I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-364

Ch-364. **Vow.**

—

“…He has improved a great deal.”

A spacious room prepared within the Papal Palace.

Andrew the priest, who had been examining the patient, took a deep breath.

After the Outer God was slain and the Tower of Ruin disappeared, he too had changed.

There was no trace left of his former corrupted self.

He was once again simply fulfilling his duties as a sound and diligent priest.

“But then… why isn’t she waking up?”

Isabella asked cautiously as she watched.

Her gaze slowly moved toward the bed.

Sonora lay asleep upon it.

Though she had regained her freedom from the Outer God, Sonora had yet to awaken even after all this time.

“Hm. Her body seems to have fully recovered, but… I’m not sure. It may be a psychological issue…”

Andrew replied with a troubled voice.

They had bestowed blessings and used potions, yet there was no response.

Her body had recovered normally, but she still would not open her eyes.

There was a high likelihood it was a mental issue.

Andrew spoke of what he suspected.

“Didn’t you say she was trapped in a hellish place for a very long time? Being exposed to an unsafe environment for too long could have caused her to shut down her consciousness. And on top of that, she went through *that* as well.”

Between the Abyss and the continent.

Enduring at least a dozen years alone in such a place was impossible.

Under extreme stress, her mind must have shut itself off.

She had even functioned as a vessel for an Outer God—honestly, it would have been stranger if she had awakened immediately.

“Then…”

“We must imprint upon her that she is now safe.”

She needed to realize that this was the outside world, and that the Outer God who tormented her was gone.

It meant that even if there was no response, they had to keep talking to her.

Isabella gently held Sonora’s hand.

“Sonora. It’s me. Isabella.”

Isabella’s eyes trembled slightly as she spoke.

Still—she was alive.

Compared to the past, when she could not even imagine meeting her again, this was far better.

Compared to the years she lived believing Sonora was dead…

This was far more hopeful.

At the same time, everything felt like fate.

What would have happened if she had never met Randolph in the desert city?

*If I hadn’t met Lord Randolph… I would have lived my entire life never knowing Sonora was alive.*

It would have been nothing short of a tragedy.

She would never have found her true self, never known of Sonora’s survival, and would have ended her life as a sacrifice to the Desert Queen.

That was why—

—Serve me for one year. After that, I will grant you freedom and help you find your roots.

The condition he had offered her back then.

Even after that one year had passed, the reason she continued to follow him was—

Isabella’s faith in Randolph—no, Park Hyeonmyung—had gradually become absolute.

Her belief in him had saved Sonora, and had saved herself.

There was no reason not to believe him. No reason not to follow him.

“You’ve truly changed a lot, Lady Isabella.”

Andrew suddenly said as he looked at her.

“…You think I’ve changed?”

“Yes. When I first met you, you seemed like someone who couldn’t smile.”

“….”

“Honestly, I was scared to even speak to you. Sir Hudson even confessed to me that he found you extremely intimidating.”

“Was I really like that…?”

“Now you speak with a smile, but yes… back then, you were quite terrifying. You feel like a completely different person now. Ah— I mean that in a good way.”

“Ah…”

Isabella nodded.

If the kind-hearted Andrew said so, then it must have truly been severe.

*I really have… changed a lot.*

Of course, it wasn’t hard to understand why.

Isabella suddenly recalled the days when she lived as the Snake Princess in the desert city.

Back then, she had no leeway—she was hostile toward everyone.

There was no hope in her life at all.

But now, Isabella’s heart was abundantly full.

She turned her head and smiled softly.

“Sonora. Listen. I have so much to tell you.”

She held Sonora’s hand tightly.

There was plenty of time ahead for them to share together.

So there was no need to rush—she would tell her everything, slowly.

…Just as she herself had changed.

Sonora, you can change too.

*

*

“Serengeti. Don’t you think you’ve been acting strange lately?”

The training grounds prepared within the Papal Palace.

Hudson spoke toward Serengeti, who had been training alone.

“…Huff! What do you mean, me?”

Serengeti lowered her sword and asked, and Hudson frowned slightly.

“It feels like you’re avoiding me.”

“Me, avoiding you? There’s no reason for that.”

“Oh, there is. Your first love.”

“……What are you talking about?”

“Vice-Captain Abeloff. Whenever he shows up, you can’t take your eyes off him.”

His expression was heated.

Even his tone was unusually serious.

Serengeti opened her mouth in flustered denial.

“I-it’s a misunderstanding.”

“If it’s a misunderstanding, why are you panicking?”

“That’s a misunderstanding too. I’m not panicking!”

“You think I don’t know you? I can tell just by your eyes.”

In front of Hudson, Serengeti couldn’t hide her expressions.

The moment Abeloff’s name came up, her pupils dilated sharply—Hudson caught it instantly.

Serengeti let out a sigh.

“I’m… just…”

“Just what?”

“…Then what about you, Hudson? Why are *you* just sitting there?”

“What do you mean, sitting there?”

“Aren’t we going to get married?”

“……”

Hudson went completely speechless.

The wedding that had already fallen apart once.

After that, there had never really been a chance to talk properly about it.

Serengeti spoke heavily.

“If you’re that anxious, then let’s do it.”

“…You know. I’m…”

“It doesn’t matter. You’re Hudson. Even if you become someone else, the identity of the Hudson I fell for won’t disappear.”

A Player.

In this world, a being branded as a sinner.

That was Hudson.

After revealing the truth, Hudson no longer knew how to face Serengeti.

And yet, Serengeti said she didn’t care even if he was someone else.

What she loved wasn’t his appearance.

