What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 636

Sub-Male Lead’s Hiatus – Episode 636 (636/920)

#636

Interstellar Molecule (3)

Uh?

‘No path exists.’

“…What is this?”

‘Check the path and try again.’

【…What is this.】

My brother and I were simultaneously stunned. It was so sudden.

Losing Nicola as our liege was shocking enough, but accepting another incident on top of that was too much to bear.

Judging by my brother’s reaction, this development seemed unexpected for him as well.

I was just gaping like a hand puppet who had missed its cue.

Meanwhile, a chilling sensation spread like frost in a corner of my heart.

The operating system’s warning that there was ‘no path’ to save to was something anyone who worked with computers would have encountered at least once.

I was no exception.

I had a very bad feeling. Enough to give me goosebumps all over.

「It is as you see.」

Bozena replied in an ordinary tone. My heart was pounding as if it were broken.

Surely, this warning window doesn’t mean ‘that,’ does it?

Of course not. It absolutely cannot be.

【Hey, you. What did you do to my computer?】

…No matter how I think about it, that can’t be the case. It shouldn’t be.

「We have not done anything. Rather, it is the Phoenix who has attempted a forbidden act.」

“…”

My breathing was getting rougher and rougher. I looked down at my feet with trembling eyes.

A warning window as long and wide as the palace corridor was ruthlessly invading my vision.

I decided to calmly read the sentence again. Very slowly.

Chewing over each word from the beginning.

‘Save As’.

‘I Retired and Became a Princess in Another World’.

‘What If’.

‘No path exists.’

‘Check the path and try again.’

‘Confirm’.

【What forbidden act is it to save my file to my own stuff? Do you only know about plausibility and not the concept of ownership?】

“Hyung… What folder is ‘What If’?”

I asked in a voice that was fading in and out.

Then, the Phoenix sitting on my shoulder flapped its wings once.

The purplish-blue eyes, which had been staring at Bozena for a long time, turned back to me.

【…It’s a subfolder I added to the Toegye Corp folder. To preserve the timelines that have been altered by your intervention, we had no choice but to save them under a different name. Like I said before.】

Yes. It was as expected.

This window is the result of Jung Hyun-seo’s attempt to save the Prince’s new timeline.

“…But it says there’s no path.”

【That’s bullshit. I created it myself and even checked it, so why isn’t there a folder?】

“…”

The cynical tone pierced my ears, but the sentence somehow sounded defensive.

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

I roughly wiped the dried black ink on my cheek and gripped the scepter with both hands again.

A wind that had blown in from somewhere swept away the remains of the birdcage and flew away in ashes.

The space was once again empty and pure white.

All that remained were my brother and I, Bozena, and the huge warning window on the floor.

The black exclamation mark inside the yellow triangle had never felt so eerie as it did today.

“…Let me ask you one thing, Bozena.”

The window that had always been high above my head was now at my feet.

But I felt so precarious that I thought it was better when it was in the sky.

I felt like the ground under my feet would collapse at any moment.

「As you wish.」

“In short, you’re saying that Hyung can’t save the timeline derived from ? That it’s an act that exceeds Hyung’s authority?”

All faith shattered, miserably broken….

「Yes.」

“Even you can’t save it? We just have to let it disappear like this?”

「That is correct.」

“…”

【….】

The feeling that I would eventually be frustrated.

「The Phoenix is not bound to this place, but that does not change anything. You still will not be able to save that timeline.」

“Why?”

My voice finally started to tremble.

However, there was no expression on the other person’s face.

I was afraid of that, and I felt like I was going to cry.

Feeling ashamed was a luxury that didn’t suit me. Why? Why?

Why on earth?

「I have already told you. Creating a timeline is the sole power of the Chief God.」

“No, then… No…”

I wanted to stand upright, but my legs were shaking against my will.

I barely managed to support myself by holding my knees with both arms.

I wanted to continue thinking, but I couldn’t.

My vision dropped sharply, and the huge warning window filled my wet eyes.

‘No path exists.’ Could there be a more terrible word in the world?

Why is this happening? For whom, for what?

“Ha…”

I gritted my teeth to maintain my sanity. In the meantime, Jung Hyun-seo opened his mouth first.

【Then what is the timeline she was originally in? Isn’t that also a world derived from Toegye Corp?】

Bozena tilted her head as if he had made a very strange analogy.

「That is the result of the Chief God exercising her power.」

【….】

「How can a sacred timeline, born because the Chief God wished for it, be the same as a timeline that occurred by mere accident? It is an inappropriate comparison.」

The woman who answered that looked over there with dry eyes.

Then, another black shadow appeared in the white background where there was no sign of anyone. I lifted my blank gaze and identified her. It was another old woman I knew well.

The three sisters of plausibility resembled each other like mirrors, so we had no way of telling who was who.

「It is something that the two of you cannot do with your own will, so it is right for us to help.」

「Let us do so. If that is the will of God.」

The woman who was talking to us suggested, and the newly appeared woman immediately agreed.

Then, the large scythe held by the young man disappeared with a swoosh.

I flinched and blinked.

In the meantime, the scythe magically changed places into the old woman’s grasp.

I didn’t have time to think deeply when I saw it up close, so I didn’t know, but looking at it again, Bozena’s weapon resembled something a lot.

“…”

I suddenly felt dizzy and closed my eyes. I felt like I was hearing a distant hallucination.

The smile of kind beige eyes now felt so far away.

