Chapter 121: Monologue (4)

༺ Monologue (4) ༻

“How are you here...?”

“Hmm.”

Dorothy stroked her chin, observing me intently.

[All In the World] and [Emotional Insight]. It was impossible to hide one’s inner thoughts and feelings from her.

Perhaps her eyes could discern my state even more clearly than I could.

“...”

Dorothy let out a soft smile before playfully grinning and rushing towards me.

“Nah, whatever! Comforting can come later! Let’s go!”

“Huh...? Uahk!”

Dorothy grabbed my wrist and dashed towards the overpass stairs.

The weak but compelling force generated by her starlight mana pushed at my back.

To avoid stumbling, I had no choice but to be forcibly pulled along by her.

“S-Senior?! Where are we going?!”Thê source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))

“Anywhere is fine!!”

With her remaining hand, Dorothy pressed down her witch hat firmly to prevent it from flying away.

We descended the overpass stairs with haste, practically skipping over the steps.

A black and white world. Without hesitation, we crossed the street where people dyed in gray moved about.

“Let’s go anywhere!”

While running, Dorothy turned her head towards me, revealing her white teeth and bright smile.

A burst of laughter suddenly escaped from my lips.

I bit my numb lower lip for a brief moment then laughed once again before being pulled along by her.

After all, this girl, the sole person who hadn’t lost her color, looked so radiant.

I was once again reminded why I had liked her so much during my previous life as a State Exam prep student.

***

I shared several stories with Dorothy.

Along with the story about the hidden ultimate weapons in Märchen Academy, I explained that this place was a part of the trial given by the rock weapon.

I also debriefed her on the current situation; I still hadn’t figured out the conditions for passing this trial and instead, my situation had worsened as my body turned gray.

And I passed over certain things, as if implying that we could discuss the details later.

─‘Senior, how in the world did you get here...?’

When I asked as such, Dorothy spun an unbelievable tale.

She could vaguely observe countless worldlines...

And since her ability had grown stronger, she had now reached a level where she could even intervene in these other worldlines.

I was already familiar with the observation part.

Can one call themselves a true fan if they can’t even recite their favorite character’s settings by heart?

However, her ability to intervene was entirely new to me.

‘That’s insane...’

Dorothy was a terrifying existence beyond imagination.

Although the Zelver Empire had praised her as a rare genius who would reach the level of an Archwizard within ten years...

She was not at a level that could be gauged by mere human intelligence.

Dorothy explained how she had deduced the connection between my unusual actions and the sudden appearance of a new and peculiar worldline, thus deciding to intervene in this world.

This was a domain far beyond my comprehension... But the only thing in my mind was just how amazing Dorothy was.

Dorothy casually removed the clothes from a department store mannequin and went to the dressing room to change.

Out of all these people, not a single one paid any attention to her.

Surprisingly, anything she touched would have its color restored. They returned to black and white when she moved away, though.

“How do I look, President?”

A long shirt, short pants, and a neat cardigan that slid down her shoulders.

An attire reminiscent of the modern era.

All the clothes she wore had been restored to their original colors.

She had tucked away her original clothes in her magic pocket.

‘Big Sis, you’re gonna be the end of me.’

She was quite literally a walking photo shoot.

“It’s perfect.”

“Nihihi.”

When I serenely gave a thumbs-up, Dorothy laughed merrily and made a V sign with her index and middle fingers.

Earlier, when Dorothy had held my wrist and ran at the overpass, I had remained unchangingly gray.

Even when she placed her hand on my shoulder as an experiment, nothing was different. My color did not return.

The same was true when touching the shoulder of a female department store employee. For reference, Dorothy was able to touch other people.

Anyway, her influence didn’t seem to extend to people. It was quite disappointing.

We walked along the streets of Sinlim-dong.

Dorothy was euphoric, exclaiming ‘So sweet!’ while she had a lollipop stolen from the convenience store in her mouth.

How ecstatic is she?

Her voice was drenched with excitement.

“Stealing clothes, dining and dashing. Nihihi, we’re total desperados! Doesn’t this have a certain romance to it?”

Dorothy held the lollipop in her mouth and murmured.

A joyful voice. As expected of the juvenile delinquent who boasted the most demerits in Märchen Academy.

“I’m not sure about the romance, but it is comfortable.”

“Righhht~? But, President. Is this the world you used to live in?”

