Chapter 263.

[Remake notice — Kim Chundong’s diary]

「…The chirping of birds woke me up . Dry grass tickled my back . Leaves were swaying before my eyes . Clearly, I was not in my room .

Questions arose in my mind . Why am I here? Did someone kidnap me?

Whatever the case might be, it didn’t really matter . I wasn’t startled at all . I’d been drowning in indefinite numbness all my life . All these years, I had felt neither happy nor sad . For this reason, I quickly adjusted to this dramatic change without so much as a flinch .

Still, I figured I should at least find out where I was . I slowly got up and began walking through the forest . The more I walked, the stranger I felt . Above my head, two moons shined and countless stars twinkled .

After a while, I could hear people talking . I walked towards the sound . I pursued their voices .

I arrived at a strange village soon after . The villagers were all dressed in archaic fashion, and the buildings looked as if they had been built in the Middle Ages .

Nevertheless, I remained calm . Momentary confusion quickly subsided . The ice attributed magic power in my heart embodied unbreakable coldness .

I asked the villagers where I was . They replied that I was at ‘the outskirts of Plerion, year 533’ .

After that, I quickly grasped the situation . This was neither a dream, nor an abduction, nor a game . I had simply fallen into another world .

Who brought me here? How and why did they bring me here?

Such questions were meaningless to me . I lived only because I was born . I was alone from the beginning . So, the question of where I live was trivial to me .

I began my new life in ‘Plerion’ .

I began training in order to survive . Fortunately, Plerion was full of magic power . I practiced my sword skills and polished my magic power . After 10 years, I became a member of the Royal Knights .

My initial duty as a knight was to protect the royal concubine, who gave birth to a daughter named ‘Prihi’ . But the concubine never had the chance to meet Prihi in person . As the third princess, Prihi grew up in the royal palace, where her mother was prohibited from entering . The concubine was only allowed to watch her daughter from afar .

Three years went by . One day, a child came to visit me . The name of this child was Prihi . She wished to meet her mother . I found her tiny figure and sparkling eyes cute .

I secretly let her in . Prihi returned after 10 minutes of brief conversation with her mother . She gave me a big smile and expressed her gratitude .

The child, who was only three years old at the time, began to visit her mother once every week . Their faces grew brighter day after day .

Another year passed .

Without prior notice, I was transferred to the Royal Central Knights, away from the concubine . I heard that Prihi, who was unaware of my reassignment, had come to visit her mother as usual, only to be captured and punished by her father . Rumor had it that he whipped her until her tears dried up .

From then on, I spent my time away from the princess and the concubine .

As time went by, calamities began to appear across the entire continent . To make matters worse, the King fell ill .

Prihi, now five years old, came to see me . She told me her mother passed away, and that her brothers and sisters had murdered her . Prihi suppressed her tears and asked me for help .

‘…Please become my servant . My mother died, and I am powerless… . ’

It was then I realized for the first time that I could be someone’s only hope . And I, too, sought hope in her .

Even then, the princess did not know my name . I introduced myself to her as Kim Spring . She asked me if my name was ‘Kindspring’ for clarification . I just nodded .

A lonely life without parents, friends, and love .

‘…I swear by my name to serve Your Highness forever . ’

Surely I wouldn’t regret dedicating such a life to someone . 」

[Above is Kim Chundong’s setting . ]

I chuckled to myself as I read Kim Chundong’s diary . To sum it up, when I replaced Kim Chundong on Earth, the real Kim Chundong was transferred to a different world— to the ‘past’ of a different world .

“What’s so funny?”

Jin Sahyuk frowned . She was completely serious right now . I began to prepare an answer in my head . But what exactly was I supposed to say in this kind of situation?

No matter how long I thought about it, there was no ‘right’ answer .

“…Kuhum . ”

I cleared my throat .

With a bitter expression, Jin Sahyuk asked .

“…Do you still hate me?”

“… . ”

I stared at Jin Sahyuk silently . Many emotions were flickering in her eyes .

‘Should I just say no? Should I insist that I’m not Kindspring, that we only look alike…?’

But my heart refused to lie . [Synchronization] trembled violently inside me .

“Be with me again . ”

Jin Sahyuk continued . It seemed she was confident that I was Kim Chundong .

“We’ll figure everything out once we get back to our homeland . No matter how much time has passed, we have to go back to Plerion . Don’t you know that?”

“… . ”

Her remark made me serious too .

Jin Sahyuk’s only wish was to return to Akatrina and reconstruct Plerion .

