{Well, still. It seems you returned safely, so that is fortunate.}

At Mirinae’s words.

I let out a dry laugh and opened my mouth.

“I appreciate the concern.”

One way or another.

That existence possessed an incredibly powerful force.

And at the same time, she was one of the very few figures who held goodwill toward me.

She was someone I trusted quite a bit, but.

“It would have been even better if you’d helped a little instead of only worrying.”

Unfortunately.

In that land of China, Mirinae had been of no help to me whatsoever.

{There was nothing I could do about that.}

“Why is that? You said last time that speaking to me consumes some power, but... I was in China for quite a long time. You could have given me advice at least once.”

Honestly.

It was something I had found a little strange.

Mirinae had not told me the reason.

But she clearly wanted me to survive.

That was why she had even invested her own power to hide my existence from the beings outside.

And yet.

In that land of China, I had nearly died.

I had even been forced to gamble by changing part of my very existence.

So it had felt a little strange that Mirinae had not helped me through any of it.

{It was not because of that.}

The reason was.

Quite simple.

{You simply... went a bit too far away.}

“...Excuse me?”

{If trouble was going to happen, it should at least have happened somewhere close. Why did you go so far away? Even if I wanted to help you, what could I possibly do when you were that far?}

“......”

At those words.

I stared blankly with my mouth half-open and thought.

It’s not like a friend called me out for drinks or something.

She could not go because it was too far?

Mirinae was definitely not an ordinary existence.

And yet, the reason such an existence had been unable to help me.

Was simply because it was “too far.”

...Come to think of it, she said she could hide me from other beings because she was closest to me.

When I thought about it, it was absurd.

But at the same time.

I could be certain of one thing.

Mirinae is in Korea.

I did not know in what form she existed.

But she was not outside this world, nor somewhere far away on Earth.

She was in the material plane of this world.

And somewhere on the Korean Peninsula, at that.

...Well.

I was starting to have the faintest guess as to her identity, but....

Anyway.

“...Fine. Still, thanks to your concern, I somehow managed to come back alive.”

I said, looking down at my body.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think I came back in one piece.”

{Hmm.}

She looked over my body carefully.

And where her gaze landed.

Sway....

A dark red mist.

Was ominously rippling.

***

{I called you here as soon as your existence drew near, just in case there was something wrong with you....}

Mirinae, wearing cumbersome court robes, rose to her feet.

Then she carefully approached me and placed her hand on the part of my body where the mist was rippling.

“From what you can see, Mirinae, how bad is it?”

{...It would be difficult to call it good, even as empty flattery.}

She touched the mist here and there, then frowned.

{It was already one of the beings entangled with you to begin with... but to think you ended up further entangled with one of the most vicious among them.}

“The owner of the blood that made me like this... the one called the Progenitor. It seemed to be a pretty famous existence. Do you know anything about it?”

{Well. I can guess well enough how ominous it is, but I do not know who it is.}

At those words.

I realized one more thing inwardly.

Mirinae knew the name of the Matron of Regretful Ones... Rigreto.

But.

Mirinae did not know the Progenitor’s name.

Considering the sun hated the Progenitor that much, it should not have been an unknown existence.

And that was not all.

The most ominous rope the Progenitor had found inside me.

The moment the Progenitor discovered that aura, it seemed to realize that existence’s identity.

But Mirinae did not know who that existence was.

There are... gaps in Mirinae’s information.

Meaning it might be difficult to learn everything through her.

{If there is one fortunate point, at least.}

And.

After examining me for quite some time, she stepped back.

Then, having transformed into a man who looked like a bespectacled scholar, he said,

{It did not reach your head.}

“Yes. I somehow managed emergency treatment before that.”

{Hmm.}

He adjusted his glasses.

Then looked at me.

{You borrowed Rigreto’s power.}

“Yes.”

Before the Progenitor’s blood could transform me completely.

I spat out that blood.

Then “regretted” the choice I had made.

By doing so.

The power the Matron had left behind corrected that regret.

It returned me not to the state I “regretted,” but to the state right before that.

However.

