What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 827

Gemini (10)

There was still no major progress in the situation, and the weekend came again.

Time really flew by relentlessly. Scary fast.

My brother had a long-awaited appointment with his college friends.

Eunseo went to see Mom with her Seoul grandparents, bringing strawberries.

Naturally, I stayed home with Sir Johan.

Middle school friends suggested meeting up, but I declined, saying this week would be difficult.

Actually, I don’t have any special plans, and Sir Johan wouldn’t welcome the situation where I can’t go out because I’m taking care of him, but…

To be honest, I didn’t want to meet anyone.

I was crouching in a corner of the room, rummaging through my luggage.

“Anything would be fine… Is there really nothing…”

Of course, there was no miracle item to break through the frustrating situation.

The magic tool notebook that Princess Eliser had given to Prince Yeseo disappeared from the first day and couldn’t be found… So, my personal records were completely gone.

My brother’s desktop was also empty as if it were a lie.

Fortunately, the old smartphone still contained the story from there, so the world lines of my friends hadn’t disappeared or drifted away from us forever—but the content after I returned home was all displayed as squares and couldn’t be read.

The continent, freed from Bojena’s constraints, had become an unknown land that no one could decipher.

Thanks to one of my vessels remaining there, it avoided collapse, but paradoxically, the connection with me was completely severed.

Besides, Prince Yeseo would have been resurrected due to my wish…

‘…If that world no longer needs you.’

‘What if it’s a perfect world line without you?’

Perhaps only one ending remained there.

‘The world line doesn’t rely on you, and you no longer need to support the world line. You’re both free.’

‘Being free from each other…’

‘Ordinary people call that an ‘ending’.’

‘And they lived happily ever after.’ It was the ending everyone longed for.

However, the fact that I was not included in it was a bit overwhelming.

In addition, the Dongsan world line where we met the original prince… There wasn’t even a trace of it.

At least I should return Sir Johan to Herrit’s side, but I can’t think of any good way to do it right now.

To summarize roughly:

“…There’s really nothing. There’s nothing useful.”

The situation is desperate in many ways. At least for me and Sir Johan.

“Haa…”

My throat was parched. It was a thirst that couldn’t be quenched no matter how much water I drank.

I hugged my knees and looked down at the laptop screen that was roughly open on the floor.

A device connected to the cloud was displaying a single image.

It was a picture taken with my friends at the royal opera house…

“…It’s getting more erased.”

Only one photo.

Before I knew it, Ms. Gain and Cedric’s faces were completely invisible, and their hair was quickly losing its color.

However, Areum, Doria, and Charlemagne’s bodies were still clear…

“But I must not forget. I must keep remembering…”

I kept muttering in the empty room.

Knowing full well how difficult that goal was.

In our house, there wasn’t a single picture of my deceased father.

I could see many at my grandmother’s house in Masan, but there were none in our house.

The reason was, of course, because of my mother.

According to the doctors’ opinion that it would be better to remove as many traces of the past as possible that could stress my mother, the only frames left in the master bedroom were my mother’s college graduation photo, a wedding photo taken alone, and childhood photos of the three of us siblings.

All the photos taken with my father were moved to my grandmother’s house.

The act of simply removing the photos had a tremendous impact on us brothers.

As evidence, I…

“…I mustn’t forget like Dad. Absolutely.”

I didn’t remember my father’s face well.

His laughter and speaking voice were erased even before his face.

Then someone would say this.

It’s already been twenty years since your father passed away, so it’s not unreasonable to forget. You were too young, so maybe that’s natural. It’s really okay.

I, who have become an adult, know that very well too.

The problem is that even though I sometimes want to remember my father’s face or voice, it’s no longer easy.

It’s quite difficult to desperately want to remember but not be able to. So…

“…Stop being so pathetic, you bastard.”

I slammed the laptop shut and gritted my teeth.

I couldn’t afford to be sentimental.

Two days will pass quickly, and when I go to work again, I won’t have much free time during the week.

So, all thinking, concentration, planning, and organization had to be done within the weekend.

Where was I?

“Ah, right.”

I took a long breath, counting my fingers.

I have growth and six wings, but I have no use for them in this world. And I shouldn’t use them carelessly.

The divine artifact ‘Star Orb of Wishes’ is replacing my vessel, but…

“What’s the point of becoming the owner of a divine artifact or a cardinal?”

Apart from the fact that my body, including my stomach, has become very healthy, there is nothing I can do as I please right now.

The number of wishes that can be granted by the Star Orb was limited to three in total—the probability of that is absurd the more I think about it—Bojena says I used them all up.

So, even if I make a wish for myself, nothing changes, and only words like a New Year’s wish remain in my heart.

Even if I became a cardinal, I didn’t receive professional training as a healing priest, so it’s difficult to help anyone in the medical field.

All I did was memorize circles during the war…

“…”

Of course, I can’t cure my mother either.

Because my skills are not yet at a level where I can even dare to attempt such high-level healing.

I swallowed a sigh and moved my hands meaninglessly. It was then.

-Clatter

“…Ah.”

A piece of jewelry faintly shining among the trinkets caught my eye.

I recognized it at a glance.

“Holy Stone…”

To be exact, it was a Holy Stone necklace with a large crack in the middle.

