Old People Don’t Hold Hands - Chapter 149



Only Krnovel

Episode 149, The End of Hallucination (3)

The Frost Queen, ruler of the frozen citadel.

Of course, he wasn’t called that name while he was alive.

Her name while alive was Absolute Monarch Asteria.

He was literally the absolute leader of the frozen citadel where the ancients gathered.

And the special reason why Asteria was able to become a monarch among the flying and crawling ancient people is… … .

This was because the unique ability of the ancients that Asteria possessed was the ability to see the future.

Since the Frozen Citadel was a perfectly fine city like Kargon is now.

Asteria had already foreseen a future in which this world would be consumed by a labyrinth.

I was trying to see a future where I could stop this and somehow save the world… … .

It was frozen like this.

When I think about the last time I saw you, I’m sure I saw something.

She froze to death immediately after waking up from seeing something, so even I had no idea what she had seen.

Well, anyway.

He tried so hard to prevent his world from being encroached upon by the labyrinth.

It must be surprising that the world has completely frozen over and become a labyrinth, just like you are now.

– But how do you know something that happened a long time ago?

… … Ah, that’s right.

In fact, he was the one who raised him after losing his first successor, ‘Inogen Shiger’.

… … That character was Asteria’s bodyguard.

As the erosion of the labyrinth began in earnest, Asteria lost consciousness, saying that she would go to a future where she could somehow stop it.

I had to struggle to protect Asteria, who was sleeping in the monarch’s room.

The same goes for the monsters that rush into the castle.

There are also rebel groups trying to threaten Asteria during this gap.

Anyway, I managed to hold on to it with great difficulty… … .

As soon as I woke up and tried to say something to her, Asteria froze to death.

When Asteria died, I took the inheritance from the bodyguard character I had been raising without any regrets.

I had neatly given up on this world.

A long time has passed since then, and I have repeated the world countless times over the past 11 years… … .

Is it because it was my first time experiencing this worldline?

Or maybe it was because he had such a great impact as the absolute monarch Asteria.

The memory of the Frost Queen, or rather Asteria, lingered for quite some time.

Well, that’s the truth, but since I’m in front of the Frost Queen, if I have to make an excuse…

“I have seen the records of what Her Majesty the Queen has told me.”

– Is this a record of the stories you heard about me?

“Even though it’s frozen, I can still talk to the people there.”

― Talk to my people… …?

“yes.”

― Those kids are still there, frozen… … .

The Frost Queen gave me a mysterious look at my words.

A mysterious expression that is neither happy nor sad.

After a while, the Frost Queen seemed to be thinking with that expression on her face.

In the end, nothing was said.

― So… … , why did you disturb my sleep?

Instead, he got straight to the point and asked me a question.

“I came here because I need Your Majesty the Queen’s help.”

– You need my strength?

“Yes, I need Your Majesty the Queen’s power to protect my comrades.”

– Why do you need my strength?

“There is one who seeks to control our minds. To protect us from him, we need your noble mental powers, Queen.”

― If there is anyone who can control the mind, it can only be the Negro.

“… … .”

As I remained silent at the Frost Queen’s words, the Frost Queen smiled and said:

― Are your comrades so precious to you that you would go against God?

I nodded without a moment’s hesitation at the Queen’s words.

The Frost Queen, who had been quietly watching my answer, laughed loudly and said this.

― Indeed. I was curious about how extraordinary the person who broke my illusion was, and he was willing to go against God to protect his comrades. How interesting.

I had somewhat expected that this would be an answer that the Frost Queen would like.

The Frost Queen also had watched countless futures to protect her world, and was angry at the god who brought about this situation.

Furthermore, she also tried to fight against God in order to protect the world.

After that, the Frost Queen grabbed my chin while I was down on one knee.

He looked closely at my face.

― Now that I think about it, you seem very familiar. You look like my very loyal subordinate.

Well… … , I guess it’s similar.

Because I was the one controlling that subordinate.

After that, the queen let go of my chin and took a step back.

– Good. I like all of your answers. It’s as if you said you knew me well.

“Haha, I just answered honestly out of respect for Her Majesty the Queen.”

― Hmm, it doesn’t matter if it’s true or false. … … Okay, take it.

After that, the queen moved her hand and handed me the crown she was wearing.

The coffin slowly approached me as if floating, then took the shape of a bracelet, and as soon as it wrapped around my arm, it turned transparent and disappeared.

― From now on, no one will be able to harm your spirit.

“It is an honor.”

As I lowered my head and then raised it, the queen smiled faintly and walked away.

Suddenly he stopped walking and looked back.

Then he looked at me, still on one knee, stroking my wrist.

― Wait, why did I say it felt familiar? Now I get it.

“… … ?”

― Strange, strange… … . Why does a human like you have roots?

… … Roots?

Although I’ve heard of it countless times, there is no such thing as a ‘root’ in EndWorld.

As I tilted my head at the Frost Queen’s words, she quietly muttered while still looking at me.

― Even I couldn’t find it no matter how hard I tried… … .

“Roots? What on earth are they…?”

Let’s look at the Frost Queen and ask carefully.

As soon as she heard me, her face hardened coldly.

― Just as the branches are the fruits of all worlds, the roots are the starting point of such worlds.

