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"Master, are you an idiot?"

In front of me was Ading, whose hands were bound by iron chains on his head and his upper body was bare. The clothes that had been shredded were not enough to cover his dark brown skin, and there were several bloodstains on his underdeveloped chest. A different kind of taboo taste was outlined on the tense muscles.

I walked through the dark room in the basement, ignoring the cobweb-like iron chains covering the entire space and the strange magic circle on the floor, walking in front of the boy, and threw out a piece of sackcloth enough to cover his body out of thin air.

"Cough...Anyway, put on your clothes first..."

"No, in this case, shouldn't you untie me first?"

Eh?Is the Adin I know the kind of guy who can show such a seductive expression unconsciously?

No, it should be said... Is the Ading I know a person who can use complaints so skillfully?

Although the room is full of magic circles that I am not familiar with, I don't think there is any magic that can make a person change his personality in such a short period of time.

"Ah, sorry, it's my fault."

I didn't know where to look with my eyes, so I had to look at the ground while walking towards A-Ding, but... Hey, what about the setting in the shonen manga that only the upper body will be exposed and the lower body will not be exposed?Why did Adin's clothes become like the ruins in Egypt, and it seemed that they would disintegrate at the slightest touch?

Having said that, shouldn't the work of being tied to the altar as a living sacrifice be undertaken by girls?Even if I can accept it, the current picture must have brought a lot of trouble to imaginative readers.

"Just cut the shackles on your hands..."

The part tied to A-Ding's hands is made of leather. I pulled out the saber from my belt and slashed at A-Ding's wrist.

"Well……"

Just when the gleaming blade was about to touch the leather instrument of torture, A-Ding turned his body slightly, and because the two were too close, A-Ding's body collided with mine.

No, no, no, what am I shaking about?

"Are you avoiding me?"

I opened the distance a little and looked at Ading who still looked like a prisoner in front of me.

"Also, what happened just now, calling me 'Master', but calling me an idiot?"

"Didn't you read the note I left for you?"

Hearing what the other person said, I frowned a little and tried to think back.

"Oh, you mean this?"

I took out from my pocket the piece of paper written in the E language that inexplicably appeared in my room.

"Because I don't have a machine for translating text, all the translation techniques I can use are verbal, so I ignore it...... Hmm, is there anything important?"

"No, it's nothing, it's meaningless to Master, we're all going to die here anyway..."

A-Ding silently lowered his head, which made me realize the seriousness of the problem because I didn't see in his eyes the kind of desire to survive before when I was about to kill him.

"What's going on, what's written on it?"

"Warning," Ading said lightly, "'Please evacuate country E as soon as possible before noon today.'"

What kind of warning was this? It was clearly a threatening letter.

"What's the meaning?"

A-Ding showed a slightly contemptuous smile... Ah, to be honest, what exactly did he come into contact with during the dozen or so hours of his disappearance!Where did that lovely boy who made me unable to help him disappear?

"Don't you understand? My temporary master..."

Ah, the accent is actually placed on the word "temporary". Sure enough...was the previous impression all fake?

"It was originally because you saved my life that I left you that note. However, it seems that you, the temporary master, do not have that kind of fate because you don't believe in the true God, right? So, if this is the case, if the master is willing If so, stay here for a while longer. At least, as an unbeliever, you can also see a little bit of the appearance of the true god descending."

"The True God Comes..."

This is the super-large spiritual disaster that has only appeared twice in the history of country E, and in the legends of the whole world.The first appearance was the birth of country E, and the second appearance was when country E was invaded 2000 years ago...

The conditions for activation are unknown, the principle of the spell is unknown, and even the effect of the spell is unknown, because it is only recorded in history-"The true god descends, and such divine power cannot be seen by ordinary people. In this way, the national prestige of country E will be as prosperous as before."

"Is what you said true? Isn't the coming of the true God just a historical rhetoric?"

My guess is justified, because if the true god descends and if this spell really exists, then it shouldn't just leave such an understatement.

