"It's 200 chapters—!!
Thank you so much!! That we've come this far is solely thanks to all of you, my good readers!!
Though it's a novel with rudimentary prose and dialogue, the fact that I've received your support shatters all doubts and transforms into confidence and honor!
For chapter 200, there's only one story! That certain something from CCC, which I love the most!
Please enjoy this story, like a material, interwoven with an original plot!
Now then, I'll close with the words of Air, also known as Hero-Princess Gilgameshia!
I love all of you, and everything that gave birth to you!
Truly, truly, thank you so much! From now on, please, please continue to support me!
Happy New Year! May this work continue to be an entertainment that colors your irreplaceable lives—!
"Waaah! So many viruses are coming!? The computer is being torn apart with incredible speed!? This mercilessness must be Gilgamesh! Eh!? Consuming data to incarnate!? Damn that high-spirited King! Why doesn't he think about me, who's peeking!? Magi☆Mari, too, is done for—!!"
"Virus Eraser Vaccine: Cath Palug"
"Eh!? The viruses are being purified...!?"
"Recovery Backup Program: Gilgameshia"
"Even data recovery!? W-what's happening...!?"
[My Room]
"Don't misunderstand. I haven't forgiven you. I'll never forgive you in this lifetime. ...But, thanks to being knocked down by you, I gained a precious best friend."
Clack-clack
"Besides, since meeting Air... I've started to feel ashamed of myself for tormenting you and smirking. Thank Air with your whole heart and soul."
"Cath Palug...!"
"Don't misunderstand! I'll never forgive you!!"
"Merlin Slay Program: Fou"
"Ah."
"Waaaah, hordes of muscular Cath Palugs are coming—!!!"
"...Oh well. It's force majeure."
The King's Truth: Humanity's Oldest Story
Late at night, in a room in Chaldea, when everyone was asleep.
In the center of the room, she became the Hero-Princess, taking a deep breath.
"Inhale, exhale... inhale..."
From now on, she would make a request of the King.
A soul resided within the vessel. The King of Heroes was indeed by her side.
Therefore—there was one thing she absolutely had to ask.
"What is it, can't you sleep? Taking deep breaths and all. Resting when you can is also the job of a King and a Princess, you know."
The voice of the absolute one, the King of Heroes Gilgamesh, echoes from deep within the vessel.
—The genuine King of Heroes who had been with her.
"Yes. —King of Heroes. Please forgive my rudeness in posing a question to you."
She asks, resolute. With determination.
"Hm? Unusual. For you to ask something of me. Very well, it is not troublesome. Speak. I shall grant most wishes."
—Yay! Then, without hesitation...
"Yes. —King of Heroes. I wish for you to recount your life from your own lips."
"————"
"The epic is merely an compilation by human hands. Accurate, yet still others' perceptions. My heart still danced, but..."
—If the King is by my side, that's a different story.
She wants to hear. From the King's own mouth.
She wants to know. The path the King walked.
Without any judgment left to others... the King, as he truly is. She wants to hear it. As the King narrates.
"—I wondered what it could be. To think that after all this, you wish to know me, and to have me speak of myself. Truly, a selfish request befitting a princess."
—I'm sorry. But, I truly want to know.
At least half of his life. After that wandering, what did you grasp, what did you gain?
Why did you give up on immortality and return—that, she absolutely had to know.
"Hmph, it is useless to try and stop a personification of curiosity, innocence, and reverence. —Very well. Since it is your earnest plea, I shall generously tell you."
"Yay! Thank you, King of Heroes!"
"When revered to this extent, how could I possibly refuse? 'Hero-Princess' is indeed a fitting and excellent description."
She slowly sits on the bed and closes her eyes.
"Make yourself comfortable. It will be over soon. After all, it is the same outcome as the epic. I shall provide the visuals as a service. Am I not generous? Atmosphere is also necessary. —Don't fall asleep, now?"
"(Excitement, excitement)"
"Was that unnecessary worry? You are truly skilled at getting people excited."
"Um, I think the King of Heroes went on a journey..."
"Very well. I shall tell you the general outline from the beginning. It is troublesome to choose a specific scene now. From my own mouth, I shall recount my early childhood."
—Ah.
"Thank you! King of Heroes!!"
"Fool, it is the middle of the night, the middle of the night. Lower your voice!"
"Ah, ...I'm sorry..."
"It is fine if you understand. Then—shall we begin?"
Her consciousness gently floated up,
and then, deep into the vessel...
"I was born to the former King, Lugalbanda, and my mother, Ninsun. Granted the most supreme physical body as a human, and wisdom that reached the truth."
