Chapter 146 - 2‐28
"...Louis-sama."
"Rachel."
"Louis-sama? Is it... is it really you?"
"Rachel. Ah, you were safe... Thank goodness. Truly, thank goodness."
"But... Louis-sama, you shouldn't have regained consciousness yet..."
I couldn't quite process the situation. My confused mind was filled with nothing but questions of how and why. Even so, the joy of seeing Louis-sama open his eyes and call my name made my heart tremble with delight. I reached out with a shaking hand, but it never reached him.
"Ah, I see. I cannot go to where you are, Rachel. I'm sorry, I cannot move beyond this point."
"What do you mean? Why are you here, Louis-sama? Why are you inside that light?"
Before me, the blue light had transformed into a large, rectangular box. It was like a glass-walled room only large enough for one person. Even when I reached out, I couldn't touch Louis-sama himself. My hand was blocked by an invisible wall that felt cold like glass. I knew this icy sensation. It was the same feeling I had when I first entered the Spirit Land alone—the invisible barrier that separated the Spirit Land from the rest of the world. It felt as though that same wall now stood between us.
"We don't have much time, so please listen without being too startled. It seems I am currently in a different world-line than the one you are in."
"A different world-line? No... that can't be... Louis-sama was in a coma just a moment ago. You should be sleeping in your bed even now."
My eyes widened in shock at his words.
"Yes. The conclusion I reached with the Theodore here is that the Dark Spirit King likely swapped my consciousness with the 'me' of this world, leaving our bodies as they were."
"Is such a thing even possible...?"
I swallowed the question before it could leave my lips. It was certainly possible for the Dark Spirit King. After all, he had said that resurrecting me was a simple task that required no effort at all.
Which means Louis-sama is in one of the countless 'what-if' worlds, different from the 'Main Axis' Nel-sama mentioned.
"The Dark Spirit King said he wanted to play a game as a condition for saving you. He didn't tell me the specific details of the game..."
"I see... Falling from that cliff put my life in grave danger. Rachel, I've caused you so much worry. I'm doing it even now. I'm sorry for constantly making you anxious."
"N-no, not at all!"
I shook my head as Louis-sama bit his lip, looking apologetic with a furrowed brow. In the midst of the uncertainty of whether he would survive, I had desperately grabbed the only hand offered to me during his crisis, without even knowing what it would entail.
"I'm the one who should apologize. I didn't even know you were in such a situation, and I couldn't do anything for you."
"That's not true. If you hadn't sought help, I might never have been able to speak with you again. Considering that, perhaps there is mercy even in this situation—even if it is just a game for the Spirit King."
Louis-sama stared at his own hands for a moment, then clenched them into fists as if making a resolution and looked up.
"Thank you, Rachel. I think I'm starting to grasp the situation. You are with the Spirit King, then?"
"Yes. Kuro is with me as well."
"And the other 'me' hasn't regained consciousness. In that case, I must return to your side as quickly as possible... before the other 'me' wakes up."
"Eh? I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear that."
Louis-sama had placed a hand to his chin and muttered something to himself that didn't reach me. When I asked him to repeat it, he shook his head and gave a slightly awkward smile.
"No, it's nothing. For now, let me explain my situation. Ah, I should also tell you about the hypothesis Theodore and I have regarding my current circumstances."
To my bewildered self, Louis-sama began to explain his situation bit by bit. He told me how he had woken up in the Office in the Kingdom of Dutoit after falling from the cliff in the Kingdom of Orta. Since the ceremony in Orta had already ended and he had already returned home, it seemed the flow of time in the two worlds was roughly the same. He had explained his situation to Theodore-sama and sought his help. Now, he was working with Theodore-sama, Cyril, and Anna-san to find a way back to the original world.
He had been able to come here because the Dark Spirit King suddenly appeared before him, saying only, "I'll give you a hint." He was told that his time limit was until the large hourglass at his feet ran out.
"An hourglass... No, more than half the sand has already fallen!"
"Yes. I tried to stay as calm as possible to grasp the situation, but it's difficult. When I'm actually facing you, Rachel, my joy and affection for you take over."
"If all this sand falls..."
"Then this space of light will close entirely. I will likely return to where I was."
As he spoke, Louis-sama bit his lip, his expression pained.
"Return to where you were? Where exactly is that...?"
I looked up sharply as the thought hit me. Could it be...
The phrase "former Main Axis" that Nel-sama had used suddenly surfaced in my mind. If the world I was originally from was the "former Main Axis," what had happened to it? The question flickered through my mind.
"Could it be that the world you are in, Louis-sama, is..."
My heart throbbed with a sickening rhythm. I prayed fervently that I was wrong, but Louis-sama gave a pained nod. The words he spoke next confirmed my fears. When he finally opened his heavy mouth, he spoke of the past reality—the breaking of our engagement and my execution.