now it comes from beneath my feet.

Looking down, a small girl was there.

A pure white girl with long silver hair and golden eyes.

She somehow reminds me of Libera-san.

Then, the white girl gave a polite bow.

≪This way.≫

The white girl began to walk briskly ahead of me.

「Ah, wait a second…」

I followed after her.

It’s a strange sensation to be able to walk when there’s no ground.

After walking for a bit, we reached a space where even larger gears and countless picture frames were floating.

「What is this…?」

The countless frames displayed various images.

An image of a High Orc fighting.

An image of a monster tamer overrunning a school.

An image of Titan destroying the City Hall with a throw.

An image of Peony devouring everything in our town.

They were all monsters I had fought before.

But…

(I’m not in them…?)

No, more than that, Momo, Aka, and Ichinose-san aren’t in them either.

Furthermore, the situations being displayed are different.

The High Orc is fighting Nishino-kun and Rikka-chan at the shopping mall.

The monster tamer is overrunning the school with the violence of numbers without using Schwarz.

Titan is using clones from the start, burying the City Hall in a pile of rubble with sheer volume.

What is the meaning of this…?

≪This is a divergence. A possibility of a world where you did not acquire ‘Early Maturity.’≫

The white girl who should have been walking ahead of me was suddenly beside me.

When did she get there?

「Divergence… so you mean if I hadn’t acquired ‘Early Maturity,’ this is what would have happened?」

≪Merely a possibility. A lost divergence; a world that should not be.≫

Is it something like a parallel world?

≪The world is full of possibilities. By predicting divergences based on the current world as a reference, the objective is to minimize future damage that may occur to the system. In particular, holders of the Five Great Skills, the Six King Skills, and the Seven Deadly Sins Skills have a large impact on the world.≫

…Is it something like a supercomputer’s predictive calculation?

Like a weather forecast or a disaster warning.

≪That perception is mostly correct.≫

Apparently, it’s correct.

Or rather, I wish she wouldn’t read people’s thoughts so naturally.

≪Thought transmission is faster than oral transmission and results in fewer misunderstandings. Efficiency is prioritized.≫

「Sigh, I see… So, why did you call me here? Why was I called even though I didn’t select Yes? Does it have to do with the ‘Administrator Privileges’ I just acquired?」

≪Look over there.≫

The white girl pointed to a certain spot.

There was a particularly large picture frame there.

What was projected inside was a scene clearly different from anything seen so far.

A landscape that reminded one of medieval Europe, distinct from modern Japan.

≪That is the other world that will merge from now on.≫

「The other world—you mean the world Libera-san, Aiba-san, and the monsters originally came from…?」

The white girl nodded.

The root cause of everything, and according to Libera-san, a world soon to reach the end of its lifespan.

But the people projected there didn’t show any such sense of tragedy.

The images switched many times, but in every one, I got the impression that the people were spending their time happily with smiles on their faces.

(Does that mean only the upper echelons were informed about the world’s lifespan and the other world?)

No, probably so.

In the first place, telling the citizens such information would only cause unnecessary chaos.

I felt complex emotions toward the people of the other world living normally without knowing anything.

Simply because the situation and world were different, the people projected there looked like nothing more than ordinary humans, just like us.

「…Hm?」

Then the image blurred.

The scene switched, and what was projected next was a completely different video.

Two people, a man and a woman, were shown in a bleak room.

『—Why? Why does Mother have to die? Hey, why!?』

『That’s enough, Libera. It’s already been decided. Get away from her quickly!』

『I won’t! I can’t accept this way of doing things! If you’re going to choose a method like this, then I—』

One was Libera-san. The other was a young man with sharp eyes reminiscent of a young blond lion.

Libera-san, who was usually so calm, was baring her emotions in an uncharacteristic way.

Conversely, the young man was calm.

But at the point where he was pinning Libera-san and restraining her movements, I could tell he was considerably strong.

The young man shouted as if trying to persuade Libera-san.

『This is the only way for us to escape destruction! You should have accepted it too!』

『I never heard that Master—that Mother—would be sacrificed for that! Besides, there’s no guarantee the foundation world will even accept us! A plan with so many uncertain factors can’t possibly work!』

『I told you I have a plan for that! Dammit! Shuri! Glen! Restrain her! Do not let her get near here until the ritual is over!』

『『Yes!』』

『Randall! Don’t you dare mess with—gaha!』

A red-haired man and a black-haired woman appeared suddenly and restrained Libera-san.

The blond young man knocked Libera-san unconscious, and the two left the room with her.

The remaining young man regulated his breathing.

『Honestly… your daughter has come to resemble you in every way, you foolish Sage.』

At the end of his gaze, there was another woman.

A woman who looked exactly like Libera-san, but appearing slightly older.

The woman was wrapped in countless chains, and a vast number of magic circles were floating around her.

(The Sage was Libera-san’s mother…)

I had a feeling that was the case from the way Libera-san and Aiba-san spoke.

But this confirmed it. That’s why Libera-san was so angry.

『Do you not think it is the height of folly to choose a single relative over the world? Rather, our world will be saved by a single sacrifice. If I could take her place, I would even want to do so myself.』

Saying so, the blond young man held his hand over the woman in front of him.

『And… I suppose neither you nor she will forgive what I am about to do…』

Then, the patterns of some of the floating magic circles changed.