—Born from the womb of a goddess, two-thirds divine, the supreme King. That is the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
"My childhood self was apparently quite a good person. I was cherished by the people, who called me their butterfly and flower, and they rejoiced at having gained an ideal King, it seems."
—Yes, King of Heroes. May I ask a question?
"Granted. Speak."
"Apparently," and "it seems." Is that expression not a little inaccurate? As if his childhood memories are vague...
"They are indeed vague. My nature and that of my childhood self are entirely different. I cannot even perceive my childhood self."
That much?!
"Indeed. My childhood self would likely feel the same. Had he known that he would grow into me, he might even have stopped growing."
—So, his childhood self might be a different Heroic Spirit...?
"Likely so. As the sagacious yet ruthless me, he might one day stand before you."
—What kind of child would he be?
"I shall continue the story. Having come of age, I decided my own path. I would not live as a king who merely governs people. I would live as a storm that admonishes them."
That was his royal path.
His way of life, choosing to observe everything and determine its value.
Not daily happiness, but a way of being that ascertains the endeavors of humankind.
"From there, the events unfolded as in the epic. I plundered and collected as I pleased. Both people and nations were mine. All the treasures they created, I gathered them all and made them my own."
—That was—
"Indeed. You must have surmised. It was for judgment."
To decide, to determine.
To determine value by his own standards.
"Humans are the standard for invention, but they possess no common standard. No, precisely because they possess no common standard, they continue to create new things. That is why an absolute standard is necessary. A judge who transcends humans while still being human, and belongs to the gods while not being a god."
The King who sets all standards. An absolute being who acknowledges the value of both, yet judges them all without discrimination.
That is who he is. The King of Heroes, Gilgamesh.
"To merely govern, a human is sufficient; to merely threaten, a god is sufficient. The gods never truly understood that. —How is it? Shall we take a break?"
—No, please continue!
"Very well. Listen closely. —This is a story from before the Code of Ur-Namma was established. Later, Hammurabi precisely defined it, but fundamentally, it was a law for humans to prosecute humans. I lived by my own standards. I gathered wealth, embraced women, fought with my friend, and annihilated all evil on earth."
—That scene, she had indeed witnessed it firsthand.
Shown to her by someone.
—And then,
"Indeed. —After that work was done. Enkidu—my friend returned to dust. To put it simply, he met his death."
—And that death cast a deep shadow over him.
"Until then, I had never mourned death, nor feared it. I hadn't even been conscious of it. But before my eyes, one who possessed equal power vanished. I knew that everyone died, but I truly felt it for the first time then."
—She remembers. The King's cry, like thunder.
The King's lament, having lost his friend.
And then, he would wander into the wilderness.
To overcome the fate of death. Spending his own years.
That was Gilgamesh's last adventure. "The Journey to Seek Immortality." He decided to visit the wise man said to have conquered death.
—After a long, long wandering.
"Of course, it's not as if I hadn't considered the elixir of immortality. All the treasures on earth must be gathered in my vault. Even if he hadn't returned to dust, it was a task I would have had to undertake eventually. Furthermore, I had a reason. I despised and feared the death that took him. For the first time in my life, I was terrified of my own existence. From there, the journey was nothing short of comical."
He spoke with self-deprecation, laughing. He asked, "You can laugh, you know?"
—She hadn't even thought of laughing.
"They say there is a man in the Underworld who conquered death. I wandered the wilderness for as many years as my life up to that point, continually aiming for the Underworld. —How is it? Just as in the legends, yes? I miserably crawled across the ground, desperate not to die. The same motivation as mere humans. Even a child of the gods is no different from a human when faced with death. But, Air. This is what makes me, me."
The soul folds its arms tightly.
"I was even more foolish than the humans. ...Uglily, I continued to swallow my own baseness. —For what purpose, for whom? Without even knowing why I sought to transcend death. Simply, staring at the sky, believing I must be eternal and immortal. —Remember this clearly, Air."
He slowly exhales.
"Eternity itself is not foolish. The heart that seeks eternity is foolish. Since you had me speak, take one of my theories with you."
—You, you couldn't forgive yourself, could you? Yourself, abandoning the duty of discerning beloved humans.
The very existence of death, which interfered with your mission—you couldn't forgive it.
"—You continually pierce my truth. That is your answer alone."
—Yes. You sought immortality to uphold your royal path. To continue existing until the end of the world...
"When I reached the Underworld, I learned the secret of immortality from the sage. It was nothing special. The sage had simply joined the ranks of the gods and gained longevity. Truly a laughingstock. The sage had half-become a plant. That is what it means to join the ranks of the gods. My disappointment at that time was beyond words. I must be immortal while embracing human desires. What good would it do to live for eternity in a body incapable of experiencing desire?"
