Chapter 256: Tutorial 5



“Ah… Papa, you shouldn’t touch that!”

The small voice, filled with both urgency and playfulness, reached me as I froze mid-motion. “But you said to inspect it, right?” I replied, tilting my head in mock confusion.

“Hehe~ Inspecting and interacting are two different things, you know~?” she chirped, her hands clasped behind her back as she offered a sheepish grin.

“Is that so…” I muttered, lowering the object in question.

“Ah, I’m not mad or anything, okay?” she quickly reassured, waving her hands in front of her. “It’s just that people tend to get a tiny bit in trouble whenever they touch my inventions~ Hehehe” She scratched the back of her head with an embarrassed laugh.

The odd yet endearing exchange left me wondering about this peculiar situation I’d found myself in.

Days had passed since I first woke up in this new, profound world-a world that, deep down, I knew was just a fragment of a forgotten and likely destroyed reality.

And yet…

Despite my awareness of its ephemeral nature, I couldn’t stop myself from integrating into it.

The lines between me-the self I knew-and the version of myself in this dream blurred more with each passing moment.

The warmth of their smiles, the gentle tug of familial bonds, the bright yet almost surreal happiness that enveloped every interaction-all of it felt far too real to dismiss.

I knew I shouldn’t let myself get completely immersed.

This wasn’t my life, not truly.

But resisting felt impossible.

What made it worse or perhaps better-was the lack of any looming sense of doom.

Unlike the last time, where fragmented memories had shown me the tragic end of a forgotten timeline, this time… everything was eerily peaceful.

Too peaceful.

Too Happy…?

The days passed without incident, each one brighter and more fulfilling than the last.

There were no bad endings, no lingering shadows.

Only happiness.

And that was the problem.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing to experience such bliss, but it wasn’t right either.

Dreams like this didn’t exist without purpose, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a reason for me being here.

Why was I dreaming of this forgotten reality?

Why did it feel so vibrant and alive, as though it were trying to cling to existence?

And most importantly… why did it feel like a part of me wanted to stay?

“Oh, Papa! Did you know that Rachel and Leon earned top marks on their recent exams? I heard they even placed first in their respective years!”

“No, I haven’t heard about that…”

“As expected of those two…” Laura sighed dramatically, her hands pausing mid-work as she glanced at me. “Even though I told them to be a bit more honest around you, they didn’t send you a letter?”

“No.”

“What about Mama?”

“As far as I know, Liyana hasn’t received one either.”

“Hmm… Those two always tend to keep things to themselves, but this can’t go on, you know!” Laura exclaimed, wagging a finger at me like a stern teacher scolding her student. “You should probably go and congratulate them after they return, Papa. Their summer break starts around this weekend, so you should prepare a grand surprise for them!”

“Love shouldn’t have boundaries in this family-you know that’s the rule Mama made. So, I don’t get why those two are still so shy-. They weren’t like that when they were little… Is it puberty, perhaps?”

In front of me, Laura was mumbling to herself while deftly tinkering with what looked like a mechanical arm, her delicate fingers connecting intricate parts with ease. Watching her, I couldn’t help but marvel at her maturity and confidence.

Laura was the eldest of my three children, and just by looking at her, it was unmistakable that she was my and Liyana’s daughter.

My genes, for better or worse, seemed to have been overpowered by Liyana’s beauty.

From her strikingly beautiful face to her ruby-red eyes that sparkled with intelligence, Laura bore an uncanny resemblance to her mother.

If you ignored her golden-blonde hair-she could have been Liyana’s mirror image.

A blonde Liyana…

‘Never thought I’d see one in person…’

Her confidence and poise were distinctly her own, though.

She carried herself with a natural elegance, tempered by a practical, almost mechanical focus

as she worked on her latest invention.

It was a sight that filled me with both pride and an odd sense of nostalgia.

“Papa, are you even listening?” Laura’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts, her ruby eyes

narrowing slightly in mock annoyance.

“Of course,” I replied with a small smile.

…

Time passed again.

It had now been roughly five years since I found myself in this world.

And yet, even now, nothing happened.

Why?

Worries and grim thoughts loomed over me as I reflected on the years I’d spent here.

