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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: God of Destruction
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Just how little authority does Cesar have in the knight order?
I was utterly baffled that he seemed to welcome Rose ordering him around.
While I was lost in thought, Rose put Kivrin down as if he’d been waiting for the chance.
But he didn't put me down, instead keeping a distance from Kivrin.
It was as if he was trying to protect me from him.
“Hm? Rose?”
Kivrin spoke, a hint of exhaustion in his voice.
“I already told you wh-who I am. I know my ability is unpleasant, but…”
“It’s more than just unpleasant.”
Rose said, then looked at me.
“Are you really okay with this?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
I was a little scared for a second, but I got over it.
Rose’s eyebrow twitched.
“You’re really okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Did Rose also see Kivrin’s arm get deformed?
But Kivrin’s past life was Del, the one Rose had been waiting for, right?
His ability couldn't be that different from the one he used back then, so what was there to be so surprised about?
Rose narrowed his eyes but set me down.
I tilted my head.
“Why are you so wary of the young lord? You said he was your guardian in your past life. And even though you know he remembers his past life, you don’t seem very happy about it…”
The more I thought about it, the stranger it became.
“That’s because…!”
Rose glanced at me, trailing off just as he had before.
I offered a reasonable hypothesis.
“Aha, are you worried I’ll feel left out if you two are always together and only paying attention to each other?”
I never knew Rose could be so considerate.
It was a strange feeling.
“Wow, absolutely not. You’re driving me crazy.”
Was I wrong?
Rose finally clutched the back of his neck in frustration.
Kivrin took a step toward me, then retreated before speaking.
“I-I’m sorry for lying. The truth is, I’m not Del.”
“…”
I blinked at Kivrin’s sudden confession.
Kivrin squeezed his eyes shut like a child who had done something wrong.
“In my past life, I never met Rose, and I d-didn’t even know him well. By the time I met Del, Rose was already go-gone somewhere else.”
Wait a minute.
What is he talking about?
Kivrin isn’t Del?
“If it’s not the young lord, then who is Del?”
Kivrin and Rose both fell silent in unison.
“…”
“…”
A strange quiet settled over us.
“So Del was reincarnated, right?”
“…”
“…”
The two of them avoided my gaze, their silence a confirmation.
So Del was reincarnated, but it isn't Kivrin?
I asked again.
“Then who is Del?”
“…”
“…”
This time, as if by prior agreement, the two of them kept their mouths firmly shut while glancing at me.
Rose pretended to rub his face, even going so far as to point a finger at me.
N-no, it can’t be.
I started with denial.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
Haha, hahaha…
It’s not me, right? It can’t be. It doesn’t make any sense!
My stamina is absolute garbage! There’s no way I’m Del!
Not that it would make any more sense if I were the Disaster!
“…”
I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
Don’t characters who get transmigrated or possessed into a novel usually get healing-type abilities?
They heal people on the brink of death!
And calm down the rampaging male leads!
So why am I a god of destruction…? Is it because my sister already took the role of the saintess? Huh?
After denial, I moved on to escaping reality.
“I-I’m worried about Sir Cesar. I should go look for him.”
I started walking away with purpose.
But a terrible thought suddenly occurred to me, forcing me to turn back.
I got right in Kivrin’s face.
“The Temple tormented the young lord because they thought he might have even a fraction of Del’s power. Does that mean it was all because of me?!”
“Didn’t you just skip a few steps? Shouldn’t you be more surprised about the fact that you’re Del right now?”
Ignoring Rose’s muttering, I couldn’t contain my surging emotions.
“Uwaah, don’t tell me the young lord… because of me…”
Kivrin hurriedly wiped at my tear-streaked eyes with his hand.
“No…! Th-the only reason it stopped here was because they m-mistook me for your past life’s reincarnation, Lady Cheria. Y-you saw how upset Rose was.”
“Sob, but still…”
“I-if they’d found out what I really am, I, I might have been killed before I could even take my first steps.”
Kivrin tried to comfort me with these grim words.
