WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 379: Episode 72: Three Ways (2)

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I looked at the king wearing Han Suyeong's face.

That person clearly wasn't Han Suyeong. Then how did she know my name?

“You must be wondering how I know your name.”

The king was a character in this world, nothing more than a being that acted according to the will of a Great Fable. It should've been impossible for such a being to recognize me as Kim Dokja rather than Ricardo.

Even though she was making remarks that went beyond this world, no sparks of Plausibility restrained the king.

[The world considers the possibility of genre expansion.]

[The Great Fable Kaizenix Archipelago tacitly condones the situation.]

[Plausibility restrictions concerning certain remarks have been eased.]

[Meta-level remarks about the world have been acknowledged!]

I studied the king for a moment before activating a skill.

[You have activated the Exclusive Skill Character Profile!]

+

Name: ???

Age: 50

Overall Evaluation: This person harbors hatred toward you.

+

The king's information still didn't appear.

At first, I thought it was because of Suyeong. Suyeong wasn't registered in Character Profile, so I assumed her possessing the king had made the information on the possession body uncertain too.

But what if that wasn't the reason?

“Are you Han Suyeong?”

“I was once called by that name.”

“What do you mean?”

The king didn't answer. Instead, she slowly blinked her long lashes and turned to Yu Junghyeok.

“My poor beloved, have you come to undo our broken engagement and become mine again?”

“Call me that once more and I'll take your head off.”

Their figures vanished almost at the same time.

The two collided with an ear-splitting boom. The ceiling of the sword arena shattered, sending broken fragments flying upward, while sword winds and waves of Mana crashed together to form a vortex in the sky. At a glance, they looked evenly matched, but the details of the battle told a different story.

After dozens of exchanges that unfolded in an instant, Junghyeok suffered a minor injury to his left arm. The king, on the other hand, didn't have so much as a scratch.

Junghyeok was being pushed back. Even the powerful Yu Junghyeok couldn't stand against the king of this world.

An aura of [Black Flame], Suyeong's specialty, rose from the king's left arm.

“Dokja-ssi! Get back!”

Lee Hyeongseong protected me from the approaching Royal Guard.

“...Dokja-ssi?”

Jeong Huiwon seemed to be barely regaining her senses as well. But I had no time to worry about them. As time passed, the battle, which had been evenly matched, rapidly turned against Junghyeok.

To begin with, according to the setting, she was the possession body of a Triple Master. I didn't know whether she had always been that way or Suyeong had made her so, but either way, she was a monster.

“Han Suyeong! Snap out of it!”

Without hesitation, I drew upon the power of a Great Fable.

[The Great Fable Spring of the Demon Realm begins its story.]

The fable I shot into the air with all my strength created a brief gap in the battle.

I didn't miss the opening and leaped into the battlefield.

The king smiled and opened her arms.

“Demon King of Salvation. The woman you seek died long ago.”

“Don't make me laugh. Han Suyeong doesn't talk like that.”

“Do you know what fifty years means to a human being?”

I didn't. I'd never lived that long.

[The Great Fable Kaizenix Archipelago begins its story.]

The world stirred, and the image of Suyeong, who had lived in this world, appeared in the air.

It was Suyeong's fable. The history of Suyeong's life in this world.

More precisely, it was the history Yuri di Aristel, Suyeong's possession body, had been forced to live.

「The beautiful count's daughter」

「A daughter raised for the sole purpose of becoming queen」

「“When you turn eighteen, you will enter the palace.”」

Among the scattered sentences was the Suyeong I knew.

「“Fine. Then I'll become a Swordmaster before I turn eighteen.”」

Suyeong fought against the world. She lived in this world with a resolute expression.

She lived through this world wearing expressions I had never known.

「“Why is a girl handling a sword?”」

「“Magic is nothing but a trick.”」

Some clichés became shackles that bound characters, excused simply because they were clichés.

And Suyeong was someone who hated clichés more than anyone.

「“Fine, I'll get married! If there's a guy stronger than me, I'll marry him!”」

Countless men stepped forward to claim the beautiful count's daughter. Among them were knights of the Archipelago and famous mages.

Suyeong grew stronger so she could drive away the suitors with her own hands. After grueling training, she became a Swordmaster, a Nine Circles Archmage, and the master of Fear, capable of wielding an evil dragon's power.