“……”

As Hudson looked on the verge of tears, Serengeti smiled brightly.

“Hudson. I’m scared too. I’m always afraid that one day you’ll suddenly disappear. But at the same time, I’m curious. What kind of person you are in that other world.”

Just as Hudson was afraid, Serengeti was afraid as well.

Afraid that one day he might abandon this world without hesitation.

He might meet someone else on Earth.

Even so, Serengeti wanted to embrace it.

No—she wanted to understand him more.

If they stayed like this, their relationship would never move forward.

Serengeti tightly grasped Hudson’s trembling hand.

“Let’s talk properly this time. About our past and our future together.”

“Ah…”

Tears welled up in Hudson’s eyes.

He had never imagined Serengeti cared this deeply.

…He had to change.

And to do that, they had to face each other honestly.

Hudson nodded.

“…Yes. Let’s do that.”

For the first time, Hudson and Serengeti faced each other fully.

*

*

“Youthful, aren’t they?”

Abeloff said while looking at Hudson and Serengeti from afar.

Youthful.

Meaning—beautiful to behold.

Then Abeloff turned toward me and spoke again.

“Captain, have you ever been in love?”

“…That’s rather sudden.”

Before the Goddess Festival began, it was a rare moment of rest.

While walking around the Papal Palace with Abeloff, wearing the helmet that the Nameless Eagle had transformed into—

He asked me something I’d never been asked before.

“There are many admirable people around you, aren’t there?”

“Admirable? In what sense?”

“In every sense. Saint Seia, Isabella, Lilith— all of them.”

“……”

Well.

Love, huh.

Certainly, all those Abeloff mentioned had outstanding qualities.

Naturally, they could be seen as members of the opposite sex, but asking whether I’d ever been in love was… complicated.

Love was something shared by two people, wasn’t it?

I don’t think I’ve ever experienced true love.

A phrase I’d once heard suddenly came to mind.

*Then just marry the game.*

Hmm.

In any case, Abeloff knew everything about me.

That I was an existence from another world who had acted as Wilhelm.

“Abeloff. Have you ever been in love?”

Perhaps because of watching Hudson and Serengeti.

I found myself suddenly curious.

Abeloff shook his head.

“How could someone like me, who was once a sacrifice to an evil god, ever meet someone?”

“Meeting someone isn’t a sin. Then why not try now?”

“…Pardon?”

Abeloff blinked.

Once a sacrifice to an evil god, and having lived unnamed as the vice-captain of the Round Table for countless years.

But now, things had to change.

I didn’t want them to live on forgotten.

“Isn’t this a good opportunity?”

“What… what do you mean? Surely not—?”

“Well. With the Goddess Festival and the election of the Pope, people from all across the continent will gather. So trying to meet someone this time wouldn’t be bad. You, and all the other members as well.”

“That may be the most difficult task in the world…”

Abeloff shook his head.

Masters with the sword, yet third-rate—or worse—when it came to dealing with people.

That was the Knights of the Round Table.

“…Still, if it is an order, I will attempt the challenge.”

Abeloff nodded firmly.

They had transcended time, and even death.

There was nothing they couldn’t attempt.

Something he could never have imagined before.

A challenge he wouldn’t even have dared to name.

But they had to change.

They couldn’t live as ghosts bound to the past ever again.

Abeloff looked at the Master of the Round Table and thought:

*You are as astonishing as ever.*

…Still great.

In the World Tree’s Dungeon, Abeloff and the Round Table Knights had watched him.

A man who never retreated even before Forgotten Gods, inspiring nothing but awe.

Then he erected the Tower of Ruin—and destroyed it himself, reaching the pinnacle.

He accomplished the world’s most difficult feats one after another.

How many more incredible things would happen from now on—he couldn’t even imagine.

Naturally, Abeloff couldn’t remain idle.

And above all, he felt genuine gratitude.

That he could continue the journey he thought had ended with the Grand Expedition.

*Thank you, Captain. For not forgetting us.*

No matter how different his appearance was, there was no doubt.

The one who remembered them could only be Wilhelm.

Abeloff swore.

*No matter what happens, I will protect you.*

He would protect him without fail.

…Even if a situation arose where he had to give his life again, he would never hesitate.

*

*

It was a moment as brief as a blink.

All of Earth’s people looked up at the sky.

【The progression speed of the ‘World Erosion Rate’ is rapidly increasing.】

【The erosion rate has reached 28%.】

A message announcing a sharp rise in the erosion rate.

But what caught people’s attention wasn’t the message.

“…What is that?”

“Something’s falling from the sky!”

“Black? Is that oil or something?”

People were baffled.

Because something like black liquid had begun pouring down from the sky.

Soon, they realized where it was coming from.

“A-a tower!”

“A tower is falling from the sky…!”

A massive tower’s debris had begun to crash down from above.

But that wasn’t all that fell.

Haaaaah!

“Sp-spirits?”

“Why are spirits suddenly—?!”

“Don’t tell me… was that the Spirit Tower that fell?”

…Spirits.

Manifested spirits were pouring down indiscriminately.

But even that didn’t last long.

“The spirits are…”

“They’re merging!”

“Wh-what the hell is going on?!”

A chain of incomprehensible events.

Things utterly beyond understanding unfolded one after another.

This bizarre situation was reported simultaneously all across the globe.

But once the spirits began merging, no one could tell what was happening anymore.

The area was engulfed by something like a black sphere, obscuring everything.

As a result, several nations dispatched Awakeners to investigate.

Five hundred explorers in total.

However, out of the five hundred Awakeners who entered the black sphere—

Not a single one returned alive.