36 - Astilbe (3)

The lanterns that followed him illuminated the area around him. The flower garden he walked through was very strange. The scents of the flowers blended together as if they were creating their own fragrance, unlike at home where the scent of the flowers could be distinguished.

Lost in reverie, Eriu's mind flashed back to his first meeting with Axel, and also to a question that had suddenly come to his mind.

A question that completely convinced him that Axel was a liar.

The Peacon Kingdom is a kingdom built by humans. They came together and became one of the most influential kingdoms in the world thanks to their progress in developing magical tools. It can be said: Although they are not strong, they can compete with other races that are stronger and more blessed than them.

Humans can only use half of the power of nature, or what can be called mana, compared to the race of elves who can use the full power of nature.

Just like the dwarfs, they eventually developed their talent in the creation of things. 

But the difference is that humans have the ability to have a look beyond the end of their nose.

The path of the second prince will explain a lot about the conflict in the kingdom of Peacon. Even before the protagonist tried to approach the second prince, there were rumors that there was another civil war there.

It was said that the war began after rumors of the king kidnapping citizens and making them slaves for life.

But after the appearance of the second prince, the conflict suddenly disappeared. Everyone focused more on the genius prince who created a device that would become world history, Transwarp.

...

Which means that civil war is probably still going on.

In the game, the wizard, an incarnation of Gabriel himself, says that the Peacon Kingdom still looks at gender, status, and blood. Unlike other races, who is smart will be on top, who is strong will rule, and who is blessed will be worshipped.

So when Axel said that he was the illegitimate son of a nobleman, his guess went straight to two places, elves or humans.

That was why he suddenly remembered the letter.

Axel had probably fled because of the civil war, and his sister had died because of the social cruelty there.

But strangely, he felt that something was wrong.

It could be said that his journey with Axel was very pleasant. From the stories he told to the events that could make us both laugh. But every time he saw Axel's gloved hands, he didn't want to be touched by him.

He could smell a foul stench coming out of the gloves.

Eriu sighed, "Haa, it is not good to think too much. Why would he join the civil war when he just ran away to save himself?"

After he had calmed down a bit, Eriu slowly realized that he was close to the light at the end. The lantern that was with him was moving faster, which made him curious, and even he felt that the road he was on was moving. To make sure his surroundings were safe, Eriu looked back, finally opening his mouth wide. An amazing and terrifying sight appeared, huge roots that seemed to be trying to reach the sky, as if they wanted to reach the blue sky, until the tip of the roots could no longer be seen by the eye.

CRASHHH!

ROARRR-!!!

Just as he was blindsided, a roar of pain rang out as if shaking the earth. In an instant, a very fast light moved in front of him and killed the giant bird that was trying to attack him in an instant.

WHAT THE HELL-!?

"!!!" Before closing his eyes due to the pain of the sudden light in front of him, Eriu immediately took out the pocket knife he had in his robe and threw it at a shadow that was visible after the bird fell.

Tap, tap.

The knife stopped for a split second, as if by magic, the bird disappeared after he blinked his eyes to get his vision back to normal and at the same time, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps approaching him.

Along with the footsteps, an elegant voice was heard calling his name, "Eriu Grith?" The question made Eriu turn his head to see a woman with long, pitch-black hair and green eyes. Her mouth curved as she offered her hand.

Behind the woman, a small girl was looking at him.

'... I'm doomed.' Eriu thought. He had the feeling that this incident would be told to his mother.

"Thank you." Eriu feigned calm and held her hand. Shortly, Amiley pulled him up. 

Gulp...

Surely, he could not look at Amiley, let alone her daughter. He might have behaved as usual if he hadn't thrown the knife. Eriu bowed to Amiley right after he stood up, "Sorry... I really didn't mean to."

A few seconds after apologizing, nothing was heard from the person, even her daughter was still staring at Eriu with a displeased expression.

"Heh, you really are surprising." Amiley laughed, "That little knife would have stuck in my head if I hadn't reacted back then."

Hearing this, Eriu lowered his head even more.

Of course, this would definitely be reported...

Amiley held her daughter's shoulders, "Noah, say hello to your new friend."

"...?"

"...Uh?" 

Two children were staring at a person with the same reaction. One had a sense of confidence that he had been forgiven, while the other had a sense of betrayal.

The girl, Noah, played with her hands before stepping forward, "Hi..." Eriu greeted her as well with a smile that was as similar as possible to the smile Eros usually used, "Nice to meet you, I'm Eriu Grith, you can call me Eri!"

When he saw Noah blink his eyes a couple of times after that, he was sure that he had managed to clear his name once again.

He would have to thank Eros when he returned home.

