Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

Yu Man was silent for a while, realizing that "Time" had created a conflict between them with just a few words.

I also realized that Cat-senpai did have a heavy secret and told some terrible lies.

Now, it is about to be honest.

Yu Manze tried to say, "Senior Cat, if you were my enemy, you only needed to tell me in advance, and there was no need to lie or repeat it."

"That's not it. Well, to put it simply, I know something you don't."

Senior Cat looked at Yu Man sincerely.

"Xiao Man, you must have heard many legends in the game... legends of strangers."

"Well, of course—twice summoned, and now a third time."

"Then, how long was the interval between the first two times?" asked Senior Cat.

how long?

Yu Man recalled briefly. Not to mention the large amount of information heard last week, just looking at the clues in this week...

Ice Prison Dragon.

Xiaobing's ancestor, the Ice Prison Dragon of the previous generation.

The records of scholars on the island of Himlabakken clearly record two great battles involving the ferocious and cruel ice dragon.

It was all about foreigners trying to conquer the island and the previous generation of Ice Prison Dragon.

There is no doubt that the two monstrous battles did not occur one after the other, but were separated by a period of time.

Long enough... to consume the Ice Prison Dragon's entire life.

At least, in the chronicles of the Ice Prison Dragon's observation records, it spanned a very long period of time.

"The time in reality and the old world is the same, Xiaoman."

“…You mean—”

"Furthermore, only stories that are sufficiently fascinating will be recorded in the history of the Old World and become memories. Other stories... have no right to exist, and don't even need to be erased."

Hearing what Senior Cat said, Yu Man was stunned, feeling that the coldness brought by the night wind was torturing herself.

If these words are true, then...

How long had she been waiting?

Time's hand rested gently on Cat-senpai's back.

"This strongest stranger, by far, only wanted to reach the true end of the story. But she truly ventured into the realm of the Three Mysteries, and at the cost of three laurel crowns and the divine power of Lies, she came to know a vast and profound mystery."

Time's index finger gently rested on the cat's nose.

"She got the key to start over again, but she didn't use it... She just waited for someone else to hold the key in this world that kept repeating itself."

“…Wh…what?”

"So, for a very, very long time, she quietly waited in the world."

Yu Man gasped, "...Senior Cat, in order to wait for me, a level-clearer... that means... there were countless levels in between where no one was cleared...? Senior Cat went through all of that?!"

but--

Compared to Senior Cat's endurance of humiliation and the unimaginably long wait, Yu Man immediately felt a strange sense of disharmony.

She bit her thumb and instantly realized that something was wrong.

"So... there was quite a while between my last playthrough and this one in the Old World, right? At least it didn't happen immediately..."

At least, long enough for her family's Lao Huo's territory to expand and for Lao Huo's collection of glittering gold coins to dim.

What about the time in between?

as well as--

The playthrough that Senior Cat cleared, and the playthrough I cleared last week...

What about the interval between these two periods?

"That's all—"

"Time" is extremely precious. It understands all of Yu Man's confusions and gives them answers.

“—time wasted.”

It is no longer a difficult and confusing language, nor is it a literary riddle that no one can understand.

It was just a matter-of-fact answer.

"This is also the huge amount of time that "Ni Fu Wan Wu" paid to wait for you." "Time" looked at Yu Man, "In order to usher in the stage, there is always a price to pay."

Senior Cat stood up gently and looked at Yu Man: "I shouldn't have said these things. I just told you a lie."

"Why did you hide it from me?"

Cat-senpai has a very convincing explanation for this: "As a high school girl, I really don't want to be thought of as an old monster who has lived a super long life."

“…That makes sense.”

Yu Man was speechless.

I see... Alas.

Sometimes, the reason for lying is actually very simple.

Speaking of lies——

Yu Man thought of something else and asked, "What about your 'lie'? Does he know about this too?"

In response to this, Senior Cat answered with a long speech.

"Xiao Man, I deliberately created a bug. I didn't want to hand over the key until I met someone more capable than me who could help me clear the game... That's why I was able to keep these precious memories forever. And now that you've used that key, at least until the end, you'll still be able to keep your memories..."

