Even in the tense situation, the magician remained calm.
Rather, he looked at Irid with pity.
"Your Highness... this is merely illusion magic."
"Don't insult the time I spent with her...!"
His grip on the magician's collar tightened. Irid glared at the magician with murderous intent. The magician sighed deeply as if the gaze was uncomfortable.
"By denying it's illusion magic, what exactly do you hope to gain?"
"...What?"
He began speaking like a madman.
"This way is more convenient, Your Highness. And even proper."
"A wicked magician simply... played a trick on Your Highness, and all the events and incidents you experienced inside were nothing more than a midsummer night's dream."
"What follows is simple. You rightfully become angry, punish the mischievous magician severely, and that's it. There's nothing you need to take responsibility for here."
"But... if you believe a momentary illusion was real... good heavens. Where should I even begin to unravel this?"
The magician's melancholic eyes looked at Irid. Despite his still-rising anger, Irid had no choice but to loosen his grip. The indifference swirling in the magician's eyes. Truly, the madness that seemed to take all of this lightly.
"I've seen many people like you, Your Highness..."
"Those who can't maintain distance and become immersed all meet terrible endings. It's only natural. Players are always... outsiders. They can never stay together forever. They are destined to part ways eventually."
"Just... illusion magic that shows you what you fear most. Wouldn't that be better?"
Irid's hand trembled as much as his wavering heart.
It was cruel venom that tore at his wounded heart, an insult. But equally tempting. If all of it—his pain, Centra's crisis, the miserable future as the Fallen Emperor—were all lies.
Then he wouldn't have to be angry with himself.
He wouldn't have to despise his stupid self for failing to read the signs of the attack and letting her get caught in the explosion. He could just direct his anger at the magician before him, and everything would be resolved.
But.
The memories he could still vividly recall when he closed his eyes.
The scent of rosemary that still lingered in his nostrils.
His aching heart was still refusing.
...He couldn't flee to the comfortable option.
The 2nd Prince Irid recalled his nine-day journey.
Scenes from the past flashed through Irid's mind like a panorama.
"At first... I was afraid. Falling into an unfamiliar future, dwelling on my failures while wandering the back alleys of the city was a terrible experience. Even now, I occasionally hear voices blaming me."
In that future as the Fallen Emperor, he had been ready to give up everything.
He had been terrified and tried to run away.
"But... after that, I was incredibly happy. At some point, I forgot about the obsession with becoming Emperor and my terrible failure."
When Irid tried to run away, she caught him.
Like a firefly, she guided Irid's soul.
"I feel so fulfilled, as if a hole in my soul has been filled. I received something too precious from her."
And that made him who he is now.
Irid, who had been consumed by anger and anxiety, was able to reflect on himself through the magician's twisted words. The magician before him was reflecting the future of himself who had fled in terror.
He couldn't throw away the precious things he had gathered just to escape. He had to embrace both the pain and the joy as he took a step forward. The world called that courage.
"...I see. Yes, so that's how it was."
The 2nd Prince Irid realized.
Why he had awakened in the Empire 100 years later.
Why he had been able to find his soul's other half in that vast archipelago.
It was no coincidence.
"It seems this wasn't a magic that sends one randomly. They say the gods of the distant past subjected their champions to trials like two sides of a coin. And those who overcame the trials were given immense power."
A trial of fate. In the era when gods directly interfered with the human realm, a grand ceremony that shook fate on a game board to select their agents.
"A dimensional magic that transports one to a world connected to the fate of the subject. A trial and hardship."
"...Is that what you've decided to believe?"
"You must have experienced it firsthand, magician... And your spirit was broken."
"I've had a few rather unpleasant experiences. But they were all illusions."
The magician shrugged. The gesture looked extremely mechanical.
After completing the spell, the magician must have attempted dimensional travel himself. And experienced a miserable failure. With his mind shattered, he seemed to dismiss everything as an illusion.
"You madman, I won't criticize you for turning away from reality and running. Without her, my spirit would have broken too."
However.
"But I have— something I must do. Cast the magic once more."
He needed to save Centra. The explosion had been powerful, but those who knew how to handle mana could limit it to severe injuries. Centra had excellent reaction speed and senses, so she must have defended herself properly.