Smiling softly, Amiley said to Eriu, "I'm sure you know who I am, so you don't need to be so formal with me."

 Eriu nodded, "Um!"

"I'm in your care."

 Noah looked at Eriu and Amiley with an envious look directed at Eriu.

"..."

"I want my mother to look at me like this.

After leaving the mysterious garden, Amiley took Eriu to her 'ordinary house'. When he saw the 'ordinary house', which was as big as the Taj Mahal, he felt his mouth start to throbbing.

His eyes were endlessly exploring the beauty all around him, even the entrance of the 'ordinary house' was just above a river that was covered with rain flowers. The sky was a pure shade of blue with a harmonious fragrance. If he held a phone now, he would surely take a picture of this place while opening a fantasy song that people often use when writing; POV: Writer or artist feeling this song.

Tak!

Amiley flicked her fingers and turned to Eriu.

"Woahhh!" He couldn't close his mouth as he looked up at the sky, where the clouds were slowly moving, forming an enormous wing.

Eriu's eyes went back to Amiley, and now his emotions were growing.

Ariadne had done the same once, but in maize soup. At that time, he had been astonished because it was the first time Ariadne had used magic in front of him.

Ariadne said that she was taught how to do this by her friend, and that's when Eriu started to believe that he could use magic too. He tried it many times, but it didn't work, so he was sad and asked 001, Isn't 'Eriu Grith' the first love of the protagonist? Why can't I use the magic?

That's when the truth came out.

That he was a chimera...

That was also the beginning of his diary. He wrote down the route of each love target and used the power of 001 to reach into his past memories.

But strangely enough, the fact that "he" could use magic was his memory of 'Eriu Grith'. 

They all entered the house. Seeing that Noah was still clinging to Amiley, he could tell that she still didn't dare to approach him. Amiley pointed to one of the couches, "Just put your stuff over there for now, and then follow me."

"Noah, stay here, if anyone else shows up, just leave them there until I get out, understand?"

Even though Eriu had his doubts, he did not ask any questions and did Amiley's bidding in silence. Eriu turned his head when he felt the gaze on him.

Noah flinched, which made Eriu realize that it was she who was staring at him so intensely. Slowly, Eriu opened his mouth to speak in a low whisper. 

Afterwards, Noah was left alone.

Noah knew why Eriu had to come here. Her mother had just explained to her at dinner that "this child" was sick and had to be treated before it ended badly.

His illness was his inability to tell what was real and what was not.

At that moment, the penknife was already in front of her, and that's when her mother's gaze changed. The first look, which she did not expect at all, changed instantly.

Her mother, who had forbidden her to befriend those who were useless, was now openly wishing for her to befriend him...

Of course, she was jealous of her mother's treatment of other people's children, but seeing how sincere he was, she couldn't say anything.

Later, let's play together!

"Friends." A blush slowly appeared on Noah's cheeks. 

***

Arriving at Amiley's workplace, Amiley opened a secret floor-hidden door. Following Amiley, the two of them went down to the secret basement?

Or was it a torture chamber?

There was no light, only footsteps echoing through the room.

The further they went down, the more Eriu wanted to return up. For no reason, his goose bumps stood up.

"Do you know what I am?" Amiley asked him suddenly. Eriu opened his eyes wide before he answered the sudden question: "...elf". Of course, it was because Eriu had seen with his own eyes that Amiley and Noah had leaf-like ears, which was one of the characteristics of elves in every fictional story.

"Half wrong and half right."

?

"We are here." Without any further explanation, Amiley stood still and pulled on the dangling rope. Soon, a glimmer of light could be seen from behind the slowly opening curtain.

The pungent smell of herb leaves seemed to waft out of Eriu's face.

In the strange herb room, a large table and two chairs stood in the middle of the room, obviously prepared, "Want to play a game with me?" Amiley asked.

This was definitely not a good idea, but somehow his heart was racing with euphoria, as if someone was playing a viola next to him. 

Eriu gave a thoughtless nod.

Unbeknownst to Eriu, Amiley smiled eerily before going to the shelf for a black potion.

The realization that he had agreed to this made him feel trapped. "Wait for me over there." Eriu turned his head in the direction where Amiley was pointing to the chairs and tables that had been there...

His sudden feeling of excitement was very suspicious as well. But his face remained calm and he sat on one of them. Amiley crossed to the other side and took a seat on the bench.

Then she put the potion in the middle of the table, "There is one question I would like to ask you." Amiley crossed her legs and tapped the table, "Do you think 'death' ever lies?"

...

When he realized which game was about to be played, Eriu froze.

Diroskuroi.

A game that was created by the Deus of Death, Sammael. 

