WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 419: Episode 79: Secretive Plotter (4)

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All kinds of complicated thoughts raced through my head.

"I..."

It felt as though someone had rung a gong beside my ear. A sudden wave of nausea hit me, and I covered my mouth. The little Junghyeoks looked up at me as I staggered.

「Kim Dokja knew them.」

The Final Version of TWSA inside my clothes emitted radiant sentences.

「He knew them, but he didn't want to know.」

"Kim Dokja?"

The little Junghyeoks noticed something was wrong and called to me.

I had to stop thinking.

[The Fourth Wall is shaking.]

Thinking.

[The Fourth Wall is shaking violently.]

I couldn't stop.

Loose pages turned inside my mind. As though a storm had swept through, countless pages rose at once and covered my entire consciousness.

"Hey?"

Before long, my vision went dark.

* * *

"It seems he's figured it out."

Little Yu Junghyeok [41] spoke as though it were nothing.

Secretive Plotter sat beside him on an old throne.

"Did you give him a hint on purpose?"

【That wasn't my intention.】

"It seems there was no point preparing props for your act."

Little Junghyeok [41] looked down at Secretive Plotter's white coat.

It was the white coat Junghyeok of the 1,863rd round had worn.

Sensing his gaze, Secretive Plotter removed his coat and spoke.

【It wasn't an act. That bastard from the 1,863rd round was originally supposed to become part of me. Like all of you.】

"But he opened the door and left on his own, leaving only this coat behind."

Little Junghyeok [41] accepted the white coat.

A brief silence settled between them.

Secretive Plotter silently reached into the air. A table appeared beside the old throne, and a wine glass filled with red wine rested on its round surface.

Secretive Plotter lightly held the glass.

【The Scenario must have progressed quickly. This wine hasn't aged properly.】

"That's because of Kim Dokja."

【Has the Dokkaebi King moved?】

Little Junghyeok [41] scrolled through the message logs in the air.

"Not yet. But the Great Dokkaebis have begun stirring. We also received word from the Hunchback."

【It will begin soon.】

"Probably."

The two Junghyeoks fell silent again.

It was a circular palace. Eerie cries drifted through the cracks in its broken walls. Otherworldly hounds searching for them were howling.

Secretive Plotter spoke.

【41st round. You are the Yu Junghyeok most similar to me.】

"What an honor."

【You will die.】

"Isn't that why I came all this way?"

Silence fell between them once more. A pale light gathered in the air, and the screen of a Star Stream broadcast appeared. Secretive Plotter idly scrolled through it.

【The end of this long story isn't far off now.】

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I was in the Library.

「Kim Dok ja is annoy ing」

At the Wall's faint voice, I shook my head and came to my senses.

‘Sorry.’

Candlelight illuminated the pale darkness.

It seemed I had entered [The Fourth Wall] again. [The Fourth Wall] had protected my collapsing mind once more.

I held my throbbing head and took a brief, deep breath. It took a little longer for my thoughts to clear.

How much time had passed? Eventually, only one clear sentence remained in my once-chaotic mind.

「Secretive Plotter is Yu Junghyeok from the original TWSA.」

He wasn't the Junghyeok I had met in the 1,863rd round.

He wasn't the Junghyeok who had lived through the third round with me, either.

He was a Junghyeok I had never met. A Junghyeok who had already seen the ending of the Star Stream before this "third round" began.

- Wait a second, Author-nim! Then what happens to Junghyeok? If this is how it ends...

The last comments I had posted on TWSA came to mind. The story had ended while leaving everything for its epilogue. The answer to the question I'd been wondering about...

I slowly stood and looked around at the volumes nearby.

[Yu Junghyeok, Record of the Fourth Round, Volume 8]

I stood blankly as I looked at the binding revealed in the soft light.

The stories I had grown up reading were there.

Slowly, I reached for the binding. My fingers trembled faintly as they touched its edge. It was a story I had read, reread, and read again. Every sentence had been my life, my blood, and my flesh.

So why did that story feel so unfamiliar now?

To shake off the feeling, I forced myself to pick up the book. It was a story I could enjoy no matter which page I opened.