{In the end, it is only your outward appearance.}

“Right.”

The Matron’s power ultimately covered me with an illusion.

The essence beneath that illusion was still in the middle of transforming into a vampire.

“So, about this....”

I looked at Mirinae with a faintly hopeful gaze.

“Can’t you fix it?”

At my words.

Mirinae stared at me carefully, then let out a sigh.

{As I am now... that would be quite difficult.}

“Ah....”

{If it were merely half-mixed, as it was when you met me before... there might have been some way. But... now, I believe it will be difficult.}

“......”

Not even Mirinae.

Could resolve my current condition.

{It is not that there is no method.}

“Excuse me?”

{You could receive more of Rigreto’s help.}

At those words.

I remembered what the Matron had once said to me.

-If you become my child and this world becomes mine, that would be a different story.

-If that happens, inside and outside, reality and illusion will be reversed.

-The reality filled with regret will become illusion, and an ideal world without any regret... my sanctuary, will become reality.

If I became her apostle and conquered this world.

If her laws came to rule this world.

Then inside and outside would be reversed.

{She is still interested in you, so if you begged her to help, she would gladly do so.}

At that time.

My current form would become reality.

And the vampire’s power might instead become the illusion.

{But you will not choose that method, will you?}

“I feel bad for the Matron, since she allowed me to use this power, but... no.”

Naturally.

I could not choose that method.

{...You have ended up living with a time bomb attached to you.}

In the end.

Until I found another way, I had no choice but to live in this state.

***

{...For now, I will take measures so that the illusion does not peel away easily.}

He lightly waved his hand.

A cord covered in talisman-like papers appeared.

And then.

Squeeeeeze...!

That cord clung to my body.

And tightened fiercely around the rippling mist.

{For a while, you will not have to worry about that thing bursting out.}

“...Thank you. It would have been better if you removed it entirely, though.”

{Still... perhaps it is not something you should view only negatively.}

The man stroked his chin as he looked at me.

{That power certainly feels wicked, but in any case, it is also mighty. Considering the situation you are in now... it may one day be of help to you.}

“...If I end up receiving help from this power, I won’t be myself anymore by then, you know?”

{Well, that is something you will have to find a way around somehow. You passed this time with emergency treatment, did you not? There is no rule saying there will be no method next time.}

“......”

Easy for him to say when it was not his problem....

“Anyway, well.”

It seemed there would be no immediate problem because of this.

That alone was something to be grateful for.

“Ah, there’s one more thing I’m curious about.”

{What is it?}

“After resolving things in that land... there was something I received as a reward.”

{A reward?}

...That reward had descended upon me in a fairly grotesque form.

I wanted to ask about it.

...But I can’t exactly show it here.

That reward was a physical object.

There was no way to show it in this mental world.

Still, I had thought Mirinae might be able to tell what it was on her own.

{...Well. I do not sense anything in particular.}

“Huh? Is that so?”

{If it is an item you are curious about, there is a high chance it is no ordinary thing. And yet, if I sense nothing from it....}

He stroked his chin.

{That is ominous.}

Then spoke cautiously.

{I do not know exactly what it is, but it would be best to delay using it as much as possible.}

“Excuse me? But it’s a reward I went through all that trouble to get.”

{I am not saying never to use it at all. But... if there is some other method available, you should use those methods first, and only use it when there is no other way left.} 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The things I had gone through in that land had been far from easy.

And that was the reward I had received in exchange for accomplishing all of it.

He was telling me not to use it.

So, from my perspective, it felt like quite a waste.

{The fact that I cannot sense it... means it is hiding itself.}

“......”

{Since you called it a reward, it is probably an item that will help you. But... if it is an item hiding itself like that, there is a high chance it has some unpleasant background to it.}

After hearing that.

I felt chills run over me.

The part I had been feeling uneasy about.

Even though Mirinae had not seen that reward directly.

He had given an opinion that matched exactly with the anxiety I had already been feeling.

“...Understood.”

It was not as though he was telling me never to use it at all.

So I would be better off following that advice.

“Then, are we done talking?”