The hardliners of the Resistance would come to kill Centra to finish the job. She was vulnerable and in danger. Only Irid could help her.
The 2nd Prince Irid steeled his resolve.
The magician shook his head in confusion, then said quietly.
"...Time is relative, Your Highness. Time on the other side is virtually at a standstill."
"Is that so?"
"It would be better for you to prepare thoroughly, eat a tasty snack, and return to play in a refreshed state."
"I'm glad to have time. How many chances do I have left?"
"...One, Your Highness."
"Then I'll see you in a week. Send me a list of items needed for recasting the spell."
Irid straightened the magician's rumpled clothes and turned away. As the incident concluded, the Master of the Purple Magic Tower and the Boy Knight, who had been facing off, also withdrew their mana.
Irid took the Boy Knight and left the tower.
===============================================================
In the tower where one wall had been completely destroyed, the Tower Master and I stared at each other with blank expressions. What on earth had just happened?
I racked my brain to understand the situation and summarized it in one sentence.
"So I was just... mistaken for 'a madman who went through dimensional magic, got traumatized, and brainwashed himself into believing it was illusion magic,' right?"
Even after summarizing it, I couldn't understand and felt dizzy.
Who's the madman here? I clearly stated three times that this was fiction!
I naturally assumed the 2nd Prince was just immersed in his RP—his acting.
I thought he would recognize it was an illusion. I mean, come on!
What kind of crazy prince would test dimensional magic on himself?
Normally, you'd sacrifice about ten subordinates first and only jump in after safety was guaranteed!
He must have thought it was an illusion too and just did the test for fun!
But to think the crazy prince who jumped into dimensional magic himself was real...
As I wavered between feeling indignant at the misunderstanding or pleased that my virtual reality was so convincing, the Tower Master cautiously offered her opinion.
"Um... but you know."
"Yes?"
"Comparing you and the prince, you're the one who's a bit... mentally unwell, right? Maybe it really is dimensional magic?"
"???"
I was about to deny the Tower Master's nonsensical statement—but.
Thinking about it carefully, she had a point. Comparing me to the prince, the prince was indeed more put-together. He even remembered people's names.
Am I actually just a brain in a vat?
What if I, who thought I was the GM, am actually a dimensional magician?
What if Heart-chan, whom I thought was a virtual idol character I created, is actually my hidden self??
"Arrrgh, no!!"
The prince's mind games had thrown both the Tower Master and me into massive confusion.
Only after spinning tops and pinching each other's cheeks, then logging back into virtual reality and making three hundred Heart clones perform a flash mob.
Only then could we reassure ourselves, "Ah, it really is illusion magic," and sleep peacefully.
===============================================================
"Sir, please invite mathematically inclined magicians from the Flame Tower. And contact my sister as well."
"...Are you alright, Your Highness? I suspect hypnosis."
"Then would you check?"
"Excuse me."
The Boy Knight gathered mana in his hand and lightly touched the 2nd Prince Irid's forehead.
Irid staggered momentarily, then regained his posture.
"How is it?"
"I'm fine. My mood didn't suddenly rise or fall, and I don't feel any gaps in my memory. My resolve is... completely intact."
The Boy Knight frowned. It had been just three hours. In three hours, the prince had become a different person. His impulsive nature had transformed into righteous drive. The light in his eyes reflected unwavering determination.
"What did you experience?"
"In the future, 100 years from now... I fell in love. How embarrassing."
"That sounds quite unfamiliar to me. Weren't you uninterested in such matters, Your Highness?"
"Well, I simply hadn't met an attractive woman until now."
"If you've fallen so deeply, I worry I might have to stop you out of loyalty. About using dimensional magic again, I mean."
"I'll be honest. In my heart, I'd like to remain in the future 100 years from now, but I won't do that. I need to make 'Beer and Songs' resound throughout this Empire. And I must stop the dark mage of the Kingdom Alliance."
"......"
"I'm trying to be brave. But before that... I want to save the person I love. I'll postpone working for the Empire for a moment. Will you join me, Sir?"
"How adorable and admirable. I will follow you."
Irid walked ahead, and the Boy Knight followed.
They had one week left.
Irid gathered experts from various fields to save Centra.