But Akatrina’s Demon Realm Transformation had long been completed . Even if she could go back in time, doing so would simply be an act of suicide .

“…The continent is already under the control of the devil . Reconstruction is impossible . ”

I flatly opposed, but Jin Sahyuk was adamant .

“If that’s actually the case, then I might as well be dead . I am the King of Plerion . Life outside Plerion is meaningless to me . If I’m going to die either way, I’d rather die in my country . ”

Jin Sahyuk was determined .

To her, compromising was not an option . Her wish constituted the fundamental reason for her existence . But my answer was already set in stone .

“I decline . ”

“… . ”

Jin Sahyuk’s shoulders trembled . She didn’t do a very good job at hiding her anger, but her anger was directed towards herself, not me .

“It’s late . Go to sleep . ”

I pointed at the door . Still, Jin Sahyuk looked at me without moving a muscle . Her lips trembled slightly as if she had something to say, but no words came out of her mouth .

Click .

Eventually I turned the light off and crawled into my bed . About half an hour passed before Jin Sahyuk’s presence finally disappeared .

“Huu… . ”

Buried under a blanket, I thought of Kim Chundong .

But I couldn’t come up with definitive answers to the questions in my head . The more I thought, the more lost I felt .

**

…A new day dawned . Jin Sahyuk couldn’t get a wink of sleep . Thoughts, anguish, and misery haunted her . She was wide awake for most of the night, absorbed in thought .

She reached one conclusion .

‘Of course he’s not going to forgive me . After all, I still don’t know how to say I’m sorry… . ’

But there was one thing she couldn’t understand .

‘Why is Kim Hajin so fond of my past self, ‘Prihi’? She betrayed Kindspring . ’

“…Tsk . ”

Suddenly, Jin Sahyuk turned her gaze to the sun outside her window . The sun rose gracefully and shone down on the mountains and the streams below . The view of her hometown bathed in blue light was as beautiful as ever .

“What if… . ”

This was all too happy and too cozy to be an illusion . Couldn’t she stay here forever? If she could somehow hinder others from collecting the crystal shards, she could stay here, in her kingdom, forever . Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea .

…But she knew she shouldn’t .

This was not the real Akatrina . And it would be wrong for her as a king to settle for the fake over the real .

A king should not be complacent .

A king should protect her people and her land .

A king should not abandon her country .

A king should… .

—No, that’s not how you do it!

Suddenly, a cranky voice interrupted her train of thought . She got up slowly and looked outside her window, only to discover that dwarf called Alien or whatever repairing the castle wall .

—Here, watch this . This magic power will repair the wall-!

As soon as she shouted, cement began to cling and align itself perfectly to the wall . That Gift was clearly wasted on that dwarf .

—Hm? Miss Aileen, you’re up early .

Jin Seyeon approached the dwarf . With a bright smile, she patted Aileen’s head .

—Yup . Kim Hajin said he’s gonna give me chocolates .

Kim Hajin .

His name alone was enough to ruin Jin Sahyuk’s mood .

“That dwarf… . ”

‘You can’t address him so casually . He’s not the kind of person you can get friendly with . He was my servant first . He only lived for me and not you… . ’

But again, she was the one who abandoned her faithful servant .

Jin Sahyuk clenched her teeth and shut the window . She drew the curtain and lay back on the bed in the darkened room .

Right now, she needed more time to contemplate and to make decisions .

**

[30F, Demon King’s Castle]

Sparks of gold and black collided with each other and flew in every direction . Magic power and demonic energy swirled with each other, creating whirlpools . The whirlpools turned into a giant typhoon that violently tore apart the heaven and the earth . Sparks exploded, charring the soil .

And the result of the challenge lay at the eye of the storm .

Two men stood at the center of the storm, where the relentless clashes of magic power and demonic energy had subsided . Kim Suho’s entire body was shining brightly . And his sword was lodged in the Demon King’s chest . This was a fatal blow . It was now clear who the winner was .

Heavy silence filled the Demon King’s castle .

Kim Suho froze, with his sword stuck in the Demon King’s body . The Demon King did not move . He only looked down at Kim Suho . From afar, it seemed as if the two were hugging each other . A strange tinge of happiness flickered in the Demon King’s eyes .

“Has it been… almost half a year?”

The King’s voice reverberated, reeling .

“I had a… great time… . It was a lot of fun… watching you grow… . ”

The Demon King smiled happily . He reached out and touched Kim Suho’s hair . The brown hair, which was now pretty long, swayed softly at his touch .