Nobody knows who lies and who is honest, just play until the mirror kills you.

Look and watch for the liars. When you find them, point them out and kill them before death comes for you.

After the death of 'Eriu Grith' this game was introduced.

The protagonist is making a fuss to reach the top position, whoever and whatever the position of that person is, as long as he is above the protagonist, he will try to take the throne of that person, of course in a way that you can definitely guess.

Duel.

As the name 'Duel' suggests, defeat your opponent and become the victor who gets some prize.

This method is also used by someone to increase their status most efficiently and quickly. The protagonist is on the verge of defeat due to lack of strength, but at the end, he suddenly leaves everyone stunned. 

Protagonist wins. 

Before his head was cut off, a very powerful bolt of lightning appeared and burned the person on the spot. No flesh or bones were left, only ashes that flew past everyone there. 

The person the protagonist killed was of the 29th rank, it was the power that distinguished the protagonist, and without further ado, the headmaster asked the protagonist's request.

"Gather together all of the powerful people in this school."

Even though it sounded like an impossible request, the principal agreed to it, and the day of the meeting came. Everyone thought that the protagonist wanted to find someone who would support him, or in other words, to find an investor.

Everyone had gathered in the school hall, sat in the designated seats, and looked down as the protagonist went to the center of the hall where the light was shining on him.

The protagonist smiles innocently. With such a beautiful appearance, he naturally attracted everyone's attention without even noticing the two objects behind him.

The first sentence he uttered was, "My friend really likes to braid my hair, and he even complimented me that my hair has a very nice color."

Some people were confused and others were frightened by this first sentence.

"Once he asked me a question."

"In the life there are 2 numbers, and in the death there are 4 notes."

"Applause always says my name until I become 2 numbers."

"But the hands that have asked me to dance have made me to sing 4 notes."

"The sky weeps for me and the island tells my story at a time when the world laughs at me."

"There are only two choices: Laugh or Cry."

"Because I'm a coward, I seek the truth."

"Until it leaves me in an endless end."

It was at this moment that the protagonist showed us the two objects that he had brought with him.

The scales and the mirror.

"Who is the 'Truth'?"

The door was immediately under seal and the whole hall was in a state of pure power.

"The answer I gave was that the 'truth' was me."

"And now I'll ask you," the protagonist who was still smiling scared everyone, "Who is your 'truth'?"

Whoever tried to protest and say would make the protagonist regret and die along with the house he was proud of.

That was the beginning of the protagonist getting everyone's attention. 

He was the center of attention.

Desired him.

Imagined him.

Having him was like having the priciest price.

Everyone in the room had ideas, half picked mirror, half picked scales.

But everyone forgot the line, 'The 'truth' was me.'

Here the player decides what to choose.

Certainly the scales are the way to the next Arc, but not the mirror.

They all die, leaving 4 to survive.

After that, the protagonist comes out, and the scene begins to show 3 people hanging in the square, with their faces damaged from being stoned to death.

Of course, because they 'lied'.

Because they managed to survive.

In response to the question, what about the headmaster?

He was still alive, but his body was as stiff as a piece of glass, and someone had to take his place.

The first time he got a bad ending was after he had played this game for two hours.

Phew...

He shook his head, "Death never lies. " Amiley laughed, "You're right.

"Death will never lie unless Death itself tells it."

"I need to know what happened to haunt you, but I know you will lie to avoid asking." Amiley said, and without any preamble she continued: "And I need to test you on one thing."

"Like a butterfly that attracts someone with nectar, we never know the future unless someone foretells it."

"?" Eriu frowned, confused by her words.

What does that have to do with butterflies and nectar? Of course, we never know the future.

"Then it's time for a start." Amiley poured the black potion and instantly a mirror appeared in front of them, a reflection of their faces.

Sounds were heard, and in the middle of the black liquid, a puppet stood up and danced, with the giant puppet hand above it moving the puppet.

Before Eriu could process everything, a simple mask was placed over his face.

The laughter from the puppet's voice made his skin crawl, and the puppet turned and pointed at the two people there.

[From the look on your faces, there's no need for me to explain the rules to you.]

On the puppet's face, an evil smile appeared.

[Then let's begin-]

[This thrilling game!]

.

.

.

A soft humming could be heard from the woman wearing the black veil as her hand looked down at the card she was holding. Unfortunately, the person in front of her had already turned into nectar, so the woman could not share in the good fortune.

As he turned into blue nectar, even his ring dissolved with him.

Death.

A death card depicting a person embracing a severed head where everyone is dancing with smiling faces.

What is the meaning of death?

Maybe the story of death is like the picture on the card. 

Farcical.

Haha, so of course the meaning of death should be similar to the card.

Revenge.