This story couldn't betray me. Reading it would make me feel better. It always had.

By coincidence, the page I opened showed Anna Croft confronting Junghyeok.

Junghyeok spoke in the novel.

「"It's because of you."」

The hand turning the page trembled.

I didn't have the courage to see the next page. Maybe I didn't deserve to.

Had I enjoyed reading this story?

Was reading someone else's unhappiness and pain my life?

Then what made me any different from those damned Constellations in the heavens?

「(What will you do?)」

Nirvana stood behind me when I turned around.

「(There are two Junghyeoks in this world.)」

The librarians of the Library had gathered. Three pairs of eyes looked at me with pity. Nirvana, Simulacrum, and the One Who Devours Dreams.

I met their eyes and asked, "What do you think?"

「(Are you asking this body's opinion?)」

Nirvana stepped forward, speaking with the confidence of someone who had the answer.

「(There is no need to hesitate. All things in the world began from the primordial One.)」

"Are you going on about 'one' again?"

「Everything was one to begin with, so what does it matter if there are two or three Junghyeoks? Becoming one with every Junghyeok is the supreme providence of the universe...!」

It was my fault for asking someone like that.

When I turned my head, Simulacrum, the master of the Theater Dungeon, was watching me.

「(It seems you feel guilty.)」

Guilt. Could I really reduce this feeling to something like guilt?

As the hand holding the book trembled, its pages trembled too.

「(What do you feel guilty about? Does his unhappiness pain you?)」

"I don't know."

「(You can't save him anyway. He lived that life, and you read his story. That is the whole truth.)」

His profound tone carried the wisdom of an old man who had read stories for a long time.

The One Who Devours Dreams spoke last. He pushed up his glasses with squid-like tentacles and spoke with a sneer.

「(Constellation. Do you think the Great Plot would want something as trivial as your sympathy?)」

His words made my mood sink as though I had been doused with cold water.

Right.

This feeling might be an insult to every story I had read.

Besides, this wasn't the time to get caught up in petty emotional games.

Nirvana snickered.

「(It seems you've come to your senses.)」

I needed to think about a more practical problem.

"I need to get back to my companions, but there's no way out."

The One Who Devours Dreams nodded.

「(Naturally. In the N'Gai Forest, he is no different from a god.)」

"Do you know something?"

「(I do, but explaining it would have little meaning. The more one explains an Outer God, the farther one gets from its essence. Just as the Recorders of Fear did.)」

The Recorders of Fear. I remembered hearing something similar before.

The One Who Devours Dreams continued.

「(The entrance and exit are ultimately the same place. A door marked 'Pull' can usually be opened by pushing it, too. You need to find out why you came here. Then you will naturally find the exit.)」

His words reminded me of what Secretive Plotter had said.

- When you have used the Sacred Three Questions in full, you must discover why you had to come here.

Why I had to come here.

Come to think of it, the Sacred Three Questions being cancelled might have been fortunate for me as well.

I had succeeded in deducing Secretive Plotter's identity, but I still hadn't discovered why he brought me here.

Why had he brought me here?

「(He is a being who has seen the end of one world.)」

As though he knew what I was wondering, the One Who Devours Dreams continued.

「(What desire could have driven someone who already knows ■■ to throw himself back into the enormous wagon?)」

A scene suddenly came to mind. It was a memory from long ago.

I was a child, sitting across from my mother and reading a book on my lap.

- Dokja, read it again.

Why would someone who knew every story read it again?

「Now g o, Kim Dok ja」

The next moment, my vision shattered and I was swept into a vortex. The Library's scenery scattered like smoke. My surroundings spun, and my consciousness returned to its place.

With a low groan, a headache, and slight dizziness, I slowly opened my eyes.

[Current Incarnation body recovery rate: 34%]

Residual fables dripped from the IV connected to the Fable Pack.

Information about my Incarnation body floated across the display in the air.

[The damage to your current foundational fable is severe, so treatment cannot be administered.]

[Natural recovery is recommended.]

[You currently have high resistance to elixirs.]

[Recovery can be accelerated by consuming a new elixir.]