“I… will not… forget you… for you granted me death… . ”

The King’s body started to turn into dust . From head to toe, his body slowly began to fade away . Kim Suho looked straight at the King with his unwavering eyes .

The King’s last words were short .

“Thank you… . I’ll gladly… accept this death… . ”

He said in one breath .

The King disappeared completely, and Kim Suho, now alone, looked at the empty throne across the room . Up until this point, the throne had always been occupied by the Demon King . Kim Suho was not used to the vacancy .

“…The final floor still remains . ”

The witch approached him . She stood behind Kim Suho and continued calmly .

“It is called the [Floor of Decision] . ”

A golden staircase ascended above the throne . The final path shined brightly . Kim Suho nodded at the sight of it .

“I understand . ”

“And, this . ”

Suddenly, the witch handed him a slip of paper . Though he grabbed it instinctively, Kim Suho soon frowned in confusion .

“This is…?”

“You’ve been given the right to take one of the Tower’s residents outside as your supporter . ”

[Summon Coupon]

“And just for your information, my level is 40 . ”

The witch coyly appealed to him . Kim Suho gave a small smile and stood in front of the staircase leading to the 31st floor .

Different phrases were engraved on the faces of the golden steps .

[Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . ]

Kim Suho climbed the stairs, reading each phrase one by one .

[A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another . ]

After reading that phrase, Kim Suho pretty much figured out who the last administrator was .

[Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up . ]

A saint born of a virgin and the central figure of the world’s largest religion, whose birth itself marked the start of a new calendar (Before Christ) .

Jesus Christ .

“Ah… . ”

At the end of the stairs the Saint was smiling brightly .

Kim Suho diligently climbed up the stairs towards him .

**

[The Akatrina Continent]

Two months went by in Akatrina, during which we finished the construction of the castle wall and the communal shelter . The issue of food scarcity was also mostly taken care of .

“…So, you don’t like studying?”

Currently, I was taking a walk in the garden with the young Jin Sahyuk . Flowers were beginning to bloom in the royal garden which was originally barren .

“That is not the case… my teacher is simply too tyrannical, even though I am the king . ”

Prihi grumbled sternly .

Of course, Jin Sahyuk was her teacher .

“But you have to study hard to become stronger . ”

The Prihi next to me was nothing but a projection of the materialized past . Therefore, this conversation was meaningless . But I still urged her .

“As you already know, we won’t be staying here for long . ”

We already had three crystals in our possession . It wouldn’t take us long to obtain the remaining two shards, since we had already figured out that they were in Schupert’s territory .

“…Right . You cannot stay here . ”

Suddenly, Prihi stopped . She looked up at me with forlorn eyes .

“It’s just that… you remind me of my old servant . ”

“…Servant?”

My conscience pricked me . She was clearly talking about Kim Chundong .

“Yes, but he’s a lot older than you . I sent him to prison a while ago, so I don’t even know if he’s still alive or dead, but… he was my most valued servant . ”

Prihi continued solemnly . But I couldn’t help but think that she looked cute even in a glum expression . I wanted to pinch her chubby cheeks badly .

“Although sending him away was my fault, I…?”

But I couldn’t .

Because someone suddenly blocked our way .

“…What is it, Jin Sahyuk?”

The King flinched at my words . She opened her eyes wide and backed away .

“W-Why are you here again? We already f-finished today’s class . ”

Prihi was clearly afraid of Jin Sahyuk .

Jin Sahyuk, however, approached Prihi without hesitation .

“L-Look at this . I, I know how to condense magic power now . Isn’t this good enough…?”

The King, with a frightened expression, began to recite everything she learned earlier that day . Nevertheless, Jin Sahyuk approached the King and grabbed her wrist . Prihi trembled slightly and closed her eyes .

“If you have time for a chitchat, you should practice more . ”

Jin Sahyuk glared at me as she pulled Prihi towards herself .

“Wait, wait… I haven’t eaten yet… . ”

Prihi pleaded, but Jin Sahyuk was adamant . She dragged the small king away by force .

“…Geez . ”

I watched them leave as I took out the [Mysterious Magnifying Glass] . It was to find out what kind of emotion Jin Sahyuk was feeling at the moment… .

[Jealousy]

Jin Sahyuk was feeling jealous of her past self, and I, who she believed was her old servant Kindspring, was the reason for that .

“Hmm… . ”

I let out a heavy sigh .

“Priest Kim! Schupert is here! He has the castle surrounded!”

Suddenly, a knight came running and shouted .

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