The Monologue Must End · Chapter 10
Facing the Truth
Yoo Mina
I... created all of this?
Asherah
Don't listen to her, Mina! She's just trying to provoke you!
Rosaria
You do have a talent for fresh jokes, mortal forever hounded by women.
Do you really think I would need to deceive you at this point?
Asherah
Th-that's because your attacks aren't working, so you're stalling for time!
Rosaria
Hmph. You are one who simply refuses to listen.
I even went out of my way to show kindness for once.
Hilde
...I see. So it started when things went out of sync.
Yoo Mina
Commander...?
Asherah
W-wait!
Do you also believe Mina's the culprit, Hilde? Isn't she your precious comrade in arms?
Hilde
Sorry to cut you short, but there is no culprit here.
The rookie wouldn't even be capable of realizing what she did in the first place.
Did something click for you?
Hilde
At the time...
I was facing Asmodeus.
It was certainly too soon for a confrontation.
And at that moment... the rookie appeared through a quantum tunnel.
Yoo Mina
...Right.
I was chasing the Replacer King... but I ended up somewhere completely different.
Hilde
When I confronted Asmodeus, it was right after the Replacer Queen had withdrawn.
At that point, you should've still been with my apprentice aboard the dimension ship [New Ohio].
Yoo Mina
What...?
Hilde
Quantum tunnels are unstable, rookie.
That instability allows even probabilistically impossible outcomes to manifest in reality.
Yoo Mina
Then... are you saying I went back to the past?
Hilde
No. If anything...
It would be more accurate to say you reached the future.
A new world branched off through the quantum tunnel, one aligned with the future you desired.
Yoo Mina
Then what does that mean, Commander?
Are you saying... all of this happened because of me?
No... That's impossible...
She's the one who set the Counterside on fire in the first place!
Rosaria
Oh? And yet you were perfectly fine just a moment ago, were you not?
Surely you're not about to claim your skills kept you alive, are you?
Yoo Mina
That's...!
Rosaria
This is a world of possibilities born from the instability of the quantum tunnel.
And it was your will that put those possibilities into motion.
My flames were nothing more than stage dressing. One way or another, this outcome was inevitable.
Yoo Mina
That's absurd!
Commander! Say something!
Hilde
...
Yoo Mina
Commander...?
Rosaria
Hmm. Looks like Hilde has already noticed.
So tell me, young Wolf.
Why did you come back here instead of chasing that King or whatever you called it?
Yoo Mina
Don't be ridiculous. There was no reason for that...
The only reason I'd do that is...
...Narae was my only friend.
And when she was about to die in front of me... again...
I could do nothing but watch...
Asherah
Mina...
Yoo Mina
Right up until I entered the quantum tunnel, I kept thinking.
Yoo Mina
That maybe... if only I could turn everything back.
That maybe I could stop Narae and say the things I never got to say.
Is that so wrong?
Wanting to turn things back, if it were possible?
Why...?!
Yoo Mina
Why did she sacrifice herself as if she had nothing to live for?
Damn it...!
Omega
Mina's... crying...
Rosaria
Hmhmm. Looks like it's finally sinking in.
Now then, what will you do next, outsiders?
Asherah
What do you mean by that?
Rosaria
You've finally found the one you were so desperately searching for.
Her lingering attachment to her friend interfered with the quantum tunnel, splitting the timeline.
But time simply does not turn back.
No matter how much you cling to the past, all that remains is a wasteland like this.
Yoo Mina
...
Rosaria
Wouldn't it make more sense to point your blade at the young Wolf, not me?
Well, you may take your time to think, if you'd like.
Watching you falter and lose everything because you cannot choose would be entertaining too.
Ahahahaha!
Omega
Y-you're wrong! Mister and Asherah would never do that!
Rosaria, you're not fully assembled yet, and your heart's broken too!
Rosaria
Not fully... assembled?
...Are you referring to my height?
Omega
Yeah, that's right!
Y-you're small, unfinished, and your heart is completely wrecked!
Rosaria
Y-you miserable rusty tin can, not even worth scrap—how dare you...?!!
Asherah
...Then is there a way to fix this?
Rosaria
Oh ho...?
Yoo Mina
...Asherah?
Asherah
Rosaria, you knew from the beginning that Mina was the cause of this world, didn't you?
Then you must also know how to fix it.
Rosaria
Maybe, maybe not.
At the moment, I do not feel inclined to extend such kindness to you trivial mortals.
Asherah
W-what?!
You're responsible for bringing things to this point too!
Yoo Mina
...It's okay, Asherah.
Like you said. Finish me.
Asherah
N-no! Don't say something like that!
Yoo Mina
But...
There's still a way.
Yoo Mina
Don't make things up. There's no way to fix this at this point.
Hilde
...Don't be so quick to decide, rookie.
For now, let's trust the Captain.
Yoo Mina
Commander, even you...?
Thanks, Hilde.
Hilde
No need to thank me. I simply thought that trying it wouldn't hurt.
So, what is this method?
Could you at least tell your acting servant about it?
Rosaria
Oh? You dare make demands of me while calling yourself my servant?
It's not a demand. Let's make a deal.
I think that shoulder ride I gave you should be worth a hint.
Asherah
A-a shoulder ride...?
Omega
Omega wanted to ride on Mister's shoulders too...
Rosaria
Ahahahaha!
I granted you the honor of carrying me on your shoulders, and you still have the nerve to claim you did me a favor?
Very well. I will permit it this once, as a special exception in recognition of your audacity.
Hilde
...I'm surprised you would indulge such wordplay.
What whim has taken you this time, Asmodeus?
Rosaria
Since I have achieved my goal, there is no reason to linger somewhere without a television or potato chips.
And more importantly...
Rosaria
...I've already taken care of the necessary measures.
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