I Was Confessed to by the Golden Sun

75 – 75. It’s Probably a Day That Doesn’t Matter

The Akashic Record that appeared in front of me out of nowhere.

It was a bewildering situation, but the first emotion that came to me was familiarity rather than confusion.

“Where have I seen this before..?”

Among the days I have grown up after possessing this world, I had never seen such a thing before.

As I slowly retrace my steps, calling it a déjà vu feels appropriate.

“What is this?”

Beside me, Lucía looked at the book, from which a golden light faintly emanated, with curiosity.

Although it would have been cute to poke it with a twig I could find somewhere, there was no courage to touch it with my hands.

“…The Akashic Record, this is what we’ve been looking for.”

This was an incredibly astute judgement.

I had explained it to the point of exhaustion earlier, but the Akashic Record devours the consciousness of those who come in contact with it.

Instead of bestowing overwhelming knowledge, this book drives those who cannot overcome it into madness.

“That’s why one can mention the fact that a nation was destroyed due to the information it contained…”

Perhaps due to some circumstances, these ‘forbidden knowledge’ spread throughout the city.

Those who couldn’t handle it formed the root of the problem, sealing off the Akashic Record and the city, but could not prevent its downfall…

This was the theory proposed by Francis.

“But how can we transport this? I’ve destroyed the case.”

Once again, while giving Lucia a sermon not to act as she pleased, I cautioned her not to listen with one ear and let it out with the other.

Considering that she had destroyed the case herself, it seems she thought there was no way to carry it.

-Thunk!

“Ouch! Why did you hit me?”

Although I am telling her, this person truly doesn’t listen to explanations.

It seems like she constantly sleeps and doesn’t properly understand anything.

When I lightly hit her in frustration, Lucia weakly punched my belly with her moist eyes.

Ignoring Lucia, I took out something resembling a die from my pocket and threw it at the Akashic Record.

The ball inflated as it hit the Akashic Record and covered it completely.

Without a moment’s notice, the Akashic Record was packaged, and I lifted its top part.

“Ugh… Ahem! So, this existed.”

As she realized that she had made a mistake, Lucia averted her gaze first.

It was really a relief since my stomach, which had been continuously hit, was throbbing.

“This familiarity, I think we should investigate it.”

Leaving that aside, I continue to feel an inexplicable familiarity with this Akasic record.

Perhaps it’s a sentiment reminiscent of the affection and longing one feels when visiting the couNT*Ryside.

It’s quite puzzling how this book evokes a similar feeling, so I’m honestly filled with questions.

“Maybe the Akasic record itself has that effect.”

Originally, could the Akasic record be transmitting its knowledge to others in this way?

“Of course, that’s not likely, given how intact Lucia is.”

Well, I believe that if I take this with me and investigate it diligently, we’ll get proper results without a doubt.

No matter how much I ponder this problem here, it’s not something I can solve, so let’s leave that thought here.

“…Jack, do you feel anything?”

At that moment, Lucia suddenly asked while gripping the handle of the club and emitting a tense vibe.

I wonder if even she is influenced by the Akasic record, as I contemplate briefly whether I should leave the Akasic record here and go out.

“Be on guard, Lucia.”

Lucia firmly planted her feet on the ground, not sparing a glance for the Akasic record, and swung her club forward.

-Thunk!

Simultaneously, as if they had been waiting, bullets flew towards Lucia’s club, only to be deflected away.

“What on earth is that?”

Swatting bullets away with a club, while it wasn’t a skill she possessed, there was no time to be dazed.

Soon, a man in a suit emerged from a building, obscuring our view, and making it impossible to have a clear line of sight.

-Zzzing!

With that, Nihiel, now fully revealed, tilted the cylinder of his revolver to the side, swiftly reloading six bullets.

The entire process was executed with a deceptive yet elegant precision, and despite the circumstances, a hint of admiration was evident.

“The one who calls in the name.”

Certainly, the sound originated from the direction behind us, where there should be no one.

“You will be saved.”

A familiar but unwelcome voice whispered in our ears.

Lucia seemed to notice it too, attempting to keep me close as she blocked bullets.

“In the name of that glory, I will praise.”

I was becoming increasingly anxious, and impulsively threw a candy behind me at the hint of presence.

