You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 96

Seeing my nod, Lyras tilted his head once, and just like in the dining room, a transparent barrier rose from below, enveloping the two of us.

Lyras, who had instantly cast the spell, wiggled his fingers as he organized his thoughts. Seeing this made me nervous, and I unconsciously licked my lips. Lyras’s gaze turned to me, and his glasses gleamed brightly. The green eyes visible beyond them steadily took me in. Lyras’s lips, which had been smiling faintly, parted.

“I’ll be straightforward. I think there might be another world. And perhaps you… might have come from there.”

Faced with Lyras, who seemed to have figured it out to some extent, I couldn’t say anything. His eyes, filled with certainty, looked at me honestly without wavering, and it felt as if that gaze was binding my entire body.

How did he know? He clearly seemed clueless at the dining room last time, thinking it was just a dream. Beads of sweat formed on my palms in an instant, and I unconsciously wiped them on my thighs. The sharp eyes watching me curved into round crescents.

“It might be better for you to learn how to manage your expressions from Karhan.”

Huk. Was he just testing me? No, he had pinpointed it too accurately for that. I rolled my eyes busily, trying to assess the situation. Lyras, seemingly not waiting for my answer, continued immediately.

“It’s nothing special. Just… perhaps because I’ve done many things wrong, it keeps repeating. I thought about it until just before coming here. Maybe that’s another world.”

A self-deprecating smile played on Lyras’s lips as he said this. Had he been haunted by dreams for a long time? His fresh green eyes somehow looked lonely. I took in the sight of Lyras calmly continuing his story. Perhaps sensing my gaze, Lyras suddenly asked,

“If my thoughts aren’t mistaken, I’d like to hear how you crossed over to this world.”

The green eyes calmly looking at me trembled uneasily. Seeing this, I was struck with worry about whether I should deflect with other words. Somehow, I felt that if I lied now, the precariously swaying Lyras might crumble.

Unable to open my mouth easily, I lowered my head. I could see that my palms resting on my knees were still damp. Unconsciously fidgeting with my fingers, I exhaled a resolute breath and looked at Lyras. After lightly biting my lip, I quietly said,

“…I came over by reading a book. Well, that… in the world I lived in, there was an object that could send and receive messages, and while playing with that…”

I rambled on nervously, not even knowing what I was saying. While moving my lips busily, I tried to speak calmly, but as this was the first time I was telling the truth since coming to this world, it was difficult to remain composed.

The more I spoke, the more I felt strangely out of breath. Lowering my head, I saw my legs trembling compulsively and my fingers colliding with each other. It was hard to hide the fear blooming in my heart.

As I spoke incoherently, I suddenly noticed that no sound was coming from across me. Looking up, I saw Lyras nodding calmly with his eyes closed. Seeing him accepting it more calmly than me, my stuttering lips gradually slowed and eventually stopped completely.

Doesn’t it bother him? It’s essentially saying that he’s not a real person, but a character in a book…

When I stopped speaking, Lyras’s eyelids slowly lifted. The eyes that had been trembling uneasily when asking me about the story were now calmly settled. As I stared blankly with my lips slightly parted, I heard Lyras’s composed mutter.

“An object that can communicate… Like a magic stone?”

Lyras, sitting comfortably, crossed his arms and muttered to himself. His voice was more peaceful than I expected and mixed with a bit of excitement. Excitement? Did I hear wrong? I tilted my head and looked at Lyras, but he didn’t notice my puzzled gaze and nodded slightly.

“Lyras…?”

“…Ah. I’m sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.”

Lyras smiled awkwardly and nodded at me to continue talking. The conversation was flowing more comfortably than I expected, and although I was still suspicious, I opened my mouth.

“I was told I could go back when the story ended. Now it’s twisted, so I probably can’t leave…”

“When the story ends?”

I nodded at Lyras’s lighter question. It was a story where Karhan and Doel were supposed to connect, but I, who wasn’t even a character in the novel, had wedged myself in, so it was completely twisted.

Of course, I wasn’t sure what would happen if Karhan broke up with me and met Doel… but that probably wouldn’t happen.

For a moment, the image of Karhan confessing to me flashed through my mind, and the corners of my mouth unconsciously curled up. Don’t show it! I cleared my throat, “Ahem, ahem,” trying to regain my composure, and looked at Lyras as if nothing had happened.

He seemed to be lost in thought again, closing his mouth and staring into empty space. Silence fell in the room, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. As we sat quietly, a servant came in, placed teacups in front of each of us, and carefully left. I quietly drank my tea until Lyras organized his thoughts.

As I gently sipped the clear liquid, Lyras asked,

“Whose story are you talking about?”

“Uh… the book’s story.”

