Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

“My future self tried to kill me?”

After calming Sharmia down, I told her that the woman in the mirror had actually been an enemy, while hiding as many other facts as I could.

Between the Assassin’s true identity, the shattered hand mirror, and the knight’s testimony that his master had been talking to someone through it, I was able to help her understand the situation.

Sharmia blinked in surprise at the story, which sounded like something out of a science fiction novel, about her future self trying to kill her.

“Then the Ark must have been a lie too. I thought it was strange how kind that old elf was being. And the claim about being able to extract memories was absurd… If I’d just gone along with it, I probably would have ended up dead.”

Then she pieced it together on her own and accepted it. Azrael’s ability was certainly a bewildering one, no matter how much magic existed in this world.

Even though it was real.

“I think I know why my future self tried to kill me.”

Sharmia nodded in understanding. “She probably thinks that because I made certain choices, she ended up the way she did. It means I come to regret them.”

“If you know that, then wouldn’t you just avoid doing anything you’d regret?”

“I’d like to. If something is destined to fail, it’s better not to attempt it at all.”

Sharmia rubbed the tears from the corners of her eyes. Despite her actions, her voice carried a quiet confidence.

“But I succeeded.”

“How so?”

“The reason my future self tried to kill me, I think it’s because something happened that I’d regret, one way or another.”

“…?”

“If I had failed, nothing would have happened. I’d simply die and that would be the end. In that sense, I believe I achieved what I wished for.”

“What is your wish?”

“To make sure that no one dies without ever knowing happiness.”

Sharmia’s goal was never really about saving the world.

Even if a rain of fire fell and melted everything away.

At the very least, she wanted to ensure that no one lived in agony only to die in agony.

“…If I could stop it, that would be ideal, of course. But honestly, it seems impossible. Along the way, I’d make some kind of mistake, and because of that my future self would suffer, so she’d just decide to kill her past self instead. Don’t you think that’s probably how she reasoned?”

Sharmia thought it over carefully and arrived at her answer.

I swallowed dryly as I looked down at her.

…No.

Sharmia’s purpose had never changed, not once, from beginning to end.

‘So that’s how it happened.’

The present Sharmia and the future Sharmia both knew the same truth.

That no matter how desperately one struggled, a fixed future could not be changed, and that trying to change it would more likely produce only worse outcomes.

Then why had she chosen to intervene?

The answer was simple.

The two of them had shared the same purpose all along.

I forced my troubled heart to settle and asked.

“If you cannot find a way to stop the Calamity, what will you do?”

“I’ll send everyone off in a more painless way.”

Sharmia met my gaze with an expression full of conviction.

“Plague or war… those are too cruel, so maybe I’d use magic. The day may come when I borrow your magic. Since I know the future, before such a Calamity arrives, city by city, I’d send everyone off peacefully, so they’d never even realize the Calamity had come and could end their lives as humans in peace. That’s what I want to create.”

“…Do you truly believe such a thing is possible?”

“With my position, I can either help them or kill them.”

And that was the disastrous outcome.

I didn’t know exactly what the Calamity was. She had never told me.

But if it was dozens of times more horrific than an ordinary death, so unbearable that one would choose to flee by having their memories washed away…

Then perhaps the best response was to live happily, never knowing it was coming, and die of natural causes just before it arrived.

Sharmia was saying she would accomplish that for every citizen of the Empire.

“I told you the story about the person trapped inside walls of steel, remember?”

“Yes. You did.”

“I’m going to sing that person a gentle lullaby. It’s far better than doing nothing at all.”

For someone who had spoken with such confidence, she hesitated for a moment before asking cautiously.

“Am I wrong to do this?”

“No.”

The reason the future Sharmia had joined the Crimson Circle?

It was most likely at the same point she realized the Calamity could no longer be stopped.

She had chosen the Crimson Circle as a means to quietly lead every subject of the Empire to slaughter.

The present Sharmia knew she would join the Crimson Circle and thought nothing of it.

…Because she had harbored that very purpose from the start.

‘She intended to use even the Crimson Circle as a tool…’

I gripped her hand firmly and helped her to her feet, feeling genuine awe toward this small child.

“You will see it through. Without fail.”

“…”

Sharmia would see it through.

She would eliminate orphans from the Empire, rid the streets of thugs, and build a nation where people lived with smiles. The Empire of the future was peaceful and beautiful. It was a nation where everyone was happy.

And she would pour every ounce of strength into trying to prevent the Calamity. It wasn’t as if she simply gave up and decided to kill everyone. Once she discovered the ability of Regression, she would die hundreds, thousands of times over, struggling to stop it.

That was, truly, an utterly inconceivable thing.

Because by that point, she already knew. That an insurmountable Calamity was coming, and that she had, in fact, failed to stop it.

Refusing to give up would only bring her endless suffering and despair.

If there were even a 0.00001% chance, one could take on the challenge. One could hold onto hope.

But if it were 0%, if one already knew of a future self who had failed…

Who could possibly push forward with such determination?

The sole Superhuman the Empire had ever produced.

Sharmia did exactly that.

“…Um, I’m aware I’m saying some pretty strange things here.”

She was actually taken aback by my admiration and furrowed her brow.

“Is this okay? What I’m essentially saying is that I’d override everyone’s wishes and become a dictator, isn’t it? Shouldn’t you, as the adult here, be trying to stop me…?”