"That's right."

Senior Cat continued, "Even if you reach the Three Secrets, the lies will still cause you to be stripped of your memory over and over again."

Yu Man was genuinely surprised by Senior Cat's in-depth knowledge, but the problem became even more complicated: "Wait? That Bird Old Five..."

Shi Guang looked at Yu Man tenderly: "Why pretend you don't know? Yu Man... or rather - the protagonist."

In the quiet night breeze, Senior Cat gently returned to her lap.

"Xiao Man, I'll reveal my true story to you now. I waited so long because I didn't want to fail. Compared to my long and bitter life in ordinary life, the stories in the old world... are the only glory of my life, and I absolutely refuse to forget them."

"..."

"You can deal with your past as you please. But no matter what, the key I've guarded so carefully... must be handed over this round. Because you've come, this is my only chance... I'm going to return to the old world and try to reach the true bottom with you. Even if the end is failure and oblivion... at least this is the only chance I've waited for."

Listening to these precious words, Yu Man also endured the still gentle gaze of "Time".

The strange thing is that Yu Man's body and mind are more relaxed than ever.

After a long silence——

She also placed her hand on Cat-senpai's head, and then—paid the price.

"Scrap."

Yu Man spoke in a sonorous and rhythmic voice.

With a voice of infinite nostalgia and hatred.

With a helpless voice——

Said the word.

"Those that have been erased from the world, those that are not allowed to exist... those stories that have no one to complete them, that repeat themselves over and over again... are actually called 'wasted manuscripts.'"

"...Scrapped manuscript?" Senior Cat repeated.

"I really didn't recognize Time before... Maybe I knew it in a scrapped manuscript, but it's been erased now. Or maybe the creators thought it would be better if it was erased," Yu Man said with a smile. "But Time definitely remembers me, right?"

"of course."

"The final boss of what I call the final place, 'Aurora String', is actually a 'writer'."

And this word—

In Old World language, it is written as "creator, participant, bystander".

Yu Man recited it softly in the old world language.

"The 'writer' left behind only two drafts that he approved of, and they were you and me. As for the others, the 'writer' was ashamed to show them to the world, so he erased them..."

To erase——

It's not that thorough.

Yu Man looked at "Time".

"Perhaps only the 'readers' of the 'writer' have read those unfinished manuscripts?"

"You see, Eel—no, my beloved protagonist, there are two kinds of waste manuscripts."

"Time" is like the snow welcoming spring, its eyes are so soft that they seem to be melting.

"One is meaningless garbage, and the other is a story that can only touch my heart... That is the story you don't know, but after the writer has completely denied it - the only story I know and love deeply."

248 Loneliness

Talking here——

Their little night talk was interrupted by a voice from above.

"Eel—70 said he wants to pet the cat too! Can you—bring it up here!"

The sound came from the top floor. The deer standing on the balcony was waving his hands and shouting.

Yu Man smiled relaxedly and raised his hand in response to show that he had heard it.

Compared to the distant past, both Senior Cat and myself have come to this moment today.

Yu Man responded to "time" with his eyes, then kept silent, ending the topic of the past.

Then, Yu Man scratched his coach's chin and said, "Let's go. You've been called upon. It's time to get to work."

"...Ah, time to get to work."

"Come on, let me play with you too."

Obviously, "time" will occasionally shed those literary and artistic shells.

……

They met offline and had fun until the early morning, then they returned to the old world in sleeping mode.

But it's not like before, where it seems like I'll live there forever.

They—just became normal people.

Think of your sleep pattern as an eight-hour dream—and then waking up to a long reality.

……

Yu Man and Senior Mao didn't talk more, but their relationship became closer.

We are not enemies and have the same pursuits.

Moreover, they completely exchanged the cards that each other was unwilling to reveal.

Just like always.

But - the relationship between Yu Man and "time" seems to be much more complicated.

……

The next day—

As a local, Xiaolu of course wants to invite everyone out to play.

But before that, while drinking morning tea, Xiaolu certainly did not forget the important things.

"This has arrived this morning, and now I give it to you. Please keep it safe."

She put down her teacup and took a package from the housekeeping robot.