Otherworld TRPG Game Master - Chapter 280



Chapter 280 – Epilogue: The End of Autumn

After reciting the puppet master’s unique abilities and past actions, Rodellus mentioned a name that seemed to suggest he had an idea of who she was.

“Code name: ‘Faceless.’ I’ve had contact with the puppets she controls. Was her true form like this…?”

“So, you’re saying she’s the sister of Dae-su?”

“Though I question whether there’s any blood relation.”

Rodellus narrowed his eyes, wearing a perplexed expression. He seemed confused about how to accept her.

It took a long time before I finally learned her code name. The way it came through to my ears without any filtering made it clear it wasn’t just a name. It was a nickname that suited her abilities quite well.

The amnesiac ‘Faceless’ was surprisingly docile and harmless.

I set up a magic circle while keeping her seated. I intended to conduct a thorough examination.

Aisha naturally followed along, starting to assist with my magic. Our brain functions were similar, and the flow of magic had many similarities, so, how should I put it? In this regard, we were a perfect match.

If I had done it alone, it would have taken 15 minutes, and with Yuna, it would have taken 20 minutes, but the task was reduced to just 5 minutes.

I laid Faceless down within the large magic circle I had temporarily set up, holding her cheeks to stabilize the angle. This magic circle was, simply put, like an MRI; though the method was different, I intended to look closely at her insides in detail.

“Now, the patient is lying here quietly.”

“I got it, mong.”

“If you manage to stay still for 10 minutes, this gentleman will give you a whole bunch of candy.”

“oooh…”

Faceless’s eyes sparkled like a child’s. It was a stark contrast to the dreadful gaze he had when he faced off against Sissel in the factory. It felt like he had become someone else entirely.

Aisha snickered from the side.

“So, are you planning to forgive the villain who lost his memory?”

“I don’t know.”

It’s still uncertain. I need to wait and see.

As I activated the magic circle, I absentmindedly ruffled Aisha’s hair whenever I had a moment. She shook her head in protest, claiming she hated it, yet she didn’t run away. That little rascal.

Do you realize how much mischief is packed into that line?

Aisha pretended to tease, but it seemed she was genuinely worried about her own essence. The way she subtly asked me, as if unsure, indicated that.

She drew a line from ‘that’ and introduced herself as ‘Aisha,’ but I could sense her questioning whether she could truly shake off her past misdeeds so easily.

Delving deeper, it became incredibly complex and headache-inducing. Is Aisha ‘that’? Or is she something akin to ‘that’? Does she really have no lingering sins? Is there a way to completely clear her karma?

Including that, it was still an ‘unknown matter.’ To evaluate a life, doesn’t it need to reach a full stop?

All I could do was hope that her journey, having decided to walk the path of goodness… would end in a happy ending. I wanted to help make that happen.

Wooo──.

I projected my magic and scanned the insides of Faceless.

First, the arrangement of the muscles was quite unnatural. It looked as if old muscles and young muscles had been grafted together in places. Something catastrophic must have happened within the body.

And… the wound that Bennett had nearly split in half was almost healed. I could guess that he had pushed his transformation abilities to the limit to mend this injury.

Controlling the bones and flesh of the body to heal the wound.

However, with a severely injured brain that wasn’t functioning well, it was a stretch to handle such a complex task with precision. As a result, he had pulled all the resources from within his body to somehow manage it.

But the side effect was that he ended up in the form of a young girl.

I understood that much. So, was the amnesia due to some loss in the brain? Did he pull the body’s resources too hastily and end up using parts that shouldn’t have been touched for healing?

The magic-projection-scanner that had traveled up from the tips of his toes finally reached Faceless’s head. It was time for the secrets to be revealed.

The exact cause of the amnesia is…

“What the hell.”

“What? Did you find something strange?”

“…This guy has two brains?”

“What?”

No, there was something tumor-like inside the brain. I wondered if this was causing the amnesia, so I investigated a bit more closely, and it turned out that it wasn’t a tumor at all, but a small brain functioning independently.

It was about the size of a newborn’s brain, pressing against the original brain and taking up space.

“…What about the candy?”

