Chapter 17 ???
「Rhysel Russo!!」
I raised my fist with resentment.
I finally know who you are, man in black! I'm going to beat him up and show him the terrors of the Baltics!
——However, despite my eagerness, the pillar didn't appear before me as it should. There was also no sign of the maids who should be pulling at me like they're harvesting turnip.
I calmed down and surveyed my surroundings; somehow, before I knew it, I had appeared in a small white room. There were no furniture or windows in the room, just a single door. I wondered if this was somewhere in the castle. I have never seen this room before.
Or perhaps… Did we finally reach the limit of the loops?
「This is the chasm between time and space.」
A man's voice echoes from right in front of me. I looked up at the voice and before I knew it, a thin, scholarly-looking man with a somewhat languid appearance was standing in front of me.
There should have been no one in the room just now.
「Eh… um… chasm between time and space…?」
「We have somewhat of an emergency so I created this space in a hurry.」
Emergency? Created this space?
My mind was filled with confusion as he spouted unfamiliar terms one after the
other.
(lilies: I feel like it's kind of like she can recognise every single
word but can't understand when they're all strung together?)
Seeing my confusion, the man laughed at me in an annoying way before bowing slightly observer.
Seeing my confusion, the man laughed at me in an annoying way before bowing slightly observer.
「My name is Âge[1] and I am an observer. Pleased to meet you.」
「An observer…? What do you do?」
「Oh, you don't have to worry about that. More than that, I have something important to talk to you about. The reason I called you here is none other than——」
After introducing himself as if it were a matter of course, Mr Âge continued to talk by himself.
I've been told by my father not to associate with people who confuse others by throwing up smokescreens like this. Besides, right now, I've got to go back to launch my counterattack on Rhysel. So I decided to ignore Mr Âge.
「W-Wait! Why are you trying to leave the room?」
「I can't trust suspicious people who don't want to reveal their identity.」
「Sorry, I tried to make things a little too mysterious! I'll explain a little more, so please don't go!」
Just as my hand came into contact with the doorknob, Mr Âge grabbed me by my cuffs and pulled my hand away with a jerk. The way he desperately tried to stop looked a little pitiful so I had no choice but to turn around.
Mr Âge patted his chest in relief, before putting on a serious face to explain.
「An observer is someone who is responsible for recording and observing events in the future, the past, and the present.」
「Huh…You mean like a prophet?」
「We are not prophets. All we do is record. We will never use information from the future to interfere with the past.」
I couldn't quite understand. Just observe and record? Was such a job necessary? Seems like the world has many professions that I don't know about.
「So, Mr Observer, what do you want from me?」
「Lady Katrea Baltic, right now a distortion of space and time has occurred with you as its starting point.」
「Is this related to the loop?」
「Yes」
Mr Âge nodded.
So right now… For the first time, I discovered that there was someone other than myself who knew of the existence of the loops. Moreover, he seemed to have a much better grasp of the situation than I did.
I could feel something burning in my chest as I hounded Mr Âge for more information.
「What is this supernatural phenomenon? I keep dying and coming back to life, and even if I survive, I keep coming back the same night! I don't even understand what's happening anymore! Although I have no idea what's going on, you have to help me!」
「Whoa, please calm down a bit! And let go of me!」
Under the pressure of my menacing demeanour, Mr Âge retreated a few steps back. Although I still had a lot to say, I reluctantly let go of him so that I could get more information out of him.
Mr Âge, who had lost the composure that he exuded when he first appeared, cleared his throat and said.
「Well you know, time always flows in one direction. Therefore, events that occur in the past or future on a single time axis are absolutely fixed and cannot be changed. If an event occurs that is different from the original history, the power to correct history will take effect. ——Alright, so this is the premise, do you understand?」
「Huh.」
I didn't quite understand his words, but I wanted to hear the rest of his explanation, so I nodded.
「Suppose, for example, there is an apple in front of you. In the future, you are supposed to cut that apple with a knife and eat it. In that case, if the apple were to be eaten by someone else, or was used as an ingredient for an apple pie, then an impossible event in history would have occurred.」
「If that happens, there will be a power to correct history?」
「No.」
What the…
「Whether you eat the apple or not, does not have any impact on main plot of history. Thus, even if you do something that deviates a little, be it mashing the apple or making a jam with it, it will be overlooked by history. This is known as the tolerance of history.」
「You're starting to lose me…」
「Oh, you don't have to worry about that. More than that, I have something important to talk to you about. The reason I called you here is none other than——」
After introducing himself as if it were a matter of course, Mr Âge continued to talk by himself.
