My heart pounded hard.

Ma Hyeonseong, the protagonist of 『Infinite Wardens』.

「In the fifth scenario of the 41st round, that ‘Ma Hyeonseong’ appeared.」

As if that wasn’t enough, he even fought Yu Joonghyuk.

If you just heard that, it sounded like a match to decide the strongest protagonist, but the situation wasn’t that simple.

―Was it really definitely ‘Ma Hyeonseong’?
―It was definitely him.

Thinking about it with common sense, it was impossible for Ma Hyeonseong to appear as a disaster of the 41st round.

Setting aside the distortion of world lines, there were a few conditions required to become a disaster of the fifth “scenario.”

You had to be a monster species raised in a paradise, like the lesser dragon Ignir, or you had to enter into a contract with the Administration Bureau by severely violating some vital piece of Plausibility, like the Disaster of Questions, Myeong Ilsang, or you had to consecrate your own existence to the scenario for a specific purpose, like the Disaster of Flooding.

Ma Hyeonseong didn’t seem to be the first or second case.

Then that meant it was the third case.

Did Ma Hyeonseong have any reason to voluntarily subordinate himself to the Administration Bureau? Unless his own world had been destroyed—

Thinking that far, I let out a faint groan.

Ah.

A few settings surfaced belatedly. They had grown a bit faint with time, but the information of 『Infinite Wardens』 still remained in my head.

「Ma Hyeonseong’s world was destroyed.」

In the story, things hadn’t progressed that far, but in a broad sense, it was correct to say that Ma Hyeonseong’s world had come to an end. Both within the work and outside it.

What did that mean?

「Infinite Wardens is a novel I dropped in the middle of serialization.」

If the act of “dropping a serialization” contributed to a world coming to an end, then his world view had effectively stopped in its chronology.

All because of me, more than anyone else.

But I felt a little wronged too. It might sound strange, but 『Infinite Wardens』 was the kind of story that could only be completed in the form of being “dropped.”

Anyway.

―There’s no way Yu Joonghyuk could kill Ma Hyeonseong.

I didn’t know what kind of disaster Ma Hyeonseong had appeared as. But the Ma Hyeonseong I remembered was the absolute strongest of the 『Infinite Wardens』 world view.

Right before the serialization stopped, he was the strongest being in that world.

―But Yu Joonghyuk killed him. I clearly saw it.

―Can you tell me what disaster Ma Hyeonseong appeared as?

―The Disaster of Memories.

The Disaster of Memories?

As far as I knew, there was no such disaster.

But the names were something <Star Stream> attached as it pleased anyway.

―It was a disaster that never appeared in the main story. Honestly, I thought I really didn’t know the strategy for it either, but then Yu Joonghyuk suddenly rushed out on his own and fought it.

―And then?

―In less than five minutes, Ma Hyeonseong admitted defeat. He kept muttering something to himself… I don’t know exactly, but his face looked relieved.

A relieved face?

[The world system is suspicious of your actions.]

Tztztztzt, sparks jumped.

It seemed our secret talk could only go this far.

It was about time to move elsewhere.

“Did you happen to see where that bastard Yu Joonghyuk went?”

*

[You have acquired 1 point.]
[So far, you have acquired a total of 150 points.]

All I’d done was pick up trash, but I’d already acquired 150 points.

The final target was supposed to be 500 points, so at this rate, reaching the target was going smoothly.

“Dokja. Want to go bring Joonghyuk back? I think we should wrap up the volunteer work soon.”

“Sure, but where did he go?”

“Mm, well. I did see him heading that way earlier—”

I walked straight in the direction Ms. Lamb pointed.

First floor, second floor, third floor… I climbed the stairs, calling Yu Joonghyuk’s name.

It was a strange feeling. To actually be attending school. Yu Joonghyuk was probably the same. According to his setting values, he had never properly gone to school.

Thinking that, I felt like I knew where Yu Joonghyuk would be.

Yu Joonghyuk was on the rooftop.

Thinking about it, that was only natural.

For someone unfamiliar with school and not on good terms with others, the place he would head to was predetermined.

The regrettable thing was that even that rooftop wasn’t really a place he would like.

Because the rooftop was a place where you could see the sky too well.

