Chapter 175: I Believe I Can Explain That (4)
“Ah, such a bittersweet reaction. I thought I hid it well, but was I already caught?”
“No. Rather, I was just curious what you wouldn’t know.”
“Risel is right. I thought Aila might know.”
“If it’s Aila-noona… … Even if you suddenly said you were a man, I’d think, ‘That’s right.’”
At Joey’s gentle affirmation, Aila made a dumbfounded expression. Yeah, is that a sign that you’re going to make a joke now?
“How did you know that?!”
“I’m not even surprised, so stop joking.”
“Tsk. You’re no fun. Does the mystery strategy become obvious if it’s too old? Maybe it would have been more novel if I had changed strategies from time to time.”
She pouted and made a dissatisfied expression. I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that look too.
She grumbled for a while, then shrugged and said,
“Yes. Actually, I ‘knew’ Risel before he knew me.”
The way she said ‘knew’ seemed to have a slightly different meaning than when she usually spoke.
“I see, no wonder.”
“I thought so.”
“I’m going to sulk!”
People seemed to agree, thinking it was only natural, and so Aila puffed out her cheeks. She seems genuinely dissatisfied.
Levidian laughed softly as she watched, then asked with an expression as if she had just remembered something.
“Then, by any chance, was Lucy also a famous person in the time Risel remembers?”
“Ah, yes. He was one of the Eight Strongest on the continent. Two of the Five Strongest died, and about five rose, so around the year 381, the Eight Strongest were newly talked about.”
“Then what about Referndi? I think she was called the Red-Haired Witch Lindy. She seemed to have a connection with Lucy.”
“Yes. It’s exactly as you think. She’s probably one of those who traveled back in time. Seeing her show hostility towards Lucy, I’m certain.”
I briefly explained about Lindy, who was called the Red-haired Witch, and Lucy.
The Red Robe of Destruction, Horror Scarlet Lindy.
I didn’t realize it because her real name, Referndi, wasn’t known.
She didn’t reach the ranks of the Eight Strongest on the continent, but she was famous for wandering the continent and carrying out large-scale destruction without reason.
Her track record was quite impressive.
She turned the Penkeal Republic’s 2nd Knight Order to ashes and, while wandering the Three Kingdoms of Ruery, destroyed dozens of villages and massacred over a thousand civilians. Besides that, she committed all sorts of acts related to destruction, which earned her the nickname Red-haired Witch.
Numerous mages, priests, and well-known adventurers challenged her, but no one could stop her, and they were all ‘destroyed’ at her hands.
The words of one man known to be a survivor are famous.
《The Red Robe of Destruction. We are facing the most terrible destruction the world can commit.》
Just as Horror Scarlet’s notoriety swept the continent, the one known to have defeated her and confined her to the association was Kersilla Creon, that is, Lucy.
Many were enraged that it was only confinement, but as it became known that being trapped without being able to use magic was more painful than death for a mage, the death penalty quickly disappeared.
If she was reset with memories after her confinement, it’s only natural that she would harbor a terrible rage towards Lucy.
“I see. I understand. Then what about Baius Extoria? It seemed like you were talking about the Spear King to him before.”
“Before I died, he was notorious as the Spear King Slayer, but it seems he regrets it. He probably wants to defeat the Spear King without killing him. I don’t know Silvan Harcian’s motives. Aila might know.”
At my words, people’s gazes turned to Aila. However, Aila shook her head and shrugged.
“I really don’t know. I understand that he’s quite obsessed with Magnolia Beming, but I don’t know why.”
That’s real. Aila expresses things she can’t talk about vaguely, while confidently stating what she can say, what she knows, and what she doesn’t know.
Come to think of it, I’m curious about Aila.
“Aila, have you experienced a ‘reset’ too?”
“Hmph. That’s not it. My case is a little different.”
“What’s how and why different?”
At my question, Aila’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“When is it not?”
“I’m not asking for the five Ws and one H. We’ve come this far, don’t you have any intention of explaining?”
“To be honest, it’s not a little, but a lot. It’s hard to filter out the parts you won’t be able to accept even if I tell you now, like before.”
“I’ll believe almost anything now.”
After learning that Artshever and his truly unpleasant friends were experiencing the same phenomenon as me, I cleared my mind.
At this point, isn’t it too artificial to call it a coincidence? Moreover, the factions of those who have been confirmed to have been reset so far are divided exactly in two.
