CH 39.3

How long have I been running? By the time I realize, I’m on my knees and panting. Even though my body doesn’t get physically tired no matter how much I run, my heart is pounding so hard that I’m exhausted. It feels like I really am living in this world. What if I die in this body? Would I die just like Raoul? The thought scares me so much that I’m shaking.

Even though I never even doubted that this was a game until just recently, I’m finally realizing just how terrifying of a place this world is. I feel bad for doing that to that kid and Havoc’s group, but I’m in no mood to face them right now.

I guess I’ll go to the castle… Raoul was counting on me to take care of Roseline.

Roseline has been doing nothing but approve paperwork ever since then, so she’s been constantly busy. In this country with no king, Roseline is at the top. I’m sure there’s a lot of work sent up to the top. I wish I could help her out with all the paperwork, but I doubt they’d let a foreigner like me get my hands on this country’s secrets, and I can’t read this world’s alphabet in the first place.

Haha, I’m useless for everything except fighting. I was just a normal high schooler in the real world to start out with, so I’m not particularly smart. Even if I was told to do government work, I wouldn’t understand any of it. It’s not like I know anything about this world’s politics or history, and I doubt anything I learned in school will be of any use.

The only thing that seems like it’d be useful in this world is the game info from the wiki, but considering the fact that Raoul couldn’t be revived, there’s no guarantee that all of that information applies here. I can’t rely on it too much.

As embarrassing as it is, I’ll try asking Roseline directly what I’d be able to help her with. Instead of carelessly acting on my own, it would probably be better to do what she tells me to.

I can freely walk in and out of the castle. In a game, I wouldn’t think anything of it, but in reality, stuff like this would be unthinkable. Roseline is the princess, the most important person in this country. If this were Japan, it would be like freely walking in and out of the prime minister’s residence. It kind of makes me worry about the security here.

No, the guards probably just trust me because I’m close to Roseline. ‘…That in itself is a huge responsibility, isn’t it?’ I think before immediately erasing it from my mind.

They guide me to the room Roseline is in, and I hear a voice from inside. I probably shouldn’t listen in, but the voice seems pretty panicked, because I can hear it pretty loudly, even through the door.

“Duke Mayenne has been slain?!”

Duke Mayenne? Who the heck is that? If he’s a duke, then he’s the same rank as Raoul, so he must be a pretty high ranking noble. And they said he’s been slain, so that means he was killed?!

“Was he killed by a vampire?”

“No, the Weichsel Empire invaded the Duchy of Mayenne and took control of it within a day. It appears that they’ve taken control of the surrounding area as well. And they are advancing towards Clermont!”

“What?! Why would the Weichsel Empire invade?!”

“Well… It seems that the Weichsel Empire has declared this a holy war. They claim their goal is to annihilate the vampires and take back Commune’s land from the monsters’ hands.”

The Weichsel Empire. That’s the country where I met Alexia and Irene. Those guys are advancing towards Clermont? Is a war going to start? Wait, no, it’s already a war!

“This can’t be…! Weichsel found out about the vampires’ schemes? However, Duke Mayenne had a powerful army. Is it true that they were overpowered in only one day?”

“The enemy used unknown spells and sent strengthened soldiers to the front lines. The name of the enemy commander leading those soldiers is Marie Alexia von Zavarish.”

My mind goes blank. What did they just say?

I slam the door open. Astonished, Roseline looks at me for a moment and gives me a serious look, but soon turns back to the man across from her.

“What did you say just now?” she asks.

“I said, the enemy used unknown spells and sent strengthened soldiers to the front lines. The enemy commander leading those soldiers is a young girl named Marie Alexia von Zavarish.”

I’m Marie Alexia von Zavarish. Alexia is fine. Thank you for accompanying me today, Chaos.

Suddenly, I have a flashback to the memory of how I met her. It’s a long name, but there’s no doubt about it. She introduced herself as Marie Alexia von Zavarish. But she would never join a war.

“Alexia is a sweet, gentle girl. She would never do anything as cruel as going to war. She’s only about 12 or 13 years old. There’s no way anyone around her would accept her as their commander, would they?”

We’ve spent time together, even if it was only about a month. I know what kind of person she is. She’s not the kind of girl to join a war. That’s it, there must be some kind of mistake. A middle school-age girl leading an army is just too unrealistic.

“It certainly is rare for a young girl to be a commander, but it’s not rare for young nobles to go to war. And the House of Zavarish is a distinguished noble family of the Weichsel Empire. There’s nothing strange about it in the least,” Roseline refutes. I shudder at her words. Is this normal in this world?

“She could never kill… She would never kill Duke Mayenne!”

“No, the one who personally killed Duke Mayenne is a female knight named Irene.”

Even Irene? That does make it hard to believe they’ve got the wrong person. Even so, I can’t connect their story with my mental image of those two. They weren’t opposed to killing monsters, but I just can’t believe that they’d be the kind of people who would have no reluctance towards killing a person. And they’ve only just upgraded their classes, they’re still around level 50. There’s no way they’re strong enough for PVP.

No, this isn’t a game. Could it be that people around level 50 are considered unbelievably strong in this world? When I defeated the Elder Treat that called itself a follower of the evil god, I wasn’t high enough level to upgrade my class yet. Plus, at Brandenburg, I didn’t see a single Rank 2 class skill. And when we were retaking Clermont the other day, there were only a few Magicians who could cast Warp Portal.

In other words, that means basically all normal people in this world are low level, right? Even someone who isn’t high level enough to meet the requirements for a class upgrade is hailed as a hero. In that case, someone who’s only above level 50 and just upgraded their class would already have strength beyond human understanding.

Maybe they were pressured to go to war because of their levels?

I just can’t imagine that they would willingly join a war. In that case, someone might have forced them to. What is the reason why they’re being forced? Maybe it’s because they have strength beyond human understanding?

Maybe the fact that I treated this like a game and leveled them up enough for them to upgrade classes is what caused it. In other words, I’m responsible for this.

“No. I didn’t mean to…”

“Chaos?”

I want to deny it. But I don’t have any way to justify denying it. I was just having fun playing a game with them. Everything I thought was right up until now has turned out completely wrong. Even though my mind is a mess, I can understand that much.

After learning the truth, I have no way out except to run away. But there’s nowhere to run, in the city, the castle, or even outside. For me, a person from another world, there’s nowhere in this world where I belong. The one they need is the false image of a hero who doesn’t exist.

Except for logging out, I have no escape from this world.