The World I Was Supporting Was Real - Chapter 85



85. Sister Knows Everything

Every morning, when the day breaks-

Knock, knock, knock, the now familiar sound echoes.

Opening the door reveals – the nun Karen, whom God has sent for him.

“Come now, Your Highness! Today, you’ll study the Bible with me!”

“…Didn’t we study the Bible yesterday too, Sister?”

“Well, that’s true! But I was originally sent here to study the Bible with Your Highness!”

Ares reluctantly let Karen into his room –

Secretly, there was a part of him happy that he could spend time with her.

“The Great Guoguo Doctrine, Chapter 15, Verse 8: ‘The pure fact of God is given only when the believer makes his own choice.’ Verse 9: ‘You shall not carelessly mix your own pure fact with the pure fact of another.’ Verse 10: ‘This is an absolute rule decreed by the one God, Guoguo, and it was said to avoid the act of manipulating others according to your own bizarre rewards; this is the seventh instruction of the first Saintess.’ “You remember all three sentences, right?”

“Of course. It’s the part I focused on studying yesterday.”

“Then, can you now tell me the pure fact of God within these sentences?”

Ares hesitated for a long moment, then spoke with a defeated tone.

“…You shouldn’t treat another person with a personality like a doll you can move as you please…something like that, right?”

“Well done! Now, what lesson can you, Lord Ares, learn from this?”

Ares knew the correct answer-

But instead of stating it directly, he shared the conclusion he had reached after some thought.

“Sis. I’m being truly serious when I say this… you know very well that you can’t change anything without sacrifice. Honestly, meticulously figuring out who has to sacrifice feels like nitpicking over small things when facing a great task.”

“That’s not the point.”

Just like yesterday – Karen spoke again, with an incredibly firm tone.

“Of course, you might not be able to change anything without sacrifice. But can you confidently say that a new world built by stepping over the corpses of those who didn’t want to be sacrificed is better than the old one?”

“That’s just a weak and idealistic story. …And I told you, I’m ready to throw away my life too.”

“Just because the Prince is prepared to throw away his life, it doesn’t mean he has the right to decide the lives of others, does it?”

“If we keep understanding everything, and put things off because someone doesn’t want to sacrifice… how will we ever turn the world upside down? If we consider everyone’s circumstances, who would even try to sacrifice themselves in the end? I think, in the end, sacrificing whoever is needed from an unspecified group at any given time will lead to a fair result for everyone.”

Ares liked Karen.

Even though he knew she was, in fact, like bait sent to him by God, he still liked her. Because the time he had spent with her wasn’t fading away.

And, because he sincerely liked her – Ares was slowly confessing his childish innermost thoughts, ones he hadn’t told anyone, to her.

And Karen-

Instead of simply scolding Ares’s frank words, she continued to explain things in a way he could understand.

“Think about it, Your Highness. Let’s go back to the very first you. Why did you want to turn the world upside down?”

“…I felt the limitations of this political system, where there’s an absolute monarch and vassals.”

“And why was that?”

“The vassals seem to obey the emperor, but ultimately they try to protect their measly power, even if it means overthrowing an emperor who doesn’t suit them. And the emperor, for his part, under the pretext of ‘stable governance,’ “commits the cruelest acts in his obsession with strengthening his imperial authority, without even blinking.”

“The grand history of the Empire is, after all, nothing more than the continuous repetition of ugly power struggles between the emperor and his vassals. In the process, innocent commoners are pushed to the back of the line, groaning in pain. How could I, as a member of the imperial family, ignore that?”

“So, is that why you support a republic?”

“Yes. I think it’s precisely because power is concentrated in one place that both the vassals and the emperor are obsessed with it. If it could be shared among a greater number, I’m certain that they’d focus on enriching their territories rather than engaging in pointless political strife.”

“What if the nobles, who came to power under a republic, were to focus not on enriching their territories but rather on dividing into factions and repeating political struggles, in order to further strengthen their own power and authority?”

“…….”