As always, Yu Joonghyuk was looking up at the sky.

It looked like he was searching for his fated constellation, or recalling some distant memory. It looked like he was glaring at the stars in the night sky, or maybe gazing at the scenery of a world that had already perished.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but Yu Joonghyuk’s figure looked blurry.

What round was he living through right now?

Round 0 or round 1, or some round I didn’t know about. In some round everyone had forgotten, was he walking alone through the memories of a destroyed world?

Suddenly, someone’s large footprints left behind in a snowfield came to mind.

“Yu Joonghyuk.”

Slowly, Yu Joonghyuk turned around. He was puffing on a cigarette.

So it was because of the cigarette smoke that he looked blurry.

Judging from how he was trying hard to hold back a small cough, it seemed Yu Joonghyuk wasn’t used to cigarettes.

“What are you glaring at me like that for?”

“You’re glaring at me too.”

“These are just squinty eyes.”

Even though my face had changed into Kim Dokja’s, these damn squinty eyes wouldn’t be fixed.

“Didn’t you hear Ms. Lamb tell you not to smoke?”

“I told you this isn’t a cigarette.”

We stood side by side in front of the rooftop railing.

Thinking about it, I’d never once had a genuine conversation with the 41st round’s Yu Joonghyuk. My conversations with Yu Joonghyuk had always been filled with lies for the sake of survival.

But what about now?

Did he still recognize me as a “villain to be killed when things went wrong”?

“If you just throw that away, we’ll have to pick it up again—”

Ignoring my warning, Yu Joonghyuk flicked the butt down below. I could see Cha Sungwoo down there quickly catching the butt with a dustpan and muttering something.

“Got 1 point.”

He was probably saying something like that.

Side by side, Yu Joonghyuk and I looked down at the companions picking up trash on the school grounds, at Ms. Lamb with her white wings fluttering, and beyond that, at the dense forest.

「Forest of Demons.」

Philia Hunter Academy was a school created to face the demonfolk who crossed that “forest.” Many students had fought demonfolk there and lost their lives, becoming nourishment for the forest.

Despite the terrible history, from a distance the forest looked beautiful.

A forest whose golden leaves swayed, grown from the blood of humans and demonfolk— from their stories.

I thought that forest somehow resembled <Star Stream>.

“It’s a wonderful view.”

“You must think tragedies are beautiful.”

I marveled inwardly. As expected, in any round, Yu Joonghyuk was still Yu Joonghyuk.

It was definitely his first time visiting this world view. And yet Yu Joonghyuk had instantly recognized what kind of place that forest was.

“They say tragedies look like comedies from far away, don’t they?”

“That sounds like something some stupid constellations would say.”

“Humans are the same. Sometimes there are things you can only see when you squint.”

To endure a tragedy fully as a tragedy might be a meaningful way of life as well.

But not every human could be like Yu Joonghyuk.

“More importantly, let me have a drag too.”

“Go buy your own and smoke it.”

“Sell me a cigarette.”

Yu Joonghyuk stared at me for «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» a moment, then handed over one stick.

I looked down at the cigarette I’d received. I had a rough idea why Yu Joonghyuk was smoking “magic cigarettes.”

The defining feature of a magic cigarette was 「Recovery Acceleration」.

An item that boosted the recovery rate of health, mental strength, and mana, at the cost of burdening the user’s soul.

Yu Joonghyuk was probably chain-smoking these cigarettes to prepare for the next scenario.

I slowly inhaled the cigarette smoke, then let out a long breath in Yu Joonghyuk’s direction.

[Exclusive skill, ‘Smoke Human Lv.3’, is being activated.]

Smoke Human.

It was the ability of the reader “Kim Gyeongsik,” who had been absorbed into me.

The smoke billowed up just as I intended, then soon swelled like a cloud and wrapped around Yu Joonghyuk’s entire head.

“Nice view.”

From Yu Joonghyuk’s entire body, hidden by smoke, a fierce mana reaction could be felt.

He looked ready to activate [Hundred Steps Divine Fist] at any moment and punch a hole in my stomach.

But I believed Yu Joonghyuk wouldn’t do that.

Because inside that “smoke” barrier,

―Yu Joonghyuk. Have you gotten your memories back?

