Earth’s Doom Starts with… Me?

Chapter 106: The crest (6)

"Pff-- What?" I snickered when I heard the strange voice offered me two choices. It wasn't just because it was so obviously a trap, but also, because both offers were unattainable. Normally, wouldn't one offer something that one could actually give?

'Choosing what I desire' was simply not an option. Anyone with a straight mind could figure out that this whole thing was just an illusion at best. Well, whatever it was, this wasn't real. So anyone who chose that would be dumb as heck. While the other option, however, while it seemed wild at first, actually wasn't a bad choice.

I mean, if I was to die in this weird, bland place, I would either be trapped here forever, or wake up, right?

Kinda scary, but when you compare it to the other option, which was practically a stay-here-forever-and-get-your-mind-melted ticket, at least I had a small chance of waking up.

Didn't mean I was going to do it, though.

"Hey, voice dude. Why do I only have two choices?" I questioned while looking around the room, since I wasn't sure which way should I face. Where the heck was he, anyway?

[What else is there to choose, other than your own desire or your King's desire?] He replied.

"Do you think the world revolves around you and your king? Sheesh." I shook my head in disapproval and let out a deep sigh.

[Of course. One's world revolves around oneself. The universe is merely a collection of individual worlds. Each person lives a different life, and thus, exists in their own world. Who are we to invalidate one's world?]

"That part is true, each person is the main character of their own life, after all," I tilted my head, "but why should we alienate each other? Living in different 'worlds', as you put it, doesn't mean we have to devalue others or deem that our 'world' is the most important one." I concluded my explanation while I plopped myself on the bed.

[Your view is quite different, O princess of nature.] He replied with a little hum at the end of his sentence.

Why did it keep calling me princess of nature, anyway? I wasn't a princess, and I certainly wasn't nature-ish, especially after we had just incinerated a whole forest.

... Oh!

Silly me, it was because of my 'ticket'. I should've known. Wait, if my speculation was true, then... I already knew why the 'king' NPC didn't appear, and I think I knew the correct answer to this 'test'.

The only reason I was able to enter this realm was that I drank royal blood. And that was the ticket. That explained why he called me princess, since the only ones that were supposed to be able to land here were those with royal elf blood flowing inside their veins. In other words, this mysterious dude considered me a princess because I drank the blood of a princess.

And thus, the 'king' character never appeared. Since for me, there was no king. If a legit elf was to end up here, it would simply summon their rightful king, because elves were so devoted to their king. At least, that was what I assumed.

Humans had always failed to accept the crest, because the test itself was designed specifically for elves to take. Those elves wouldn't even think twice if their king commanded them to off themselves. While for us humans, it would be an abomination to just obey a non-existent king and kill ourselves.

Which meant that the correct answer for this test was...

To kill myself?

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"Big sis Jeanne, here are some blankets!" Firiell called out to Jeanne as she trotted over while carrying a pile of white, but slightly yellowish blankets that were neatly folded.

"Thank you, Firiell," the blonde general smiled, before tapping on the vacant bed a few times, "now come here. You should have some sleep. After all, you haven't fully recovered, haven't you?"

"Umm, but what about--"

"Don't worry. I'll look after Chaerin. I'm sure she will be okay, so just focus on getting enough rest, alright?" Jeanne said as she propped the little girl up onto the bed and tucked her in. She said those words with a reassuring smile, but little did they know, that her smile was meant to reassure herself, since Jeanne desperately needed reassurance herself, just so she wouldn't go crazy from imagining all the bad scenarios that may happen.

"But you also need rest, big sis Jeanne. You've been looking after me since we got here, too..." Firiell pouted.

"I'm strong enough to handle a few sleepless nights." Jeanne giggled, happy that the little girl cared enough about her well-being to remind her.

"No. Fatigue will affect your work. Go rest, that's an order." General Emilio joined the conversation while he sharpened his spear on the bed across from the girls'.

"But, general--"

"I and general Zhang can take turns. I don't want a tired general guarding us." He cut her off with a stony look on his face.

