"Destroy all useless subjects. Incinerate them and prepare the 14th generation of Muria."
I thought I had seen enough suffering to last a lifetime.
"It hurts... Please, it hurts..."
I thought nothing could surpass the tragedies of the Magitech Engineer or the Demon God.
"Endure it! Do you have any idea how much money and time we’ve spent on you? Pain is a trivial matter!"
I never imagined that a Constellation, a god of wisdom no less, could have endured even greater torment.
"You! You monster! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!"
And yet, she was still trapped in that horrific pain.
I had been naïve.
I thought no shackle, no matter how strong, could break the spirit of a god.
I thought that no matter how agonizing her memories, reliving them through dreams would be manageable.
And yet, there I was, smiling as I thought about turning her story into a game.
Planning how to integrate her tale into the Archive, how to balance her as a character, and how to create events inspired by her pain.
It was pathetic.
"No... Please, stop..."
The sound of her anguished groans as a Constellation shattered me.
I couldn’t bear to sustain her nightmare any longer.
I had thought I could create a game from her dreams and help her heal through her curse.
But—
Shatter!
"I’m sorry, Constellation."
I could no longer stand idly by.
I reached through the veil of her dream that imprisoned her and extended my hand.
"I’m truly sorry for making you relive such painful memories."
Her pain, her suffering, her sorrow—
I could not even begin to fathom their depth.
"I think I can break these chains."
A curse of knowledge?
The more she knew about the continent, the stronger the shackle grew, and her divine power prevented her from dispelling it?
Then let’s see.
Let’s see whose knowledge is vaster, whose will is stronger.
Can this curse withstand everything I have?
Hum!
Through the crumbling remnants of her dream, I unleashed my own.
My golden hair darkened, shifting to a deep black as my present self faded away and my past self emerged.
The world of my imagination overlaid hers, replacing her despair with something new.
"Would you mind indulging me for a moment? I’m going to shatter this ridiculous curse right now."
The world around us transformed.
Though I held few fond memories of it, my homeland—now a distant memory—filled the void.
It was nothing like Reiphania, with its magitech-fueled advancements.
Flashing neon signs filled the streets, their dazzling colors reflected on the towering concrete buildings that stretched endlessly toward the sky.
Stepping onto the sidewalk with her, I knelt on one knee, extending my right hand, palm up, toward her.
"You..."
"Your nightmare ends here, Princess."
Even if this world was a fabricated dream,
Even if it was a lie born of imagination,
If it could soothe the wounds left by her cruel reality,
"Let me show you. The knowledge beyond, that will free you, Princess."
She took my hand.
Her cheeks flushed a soft pink, perhaps from the relief of escaping her torment.
"Please... take care of me..."
"With utmost devotion," I replied, bowing as if escorting a noble lady.
I led her forward, like a knight pledging his life to his liege.
***
"Wow, that's such a massive river!"
"It's called the Han River. Isn’t the night view breathtaking?"
"...Yes... It’s truly beautiful."
The girl, following the boy's guidance, marveled at the vast expanse of lights illuminating the river on the dark night.
A sprawling nightscape of vibrant colors, vastly different from anything she had known in Reiphania.
Even with the divine power of wisdom, she had never encountered anything as magnificent as this otherworldly sight.
Thump!
Another layer of the weight that had been crushing her mind peeled away.
"Wow, it’s huge!"
"Isn’t it incredible?"
She craned her neck, trying to take in the towering structure before her.
Even with all the advancements in magitech on Reiphania, no tower of this scale had ever existed.
Not even the legendary towers said to have been destroyed by the wrath of the gods could compare to its grandeur.
How could such a thing even exist?
Was it some form of magical engineering?
Her divine knowledge offered no explanation.
Thump!
Another heavy layer of her mental shackles fell away.
"They’re moving so fast without any mana!"
"Careful! That’s dangerous!"
The boy quickly pulled her back from the road as she wandered too close to the speeding cars, nearly getting hit.
Caught by inertia, she found herself pressed into his arms.
"Are you alright?"
