I pick up the book.
After hesitating for a moment, I set it back down on the desk.
Then I close my eyes and think, and before I know it, I'm holding the book again.
I keep doing this, over and over.
I gaze at the book in my hands.
It's not a proper book—it's more like a notebook.
But its contents are heavier than any book I've ever held.
I move to turn the page, then remember I've already read it dozens of times, and stop.
I've already memorized everything inside.
It may not be word for word, but re-reading won't change anything.
I wish it would, but it won't.
Written there was the crisis of the world's collapse, and the method to avert it.
I hold my head in my hands.
Thanks to Taboo, I already knew about this world's structure and its System, but I never imagined it had deteriorated to this terminal state.
If this were true, we had been reincarnated into a truly monstrous world.
Assuming it was true, that is.
Still, I just can't bring myself to believe what's written here is the truth.
Well, it's probably almost entirely true, but it would be more accurate to say there are a few lies and some unmentioned facts mixed in.
The reason I think so is that the story sounds too good to be true.
According to the countermeasure described in this book, if we destroy the System, the world will be saved.
But is that really how it works?
It's never been attempted before—would it really succeed?
Could the world really be saved so easily, just like that?
And if so, what was all the world's suffering up until now for?
It might be a wild guess, but I just can't fully buy it.
Besides, if the System disappears, that means Skills and Status disappear too.
We've been living by relying on them this whole time, and they'd just vanish.
The resulting chaos would be enormous.
Things that were easy to do with Status would become impossible.
The prosperity that Skills had brought would crumble.
It would be an apocalyptic hellscape.
It might be like stripping modern Japan of electricity.
No, considering the impact, it would be even worse than that.
The book doesn't touch on any of that at all.
From that, I can't help but wonder whether the unpleasant facts have been suppressed and only the palatable ones told.
That's what I end up thinking.
Frankly, I have no idea what goes on inside the System.
In that sense, it's certain that Shiro is ahead of me.
That's precisely why, even if something were hidden from us, we wouldn't have the slightest clue what it was.
We wouldn't even know whether something was being hidden at all.
Once you start doubting, there's no end to it.
Still, I can't dismiss the entire contents of this book as nonsense.
The contents are far too logically coherent to ignore.
Even when I cross-reference it with what I know from Taboo, nothing feels off.
That's why, after agonizing over it, the conclusion I arrived at was this: it's mostly true, but with some hidden facts and lies mixed in.
I tap the book on the desk with my index finger.
If this is mostly true, why did Shiro hand it to me?
Well, that part is obvious enough.
The point is, I should think about which side to take.
Given the contents of this book, the world is about to enter a period of upheaval.
Shiro intends to act on it.
He's telling me to start thinking now about what I'll do when that time comes.
Shiro might actually be a surprisingly kind person.
After all, he's going out of his way to look after someone he wasn't even particularly close to in their past life.
The Heterodox Resistance, and now this book.
He has to understand the possibility that, after reading this book, I could become his enemy.
I shouldn't reach a halfhearted conclusion.
The world will perish if things continue as they are.
That much is probably certain.
But when will it happen?
That part isn't written.
It only says the world will perish if things continue as they are.
With this vague writing that lacks any specific timeline, even a dramatic claim that the world will end a thousand years from now wouldn't technically be a lie.
Destroy the System and use its energy to halt the world's collapse.
I believe this part is true.
For something supposedly false, the descriptions around this area are remarkably detailed, covering methods and progress reports and whatnot.
Honestly, it's like staring at technical jargon—I can't really tell what's going on—but if this were all a lie, Shiro's imagination would be truly extraordinary.
If all of this was purely a product of imagination, it would start to feel like the musings of a madman.
I think it's best to simply accept that what's written here is true.
However, that alone wouldn't provide enough energy.
It needs to be supplemented.
That's where the problem lies.
Supplementation—that is, killing people and harvesting their energy.
That's why Shiro is trying to start a great war between the Demon race and the Human race.
It's a path that can't be avoided if the world is to be saved.
But is that really the case?
Going back to the issue of when the world will collapse, it doesn't necessarily have to be that way.
If Shiro is concealing the fact that there's still plenty of time before the world collapses, wouldn't this massacre be unnecessary?
Then why is Shiro trying to act so quickly?
Is there a reason he has to?
That's probably it.
Somewhere around here, there has to be something Shiro desperately wants to keep hidden.
I need to find out what that something is.
And whether there's anything else being hidden, too.
I stand up, book in hand.
Looking out the window, the sun has already set completely.
Something I've learned recently: Shiro never goes out during meal times or when it's time to sleep.
He's often gone during the day, but during those times, he always returns to this mansion.
It should be almost time for bed.
If I go now, Shiro should be in his room.
I check my Status with the Appraisal Stone.
Nearly full, but in other words, not quite full yet.
My magic swords—only two.
And those are hastily-made ones I forged when my Status hadn't fully recovered.
I'm uneasy.
Not only am I far from at my best, but Shiro's power is an unknown variable.
If my impression is correct, I don't think I'd stand a chance even at full strength.
But if what Shiro is aiming for is something I can't accept, a fight right then and there wouldn't be out of the question.
I pray it won't come to that.
Steeling myself, I set off toward Shiro's room.