Chapter 37

Chapter 37

I went outside the annex and, with a fluttering heart, called for a carriage. I bought the most famous cake from a large teahouse about twenty minutes away and then returned to the estate.

It had been such a long time since he had asked me for anything that a hum naturally slipped from my lips.

He was finally regaining his spirit.

If we talked little by little like this, he would soon return to his original self. After that, we would find a way to treat his legs together.

I believed he would overcome it quickly. The shell might have been Ran Winterbell, but the essence would ultimately be Van Descartes.

Humming lightly, I opened the door. At that moment, a cool breeze blew in through the gap in the open window.

But for some reason—

No matter where I looked around the room, I couldn’t see him. Goosebumps rose on the back of my neck, and in an instant, ominous imaginings flooded my mind.

“Yo… Young Master…?”

No.

It couldn’t be.

There was no way.

When I lifted my head and looked straight ahead, a rope connected to the window frame and a wheelchair left behind alone, without its owner, came into view.

“…N-no. It can’t be. There’s absolutely no way.”

Gripping my crazily trembling hands, I leaned my head out the window.

There was a man with a familiar face, his neck broken, hanging limply and swaying.

What was this?

What in the world was this?

What was I looking at right now?

My thoughts couldn’t keep up with what my eyes perceived. No—my brain already understood, but I myself was denying reality.

That was……

“Young Master.”

It was Ran Winterbell.

He was dead.

Then, what about the soul of Van Descartes inside him……?

…Was this the end?

I had lived until now just to see you……

Was it really ending like this?

My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the spot. My head spun. My vision turned completely white, and I couldn’t breathe properly.

“Why…….”

The blood throughout my body boiled violently.

Because I clenched my hands too tightly, red blood dripped from my palms, soaking the floor.

“Do I have to go through something like this again?”

The liquid that flowed from my eyes ran down my cheeks and fell to the floor. Perhaps because the blood vessels in my eyes had burst, red blood flowed out without stopping. My palms were completely stained red with thick blood.

“Why!!!!”

I didn’t care if my vocal cords tore. I didn’t care if my throat was cut. I screamed toward the sky with all the malice I had.

I knew that gods existed.

I hurled every curse and abuse imaginable at them. Shedding tears of blood, pounding my chest with palms where flesh had been torn away, I wailed in utter despair.

“Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back. Bring him back!!!!!”

Blood flowed even from my eyes that had lost their function. I spat out words that felt sinful just to utter, without pause.

I cursed, and cursed, and cursed, and cursed, and cursed again.

I slammed my head against the floor without rest as I begged, spewed abuse, then groveled, and then once more hurled curses before offering prayers.

I didn’t care if I died. I didn’t care if I was consigned to annihilation as I was. I didn’t care if I fell into hell.

So please, save him.

I beg you.

Bring him back. Please save him. Isn’t his life too pitiful? Isn’t this far too cruel, especially to him alone?

What did he even do wrong to deserve suffering like this?

What on earth did he do wrong? You fucking bastards.

At that moment, a voice came from the old watch I was holding in my arms.

[That damned voyeur has gone and pulled another prank.]

It was a voice that clearly carried displeasure. Yet the moment I heard it, I knew immediately. The owner of this voice was not human.

Had it responded to my call? Or had it appeared to punish me for the sin of insulting the gods? Whatever the case, it didn’t matter.

Right now, I had to seize this opportunity no matter what.

If it was a god, it might be able to save him.

[Unfortunately, reviving the dead is not within the scope of what I can do. Even if I could, there is no reason to violate established causality to do such a thing. In the end, that too would mean dancing in the palm of that damn bastard…….]

Please… please, I beg you.

[…However, it is also true that as long as you possess this watch, you hold the qualifications to make a deal with me. Even if that itself was that fellow’s intention, the rules do not change.]

If it could save him, I would offer anything. My skin, my flesh, my eyes, my organs—whatever it was, as long as it was something I could give, I would give it all.

So please, save him.

I beg you. Please save him.

Please…….

Nameless god. I will even offer my soul.

Please, save that pitiful man.

[My divine name is Klam, and the domain I preside over is ■■. Among humans, I am an old god long since forgotten……. Still, I am not a god so dull-witted as to ignore the plea of one who bears my holy relic. I find it distasteful to dance to that peeping tom’s tune, but this too must ultimately be part of the flow of causality. Even if everyone is being toyed with by that bastard, rules are rules. In any case, since you possess the holy relic, you are qualified to make a deal with me. As you wish, reviving that boy who has already died is impossible. However, it is possible in a slightly different way.]

