“You’re right about what you’re thinking.”
Could it be that my confusion and doubts were all written on my face and in my eyes?
Leraze, as if reading my thoughts, spoke calmly.
“A devil exists only to test and tempt humans favoured by God. That’s the sole purpose of their creation. To God, devils hold no value beyond that.”
“Ah, no… when you put it that way, I really have nothing to say.”
Feeling unexpectedly sorry, I fiddled with my fingers.
“The essence of God is human, so He can’t help but think from a human-centred perspective. Well, it’s like the saying, ‘A person’s arm bends inward.’” [1]
Upon hearing those words, my mind froze for a moment, stiffening as I struggled to process what was said.
"W-wait a minute... I don’t understand..."
I parted my lips, eyes wide with shock.
‘The essence of God is human? What on earth does that mean?’
“Do you know that countless dimensions exist in this world?”
"Uh, yes. Well... I guess so."
In my previous life, I never seriously considered fanciful science fiction ideas like other dimensions.
I was pretty good at clearly separating reality from imagination.
But having already experienced dimensional travel once through possession, there was no way I could deny the existence of other dimensions.
After all, even a novel — just someone’s creation — existed as its own world.
So wouldn’t other dimensions be as countless as the stars in the sky?
I wore a reluctant expression, but nodded my head.
"Then, who is the God of our dimension?"
"Deseo?"
The name of the one true god in this world was “Deseo.”
Having heard it so many times in the theocratic empire of Roxitant, I said it almost automatically.
Leraze smiled slightly, clearly pleased with my answer.
“Yes. This world can ultimately be said to be Deseo’s realm of consciousness. To put it simply for you humans, this world is like a creation of God. Like a novel or a script.”
"...A novel?"
Not only did he immediately realise I was from another dimension, but he even called it exactly a “novel.”
I widened my eyes and stared up at him, starting to feel genuinely afraid of just how much this devil seemed to see through me.
“Judging by your reaction, it seems this world really is a novel?"
I flinched as even the truths I had deliberately kept hidden were laid bare.
Instead of being shocked by my question — whether this world was a novel — Leraze looked completely fascinated.
For a moment, I couldn’t speak.
My eyes darted around anxiously before I finally managed to ask, my voice trembling with hesitation.
“Wait… is it really okay for you to know something like this?"
“So what? That’s exactly why I reached out to you — an outsider.”
He knew not only that I came from a "different dimension," but also that it was a higher realm — the "outside world."
As I trembled, wondering what kind of ghost he was, Leraze tilted his head gently, as if silently urging me to speak.
His expression said it all: ‘I already know everything. No matter what lies you tell, you’re still completely in my grasp.’
“Even as you look at me now, there’s a real ‘me’ that exists outside, separate from the ‘me’ that lives in this realm of consciousness. Likewise, there exists a ‘Deseo’ beyond this world, and the ‘Deseo’ we’ve come to know as the one true god.”
I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, and it must have shown on my face.
Leraze, seeing me puzzled, explained a bit more.
“If this world is a novel, then the novelist is the true form of ‘Deseo,’ the one who created this world.”
A writer as the creator.
I didn’t know why I had made such a simple truth so complicated.
Now that I heard it, it made perfect sense.
Since the novelist was human, the story naturally had a human-centred perspective.
After all, the protagonist of this novel was human too!
“The Deseo in the realm of consciousness simply follows the will of the original being. You were brought here by the Deseo from the outside world — just like how the ‘outside me’ sent you into this place, which is my realm of consciousness.”
This was a real shock.
“Huh? How does the author know about me?!”
“Well, I’m sure there was some connection. Think carefully.”
‘I-I don’t know! How could I know something like that?!’
Completely panicked, I suddenly jumped up, my eyes darting wildly in every direction.
Maybe it was thanks to the author’s writing skills, or just good timing, but the novel did get some buzz.
Still, it was such a niche story that there were never any autograph signings or meet-ups offline.
The only connection I had was through fan café activities... Wait, hold on a second.
I remembered.
Back when I was Kim Hee Soo, I’d posted so many messages on that fan café.
I couldn’t remember every single one, but I knew the author had been pretty active there, too.
I think I even got a few replies now and then.
Once that buried memory was triggered, a flood of embarrassing moments poured out like a broken dam.
Then the most recent memory came to mind.
About a year or two before I possessed Irene Amber, I suddenly remembered some childhood memories and reread <The Flowers Blooming on Withered Branches>.
On a whim, I even went into the fan café and left a post myself.
[After reading it about twenty times, I realise I could probably make the heroine happier.]
Yeah, that’s right. It seemed like I wrote something like that.
“Wh-why would He do this kind of dirty trick to his fan?”
Was it because I insulted the male leads? But I didn’t really insult them!
It was true that Claudia from the original story fell into misery because of that irredeemable trio!
I just said I could make her happier, and yet He went and put me into the novel because of that?
What an absurd situation.
Because of it, I went through an identity crisis I never expected to experience; suffered and wreaked havoc in this world; and...
Utterly dumbfounded, I explained the whole situation to Leraze, venting my frustration.