Me, Lime-hyung, Duke Ecoshian, and my grandmother, the so-called ‘our side,’ and Artshever, Baius Extoria, Silvan Harcian, and Referndi, the ‘their side.’ I think we can include the idiot who caused trouble in Breedpo in the past on their side too.
Anyway, the composition of the characters is perfectly divided, so it would be strange if it didn’t smell artificial.
In that case, wouldn’t it be more reasonable to think that I’m involved in something huge that I can’t even imagine?
Since she herself said she wasn’t someone who was reset, I’ll believe her for now, but she’s definitely someone who can explain this.
I looked at her with serious eyes. Her golden eyes were also directed at me. She slowly hardened her smiling expression, and soon wore an expression as if she had made a serious decision.
Go ahead, Aila, tell me. I’ll accept it all.
“Actually, I’m pregnant with your child.”
“Do you know that your jokes are getting more and more extreme these days?”
“Oh, really? As expected, a shocking joke can only end up as a vulgar joke. Sad.”
“I’m the sad one here. Anyway, I’ll trust your information control, so spill it.”
Probably only I can respond to Aila’s jokes to this extent. Levidian and the other two youngsters were making very perplexed expressions.
Above all, the fact that Aila is making such a ridiculous joke means she’s ready to talk.
I’ve also adapted a lot to Aila. Hmm.
She shook her head lightly and put her hands on her hips.
“Phew. First, I’ll talk about the skills I have. It’ll help you understand if I start from there. You know the skills I use, right?”
“I know. That strange skill that’s different from magic, holy spells, or curses, right?”
So far, what I’ve seen is just a very simple trick of canceling out magical power, physical force, or friction, and the white light she showed before she fought Levidian seriously.
However, Levidian would also know that’s not all.
“Even though I haven’t faced it directly, I think I know the power. But can your strange power explain you?”
“Think of it this way. You learned swordsmanship, but swordsmanship can’t explain everything about you. However, swordsmanship is a part of you, and it can be the first step to understanding you as a person.”
An easy-to-understand explanation. Levidian nodded in agreement. Aila thought for a moment and then nodded.
“I’ll start with this. First of all, my power, as I mentioned before, is not a power classified as an external power. External power, simply put, is an external force that humans don’t have. Curses, magic, and holy spells have different methods of use, but their effects are almost the same. All the external power experts are absent, so I can’t add any further explanation, but Joey, you know about the concept of constructing holy spells, right?”
“Yes? Ah, yes. I know. It’s about receiving the power of God with a strong desire.”
“As you know here, holy spells are the power of God. Magic uses the magic essence that pervades the world as its basic element. And curses deal with the pure natural power that existed before magic essence.”
“Simply put, they are all techniques that draw in external power. I understand this far.”
Why would external power be called external power? Because the basic concept lies in the external aspects of a person. It’s common knowledge for nobles to know this much.
Aila crossed her arms and asked with narrowed eyes.
“Then what kind of power is there that is not external power?”
Normally, people would get angry at this point, but I fell into thought for a moment. It’s very simple to just shut up and explain. But the answer to the questions Aila poses is always close at hand.
“Strength, stamina, virility, mental strength, endurance, willpower… … about this much? If it’s not an external power, it must be an internal power of the body.”
“Correct. The power within the body. That’s my skill.”
I tilted my head. Is there any other power inside the body besides what I mentioned? But that wouldn’t be able to ignore magic or erase physical force or friction, would it?
I felt like I was being hit by a barrage of question marks and sinking into a lake of doubts, but I decided to immerse myself in it completely. However, at this point, there’s bound to be someone who will ask the questions for me.
“Could you explain that in more detail?”
“You’ll probably find it hard to understand. Because it’s a power you’ve never heard of or seen before. It’s difficult to say the exact name, so I’ll simply call it ‘superpower (超能力).’”
“Superpower? What’s that?”
“Literally, it’s a transcendental ability. Human potential actually transcends imagination. But because it can’t be imagined, it can’t be exhibited. Because it can’t be concretely understood. However, some people have devised techniques to bring out and utilize that potential. As a result, human ‘will’ is manifested in the world.”
Levidian frowned. She asked Aila in a somewhat suppressed and low tone.
“Was that just now Common Tongue?”
