Chapter 84 – Conditions

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 84 – Conditions

“...What?”

My response was a beat too late, catching in my throat.

It was inevitable.

Luna Winfred—she knows my name.

And not just my name.

She knows that Kyle’s soul has been swapped, and even our plan to escape this world.

She knows everything.

And the culprit behind this?

‘Merlin...!’

Merlin Trivia.

That wretched woman finally caused a mess.

But why?

She had been suspicious from the start, but wasn’t her goal to leave this world as well?

I can’t understand her motives at all.

Why the sudden change in behavior?

Merlin had no reason to screw me over like this, did she?

Or, did she plan to stab me in the back from the very beginning?

I kept silent, offering no answers, and Luna stood up as if malfunctioning.

She began to walk towards me, slowly.

“...”

As Luna drew closer, Diana bristled like a hedgehog, raising her guard.

She gathered her mana, radiating a menacing aura as if ready to strike at any moment.

Ignoring Diana’s hostility, Luna stopped.

And she asked,

“Give me an answer.”

Her voice was breathy, almost a whisper.

Luna’s blue eyes burned intensely.

“Please...”

What am I supposed to say in this situation?

Should I tell her that her brother has long since vanished from this world and to give up her foolish thoughts?

Or should I dismiss everything as nonsense I heard from Merlin?

No, that’s wrong.

No matter what I say, it’s already too late.

She wouldn’t confront me with such outrageous questions without having some firm belief.

She must have enough evidence to confront me directly.

“So it’s true.”

As expected.

Luna began to interpret my silence in her own way, convinced of her own conclusions.

“As she said, you plan to leave this world.”

“Stop with the nonsense and go back.”

Diana’s sword pointed at Luna’s chin.

It was a deadly warning to back off immediately, but Luna just let out a hollow laugh.

I don’t know.

I really don’t know.

What she’s thinking, what plans she’s making, I can’t be sure of anything.

There’s only one certainty.

The world Luna believed in has shattered to pieces.

I stared blankly at Luna’s face.

She looked gaunt and hollow.

Her face was marred with terrible fatigue and stress.

There seemed to be no physical injuries, but sometimes, mental anguish can be more fatal than physical pain.

In that short span of time, Luna seemed to have aged years.

What a mess.

As if being transmigrated into an unwanted world wasn’t enough, the string of terrible situations continues.

Yes, I’ve done all I can.

It’s just that this world was damned from the start.

“So.”

An eerie silence settled over the room.

Luna’s mouth, which had opened to speak, closed like a lie.

This wasn’t something to laugh off.

I had tried not to think about it, tried to forget.

Because I couldn’t afford to weaken.

At least not until I returned to my original world, I couldn’t spare any attention elsewhere.

So I didn’t dwell on it.

No, I erased it from my mind.

Because the more I dwelled on it, the more painful it would be.

And now, what?

You want to know where the real Kyle is?

You want to ask for forgiveness?

From the real Kyle, not me?

My head throbbed.

Today, it was particularly hard to hold back.

The anger I had suppressed started to flood uncontrollably.

“Ha, you really didn’t know.”

“Kyle, I...”

“What do you know about Kyle Winfred? Do you know how he smiled, how he talked, what habits he had? Do you remember anything about him?”

The more my face contorted, the hotter my rage burned, the more I laughed.

“Ha.”

“...”

“That’s why you couldn’t recognize him. Neither you nor anyone in Winfred.”

The brutal truth pierced her.

The pain was so intense, Luna’s hands trembled.

I bent down to meet her gaze.

And quietly whispered.

“Luna Winfred.”

Words as deadly as poison.

“Give up your foolish thoughts.”

I spoke them casually, indifferently.

“You will never see Kyle again in this world.”

“Never... see him again...?”

“Yes, you’ll never see him again. Ever.”

You’ll never see him again.

Never...

Ever...

Luna’s eyes reddened once more at the dreadful pronouncement.

Her breath hitched, hot and ragged.

Tears welled up and streamed down her cheeks.

She wiped her tear-stained eyes over and over with her hands.

“Don’t be too heartbroken.”

I slowly straightened up.

And smiled brightly.

“The brother you need to ask for forgiveness is still here, isn’t he?”

For a moment, a strange light flickered in Luna’s lifeless eyes.

“So, help me.”

“...”

“Help me escape from this world, with everything you’ve got.”

Luna’s blue eyes, now filled with color, gleamed brightly.

Watching her, I whispered like a devil.

“Because that’s the only way I can forgive you.”

I looked at Luna.

Her face was completely dazed.

Maybe that’s why her gaze wavered slightly as she looked at me.

“Just this once.”

I spoke calmly, my voice steady.

“I’m asking you, one last time, sister.”

Only the irregular sound of breathing echoed faintly.

[Translator – Peptobismol]