“Haven’t you considered that possibility, Your Highness?”

“……You won’t know until you try it.”

“That it’s not the right attitude to be certain about the positive aspects while refusing to look at the negative ones… you know that even without your sister having to explain it, right, Your Highness?”

“But, the flaws of the monarchy have already been proven through historical records…”

“Then why did Prince Ares give up on revolution and change his direction to monitor the religious world?”

Every time.

Karen’s words silenced Ares.

But it didn’t matter. Ares wanted to keep confronting her with all the thoughts and ideologies that only he held in his mind.

“If creating a republic was all it took to usher in a utopia, then no matter what the Emperor did, you shouldn’t have given up on your ideals. Isn’t that right?”

“I’ll answer for you this time. Isn’t it because the Emperor and the majority of nobles have become surprisingly incorruptible, and the sound of commoners being happy is spreading around like a song?”

“…That’s right. Honestly, if I were to say I’d overthrow the Emperor right now… no one would agree with me. The commoners would probably say that I’ve gone mad and am spouting nonsense, blinded by power.”

“Thanks for being honest. Now, will you answer the next question?”

Ares squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head, speaking.

“Well, even if the Saintess is an incredible person… you can’t really know what’s inside someone. Since the Saintess is also just a person, her position could change at any time. Right now, she’s walking a path for everyone , but it’s not that strange for someone like that to become corrupted and just praise her own authority.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“What else could it be… Sis? I’m really telling you everything, even what’s in my heart.”

“Ha.”

Karen let out a short sigh, then –

*He’s really such a handful, this little brother*, she thought, and caressed the back of Ares’s hand.

And, ridiculously enough… Ares loved that moment.

Feeling her go through all that effort for him filled his heart to overflowing.

“Since you’re not being honest, I, your sister, will just have to guess what’s in your heart myself. Is that okay?”

“……Go ahead.”

“I don’t think your noble intentions are wrong. And I believe that’s the same for the god Iggugudon. In the first place, ‘graduation’ doesn’t mean not even *thinking* about revolution. The god only wants you to be happy, never intending that you be bound by any specific political system.”

Ares already figured out that much.

Iggugudon had definitely said… that it would make the graduates transform from a ‘revolutionary who doesn’t love humanity’ to a ‘revolutionary who loves humanity’.

Honestly, it just sounded like wordplay, but still, if the god had been against revolution itself, he wouldn’t have used those words, but something more direct, it wasn’t difficult to guess.

And ‘this kind of thing’ was also possible for the god. If the goal was to gag him, a simpler method would have been used.

“It’s not wrong to feel compassion and want to help when you see so many people suffering. But your problem is, aside from all that— you’re deceiving even *yourself*.”

“I’m…deceiving myself?”

Ares, completely taken aback by those unexpected words, looked at Karen, slightly flustered –

Unlike Ares, she was staring at him with clear, unwavering eyes.

“It’s about why you, Prince, so casually disregard the sacrifices of others for the sake of a cause. And why, despite knowing your reforms won’t be accepted by the people, you’re still hell-bent on causing some kind of ‘event’.”

“That’s—”

“I’m sorry, Prince. But please, this time, listen to everything your sister has to say.”

Then.

*Thump*, Karen grabbed Ares’s hands with both of hers.

“S-sister?”

“I’ll tell you. Ares-nim’s true feelings.”

“My true feelings…”

“Ares-nim… you want to be a hero.”

“!!!”

For a moment, Ares’s world stopped, just a tiny bit.

A hero… I want to be one? Me?

No. I have no interest in personal glory or advancement.

As proof, despite being royalty, haven’t I abandoned my royal authority and prepared for reform?

But.

Karen continued, her voice still full of conviction.

“A royal-born revolutionary who single-handedly overthrew the Empire. A being who threw themselves into the world for the sake of everyone. The desire to become such a being is so strong… that you’d never give up, and you wouldn’t ‘t even bat an eye at the sacrifices of others.”

“Instead of loving humanity… you love yourself immensely, Prince.”