Despite enjoying my time and quietly investigating every possible anomaly, nothing of the sort I had expected ever occurred.

I’d checked every possible bad ending and endgame scenario I could think of-every dark corner, every forgotten piece of lore-but found absolutely nothing.

The White Queen didn’t exist in this world.

The malevolent influence of the evil god Erebil was nowhere to be seen.

The Chaos Dragon, Liyana, had abandoned her destructive destiny to live a life of love by my

side.

There were no guarantees of a bad ending.

Not even the demons-often catalysts of turmoil-had any influence here.

Surprisingly, everyone was happy.

Truly happy, as though this was the perfect, unattainable epilogue-the one that felt more

like wishful thinking than reality.

Everyone I knew and cared about had received their own happy endings, just as I had received

mine with Liyana.

At first, I wanted to believe that this was some kind of gift, a reprieve from the harsh realities

I’d faced.

But the more I thought about it, the more doubts crept in.

A few hypotheses came to mind to explain this strange and serene existence:

Perhaps this world was simply meant to be this way, a miraculous reality where everything unfolded without chaos or tragedy.

A reality where the threads of fate wove together seamlessly, avoiding the knots and frays of

despair.

But that explanation felt far too simplistic.

If this world were truly as perfect and straightforward as it seemed, why would I have been

shown this?

There was no way this was simply a coincidence or some kind of reward.

The fragmented dreams, the visions of broken timelines-they had always come with a

purpose.

This world, no matter how idyllic it seemed, was no exception.

There had to be a reason I was here.

But once again what?

…

Once again, time passed.

Now, I found myself completely integrated into this world.

The lines between this being a dream and a fragmented reality seemed to blur more with each

passing day.

This place… it was my reality, right?

“Dear~”

“Hm?”

“Why are you making that face again?”

In front of me, Liyana-more mature and radiant than I ever imagined she could become-

gazed at me with gentle concern.

It had been fifty years since I first found myself in this world.

Fifty years.

Life itself had passed by like a gentle breeze, each moment filled with nothing but happiness.

The constant worries and questions that had plagued me when I first arrived were now mere

distant memories, buried beneath the weight of a lifetime lived fully and beautifully.

“Just a random thought,” I replied, my voice soft with age and fondness.

“Random thought? Hmm~ are you reminiscing about our youth together~?”

“Something like that…”

“Hehehe… even though you’re an old man now, you’re still as cheesy as ever,” she teased, her laughter like music to my ears, as youthful and enchanting as it had always been.

We sat side by side on a wooden bench beneath the gaze of the endless night sky.

The soft hues of moonlight bathed the garden Liyana had lovingly cared for all these years, bringing the flowers to life in a soft, ethereal glow.

Their delicate scent intertwined with the cool evening air, adding a touch of magic to the

tranquil moment.

Though we were but aged shadows of our former youthful selves, the love we shared had not

faded in the slightest.

If anything, it had deepened, growing more profound with every year we spent together.

Her hand, as warm and gentle as it had been on the day we first held each other, remained

locked tightly with mine.

This was our reality.

The stars above us twinkled softly, as though watching over two souls who had found their

eternal happiness.

And in that moment, with her by my side and our shared memories spanning decades, I knew

-whatever this world may have been, it was ours.

And that was enough.

…..

“Papa… are you okay?”

A soft voice broke through my thoughts, pulling me from the depths of my grief.

“Hm?” I turned to my side, meeting Laura’s gaze.

She stood there, her ruby-red eyes glistening with unshed tears.

“I’m fine…” I murmured, though my voice sounded hollow even to my own ears.

Her lips trembled slightly as though she wanted to say more, but instead, she bit back her

words.

She took a hesitant step back, giving me space, her expression filled with worry and sadness. Behind her stood my other two children, silent yet present, their eyes downcast.

Their own children-my grandchildren lingered nearby, clutching at their parents’ sides or

holding each other’s hands.

None of them met my eyes, as if they instinctively understood that I needed to be left to my

thoughts. Turning my gaze forward again, I stared at the open ground before me.

Six feet beneath lay the coffin that now held my wife.

Seventy years had passed since I first arrived in this world-a lifetime of love, joy, and

cherished memories.

But now, the very source of my happiness, the one who made this reality worth living, was

gone.

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