The next day.
I decided to keep reading the diary.
That said, it seemed like he hadn't written in the diary for a while after
The paper quality had changed from where I'd read yesterday.
The gap was a year, maybe two. Or perhaps even longer — five years, ten…
I couldn't tell what had happened during that time.
But the content of the diary had shifted into something rather crude.
Comments about some girl's chest he'd spotted in town, her rear, picking up the new waitress at the bar, touring brothels and ranking which ones were best. It read like the diary of some brain-dead delinquent.
Some truly vile stuff was in there too. One entry even ranked the women he'd slept with.
Was this really me?
Was this what I'd become, once Sylphie and
Well, I supposed he'd spent those years living as a pickup artist. The locations weren't spelled out clearly, but a few familiar shop names came up, so it was probably the magic city Sharia.
The only familiar names that surfaced now and then were
Unbelievably, even back then I'd set my sights on Julie. After all her effort following mine and Zanoba's teachings, I'd been planning to use her as an outlet for my lust.
I didn't want to believe that was me.
…Though, honestly, it was possible. Driven to self-destruction, with nothing to do but idle away with my lower half, and I had the face, body, and money for it…
Then there was
My past self had been avoiding Eris. She apparently also lived in Sharia, and every time they ran into each other, she'd punch him with a scowl.
"I'd like to catch her eventually and make her suffer, but revenge scares me, so I'm keeping my distance," he wrote. What a coward.
Still, I could read a certain complicated feeling toward Eris in there.
Had my past self still harbored some desire to try again with her?
Maybe thinking about Sylphie and Roxy made real romance impossible, and that was why things ended up this way.
There seemed to be a slight disconnect between what was written and his actual behavior.
A few unsettling entries appeared as well. Both my past self and Zanoba had apparently been bountied by the Millis Holy Church, and bounty hunters and assassins kept showing up.
They weren't serious threats — all of them were turned back — but…
Just when I thought that, the diary's content took a sharp turn from a certain page onward.
More years had passed, it seemed. What happened wasn't written down. And the paper quality varied wildly from page to page — the entries must have been written at irregular intervals.
----- ■ Norn's picture books and Luigidoll dolls were selling well.
Furthermore, with the Magic University's cooperation, my chantless magic had been officially incorporated into the curriculum.
The Millis Holy Kingdom was demanding my extradition to the
The wars on the Central Continent put the attacker at a severe disadvantage as long as the Red Dragon Mountain Range existed.
Asura still didn't seem to know I was the one who'd burned part of their capital. Fools, the lot of them.
■ Zanoba's autonomous doll was nearing completion.
It had taken longer than expected.
But I no longer felt that old excitement.
Why was I even doing this?
■ The autonomous doll was finished.
It was made to look exactly like Sylphie.
She had her own will, thinking and acting independently.
As a bonus, she'd do whatever I said.
Obedient, honest, a touch jealous — she was like the old Sylphie.
But this wasn't it. This wasn't what I wanted…
■ I destroyed the Sylphie doll.
I'd thought Zanoba would be furious, but instead he apologized to me.
I was the one who should be sorry.
Zanoba had done more for me than I could ever repay.
I would never betray this man. That much I swore.
■ I made a doll different from both Sylphie and Roxy.
Zanoba named it Forty.
When I asked why that name, he puffed out his chest and said it was because it was the fourteenth masterpiece.
■ Forty's sister units were mass-produced and sold to the three magic nations.
Having countries as customers was nice.
I wasn't sure how useful they'd be for military purposes, but they were the pinnacle of my and Zanoba's technology. They should have been stronger than any common knight or adventurer.
Even so, I'd run out of things to do. What research should I tackle next?
For some reason, I felt a spark of motivation for the first time in a while.
----- Zanoba's research was apparently completed. But nothing was written about the theory itself. He must have compiled a separate research report. I'd thought that if those details were included, research could have progressed rapidly, but…
No. Maybe that was fine. Zanoba seemed happy now, and the process mattered too.
Just as I thought that, the next page changed dramatically again. And that page alone was warped and stained with tear marks.