『You've certainly been on a rather pointless journey.』
He said that, and then left the Underworld. Shoulders slumped in disappointment and dejection.
"I quickly resolved to return to Uruk and complete my treasury. —However. The sage, having his way of being denied, must have grown faint-hearted. He hastily imparted a certain secret to me."
"—I understand your feelings. I will not ask you to beg for the mercy of Lord Anu."
"Naturally. Even if heaven and earth were to split, I would not beg for mercy from any god."
"Therefore, I shall teach you—a certain secret."
—That was the "Elixir of Immortality," which grew in the abyss, and which this King had sought without end.
"Even if one were to ingest such a thing, turning into a plant would be out of the question, but it is a rare treasure nonetheless. It would adorn my vault as a miraculous elixir of immortality. I stopped by the abyss, bottled the spirit herb, and returned to the surface. —Now, here is a question."
The King smiles, "Hmph."
"The abyss is the primordial sea. At its bottom grew the spirit herb. Now—how do you think I obtained it?"
—Did you dive? Even as King, to dive so deeply...
"Correct, but there is a secret. You see the bottle? I filled it with sand. If there is a weight—"
—I see! It sinks properly!
"Remember this when you have business in the abyss. 'The key to breaking through the abyss is the sand of the Underworld.'"
—Yes! I'll bring a bottle!
"A good answer. We shall conclude this diversion. —But well. That is roughly the reason I sought immortality."
The King of Heroes smiles, "Hmph."
—Huh? King of Heroes. May I ask for your opinion again?
"Hm? Is there still something you wish to know?"
—Yes. Though you brought back the elixir of immortality, you did not become immortal. I believe...
"—Hah. Air, did I not say it was just as in the legends?"
He clearly didn't want to say it, pouting and sulking as if to say, "You should have guessed."
"I gave it to a snake! I was a victim of arrogance, having my immortality snatched away while I was bathing. I, who valued desire, was tripped up by the desire of a snake crawling through the fields. By a desire that simply said, 'I'm hungry'!"
The Arrogant King declares, almost in desperation. That's why he dislikes snakes...
"You too, be careful when bathing. Of pickpockets and snatchers. You never know where the snake for you might be lurking."
—Yes. But, I find it strange.
"Hm? Did something touch your heart?"
Yes. —Indeed, the King bestowed the elixir of immortality upon a snake.
But you did not return to the abyss again; instead, you returned to Uruk and peacefully governed the city as King.
—This is what intrigued me. You had the means, you had the power. Why did the King of Heroes, who possessed wisdom, let go of that elixir he had sought his entire life?
...Perhaps, in the King of Heroes' perception here, lies the reason I sought.
—I apologize for bringing up a difficult topic again. —But please, tell me.
She asks, resolute.
The answer in your heart, which judged immortality unnecessary—
"—Hmm. That is indeed not written in the epic. It was inevitable that a curious person like you would notice that."
He closes his eyes, "Hmm," looking amused.
"But well, it is certainly strange. My state of mind at that time, even I cannot put into words—"
To me, who claimed immortality akin to a god was unnecessary, a part of my heart must have been expecting it.
"—Hmph, fuhahaha! Did you see, my friend! Enkidu! Your friend! The great King has finally achieved success, he has grasped immortality!!"
Having returned to the surface, I smiled at my accomplishment. With this, I could conquer death. I could avenge my friend.
At the same time, I imagined the voices of the people of Uruk. It was self-evident that if I brought back immortality, their praise would be unprecedented.
"Rejoice, my people! Praise me! Your absolute King who governs you! Has become an immortal being for all eternity!! My majesty shall illuminate the world to its ends! And I shall continue to watch over your endeavors!! The true King! Has been liberated from the fate of destruction!!"
—There was no reason for a King who had abandoned and left his kingdom. Ultimately, only one person remained in later Uruk. In the end, I, too, was a child of man with flesh. It was the folly of youth, you see.
—However, then vanity also surfaced.
"—What is this shabby appearance? I look like a vagrant. What have I been doing? Did I intend to gain joy and blessings like this?"
It wasn't like, but precisely a shabby appearance that bothered me. Though I hadn't given it a second thought until then, how mercenary I was.
Before returning to Uruk, I decided to cleanse myself, easing my fatigue in a nearby spring.
"————Ah——...How pleasant——————"
It was the accumulated fatigue of several decades. The water, like the winds of heaven, like the snow of a sacred mountain. Warm, cold, softly healed me.
