The World I Was Supporting Was Real - Chapter 86



86. Spring Passes By…

* * *

It was spring.

This didn’t actually mean that the season was spring.

It was simply that the time Karen spent with Ares felt to him like spring, when the weather warms and life begins to stir.

Ares learned so much from Karen.

The most representative of these were the talks about the mindset one must have when loving someone.

“Are you saying that because you don’t love them, you can sacrifice them?”

“Yes. In the end, you see everyone except yourself as chess pieces. You don’t even consider who they love or who loves them.”

“…….”

“It might be difficult to understand, but it’s a very simple issue, Your Highness. If someone said they would sacrifice me for the greater good, could you just brush it off?”

“That’s….”

Ares thought for a while, then finally nodded.

“…I think I would’ve considered sacrificing myself instead. But even if that wasn’t possible… I don’t really know. Even while thinking I could sacrifice my sister, at the same time… honestly, there’s a part of me that doesn’t really want to.”

“It’s because humans originally have a two-sided nature when protecting what’s precious to them. And even if you decide to sacrifice me, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Huh…?”

“Because, in the end, you did hesitate, didn’t you? You used to just say, ‘It’s okay to sacrifice them for the greater good,’ without any hesitation.”

At Karen’s words, the Prince’s cheeks flushed red.

My sister really knows everything, so honestly, at this stage, I didn’t even want to strongly argue back.

“That’s the most important point, Your Highness. The fact that you didn’t answer right away and hesitated. That’s the weight of an unwanted sacrifice. You need to understand that well.”

—People are not Your Highness’s chess pieces.

“A true hero isn’t something you can create just because you want to. They are born riding the tides of time. If you only chase after results without considering the weight of sacrifice, you must never forget that one day you will trip and fall on the weight you ignored?”

About half the time was spent like this, honestly talking about Ares’s feelings.

And for the other half—

“Okay, can Your Highness handle this big one?! Yah!”

“Ugh…!!! It’s… it’s too big…!!”

They played Ares’s homemade card game.

“Yay! I won!”

“No way… I lost… ?”

“Hehe, Your Highness! Isn’t this the first time you’ve lost at a game you made yourself?!”

Well, the actual players were only Karen and Ares, but—

Still, losing to an opponent who had been constantly losing was quite a shock.

Especially in a game that he had designed from A to Z!

“No, but… “How did you research such a loophole?”

“I thought about it after learning the rules and playing a few rounds with you, Your Highness! I figured if I dug deep enough, I could somehow create a surefire winning method!”

As Karen said, her tactic was practically foolproof.

Two cards that weren’t meant to be linked were creating an unexpected synergy.

“So, I think it’d be best to fix this part! This game’s still in development, right?”

“I understand. I’m really grateful you caught such a crucial error, Sister.”

“Ehehe… It’s a bit sad that my winning method was broken, but! Yeah! A game that’s all about winning is no fun at all! I hope it becomes a better game and is loved by many people. Since Your Highness put so much effort into making it!”

‘… .’

For some reason, those words weren’t purely joyful.

To imagine this game being completely finished and shown to many people… It wasn’t like he’d never had such a fantasy, but honestly, he was embarrassed that a prince would be making something like this.

In a way, this was probably another manifestation of his inner desire to be a hero, as his sister said. A hero engrossed in board games wasn’t very cool.

But now… he wanted to complete this game and show it to the world.

And, around that time, for some reason, he had this feeling that his sister wouldn’t be here… and that made it impossible to be happy.

They spent their time playing chess, various board games, or having tea together.

It was a dreamlike time for him—

And as always, happy times were terribly short.

* * *

Karen’s last day.

A week prior, she’d told Ares repeatedly, “Today is the last day we’ll be together.”

Ares, having known from the start that they couldn’t stay together forever, didn’t hold onto those words but instead spent the remaining time fully immersed in her stories.

Today, like any other, they greeted each other, talked about Ares’s thoughts, played board games, drank tea—

—and as the sun began to dip low.

Finally, the time to part had drawn near.

“Your Highness, you’ve worked hard these past days. Shall we review one last time?”

“Alright.”

At Karen’s prompting, Ares spoke his thoughts slowly.

“For the sake of the greater good, I won’t try to manipulate others.”

“Yes, good! And?”

“I won’t take the sacrifice of others for granted.”

“And?”

“I’ll keep in mind that having the willingness to sacrifice myself doesn’t give me the right to judge the lives of others.”

“Good! Now, the last one! The most important one is left!”

“……I won’t turn away from the desires within me.”

The reason Ares could become such an extreme person.

It was, ironically, because the last passage was the most relevant.

“Well done, Your Highness! Just like my brother! This older sister is incredibly proud.”

Karen clapped a few times, then looked directly at Ares and said,

“Ares. Never forget. A revolutionary who only loves themselves can’t lead the world in the right direction. To love others who live in this world together, you have to face your own shortcomings. It may seem clumsy, but it’s never something. to be ashamed of. Someday, if your heart gets complicated and your chest feels stuffy again, please remember my advice.