― Even though you have that precious thing, you don’t even know its name, let alone its use. I don’t even need to see it for myself to know the end of this foolish person.

“What is that… … .”

Whioooo!

Before the Frost Queen could ask any more questions, the blizzard raged again.

― If you truly want to protect your comrades, you must first realize the power you possess before borrowing my power.

― … … Those who tried to protect the world together with me.

With these words, the Frost Queen disappeared into the pouring snow.

The power I have? No, more than that… … .

“Are you someone who tried to protect the world like me?”

Before I could seriously question the Frost Queen’s words, the snow-covered world collapsed.

As if entering the hall again, my body, having lost its ground, began to fall.

When I opened my eyes again after falling.

“… … !”

Before I knew it, I was back inside the dragon’s nest.

“Ugh, my head… … .”

Fortunately, everyone came back without a single person missing.

And on top of that, everyone was conscious and sound.

Arriving at the dragon’s nest, I put off sorting out the situation.

He grabbed Nowen’s arm, who was holding his head.

“Mr. Nowen.”

“Why, why are you doing that?”

“Mr. Nowen, do you know what the root is?”

“… … Hmm? Roots?”

No matter how I think about it, it’s strange.

“I’m talking about the conversation I just had with the Frost Queen.”

“W-The Frost Queen… … ? I just came back from standing alone in a white snow field… … .”

I couldn’t believe Nowen’s ambiguous answer, so I turned my head.

“Me too, Mr. Declen.”

“Oh, sir, me too.”

“… … Hmm? What, was there something like a queen there?”

……what.

So am I the only one who’s seen the Frost Queen?

Only I faced her, and no one else saw or heard anything… … .

“Then you don’t know anything about roots?”

To my words, Nowen nodded his head absentmindedly as before.

“That, that’s the first time I’ve ever heard of something like that… … .”

“… … Inogen, have you ever heard of roots?”

“Huh? Roots? … … Are you eating them?”

“No, no… … .”

You don’t even know that the demon dragon lived longer than the ancients?

Just by looking at it, I had a gut feeling that it was something out of the ordinary.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand it.

How on earth did I come into possession of something like that?

***

I was momentarily confused by the words the Frost Queen left behind.

Thanks to Diana, who took the lead in organizing the situation, I was able to take a break for the time being.

Even so, the injured people only had enough rest to drink potions and eat meals.

After finishing my meal, I tried to go straight to sleep, but… … .

Perhaps because the experience in the hallucination was so shocking, everyone sat there unable to fall asleep easily.

“… … .”

Still, Nowen looked like he was thinking about something.

“… … It’s like a dream. What happened there.”

“That’s right.”

Everyone seemed to be in a state of confusion after experiencing hallucinations.

How did it come to that?

“More than anything, the world there… … .”

“Yeah, I found it fascinating too. It was a space I’ve never seen before in the labyrinth.”

“… … Mr. Nowen felt the same way. The welcoming body was also amazing.”

… … Now that I think about it, there was still something strange.

Biellado, Nowendo, and Dianado.

They all had welcoming faces.

But I was able to come out of the hallucination before I even realized that it was a welcome entity… … .

So then, did the welcoming body not exist?

“Inogen.”

“What is it, human?”

“Now that I think about it, you also quickly came to terms with reality. Didn’t you have a welcoming body either?”

At my words, Inogen frowned as if trying to recall his memories.

“No? Now that I think about it, it seems like it was there too.”

“……what?”

“There was a hand of the god that this body served. I was so angry that I broke it, and then I realized that this was an illusion.”

I thought that since the dragon’s mental power was so strong, he wouldn’t have suffered from hallucinations at all… … .

Did Inozen have a welcoming body too?

Looking at it this way, I couldn’t help but find it strange.

Isn’t there an Inozen welcome body that is as big as a dragon?

If that’s the case, then it’s clear that I must have a welcoming body too… … .

The Frost Queen certainly said so.

[Those who tried to protect the world with me.]

That statement must have something to do with the welcoming gesture… … .

“By the way, sir, you didn’t have a welcoming gesture?”

“… … Well, I just came out of the hallucination naturally.”

“… … Huh? Is that possible?”

“… … I don’t know. I think there was a welcoming gesture, but I don’t know what it was.”

At my words, Diana looked at me quietly.

“Then, how about we think back to when Mr. Declen came out of his hallucination? That’s when Mr. Declen’s illusionary body was damaged.”

I thought quietly about Diana’s words.

When I was hallucinating, I was definitely playing a game.

While playing the game, I started to question why I was doing this… … .

It wasn’t long before I came out of the hallucination.

I was playing a game, is that a gold belt?

No… …, it couldn’t be the gold belt.

Until then, Geumdae was clearly alive and well within EndWorld.

So what happened then… … .

As I was thinking about it, a scene came to mind.

This is the scene that happened when I finally realized the reality.

Now that I think about it, the hole was just opening and a lot of spores were coming out.

As soon as I recalled this scene, the situation was immediately cleared up.

At that time, when I realized the reality, I could not help but see what was damaged as an illusion.

And according to that, my welcome body.

No, what I wished for the most was… … .

The Earth as it normally appears, destroyed by the appearance of the Hall.

No, it was going to be my world.