—It was peace, I suppose. Both my body and mind felt liberated from a long stagnation.
"Ah—I have, what a—what a great feat I have accomplished...——!!! Heaven, earth, and man! None can stand equal to me anymore—!!"
Never before had I been so intoxicated by my own achievement. It was an ecstasy that made me want to shout.
...To be honest, that was my first joy. Gathering wealth is my instinct. It's like breathing. It's not joy.
But—that was different.
"World, life, gods! I thank you, I praise you! How well you created me! How well you—brought me into this magnificent world—!!"
For the first time, I was grateful and rejoiced to have been born into this world. While proclaiming to possess a human perspective, I had not been human until that moment.
"I am now—truly, precisely! For all eternity!! The omniscient, omnipotent King—!!!"
I was liberated from everything. No more doubts or fears, no more attachments or duties. My body trembled with an overwhelming sense of omnipotence.
"Ah, this, this is—!!"
This was the vibrancy of life, the reward of my desires. This joy, which could be called the conclusion of the universe's birth, I could have it for all eternity as I wished!
But.
"————————————————"
What awaited such a fool was the snake's pilfering. The spirit herb was lost. The snake had obtained a new body and departed.
"——————Hah, hah."
What ran through me at that moment was—laughter.
"Fuhahaha!! Fuhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!! Haha! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!! Ah—hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!! Hah, hah fuhahahahahahahahahahahahaha!! Hihahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha——————!!!"
I laughed until my stomach ached. It was uncontrollably funny.
Look, this is the conclusion, I thought. I laughed heartily at my own foolishness.
"Ah, ah—I see. So that's what it was all about————"
The only thing I hold and pride myself on is 'nothingness.' Ah, that doesn't mean I gain nothing, you know?
Ultimately, nothing remains in my hands—I understood that to be the only reward for my work.
"—Everything is destined for destruction and an end."
Even the fulfillment of life, the joy of existence, gained for the first time. Something that vanishes in an instant like this.
This is the human world.
This is what I must discern.
What could an eternally immortal being understand of this profound experience!
Immortality, after all, is merely the folly of the mundane. It is nothing more than the dream of mongrels who must live long to witness the end.
"—Hmph. Upon realizing it, the truth was there after all."
I had no need for immortality. My eyes, from the beginning, could see into the future. There was no reason to fear death.
I was in that era.
Already immortal.
Without needing to accumulate time, I simply needed to gaze into the distant future.
—Humanity's oldest story.
As a hero who would continue to be spoken of in later ages, my duty would be fulfilled.
That is all the story. At that time, I was born as a human, tasted joy, and then—died as a human.
—I apologize. You perceive me as complete and omnipotent, paying me respect and admiration, but... even I had my immature times.
I grew throughout almost my entire life. My body developed during my days with my friend, and my spirit, at this moment, reached maturity.
—A long childhood, finally came to an end.
"————————————————"
The sky I looked up at was boundless. Even with my eyes, it would take eons to see through it.
By then, my body would have decayed. But human perception would expand. Eventually, it would see even the light of hundreds of millions of years in the future.
...I saw such a future. It was a heart-stirring sight. Thinking back, I must have lost motivation.
What needed to be collected, I had already collected. In that era, there was no greater pleasure than that.
Then, to perish gracefully. —Death, I could experience it any number of times.
And I would revive countless times. Each time, I would discern that era. Until the end of this world.
Until humanity transcends the boundaries of my star, sets sail into the dark ocean—reaches the end of the sky, and draws a conclusion——————
"—I shall continue to watch over you, awaiting the hour of judgment. And continue to protect your civilization—"
"—That's roughly the story. It's well past midnight now. Is it not morning already?"
Looking, the clock showed early morning.
—At that moment, the King of Heroes' feelings flowed into her soul. Indeed, compared to this feeling, immortality held only trivial value.
"Well, after returning to Uruk and completing my treasury, I secretly returned to the abyss to retrieve it, though. That, too, is a rare treasure in its own right."
—Ah, I knew it.
"Collecting treasures is the King of Heroes' instinct, after all."
"—Indeed. Just laugh off the King's mischief."
The two look at each other and laugh.
"Well, there's no going back to a second nap now. Very well, today shall be a day of rest. Both you and I shall be in complete dormancy. We shall dedicate the day to rest."
"Understood, King of Heroes."
She completely shuts down the vessel's functions, entering a state of complete dormancy.
"Transfer the activation rights to me. If anything happens, I shall rise up."
"Yes, thank you, King of Heroes."
"—Hm? What is it? You're staring at me with such a rapt expression."
—Ah, I've been found out. He accidentally saw through me.
