The crowing of roosters rose and fell, echoing in the heart. “What are you doing~ Aiyo—”
A silver-haired girl awoke from her coma, feeling the soft sensation beneath her as she blinked open her confused eyes.
Her delicate jade hand gently stroked her disordered forehead.
It seemed as though some memories had returned to her.
I was killed by Sig, wasn’t I? Yes, I died.
A dull pain still lingered in her chest, constantly reminding her that there was no way to survive that situation—only a dead end.
Yet, in her blood-red eyes, there was no hatred or resentment.
She felt only relief and guilt.
Even though being killed by Sig’s own hand could be considered a kind of release, she was grateful that he ended it swiftly and painlessly, not letting her die by torture.
But more than that, she felt sorry for him.
She hadn’t finished atoning for her sins, yet she was freed so easily.
She really had it easy.
She knew what she had done and had long since prepared herself to bear the consequences.
Back then, all she could think about was bringing her brothers home…
Now that things had come to this, what was the point in thinking about it anymore?
After all, I’m already dead. Nothing matters anymore.
She raised her eyes slightly, staring at the familiar ceiling.
Where am I? Heaven or hell, or… did I come home?
“You’re awake. You’ve become a girl now.”
Sig, who had been silently waiting to the side with his legs crossed, sat in a rocking chair.
Watching the girl lying there with shifting emotions—crying one moment, laughing the next—he decided it was best to remind her to avoid unnecessary problems.
He waved his hand in front of her eyes to check if she was normal, then, seeing that she was, a helpless smile appeared on his worried face.
The shock nearly made Emilia jump out of her skin.
With a swift motion, she sat up and leaned against the headboard, staring in disbelief at Sig’s calm face, as if nothing had happened and everything was perfectly ordinary.
She wanted to say something, but found that she couldn’t even speak clearly.
She was lost and confused.
In the end, all her swirling thoughts condensed into a single sentence.
“Am I still alive? Sig, didn’t you kill me?”
“Kill you? No, no, no, I’m not that cruel. Rest assured, you won’t die—at least not for now. You’re still useful to me. I just had a heart-to-heart talk with you, that’s all.”
To Emilia’s surprise, Sig looked completely at ease, waving his hand as if he’d done something trivial.
He even had the mood to joke with her, reaching out to pat her fragrant shoulder.
He was ready to get down to business, not wanting to waste time on idle talk.
Time was tight and the task was urgent—he pulled out the sealed round object from his pocket, the thing called the System.
His expression changed instantly, becoming grave but not overbearing.
With a commanding presence, he gently tapped the table, preparing to get to the bottom of things.
“Emilia, there’s an old saying in China: ‘A wise man submits to circumstances.’ Given the current situation, I think I can pry open your mouth. I hope you’ll cooperate with me—we won’t treat you badly.”
“I don’t know… System?”
The girl still seemed a little lost, staring at the thing in his hand, her head full of question marks. Who am I! Where am I?
But after she realized the System’s presence had disappeared, something that had never happened before, she instinctively voiced her confusion, softly breaking the silence.
The moment she realized she’d spoken a forbidden secret, she quickly covered her mouth, afraid she’d triggered some taboo of the System.
But Sig, who was right next to her, heard every word clearly.
He looked at his old comrade in confusion, as if he were seeing a new species, discovering a new continent.
With her reaction, he more or less guessed the truth.
He started talking to himself, making deductions, but he was almost certain he was right as he played with the transparent sphere.
“Oh, oh, I see. So that old hag… The Goddess disguised herself as the System, right? Looks like you had no idea. Fine, Emilia, I’m magnanimous—I’ll explain it to you.”
He paused, then tried to make it as simple as possible.
“This thing is something the Goddess hid inside you—not a good thing. It’s a nasty tool for controlling people. As for how that old woman did it, I don’t know. But honestly, if this thing hadn’t caused a bit of trouble, I wouldn’t have noticed. I’ve always hated and been sensitive to things of the gods, so without asking your permission, I just acted on my own. For that, I apologize.”
So much information flooded into Emilia’s mind that she went completely blank.
Steam seemed to rise from her silver hair as she stared fixedly at the sphere, then lowered her head to look at her chest, which had returned to normal.
She swallowed hard, feeling her entire worldview start to collapse.
My System is just gone like that.
No, wait—the System was the Goddess in disguise.
That means I don’t have to hide it anymore.
About the System… That’s a good thing, isn’t it?
Doesn’t that mean I can finally speak about my troubles… No, wait.
All the effort I put in to go home from the very beginning was just a farce, guided by someone else.
“……”
After calming down for a while and sorting out her thoughts, cold sweat broke out on her snowy forehead.
Her beautiful face fell into deep contemplation, and her slender hands folded over her long legs.
It was clear she didn’t doubt Sig’s explanation—after all, the System had truly vanished without a trace.
If it was just as Sig said, then she really did feel like a clown, in more ways than one.
She wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say.
Whether it was to complain, curse, or make fun of herself, she could only tremble as she spoke the despairing truth.
“That System really is gone… I…”
Like a woman betrayed by a scumbag, she didn’t even know how to express herself.
She had trusted the System so much—after all, as a transmigrator, she had a natural trust in it.
She never imagined she’d been deceived.
How could she put it…
Ah… Aside from Sig’s brutal methods, the only easy way home was through the System.
She had to believe it—it was the balance between her brothers and the world.
Going home without killing innocents, even if she didn’t get any rewards or even had to change her conquest target…
She’d wondered if she was being deceived, but the sunk cost was too high, so she could only keep going…
But in the end, the thing she least wanted to see still happened.
Suddenly, she felt like she couldn’t breathe, her head spinning and her vision blurring.
Seeing her reaction, Sig struck while the iron was hot.
He sat on the bed, drawing closer, questions pouring from his mouth as he prepared to get to the bottom of what the Goddess had planned for Emilia.
“Tell me, Emilia, what did that System do? Or what did it guide you to do? Tell me everything, every last detail. I need to know what that old woman was up to.”
He hadn’t expected what he heard.
It nearly blew his perfect mind into outer space—a whole universe seemed to flash through his head.
His brain was about to split open, and for a long time he couldn’t say a word.
He kept glancing at Emilia, then looking out the window to calm himself.
He let out a long breath and finally spoke, serious and earnest.
His hatred for the girl lessened a bit, but his understanding of her stupidity deepened.
She was so clever and cunning when it came to running a country, ruthless and sharp-eyed.
Yet in some ways, she was so naive.
He looked at the girl curled up at the corner of the bed, shrinking into herself, and began to point at her, venting years of resentment.
“I don’t even know what to say to you. Scold you? I don’t even want to scold you. How could you believe in something like that so-called System? Tell me—what was your reason? What were you thinking? She gave you a lot of things? Why did you believe it could take both you and me home?
Let’s not even talk about that—just the fact that the System guided you to conquer Gerard. Damn it, why did I have to wipe out my whole Demon Tribe for that? Was there a fundamental conflict between the two? Answer me, Emilia.”