Chapter 4
Some time passed.
As the sun fell beyond the horizon, it was around the time when stars began to raise their heads.
An alley covered in strange shadows.
As if black fog had settled, one couldn't see even an inch ahead.
It was a scene that gave a somewhat dreamlike impression.
It resembled a dream falling at dawn.
However, such a scene reverses as if it had never been.
Snap!
Lightly snapping fingers.
Following the crisp bursting sound, the fog that had been swallowing the alley disappears in an instant.
Without leaving a trace.
"Phew......"
In the place where the pitch darkness retreated, I exhale.
Perhaps because it's been a while since I used my ability.
My fingertips felt tingly.
Did I overdo it a bit too flashily?
I dust off the shadows remaining on my sleeve.
As I move my hand carelessly, a faint groan reaches my ears.
"Ugh, uuh......"
"Uuugh......"
Two people rolling on the ground.
The pig and the guard knight.
Their shabby bodies writhe in unison with their eyes rolled back.
It seems they've broken down after being hit directly with a 'lie'.
From now on, they'll live the life of invalids.
They'll spend their miserable remaining days as idiots unable to do anything.
I quietly express my regret.
"...I didn't intend to go this far."
I wanted to resolve this nicely if possible.
Because I'm a generous person.
But when the name 'Regia' popped out of his mouth, I couldn't hold back.
"Well~ People should know their place, right?"
To think a mere extra would try to lay hands on our protagonist.
It was unforgivable.
If you cross the line, you must pay the price.
"This is the price I'm imposing on you."
A sneer spreads across my lips.
Wrapping up the blooming mockery, I turned my back.
Having dealt with the dangerous elements, I was now thinking of returning to my lodgings.
As I was moving my steps like that.
"......"
Something touches my feet.
Confirming what it was, I quietly knelt forward.
It was a boy who looked about ten years old.
No, to be precise, it was his corpse.
A face covered in blood.
His face was crushed, as if he had been beaten with mana infused into the blows.
Perhaps he fell victim to misplaced anger.
Only clear tear tracks remained on his starved cheeks.
I slowly extended my hand and wiped his cold, lifeless eyes.
"...How cruel."
That's just how slums are.
It's a place where you're killed for being immature and powerless.
"You had to die because you were young."
All adults were once children.
But most don't remember their childhood.
"My poor Leon Bert."
However, for you, even the right to forget your childhood wasn't yours.
Your time stopped before you could become an adult.
May this street remember you.
And on behalf of your adult self, may it forget your childhood.
Rustle-.
I cover the boy's face with a handkerchief from my pocket.
A moment of mourning song.
Soon after, I stood up again, dusting myself off.
'Now I really should head back.'
There was a lot to do.
With a week left until Academy admission.
Especially tomorrow, a really important event was scheduled to happen.
Preparation was needed.
'By the way... I feel like someone's been here since earlier.'
Suddenly tilting my head at a presence felt from afar.
I stare with furrowed brows but.
Perhaps because I just used my ability, my senses were dulled from dizziness.
Still, there didn't seem to be a need to be on guard.
There was no killing intent, and no signs of abnormal mana circulation either.
It was probably just a drunkard wandering around.
I sorted out my thoughts like that.
It would be troublesome if this scene was discovered.
With the feeling of quickly leaving the place, I moved my steps towards the exit of the alley.
***
In the alley the snake had left.
A figure that had been hiding in the corner reveals itself.
"......"
She was a girl who didn't quite fit in the slums.
Eyes blue like the sea.
Her platinum blonde hair reaching her shoulders shimmers even in the night backdrop.
Although she wore a robe to hide her identity, her unique noble air couldn't be easily erased.
The girl carefully looks around.
She seemed to be wary in case the snake hadn't completely left the alley.
Fortunately, there were no suspicious signs.
Only then did the girl release her hand from the sword at her waist.
Thud-.
