312 – Beautiful World
“···Sharon?”
I was a little taken aback when an unexpected person blocked me.
Didn’t you go down to have lunch with the kids?
What does it mean to have more to say than that?
I was momentarily worried. I thought, why not just ignore it and pass it by?
This is a world we will leave at midnight tomorrow anyway. There would be no point in giving affection to the Sharon of this world for no reason.
But human emotions do not operate rationally.
Even though I knew in my head that this wasn’t a wise choice, I couldn’t coldly ignore Sharon in front of me.
“What’s going on? “I want to go to lunch quickly.”
I tried to avoid this uncomfortable situation by being as pretentious as possible.
Despite my efforts, Sharon blocked the hallway and stared at me with sharp eyes, as if she would never let me get in the way.
“Tell me honestly.”
“···What?”
“I know you’re hiding something.”
A heavy blow that hits you with a sudden blow.
Calm down. That’s just a rumor. That said, he never showed any unusual words or behavior that would have caught Sharon. In fact, this is the first time I have a proper conversation with her alone.
There is no way he would have noticed. Since she has always been very perceptive, she probably felt a slight sense of discomfort in my appearance and just glanced at it.
“You’re hiding it. “Isn’t there something like that?”
I tried to hide my agitation and answer calmly, pretending like nothing was wrong.
“Then what do you mean by what you said yesterday?”
At Sharon’s next words, my composure, which I had barely maintained, collapsed.
Yesterday… Why does the word yesterday come out of your mouth?
There is no ‘yesterday me’ in this world.
For me, all I remember yesterday is going to Ireland and causing Eldina.
That incident happened on the other side of the world. I came here only a few hours ago when I accepted the test given by Goddess Fate.
Then, of course, this world would have been created a few hours ago.
In other words, in this ideal dream world, ‘yesterday’ should not have existed.
···Is that really the case?
From the moment I heard Sharon’s words, one possibility popped into my head.
The goddess said that both worlds are real and true worlds.
This means that this world is not a stage created by the goddess of fate to test me, but a separate reality that has been building its own history from the beginning.
In other words, the current Academy, where everyone has reached an unreasonably happy ending, is not the result of someone’s intervention, but a perfect world line that was created according to a natural flow from the beginning.
And there was also ‘me’ in this world.
Until yesterday, there was another me who was born and raised in the other side of the world, who went to the academy with everyone and lived a happy daily life.
Then what now?
“······.”
Disappeared. To be more precise, it was overwritten with my memories and personality from when I lived in the other world.
When I realized that fact, I suddenly felt dizzy.
I had a scary thought.
What happens when I leave this world and go back to normal?
Will everything go back to the way it was? If not…
The worst possibility imaginable.
What happens to the world left behind the moment I leave here?
Will the original owner of this overwritten body be revived and live his daily life?
Or does it remain as an empty shell, virtually facing a state no different from death?
Will the women left behind continue their lives day after day in a world where I am gone?
If so, can the world after that really be called a world as perfect as a dream?
Up until now, I had only focused on the world on the other side.
If I don’t return to the original world, the precious people left there will have to live in a future without me.
But only now have I realized that this world may be no different.
It was a world that seemed perfect, but even if I suddenly died here, would the girls left behind live happily?
No. That can’t be possible.
In the end, the happiness in this world that was created like a miracle will be shattered.
“Look. It’s strange after all. “He just frowned without saying a word.”
When I was suffering from the realization of such a cruel reality, Sharon came closer to me, held my cheek, and made eye contact.
“I am…”
There was no follow-up.
I had no idea what to say, so I just kept speechless.
It might disappear at midnight tomorrow? Or that the world itself could collapse?
Either way, it’s a terrible ending.
If I hadn’t realized that a world like this exists, I wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.
Even to this day, my conclusion, which has remained in the back of my mind, has not changed at all.
I think it is right to return to the original world.
But if I do that, this world might collapse.
Unlike the reality I was in, everything here was perfect from the beginning. I have to destroy that perfect world with my own hands.
Turn away. Ignore it.
If you didn’t know anyway, it’s as if it never existed in the first place.
It’s a problem you don’t need to worry about. Of course, for me, there is only one true reality.
This place is just a passing dream.
No matter how beautiful and happy a dream is, in the end, it is nothing more than an illusion that one day you will wake up from.
When you wake up, the dream disappears. Once you become aware of reality, soon even the contents of your dreams become blurred and you end up completely forgetting them.
It is the same. Even if this world is ‘objective reality’, to me it is just a fleeting dream.
It will eventually disappear.
Eventually it will be forgotten.
“Cro. Don’t struggle alone. “Please rely on us.”
Sharon lifted her heel slightly and gently placed her forehead against mine.
There is no way to ignore that warmth and think it is fake.
I gritted my teeth and took a step back, feeling like I was about to burst into tears.
The warmth that proves this place is real. As if to say it wasn’t a dream or fantasy, Sharon was alive and breathing, reading my heart and gently embracing me.
You must turn around and run away with all your might right now. After leaving the academy, you have to stay at home and wait until after midnight.
We must no longer be influenced by this world.
···But I couldn’t do that.
“Wait a minute, leave me alone…”
As I barely managed to hold on to my leg that was about to collapse, I earnestly asked Sharon.
“Everyone is worried. “Please don’t forget that fact.”
To me now, it was the most merciless and cruel word than anything else.
It felt like the warmth contained in those words would set my heart on fire.
Sharon slowly left the hallway and disappeared.
After a few minutes had passed since she was left alone, she barely let out her rasping breath and struggled to move from her seat and return to her class.
Everyone went down to the cafeteria and found an empty classroom.
After a while, they will come back after lunch.
It is dangerous to encounter it in this state.
It was this much with Sharon alone, but if you talk to other people and become closer…
As expected, it cannot continue like this.
I decided to leave the academy early, even if it meant cheating, and headed to the teacher’s office.
I myself understood more completely than anyone else that I was running away in an unsightly manner.
But I felt like my heart would break if I didn’t do that.
At this crossroads where I have to give up one of the two, I must choose something.
Choice means giving up one thing.
The moment I affirm this world, I may no longer be able to give up on it.
It’s so scary that only pathetic thoughts fill my head that it’s best to just close my eyes and ignore it.
Fortunately, the teacher believed my trick without much doubt.
While everyone was chatting happily during lunch, I packed my bag and trudged to the school gate alone.
I didn’t want to run into them, so I moved as fast as I could.
If I had encountered even one person along the way, my precarious decision might have collapsed like a sand castle.
The worst did not happen. I succeeded in getting out of the school gate safely without encountering anyone.
I finally regained some composure and looked up at the sky blankly.
Blue sky without a single cloud.
It was the perfect sunny weather for swimming.
Somewhere in my heart, I was still worried.
What will happen to this world when I return to the original world?
Will it disappear completely? Or will the world continue without me?
It would be difficult to call either one a happy ending.
I wanted to blame the goddess of fate for giving me such a cruel choice.
What on earth does this have to do with the power to defy fate?
Either way, a miserable ending awaits.
Just as she was thinking that, she noticed the image of a woman passing in front of her and her eyes widened.
Without realizing it, I grabbed her shoulder roughly and shouted.
“Goddess of Fate!!”
Then Princess Victoria flinched, turned her body and looked at me.