The power of a Swordmaster made her body young, while the aura of evil Black Flame made her seem even more mysterious.

Ironically, the stronger she became, the more the world desired her.

Suyeong fought against that world. She spent longer here than she had on Earth and endured those years faithfully.

The fable continued its story, but at some point, I could no longer hear it.

I felt lonely, and a sense of defiance rose within me. Suyeong was here in this world with me, yet she felt impossibly far away.

“This isn't Han Suyeong's world.”

“Why do you get to decide that? You've known Han Suyeong for less than four years. If we're only counting the time you've actually spent together, it hasn't even been a year.”

It was true.

“What do you know about Han Suyeong?”

I recalled the Suyeong I knew.

Someone too proud to apologize easily or back down from an argument.

Someone who pursued efficiency more than anyone, yet sometimes gave it up for the sake of her allies.

Someone who acted selfishly, but could risk her life at any time while muttering, “You'd be lost without me.”

Could Suyeong still say those words?

Was the Suyeong I knew truly Han Suyeong?

Was Suyeong still in the story I knew?

“The Han Suyeong you knew is gone. The past fifty years have made her into a completely new being. That is me.”

The Great Fable behind the king pressed toward us, releasing an overwhelming pressure.

[The Great Fable Kaizenix Archipelago rejects your existence.]

In the face of fifty years, the brief memories Suyeong and I had shared seemed old and shabby. To keep them from becoming any shabbier, I had to smile as I spoke.

“You really aren't Han Suyeong. She isn't as serious as you.”

A faint disturbance crossed the king's face. That reaction made me certain of who she was.

She was certainly a being close to Suyeong. But she could never become Suyeong.

“You're Yuri di Aristel, the count's daughter who watched Suyeong's life for so long. You must've stolen her body when Suyeong was consumed by the Great Fable.”

“...”

“Tell me. Where is the real Han Suyeong?”

Instead of answering, an immense Status burst from the king's entire body. As if the fierce battle until now had only been a game, the waves of Status released from her body bound us all. Junghyeok, Hyeongseong, Huiwon, and me.

The king approached us as we stood frozen.

I asked, “Are you going to kill us?”

“Kill you?”

Mockery curled around the king's lips.

“You still don't understand this Scenario. Since you've survived this far, you won't die. I... and Han Suyeong want that too.”

“But you tried to execute me at first.”

“That was a predetermined ordeal. The first prince was supposed to save you there.”

The king smiled like Suyeong.

“The end of this Scenario is drawing near.”

Sparks flew through the air, and a Scenario message rang out.

[The branching point for Genre Selection has drawn near!]

[Choose the genre of this world!]

The king looked up as she spoke.

“The end of this world is always the same. The protagonist, having overcome every danger and hardship, finally gains wealth, honor, and love, then heads toward a happy ending.”

She had clearly said “happy ending.” Yet she didn't seem happy about that predetermined happiness at all.

I could roughly imagine the life she had lived.

The Island of Reincarnators was an island where old and worn-out fables were preserved like stuffed specimens, a graveyard of fables that survived by providing stages for other Scenarios.

She had probably repeated this Scenario hundreds of times as Yuri di Aristel, just as Yu Junghyeok had in TWSA.

“Still, this Scenario unfolded a little differently this time. It was my first time becoming king after living so many lives.”

The king quietly looked down at her hands. They were too rough and scarred to belong to a noble lady. The life Suyeong had given her was present in those hands.

“When "Kaizenix Archipelago" was first created, I couldn't have imagined a development like this. Dokkaebis only made Scenarios that followed popular trends. An abandoned count's daughter suddenly trains in swordsmanship and magic, drives away her political enemies in the middle of court intrigue, and becomes king. Back in my day, hardly anyone wanted a story like that.”

“...”

“Suyeong said there’s demand even for Scenarios like this now. Times really do change.”

A faint sigh came from behind the king. The Royal Guard knights wore regretful expressions, like actors preparing for the end of a world.

“I wish I could enjoy this story a little longer, but it has to end eventually. Let's finish it.”

She sounded tired of it all as she gave me an order.

“Marry me, Ricardo von Kaizenix.”

Junghyeok looked dumbfounded. Shocked, Hyeongseong and Huiwon shouted something toward me.

I calmly asked, “Is that this Scenario's ending?”