“……Yes.”

Karen tilted her head slightly, wearing a bright smile.

“Your Highness. I’ve had such a really, really good time being with you. And, thank you for listening to me. Thank you so much for engaging with my words seriously, without taking offense, even when I was being frank. “

“No, I was the one… I had a good time. And, I’m sorry. That day, I didn’t need to get so angry…”

“It’s okay. It’s all in the past now.”

Looking at Karen, who responded like that, Ares noticed something.

Karen—she didn’t even say cliché things like ‘don’t forget me’ or ‘I will never forget this memory’.

What did that mean?

Now, he felt like he could understand.

She…was going to ‘disappear’ soon.

Not just vanishing from his sight, but vanishing from this world.

She was a limited-time, frank fact given by God. Once her time was given to him was depleted, she was a being that had no choice but to vanish from the world again.

So.

Because he knew it all, he couldn’t grab hold of her.

And, at the same time, he knew now… that he shouldn’t necessarily grab hold of her.

Still.

Even if she doesn’t remember me, I can remember her.

“Thank you. I’ll never forget you.”

Uttering something like that was the full extent of his youthful bravado.

“Oh my, I’m glad! But, there are more good people in the world than you think. If you live your life with a heart that desires to love, someday you’ll meet a wonderful person and… you’ll forget “Someone like me quite easily, I’m sure.”

Karen said that, and then she bowed deeply.

“Goodbye, Prince. Stay healthy.”

And then, she turned and moved towards the door.

Ares waved his hand at Karen, offering his own farewell—

“…Prince?”

—or so he was thinking in his head.

But his heart, not his head, absolutely refused to accept that outcome.

“…Noona.”

His feet moved on their own, and he grabbed her.

“Don’t go, Noona.”

“I’m sorry, Prince. But, you know, I… I can’t stay in this world for long.”

“I, I… I’ll believe in religion. I’ll devote myself to Yggdrasil. I’ll ask the gods for a plain, unvarnished fact. So-“

“Yggdrasil doesn’t want to give you false hope, Prince. He knows that clinging to me won’t be helpful to you in the long run.”

“No, it’s not meaningless! Because, Noona is—”

Having said that, he tried to hug her tightly.

Clutching her, I wanted to say, ‘You’re someone so precious.’ ‘Thankful for the pure, unadulterated fact that God gave me you, isn’t it natural to return to God?’

Like Eirene did. Like Yuria did… I was just given the chance to do the same, I wanted to say, but—

“Uh…?”

For some reason.

I couldn’t embrace Karen-noona.

My flailing arms passed right through her body.

Not even a feeling of resistance. They just sliced ​​through, like cutting through air.

“Noona…?”

I looked up at Karen –

She… like a ghost… was fading.

“It’s meaningless. I was born to make Lord Ares a devotee of Guodeon.”

“But, the pure fact of God is a blessing to humans! Like Mother and big sister, I too, have simply been blessed by God—”

“It’s different.”

“……!”

“God loves Eirene-nim.”

I am well-ripened, loved by God—

Mother Eirene’s voice brushed against Ares’s ears.

“Because He loves Eirene-nim… He tried to exclude Ares-nim. Using my existence, He tried to cloud Ares-nim’s vision.”

“But… but, in the end, He didn’t do that!”

“That’s right.”

“Then it’s alright, isn’t it! If even with my sister by my side, instead of it blurring my vision, I truly dedicate myself to religion and walk the path of a monk serving God—”

“Your Highness.”

I wanted to talk more—

But she, who was fading, now began to slowly turn into powder and scatter.

Ares realized, inevitably, that there really wasn’t much time left.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. But… in the end, instead of corrupting you, I’m glad I could walk a path that truly is for your sake–“

“Karen, sister…! Please, please! Please…!!!”

Ares flailed his arms, then collapsed with a thud.

He knelt and stared at the floor.

If he were to look up… there would be nothing.

As if nothing had ever existed from the very beginning.

“Sister…!!!”

Ares slammed his head into the floor and wept.

He knew he couldn’t hold onto her.

He knew, just as she said, that the ultimate reason she came to him wasn’t because God pitied him.

And he even understood, coldly thinking about it, that as long as she existed, he’d have no choice but to be swayed by her.

What if.

What if one day, God changed his mind, and through her, asked me to do something I shouldn’t?

Her ego was something imprinted by God. It was clear that changing her words wouldn’t be difficult at all.

At that time, could I really cut her words down like a knife?

Even just thinking about it, like she said—

The correct answer was that we shouldn’t be together, ever.

So then.

To just think that I want to be swayed by her even while knowing better, does that mean I still haven’t grown up?

Instead of searching for an answer to that…

‘……God.’

Ares, with both hands clasped, offered a prayer.