“That’s… That’s absurd! If I truly loved myself, I wouldn’t even have thought of giving up my privileges—”

“You said you’d give up your privileges, but you keep saying things like ‘If I, a royal, don’t do it, who will?’”

“Th-that’s…!”

“You’re exploiting the fact that you’re a royal better than anyone. You’re basking in this image of ‘noble me, who pities the people and even throws away his own authority.’ So, you have to flip things over, regardless of whether the outcome is good or bad. You want to etch your name into the world, no matter what.”

“That’s why you’re constantly looking for opportunities. You want the Order to go astray right now. You want another period of time where the people are groaning in agony. Only then can you obtain a cause and step before everyone.”

“That’s not it…!!!”

*BANG!*

Ares shot up from his seat.

The old Karen wouldn’t have been able to say anything in the face of such behavior, but – the current Karen wasn’t fazed in the slightest and continued to speak.

“You can deceive everyone else, but you can’t deceive me, brother.”

“I… I’ve agonized over this so much! This isn’t for myself, it’s for everyone-“

“I know that your heart isn’t lying. But if you truly cared about everyone, you wouldn’t take the weight of unwanted sacrifices so lightly. The reason why your conviction towards sacrifice is so strong is because even you, a royal, are trying to give up everything, and therefore you can’t tolerate those who have less to give up not participating in your cause.”

“Don’t twist my words like that! What do you even know about me—!”

He cut himself off there, Ares realizing his slip, and just as he was about to protest —

From noble mtl dot com

*Whiff.*

His sister’s scent pierced his nose deeply.

And then, the feeling of warmth.

The warmth coming from a being that has embodied the generosity of the gods.

When he came to his senses… He realized Karen was holding him tight in her arms.

“I know everything, Ares.”

“Sis…ter?”

“My sister knows everything. About Ares, she knows everything without exception… She even knows what Ares is thinking right now, she knows it all.”

“My sister didn’t come here to scold you for being bad. That’s not the ‘graduation’ the gods spoke of.”

—If you’re human, there are things everyone is ashamed of.

From small things like a slightly unique hobby or preference, to deeper things like a secret desire you can’t tell anyone.

For example, the desire to love yourself so much that you’d do anything to become a hero that goes down in history.

“To face those slightly shameful and twisted parts within yourself head-on. And to accept them, and move forward… that’s graduation.”

Ares didn’t say anything and just blankly held onto her.

Right now, all he could feel was how incredibly soft his sister Karen’s touch was.

And that his face was burning hotter than ever before.

“Ares. Be honest with me. You wanted to see your sister again, didn’t you? What was the reason?”

“I’m…”

“It’s okay. Your sister knows everything. So, tell me everything truthfully.”

Ares, very, very carefully-

tapped at the shell surrounding himself.

“I liked that my sister understood me.”

“I liked that my sister affirmed my hobbies, that she catered to me completely.”

“It was just us talking… but to think that there was someone who I connected with this well, it was like we were originally one and then split into two… That’s why, I liked my sister.”

“Do you still like your sister now?”

“……Yes.”

“Thank you.”

Karen tapped Ares lightly on the back.

Like she was coaxing a precious little brother.

“Do you love your sister?”

“I don’t know if this is love. But, when you’re not there… I miss you so much. I missed you so much that I was willing to break my personal convictions.”

“If you’re willing to break your convictions, then it might not be an exaggeration to call that love.”

Karen slowly released the embrace—

placed her hand on Ares’s shoulder, looked him straight in the eye, and smiled again.

“Your Highness. You can do it. If you could come to like me, you can like other people as well.”

“And, the very moment you become someone who can truly like and love others—that is when you, Ares, will be able to be reborn as the hero you so yearn to be.”

She said that, then pulled him back into a hug and patted his back.

Ares didn’t refuse her touch, and instead of replying to her… he simply chose to stay quietly embraced by her.

Truly, the Saintess’s words.

Karen’s words were right.

This was, for the first time, the clear, unadulterated fact of the Only God Igguogo.