I've been told by my father not to associate with people who confuse others by throwing up smokescreens like this. Besides, right now, I've got to go back to launch my counterattack on Rhysel. So I decided to ignore Mr Âge.
「W-Wait! Why are you trying to leave the room?」
「I can't trust suspicious people who don't want to reveal their identity.」
「Sorry, I tried to make things a little too mysterious! I'll explain a little more, so please don't go!」
Just as my hand came into contact with the doorknob, Mr Âge grabbed me by my cuffs and pulled my hand away with a jerk. The way he desperately tried to stop looked a little pitiful so I had no choice but to turn around.
Mr Âge patted his chest in relief, before putting on a serious face to explain.
「An observer is someone who is responsible for recording and observing events in the future, the past, and the present.」
「Huh…You mean like a prophet?」
「We are not prophets. All we do is record. We will never use information from the future to interfere with the past.」
I couldn't quite understand. Just observe and record? Was such a job necessary? Seems like the world has many professions that I don't know about.
「So, Mr Observer, what do you want from me?」
「Lady Katrea Baltic, right now a distortion of space and time has occurred with you as its starting point.」
「Is this related to the loop?」
「Yes」
Mr Âge nodded.
So right now… For the first time, I discovered that there was someone other than myself who knew of the existence of the loops. Moreover, he seemed to have a much better grasp of the situation than I did.
I could feel something burning in my chest as I hounded Mr Âge for more information.
「What is this supernatural phenomenon? I keep dying and coming back to life, and even if I survive, I keep coming back the same night! I don't even understand what's happening anymore! Although I have no idea what's going on, you have to help me!」
「Whoa, please calm down a bit! And let go of me!」
Under the pressure of my menacing demeanour, Mr Âge retreated a few steps back. Although I still had a lot to say, I reluctantly let go of him so that I could get more information out of him.
Mr Âge, who had lost the composure that he exuded when he first appeared, cleared his throat and said.
「Well you know, time always flows in one direction. Therefore, events that occur in the past or future on a single time axis are absolutely fixed and cannot be changed. If an event occurs that is different from the original history, the power to correct history will take effect. ——Alright, so this is the premise, do you understand?」
「Huh.」
I didn't quite understand his words, but I wanted to hear the rest of his explanation, so I nodded.
「Suppose, for example, there is an apple in front of you. In the future, you are supposed to cut that apple with a knife and eat it. In that case, if the apple were to be eaten by someone else, or was used as an ingredient for an apple pie, then an impossible event in history would have occurred.」
「If that happens, there will be a power to correct history?」
「No.」
What the…
「Whether you eat the apple or not, does not have any impact on main plot of history. Thus, even if you do something that deviates a little, be it mashing the apple or making a jam with it, it will be overlooked by history. This is known as the tolerance of history.」
「You're starting to lose me…」
「Please just bear with me and continue listening. …But in the case if you
unknowingly deviated from the course of history and murdered the Demon King by
throwing apples at him, or carried out a genocide by refining toxic
mass-killing gas from apples.
The apple, which was originally supposed to be simply eaten, would have caused a drastic change in future events. That is when the power to correct history comes into play. History would repeat the time when you picked up the apple over and over again to somehow try to return to the time when you ate the apple properly. And only when you successfully eat the apple as you should will time be able to move forward again.」
「I can't kill the Demon King with an apple.」
「Let's move on from the apple example.
Originally, something that would greatly influence the future was supposed to happen in the castle tonight. And your presence plays a big role in that event. However, small deviations started to pile up, and what should have happened did not happen. So history, in an attempt to correct the distorted flow, rewound time many times with you as the epicentre to try and restore the original flow.
This is the true nature of the loop that is happening to you now.」
「A major event that involves me…? What kind of event is it?」
「I can't tell you that. There is a rule that observers are not allowed to disclose information about the past and future to the outsiders. ——In fact, I shouldn't even be talking to you like this.」
「Even if you say that. Then why did you appear in front of me?」
「Well…」
Mr Âge glared at me, grudgingly.
「Lady Katrea, how many times have you looped so far?」
「Uh, about… 20 times?」
「48 times! You're completely off!」
You didn't have to be so angry. If you knew, you shouldn't have bothered asking me.
「Sigh… I died so many times.」
「This is no time to be all carefree and impressed by yourself. This is something that should be impossible!」
「Is it?」
「Yes! From time to time, there were also people who deviated from history and fell into a loop, you know? But they usually get back on the right track after one or two loops. If it's only a few loops, then there's no reason for us observers to intervene.」
Then, Mr Âge clenched both fists.