“It is. A happy ending in the most literal sense.”

“If I marry you, will you send us to the next Scenario?”

“Yes, except for one person.”

One person.

A deeply rooted shadow of greed flickered in the king's eyes.

“Han Suyeong must remain in this world. I've grown very fond of her. And you will become ill-fated lovers separated within the Scenario.”

[This Scenario's genre has begun to lean toward Romance.]

[The Scenario's Clear Conditions will be fulfilled once the genre is decided.]

This world was offering us a deal.

Abandon Suyeong.

“She is better suited to living on this Island than in her original world.”

Maybe that was true. Perhaps Suyeong of "Kaizenix Archipelago" would live a happier life than Suyeong of Kim Dokja Company.

The king, looking down at me with arrogant eyes, held out the back of her hand.

“Stand and kiss it. Then bid farewell to your longtime companion.”

The pale back of her hand was covered in scratches and calluses. Suyeong must have fought against this world with that hand.

What had Suyeong fought so hard for?

Thinking of Suyeong's book tucked inside my clothes, I spoke.

“Like you said, I don't know Han Suyeong.”

“Yes, you finally admit it.”

“That's why I can't leave her here.”

“What?”

“I still haven't heard the ending of this story from her.”

I slowly rose to my feet.

Resisting this world's fable with every bit of strength I possessed.

Tsstststst!

[The Great Fable Holy Flame That Devoured Myth roars!]

[The Great Fable Spring of the Demon Realm nods.]

The king's expression changed as she glared at me.

“You're ruining a nearly completed Scenario.”

“No, I'm setting it right.”

“What?”

“I wondered from the beginning. Why, out of all the Scenarios, did I end up in "Kaizenix Archipelago"? But the reason turned out to be simpler than I thought.”

I drew the sword from inside my clothes.

“It's because I am the rightful king of this Scenario.”

The brilliantly shining Unbreakable Faith gave off a blinding white light.

[The world reacts to the constellation artifact Unbreakable Faith!]

[This constellation artifact belongs to this world.]

[The constellation artifact's innate ability has been greatly enhanced!]

The first head of the Kaizenix Archipelago.

The sword of Ulysses Kaizenix, the Storm King of legend.

“Th-that sword...!”

“It's the Storm King's sword!”

The members of the Royal Guard who recognized the sword all dropped to their knees.

Flustered, the king hurled sword aura and Mana at me. But neither the Swordmaster's strength nor the Archmage's strength could stand against Unbreakable Faith.

[The constellation artifact Unbreakable Faith cries out!]

This was the true power of a constellation artifact.

An item that displayed invincible power within its own birth fable.

The hand holding the sword trembled.

The constellation artifact was powerful, but Ricardo von Kaizenix didn't have the strength to wield this sword for long. I had to finish this as quickly as possible.

I knocked aside the king's waves of Mana and approached her one step at a time.

The king had sunk to the ground.

[You have chosen the Dynastic Revolution route.]

[Kill the king.]

[This Scenario's genre has begun to lean toward Fantasy.]

The king looked up at Unbreakable Faith, which was pointed at her throat.

“Yes, that is another way.”

She smiled as though this outcome suited her even better.

“I did think it was strange that I suddenly became king. So the story will return to its predetermined conclusion.”

If I killed the king here, Suyeong would die with her.

But if I married the king, Suyeong would remain here.

Then how should this story end? What ending did Suyeong want for this Scenario?

The king spoke.

“If you've decided, kill me quickly. Then you will become king, and the Scenario will end here.”

Suyeong had said there were three ways to complete this Scenario in her book.

But she hadn't told me which method was the right answer.

I took a quiet breath before speaking.

“If there are three ways, then something must exist that made those ways ‘ways.’”

“What?”

I slowly looked up into the air.

[The Great Fable Kaizenix Archipelago watches you.]

There was something I couldn't see, yet could feel with absolute certainty.

I recalled Yoo Hoseong's words.

“If you don't read a fable properly, the fable will read you instead.”

That Great Fable had controlled the actors of this world for a long time to realize its own story. The Reincarnators here must have repeated their roles hundreds, perhaps thousands of times as tools for that Great Fable's realization.

[The Great Fable Kaizenix Archipelago senses your gaze.]

A faint spark crackled through the air, and the fable that should have remained unseen faintly revealed itself.

