The Worldview Where Everyone is Destined to Die

To be more precise, would it be better to express that 'Arthur is on the safe side' had the upper hand?

If Arthur had lost control of his body for some unknown reason, whether it was mind-binding or something else, I wouldn't be wandering around the forest like this for him.

"Anyway, I know Arthur doesn't hate me enough to hurt me."

Of course, when we first met, he misunderstood me and glared at me. But if Arthur really planned to harm me, he wouldn't have visited me in the hospital after being hit on the head by a rock and leaving a gift.

"You have a kind heart."

"Me? Not really. That isn't what I want to hear either."

"I see. In that case, if Arthur returns, he will have to apologize to Arma Cruz."

My first impression of Theodore was that he was a gentle doll.

But the more we get along, the more I learn that Theodore is a lot more stubborn than I thought.

I also learned something new about the fact that, although I have insight, I struggle to express myself well. I also tend to focus more on my own thoughts and concerns.

"That accidental incident was the result of an altercation with Arthur. But I am sorry if it was insensitive to say that I will be siding with Arthur when Arma Cruz was shot."

"It is fine. I am doing this because I want to do something too."

I had a secret I couldn't speak of; I had to protect it.

Even though Theodore was in a situation that made him nervous, I couldn't comfort him because of the secret.

In the end, I do not have an honorable nature towards Theodore.

We soon closed our mouths and began to head deep into the forest. The sky, which was blue with dawn, turned brighter as morning approached.

While walking without words, I could concentrate and vaguely noticed a hidden context in which Theodore couldn't bring himself to speak.

Arthur's Mind-Binding.

'A sign of strong control? Was it family abuse?'

Considering what Theodore said, I couldn't conclude that Arthur was under the control of the family more than needed.

'The Usher family has never produced a mage for generations. A sword master with magic aptitude being born in such a family...'

Mind-binding is usually not done unless one commits a major sin. This is because situations where the person becomes a victim as a result of binding occur. There aren't many ways to control an adult genius, but if he had been controlled since his childhood, it wouldn't be that tough.

Normally, demonic beasts are tamed and controlled from a young age, so if the same method were used,

"Theodore, can I ask you one thing?"

"If it's an answer I can give, I will."

"Other than binding in school, is the family also responsible for binding Arthur?"

"Yes."

"I see..."

Theodore's answer revealed that both Theodore and Arthur didn't have good ties with their family. When speaking about Arthur, I thought Theodore was calmer than expected, and it is only natural that Theodore also suffers a similar fate.

'Is this really natural? The family relationships of all the people in my dreams are also disconnected.'

Maybe this is an expanded interpretation.

But there was me, who ran away from home purely because I lacked qualifications; Judith, who had complicated situations around her and studied hard; Shirley and Theodore, who were pushed out of the successor competition; and Arthur.

Each person's circumstances made it too difficult to say that it was simply an expression of adolescent rebelliousness.

Isn't this the same as being socially isolated? It didn't seem like anything was connecting.

Pat!

Caw!

"!"

While I was in such deep thoughts, I was startled by a crow flying close to my head. I barely managed to stop myself from shooing it away, and I wiped the sweat off my forehead onto my pants.

"A normal crow."

"It is normal, but I am a bit on the sensitive side."

Crows are smart and careful, but they aren't friendly with people. Flying close or crying loud enough to startle a person is meant to threaten them.

"Is Arthur close by?"

If small animals are being sensitive, wouldn't it mean that there is a predator nearby?

I said to Theodore after confirming that the crow, which flew away after threatening us, was still watching.

"Theodore, if you have to, use magic."

"... Yes."

It would be nice if I was wrong, but if Arthur is around, we have to be careful because there is a chance that Arthur won't be in the same mind anymore.

The use of magic is prohibited in the academy, but when one is in a life-and-death situation, it wouldn't be a bad thing to use it, right?

"Do not worry about me. If Arthur is in danger due to the binding, he will not touch me again."

"...Again, huh. Okay."

"I was just sleep talking."

"Yes."

Perhaps because I was nervous, I made a mistake. From the start, Theodore didn't seem to believe a thing I said.

I grabbed the gun and began to walk up the rough mountain path. If he wasn't here, then there is a high chance of him hiding in the cave, but if he was in a cave, there were few places we could guess, and it would still be difficult.

"There are caves with no exits, but there are caves with openings on both sides... No, Arthur, who decided to run, cannot be found. Even if Arthur shows up, it is a problem, and if he doesn't show up, it is a problem."