「But my lady, you! You have been challenging an opponent that you cannot beat 44 times, taking advantage of the fact that you can come back to life! That has resulted in so many useless loops that has eventually led to a distortion in space and time!」
「…」
I was a little ticked off. I am being blamed one-sidedly, but have I done anything that warranted all this criticism? No, probably not.
「Am I the only one to blame? If I die and a loop occurs, that would essentially mean that I was not supposed to die tonight. In other words, is it not Rhysel Russo's fault for killing me?」
「That's…」
「I tried everything I could to break out of the loop! It's only when that didn't work that I decided to risk my life to find out the true identity of that man!」
「…And so, the loop happend…」
「47 times! I was killed 47 times! If you thought all of it was pointless, then you should have stopped me before I was killed 47 times! How dare you say the loops were a waste of time when you just stood by and watched me get killed over and over again until I figured out who the man was!」
「The number of loops… you didn't even count the number of loops properly…」
In response to my counterattack, Mr Âge… visibly cowers.
Even though he seems older than me; that's so pathetic. But I don't plan on speaking kindly to him.
「As I mentioned earlier, it is extremely rare for us observers to interfere with ordinary people… We were aware of your repeated attempts to challenge Rhysel Russo, but there was also a heated debate among observers as to whether we should stop you. In the end, because a space-time distortion had occurred, causing us to be caught between a rock and a hard place, we had no choice but to make contact with you… By then, the number of loops had already reached 48 times…」
「I don't need your excuses.」
Upon hearing my cold words, Mr Âge sat down on the floor with his knees in his arms.
Of all the men I have ever met, he must be the one with the most fragile[2] of them all. I'm starting to feel a little sorry for him.
「I recommended that we should do something about the situation quickly, you know? But the other observers wouldn't listen to me… and said『 She'll learn her lesson after a few deaths and give up confronting Rhysel Russo』I'm sorry… because of our delayed response, you lost your life many times.」
「Nevermind, let's move on. I'm sorry for only blaming you as well, Mr Âge. I kind of understand your situation so cheer up.」
I patted Mr Âge on the shoulder and helped him up. This person is ok, right?
Even after he got up, Mr Âge still appeared somewhat down and hesitant, but he seemed to have changed his mind midway through and looked at me with the same expression as when he first appeared.
「Anyway, I have already explained to you the current situation. It is a very dangerous situation but if we return to the correct flow of history, the distortion of time and space should subside. Then, Lady Katrea, please choose the right path for yourself.」
「What happens if the space-time distortion reaches its limit?」
「I don't know. There is no precedent… But, in the worst-case scenario, this timeline might disappear.」
This timeline would disappear. I could not grasp the meaning of those words right now, but somehow, it had a grave feeling to it.
Does that mean that the days I have spent with my loved ones would disappear?
「I don't even know how many loops there are left before we reach the limit. Therefore, please be careful in your future loops.」
「I understand, I will try my best.」
When I nodded, Mr Âge breathed a deep sigh of relief. Then he waved his hand as if to shoo me away.
「Well then, please return to the loop. If you go out through that door, you can return to your usual scene.」
「Is this the end?」
「Yes. I'll probably never see you again. Take care.」
「Do take care of yourself too, Mr Âge. I'm sorry for being so harsh to you earlier.」
I was about to leave the room, but before I did that, I turned around and apologised.
Then, for the first time, there was a carefree smile on Mr Âge's face. He was a childish person, but he was cute when he smiled that way.
「Goodbye, Lady Katrea Baltic. Wishing you happiness.」
The apple, which was originally supposed to be simply eaten, would have caused a drastic change in future events. That is when the power to correct history comes into play. History would repeat the time when you picked up the apple over and over again to somehow try to return to the time when you ate the apple properly. And only when you successfully eat the apple as you should will time be able to move forward again.」
「I can't kill the Demon King with an apple.」
「Let's move on from the apple example.
Originally, something that would greatly influence the future was supposed to happen in the castle tonight. And your presence plays a big role in that event. However, small deviations started to pile up, and what should have happened did not happen. So history, in an attempt to correct the distorted flow, rewound time many times with you as the epicentre to try and restore the original flow.
This is the true nature of the loop that is happening to you now.」
「A major event that involves me…? What kind of event is it?」
「I can't tell you that. There is a rule that observers are not allowed to disclose information about the past and future to the outsiders. ——In fact, I shouldn't even be talking to you like this.」
「Even if you say that. Then why did you appear in front of me?」
「Well…」
Mr Âge glared at me, grudgingly.
「Lady Katrea, how many times have you looped so far?」
「Uh, about… 20 times?」
「48 times! You're completely off!」
You didn't have to be so angry. If you knew, you shouldn't have bothered asking me.