『I’ll have only the monsters residing in this world transferred first. I don’t know how much the residents of the foundation world will be thinned out, but it’s better than doing nothing. Besides, the Sea King, the Dragon King, the World Tree, and the Blade Beast might end up killing each other off nicely.』

「Ts…!」

The moment I heard those words, an intense rage welled up within me, as if the blood in my whole body were boiling.

—Master intended to create a perfect system. But the people who handled it were not perfect. On the contrary, they were terribly selfish and foolish.

Libera-san had said that once.

That someone had tampered with the Sage’s system and rewritten it to suit their own convenience.

(I see… it’s this guy… it’s because of him…!)

I desperately suppressed my trembling fists.

In the video, the blond young man continued to tamper with the magic circles—presumably the system—one after another.

The video ended when all the tampering was finished and the young man left the room.

「…Did you call me here just to show me this?」

≪……≫

The white girl did not answer.

But she gave a small shake of her head.

≪Take this.≫

The white girl held out her hand.

A pure white sphere appeared in her palm.

The white sphere drifted through the air and was absorbed into my body.

「W-What was that just now…?」

≪This completes the transfer of ‘Administrator Privileges.’≫

Administrator Privileges…? The sphere of light that just entered my body?

What kind of things can I do with that?

≪It is possible to intervene in, tamper with, and overwrite the Chaos Frontier system.≫

In other words, I can do anything?

≪Anything is possible as long as it is an event derived from the system.≫

Seriously…?

It’s truly a god-like ability.

≪However, if you do not possess the Master Key, Administrator Privileges can only be activated once. From the second time onward, there is a possibility that Kudo Kazuto’s body and brain will be destroyed, unable to withstand the information pressure of the Administrator Privileges. Furthermore, even the first use will place a tremendous burden on you.≫

Just once, huh…

Still, considering the performance, I should call it exceptional.

Wait? If I recall, Libera-san had a replica of the Master Key, right?

If I use that, would multiple activations be possible…?

Could I take any skill I want, raise my stats as much as I like—no, would it even be possible to prevent the vanguard from coming to this world?

This is bad; this is seriously an incredible power.

≪…Kudo Kazuto.≫

The white girl was looking at me.

≪A fire that is too great will also destroy one’s own self. I believe that you will use that power correctly.≫

Her tone was clearly different from before, sounding as if she were worried about me.

≪And also—≫

Taking a step forward, the white girl placed her small hand on my chest.

≪Believe in that child—believe in Libera. From now on, no matter what she does, if it’s only you, that is enough. Please believe in her.≫

Then, my body began to disappear bit by bit.

「You are—could you be…」

My words did not last until the end.

『See you.』

The white girl waved her hand.

Once again, my consciousness went dark.

「Ts—!? What was that just now…?」

Looking around, I was in a corner of the battered safe zone, unchanged from moments ago.

「Kyuun?」

「…? (Nod nod)」

「Kyuu?」

Momo and the others were gazing at me worriedly.

(The wounds and the dirt on my body are exactly as they were… Was only my consciousness sent to that space?)

Then, Sora turned a somewhat stern gaze toward me.

『Kazuto, even if the battle is over, is it not being too careless to let your guard down for even an instant?』

「An instant…」

Was being sent to that space an event that lasted only a mere instant?

Chaos Frontier System Server.

That white girl, Administrator Privileges, and Libera-san and that young man’s past…

(There are many things on my mind, but I have to focus on what’s in front of me right now.)

The effect of “Heroic Hymn” is about to run out soon.

Libera-san and Schwarz haven’t come out of “Holy Territory” yet, but they should be coming out soon.

I concentrate my consciousness and perform a wide-range search.

(…There are several signs of monsters, but no hostility…)

The remaining monsters are likely Schwarz’s subordinates mentioned in Ichinose-san’s email.

In that case, it’s better to send that Soldier Ant we protected toward them.

「Momo, please.」

「Wan.」

I send the Soldier Ant stored in the shadows toward Ichinose-san and the others.

It seems to have no will to fight, so it should be fine.

「The only thing left is that, huh…」

I look at the place where Arrogance vanished.

A magic sword remained there, thrust into the ground.

「I should probably collect that too, just in case.」

I store the magic sword in my Item Box.

Checking the list, it was displayed as ‘Magic Sword Arrogance.’

Arrogance… why is the name of the magic sword the same as him?

「Hm?」

Suddenly, the magic sword materialized.

What’s going on?

When I reflexively grabbed the magic sword, something flowed into me with a thump.

≪New owner confirmed.≫

≪Registering Kudo Kazuto as the owner of the Magic Sword ‘Arrogance.’≫

An announcement suddenly played in my head.

Does this mean I’ve become the owner of this magic sword?

Then, a voice echoed in my brain once more.

『Good grief… even if the battle is over, to touch a magic sword without even using ‘Appraisal,’ you really lack a sense of danger, don’t you?』

「…Huh?」

This voice… could it be Arrogance?

Then, as if confirming my thought, the magic sword in my hand glowed ominously.

『Yeah, it’s been a little while, Kudo Kazuto.』

KYEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH IT TALKED!!!!

Thank you for reading.

The white girl finally appears in the web version too.

I’ve also updated the side story of this work today.

It’s a story about a protagonist who obtained the unique skill ‘Search’ and a cat who obtained the unique skill ‘Convert.’

I’d be happy if you read that one as well.

Volume 1-4 of the light novel and Volume 1-5 of the comic are also on sale.

Please check them out too.

End of 232