The Great Fable floated like a cloud of countless letters. From the cloud of letters, threads made of letters descended toward us. They were connected to me, Junghyeok, Huiwon, Hyeongseong, and the king.

Those letters had given us roles and lines. They had made us live in this world.

I thought about it.

What if quitting these roles could also become a story?

[The Great Fable Kaizenix Archipelago reveals hostility toward you!]

The king's eyes widened.

“Wait. You can't possibly-”

I focused my mind on Unbreakable Faith. What I was about to do should have been impossible.

[The Great Fable Kaizenix Archipelago says that you are not qualified to interfere with this story to that extent.]

That was right. I was an outsider.

[The owner of the constellation artifact Unbreakable Faith watches you.]

But at the same time, I was also the protagonist of this story.

Ricardo von Kaizenix inside me asked.

「Are you sincere? Do you truly intend to change this old story?」

I nodded.

If Ricardo was truly a descendant of the Storm King, and that was why I had come to this world with this sword, then I too should be able to use this sword's true power at least once.

The tip of Unbreakable Faith shone brightly. What filled it now wasn't Mana.

[The Great Fable Holy Flame That Devoured Myth begins its story.]

This was the history that Kim Dokja Company and I had lived through.

“What-”

The moment the king opened her eyes wide, the Great Fable moved in the distant sky.

[The Great Fable Kaizenix Archipelago shouts at you!]

Along with the descending sparks of Plausibility, I swung my sword. Not at the king.

More precisely, I aimed at the distant letters embedded in the heads of the king and all of us.

At the fable's context that connected story and existence.

It could fail. Even so, it was a story plausible enough to become reality.

Because,

[The Star Stream has accepted the Plausibility of the story.]

[The possibility of a new genre has sprouted!]

[The Great Fable Kaizenix Archipelago is aghast!]

This damned Star Stream ultimately made Plausibility flow toward whatever direction seemed more interesting.

Tsstststst!

For a moment, the blinding sparks of Plausibility made my mind go blank.

When I came to my senses, coughing up blood, I was sitting on the floor.

Looking around, I saw everyone else sprawled where they had fallen, like dolls with their strings cut.

With Junghyeok and Hyeongseong supporting me, I rose to my feet.

[The influence of the Great Fable that ruled you has weakened.]

I could no longer feel the Plausibility of the Great Fable that had constrained me.

The woman before me probably felt the same thing.

“Why... did you make this choice?”

The king muttered in a confused voice.

“You did something you should never have done. The world will rage at you!”

“I'm already hated enough.”

“Why? Why would you do this? You could have become king.”

“I'm already the "King of a Kingless World."”

“What?”

“I'm also the Representative of Kim Dokja Company, and the Heir of the Underworld. I'm sick of titles.”

I looked up at the sky.

We had escaped the Great Fable's influence for the moment, but this situation wouldn't last long.

I could have taken the easy way through this Scenario. As Yuri di Aristel said, I could have married her or killed her to end the Scenario.

But I didn't want to do that this time.

A world divided between royalists and revolutionaries.

A way to protect the people of this world while escaping the Great Fable's influence.

A way to live outside the roles the world had given us.

Perhaps I had already seen someone choose that kind of life.

I took the king's hand and slowly helped her to her feet.

Suyeong had become a Sword Master and an Archmage with this hand.

The Suyeong I knew wasn't the kind of person who would aim for nothing more than survival in this world. She was a writer who drew a far greater picture.

[You have chosen a development that has never been realized before.]

[The world awaits your decisive action.]

Instead of kissing the king's hand, I placed Unbreakable Faith in it.

The startled king said, “What are you doing? Right now...”

“The story isn't over yet.”

“What?”

“Don't misunderstand. I'm not giving you the throne. The one who will become king isn't you, but my companion.”

Looking into the king's widening eyes, I finished speaking.

“Han Suyeong of Kim Dokja Company.”

Then, in the next moment, Scenario messages exploded before my eyes.

[An error has occurred in the Scenario choices!]

[The genre choice Fantasy has collapsed!]

[The genre choice Fusion Fantasy has collapsed!]

[The genre choice Romance has collapsed!]

[You have not selected any genre choice.]

……

Then someone spoke to me.

「You managed to figure it out, Kim Dokja.」

Footnotes:

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