「Sigh… I died so many times.」
「This is no time to be all carefree and impressed by yourself. This is something that should be impossible!」
「Is it?」
「Yes! From time to time, there were also people who deviated from history and fell into a loop, you know? But they usually get back on the right track after one or two loops. If it's only a few loops, then there's no reason for us observers to intervene.」
Then, Mr Âge clenched both fists.
「But my lady, you! You have been challenging an opponent that you cannot beat 44 times, taking advantage of the fact that you can come back to life! That has resulted in so many useless loops that has eventually led to a distortion in space and time!」
「…」
I was a little ticked off. I am being blamed one-sidedly, but have I done anything that warranted all this criticism? No, probably not.
「Am I the only one to blame? If I die and a loop occurs, that would essentially mean that I was not supposed to die tonight. In other words, is it not Rhysel Russo's fault for killing me?」
「That's…」
「I tried everything I could to break out of the loop! It's only when that didn't work that I decided to risk my life to find out the true identity of that man!」
「…And so, the loop happend…」
「47 times! I was killed 47 times! If you thought all of it was pointless, then you should have stopped me before I was killed 47 times! How dare you say the loops were a waste of time when you just stood by and watched me get killed over and over again until I figured out who the man was!」
「The number of loops… you didn't even count the number of loops properly…」
In response to my counterattack, Mr Âge… visibly cowers.
Even though he seems older than me; that's so pathetic. But I don't plan on speaking kindly to him.
「As I mentioned earlier, it is extremely rare for us observers to interfere with ordinary people… We were aware of your repeated attempts to challenge Rhysel Russo, but there was also a heated debate among observers as to whether we should stop you. In the end, because a space-time distortion had occurred, causing us to be caught between a rock and a hard place, we had no choice but to make contact with you… By then, the number of loops had already reached 48 times…」
「I don't need your excuses.」
Upon hearing my cold words, Mr Âge sat down on the floor with his knees in his arms.
Of all the men I have ever met, he must be the one with the most fragile[2] of them all. I'm starting to feel a little sorry for him.
「I recommended that we should do something about the situation quickly, you know? But the other observers wouldn't listen to me… and said『 She'll learn her lesson after a few deaths and give up confronting Rhysel Russo』I'm sorry… because of our delayed response, you lost your life many times.」
「Nevermind, let's move on. I'm sorry for only blaming you as well, Mr Âge. I kind of understand your situation so cheer up.」
I patted Mr Âge on the shoulder and helped him up. This person is ok, right?
Even after he got up, Mr Âge still appeared somewhat down and hesitant, but he seemed to have changed his mind midway through and looked at me with the same expression as when he first appeared.
「Anyway, I have already explained to you the current situation. It is a very dangerous situation but if we return to the correct flow of history, the distortion of time and space should subside. Then, Lady Katrea, please choose the right path for yourself.」
「What happens if the space-time distortion reaches its limit?」
「I don't know. There is no precedent… But, in the worst-case scenario, this timeline might disappear.」
This timeline would disappear. I could not grasp the meaning of those words right now, but somehow, it had a grave feeling to it.
Does that mean that the days I have spent with my loved ones would disappear?
「I don't even know how many loops there are left before we reach the limit. Therefore, please be careful in your future loops.」
「I understand, I will try my best.」
When I nodded, Mr Âge breathed a deep sigh of relief. Then he waved his hand as if to shoo me away.
「Well then, please return to the loop. If you go out through that door, you can return to your usual scene.」
「Is this the end?」
「Yes. I'll probably never see you again. Take care.」
「Do take care of yourself too, Mr Âge. I'm sorry for being so harsh to you earlier.」
I was about to leave the room, but before I did that, I turned around and apologised.
Then, for the first time, there was a carefree smile on Mr Âge's face. He was a childish person, but he was cute when he smiled that way.
「Goodbye, Lady Katrea Baltic. Wishing you happiness.」
1. His name is "アージュ" and when I googled I got a publishing company called
"Âge" so I decided to just use that as his name. looks better than whatever
I can come up with anyways ahahah↩
2. Written as "ガラスメンタリスト" which can be transliterated to "glass
mentalist". Basically just means that his mental state is as fragile as
glass.↩
Please feedback to me in the comments below if you find any typos or
terrible grammar, etc that you think I should change. Or maybe you think
my interpretation is completely off lol Help me help you have a better
reading experience ahahah what a tongue twister XD
Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day!!
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
Thank yous!! (˶‾᷄ ⁻̫ ‾᷅˵)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a great day!!
You can support me by sending some love in the comments or through the button below
peace lilies~