“What will you do if you get stuck here? Simply put, there are often stories like the superhuman strength of a mother lifting a carriage to save her child. Or cases where an ordinary person exerts superhuman strength in extreme situations. In those moments, people try to manifest their will in the world. They’re exhibiting their potential. And my skill is about drawing that out and utilizing it.”
Levidian pondered for a moment and then painstakingly digested the concept. I also felt a bit uncomfortable, but I could understand what she was saying.
In the end, is human potential an ability like magic that can immediately manifest what one thinks into the world? Like a hidden power, so to speak?
“Usually, when you think of potential, you easily think of things like unexpected superhuman strength. Like someone who looks like Risel momentarily exerting strength like Joey. But my skill, superpower, can use that potential in a broader way. Just with my will, I can eliminate physical force, friction, or erase magic in a certain space for a certain amount of time.”
“Hmm, I roughly understand. So you can make what you think of happen? Like magic, holy spells, or curses.”
“It’s easier to think of it that way. And above all, it’s most affected by the user’s physical condition. Each individual has a limit to their potential, and it also changes depending on their condition at the time. It’s not like I’m just saying things like ‘I’m under a magic spell’ or whatever. Ahem.”
Aila said proudly, but no matter how much I think about it, I think the reason she sometimes makes people uncomfortable is simply because she enjoys it.
I understand up to this point. She can use this strange skill called superpower or whatever. At the same time, it’s been revealed that Artshever’s skill is also a superpower. There must be many other skills as well.
Now, what part of Aila should I understand with this?
“I understand. Continue with the next part of the story.”
“You understand? Really?”
“Yes. I clearly understand that the skill you have is a strange ability that I’ve never heard of or seen before, neither before I died nor after.”
“What, then you know everything.”
“What?”
Sometimes I wonder what I actually know. It seemed like it was that time now, and Aila looked at me with a very scrutinizing gaze, which made me feel like a fool who didn’t even know what he knew.
In the end, it was my big brother who liked to listen to stories who spoke up.
“Noona, please don’t skip the middle part. It’s hard to understand.”
“Really? I thought I understood everything.”
“You can still eat a fish even if you cut off the head and tail. It’s just hard to know what you ate.”
“Don’t hairtail and mackerel taste different even when salted?”
Aila was trying to maintain her own pace until the end, but the four of us, who had been relegated to the position of listeners rather than debaters, glared at her simultaneously.
Finally, Aila made a slightly flustered expression.
“Ah, really! Alright! Tsk, you’re really making me thirsty. Why don’t you understand? If you understood that I’m using a skill that doesn’t exist in this world, you should naturally move on to the next part!”
She snapped irritably, but it was nothing more than her usual whining with a slightly raised voice. However, the content was a call for awakening, not a lie or a joke.
She’s forcing a syllogism on us right now. I’m not used to being forced, but I decided to try it.
The skill called superpower doesn’t exist in this world.
The skill Aila uses is a superpower.
Conclusion. She’s not from this world.
“Huh?”
“Do you understand?”
“Wait, you want me to believe this absurd conclusion?”
“What can you do? It’s the truth.”
Looking at my friend shrugging, I had to let out a dumbfounded laugh. Huh, huh huh!
“Risel, did you think that too?”
“Uh, Teacher too?”
“I’m not the only one… …”
It seems the other three also reached the same conclusion as me. The four of us looked at each other, and eventually glared at Aila again.
Hey! Does that even make sense?!
But Aila’s words weren’t a joke. She’s not trying to drag us into some kind of quagmire either. She looked around at us and scratched her head.
“If you understand this far, I’ll move on to the next part. Yes. Actually, I’m not from here, to be precise, I’m not from this parallel dimension. I’m a kind of foreign substance that seeped into the origin of the non-diverging parallel dimension. Actually, in the world where I was born, superpowers, although not as common as swordsmanship, are a common sense skill like magic.”
The friend with ashen hair and golden eyes muttered words as incomprehensible as Lucy’s, with a deeply furrowed brow. It seems like that’s common sense for Aila… … but since I can’t understand it, it’s rather annoying.
“Parallel dimension? Origin? What are you trying to say right now?”
“I can explain that.”
It was a woman’s voice, but it wasn’t Aila’s or Levidian’s. An extremely calm and subdued voice. A clear voice, low but resonating clearly, stimulated the ears.
Aila looked there and made a joyful expression.
“Namias!”
“It’s been a while, everyone.”
Benamijan, the High Priest of the God of Light Lynin, was walking towards us with a calm gait.
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