I groaned as I got to my feet. My entire body still ached, but my joints moved more smoothly than before.

"Biyoo."

As expected, Biyoo didn't answer. Another message appeared instead.

[You are currently connected to a temporary channel.]

A temporary channel.

In other words, this wasn't an official Scenario area of the Star Stream.

"Total connections."

[Constellations currently connected to the temporary channel: 2]

It said two, but that number was about as transparent as TWSA's view count.

I thought to myself. To escape this place, I had no choice but to meet Secretive Plotter again.

But he clearly didn't intend to meet me easily. That left only one option.

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation calls the Constellation Secretive Plotter.]

If he wouldn't meet me.

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation looks at the Constellation Secretive Plotter.]

Until he looked at me.

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation throws a tantrum at the Constellation Secretive Plotter.]

I just had to keep bothering him.

[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation...]

[The Constellation Secretive Plotter glares at you.]

Just as expected, I got a reaction.

But as I was about to send another message, the door to the room flew open.

"You crazy bastard. What are you doing, making so much noise?"

"You're here?"

Little Junghyeok [666] glared at me.

"If you need something, call me. Don't flood the channel with Indirect Messages."

The little Junghyeoks were Secretive Plotter's dependents, so it made sense that they could hear my Indirect Messages.

Anyway, it seemed [666] was in charge of nursing me today. Surprisingly, he was tightly holding something that looked like a smartphone. Despite his miniature size, the smartphone was huge.

"Why are you looking at that? Are you playing a phone game?"

I stood and snatched the smartphone from the unguarded little Junghyeok. Junghyeok's actual profession was Pro Gamer, so it wouldn't have been strange if he were playing a game...

Huh?

"Give that back now!"

Thud.

[666] jumped up, punched me in the side, and shouted furiously.

I stared blankly at the screen.

This wasn't a game?

[You are currently connected to 2 channels.]

[You are currently in an area outside the Scenario's jurisdiction. Connecting to an official channel through a proxy channel.]

A familiar scene appeared on the smartphone's screen.

「"Dokja-ahjussi is okay. He's definitely alive. I can tell."」

Under the [LIVE] label, Indirect Messages from Constellations I knew well continued like a chatroom.

[The Constellation Bald Army General nods vigorously.]

[The Constellation Naval Warfare God comforts the allies of Kim Dokja Company.]

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon...]

What shocked me even more was what I found at the bottom of the chatroom.

[Constellation Name: Secretive Plotter]

[You are currently a VIP Subscriber.]

[VIP benefits exempt you from Indirect Message costs.]

- Select an emotion to express.

[You have selected (Cheer up).]

- Enter the number of Coins you wish to sponsor. This channel accepts sponsorships from a minimum of 50 Coins.

[(No value entered) C]

- Enter the message to send through an Indirect Message.

[Forgetaboutthatbastardandanewleader (Input length exceeded)]

After reading that far, I looked down at little Junghyeok [666] in disbelief.

"Hey, just in case, let me ask."

"..."

"Don't tell me you were the ones who sent all those Indirect Messages until now..."

"It was just my turn today! Give it back now, or I'll kill you."

Little Junghyeok [666] panted as he gripped the Splitting the Sky Sword, his face red. Only then did I think I understood something that had never made sense. All the countless Indirect Messages Secretive Plotter had sent were the work of these little brats.

「"When he gets back this time, let's just put him in a coffin and bury him. We can take him out once all the Scenarios are over."」

Jihye's voice made a terrifying suggestion.

Seeing the children huddled together beyond the screen, my chest hurt as if I had been ambushed. We hadn't even been apart for that long, but I already missed them.

I had to get back to them somehow.

Even the Apocalypse Dragon Scenario had already been unleashed. If I didn't return soon...

Tzzzzzzzt!

That was when sparks of Plausibility erupted on the screen.

Dokkaebis began appearing one by one above Seoul.

Bihyeong was among them.

「[A new Main Scenario has arrived!]」

Damn it... Already?

Bihyeong spoke from the screen.

「[Kim Dokja Company. It's time to leave for the Final Scenario.]」

Footnotes:

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