“Yes. It looked like this.”

“President, you really are beyond imagination. I could never have guessed that you came from a completely different world.”

From Dorothy’s perspective, it was understandable for her to be astounded that I was from another world.

As I cheered, Dorothy extended her arm towards me, making a V sign with her index and middle fingers.

Her bashful smile looked so delighted that it lifted my spirits as well.

Soon after, Dorothy’s rendition of 「Violet Fragrance – Kang Susie」 ended and the karaoke machine displayed a score of 97 points.

This impertinent bitch of a machine dared to give Dorothy’s performance a score that wasn’t a perfect 100 points?

How fucking dense and stupid can it be?

“Nyahaha! That was fun!”

...You’re lucky Dorothy’s happy. Thanks to her, you’ll live to see another day.

“Senior, I’ll sing too.”

“President, isn’t this the first time you’re going to sing in front of me?”

“I wasn’t familiar with the songs from that world. I know these ones well.”

“Nihihi, okay!”

I got up and played 「Trip To Myself – Buzz」.

I was planning to sing all the songs I had listened to whenever I had a tough time during my prep student life.

A familiar bass sound.

Followed by the explosive drums and electric guitar.

Now, 3, 2, 1.

“If! You run to the end of that blue seaaa~!”

“Oooh, Presidennnnt! Oh myyyyy~!”

“Over there with a horseee~!”

Yes! This is it!

The feeling of suffocation, akin to a clogged toilet, burst as it was released from my stifled emotions.

Just like how I did, Dorothy excitedly moved her body up and down, following the beat.

And at the highlight section, when I grabbed onto my stomach and shouted with excessively excited gestures, she exploded into laughter.

After finishing the first verse and moving on to the second, she joined in, immediately grasping the mood of the song.

We danced together and in the highlight, we screamed the high notes together.

“”Far away you’re my sunshine! We were together~!!””

I was grinning because it was so much fun. I listened as Dorothy’s laughter mixed with the sound of the music.

And so, we stomped our feet, jumping around like lunatics.

And as Dorothy, who somehow knew various songs, sang famous hits in her own style...

I also sang all the songs that had comforted me during my prep student life to my heart’s content.

It was a lot of fun.

◆ ◆ ◆

Agh, my throat hurts.

But well, it was still fun.

Though, I shouldn’t be saying such things while looking at the scenery of the world ending.

“That was so much fun! What did you think, President? Have your ears been blessed?”

“Yes. I seriously think that even if I die today, I won’t have any regrets.”

“Good! That’s a perfect answer!”

Even though she had belted out so many high notes, Dorothy’s voice was still perfectly fine.

Of course it was. Why wouldn’t it be? Would a goddess lose her voice just from singing a song made by a human? Of course not.

We arrived at the park and sat side by side on a bench, gazing at the Descending Sky.

My body was quite stiff and heavy now. It felt like I couldn’t move freely anymore.

It seemed the petrifaction of my real body had progressed tremendously.

“President.”

“Yes.”

“If you were to die today, what would you want to do?”

Where did that even come from...? And what kind of question was that...?

“Isn’t that a bit of an inauspicious question....?”

Don’t foreshadow so ominously...

“Still, the scenery of a world ending like this is not something you can easily see wherever you go, right? It’s not a bad idea to immerse ourselves in our emotions at a time like this.”

“...What does Senior want to do?”

“Eating chicken while watching the world meet its end?”

“Why chicken?”

“It’s delicious.”

At such a one-dimensional answer, I was speechless for a moment.

Of course, I agreed with the fact that chicken was delicious, though.

“What about President?”

“I haven’t thought about it. After all, I don’t plan on dying just yet.”

“...You’re no fun.”

Dorothy giggled but didn’t continue the conversation.

We sat in silence for a while.

And suddenly, something soft and supple burrowed between my fingers.

“...?”

I turned my head and looked towards my hand that had felt such a sensation.

Dorothy was holding my hand, which I had set down on the bench, her fingers interlocked with mine.

As I dumbfoundedly looked towards Dorothy, her bright smile, shining like starlight, was reflected upon my eyes.

“Now you can feel a sense of touch, right? I was just trying it out as an experiment.”

“...”

“President, your color has returned.”

A world dyed in black and white.

Before I knew it, my body, just like Dorothy’s, had regained its original color.