----- ■ A Human God appeared in my dream.
I can still feel his hand on my shoulder.
I hate him.
I hate that bastard.
■ I have to become stronger.
I have to kill the Human God.
I absolutely must.
That piece of trash has to die, or Sylphie, Roxy, and Roxy's child will never rest in peace.
Neither will I.
■ Come to think of it, how are Lillia and the others doing after they left?
What kind of child has Lucy grown into?
Did she become beautiful, like Sylphie?
Is she studying properly? Is she eating well?
…Why didn't I hold myself together more after Sylphie died?
Only Aisha came back to look after me… but writing about it now is pointless.
It gnaws at me.
■ How am I supposed to get stronger?
Train my magic?
Find users of King-tier or Emperor-tier magic?
No — judging by past experience, Sacred-tier and above magic was just large-scale and not particularly useful in actual combat.
There were exceptions like Electric, but I wasn't lacking in offensive options. The problem was defense and tactics.
I couldn't wrap myself in battle aura, so I fell behind in speed and defense.
What could I do?
■ I found a text about the Battle God.
The Battle God had amplified his physical abilities many times over by donning golden armor.
When I told Zanoba about this, he proposed a solution.
Cover my entire body with Zariff's prosthetics.
Thinking about it, I couldn't use battle aura, but if I channeled mana into the prosthetics, I could unleash power beyond normal.
If I built an outer shell at the maximum hardness I could achieve and covered my whole body with it like armor…
Yes.
■ With Zanoba's help, my personal full-body armor was completed.
Over two meters tall. It had turned out quite large.
And the mana consumption was so enormous that only I could operate it.
Even so, I probably couldn't wear it for more than a few days straight.
Half a piece of junk, really.
If
For now, mimicking a certain game, I named it the Magic Armor.
----- This was where my story of growing stronger began.
By wrapping myself in the Magic Armor — Zariff's prosthetics covering my entire body — I gained power, speed, and defensive capability on par with the world's elite.
Full-power operation was limited to half a day, but even at thirty percent output I could hold my own against most opponents.
A triumph of ingenuity.
The text noted that the Battle God had worn something similar, so it was probably a theory that had existed long before…
The Magic Armor — I wanted one of my own, but could I make one with my current level of research?
No. It wasn't a question of can or can't. I'd make it.
Also, I'd been wondering why so few family names came up — so they'd all left. Norn was one thing, but for even Lillia to lose patience with me… How far had I— No, it wasn't written in detail, but considering the assassins from Millis, it was possible.
Yes, that was it. Yes.
Well, even starting now, I should be kinder to my family. Yes.
Today was the day Norn was coming home, wasn't it?
Then maybe, just this once, we could all go eat out together. Family outings could happen anytime, really.
"Big brother! Lunch is ready! Let's eat together!"
Aisha's voice came from behind me.
I stood up from the chair and opened the door to find my energetic little sister in a maid uniform.
She must have gotten it while taste-testing the cooking — there was a bit of sauce on the corner of her mouth.
"You've got sauce on your face."
I pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her mouth.
"Mmmg, thanks."
Aisha grinned.
This girl had come back to take care of me even after I'd become a worthless wreck.
The old man hadn't mentioned Aisha, but as my only remaining family member, she must have been an emotional anchor.
"Hey, Aisha — is there anything you want?"
"Huh? What's this about all of a sudden?"
"I was thinking of getting you a reward. You've been working so hard."
"Ehh, no way — I can't take something Norn doesn't get… But, you know, I saw this cute hair clip the other day—hint hint."
Don't say "hint hint" out loud.
Whose mannerism was that?
Probably mine, actually.
"Fine, let's go buy it sometime. Don't tell Norn."
"Really!?"
Aisha threw herself into an exaggerated pose of astonishment.
"What is it, what's going on, big brother? What are you after? Hah! Don't tell me you're after my body! Should I purify myself tonight and come to your bedroom, my lord? Hmph!"
"Yeah, yeah. Let's eat first. It'll get cold."
"Okay!"
