WICE 12

#12.

“You mean… time is frozen?”

“Yes. The stories in comics that exist on Earth are actually real dimensions. As the people in those dimensions live out their lives, I manage them by drawing parts of those lives into comics through humans on Earth.”

“W-What are you talking about…?”

Are you out of your mind?

I barely stopped myself from saying it out loud, and Guinness continued calmly.

“Sometimes, even I’m not satisfied with how the stories end, or they end up as incoherent messes. Since it’s reality, I can’t control everything.”

“That’s ridiculous…”

None of this made any clear sense. The idea that the worlds inside comics were actually other dimensions—it was too shocking to take at face value.

“Occasionally, there are people like you, Sohee, who deeply empathize with characters in comics. When that happens, I sometimes give them a chance, depending on my mood.”

“A chance?”

“Yes. A chance to become a character in the story and create the outcome they want.”

“……”

As I stared at him in disbelief, he just shrugged.

“Well, most of them end up crying and wanting to go home halfway through, or they mess up the story completely. But sometimes, they bring about endings I really like—it makes me happy.”

Isn’t that kind of sadistic?

So, he was basically saying he sent people between dimensions for his own amusement.

Having lived as Roni for five years, I couldn’t deny that what he was saying wasn’t just nonsense. I had no choice but to swallow the rising curse words, realizing that he truly had the power to do what he said.

According to Guinness, the comics on Earth were actually stories from real dimensions, and he had the hobby of gathering and drawing parts of those lives using human hands.

Even in this world, magic existed, but I had never heard of magic that allowed one to move or create dimensions. Perhaps he was some kind of god, whether in this world or on Earth.

“Why did you possess me into Roni’s body? And you dropped me here five years before the original story began—without any explanation.”

“Because you wanted to make Allen happy, I gave you the role of Roni Sharligan, the person closest to him. If you’d been dropped in right at the beginning of the comic, it would have been a guaranteed bad ending for Allen no matter what you did.”

“……”

I was at a loss for words after hearing it was only ever going to be a bad ending. Guinness, meanwhile, spared no detail in his explanation.

“Anyway, the dimension of Vianna’s Delight started shifting from the moment you, Kim Sohee, entered. These are real, living beings after all.”

“…Is it really okay to mess with people’s lives like this?”

“I only create and move dimensions—I don’t directly interfere in this world. I sometimes enter as a character, but I can’t fully intervene.”

“You can’t interfere?”

“Right. That’s why I couldn’t come to you until this spring, when the comic began. The people here each live as the protagonist of their own stories. You entered a world where Allen is the protagonist.”

“What about returning to Earth?”

“You can’t leave until the original comic ends, which is one year from now, when Vianna turns nineteen and gets married.”

“What happens when the comic ends?”

“Even when it ends, this world won’t disappear because it really exists. But your contract will end, and you’ll return to Earth.”

“…Then what happens to Roni Sharligan?”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about stealing her life. The original Roni is living out her own story in a different dimension, just as depicted in the comic you know.”

“Huh?”

“In other words, you returned to her past and interfered with the comic timeline. That’s all.”

When I still looked confused, Guinness explained further.

“Once the comic ends, you’ll return to Earth, and this world’s Roni will be forgotten by the people here. It’ll be like a short-lived incident you created.”

‘…This is insane!’

Seeing Guinness laugh like it was no big deal, I clenched my trembling fists in anger.

According to him, I was transported into the world of the comic Vianna’s Delight, and the story changes depending on my actions, creating a new version of the comic.

Once the comic concludes, the existence known as Roni disappears and is forgotten by everyone.

That meant Allen might lose all memory of the six years we spent together—as if they never happened.

Even if the comic ends happily, would Allen really be okay? He wouldn’t know anything, and I had already intervened too much in his life as the protagonist.

I protested bitterly to Guinness.

“You could’ve told me everything before sending me here.”

“Like I said, I can’t interfere before the comic starts, so I couldn’t explain the contract. Oh, and sorry I was late. I was dealing with a little trouble in another comic world.”

Oh, sorry? That’s it?

As I trembled in anger, he said cheerfully:

“But you did good not killing Sasha. If Sasha dies, Allen can only end up with a bad ending.”

Is that something to say right now!?

You dropped me here with no explanation and placed me in the past where Allen’s bad ending could’ve been triggered!

If I had been even a little late, Sasha would’ve died. Then no matter what I did, Allen would’ve ended up miserable.

Right now, I was both Roni and Sohee. And the being in front of me had the power to send me somewhere strange at any moment.

Even if I know the truth, there’s nothing I can do.

It was the most helpless I’d felt in a long time. I muttered, feeling conflicted.

“…Do you find this fun?”

“Hmm…”

Guinness looked a little lonely. After a moment, he glanced off into the distance.

“He’s coming.”

“……”

“I’ll visit as a character next time.”

And with that, Guinness vanished. While we were talking, the sky had grown dim. It was late spring, but it had rained last night, so it felt chilly and gloomy.

I quickly cradled Sasha and started down the forest path. I hadn’t gone far when I spotted someone.

It was Allen. His once-neat hair was disheveled, and he looked around anxiously.

Then he spotted me and stormed over, furious. He grabbed my shoulders—not hard enough to hurt, but still with force.

Even though he was the one who left first, he was acting like I had abandoned him. Allen stared down at the ground for a while in silence, then draped his coat over my shoulders and spoke in a cold voice.

“Why… did you come here?”

“Sasha suddenly disappeared. I didn’t think—I just ran.”

I gave a sheepish smile. Beads of sweat clung to Allen’s forehead. He must’ve been running around looking for me.

“Your energy vanished all of a sudden.”

“R-Really? I must’ve gone too far.”

No way would a royal-ranked magic swordsman fail to sense a young lady’s presence just because she went “too far.” But I couldn’t mention Guinness, so I played dumb.

Allen stared at me quietly, then sighed and brushed his messy hair back.

Ah… He must’ve been really worried. I felt bad.

I quickly pulled a handkerchief from my bag and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He didn’t stop me—he just stood there. Then, he gripped my hand and said,

“Don’t disappear on me like that again.”

His words pricked at my heart. Maybe it was a trauma from when his mother left him with Marquis Romanite and disappeared.

Come to think of it, he had left me behind—and then my energy vanished. Of course, he’d be scared. Guinness probably hid my presence so we could talk.

I silently looked down at Allen’s hand holding mine. For some reason, I suddenly felt a deep tenderness for him.

What should I do? I’ll be gone in a year.

Normally, I would’ve been overjoyed at Allen worrying about me. But now that I knew the reason I was here, my heart felt cold.

If I just live this year out quietly, Allen won’t attend the magic academy or meet Vianna. That would end in a bad ending.

Then what’s the point of me being here? I knew I had to change something. I pulled my hand from Allen’s and spoke firmly.

“Go to the magic academy.”

“Then marry me first.”

“I said I won’t.”

“Then I’m not going either.”

“……”

As expected, he was being stubborn. If I wanted to send him to the academy, I had to be a little harsher. And I knew exactly what to say to make him listen.

I don’t want to ruin your world as an outsider.

Even knowing it would hurt him, I had no choice but to say it.

“If you don’t go to the academy, I’ll break off the engagement.”