A-Ding didn't speak, but just looked up at me, with a hint of contempt evident in that look.Just like all those country E soldiers who had to choose self-sacrifice on the battlefield, it seemed that it was a stupid thing for me to ask a question.

After a short pause, he looked at the only light source in the room—a small window close to the ceiling and sealed by metal railings. It was almost noon at the moment, and the sunlight just fell on Aden's face from there.From his point of view, that window must be full of splendor, right?However, A-Ding was just confirming the time, and didn't really miss the warmth.

"Since the previous method of repayment didn't work, as a reward for giving me food, water and temporary shelter, I should tell the master what I know... The coming of the true god is a very complicated technique."

Sure enough, this is true, but, according to the Alante History Institute's understanding, even if this kind of spell really existed, it should have been lost long ago.

"No, it's not lost, it's just that every time you activate the "Advent of the True God", the world will be restored to the state before it was activated, so...in your words, this spell itself is like a "Schrödinger's box" Same."

Schrödinger's box... I chewed the word a little bit, but didn't understand what it meant.

"It's a spell that was born to lock the world out of the box, not to lock something in a box. In other words, once activated, everyone will lose the cause and effect of this spell and their posture For the memorized spell, no one can remember why the spell was activated, what happened when it was activated, and when the spell ended after that. Therefore, it is impossible to verify whether the spell was activated or not.”

That's why it's called Schrödinger's box.Because once the box is opened, the observation is lost, so as long as the box is open, it can never be observed whether the box is actually opened.The positions of cats and observers are reversed, and the art that unilaterally shuts humans out of the box is really a creepy thing.

It's interesting, but that's not my focus today.

"Let me tell you, are you the type who is willing to sacrifice his life for his master?"

"Eh?" Ading looked at me a little strangely, "Did the master hope that I could honor the previous life-saving grace before he died? But, that's all I know, and the magic formula for the coming of the true god has already begun to prepare." Yes. Besides me, there are 6 other human pillars, so no matter what..."

"No, I don't mean to ask you to save my life," I said with a smile, "on the contrary, I mean...do you wish to sacrifice yourself for your master, for your country?"

Adin frowned, as if my question was a bit incomprehensible.Aden could have stayed in the prisoner-of-war camp. Since he deliberately set fire to the prisoner-of-war camp where there might be other E-country magicians in order to hide the existence of this altar, and then fled back here alone, it proves that Aden has never lost his life. Know your destiny from the start.

"That's right, I am also your master, as you said before. If you can give up your life just because the master orders you to die, then I am afraid that you will not be able to live until now. Therefore, even if I ordered you to live as a temporary master, and you will refuse, right?"

Addin nodded.This is also expected. In Ading's logic, I was just a temporary master who gave him a life, and it was his original master who provided him with water and food, and his original master was this One of the richest men in the country.In other words, Adin's life belongs to country E.

"In order for this country to continue to exist, you chose the way of death that you call sacrifice. Although from the perspective of bystanders, your death has been endowed with additional meaning, but for you, those meanings are It is obtained at the moment of your death. For yourself, death is your end, and sacrifice is only for others. Even so, do you still choose to die?"

"Well……"

"And not only that, even if the significance of the sacrifice is taken into account, there are huge unstable factors. Assuming that the spell of the true god descending is successful, country E is successfully restored. However, according to past experience, in order to ensure the true god, country E The absolute mystery of the advent technique, Schrödinger's box mechanism guarantees that your name will never be recorded in the annals of history. In other words, your sacrifice will not even be recognized by the people you saved, even your The master will forget your existence. For our country, your sacrifice is nothing but an unreasonable behavior like the barking of a dying sick dog."

I approached A'Ding little by little, and A'Ding lowered his head, unwilling to meet my eyes.

