“So, what you’re saying is, you’re actually not from this world at all?”
After patiently listening to Histori’s disjointed description, Amir pondered for a long time before slowly speaking to her—
“Your soul comes from another, completely opposite world?”
“…Y-yes, that’s right!”
Histori, using both hands to hold the greatsword in Amir’s grip, nodded repeatedly at her, even flinging away a few teardrops from the corners of her eyes—
“I actually… don’t know any Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Race at all! And I’ve never done anything bad! In my original world, there was no magic, no monsters, I was just an ordinary human muddling through life every day!”
“Also, I’ve only been transmigrated into this body for sixty-two… no, including today, it should be sixty-three days! Sixty-three days plus a few more hours!”
“…”
On the few occasions when Amir’s assassination missions didn’t result in an instant kill, some people would use their last ounce of strength to desperately resist, some would weep and try to beg for mercy, some would promise her things that didn’t exist.
But the reason “I’m from another world and haven’t done anything bad so far” was the first time Amir had ever encountered in her life.
“…Histori.”
Amir tilted her head slightly, loosening her fingers around the sword hilt.
Her deep black hair fell beside her cheeks, shimmering with a faint silver light under the moonlight—
“Do you think what you just said is any more convincing than the excuse ‘I was cursed by the Demon King’?”
“…”
Histori was speechless.
S-she had a point, right?
If she heard someone on the street claim to be an alien transmigrator, she’d think they were crazy too!
Crap, she thought revealing such a level of truth was her ultimate move, but in Amir’s eyes, she was just further treating her like an idiot, wasn’t she?!
…It’s over.
Histori closed her eyes in despair, as if already foreseeing the scene of Amir sighing and shaking her head before cleanly swinging her sword down.
However, the expected sharp pain did not come.
The heavy pressure on her neck suddenly disappeared.
The heavy sword was swung back by Amir with a reverse motion, returning to its place on her back.
Histori opened her eyes in astonishment and saw a subtle smile appear on Amir’s otherwise indifferent face.
“To be honest, Histori, the fact that your reason is this absurd actually makes me a bit inclined to believe you.”
“…R-really?”
“Mhm. If you were truly a cunning, high-ranking demon, in this situation, you would have come up with a more plausible lie.”
Amir placed her hands behind her head, shrugging at Histori—
“Not tell me some fairy tale that sounds like it came from a delusional mind.”
“…”
“So, the reason you risked being killed by me and still stubbornly stuck by my side is because you think I can help you find a way back?”
“Yes! If there’s anyone in this world who can help me achieve this, I believe it can only be you!”
Although that wasn’t the complete truth at all, now that Amir had finally relented, Histori didn’t care about arguing.
She nodded repeatedly at Amir like a chicken pecking at rice.
“But, Histori, as you can see now, before receiving the Hero’s Divine Protection, I was just an utterly ordinary person. I never even possessed a shred of the divine blessing that humans are supposed to have.”
Amir shook her head at Histori—
“Regarding this ‘world travel’ you speak of, I have absolutely no clue. And I have no talent for magic either, I can’t perform any miraculous feats.”
“In my view, the reason you’re giving now seems more like you’re assigning me a task that is fundamentally impossible to verify and impossible to complete.”
“…I-I’m being serious! And, and what’s so great about a divine blessing! In my original world, there were no such miraculous powers! Someone like you, who survives by their own hands, is the one worthy of respect, right?!”
“…Is that so?”
“Mhm, mhm!”
Seeing Amir looking thoughtful, seemingly not continuing to think about how to slice her head off, Histori swallowed and urgently added—
“Besides, about world travel, it’s actually not some impossible task!”
She hesitated for a moment, then stuffed her hands into her pockets, gripping the ruby necklace emitting a faint chill.
“Lady Amir, actually, right after I transmigrated here, a vague, ethereal voice once guided me.”
“A vague, ethereal voice?”
“Yes! That voice told me that as long as I could gather all the Sacred Artifacts in this world and utilize the mysterious power they contain, I would have a chance to open a rift between the two worlds and return to my own world!”
Wow, being able to easily connect these two things, I’m really a genius.
This kind of half-truth, half-lie is the hardest to distinguish.
Amir should also know I’m not just spouting nonsense…
However, as soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding air seemed to freeze for a few seconds.
“…Sacred Artifacts?”
Amir rubbed her chin, giving Histori a strange look up and down—
“Histori, before saying that, did you ever look into what exactly these so-called ‘Sacred Artifacts’ are?”
“…W-what are they?”
“In this world, besides the two great empires of the United Kingdom and the Eternal Night Territory, there are also various races like elves, dwarves, giants, and so on.”
Amir sat down on a nearby tree stump, using the flat of her sword to draw a circle on the ground—
“In this world of survival of the fittest, the reason they haven’t been occupied by the Demon Race or trampled by humans, and have always held a place, is because they possess Sacred Artifacts. In other words, only races with Sacred Artifacts have a chance to survive in this world. Otherwise, the best-case scenario is to become slaves driven by the Demon Race, like most orcs.”
“…So, Histori, do you understand now?”
Amir raised an eyebrow at Histori—
“Saying Sacred Artifacts are the pillars of the major races is already downplaying their importance. Including the Eternal Night Territory and the United Kingdom, Sacred Artifacts are the lifelines they depend on for survival.”
“Lifelines…”
“That’s right. And what you just implied is that to return to your homeland, you want to uproot the lifelines of all the major races and gather them all into your hands.”
“Histori, don’t you think that sounds a bit like a fantasy?”