“If the dictator is an emperor who knows the future, everyone would welcome it.”

I had actually seen that very future.

“Besides, this is neither a truth that can be shared nor one that people would believe. If it were me in your place, Sharmia, I would have made a far less considered judgment.”

“Like what?”

“…I’d probably just wipe out all of humanity.”

If Void had been listening to what I just said, he would have been delighted.

I shuddered in disgust, and Sharmia let out an incredulous laugh.

“How could you arrive at that kind of judgment? I still have no idea what kind of person you are.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you yet.”

It was something I couldn’t reveal. If I showed my face here and now, the future would twist in another terrible direction.

When I bowed my head in refusal, Sharmia stared at me quietly for a while, then after a long silence, spoke up cautiously.

“W-What if.”

“Yes.”

“Could you help me with this plan of mine?”

“Pardon?”

“I know full well what kind of path I’m walking.”

The Princess clenched her fists tight and trembled.

She seemed to understand the weight of the choice she had just made.

“I don’t think I can walk that path alone. I mean, the moment I learned the future, my first instinct was to run away. I’m just too immature.”

“Yes. I will help you.”

“Of course, all I could offer in return would be a title like duke at best… wait, what?”

My words were half lie, half sincerity.

I understood her reasoning and the cause that had led her to such a conclusion.

If she chose to challenge an impossible outcome just as I had, I would help her.

There was only one difference.

Even if I were crushed miserably as a result, I had no intention of choosing a comfortable death.

“I will help you. Without fail.”

“…Really?”

Hiding those thoughts as I answered, I felt a pang of guilt when I saw Sharmia’s face light up.

From now on, the Princess would die alone several times over and gradually grow into the Sharmia I knew.

When that time came.

“I mean it.”

Not right away, but without fail.

I poured that feeling into my answer, and Sharmia smiled with joy before making a request.

“Th-Then. Could you make it so that I was kidnapped rather than that I ran away?”

“Pardon?”

“If it comes out that I ran away, the Head Maid won’t be safe either, and everyone probably already thinks it was a kidnapping anyway, so if it turns out I ran away that’s my fault, and besides, you could escape even if you were sentenced to death…”

I stared at her in disbelief for a moment, then nodded.

“Understood.”

Since I was going to leave soon anyway, I could hand out empty promises as freely as I liked.

“Thank you… Um, what should I call you from now on?”

“Hmm.”

After a moment’s thought, I offered her a name that came to mind.

“Karos. Please call me Karos.”

***

The Imperial Palace.

A harsh atmosphere hung over the office, packed with retainers gathered for the emergency council, and no one dared speak first.

While all the distinguished nobles cowered like ostriches with their heads bowed to the floor, glancing nervously at one another in anxious silence…

-Bang! Alletus threw the door open, strode up to the Emperor who stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gave a brief bow, and delivered his report.

“Given the urgency, I’ll forgo the formalities. We’ve searched the entire Capital and found a carriage matching the one that disappeared. A pursuit is underway.”

“…I see.”

The Emperor’s voice was low, bordering on somber.

“If traces have been found, then she cannot have gone far.”

“Yes. I’ll dispatch the pursuit unit immedi…”

“You all seem to have plenty of time on your hands.”

“…Pardon?”

The Emperor turned around and glared at the nobles with their heads buried, his eyes sharp as a blade.

The fury of a father who had lost his daughter fell upon them without a shred of restraint.

“Leave. Bring me the next piece of news, anything at all.”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

“We shall carry out Your Majesty’s command!”

The nobles slammed their foreheads to the floor in haste and scrambled out.

When Alletus also gave a brief bow and left, only the Emperor and his knights remained in the office.

“Leave. I wish to be alone.”

“…But, Your Majesty.”

“I will not say it twice.”

The Imperial Guard Knights, who under normal circumstances could not step more than three paces from the Emperor’s side, swallowed hard under the weight of his overwhelming tone and filed out of the office.

For a long while, the Emperor exhaled heavily, then looked up at the portrait hanging in the center of the office.

[She will return.]

And then.

The portrait spoke.

His own face, set within the frame, began to speak in the very same voice.

But the Emperor merely clenched his fists in silence and listened.

[You missed your chance. You should have taken your own blood’s life before she turned ten.]

“…”

[Your weak heart cast her into hell. The Priestess will be trapped in the cycle of death as the prophecy foretold, and she will be ground down until she gives up. This is of your own making.]

“…Enough.”

The Emperor let out a quiet sigh and lowered his head.

“I believed that fate could be changed.”

[A pathetic excuse.]

The portrait gazed upon the Emperor with contempt.

Then, as if delivering a death sentence, it spat words dripping with loathing.

[Your time is over.]

“…In the end, ack, ugh!”

Mid-sentence, the Emperor coughed up a mass of blood.

Again and again, until the floor was stained red.

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“What’s happened! Dear heavens… Your Majesty! Summon the physician at once! Now!”

The knights who rushed in were horrified at the sight of the blood-soaked floor and hurried to support the Emperor.

[Now, every last grain of sand remaining in this world will fall downward. All because of you.]

“…”

All the while, the portrait continued to glare at the Emperor and hurl its curses, but…

Not a single knight noticed that the portrait was speaking.