"The current situation is different from the state where the gods and countries were isolated from each other thousands of years ago. In the current situation, even if a large-scale magic method such as the advent of the true god is used—although it can temporarily make country Y withdraw from here—— It is also impossible to have any benefits. Rather, because after the classic-level magic is activated, can Schrödinger's box really function normally? Trying to cover up will only make more countries' borderline institutions put country E As a goal. By that time, country E will probably fall into a worse situation, right? If this war ends now, then according to international law, country Y will only have jurisdiction over country E for about 5 years. But once multiple countries If you get involved in the war at the same time, then the independence and existence of country E in the future will be seriously threatened. In the end, your sacrifice will not do any good, no one will be saved because of you, and no country will continue because of you. You yourself are already dead and know nothing about these things...or did you originally plan to use death to escape all of this?"

As if his self-esteem was hurt by my guess, A-Ding suddenly raised his head with anger in his eyes.

"It's not like that, I didn't want to escape... don't say it like you know everything, don't you also rely on country Y to say such things? If country Y arrives one day, you have to sacrifice If you come to rescue..."

"It's better to perish like that for country Y that I want to save by sacrificing my life!"

I resolutely cut off the logical chain that the boy thought he thought, and A-Ding looked at me in disbelief for a long time without saying a word.

"The right to be a human being is innate to human beings, right? Isn't this right that appeared before the formation of a country... No, it should be said that it was decided before human beings can be called human beings. Before human beings or When it comes to animals, even if they live in a group like apes, once they confirm that the other party's purpose is not simple punishment but to deprive them of their own lives, they will angrily raise their hands to fight against it? Maybe this is a human being The reason why it finally became human beings. Human beings originally gathered together to survive because they were weak and unable to live independently. Does a concept born from the existence of an individual require the sacrifice of the individual to preserve the existence of the concept? There is no such reason at all..."

"However, if one's own country is already destroyed, then the people of that country..."

"At least you won't die, right?" I blocked what A-Ding wanted to say, "Isn't that what happens in this world anyway? Although it is nominally that country Y invaded country E for the sake of regional stability, in fact Y The country is also divided into two factions, the guys on the realm want the mundane energy hidden in this land, and the people below the realm...well, it’s me~" I paused, revealing a With a proud expression, "I'm concerned about that classic-level magic technique in the history of country E, "True God Descends"~"

A-Ding looked at me in disbelief. He always thought that I was chasing to such a place because of stupidity. He probably didn't expect that he would be used by me in the end, right?

However, what I said was half-truth and half-truth.

"So, we don't care about your lives at all. It's better to say that if the casualties are as few as possible, then the post-war reconstruction relief money handed over by country Y to the United Nations will be less. For country Y , There is no benefit in completely annexing country E. Whether it is the obligation of a big country or the security of the region, we do not want to fall into the quagmire of country E, whether it is on the border or below the border. So what really disappears is only the current rule It’s just the ones… well, maybe even your master won’t be affected?” In my impression, the name of Adin’s master is listed among the protection objects, after all, in such a battle, that kind of rich businessman is also On the surface, it is necessary to make a sincere wooing object, "So, war has been just a routine social method since ancient times. His essence is actually sitting in the same room with the ruling classes of the two countries and playing word games with each other. The way to make negotiations is the same. The difference is that some rulers like to use their own people to bear the risk of failure in negotiations, so there is such a thing as war. Since ancient times, even among those slave countries , the interests between wars have always been divided by the ruling class. Even if the country dies, you are just changing from one person's slave to another's slave. From the perspective of country Y, we are nothing more than You just want to drive away a thief who is stealing money from your home, and then grab a handful of robbers openly. What kind of attitude you are willing to live with has nothing to do with me...and your master oh~」

"Or, would you rather exchange your own life for a collar around your neck? Hehe~"

I grinned, not hiding the sarcasm in my tone, and even my eyes narrowed like a fox.The way Adin looked at me made me feel a little stinging, if only I had a pair of glasses on at this time-I thought so.