{I only dragged you here in a hurry because I was worried something might have happened to you after you were left alone for so long in a distant place. It is unfortunate that concern proved correct, but... there should not be any major problem immediately.}

With those words.

Mirinae took one step back and looked down at me solemnly.

{Still, since I have called you all the way here, I will give you a few pieces of advice.}

At those words.

I widened my eyes and focused on her.

One of the few beings I could more or less trust in this world.

Advice from Mirinae, an existence friendly to me.

It would surely be of great help....

{That large fellow among your subordinates.}

Or so.

I had been certain, but.

{Tell him to use his left hand a little more.}

“...Excuse me?”

To be precise.

The advice I heard would help someone other than me.

Large subordinate?

That did not narrow it down to one or two people.

There was one person I could most easily guess, but....

What was this about the left hand?

{Aside from that, hmm.}

Rumble, rumble, rumble...!

{The system, was it?}

“...Yes?”

{It is fine to trust it, but....}

The pure white world began to collapse.

And his form began to grow distant.

{At the same time, doubt it thoroughly.}

“...!”

From his mouth.

I heard meaningful words.

{Blind faith leads to misjudgment... so it would be best to doubt it constantly.}

And.

With those words as the last thing I heard.

“What do you mea....”

Thud.

“...n.”

My body.

Hit the ground.

......

I turned my head blankly and looked around.

What spread out there.

Was the scenery I had expected to see first when I crossed that transfer gate.

Seoul.

A ruined city.

The sight of Seoul.

...It’s always like this.

When there was time to have a comfortable conversation, she only told me ordinary things.

Then, just as I was about to leave that world, she would toss me something important.

This was the third time now.

Maybe conveying important information takes quite a lot of power....

If that was the reason, then it was something to be grateful for.

The problem was.

It was far too difficult to properly understand what that advice meant.

What’s this about the left hand, too....

That advice, which had not even been directed at me but at one of my subordinates, was one thing.

But what concerned me more was....

Doubt the system?

At least.

So far, this system had not lied to us even once.

And now she was advising me to doubt that system.

...Is that even advice I should follow?

With that thought.

My head grew complicated.

...Well. There’s no need to think too deeply about it right now.

After everything I had gone through.

I had finally returned to my homeland.

I did not want to cling to something that would only make my head hurt no matter how much I agonized over it.

...Come to think of it.

Now that I think about it... it’s been an incredibly long time since I left the Legion.

Not just the time I had spent after heading to Seoul.

But also the time after I had been sent flying to China.

It had been quite a long time since I had been unable to return to the Legion.

It would be one thing if I’d just been away. But they say leaving home is suffering, and I really did nothing but suffer the whole time.

Because of that.

I could not even remember the last time I had taken what could be called a proper rest.

Mm... in that case.

After recalling that fact.

I made one decision.

After I return to the Legion... taking a short rest wouldn’t be so bad.

It was a busy world.

But no matter how busy it was, I had done nothing but run myself ragged all this time.

Once I returned to the Legion.

Perhaps it would not be bad to take at least a few days of rest....

“...Confirm the return of the unit members!”

“Right.”

The very moment.

I was thinking that.

“...They’re here!”

“Huh?”

From far away.

I saw humans approaching this way.

People dressed in familiar clothing.

“Confirm the Legion Commander’s identity!”

“......?”

Soldiers in military uniforms.

Were running toward me.

Only then.

Was I able to properly take in the scenery around me.

Ruined Seoul.

However.

The area near this transfer gate was not simply in ruins.

The Legion’s position.

Small structures had been built around the transfer gate.

And.

Unit members were rushing out from there with tense expressions.

“Salute!”

Then.

After reaching me at tremendous speed.

They opened their mouths with urgent expressions.

“We apologize as soon as you’ve returned, but...!”

And.

When I heard the first words those soldiers spoke.

“...Ah, damn it.”

I.

Could instinctively realize one thing.

“You need to come with us immediately.”

Yeah, of course.

“The vehicle is ready, so as quickly as possible...!”

In my final days.

I did not think I would ever get a comfortable day off.