There are two reasons why Arthur will come to us. Either he has calmed down, or he is a wreck.

We slowly searched the mountain and walked quietly to muffle our steps.

"Arma Cruz."

Did we search for a long time?

Theodore called to me in a low tone. Even without asking why, I understand why. I quietly looked at Arthur, who appeared in front of me with the gun pointed at me.

'He doesn't seem good.'

I took a step back and aimed the gun back at him. Arthur was looking at me with clouded eyes and doing nothing. The tips of Arthur's hair were all wet with dew, as if he had spent the night sitting on the flat stone at knee height.

"How does he look?"

Theodore was anxious enough to immediately walk to my side after seeing him, and he did nothing when Arthur appeared. There was such an unnatural silence that made it hard to know what they were thinking.

"Let's go."

Were we not determining Arthur's condition?

Theodore frowned at the distance towards Arthur.

"Look here---"

The moment I felt embarrassed and tried to stop Theodore, he waved his hand and stopped me, signaling me to put the gun down.

'Put it back in...'

Unlike Theodore, who was planning to be a great warlock, I had no means of protecting myself.

"Arthur, let's go back."

Theodore took another step ahead towards Arthur without looking at me.

'So reckless.'

Arthur didn't show even the slightest reaction to those kind words. Moreover, if I was not mistaken, he wasn't even caring about Theodore getting close to him. Arthur's blurry eyes were incredibly fixed on me.

Kiik... tik.

So I decided to do as Theodore said. In any case, it would be impossible to suddenly point a gun at Arthur with Theodore present.

I held the hammer and slowly pulled the trigger to unload. Then, I turned the lever, broke the gun barrel, and pulled out a stored bullet.

Gulp.

I gulped without realizing it. Arthur was watching my every move, including unloading, removing bullets, bending the barrel to show the inside, and putting it into the holster worn on the chest.

'Arthur I knew... is this right?'

Arthur looked away from me, as if Theodore's judgment that I needed to be disarmed was correct. The current Arthur didn't feel at all like the one who insulted me and shot me on festival day. This Arthur had no interest in me.

"I am sorry."

Theodore, who had now approached Arthur, stuck the syringe with purple liquid in the back of Arthur's neck. Arthur took it as if he didn't think Theodore would harm him.

"Theo..."

The first words, spoken in a cracked tone, came from Arthur, who had kept silent until then.

"It is fine."

"Ethan's dead."

"Right, he is dead. But in the past."

"He died. He is just five years old."

"All in the past."

Isn't this too late?

Like an excited child speaking nonsense, Arthur started mumbling something.

'The injection isn't working?'

Theodore was flustered too. The fact that Arthur was holding on even though the liquid was injected into the blood meant that Arthur wasn't affected by this. We had to lower his consciousness to use hypnosis or something else, but even though Arthur was rambling, he wasn't listening to Theodore.

"Arthur, start remembering who you are."

"I am..."

Theodore seemed to be trying to comfort Arthur with kind words, but it didn't seem easy. Arthur, whose chest was rising and falling in a slightly excited state, covered his face with his hands to suppress the increasingly rough breathing.

"Damn it, just five years..."

"Arthur Usher! Calm down. That is something that happened 10 years ago. Your brother's death was an accident."

"No! And you know it too!"

Now, Arthur seemed unable to hear anything Theodore said. I thought desperately about whether I should pull out the holstered pistol. Arthur continued to mumble about things that happened in the past, as if he had been stung by something.

It was like being caught by a ghost of the past.

"I killed."

"Then I killed too."

To summarize the words of Arthur, 13-year-old Arthur had a 10-year-old younger brother. And it seemed like he passed away in an accident involving Arthur and Theodore.

"That shouldn't have happened. That weak..."

Arthur's breathing became increasingly labored, and he entered a state of complete arousal.

Only then did I understand the structure of mind-binding for Arthur.

It was to stimulate feelings of guilt about killing.

"Eukkk... ack!"

"Arthur! Please!"

It might have been alright till then, but the curse of mind-binding on Arthur had progressed quite a bit. The situation was so urgent that it was shocking if he was losing suddenly.

"Theodore. I am sorry about this situation, but the ban on Arthur activates when attacking a non-mage, right?"

Theodore was busy trying to stop Arthur, who was holding his head, and began to suffer.

Without waiting for Theodore to respond, I took out the gun from the holster.

"Then I have a good idea. I need some help from you."