#105

Am I crazy enough to receive a Blessing from a traitor?

Who knows what might happen if I did.

‘More than that, if something is twisted, it should be on my end.’

I’m a possessor, after all.

If the Record looks like a chronicle, wouldn’t it look like something else was inserted halfway through?

[How does my Record look?]

[If you receive my Blessing, then…]

‘Are you kidding me?’

Irritated, I scribbled aggressively over the Record’s lines.

[Fabio? I didn’t understand what you meant! Write it again.]

‘…….’

[But Fabio, your handwriting is terrible! It’s okay! My Blessing also has an effect that makes your handwriting neat!]

‘…At this point, I don’t even feel like getting angry.’

I wrote back calmly.

[Never mention the Blessing again. I have no intention of receiving it.]

[Why? Do you hate receiving a Blessing? My Blessing is useful! It’ll be a help! Really!]

‘Does this bastard have no awareness that he’s a traitor?’

What on earth does he gain by insisting I receive his Blessing?

If I get caught, he’s screwed too.

[Do you perhaps have some kind of intellectual disability? Your judgment seems to be severely lacking in every sentence you write.]

‘If he doesn’t snap back at this as an insult, I’m giving up on everything and going home.’

Still, surely he couldn’t fail to understand this…

[As expected of Fabio! You noticed!]

‘…….’

[It’s true that I have a problem with my intelligence! The original me was much more amazing! But now I’m in this state. Judgment! That’s a great word. Won’t you use more words like that?]

[You really became stupid?]

[Stupid! Yes. That’s exactly the state I’m in! I lost many Records. So I became very small. My intelligence went with it! That’s why my judgment is poor!]

‘…Is this what usually happens to a god whose Divinity is damaged?’

Now I see why he begged to be killed.

Even I would probably ask to be killed if someone told me, “I’m going to remove most of your brain and leave you with the intelligence of a pigeon! But it’s still better than being dead, right?”

‘But if most of the Records are gone…’

[…You said if I came to the Main Hall, you’d show me the truth that Order erased. Does that Record still remain?]

[Huh? No!]

‘Son of a bitch, really?’

[But Fabio, you can see it!]

‘What nonsense is this.’

[Order didn’t erase the Records. The further down you go, the more Records I have left. But a more powerful barrier of Oblivion is blocking them. When something I thought of in the lower floors comes up, I forget it…]

‘So he didn’t lose his Domain completely, but it was split into pieces and sealed?’

[Then why didn’t you tell me to go further down from the start?]

[That’s… because the me on the 4th basement floor wanted to see Fabio?]

‘What.’

Does each floor have a separate ego?

[Does the you on the lower floors not want to see me much?]

[He does! But I’m the only one who can touch the records on the wax tablet! That’s why I called you here.]

‘Should I call this multiple personality disorder…’

It’s not a perfect analogy, but to explain it simply, the ‘Record’ is currently in a state where his ego is split into ages like 5, 12, 16, and 25, and trapped on different floors.

‘And only the 5-year-old can touch the phone connected to the outside.’

Words the 5-year-old doesn’t understand aren’t transmitted outside. Therefore, the 25-year-old must endure the feeling of wanting to scream and jump around while searching for words a 5-year-old can understand to send an SOS request.

‘And while doing that, he has to hope the rescue request isn’t discovered by the culprit…’

…He must have suffered quite a bit.

I thought that perhaps dealing with his own stupidity was the ‘punishment’ the Record was enduring.

He’s basically building a history of cringe every single day.

[If I go down, won’t Oblivion notice?]

[Oblivion is stupid, so it’s fine!]

‘I don’t think you’re in a position to say that.’

Shouldn’t you be smarter than the person you’re calling stupid?

[Oblivion doesn’t remember what he’s doing. Even if he meets you again, he’ll act like it’s the very first time.]

‘…Really?’

Come to think of it, Oblivion told me to present the Sacred Relic first next time.

He didn’t say he would remember me.