Naturally, it wasn’t comforting at all.
“That’s ridiculous. You’re just… *hic*, you’re just trying to make me feel better, right?”
“No, it’s true.”
Rose affirmed from the side.
“At least Del had people who were so mesmerized by that overwhelming power that they worshipped her as an ancient god. But this one… he’d be lucky not to be treated like a natural disaster…”
Suddenly, Rose stopped talking.
The sound of Cesar returning, making no effort to hide his presence, reached us.
I quickly rubbed my eyes.
Just as Kivrin gave me a handkerchief, telling me I’d hurt myself, Cesar appeared.
“There are no monsters nearby. Still, I recommend we exit the forest as quickly as possible rather than attempt to rendezvous with the Duke.”
Rose readily agreed.
“We only have one lantern, there’s the cold to worry about, and two children. So, which way do we go?”
“I-I’ll lead the way.”
Kivrin glanced at me before starting to walk.
He was clearly checking on my mood.
Did he think I was angry?
I was shocked that I might have been the reason Kivrin was treated like a monster, but I wasn't angry at all.
I had already considered the possibility that I might be the ominously named Disaster after hearing Winter’s story.
Having mentally prepared for the worst, I was able to grasp the situation after a brief moment of denial and escapism.
And thus, I reached the conclusion that if I wasn't the ominously named Disaster, then Kivrin must be.
“…”
The moment my lips formed a triangle, his golden eyes trembled.
*No, no! I’ll think about that later! I’m not scared of you!*
I tried to shake off the images the word “Disaster” conjured and focused solely on the fact that I was Del.
Absurdly, as I re-examined past events with the assumption that I was Del, countless questions were resolved.
The reason Rose appeared as a man was because that was how I had seen him in my past life, and that image had been imprinted on me.
Kivrin had also said it was because the sealing spell in his past life wasn't perfect.
The spell carved on Kivrin’s back was meant to seal Del’s memories and power.
Therefore, the person who needed to be careful wasn’t Kivrin, but me.
…The fact that the sealing spell had broken while I was confronting my sister at the Grand Temple suddenly made perfect sense, now that I knew the truth.
I had been so furious with my sister back then that I’d lost all reason.
And that wasn’t all.
After seeing the future, my sister had become wary of me, eventually adopting a submissive attitude.
No matter what Rose looked like or did, he always seemed like a child to me.
The fact that I noticed Emil’s clumsy magic, and the words he’d said—it all seemed natural if I was Del.
—Could it be that I have an ability to hide my life energy or something? Like an illusion?
—It’s a common enough ability, but it’s crude. In the end, it will always be seen through by someone stronger.
—So, if you can’t see through it…
—It’s simple. It means the other person is weaker than you.
In the end, all the evidence pointed to me being Del.
Maybe the reason I was so frail was because Del’s power was sealed.
As proof, when the sealing spell broke for a moment, the aftereffects of warping came much later than the first time.
*Ugh.* I scratched my head and walked over to Kivrin.
When I walked beside him like I usually did, Kivrin was visibly relieved.
What looked like a deep green labyrinth to me, Kivrin navigated with ease.
However, what spread out before me was not the duchy’s territory, but an unfamiliar plain that signaled the edge of the forest.
Cesar spoke up.
“If we travel for about twenty minutes from here, we’ll be in the jurisdiction of the Ingram Marquisate. Shall we go and request their assistance? I am no longer a vassal of the ducal family, but they benefited so much by living off the duchy that they won’t be able to turn us away.”
“Whatever. You’d know better than me.”
Rose agreed nonchalantly.
I had heard of the Ingram Marquisate before.
They were the family Marin had blatantly ignored at the tea party.
—What was that? You think the Rington family will soon be cast out by the ducal family, just like the Ingrams? That they won’t be protected if monsters attack, and the project to train apothecaries in the mountain regions, which was sponsored by the ducal family, will be halted? I think so too.
The Ingram Marquisate also had a minor role in ``.
And not a good one.