"...Yes."
Her voice was barely audible, soft and timid.
Thump, thump, thump, thump!
Her heart raced, faster than it ever had before.
"Look at that long vehicle!"
"Wow! It’s so long!"
They stood before a subway station, watching as countless people boarded and disembarked from the trains.
"How does it even move?"
"I’m not entirely sure... Maybe electricity?"
"...Electricity?"
Was that the same force as lightning magic?
Could such destructive power also be used to create something so functional?
Once again, her existing knowledge could not explain what she was seeing.
Thump!
The remnants of her mental chains grew thinner and more fragile.
"Rides...?"
"They’re a bit different from the ones in Reiphania. Want to try one?"
The roller coaster’s rapid twists and turns filled the air with excited screams.
"Kyahhh!"
Clinging tightly to the boy during the ride, the girl shrieked in both fear and exhilaration.
The boy laughed at her reaction, though he failed to notice the small, genuine smile forming on her lips.
"People usually take pictures here. Would you like me to take one for you?"
"N-No! Let’s take one together!"
Grabbing his arm and clinging tightly, she dragged him along. The boy chuckled and asked a passerby to take their photo.
"Col-pop...?"
"Yes, would you like one?"
The girl took the cup the boy handed her.
As he skewered a piece of chicken with a toothpick and brought it to his mouth, she opened hers wide.
"Ahhh."
"...What are you doing?"
"Ahhh!"
She pointed to her open mouth.
"You... want me to feed you?"
"Ahhh!"
"Alright, alright! Here you go, Princess!"
Thump, thump, thump!
The countless experiences they shared at the amusement park, filled with joy and laughter, tore apart the last vestiges of her mental chains.
Where should we go next?
The boy mentally cycled through a list of potential destinations, including Myeong-dong, a favorite spot for foreign visitors.
"Prince!"
"...Yes? Did you call me?"
He turned to where the girl was pointing, her finger aimed at a brightly lit sign.
[ADULT STORE]
"What... what kind of place is that?"
"Uh... well... It’s...."
What was he supposed to say?
How could he explain this?
Besides, hadn’t he configured her settings so she could read all the languages? She had to know what it meant!
"I don’t know what it is. Can we go inside? Please?" she asked earnestly.
"Umm... I’m sorry, but I haven’t been there myself, so it probably hasn’t been rendered properly."
"...I see."
"Yes, that’s right."
"Hmm~. I understand."
The girl turned away with a cryptic expression.
"Prince."
"Yes?"
"Have you ever had a lover before?"
"...Why do you ask all of a sudden?"
"I’m just curious."
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.
The boy failed to notice the dark, possessive glint flickering in her eyes.
"Prince! That iron thing is flying!"
"That’s a submarine. It goes underwater."
"Wow! An elevator that goes this high!"
"There are no other races here? ...Oh, just humans?"
"Ta-da! What do you think of this outfit, Prince? Isn’t it pretty?"
"Run! Prince, I want another one of those!"
"Did you just splash water on me? Take this!"
The boy and the girl traveled across the Earth.
Even with all its magitech and civilization, Reiphania couldn’t compare to the breadth of modern Earth’s advancements.
A culmination of human ingenuity built without the aid of magic.
Each stunning sight shattered her remaining mental chains piece by piece.
"Ah, Prince. I’m so happy."
"Are you?"
I’m glad.
The boy offered a faint smile.
The shackles that had bound her were nearly gone now.
If modern Earth’s knowledge hadn’t been enough, he had been prepared to pull from fantasy works or even martial arts worlds, but it seemed unnecessary.
"Where shall we go next? Is there anywhere you’d like to visit?"
There were still many places they hadn’t explored.
Maybe they could visit foreign landmarks next.
Though he had never been to these places in real life, he had seen them in enough media to recreate them accurately.
As he pondered their next destination, the girl approached him.
"This time, I want to go there!"
"Where...?"
He turned to look at the glowing red sign she was pointing at.
MOTEL.
...What? Where did she want to go?
"Ehehe."