‘I thought he said that because he’s just bad at distinguishing people…’

[If there’s content that no one must know, then Oblivion shouldn’t know it either, right? That’s the Restriction Order placed. Once Oblivion finishes his task, he immediately forgets what he did. Stupid fellow!]

‘…So that means what I faced was a kind of automated responder.’

After hearing the explanation, it made sense why Oblivion didn’t even ask about the origin of the ‘Sacred Relic’ or my identity.

Since his memory resets every time he performs a mission, from Oblivion’s perspective, there was no reason to be curious about ‘who this guy is’ in the first place.

‘That bastard Order is such a control freak.’

The less a person knows the context of their assigned task, the more effectively they obey orders.

Because if they don’t know what they’re doing right now, there’s no room for autonomous judgment.

‘At that point, he should have just killed him and turned him into a Sacred Relic.’

Why did Order bother keeping Oblivion alive?

For what?

[Do you know what Oblivion usually ‘handles’ around?]

[I don’t!]

‘…….’

I took a deep breath.

‘Let’s not get angry.’

Just from what I’ve learned, I’ve more than achieved the purpose of coming here.

‘It means I don’t have to worry about Oblivion eavesdropping when I meet Athanas.’

The moment Athanas forgot Oblivion’s name, the passage through which he could intrude would have disappeared as well.

The reason for demolishing a very useful passage at an additional cost is simple.

‘If the passage is left open, Oblivion won’t be able to distinguish which places he has already visited and where he needs to enter now.’

Therefore, a passage that has been used once must be discarded.

It was truly an extremely inefficient and irrational way of utilizing an ability.

‘…Now that I know, that Descent wasn’t something to be that afraid of.’

It was just like an automated responder, yet I had a mental breakdown based on mere assumptions.

‘As expected, isn’t fear born from not knowing enough?’

[Oblivion retreated after seeing the Sacred Relic. I wonder what he found out from it?]

[Show it to me for a moment. I’ll check what’s written.]

I took the Sacred Relic out from under my clothes.

[I can only read it if it touches the book.]

‘…Is it okay to make contact?’

Well, the Saintess hasn’t come looking for me even though I encounter ‘Distortion’ every day, so it should be fine.

As I lightly touched the edge of the Sacred Relic to the book, letters flickered into existence.

[This creature is under the protection of the Church of Order.

Do not harm it.

If injured, please help.

If within the Domain of Order, a guardian will appear shortly.

You have the duty to protect this creature so that it does not die until the guardian arrives.

If this creature is found outside the Domain, please bring it back into the Domain of Order.

Failure to follow the above rules will result in condemnation.

Guardian: The Saintess of Order.]

‘…What?’

Has what I’ve been carrying around all this time been something like a wildlife protection panel?

‘No, the content is extremely helpful, but…’

How should I put this…

It feels like I asked, “Oh my! Have you bestowed upon me something like the Mark of Cain?” because they said they’d make it so people wouldn’t dare touch me, only to be told, “No? I turned you into a quokka.”

‘I was a walking fine?’

[…This is an ‘Edict’! It’s a rule that any being belonging to Order must follow!]

[Is it a big deal?]

[Of course! It’s huge!]

‘Even if you say that, it doesn’t feel real.’

[Then why did the Saintess give me something so great?]

[How should I know?]

[…You also called me hope.]

[That’s because you are hope!]

‘No, there’s absolutely no information in your answer.’

Tell me what you knew about me before approaching.

[What do you know about me?]

[Your name, Fabio!]

[And?]

[I’ll tell you more if you receive the Blessing!]

‘…….’

I changed the subject.

[More than that, aren’t you bothered that I’m under the Saintess’s protection? Weren’t you hostile toward Order?]

[It would be troublesome to be caught by Order! But I’m not hostile.]

[Then why did you start a rebellion?]

[Rebellion? I never started one!]

[…Then why did you end up in this state?]

[I don’t know! The me on the lower floors probably knows. The me on the lower floors thought Order was a liar! But I forgot what lie he told as I came up.]

‘As I thought, there’s a limit to talking with this guy.’

If I want to have a proper conversation, I think I need to go to a lower floor.