"It's okay, Jean-jean, chill~" The aforementioned general Zhang chuckled, "I don't plan on sleeping this night, either. So there's no use if you stay awake."

Jeanne's eyes widen for a bit, before a big, warm smile appeared on her pale face, "thank you so much. I appreciate your concern."

Although their words seemed cold, she knew it was their way of telling her to get some rest and to leave the hard work to them. Even though she was the newest general among the five that existed, but she had been working with them for years, long enough to understand their peculiar way of showing care for others.

"Sure, sure~ Now off to bed you go, Jean-jean. It's almost midnight now." General Zhang waved his hand before lowering it down to stroke a certain dark-haired girl's hair, playing with the strands of her hair.

"I will do just that. Then, excuse me, and I'll leave it to you guys." Jeanne gave them a smile before she hopped on the bed just next to Firiell, and tucked herself inside the thin blanket.

She knew that the blanket wouldn't be enough to keep them warm for the night, so she took another blanket and covered the little girl with it, before finally laying down to sleep for good. Thankfully for her, it didn't take long for her to immediately drift away to dreamland, which was expected seeing as she had neglected to sleep for days, on top of being utterly exhausted.

After all of the girls went to sleep, the clinic suddenly went quiet, as if no one was actually awake. The noises that filled the room since morning was finally starting to lessen.

That morning quickly turned to daytime, and daytime shifted to afternoon in a blink, and finally, nighttime came while they were stuck in the orc hideout's clinic. After trying for hours to come up with a plan to get away from the elf king, they were unable to reach a consensus where they could safely extract the hostages, claim a throne, while not getting killed by a mad elf king.

However, in the midst of their argument, one person remained calm and chill. It was as if he already knew that everything would go well. The red-eyed man just calmly sat on the edge of a bed, accompanying the unconscious girl that just laid there, unmoving. Occasionally, he would either poke Chaerin's cheeks or play with her hair.

"Hey." General Emilio called out to the other man who was awake aside from himself.

"Yooo, porcupine, what's up? Can't sleep? Want me to tuck you in? Tee-hee!" General Zhang grinned wide.

"No, thanks," the stoic general replied without even looking annoyed, "I've got a question for you."

"Oh? Let's hear it~"

"Tell me everything you know about this situation." He declared.

"Porcupine, that's more like a command rather than a question, you know~" General Zhang pouted with an exaggerated voice while blinking furiously.

"Skip the small talk. They're both sleeping right now, so it's a good time to spill whatever you're hiding from us," general Emilio frowned, "or would you prefer we go somewhere else to talk about this?"

"Hmm, nah. I have to stay here. I'm waiting for someone to wake up." General Zhang answered with a faint smile while pinching Chaerin's nose.

"Okay then. Now speak." General Emilio crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Well, if we're talking about crests, I really don't know much about it aside from the fact that it can unlock someone's mana pool," general Zhang explained with a calm smile, but also with a threateningly sharp glare, "I think that little girl you guys picked up would be a more suitable person to ask, no?"

General Zhang tilted his head, giving the other general a mysterious smile that wasn't exactly warm, but also wasn't very dangerous-looking.

"No. I didn't ask about the crest," general Emilio kept his stance, "I'm asking about this situation."

"Now, now, porcupine~ You're our commander in this raid, so you should know the most out of us, am I wrong?" General Zhang grinned.

"Yes, you're wrong." General Emilio replied without blinking.

"Yowch, that's mean."

"Did you..." The stoic general trailed off for a bit.

"Did I what?"

"Did you already know about the other humans before we got here?"

"... Hmmm~" The white-haired man raised an eyebrow, and smiled in amusement, "and what would you do if I say yes?"

A brief pause followed, as both of them exchanged glares between them. However, only one of them seemed to be enjoying this moment, seeing that one of them bore a wide grin on his face.

"You will know once you say it." General Emilio replied without the slightest change of expression on his face.

"Well, I..."

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