"Could it be, you're looking at me with eyes of respect? Very well, stare to your heart's content. I don't mind changing clothes, you know?"
"There hasn't been a single day I haven't respected you."
She expresses her genuine feelings.
"King of Heroes, just one thing... May I?"
"Granted. Briefly. My rest period is shrinking."
"Yes, then..."
She clears her throat.
"————Thank you, King of Heroes. I am truly glad to have met you."
"————"
—The King who acknowledged her.
The King who watched over her.
The King who stayed by her side until she found her worth, who was amusing and wonderful.
To the King who showed her the beauty of the world, all of it.
"I love you, and everything you love————"
—She was certain. The King loves humanity.
To say, "I shall discern you until the end of the world"... could not be achieved without deep love.
Because he loves, he finds joy.
Because he loves, he sometimes feels profound disappointment.
And precisely because he believes in the answer that will eventually emerge in the distant future—the King fulfills his duty.
Towards where humanity will rush ahead.
The "history" that humanity will weave, someday,
—Believing that it will draw an irreplaceable "pattern" for the King.
—Believing that the day will come when he obtains the treasure that is "humanity's trajectory."
"—Those who glare at me with hostility are countless, rarer still than the mongrels who challenge me with moist eyes. The princess who declared her love for all of me, her eyes shining—"
He slowly strokes her head.
"That gaze that sees things as they are, untainted by anything, that way of loving all things correctly. Never lose it."
"—Yes!"
"It is only natural that the beast would be defeated. The stains, the cancer cells humanity has accumulated. If the will to build a better future is Human Evil, then you are its exact opposite. Even if your place is nowhere in the world, you find respect and love in all things. That way of being that finds all things 'pleasant.' That soul that does not even deny Human Evil, but simply 'accepts' all of the world. Gazing at evil, not denying it but simply staying close, praising good and cherishing it. The love that heart displays is truly—"
—Those words, she didn't hear them. Perhaps he didn't intend for her to hear them.
"—The unconditional love that a mother or a princess shows to her child, to her people. If that is directed towards all of humanity... then it would be fitting to call it 'Human Love.'"
—Their eyes met, and the King's gaze was infinitely calm.
"? King of Heroes?"
"Nothing, just a trivial sentiment, forget it."
"Y-yes. —Oh! That's right, King of Heroes!"
"What, is there still something?"
"Yes! Um—"
—I keep asking, but oh well! The King also said that in battle, the one with good momentum wins!
"Once humanity is restored, someday—shall we all leave the planet and set sail into the boundless sky!?"
"—What?"
Hearing the King's story, her heart was racing.
The world is so vast, and beyond it lies a future so distant that even the King cannot foresee it.
That—it has to be exciting!
"Once everything is over, Master, Mashu, Marie, Romani, Da Vinci-chan, and Fou! And everyone through the member network! With the King leading, of course, I want to travel into the distant sky! What lies beyond, what kind of world awaits us there...! I want to see it with everyone!"
"————"
The King's eyes widen, and he freezes.
"—Is that... no good?"
—Perhaps it means it's still too early for humanity...?
"—No. Ah... so that was it."
The King grins.
"If it is a pleasure that humans will experience, then it is only natural that I should taste it first. It is not bad to savor the pleasures of hundreds of millions of years in the future a step ahead of them."
"!" Then!
"Very well. I shall make preparations. When you and I deem the time right, we shall set sail. The endless canal. —To the Great Sea of Stars!"
"—Yes!!"
A heart-stirring covenant, a journey beyond human history.
A journey to the end of the sky, unseen by anyone.
The King laughs, and the Princess's heart flutters with anticipation.
Towards the place humanity will eventually reach.
Dreaming of a future where they rush ahead, a step earlier—
"Adding more and more tasks, always. —But it was a blind spot. Indeed, if we travel with Chaldea itself aboard Marduk, we won't be bothered by the trivial matters of mongrels."
"Sigh..."
"...How utterly irritating. To surpass my expectations so casually. I miss the time when she was tasteless and odorless. Now her eyes sparkle, and she speaks like a proper person."
"...Fou... bike... always, together..."
"—A tour of the sea of stars, a journey for the Princess and the Beast, would be fitting... Siduri."
『Yes, King Gilgamesh.』
"Prepare the functions for interstellar travel, for crossing the stars. —My journey, may one day even reach there."
『Hehe, yes. Understood. Leave it to me.』
"—Strive hard, Air. The journey you wished for lies beyond saving the world."
"Mmmmph..."
"You and I. What kind of ending will we reach? —I, too, shall enjoy the journey—"
-------------------------------
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