The girl sits down as if her strength had left her.
Cold sweat beads on her forehead.
Her face remained expressionless as always, but she was quite flustered in truth.
"...What on earth was that?"
She mutters to herself.
The girl's eyes grew distant as if recalling the scene from just now.
A scene that was literally a nightmare.
The girl clenched her fist at her involuntarily trembling shoulders.
"I've never heard of such a thing."
While there had been rumors that the atmosphere in the slums had been unsettling recently, she hadn't heard news of such a monster existing.
What was going on?
She touches her forehead as her head throbs.
The girl stood up.
It seemed she felt an investigation was needed.
About the 'man' she had witnessed.
"I should head back for now."
The Empire's First Imperial Princess, Charlotte Little von Staufen.
A character called another protagonist of the original game 'The World the Little Prince Sees'.
The Little Prince, Charlotte.
The girl moved quietly.
So as not to let anyone notice her presence.
***
After a day full of events, back at the lodgings.
I was lying on the bed.
It wasn't particularly tiring.
I was just recovering some of the power I had suddenly used.
"It really is a difficult ability to handle."
I unconsciously mutter to myself.
Perhaps due to the aftereffects of the ability, a tingling sensation still remained at my fingertips.
I tightly clenched my fist.
"Hmm."
While it was a tricky ability to handle, it was also that powerful.
If I put my mind to it, I could erase the entire continent.
'Unique Ability, Liar.'
The power to twist logic through spoken lies.
I can deceive anything I want to deceive, and deny anything I want to deny.
Of course, I can manipulate others as I wish.
Objects, magic, nature... it was an ability that could even affect laws.
To give an example.
It's easier to recall the final battle between the protagonist's group and Judah in the original work.
-Hahaha! No matter how you swing that sword, it won't reach me?
-Because I'm denying you.
The sword star's strike misses.
As if toying with them, the snake narrowly avoids it.
-Hmm~ Magic is a bit annoying. Then shall we set a rule here?
-From now on, magic doesn't work on me.
He easily receives the attacks shot by the magicians.
Sharply honed mana. But it doesn't even leave a scratch on the snake.
-Oops! You almost killed me, Miss Regia.
-As expected, the summons you control are dangerous!
-Shall I make them exit for a moment?
The summon controlled by the protagonist disappears. As if it never existed in this world from the beginning.
-It's getting a bit boring.
-Shall we... make the world a bit more interesting?
He denies the laws.
As the boy claps once, the gravity of the entire continent reverses.
People fall towards the sky.
A scene that could be called destruction.
Along with the rippling black fog, the liar smiles lecherously.
"......"
It was a scene that triggered trauma.
Shit. You should be strong within reasonable limits.
Who the hell sets up such a bastard as the final boss?
There's a reason I tried 1943 times.
The difficulty was insanely high.
One misstep and total annihilation, yawn and total annihilation, blink and total annihilation.
Watching the protagonist's group getting so miserably beaten, curses would automatically spew from my mouth.
Still, I finally succeeded in defeating him at the end.
The problem was that I was dragged into this world before I could see the ending.
"It's a shame."
=This sucks.
Anyway, that was the ability this body possessed.
The power to erase the world single-handedly.
Of course, it wasn't without weaknesses.
As powerful as it was, it wasn't efficient, so it was difficult to sustain the ability for long.
Judah in the latter half of the original work seemed to have overcome this problem, but I didn't have that.
I'm still just a 3-year-old baby in terms of possession.
You should compare apples to apples.
In other words, I can't do things like 'Reversing Continental Gravity'.
'I could try it but... I'd probably run out of power first.'
This ability is like a battery.
Once I use up all the lies at my disposal, the ability no longer activates.
The reason I can't become a large-scale 'Liar' like Judah is the same principle as not being able to run a computer with AAA battery power.
Moreover, after using it once, I must recharge it before I can use it again.
There's no way you can do anything with an empty battery.