"It's such a touching feeling of patriotism. It's like a dog trying to keep its own bones. Well, that's basically the case anyway, isn't it? You have the choice to live on your own, but when your master dies When it was lost, it pretended to be a "loyal dog" and went on a hunger strike. Isn't it just a temporary pain to die from hunger, but if it loses its owner, it also loses a warm house and a moist and juicy piece of meat? Because I can't stand the latter, so I naively think that as long as I die, I can be with my master forever? After all... Is it selfish enough to give up life? But it makes people feel that they have labeled themselves selfless Trouble~」

The upturned corners of the mouth and the faint smile echoed in the silent air for a while.

"You lied...you lied! Lied, lied, lied, lied!"

The boy screamed crazily, his body struggled constantly, his wrist was cut open by the edge of the restraint, but he seemed to be struggling desperately as if he couldn't feel the pain at all, like... a beast that had lost its mind.

Fortunately, fortunately, I didn't undo the boy's restraint on impulse just now, otherwise, it would be very difficult to continue in this situation with the boy's ability.The boy's figure kept flickering in the iron chain, and finally I also saw Adin's ability to suspend time around me within the range that my naked eyes could discern.However, even with that kind of ability, it is impossible to let go of the shackles on his hands, so he just uselessly vented his impulse with the instinct of fighting.

"What's wrong? Are you unwilling? Are you in pain? Do you want to kill me, the one who talks nonsense in front of you? You got an arm from me easily before, why can't you even move it now? "

I grabbed Ading's neck maliciously with my hands. Because of the impact, Ading's body seemed to sink halfway into the wall made of rocks, and the chains wrapped around his body collided with each other and made a crisp sound.The surrounding world began to change like a broken TV, constantly switching between color and black and white. When the surroundings turned black and white, the iron chains pulled by the boy's struggle were frozen in a posture that violated common sense. into the air.

"Is this your ability...?" I didn't let go of the boy, I took out a card from my pocket with the other hand and let go, the card was frozen in the air within a few seconds after leaving my fingers , I no longer feel any fluctuations and entanglements of magic power from that card, "This is simply... a realm, no... something that even world-class magic cannot do."

"However, you are bound here. You choose to be bound. You become the pillar of an old and scumbag technique, the cannon fodder of a country that will eventually collapse. You choose to obliterate all your possibilities."

The boy whose throat I was holding kept struggling, but due to the lack of oxygen, the movements of his hands and feet became weaker and weaker.Although I controlled the strength in my hand, it was still enough to make a person slowly suffocate. Death was like a blunted guillotine, cutting A Ding's life little by little.

"Do not……"

A broken voice floated out from his desperately opened mouth, and the corners of his eyes were not known to be filled with tears because of the pain or because he didn't want to die like this, those deep black eyes were desperately wide open, and the black pupils were reflected like a mirror Looking at my face—smiling, devil-like expression—like praying and fighting, showing the kind of eyes that only people with a strong desire to survive have.

"let me go……"

"Can't you hear it~ Is that your survival consciousness?"

"Please... let..."

The oxygen in the chest was gradually exhausted, and I gradually tightened the strength in my hands. After another 10 seconds...no, in about 5 seconds, Ading will probably faint completely due to suffocation.Once he reached that level, it would be impossible to resist any more. Although there was still some time before death, the end of Ading's life was subjectively announced at the moment of losing consciousness.

If A-Ding chooses that way, if A-Ding pins his hope of life on my being able to let go of my hand, if he is unwilling to make even a little struggle for his own survival...

And just when the boy's life was coming to an end, and my hands were about to be stained with human blood for the first time, an indescribable sense of disobedience suddenly came from behind me.Almost relying on the instinctive sense of crisis, I let go of my hand, the metal shadow passed by me, and the metal ax the size of a person rushed towards the boy.

"Aden...!"

I wanted to stop it, but it was too late to activate the spell, and I could only watch helplessly as the sharp blade approached the boy bit by bit... Then, the boy disappeared from the spot.

"Where are you looking?"

In front of him was the remains of the chain that had been cut off by the giant axe, and Adin's voice came from behind.