Then he replied.
"The Deseo of the outside world has no awareness of the conscious world. The original being is just an ordinary human, after all."
"R-really? Then how did He put me in here?"
"You said you could make her happier, so He must have sincerely wished for her to be happier because of you."
"...After making her unhappy Himself?"
"Maybe, over time, He grew fond of her and developed affection."
Leraze replied in a somewhat presumptuous tone, but somehow, hearing him say it made sense.
I trusted him — perhaps because he was going through something similar.
Even while being tossed around in the waves of confusion, I asked seriously:
"Is it like how you came to love Larry?"
"...The Deseo of the conscious world said this to me."
Then, Leraze completely changed the subject in the most unnatural way.
“He told me to follow your will. To make things happen the way you wish. That was God’s request.”
In return, what Leraze gained was the transformation of his conscious world into a true dimension, where the Leraze of this world became a god.
In other words, just like the ‘Deseo’ of the conscious world followed the will of the ‘Deseo’ from the outside world, this Leraze became a god who followed the will of the Leraze from the outside world.
“Even so, as a dimension, it’s too insignificant; it feels more like I just got a new toy rather than an entirely new dimension.”
He continued in a bored tone, silently surveying the fog-filled space around him.
Then, as if naturally, Leraze’s gaze settled on Larry.
“The goal was to save Larry, wasn’t it?”
"Hmm."
‘Why can’t you just say yes?’
I suddenly thought of the Japanese term ‘tsundere.’
“If he had just willingly let himself be absorbed by me, I could have revived him right away.”
Leraze clicked his tongue lightly as he looked down at Larry’s still-unclear form.
“The spell carelessly scattered most of his soul, so I had no choice but to revive him here. Since I got a chance from God anyway, I was planning to use it more effectively. He really has a knack for always causing trouble.”
He finished with, “I wonder who he takes after,” then crossed his arms.
He wore an indifferent expression as if he didn’t care at all, but his gaze never left Larry, as if he were looking at a particularly sore spot that hurt more than the rest.
‘You’re obviously really worried just from the way you’re talking.’
No matter how much you rub your eyes and look again, it’s the face of a father staring at his inept son.
‘What a hopelessly proud father…’
I found the sight strangely touching and tried to hold back the twitch at the corner of my mouth.
Judging by his reaction, even though he moved by following the god’s request to “follow my will,” there was no doubt it was Leraze’s own will that revived Larry.
‘Even if I had hated Larry and wished for his death, I’m sure he would have saved him anyway.’
I muttered this quietly to myself, feeling a secret relief.
Larry, who must have been lonely for four thousand years, wouldn’t have to face isolation anymore.
Reborn as a devil, he would always have Leraze by his side, watching over him with affection.
Even without me, he would have a devil to support him emotionally.
As I quietly looked down at Larry, my feelings were complicated.
He once told me that if he died for me, he hoped I would remember him — even if it was just through the pain.
He was a devil who said every cruel thing possible just to drive me away — so he could sacrifice himself, no matter the cost.
Judging from Leraze’s words about the sacrifice and being swept away by the spell, it seemed like he resisted until the very end.
‘It was probably because he wanted to save me.’
I looked down at his soul, still without form — merely gathered like a shimmering Milky Way, softly sparkling.
I couldn’t understand why a devil would shine like that.
I had resented him deeply — had even hated him at times.
Even now, it was hard to say I felt only kindness toward him.
But despite everything, I decided to let it all go and simply wish for his happiness.
"It's a relief that Larry ended up in human form. He wanted that more than anything."
"He wanted to become human?"
"Oh, I mean human as in not being an inanimate object. But really, more than that, he wanted to become a (complete) devil.”
They said devils had always been discriminated against because God, being originally human — and as the author— naturally favoured humans.
I thought Larry might not like it if I made it sound like he wanted to be one of those humans God doted on, so I quickly rephrased myself.
Leraze shot me a glance, then replied.
"He probably wanted to be human, because you are one."
"He [2] had no intention of being that generous, of course," he added flatly.
"Still, you and your lover should be thankful. If he hadn’t had that human side, even God might not have shown mercy."
After hearing that, I couldn't shake the feeling that this whole situation might have been part of Leraze’s grand plan.
That included sending Larry down to the human world and even possessing Felix’s body to awaken the feeling of love within him.
'Looks like you’re just bursting with kindness...'
At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel like I understood why the god, Deseo, among all the countless beings, chose Leraze and so willingly granted his request. I didn’t even need to ask.
The biggest reason was probably that indifferent detachment that came from mastering all those truths to the point of feeling no desires at all.
At least, even if he gained power nearly equal to that of a god, I didn’t think he’d misuse it like someone such as Benjamin might.
‘He’s the kind of person who would say, ‘This is inside a novel, and since God is human, it’s inevitable that devils are discriminated against,’ as if it’s no big deal.’
If other devils knew this truth, they would probably have already gathered their armies and staged a coup by now.
Translator's Corner:
[1] A Korean idiom meaning “to be biased toward your own,” literally “the arm bends inward.”
[2] Referring to God Deseo
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