‘…Wait, what if I’m being lured into thinking this?’

I decided to be more cautious before going down.

[Is it safe to go down to the lower floors?]

[Yes! Other people have gone down and it was fine!]

[What do you mean fine… who did you ask?]

[Columba!]

Columba?

I’ve heard that name somewhere…

‘…The Research Director?’

He tried to inform the Research Director of Order’s secrets?

[But Columba didn’t remember the conversation he had with the me below, so it wasn’t helpful.]

‘The Research Director is Ledeia’s apostle, yet he interacted with a traitor?’

Order is running in such a haphazard way.

‘That bastard Order… if he’s a control freak, he should be damn diligent.’

He operates the Church like some kind of cell organization, so the security is full of holes.

I sighed inwardly.

‘…Anyway, from the moment I came here, I’ve sympathized with a traitor.’

So, going down a few more floors won’t make much of a difference.

With the book open, I descended one floor.

[What is Order hiding?]

[You have to come further down.]

[How much?]

[More.]

I asked the question every time I arrived at a floor below, but the answer was always the same.

[Go further down.]

Having descended more than 8 floors like that, I slowly began to feel anxious.

‘Just how many basement floors does the Main Hall have?’

In the game, there were no basements at all…

I stopped.

[I’m not going if you just tell me to go further. Exactly how far down do I have to go?]

[That depends on what it is you want to ask me.]

‘…Something changed.’

Should I call it the handwriting, or the atmosphere became calmer.

After pondering for a moment, I wrote the question.

[How did you end up trapped here?]

[The Record corresponding to the 12th floor cannot answer that perfectly. I will explain, omitting the parts that cannot be spoken.

This library was originally a temple that served me. No, not just this Main Hall, but every library on the continent was a temple for me. Order cherished me very much. He declared that not only what is currently written, but everything that was once written, belonged to me.

As Order’s influence grew stronger, the Domain of ‘Record’ also grew. Then, when I became able to read records that had truly disappeared, Order commanded me. To find the records of the ‘lost past’.]

[The ‘lost past’?]

[Yes. What Order demanded was not just the past. He wanted to see the records of a past that had become non-existent. Surprisingly, layers of time were stacked in this world. Would it be understandable if I said this world itself is similar to parchment that has been erased and rewritten several times?]

‘Does this mean this isn’t the first timeline?’

[Among them, there were records of Order destroying this world. It was horrific. By digging through such records, what Order truly wanted to know was…]

‘What he wanted to know?’

[…I don’t know. The one on the lower floors can tell you. Anyway, I found out something, and I refused to answer Order. That’s why I ended up like this.]

‘In the end, if I want to know the secret, I have to go further down.’

That’s not hard, but I’m worried about going back up later.

The ceilings here are so high that one floor seems to be about three stories of an apartment…

‘Just how deep did they dig the basement?’

Is this possible with the architectural technology of this era?

While thinking such thoughts, after descending about six more floors, the Record suddenly spoke to me first.

[Fabio, knowing the truth might be dangerous for you. Why don’t you stop here?]

‘Why?’

From the Record’s perspective, isn’t it best for me to reach the very bottom?

That way, he can convey his true thoughts to the top.

[Some truths cause contamination… I vaguely know. I was contaminated by something. So, realizing that if I revealed this, Order would be permanently corrupted, I kept my mouth shut. This is…]

[What is it?]

[…Anyway, don’t come down.]

And then the letters disappeared.

I hesitated for a moment and then descended one more step.

‘No reaction.’

When I moved one more floor like that, the letters appeared again.

[…Um, are you still coming down?]

[I am immune to mental interference. I’ll probably be fine even if I touch that contamination.]

After realizing that Oblivion’s Descent was nothing more than an automated responder, I thought it was best to gather as much information as possible.

Normally, I would have turned around in a hurry the moment I saw the word ‘contamination,’ but I am different now.

I intended to go all the way to the bottom.

No matter what the Record said…

[Is that so? Then do as you wish. You, who are not Fabio.]

Chapter 106