‘Thank you for giving me a simple fact. Thanks to the grace of Igwogwodon, I was able to cast aside my stubbornness and be reborn as a new person. Even if it’s not the same form of ‘miracle’ that my mother and older sister experienced… I was able to fully feel what you were trying to convey to me.’

‘I dare not ask anything more of you, God. I know it is presumptuous for someone like me who doesn’t even believe in you to ask for anything, and this… This is ultimately the right choice, I understand that as well.’

‘However, if it is possible, please let me meet her even in my dreams. Please have mercy so that I can taste even just a fragment of the love you gave me… in my dreams.’

Swallowing back tears, his figure, speaking to God with all his heart—

It was already not an exaggeration to call him a follower of the Gwodon faith.

* * *

‘Tch…’

I tore off some rolled tissue paper from beside me and dabbed at my moistening eyes.

Honestly… The breakup scene was more sad than I had imagined.

It wasn’t the kind of feeling that made me want to bawl, but it was… something… something, even though I expected it, sadness is still sadness, I guess?

[GiveMeMoney: Ares will probably officially join the Gwodon faith soon]

[GiveMeMoney: With that, his threat to Eirene will disappear]

[GiveMeMoney: We all can’t help but be amazed that this was all part of Igwogwodon’s plan]

[PleaseGiveMeMoney: To achieve such incredible results with just a small amount of ‘divine power’, you truly are amazing, LeeGwoGwoDon-nim.]

[PleaseGiveMeMoney: If we had gone through Erin-yang, it would have required far more power.]

[LeeGwoGwoDon: Heheh, well, it ended well… but actually seeing them part ways makes me sad.]

[LeeGwoGwoDon: Still, I can’t fulfill Ares’s request, right?]

[PleaseGiveMeMoney: Unfortunately, that’s all I can say for now.]

To fully create a single human being.

They said it required a huge amount of divine power.

Seeing them emphasize multiple times that it would require an overwhelmingly large sum, beyond even my imagination, it seemed like the author had some kind of stubbornness to say, ‘It’s not balanced to create a human, not just a pet, so please give up. on it’.

I wonder if they would ask for something like a few million won?

At first, I didn’t particularly care, since I obviously had no intention of spending that much money on Ares-

But now that I’m seeing them forced to part ways, I feel a bit uneasy.

[LeeGwoGwoDon: There’s no proper way, right?]

[PleaseGiveMeMoney: We can’t continually force patronage from God every time… so as of now, that’s the case.]

[PleaseGiveMeMoney: I’m truly sorry, LeeGwoGwoDon-nim. Also, I’m terribly ashamed to ask for such an excessive amount for a complete miracle…]

[LeeGwoGwoDon: Nah, nah, it’s okay lololol. If it’s a burden for you, I have no intention of forcing it either.]

[LeeGwoGwoDon: But]

[LeeGwoGwoDon: What do you mean by forcing patronage every time?]

[PleaseGiveMeMoney: Even if it’s a small amount, divine power is necessary for the nun to continue existing, even for a short time.]

Huh?

[LeeGwoGwoDon: Wait a minute]

[Lee Guo-guodun: So, how about we do it this way? ]

[ Give me some money : Huh? ]

* * *

From noble mtl dot com

“So, you’ve decided to formally commit to the Gweodeon faith, Ares?”

“Yes, Mother.”

Eirene’s face brightened, and she spoke to Ares in a tender tone.

“You’ve thought this through so well. Ares, the fact that you’ve come to understand God’s will fills this mother with unspeakable joy.”

“…….”

“Yes. I will personally convey this to the Holy Woman. For the time being, keep your schedule free.”

“I will.”

Ares rose from his seat and turned to leave—

But then he suddenly turned his head and bowed to Eirene.

“Mother. I pray that you will continue to lead the empire wisely.”

Despite the utterly random question, Eirene smiled and nodded.

“Don’t worry, Ares. A woman well-ripened does not burden her people with foolish rule.”

Honestly, even now I don’t quite understand what a ‘well-ripened woman’ is supposed to mean…

But, if she can just maintain this much, I think Ares can also live with a certain degree of acceptance.

It’s already been more than three days since Karen disappeared.

Now… it was time to move forward little by little, putting aside the grief.

‘Sister. Please watch over me, always, so that I don’t go astray.’

And so, after finishing the interview with Mother, returning to my room and opening the door—

“Oh, you’re back, Your Highness…?”

—A voice.

A woman’s voice I’d tried to forget but couldn’t.

“……Huh?”

* * *

[GiveMeMoney: Are you talking about a new BM…?]

[Eegwogwodon : Yeah]

[Eegwogwodon: Setting it up so a certain amount is automatically donated every month]

[Eegwogwodon: Just think of it as a new BM, lol]

[Eegwogwodon: We’ll call it ‘Monthly Subscription Support’! ]

[Eegwogwodon: I’ll give a small donation each month]

[Eegwogwodon: With this, we’ll keep copying Karen’s lifespan, right?]

—God was, once again, disseminating innovative new things into this other world.