Clovis was sitting alone in the park, looking at the people playing around.
There were a lot of things on his mind. His great-grandmother was living for revenge as well as the truth.
Could they really call themselves human? Or could they say they were nothing but code?
Clovis couldn’t understand much of it, but that was because he didn’t have enough information to reach a certain conclusion.
The Prophet must have known the truth and chosen to keep that truth a secret.
Was he protecting everyone from the truth? Was he keeping it a secret for himself?
What about the systems? When it first appeared before his eyes, he thought this system would be his lead to his goal.
But he wasn’t so sure anymore. If this were indeed the truth, would his experience be a fake?
Kanaria, Christina, Luci, Hana, and lody. Were they fake?
Jay, his oldest comrade-in-arms, had supported him a lot. He might not show an outstanding achievent, but his support allowed Clovis to feel assured when moving forward. He patched the hole that he would leave behind whenever he wasn’t around the group.
Ragna, Erwin, Rin, and even their new mber, Angelia. Were they never real to begin with?
What if discovering the truth would end up destroying everything he had built so far... everything that he thought was real?
Would he be ruthless enough to keep pushing himself forward to find the truth?
If he were actually soone whose consciousness entered this world, as the system said about him being the second player, would he be a different person if he ever left this simulation world?
And since he was the second player, the real him must have known the truth about this world.
On the one hand, he was a bit scared of learning the truth. He was scared of losing what was important to him. He was afraid that he would beco soone else entirely, soone that he couldn’t even recognize.
On the other hand, stopping here would an ending everything he had built up. He could probably trap himself in this world, but he didn’t know when this world would end.
What if he gave up, and the world ended and erased any trace of this world? The devastation that would strike his heart would be unimaginable.
"Who is real? Who is not..." Clovis muttered. There was only one thing he knew. lody had been by his side, and she also found the system, which made her a player as well.
Although he didn’t know the exact number, she possessed the sa amount of 0 in her identification. This ant he was a single-digit player. This ant she also took part in this.
He might find so clues about it in this special tower that his grandmother had assigned him.
This truth might end up scaring him, stopping him from taking another step forward.
"Clovis?"
"!!!" Clovis turned his head around, not expecting to find Rin coming. "What are you doing here?"
"lody wants you to return. She has just gotten the information about our next objective and would like to discuss it with you. The rest of the team is also being called back," explained Rin.
"I see." Clovis nodded. "Rin. Can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah?" Rin was a bit confused. This was probably the first ti Clovis looked so confused. She didn’t know what confused him. "Sure."
"Have you ever thought about whether you are real or not?" was what Clovis wanted to say. When he looked at her face, he didn’t have the heart to ask such a question.
It looked like he was more scared than he thought.
Instead, he asked, "Have you ever regretted entering the Libation Fiesta? Before, your life was a simple one. You could pursue your dream of being a chef. But now... we’re about to have a war with a very terrifying person. He might not be the strongest person in the world, but his influence is much more powerful than that of any other person in this world. In this war, everyone can die... Even I can’t guarantee my own safety..."
Rin blinked her eyes a few tis before taking a seat next to him. "I see. So, that’s what has been troubling you. Let’s see... My life has indeed gone crazier ever since I t you.
"I thought I’d seen everything in this world, but it turned out I had only seen everything in my little garden.
"However, I don’t regret joining the Libation Fiesta. I would never have grown this much so quickly without you and the others.
"However, as you say, my dream is to discover all ingredients in this world and cook all kinds of als with all those ingredients. And I don’t think it’s possible without the Libation Fiesta.
"It just happens that the challenge this ti is too big."
"You must have resented ." Clovis smiled wryly.
"I said, ’Too big.’ I don’t say it’s impossible." Rin shook her head.
"Too big... not impossible." Clovis repeated those words in a low tone. Finding the truth would be hard. It might also be hard to accept. But if he gave up because he was scared, he might as well disband the Libation Fiesta right away.
But the fact that he didn’t ant there was a part in his heart that wanted to know the truth. He might not be prepared yet, but he was ready to take a step forward.
It was not impossible for him to change his decision later.
"We are living in a world filled with lies. So many lies that we don’t even recognize which one is the truth anymore.
"There is a price to knowing the truth. But it doesn’t an if we choose the lies, we won’t pay any price at all..."
"What is this? Are you trying to beco a philosopher now?" Rin tilted her head in confusion. "I don’t know what’s troubling you, but I know that good food will calm your heart. How about it? Let’s go back. I will cook you sothing good."
Clovis chuckled. "Right?"
It was better to take a step forward first and see what he should do next.
He rose from the bench as Rin followed. But when they turned around, they saw ten people surrounding them.
The two of them were coming forward.
"Who are you?" Rin asked. She didn’t have her bow with her, so she couldn’t fight.
"Clovis Hacfield. Special Agent Grant. You are under arrest for the murder of Lienna Akirson."
Clovis’ expression turned solemn. It looked like the war had truly begun.
The Prophet had made his move.
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