Time continued to pass quickly. Although the first Shellmount chairwoman of the Fire Water Council was just elected, not much chaos ensued. Even those who had doubts about the new chairwoman immediately dropped them when they heard she chopped off the red dragon’s head. Numerous Terra and Skian warriors who had accompanied her testified to her achievements. “This isn’t just the country of Terras now!” Anastasha said excitedly. It seemed she was really into the story. “The country our children will create will be greater than the Roman Empire! Do you realize how wonderful this is, Gong-Ja?” “Anastasha, I am a high school dropout. Please speak in an actual language I can understand.” “Ah, okay. Initially, only Romans lived in Rome. However, when foreigners from other colonies were allowed to take part in politics, and when rural religion became that of the nation, Rome finally became a great empire that embraced everyone.” She cupped her cheeks. “But Rome had its limits. Do you know what those limits were?” Well, I didn’t, but I didn’t need to bring that up. “Religion became more sanctified than it needed to be!” the Inquisitor said. “War kept the empire running, so the economy started to fail when there were no more territories to conquer,” the Countess suggested. “Their corrupt politics ruined the entire society,” the Paladin answered. Anastasha shooed them away. “Shush. I’m talking to Gong-Ja right now.” With a saddened look, the three retreated. She cleared her throat. “Well, the Roman empire had many shortcomings, but I think it fell mostly because the interests of each group weren’t clearly divided.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “Look.” She pointed to the seats of the council. “The Terras are responsible for national defense and food production, the Sylvans manage the economy, the Fingills control logistics, and the Shellmounts control underground resources. Here, factions are formed around different species. Unless the other species become extinct or fall into slavery, a single individual can’t have all the power.” Anastasha’s cheeks were slightly red, as if she drank a lot. Even her words were slurred. “T-This is important. Decisions are made for biological reasons. Because they need each other, they keep each other in check. This system is powerful and robust. It’s kind even to latecomers of any species. For example, if a new species is way better in a domain where another species was already in charge, the domain will naturally become the new species’ specialty. But... but... Yes, it’s very difficult to get that system in place.” She flipped her hair. “Let’s say a species fears getting pushed out of their field. They decide to oppress latecomers and think they’re doing what is only natural. If this becomes the norm, the system will rot over time.” No species had become extinct because Uburka did not let the other species gang up on the Shellmounts. At a time when it seemed like the Terras would conquer the continent, species discrimination disappeared from the council. This was all thanks to Sonia, the child who was born Sylvan but wanted to dance regardless. She ended up devoting her entire life to Cavefire plays. The discovery of the New Continent strengthened the Fingills’ standing in water logistics. The concubi, the original inhabitants of the New Continent, were said to have merged with Anastasha’s Bloodborns. And in the war between the Skians and the Terras, both species had established a proper distance from their gods. They all changed the world. Eventually, the first Shellmount chairwoman of the Fire Water Council was born. The council became bigger, embracing both fire and water. “Yes, everything worked out really well.” On the screen, a grand festival held to commemorate the defeat of the red dragon was shown. A group of talented Sylvans performed all kinds of circus and Cavefire plays, while tourists from all over the continent laughed and enjoyed themselves. “Gong-Ja, what we see before our eyes, this scenery, is like a holy mural made from the overlapping footprints of countless people. It’s one gigantic miracle,” Anastasha muttered in a dreamy voice. It wasn’t a bad feeling, so I smiled. “That’s right. It truly is a miracle.” “Unless this miracle was made by someone.” I paused. Before I could even blink, the dreaminess in her voice was gone. Her eyes were also sharper when she looked straight at me. “I’m talking about you, Gong-Ja.” The other Hunters, who had been shooed away, were still standing quite far, so they couldn’t hear us. I met Anastasha’s purple gaze. “Don’t tell me you regressed without letting me know. You didn’t use your Skill like the time we defeated the Demon King of Autumn Rain, right? You didn’t go up to the stage alone, die, and find a route where no one dies and everyone is happy, did you? That isn’t what happened, correct?” She grabbed my shoulders and pinned me down. The beer cans and nearby chairs fell, and I now lay down on the cool floor. “Don’t tell me the world was built on your corpses,” she said through gritted teeth. To my embarrassment, I almost teared up. It wasn’t that I cried because she recognized my hard work again. I was way past that stage. The old me had already passed its expiration date and lay forgotten in the back of a refrigerator shelf within my heart. It wasn’t that. Guilt, regret, gratitude—many emotions of that kind were mixed in her eyes. Even though I had no mind-reading skills, it pained me that I could understand what the