With that conversation, I headed to the dining hall.
Roxy and Norn weren't there, but the family meal somehow tasted incredibly good.
When I honestly said it tasted better than usual, Lillia smiled just a little.
--- After lunch, I returned to the diary.
My future self had been traveling the world, searching for a way to reach the Human God.
Along the way, he'd met all manner of people and been stunned by how little information there was.
He realized that long-lived beings were most likely to know about the Human God, so he focused on those.
And he kept training magic, developing new spells, growing steadily stronger.
Gravity manipulation magic, electricity manipulation magic, voice manipulation magic.
He'd even reached Sacred-tier healing magic.
Magic was omnipotent — so long as you grasped the right sensations, anything was possible. That was his conclusion.
The fact that rats carried the mana-disease and the possibility that Sylphie's death was the Human God's doing were also written around this section.
On the surface, things looked promising.
But he couldn't get any information, and my future self grew increasingly rough around the edges.
He apparently wasn't a good person during that time.
He kept picking fights wherever he went, looking down on and despising lesser opponents after defeating them.
He acted however he pleased, raping women he met along the way.
He should have been old enough to know better…
I didn't want to end up like that.
And Eris came up frequently.
While traveling the world, Eris had repeatedly sought him out.
Eris was strong, and he'd lost to her multiple times.
From the text alone I couldn't tell, but Eris had probably been trying to talk sense into him after he'd become scum.
But he'd started to mistake Eris for a pawn of the Human God.
He'd convinced himself that Eris was interfering because it suited the Human God's purposes.
The Human God must be controlling Eris.
As I read on, he gradually came to hate Eris.
With no real basis, based on nothing but assumptions.
A kind of reverse grudge, perhaps.
And Eris gradually became unable to defeat him.
Had he grown stronger, or had Eris declined with age? I couldn't tell from the text.
Then, at last, that moment arrived.
----- ■ Eris was crying.
When was the last time I'd seen Eris cry?
I might have gone too far.
Could it be… she had nothing to do with the Human God?
No — but if that were the case, there was no explaining why she'd tried to obstruct me ever since Sylphie died up until now.
Besides, during the interrogation, she'd clenched her mouth shut multiple times.
She knew something. She knew something.
■ Eris escaped.
There were bite marks on the handcuffs.
Were her teeth made of steel!?
Damn it.
■ Tomorrow I have an audience with Atrof.
I didn't think that musclebound idiot knew anything, but as an immortal Demon Race member who'd lived a long time, the odds were higher.
I'd beat the information out of him even if it took half-killing him.
■ Eris died.
Guilen confronted me.
I don't understand what that means.
■ Let me organize yesterday's events.
I fought Atrof. I fought Atrof, his entire personal guard — all of them.
I'd thought I could handle it, but Moore intervened.
I'd let my guard down completely. I'd known Moore was a formidable magic user, but I'd been too focused on Atrof.
I was driven into a corner, and Eris jumped in.
And she died protecting me.
Guilen told me the reason.
Everything — from the day they reunited to the present.
Eris had only ever wanted to be by my side.
I had been utterly, completely wrong about her.
She had loved me this whole time.
That was all there was to it — she'd been following me for no other reason.
It felt unreal.
----- This part wasn't written in much detail, but it matched what the old man had told me.
…Should I marry Eris after all?
She deserved to be repaid for what she'd done.
But would Sylphie and Roxy forgive me?
Roxy probably wouldn't object.
But what would Sylphie say? She'd been jealous of
No — either way, I'd have to discuss it with them.
Writing the letter could come later.
I'd bring this up tonight when Roxy got home.
Let me keep reading.
From here, for a while, nothing of substance was written.
Moved here, met so-and-so, fought this person.
It was all recorded in a flat, dispassionate tone.
Among his opponents were powerhouses like the Water Emperor and the North Emperor.
But he apparently no longer cared about defeating them — no details were written.
Just a single line: "Killed ○○. He didn't know about the Human God either."
And then more years jumped by.
The next long entry was clearly written on different paper.
----- ■ Zanoba died.