The one I gave to Cedric as a birthday present.

It was returned to me after being replaced with a new one, then lost once after crossing over to Dongsan, and barely recovered while the two Cedrics were fighting.

And right next to it…

‘I’ll take this, and I’ll give this to the prince. And this… I’ll offer it to His Imperial Highness.’

‘Thank you, Princess.’

“…It’s our friendship ring.”

I chuckled and held the ‘Bireom’s Ark’ shaped ornament in my hand.

The small souvenir made of braided thread was won by Ms. Gain as a prize in Ryuka Village, our first travel destination.

‘Dagger Throwing Contest!’. That’s what was written on the sign of the night market where the lights were so pretty.

I still remember it clearly.

“…I should put this on my new phone.”

Eunseo might be a little sad, but it’s from Ms. Gain. This is something you can’t buy for a billion dollars.

I immediately attached the ark-shaped ring to my phone and raised the corners of my lips.

However, as the Holy Stone necklace barely fit into my palm, I lost my smile again.

I slowly closed my eyes and tried to take a deep breath.

The sensation of the jewelry touching my forehead was excessively cold. When will I have a good idea?

When will we be able to meet again?

“When on earth…”

-Knock knock

I flinched. I opened my eyes wide and looked in the direction of the sound.

Beyond the half-open door, the Cardinal was looking at me with a smile. Oh no!

“Sir Johan.”

“I hear today is ‘Chungmyung’ [a traditional Korean holiday marking the start of spring].”

“Yes?”

I didn’t understand his words at once.

As the man made eye smiles, this time white hair poured down over his shoulders like paulownia flowers.

“I heard that tomorrow is ‘Arbor Day’ and ‘Hansik’ [a Korean holiday where people eat cold food and visit their ancestors’ graves]. There are many interesting anniversaries here.”

“Ah, ah… Yes. The 24 solar terms.”

“That’s right.” As I answered with a deliberately bright smile, he slowly showed what he was holding in his arms.

It took me a few beats to realize it was my cardigan. Huh?

“Shall we go for a walk?”

“…”

The Cardinal suggested kindly.

I, who had been blank, grabbed my two phones and necklace and hurriedly nodded my head.

*

A couple of hours later, we were sitting by the 2nd-floor window of a cafe near my house.

“…And April 11th is said to be the anniversary of the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.”

“Wow. You even memorized such dates? Ah, I think ours is out.”

“Customer B-33! Your order of warm chai tea latte and…”

Hearing the cafe employee’s voice, I quickly went downstairs to pick up the drinks and bread.

Sir Johan thanked me for my serving and curved his eyes like a painting.

My mood had improved for several hours thanks to his smiling face.

It might have been the most enjoyable time since returning home.

The two of us took a big lap around Hangang Park, watched Herrit’s father ride a bicycle for the first time—of course, he was as skilled as someone born with a bicycle—and on the way back, we stopped by a convenience store together and bought a bowl of clam kalguksu [Korean noodle soup with clams] each as a snack.

The man had a pleasant expression throughout my rambling about trivial company stories, military stories, and explanations about the presidential system in Korea.

“So, well, no. I’ll show you right away. Last time during the election, my brother and I took a certification shot in front of the elementary school…”

I showed him a few pictures on my new phone.

The mint-colored eyes showed genuine interest.

The Cardinal said that he has been studying Korean history little by little with the cooperation of Jeong Hyunseo these days.

“A modern country where the people directly elect their leaders… Emperor Frederick would find it interesting.”

“Of course. He would be very happy. In Riester, it would be like all the members of the aristocratic council being elected by the people.”

“…”

“…”

With that sentence, the laughter faded for a moment.

I focused on preventing the corners of my mouth from drooping and looked down at the phone screen.

My face flickered over the half-darkened screen.

His Imperial Majesty, Riester. I had been pushing such thoughts to the back of my mind as much as possible.

…That’s what I believed.

“…”

What a deathly face, a deathly face.

“What would you like to do now, Gungju-nim [a respectful title, similar to ‘Miss’ or ‘Madam’]?”

“Yes?”

I quickly raised my head and looked at Sir Johan.

The man in the long coat had a face that was so generous and relaxed that it was impossible to fathom his inner thoughts.

There’s no way that’s possible.

“Because you’ve returned home.”

“…I want to find a way to go back there.”

I didn’t even want to think about other possibilities.

Perhaps that’s why a very firm voice came out.

I didn’t want to bury all the memories as if it had been just a dream for one night, comfort Sir Johan’s loss, and live out the rest of my life.

I bit my lip and lowered my gaze.

The new phone brightened again, displaying push notifications from several apps.

“I still… I still don’t see anything I can do specifically. But I will never give up. If I keep trying and don’t forget…”

“…”

“…Eunseo’s dream content is also becoming clearer and clearer. I think that probably has a meaning too. Of course, I don’t know at all right now…”

…Hmm?

“Wait a minute?”

I grabbed the phone and opened my eyes wide.

The phrase in the notification window I just saw was as clear as if it were engraved under my eyelids.

‘(Advertisement) The Greatest Fan Fiction Contest on Earth – You too can become a god of a new world!’

…Huh? This…