Like a scene I only saw in my dreams.

‘Is this a scythe?’

‘Oh my. It’s a crescent moon.’

‘Ah. I’m sorry.’

‘I was already designated as the Crown Princess’s partner, so there was an opinion to carve the moon with the meaning of being with the little sun.’

“Huck, hoo, hoo…”

Then, as if predicting what would happen in the future, my breathing became rapid, and all the strength drained from my body.

I barely supported myself by holding the scepter.

My brother stroked my back with both wings, but I felt nothing as if his hand was touching anesthetized skin.

My head was empty, and even my will was breaking down.

What would my teacher do in this situation?

I have no power, but what if there is an incident I really want to stop right in front of me?

If none of us want that kind of ending, and if neither blackmail nor threats work anymore.

Would my teacher have discussed it with His Majesty first? Then….

-Swoosh!

“Wait a minute!”

The moment the old woman’s scythe cut through the air, I screamed at the top of my lungs and raised my head.

The cane that was about to press the large ‘Confirm’ button stopped in mid-air.

The two sisters turned to me with blank expressions at the same time. I know it well.

This time, the threat to ‘drill a hole in the interstellar space’ will not work.

According to Bozena, this is a ‘phenomenon’ that cannot be stopped even by their power anyway.

‘The reason I came here today is because I appreciate your ability to create such a scene.’

But….

‘If you want to make a deal, the game must be fair, right?’

There will definitely be room for negotiation.

“I can just ask the person involved.”

The voice that came out again did not tremble.

Jung Hyun-seo seemed to be whispering something to me, but I couldn’t feel it at all.

What filled my head now was only the experience of that night when I negotiated with His Majesty to save Lord Johann someday.

I stared straight at the two women and pronounced each word clearly.

“Let me meet the God you serve. Then I’ll deal with that side directly.”

「….」

「….」

【….】

Jung Hyun-seo looked at me with a dumbfounded look. I immediately added.

“Why? The Chief God exists, right? And creating a timeline is her sole power. Then the Chief God can save the Prince’s timeline, too. Isn’t that right?”

「….」

“I want to talk to your boss one-on-one.”

「….」

“I’ve been talking big to the Prince. I can’t watch over him there for the rest of my life, but I’ve told him a lot of things.”

‘…Still, I hope the Prince is happy!’

Too much.

‘The Prince’s family goes on unimaginable adventures, sneaks around the country with friends, and is sometimes scolded by adults. Always healthy and happy!’

‘Please be sure to tell your younger brother and sister about your adventures later. If possible, include our story too!’

“…So I want to keep my promise.”

‘I swear on the Hwareun of the Divine Kingdom that you will be safe. I will protect you.’

The Phoenix slowly lowered its head and put its head against mine.

All the sincerity I had uttered came back and pierced me like a dagger.

The Prince’s brightly smiling face or the cheeks where the orange sparks sadly flickered are now memories like a thorny bush to me.

I kept every word he gave me so vividly that it hurt.

His regrets, hidden desires, even small greed….

‘Thank you. For not forgetting me, who is dead.’

‘When I was in my hometown, my life had no meaning.’

Everything. It remains a moment I will never forget in my life.

“…You build a bridge to the Chief God. In return, I’ll do anything. How about it?”

I stared at the woman with the same monochrome face.

Perhaps it was natural, but she seemed shockingly devoid of any emotion.

Unlike me.

「…That is impossible.」

“Why?”

「Because the Honorable One has not yet accumulated enough plausibility.」

….

“Then what else do you need? Tell me.”

「….」

“Tell me? I honestly can’t understand the concept of plausibility you’re talking about, but I’ll listen to it once. Tell me. I’ll accumulate as much as I can by gritting my teeth. How much do I need?”

【Jung Yae, you’re excited. Calm down.】

No—

“Let go of me. Why do you need that damn plausibility! Huh? There are hundreds of millions of people living in the world, and we’re not running with a single ending set, so why do we need plausibility!”

【Jung Yae-seo.】

“I can’t understand it at all, so explain it to me right now! If you’re not doing this because you want to see someone go crazy, then what is all this about? It’s not even a novel anymore, so why do we need plausibility! Tell me!”

【Yaeseo.】

“Do you think I’m doing this because I really don’t know who the Chief God is? Don’t be ridiculous! I have a head and I have thoughts! Are you making fun of me because I’m being played by you like a fool? I’m struggling to death in my own way, and you don’t even feel like explaining it kindly because it doesn’t look good?”

【You’re going to get dehydrated like this. Stop crying….”

“Hey, you cowardly bastards! If you’ve taken a world hostage, you should give a proper explanation!”

-Kugugugung!

Before the tearing scream was over, a stronger tremor than before soaked my shoes and spread in all directions.

I turned to the old woman holding the scythe, frozen like a stone.

A terrible sound seemed to come from my hard-turning neck. Squeak, squeak, squeak….

‘Confirm’.

“Ah, ah…”

Under her black scythe, the square button could not withstand the pressure and crumbled.

At the same time, the warning window slowly sank to the bottom and disappeared.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing with my own eyes.

I hurriedly sat down and groped the floor like a madman.

The fallen scepter cried out again loudly.

“No, where did it go. This isn’t everything. Just closing one warning window doesn’t mean all the files are gone. Huh? Where did this go….”

-Swish….

At that moment, a flat figure began to rise from the floor where the window had been floating.

Pink, black, and white hair….

This time it was my friends.