Without my knowing, the Temple Knights had infiltrated the Ranoa Kingdom.
By the time I arrived, everything was too late.
The estate had burned down. Zanoba lay in front of the basement door, charred black. Ginger, Julie, and Aisha — the one I'd left in Zanoba's care — had been slaughtered behind the door.
I massacred every last Temple Knight still inside Ranoa.
But killing them changed nothing.
Zanoba had been working so hard for my sake all this time.
Why couldn't I have been there when he needed me?
What was the point of having this kind of power?
I was powerless.
■ In the end, everyone died.
I'm the only one left.
There's no one else.
I couldn't protect anyone.
■ It's the Human God's fault.
At the very least, I have to kill the Human God…
----- That was suddenly heavy.
Zanoba too, and Aisha — they both die?
…That's brutal.
Even so, wouldn't my past self have looked for his family?
Well, maybe it was too late, with no face left to show Lucy.
…Or had Lillia and the others died during the unrecorded stretches?
Norn's name didn't come up either…
No — stop. What wasn't written hadn't happened. I'd tell myself that.
Even so, Zanoba's death didn't seem connected to the Human God…
My past self had clearly fallen into tunnel vision.
After this, he'd begun searching for the Human God like a madman.
More fiercely than ever, slaughtering anyone who got in his way.
And he discovered it.
----- ■ I'm excited.
This is deep in the Begaritt Continent.
In a land said to be uncharted, I found a ruin.
An ancient Dragon race ruin.
According to the murals preserved there, this was what they said: This world was divided into six.
The Dragon world.
The Human world.
The Demon world.
The Beast world.
The Ocean world.
The Sky world.
These were connected like the faces of a die — six faces, cube-shaped.
At its center — inside the cube — was the Void World.
To travel from one face to another, one had to pass through the Void World.
But the Void World couldn't be traversed without a special method.
The text was too damaged to read beyond that, but at the very end, this was written: "The Human God is at the center of the Void World."
I'd finally found it.
I would stay here for a while and research what was written.
■ The murals depicted the history of trial and error in reaching the center of the Void World.
Summoning magic and teleportation magic appeared to have been derived from spells that traversed the Void World to reach other worlds.
I should probably pursue that line of research.
■ I'd studied everything in the ruin.
It seemed the ancient Dragon race had attempted to create something to reach the center of the Void World.
But what it was, I couldn't tell. That section of the mural had crumbled away.
Still, it almost certainly involved summoning or teleportation magic.
■ Speaking of summoning — Pergius.
He was an expert in summoning magic.
If I asked him, he might know something.
■ Pergius knew nothing.
He didn't even know what the Human God was.
He only knew that Laplace had flown into a rage upon hearing the term "Human God."
So I was back to square one.
Laplace knew about the Human God, but was no longer of this world…
■ Orsted didn't seem accessible either.
I should continue my research into teleportation magic after all.
Even so, decades of constant fighting had taken a toll. My body had grown sluggish.
I might be nearing my limit.
No — while my body still held up, I'd search for another ancient Dragon ruin.
----- This world was a cube, and the hollow interior was the Void World.
And the Human God was, quite literally, at the center of the world.
I see.
That sensation of being sucked underground during teleportation — that was exactly what it felt like to pass through the Void World.
Of course, no matter how deep you dug into the ground, you wouldn't reach the Void World.
Now then — the next entry had jumped ahead several years again.
This diary was full of gaps.
---- ■ I found a second ancient Dragon ruin.
In the mountains of the Demon Continent.
Why had the ancient Dragon race built ruins in such obscure and dangerous places?
This area was crawling with troublesome monsters.
Come to think of it, would Pergius's floating fortress count as a ruin?
Whatever.
Starting tomorrow, I'll begin exploring the ruin.
■ There was a payoff.
I found the complete version of the murals I'd seen years ago.
The missing section showed the method for reaching the center of the Void World.
Five treasures created by the ancient Dragon race.
Using these, one could enter the Void World.
…At last.
At last, I could finally reach the Human God.
But I was over sixty now.
