Chapter 26: The Consequences of One’s Choices (1)

Chapter 26: The Consequences of One’s Choices (1)

In my life, I had come to two realizations, one big and one small.

One was: there’s no word as useless as ‘never’.

And the subsequent realization: therefore, it would be better to focus on the present.

In summary, with so many seemingly unbelievable things happening in the world, one should never assume or deny anything but simply take them as they come.

That was why I had been so confident that the game would eventually shut off despite this damn logout bug.

Although I knew nothing was certain, I decided to focus on the game as if it was.

“Log out.”

「This command cannot be carried out.」

Of course, some might see it as complacency.

“...Log out.”

「This command cannot be carried out.」

I admit it. From a certain perspective, my optimism could be called negligence.

“...Damn it, I said log out!”

「This command cannot be carried out.」

However, had I been more pessimistic, would my immediate situation and conclusion have been any different?

“Please, just let me log out...”

「This command cannot be carried out.」

Neither was the correct answer here, in this situation completely beyond my control and unsolvable by myself. It was just a question of how one approached things.

* * *

Before reaching Tatara, we built a small camp to eat and get some rest. I called it a camp, but we just made a bonfire and slept around it while bundled up in our cloaks. But anyway.

The time had passed for the nutrient supplements injected into the capsule to run out. Weirdly enough, a notification about that matter never popped up either.

Right, it could be the capsule itself had broken. I had even bought one as expensive as a car. Well, unlucky people would break their noses even if they fell backward.

There was no way the Capsule Emergency protocol wouldn’t work unless the whole machine had broken.

“Emergency protocol, forced capsule shut down.”

「This command cannot be carried out.」

Despite knowing it wouldn’t work, I still muttered it for no particular reason. Crackle. Beyond that hateful Error Window, I could only see the bonfire burning brightly.

Other than that, there was nothing. Maybe because it was night, it was really quiet. The others were all asleep, probably trusting in the barrier the Archmage had created.

“...Hah.”

So it was time to admit it, huh?

I was trapped in this game and had no idea how to get out.

“...Goddamn it."

I rubbed over my right arm, which started to tingle for no reason, and let out a cuss.

I was craving a cigarette right now, even though I quit more than a decade ago. I really wanted to blow out some steam.

“Am I really going to die like this...?"

If I did, would I appear in the news as someone who died due to a combination of a game bugging out and the capsule malfunctioning? I really wouldn't appreciate that kind of fame.

No, would they even find my corpse?

My parents lived away from me, so they wouldn't know about my condition.

My friends. I told them how much I was looking forward to this game, so they would think that I just extended my Full Dive. I had too many records of doing that.

It might have been different if my work was still getting serialized, but with it complete, I also didn't have to contact the person in charge anymore.

Even if I tried to tell someone using the Multiplayer Function, I wasn't even connected to the internet...

And about my sponsoring... No. It would be better if I didn't contact them. I already set up the automatic money transfer, after all. That kid would just be sad if they found out the person sponsoring them died.

Actually, would they stop a sponsorship if the sponsor died? I had no idea because I hadn’t done any research on that. Still, with the money left in my account, I should be able to support the child until they’re an adult.

“...”

With my eyes fixed on the bonfire, I continued to think in a daze, mostly about the aftermath of my death.

My grieving parents, friends who will come to my funeral, acquaintances in my line of work, and readers who will write their prayers in the comments...

“I never thought I would die like this."

Strangely, I wasn't exactly sad. Perhaps because this was all just too absurd, it didn't seem real.

I was like a frog in a pot. If one put a frog in water and slowly boiled it, the frog wouldn't notice the gradual change in temperature and would sit still until dying.

That wasn't quite right, though.

“...If just one person notices."

If even one person noticed something was off and got me out.

Maybe I might still get out of this alive. Could I place my hopes in something like that?

“Hah... Who would even notice?"

There was no way something like that would happen. And even if it did, it would take at least another two weeks. I wasn't sure I could survive that long.

Nutrients aside, humans can’t live long without water, three to four days at most.

I fully leaned against a tree. I judged there was no way to escape my inevitable death, so I lost all my strength.

“What if I actually transmigrated..."

Then, only pointless thoughts suddenly occupied my mind.

Was it because I often read those kinds of novels? Or was my mind trying to escape this helpless situation?

However, the scenery around me was so realistic that it was hard to believe I was inside a game. The NPCs were also overly human-like. Its structure and lack of certain conveniences fueled my delusions, as well.

In novels, these sudden technological jumps often led to the development of 'it actually was another world.’

Of course, believing something like that was pretty hard, given the existence of the system and UI. The character also looked exactly how I set him up. I had these weapons and the inventory as well. Even the automatic cleansing and cloth restoration worked.

These kinds of conveniences wouldn't exist if this were reality, right?

However, the reason I couldn't easily let go of that random thought was because possession and transmigration were still better than death by starvation.

In any case, my life motto was to keep my mind open to every possibility, and I preferred being alive over dying.