I answered in a matter-of-fact voice and finished drinking the tea in my hand. Lyras’s reaction, which was less serious than I expected, and the warm tea helped calm my slightly trembling heart.

Unlike my calmed state, a faint crease formed between Lyras’s brows. Lyras, who had been maintaining silence, leaned back in his chair and raised one hand to stroke his chin. He let out a small nasal sound, “Hmm,” and twisted his lips.

“So that’s why you were so relaxed even though your life was at stake.”

At the somewhat disapproving voice, I slowly nodded, wondering if I had done something wrong. Then I heard a small clicking of the tongue, “Tsk tsk.” Feeling like a child being scolded by an adult, I unconsciously folded my hands neatly and straightened my back. Seeing me sitting with proper posture, Lyras spoke.

“On the third day of Atlena, you almost disappeared from this world.”

Almost disappeared? I opened my eyes wide at this news I was hearing for the first time. The pupils visible between Lyras’s narrowly opened eyes were now sharply raised like needles. The lips that had been in a straight line parted, and he spoke in a monotone voice.

“A book is someone’s story. Once you’ve entered the book, that ‘someone’ could also be you.”

He pointed at me with his index finger extended. Lyras spoke slowly, enunciating each word as if trying to firmly imprint it in my mind.

“Thinking about what happened on the third day of Atlena, it seems to be ‘your’ story, not just a ‘book’s’ story.”

The hand holding the teacup unconsciously tightened, causing the saucer to clatter. As I blinked, unable to say anything, Lyras added in a solemn voice.

“If you want to continue this story to the end, you should correct that complacency of thinking it’s just a happy fairy tale.”

Having finished what he wanted to tell me, Lyras stood up. The chair scraped back with a “screech,” and Lyras’s face, which had been directly facing me, rose upwards.

“…If you want to return home, I suppose it doesn’t matter if you continue to act as you have been.”

Then he turned his back on me without hesitation. As I stared blankly at his broad back slowly moving away, I suddenly stood up too. The chair, receiving sudden force, fell backwards with a loud noise. Perhaps because of this, Lyras, who had been moving away, stopped abruptly.

“W-Wait…!”

Thinking I should stop him, I hurriedly opened my mouth. Lyras, who had stopped, slightly twisted his upper body to look at me. For some reason, his eyes had turned cold, and I froze again. In the strangely tense atmosphere, Lyras spoke.

“If you’re thinking of going back, I hope you’ll cut ties with Karhan quickly.”

Before it becomes a wound for that child. He added the last words quietly and left the room before I could stop him. By the time the loudly clanging door stopped, the room was already enveloped in silence. The chirping of small birds and the sound of wind from outside the window stirred my empty heart.

I absently lifted the fallen chair, and as if it had been waiting, my legs gave out, and I collapsed weaklessly onto it. The hard feeling of the chair’s cushion having sunk in brought me back to reality. Gripping the armrests tightly, I stared at the chandelier’s reflection rippling in the teacup and repeated Lyras’s warning that wasn’t quite a warning.

“My story…?”

It could be called an excuse. In the past few days when my relationship with Karhan had changed rapidly, I hadn’t thought carefully about this issue due to my excited state of mind. According to Lyras, the end of the story I knew was my death, and if some event occurred right now that killed me, I would be ejected from this world.

I…

Thinking about myself disappearing without a trace of having stayed in this world, my hands unconsciously tightened. My nails scratched the armrests, making a scraping sound.

What should I do? I rubbed my face several times as if washing it. I sighed deeply and repeated meaningless actions before stopping.

Right now, I didn’t want to go back. I wanted to stay with Karhan for a longer time. As the desire hidden deep in my heart quietly raised its head, anxiety also lurked.

Would Karhan’s feelings for me be lasting? If I decided to stay here and stand by Karhan’s side, would he consistently remain by my side? I had no deep connections with anyone in this world except Karhan. The only person I was somewhat close to was Doel. Without Karhan, this world would be like a barren desert with nothing but sand.

Even Lyras, who had just left, only expressed concern for Karhan. I wasn’t upset about that. I knew well the loneliness of being left alone. It made sense for Lyras, Karhan’s longtime acquaintance, to worry about him.

I bent my knees and put both legs up on the chair. I spread my arms to hug myself and rested my forehead on my protruding knees.

Imagining having no one by my side made me feel dizzy. I squeezed my eyes shut and grasped my pants, hearing the rustling sound of the sweat-soaked palms and fabric rubbing together.

What if Karhan’s current feelings are just curiosity? What if his feelings for me fade after I settle in this world? Would the ‘way to return’ still be valid then? What if I misunderstand a momentary trivial argument and leave forever? All sorts of worries filled my mind.

Human hearts are not eternal. Karhan is human too, so his feelings for me could change anytime. Even my parents, who had promised love to each other, were the same.