My body was falling apart.
Would I make it in time?
■ When I returned to Pergius's place, I learned something.
The five treasures created by the ancient Dragon race — each was held by one of the Five Dragon Generals, and the gate to the world could only be opened by the Dragon God's secret technique.
But one of the Five Dragon Generals was already dead.
His treasure was missing.
And the last of the Five Dragon Generals had vanished as well.
Pergius said the last one would appear within a few decades.
His cryptic tone nagged at me, but I couldn't place why.
Lately, the drawers of my memory had been getting harder to open.
Was Pergius still hiding something?
It was infuriating.
But Pergius was the only person left who could reminisce about the good old days with me.
I didn't want to kill him.
Pergius said Orsted might know the secret technique… but I had no idea where to find him.
Decades to wait for the last one to appear.
That alone was crushing.
I probably wouldn't live that long. My body was nearly spent.
I could feel my remaining lifespan shrinking.
What should I do…
There was no more time.
■ I couldn't obtain the Five Dragon Generals' treasures.
Neither the treasures nor the secret technique were something I could create.
I couldn't grasp the principle at all.
I couldn't reach the Void World.
■ I'm tired.
How long do I have to struggle, alone?
Who am I even doing this for?
The hatred toward the Human God felt like it was fading.
I'm tired. Just tired.
----- I could feel something very close to resignation.
The pages were running thin.
So that meant — from start to here — roughly fifty years.
No results, just flailing and flailing, never reaching his goal.
Anyone would be too exhausted to think straight.
No — the current me might have given up even sooner.
----- ■ Let me write this here, separate from the research notes.
During my teleportation research, I formed a hypothesis.
"Summoning magic," and the spell from the Dragon ruins' murals.
If I reversed the sequence of these two, I might be able to travel to the past.
But even teleporting just tens of seconds into the past theoretically required an enormous amount of mana.
How much would it take to leap in units of years?
■ I want to go to the past.
I have the diary in my hands.
If I use this diary as an anchor, I might be able to return to the exact moment it was written.
To the moment I was deceived by the Human God, let the rat out, and killed Roxy.
I don't know if it's possible.
Teleporting to the past — there's no telling what might happen.
I know about time paradoxes.
■ There are many things to worry about.
Would it be a time slip, or a time leap?
If it's a time slip, what should I tell him?
The mana-disease, Eris, and the Human God.
Could I convey all of it?
Would my past self trust the words of a future me?
And if it's a time leap — how should I face Sylphie and Roxy?
I want to see them. I want to meet them again. I want to say I'm sorry.
But the thought of my present self overwriting the consciousness of the happy version of me…
Maybe I should run more experiments on this part?
On the other hand, since I couldn't predict what time paradoxes would cause, maybe more experiments were unwise.
There was even the possibility that only my consciousness would return to the past while my memories were left behind in the present world.
I'd be trapped in a meaningless loop, unable even to die, continuing to live in this world…
If that were the case, then at least, for Sylphie and Roxy's sake, even once more…
No. Enough.
I'd stop overthinking.
There was nothing left anyway.
I hadn't accomplished anything. I was a failure of a man.
Even if I failed and something happened as a result, who cared anymore?
Whatever happens, happens.
But if I succeeded…
Maybe I could give the Human God a real shock.
----- The diary broke off here.
He must have been transported to my location right after.
And then he must have realized his mana was insufficient.
I still didn't quite understand the theory of teleporting to the past.
Reading all this, if he'd made smaller time jumps, he might have avoided running out of mana entirely.
Was his mind too far gone to think of that?
No — that wasn't it.
Back then, my past self had absolute confidence in his total mana reserves.
Running out had probably never even occurred to him.
The diary couldn't tell me everything.
My research might not necessarily have been correct.
Still, I had a general idea of what I needed to know.
I had to act so I wouldn't end up like this.
"I'm home."
Just as I thought that, Roxy's voice came from the entrance.
For now, there was something I could do.
Tonight, I'd discuss things with Sylphie and Roxy.
About Eris. About the future. Everything.