Yu Joonghyuk would have checked the “sentence” that only he could see.

[The world system is paying attention to your actions.]

Because I had overused [Group Chat] earlier, the world system had begun to suspect my communication ability.

So this was the stopgap measure I had come up with.

Using the [Smoke Human] skill to convey my intentions to Yu Joonghyuk.

“You don’t have to live that desperately. Sometimes it’s the kind of time where you have to fill your head with thick smoke. Just stay like that for a bit.”

At least on the surface, we would look like close friends joking around.

I really hoped that was the case.

[The world system lets go of its suspicion toward your actions.]

It was about thirty seconds later that Yu Joonghyuk’s [Transmitted Voice] came through.

―I’ve gotten back a fair amount.

As expected, it seemed Yu Joonghyuk had regained a considerable amount of his memories.

That meant he was slowly escaping from the side effects of the “tale engraving.”

―But you aren’t asking me anything. You must have a lot you’re curious about.

―I don’t think you’d answer honestly.

―You never know. Go on, if there’s anything you’re curious about, ask as much as you like. We’re comrades now, aren’t we.

At the word “comrades,” Yu Joonghyuk didn’t answer.

And after a moment, this answer came back.

―I know you’re not ‘Cheon Inho.’

―You really are quick on the uptake.

―Is ‘Kim Dokja’ your real name?

―You don’t need to know that. But I don’t mind if you call me that.

Because of the smoke, I couldn’t see what expression was on Yu Joonghyuk’s face.

After a brief silence, Yu Joonghyuk asked,

―Where did ‘Cheon Inho’ go?

Apparently, the 41st round’s Yu Joonghyuk also didn’t know where the true owner of my body had gone.

―I don’t know either. When I possessed this body, Cheon Inho wasn’t there.

―There’s no way he would have yielded his body so willingly. There must have been a purpose.

―Do you know Cheon Inho well?

It was a question I’d constantly been curious about.

What exactly was the relationship between the 40th round’s Yu Joonghyuk and Cheon Inho?

In Anna Croft’s memories, the two of them had been enemies. Not just enemies, but mortal foes who had pointed blades at each other’s throats.

―I don’t know him well.

―For someone who doesn’t, it sounds like you made some sort of promise with him.

I recalled the day I had first met Yu Joonghyuk.

Oksu Station.

Back when I was still acting as “Cheon Inho,” Yu Joonghyuk had said this as soon as he saw me.

―Back then, you told me. ‘Don’t come looking for me until the matter I ordered you to take care of is settled.’

When we first met, Yu Joonghyuk had thought I was “Cheon Inho” and given me an order.

To carry out the task he had assigned.

―What exactly was the contract you and Cheon Inho made in the last round?

The contract the 40th round’s Yu Joonghyuk and Cheon Inho had made. It felt like I had to know the contents of that contract to understand the secret of this round.

―Yu Joonghyuk?

As expected, Yu Joonghyuk didn’t answer this time either. I figured that was understandable. His memories hadn’t fully returned yet. And perhaps some memories had been lost forever.

―I don’t remember the exact details of the contract with Cheon Inho.

As expected.

I deliberately hid my disappointment and nodded. But then—

―But I do remember what I ordered Cheon Inho to do ‘first.’

Wrapped in the crumbling cloud of smoke, Yu Joonghyuk spoke.

―I told him to reform the villains of <Star Stream>, including the Ten Evils… to turn them into humans who would be useful to the scenario.

I asked back, my mouth hanging open blankly.

―Are you serious?

―I am.

Thinking about it, in the 40th round, Cheon Inho had been one of the Ten Evils, and the kind of person who could keep other villains as comrades. From Yu Joonghyuk’s point of view, it wasn’t strange to give that kind of order.

He was probably thinking of coaxing people at the level of the Ten Evils and running this round well.

I let out a light sigh and said,

―Then that’s a shame. Unfortunately, I…

―You kept the promise.

―…Huh?

I paused for a moment, then asked,

―What do you mean by that?

Because of the smoke, I couldn’t clearly see Yu Joonghyuk’s expression, but I could vaguely tell where he was looking.

The direction he was looking was down at the schoolyard.

It was the direction where my companions were.