No, when the hell did this misunderstanding even start? Why did she think that I was getting devoured by the Demon right now?

And last time, I had wondered why she said she would buy me time. Was it foreshadowing for this? I was about to go crazy.

“...”

What was even sadder was that both the Archmage and the Inquisitor wore such determined expressions. They wouldn’t listen to any explanations or excuses.

Even if I told them the truth that I had been acting all this time, they would probably just say something like, ‘We won’t be tricked by a Demon’s wretched words!’ Especially that iron wall kimchi dumpling!

Fine, whatever. Should I just pretend to be pissed at the favor I showed her on a whim getting refused like that?

I didn’t think any of them would believe that either, though. I didn’t even have the confidence to convincingly express something like that to begin with. I guess I could just turn around in anger and go somewhere alone, but there was no guarantee that they would just leave me alone.

“If you don’t come at me, I will come at you!”

...Rather, I felt like she would act like this again if I broke character again later!

“...Haha.”

I dodged the Inquisitor’s attack and touched my forehead.

“T-to get discovered already...”

A very serious reality just hit me.

“How about we stop here for now...?”

I felt utterly ridiculous acting this out. Furthermore, this was simply too much.

Did I have to go this far? No matter how much I liked roleplaying, did I have to play two different roles with wildly different personalities just because those NPCs interpreted my character that way?

No, rather, was their interpretation of the character the actual canon one? Sure, I intentionally changed my way of acting, but how could she say I wasn’t me anymore just for being nicer?

This was simply... simply unacceptable. Something as crazy as that couldn’t be real! This had to be a game!

“As expected! My eyes are never wrong!”

Hearing the kimchi dumpling shout that, I felt greatly ashamed while playing this role. I couldn’t help it.

The only reason I could shamelessly act out my character until now was because it was something I did just for myself, and even if I involved others in my act, I only did so after getting their tacit permission.

In other words, I could only roleplay with ease because I’d thought this was a game.

However, now there was a chance it wasn’t. Regardless of whether that was the truth, the mere thought of it being reality overwhelmed me with shame.

I desperately wanted to crawl into a hole.

“Next time... I won’t leave so easily.”

Even as I made up my lines, I felt like I was about to die from embarrassment. I felt my face heat up, but I couldn’t stop.

I just wanted to bury my head in the sand and die.

“Demon Knight!”

Finally, I fell, covering my face with my hands. I could sense three people running toward me, perhaps because of my fall.

However, I couldn’t face them right now.

So I just decided to actually fall unconscious. Doing that wasn't that difficult using the system.

「 ▲ Sleeping for 0 Hours 10 Minutes ▼ 」

Please, when I wake up, let me have returned to reality. Let me wake up to reality! Please, before my social life really kicked the bucket!

* * *

“Demon Knight!”

The Inquisitor rushed forward when she saw that person falling.

Was he exhausted from his internal struggle against the Demon? His face seemed a lot redder than usual.

“Mister?!”

She reflexively drew on her Divine Power to heal him but quickly withdrew it when she saw him frowning.

She had forgotten that the power of God was like poison to his body, as he was the host of a Demon. That explained something the Archmage had told her when he joined them.

“Luckily, he only fell asleep for a little while. You don’t have to worry too much.”

“I-Is that so?”

“Hey, is there something wrong with him? What was all that talk about a Demon this early? Why did Mister suddenly fall down...?”

She felt glad that he only fell asleep, but why did that suddenly happen...? He was probably properly fighting the Demon for dominance now.

『I never thought I would die like this.』

She recalled hearing his voice last night.

『...If just one person notices.』

Immediately speaking of his own death, letting out a desperate plea in his gloomy, cracking voice.

Perhaps the Demon Knight had foreseen this situation. However, the reason he didn’t tell them about it was probably because he still didn’t trust them.

“Are you ignoring me?”

“Shut up.”

Her thoughts were interrupted. She sharply glared at the Thief. However, she couldn’t put her mind at ease, so she lifted the Demon Knight. Since she couldn’t just leave him on the cold floor, she wanted to lay him on a blanket they hadn’t put away yet.

“He’ll wake up.”

She easily placed the Demon Knight on a blanket and laid her cloak over him. Considering his personality, the Demon Knight probably wouldn’t be happy with her actions, but she couldn’t not do it. She could feel his body was ice cold despite only touching him for a moment.

“...He’s definitely going to wake up. I just don’t know which side will.”

The Archmage’s doubts were valid. She had similar thoughts after first encountering the Demon Knight.

“Hmm. I think I know which one it’ll be.”

However, she no longer doubted him.

“He can’t be defeated by the Demon.”

The Demon Knight would never be defeated by that Demon.

“Ah, so what the hell is going on here?”

“Shut up! Don’t you dare interrupt his rest, you criminal!”

“What did you say, you fanatic thug?!”

“You despicable thief!”

...So, she believed he would be his normal self again after waking up. She just had to get rid of that criminal before then!