“Hold on, guardian, come here. Right now, her condition is…”

Hyang-yi was a new ‘person’ born from within the faceless.

—

It’s purely speculative, but to summarize.

While healing a fatal injury with her body manipulation ability, she lost consciousness, and in order to continue healing instinctively created a new brain, leading to a major incident.

Aisha commented.

“…It’s horror.”

That’s right. It’s straightforwardly horror. The difficulty in finding a solution is what makes it so.

Even reaching the truth that there are two brains is a challenge. I diagnosed it because it was me; how would other magicians scan and do various things?

Moreover, surgical extraction is out of the question, and even if about twenty priests poured their divine power into the surgery, there’s the issue of who would perform the operation.

If things go awry, there’s a real risk of crossing the river of three realms and becoming a true idiot, which makes finding a breakthrough urgent.

If the character known as Faceless wasn’t a malicious little brat, this story would undoubtedly be a chilling special.

The master of simplification, Kim Lulu, summarized it in one breath.

“So, Hyang-yi is like a newborn?”

“Your sister-in-law is right. It’s not that she lost her memory; she was reborn. It seems she’s sporadically reading basic knowledge from the original body… but overall, it’s likely a blank slate.”

“…Is there really no way to not kill her?”

“I wasn’t thinking of killing her, but since we’re on the topic, let me ask. Are you confident you can handle it, Roderus? If the original brain were completely damaged, that would be one thing, but functionally, it’s intact. She could wake up from even a minor shock.”

Roderus, perhaps having developed some attachment over time, asked if there was any way to manage it while keeping her alive.

The risks were clear.

The moment Faceless’s personality emerged and took control due to some incident, Roderus’s side would be in danger. And that danger would extend to me, one step removed.

The Red Flavor family was nearly losing all their limbs due to chance and effort. Roderus was out, Enbus was out, the infrastructure was crumbling, and now they had secured Faceless as well.

But what if, by some chance, Faceless regained consciousness and ambushed Kim Lulu and Roderus in the dead of night, turning them into ‘meat dolls’?

In an instant, the power of Red Flavor would expand. Just thinking about Faceless controlling the body of the sublimation-level magic tank, Kim Lulu, made my head spin. How could we handle that?

If the guardian wants it, I’ll try to find a way, but the risks won’t disappear.

Roderus, with a stiffened face, seemed to have made up his mind after seeing Kim Lulu’s tearful expression. He looked straight at me and spoke.

“…I want to bear the family’s sins.”

“Okay.”

First of all, for now, it’s impossible to physically separate Hayangi from Faceless. But there is a way to make it possible.

Changing her species.

If I turn her into an information life form, I can erase the risk of her dying from a careless mistake. After that, if I keep them apart properly, it should be neat and tidy.

However, I can’t just switch her out like a light switch. To do it safely, I need time to fully analyze her body.

“Bring Hayangi regularly. I think we can solve it in about six months if we take it easy.”

“…Is that all?”

“It’s not just that; you guys will have to endure. Carrying a ticking time bomb for six months is tough. If it gets too hard, just say so. We can put her in a freezing pod or something for half a year.”

“You really make everything happen just as you say. You’re a monstrous child.”

Her gaze is a complex mix of emotions. I’m glad you’re a good kid, even if your personality is a bit strange. I wonder if this is the kind of look it is.

From here on out, it will truly be Daisuluru’s responsibility.

“Of course, I’ll set up safety measures to ensure Faceless doesn’t wake up. Just in case, teach her various things. Mainly morals. If she goes haywire, it’ll be a disaster.”

“…Alright.”

“Yeah! We’ll raise her to be a good child!”

Leaving behind the couple who vowed to raise her beautifully, I planted magic into Hayangi’s head. Various suppressive measures to prevent Faceless from surfacing… and then.

Sssssss──.

“…Hey, you…!”

Aisha’s suppressed shock reached my ears. It was, in a way, a high praise. I suppress my slightly elated heart.

I closed my eyes and focused.

To a place still beyond the realm of understanding, deep within humanity. I cautiously examined the area where the soul resides.

It’s an unfathomable sea where it cannot comprehend information or move according to my intentions. Yet, I still have an ambiguous ‘sensation’ that acts as a compass. It’s what the fake Mima left behind.