emotions in her eyes were. —I don’t want my friend to die or even not know that he died. Anastasha had gone through that already. The war in the Aegim Empire was believed to have ended miraculously without any damage, but that was all because of my many deaths. She now knew about it. That was why I became serious. “Anatasha, let’s renew our friendship contract,” I said. “I’m talking about the contract we signed. Um, can you get off me first? If Raviel sees us, she’ll laugh and say, ‘Someone always ends up on top of you whenever you go out drinking.’” “Ah, I can just imagine her saying that. I’m sorry. I’ll sober up, too. The contract is here.” As if a zipper opened, the air split into two, revealing a pitch-black bottomless pit. The Black Witch reached inside and quickly pulled out something as if this was normal. This contract shall be sealed when Kim Gong-Ja (hereinafter C) accepts the request of Anastasha Jelensky (hereinafter A). A does not trust the validity of human emotions, and is confident that only diligence and intelligence will keep their relationship afloat. Accordingly, A and C pledge as follows: 1. All promises are valid only when both A and C agree. 2. All promises can be canceled if both A and C agree. 3. However, the establishment or cancellation of a promise is only possible during the weekend. 4. If there is a difference of opinion between A and C, roll the dice and follow the opinion of the person with the highest number. Name: Anastasha Jelensky (Signature) Name: Gong-Ja Kim (Signature) “This is our contract. Why did you ask for this?” I concentrated a tiny bit of aura at the tip of my fingernails. “We’re going to add a couple of promises here.” Using my aura-enveloped index finger, I carefully wrote on the document. Technically, I was burning the outer surface of the paper very slightly, so it would be more accurate to say I was scorching letters on paper. 5. Both A and C can say what they want to say to each other. They can also refrain from saying what they don’t want to say and can even lie. 6. However, when one asks the other to swear on the contract, the one who answers can never lie. 7. Both A and C will never doubt the answer if one of them swore on the contract. I raised my head. “How is it? Wouldn’t it be better for you and me to build a little more trust? It’s a bit... well, childish, let’s say. But since we signed the friendship contract in the first place, I think maturity is out of the question. I was just trying to do as you wanted.” Before I finished talking, Anastasha grabbed my hand and looked straight at me. “Swear on the contract. Did you not die at all to create this world?” At most, the contract consisted of a few lines of promises. Letters and promises had no power, so ignoring or breaking them was easy, but not all the time. The contract itself had no power, but the Black Witch was special and gave it power. The country Anastasha grew up in was torn apart. While fleeing from crossfire, she lost her father. I didn’t ask what happened to her mother, and she didn’t tell me either. However, she had left that world behind. She was cold because she abandoned that world, yet her deficiency was evident in her continued longing for the outside world’s recognition. Her nobility showed that she was rebuilding a tower of order in an abandoned world. However, her anxiety was also palpable in the fact that she could not bring herself to stop attending to the affairs of the tower she built. If our hearts could have different colors, hers would be black, but that didn’t stop her. Instead of collapsing in a fit of sobs or locking herself somewhere with her face buried between her knees, she always continued onward and took care of the given tasks. She was strong. “I died once,” I said in a quiet voice. “It’s a long story. Who I met, why I died, what happened as a result—I will tell you all about it someday. Well, as soon as these stages are completed. But, Anastasha, I can promise you that from the thirty-first floor to the thirty-seventh floor, I have not died once to clear them. The children we raised are amazing. I really didn’t regress. All these miracles you mentioned were possible without me.” She stroked my head with a trembling hand. “Okay. I see. I...” She paused for a moment. “I’ll ask you to die one day, for the Tower, the world, and the people.” I had no problem imagining that. She went on. “I’ll ask you to die and turn back time so the dead can live again. I’ll use your sympathy and bait you with justice. Our friendship will become a trap. I’ll shamelessly ask you to do these things for me.” On the day I revealed that I was a regressor, Anastasha said she would use me. She claimed that she would use my life and our friendship for the Tower, which she valued more. “So, actually, I don’t have the right to say things , but...” I knew who Anastaha was, and she knew that too. Nevertheless... “This time, allow me to say I’m glad to hear that you didn’t regress,” she concluded with an honest smile. That smile was as complex as the colors of her heart, but it had one emotion that could not be misunderstood, the same one I saw in her eyes a few moments ago. “I’m very glad you weren’t hurt while guiding these kids.” I nodded. “Thank you for worrying about me. I’m grateful to hear that you feel this way.” We smiled at each other. [The thirty-eighth floor has been unlocked.] [Entering the thirty-eighth floor.] We turned our heads and looked at the hologram. The next trial awaited our children.