The charging method was as follows:
"I confess to myself. I didn't do anything today."
Shortly after the brief sentence rings out, a blue screen appears before my eyes.
-Ding!
[A small amount of lies has been recovered.]
[Current remaining output: 57%]
Should I say it's an ability faithful to the concept?
It was a system where charging occurs by telling lies.
The more perfect the lie, the greater emotional change it causes in the listener, the more effective it is.
"I ate stew for lunch today."
-Ding!
[A small amount of lies has been recovered.]
[Current remaining output: 57.5%]
"I am outdoors right now."
-Ding!
[A small amount of lies has been recovered.]
[Current remaining output: 57.8%]
"I hate games."
-Ding!
[A small amount of lies has been recovered.]
[Current remaining output: 58.4%]
"I am not human."
-Ding!
[A lie has......]
You can think of it as working like this.
Actually, such trivial lies don't charge much, but it's still good to keep doing them.
Because I need to always be in a state where I can use the ability.
Maybe some other method will come up as time passes.
For now, this was the best option.
It feels like training to get used to telling lies too.
I kept muttering lies like that while lying on the bed for a while.
'Come to think of it... is tomorrow already the day that event happens?'
Suddenly, one thing comes to mind.
Following that, my indifferent mouth corners curve lecherously.
Something interesting will happen tomorrow.
Ripples form in my calm heart.
Chewing on the rising anticipation, I wrapped up the day.
***
The next day, after a full day had passed.
I left the lodgings only when evening came, as the sun was setting.
It was to head towards the event.
Hiding my excited heart, I slowly took steps.
Whoosh-.
Even though the sunset was falling, spring is spring, I suppose.
Flower petals clinging to every passing breeze.
It's a cozy continuing scenery.
As I cross the street, before long my feet touch the destination.
Actually, I didn't just walk here.
I used a 'lie' midway to deny space.
A distance that would normally take over an hour by carriage was shortened to less than 10 minutes.
-Ding!
[Current remaining output: 81.7%]
Leaving the mechanical sound reaching my ears behind, I raised my head.
A huge building enters my blurry vision.
It was an excessively lavish exterior for a building erected in such a remote place.
'It's exactly as I saw in the game.'
The Empire's largest slave auction house, Apple Tree.
It was an illegal facility operated by the 'businessman', a big shot in the underworld.
And it was also the background where a certain character's story begins.
I approached the large entrance.
A doorkeeper blocks the way as if to check the guest list.
"Only those with reservations can enter Apple Tree. May I have your name?"
Of course, I hadn't made any reservations.
Instead of answering the question, I slightly raised my right hand and said:
"Could you look this way for a moment?"
"Pardon?"
The moment our eyes meet.
Snap!
I flick my prepared finger.
Immediately after, the focus disappears from the doorkeeper's eyes.
The broken doll seems to twitch, then soon loses reason and freezes in place.
I whisper towards those eyes:
"Step aside."
"......Reservation name confirmed. I'll escort you to the VIP seats."
"How kind of you."
"I hope you have a good time."
Entering the auction house leisurely like that.
Perhaps because the brainwashing hit directly, the doorkeeper handed over quite an authentic seat.
A high-class seat with a clear view of the stage.
I hummed a tune as I leaned back into the plush backrest.
-Thank you all for visiting the best auction house 'Apple Tree' today as well!
-Before we begin the main auction, a few announcements......
The voice of the host chattering excitedly.
Regardless of that, my attention was fully focused on the floor below.
My current location. Below the auction house floor, there exists an underground prison.
A place where beastkin kidnapped illegally are locked up to be sold as slaves.
The person I'm looking for would probably be underground as well.
A character from the game 'The World the Little Prince Sees'.
A supporting character who helps the protagonist, eventually becoming a Sword Master and lending great strength.
"It's time to meet the fox."
From now on, I was planning to overturn this auction house.
To rescue her.