Even if I can’t reach the realm of such great creations as an artificial soul.

I think I can at least create a ‘shell’ to support the tender soul that has just begun to be born.

Click.

“──Grow up kind and happy.”

That’s what I did.

In other words, ‘soul enhancement.’

I did it, but even if I say it plainly, it’s magic that could shake the world. This world generally operates on the ‘fable’ of the soul. This is something Aisha couldn’t do either.

How about that, you little rascal.

“Hey, if that was possible, you should have taken care of your heroines first…!”

Of course, I need to research more and do it for our kids.

The tale of the memory-lost Faceless and the commotion at Crown Hall came to a close. The Daisuluru couple promised to visit the Academy regularly, and the shattered streets were thoroughly repaired.

As for others…

It seemed that, given the nature and scale of the incident, Irid’s standing had somewhat wavered. Fortunately, it was said that the First Princess Elaine absorbed the diminished influence entirely.

It was as if power had shifted from one pocket to another, so the damage was lessened. The bond between the siblings still appeared strong, which was a silver lining amidst the misfortune.

I also had a word of advice for the enigmatic minstrel, the Rabbit Princess, who had set off on her travels across the continent once more. I suggested that when she eventually visited the Academy, she might be able to reclaim the original, splendid destructive power of her fables.

If the issue was that writing dulled the soul, then it could surely be resolved with “Soul Enhancement.”

The long, wandering journey has come to an end. It is time to return.

And finally… my family and I returned to the Academy.

—

Time passed, and winter had fully arrived.

Saying this makes it seem like time flew by, but it was only two months at most. After all, my scattering across the continent happened in the fall.

What did I do upon returning to the Academy?

I taught students, spent my days playfully with Yuna, occasionally responded to Selvier’s assaults, and shared drinks with professors.

On the other hand, I took time to refine the harvests I had gathered thus far. I pondered how to bring forth fire magic again (Yuna was furious about that), and delved into the exploration of the soul.

Above all, I meticulously prepared for the sessions.

In fact, I did quite a lot. I had over twelve scenarios planned, and the maps I created multiplied like weeds. I even expanded the server room twice to maintain the simulation world.

But why hadn’t I conducted any sessions and only prepared? It wasn’t so much that I couldn’t find suitable players… but rather, there were no fateful connections.

Looking back, players had always come to me effortlessly until now. They would eagerly pick up the cursed swords I scattered, and they would excitedly uncover hidden pieces I concealed.

However, now, the students had become a bit more seasoned, perhaps lacking in romance.

“Hey… isn’t that cursed sword stuck in the ground?”

“It’s probably a mad wizard’s trap.”

“Hey! Isn’t that secret treasure in the cave?!”

“It’s probably a mad wizard’s trap.”

I wondered if I had diversified my lessons too much. Had I known this would happen, I would have skipped the continent’s collection of magical traps ~The Room You Can’t Escape If Hit~ series.

Yuri placed a warm cup of cocoa on my desk and whispered.

“I did tell you that moderation is best, didn’t I, Mima?”

“I didn’t expect it to be this devoid of romance. But what brings you here at this hour? Weren’t you supposed to be out shopping with Yuna?”

“I heard some interesting news. It seems the Bennett party is returning to the Academy.”

“…Did they perhaps get chased out of the Holy City?”

That wasn’t the case.

Rather, it seems that the holy city has tightened its grip, allowing for a sense of ease. It is said that, at Niole’s suggestion, they have returned to leave behind memories and to obtain their academy diploma.

I am glad to see familiar faces. The timing is just right.

Isn’t it better to have at least one more person to handle the aftermath?

“Aisha, are you ready?”

“Yeah. I’ve arranged the magic stones, and the mana furnace is in good condition. The barrier specifications I entrusted to the willow leaf workshop are a bit off, but it’s not a major issue.”

“We can’t place orders there again from now on. Anyway, good. It’s time to take on a new challenge. Once Yuna returns, let’s start the work slowly.”

Preparations for a happy ending.

We were planning to attempt the extraction of ‘it.’ Just 1%.