A slightly different way…….

[I will turn back the time of the world.]

For some reason, I couldn’t hear anything about the domain he governed. But right now, something like that wasn’t important.

At this moment, I had to grasp this chance no matter what.

As a mere human, it wasn’t easy to believe such a grand statement as turning back time, but these were words spoken directly by a god. The only hope that could change this situation.

Even if it was a straw…… no, even if it was a rotten rope, shouldn’t I grab onto it?

[Possessing a holy relic only means you are qualified to make a deal with me. It does not become the price itself. This is a fair transaction. Puppet of fate. What can you give me?]

“I will give you everything I can offer, whatever it may be.”

The watch I was holding emitted light. Soon, it felt as though something invisible swept over my body.

[For someone who speaks so confidently, it seems you don’t actually have much you can give me.]

“What do you mean by that…….”

[Even so, it’s not as though we can annul the deal itself at this point. For now, I will take one of your arms. The remaining balance can be paid later, when the value of your time has grown higher than it is now.]

[Based on the current point in time, exactly thirty minutes. I will turn back the time of the world. You will be given only one chance, so you must do your utmost. Also, the arm offered as the price of the transaction will be recognized as having never existed in the first place due to the alteration of the world, so there is no need to concern yourself too much.]

This was not a simple resurrection.

World alteration.

Due to Klam’s authority, the entire world would be affected. Turning back the time of the entire world in exchange for merely one arm…… Did all gods possess such power?

How insignificant was a human before a god?

Countless questions arose before this power that was astonishing beyond belief, but this was no time to worry about such things.

[Strictly speaking, it is not just one arm. Do not forget that there is a remaining balance.]

“…Thank you. Even so, thank you very much.”

[There is no need for gratitude. From the moment you possessed my holy relic, you were already a human who met the conditions to trade with me. You simply completed the transaction safely by paying an appropriate price. Now then, I hope you obtain what you desire.]

The hands of the pocket watch began to spin backward, and soon my vision turned white.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

30.

31.

32.

.

.

.

.

1.

As the white light faded, my vision slowly began to recover. The wind blew. Because my left arm was now gone, my sleeve fluttered limply.

“Haah…. Haah….”

Panting heavily, I looked around. I could see the teahouse where I had bought the cake. It was a familiar scene.

The pocket watch I was holding no longer moved at all, as if it were broken—the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand all frozen. But I had no leeway to worry about that now.

There wasn’t much time.

I knew that at times like this I needed to stay calm and act rationally, but I couldn’t suppress my impatience. My heart beat irregularly.

‘A carriage. I need to find a carriage.’

I quickly found one, but the driver was nowhere to be seen.

I couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

If I gave it everything I had, I could arrive just barely in time. After reinforcing my entire body with mana, I kicked off the ground and leapt forward.

Perhaps because of the aftereffects of trading with a transcendent being, cold sweat flowed over my entire body, and every time I operated mana, my head throbbed as if it were about to split apart.

My breathing grew rapidly labored, but I pushed myself to go even faster. I leapt between rooftops at maximum speed.

Before I knew it, I had passed beyond the village, and a forest began to come into view. Each time I passed between trees, a tremendous roaring wind sounded in both ears, as if a typhoon were blowing past.

It felt as though the surrounding air was grabbing onto my body and dragging me back. On top of that, because one arm was gone, I couldn’t maintain my balance properly.

There was no helping it.

After living my entire life using both hands, losing an arm so suddenly meant there was no way I could run properly.

But I had to do it. If I had no feet, then with my ankles. If I had no ankles, then with my thighs. If I had no legs, then even if I had to crawl using my arms, I would go.

I had to save him, no matter what.

“Hah…. Hah…….”

At the fastest speed I could possibly manage.

Even as my muscles tore and my bones twisted, I kept stepping forward. Focusing solely on placing one foot after another, the annex finally began to come into view.

I didn’t know exactly how much time had passed.

…By my sense of it, about twenty-five minutes seemed to have gone by.

Please.

Please don’t let it be too late.

Passing through the maze-like garden, I rushed up the stairs. A fishy, metallic taste filled my dried mouth.

Please.

God.

Please.

I somehow forced my trembling legs to move.

After passing through the corridor, the door finally came into sight. Squeezing out the last of my remaining strength, I flung the door open and shouted,

“Young Master!!”

The open window and the wheelchair left standing alone. Cold wind flowed in through the gap in the window.

However, no matter where I looked inside the room, I couldn’t see him.