– Ah…

At the same time, a golden glow began to emerge beneath mine and Lucía’s feet.

“I told you to be careful on the night streets, Jack Orlante.”

At that moment, a figure holding a mace emerged from the smoke created by the candy bomb.

The man who should have been there to handle the problems that occurred in the kingdom, Eden Holloway.

…This is ridiculous.

***

Except for one strict criterion, the saint and the holy maiden of the kingdom were not selected so strictly.

If there is a ‘mark’ that is nothing more than proof of being chosen by God, anyone can become a saint or a holy maiden.

However, individuals who receive this mark are rare within the empire, with only one or two every generation, and there are even cases where it doesn’t exist at all.

But why did I receive such qualification?

No, come to think of it, there is only one reason why a ordinary couNT*Ry boy like me would receive such a mark.

‘Jack Orlante…’

The friend I once had, who gave me an item filled with the energy of the ‘Arcana of Luminosity’, which I had never felt in my life before.

And the next day, this mark appeared on my arm. The cause is so clear that there is no need for further thought.

“Hoo…”

Although my heart was already set on it, my fingertips trembled when I actually tried to execute it.

To push a person out of their original place and betray someone who could be called a friend, in order to have a conversation with him again.

I made every effort for several years.

“But the kingdom didn’t even give me a moment to meet Jack.”

Fortunately, I did not experience physical or mental abuse while living under the kingdom.

I was provided with three meals a day and daily necessities, and received systematic training in handling my abilities.

“But giving it to me without even asking if I wanted it, it’s just his own goodwill.”

I neither wanted nor desired such favor. Even if he gave it, I didn’t want to receive it.

It was an investment for the position of a “saint,” which was nothing more than an image maker for the kingdom, not for Eden Holloway as a person.

I received more attention than ever before, but I was more lonely than ever.

“…Here we go again.”

As I reminisced about the past, blood slowly trickled down my lips, which I had chewed on again.

These cursed lips, which had not used their venomous power, would burst every time I spewed anger, without even a hint of healing, but now I didn’t care anymore.

“Finally, I can ask.”

The person who created this loneliness for me is right in front of my eyes.

I held hands with the cunning princess like a spider’s web and stirred chaos in the kingdom to the point where they couldn’t even coNT*Rol me.

“Now, I can catch and kill, or interrogate.”

All the beings that can restrain me are either dead or in a situation where they can’t even lay a finger on me.

Even if they were able to harm me, I made sure they couldn’t.

Just for this one moment, desperately.

“..f*ck.”

My left hand trembled as if an earthquake had occurred.

Is my body thinking that this is the opportunity to uncover a lifetime of doubt and trauma?

Trying to suppress the incessantly shaking left hand, I soon gave up and once again gripped the mace with my right hand.

“The princess gave it to me, so the performance must be reliable.”

They said it was a suit that could hide my appearance, made by dismantling ancient technology.

Normally, I would have attacked from a distance while running, but maybe a surprise attack is possible…

“…”

Listening to the gunshot called Nihil, I briefly pondered the plan ahead.

In an instant, a non-rational yet fascinating thought came to my mind, and I hardened my expression.

“I haven’t done anything wrong, so why do I have to hide?”

A highly rational and yet, in this situation, an irrational doubt.

For a moment, I weighed the success of the mission I had planned with Nihil and the princess and my own confidence on the scale.

“..Hm.”

Although I had committed acts that would be criticized socially, I had lived diligently enough to be satisfied with myself as a human being.

That was my own verdict about myself.

“Can I be satisfied with such a result?”

What I was facing was none other than this problem.

To end the accumulation of a lifetime, I rely on the power of someone other than myself and launch a surprise attack from behind.

This was not just a matter of pride; it was an ending that I would never be satisfied with when looking at my future.

“..I’m sorry, princess.”

She roughly removed the transparent suit, which seemed to be made by dismantling something, and since her arrival in the Holy Kingdom, she had been holding a mace filled with Holy Power.

The mist thickened around me due to the bomb that Jack had thrown.

I walked through the mist and, as it began to clear, I charged forward with the mace in hand.

“…”

I noticed a slightly puzzled and furrowed expression on the author Nihiel’s face.

But there were already too many pages turned to conclude the story between Jack and me in a casual manner.

It didn’t seem to matter anymore.