There was a tavern located in the center of Dresden. It was not a fancy place, but the price of alcohol was cheap and the meal was good enough, so it was the perfect place for ordinary people to escape their hard lives.

Thanks to this, he was barely able to move amongst the crowd. The sound of beer glasses bumping into each other and the laughter of excitement from the crowd came from all around him.

While looking around, Desir found and approached a person sitting in a corner with a hood concealing their face.

“I didn’t think you’d like this kind of noisy place.”

“Haha, but isn’t the lively atmosphere good? You’ll like it when you get used to it.”

At the moment when the person wearing the hood pressed down on Desir’s word lightly, a dazzling white blonde hair spilled out of the hood.

A colleague of Desir and one of the strongest of mankind who had been with him until the last moment. At that time they were a Kingscrown, specifically, they were the former princess of the Hebrion Empire.

“More than anything else, the beer here tastes good.”

When the beer they ordered arrived, the two tilted back the glasses and drained them. “… It’s not bad.”

Obviously, as Adjest said, the taste of the beer was not bad. But that was all. It was rather dull and objectively did not taste very good. It certainly was not a taste that Desir would like, and after scouring his memory, he doubted the Adjest from reality would care much for it either. But this Adjest, as if it were a heavenly sweet drink, drunk the whole mug at once.

‘Is this also because history has been changed in this world… ?’

In this world, there was no revolution, and the Hebrion family, the existing Imperial family, survived without being destroyed.

As a result, there was no history of the Rogfelas becoming the royal family. In a world without discrimination, the Adjest before him was not much different from a common citizen, lower in status than the Imperial maids.

Taste in food and drink reflects a person’s life. It was a natural result that she had a different taste in comparison to when she was the princess.

“How’s the Royal Guard work going?”

Fortunately, Adjest’s talent remained intact in this world. She belonged to the Royal Guard, the most powerful group in the Hebrion Empire, and was living a life that was not lacking in any respect.

“It’s a vicious working environment. I can confirm that we are forced to live a terrible life.” *Boom*

Adjest set down her glass roughly, while complaining.

“In the midst of a shortage of manpower, the accidents never stop, so there’s no time to rest.” Desir shook his head. Here, everyone was living the life they longed for and enjoying happiness. And not many of them really wanted to carry a sword. Therefore, to prevent various disasters, a few of them had no choice but to work without a break. But Desir was able to read a different emotion from the facial expression of Adjest.

It was pride that caused the corners of her mouth to rise slightly. “You seem to like your work.”

“I take it to heart.”

Adjest listened attentively. The inside of the tavern was filled with all sorts of sounds. The clatter of a glass of beer, the clamor of voices, a loud call to the barmaid. It was just noise that would have been loud or obnoxious to the average person, but not for Adjest.

“If I’m working to protect their smiles, then wouldn’t anything be worth it?”

The noisiest place in the Hebrion Empire. The reason why Adjest frequently visited this place, where all kinds of people gather, was simple. She relieved the fatigue of the day’s work by watching the countless people she had protected enjoy their daily lives without any worries. Her ideal of protecting the people of her country was that way.

“Adjest, are you happy?”

Desir asked, even though he knew what answer would come back. “Yeah. I don’t think I could get any happier than this.”

It was a matter of course. Everyone was happy in this world. The world was made like that in the first place.

“Sure.”

Desir quietly closed his eyes. He could see a chessboard in his mind. It was the grand version of the competing ideologies of Priscilla and Desir.

The two sides were so different. His side did not have many pieces. It was desolate and cold. No one else existed there.

On the other hand, the other side had many more pieces. A number that was too great to count. They bore a warm glow.

His actions were fighting against the happiness of mankind.

Romantica, Pram, and Adjest. Not just them, but all of mankind’s happiness had been concentrated on Priscilla’s side. It was checkmate.

‘Will I be able to take their happiness from them? No, is that something I can do in the first place?’

Desir already had a hunch that his resolve had declined since asking himself and others such questions.

‘Maybe… ’

Maybe he was just being stubborn now. Maybe the right choice was abandoning his stubbornness and living as one of the countless pieces.

‘I… ’

Desir had decided on what course of action he would take. However, he was jolted out of his reverie when he felt something cold at his fingertips.

“… … ?”

“What are you doing with your eyes closed, Desir?”

Adjest was looking at him with a smile. The shot glass in her hand was full of black liquid, and there was a terrible smell of alcohol. It was strong enough to make his nose tingle right away.

Adjest opened her mouth with such a bright smile in front of him. “Drink up, Desir.”

“Adjest, I need to think for a moment… ” Adjest then raised her eyebrows.

“Are you thinking of rejecting my offer? You called me, who has work at dawn tomorrow? You’re going to ask me your own questions, and abandon me right after.”

Desir was enchanted by her cute scoff.

“I’ve been holding my glass up for so long my shoulders are starting to feel heavy. Any longer and I won’t be able to lift my sword tomorrow. Are you going to take responsibility for the fall of the Empire?”

Adjest again held out her glass, and this time Desir received it. ‘Let’s hang out here for a moment.’

Just for a moment. Let’s postpone the decision for a very short time.

Desir and Adjest clashed glasses. And the moment he tilted his glass, Desir almost spewed out the liquid in his mouth. It was a strong drink beyond imagination. His throat burnt.

The two coughed, almost in sync. Their eyes were intertwined, and they began to giggle. They were probably drunk, but they did not care, and could not stop laughing.

“That’s what whiskey tastes like.”

Adjest filled the glass with another drink, and Desir received it without a word.

Again. Again. The type of alcohol changed every time. Adjest was about to taste all the liquor here, and Desir was going to join her or die trying. While he was figuring out how many glasses he had drunk, while draining his current glass, Adjest opened her mouth.

“I see stars, Desir.”

She was staring at the light reflected by the alcohol. “You’re drunk, Adjest. Of course you see them.”

Desir squinted at the empty bottles of liquor piled up like a mountain. It was strange not to be drunk. Adjest nodded with a hearty laugh.

“I’m sure my head feels dizzy. I see all kinds of things. Right now, my right hand has ten fingers on it, and the cup I’m holding is twice as big. And I see you grieving.”

Adjest approached him. She stood so close that he could feel the warmth of her breath. Her fingers wiped Desir’s dry eyes. “Desir, are you happy?”

Desir stopped breathing without realizing it. This was because the question he had been asking so far, had been thrown back at him. It was a simple question, but it dug into a part of himself that Desir had never stopped to think about.

‘I was overlooking the most important thing.’

Adjest’s question helped Desir realize that he had never thought about his own happiness. He began to think slowly. This time, it was not about others, but about his own happiness. ‘Am I really happy?’

In this world, Desir Arman was a professor. Every day, he could focus on the research he wanted to do, and he felt rewarded while teaching students. It was a life of stability that was desired in a reality where the limits of status and fitness had been met. It must have been a reflection of his ideals.

‘But can I really be confident that I wanted this? All of the effort I made so far has been to achieve this kind of life.’

“… No.”

Desir put down his glass. The brown surface of the wavering whiskey felt like a desolate desert. It looked like the final appearance of the fallen world. What it looked like before he returned, the shape the world took after it was destroyed by the Shadow Labyrinth.

Why was that world destroyed? ‘There was no talent.’

Why was there no talent? ‘There was a lack of education.’

Many people died without realizing their talent, even though they had the potential to shine brilliantly. Desir was also one of them. But through the miracle of returning to the past, he was able to seize the opportunity to stand on his own two feet, and at the same time he possessed one other thing.

An image of spring.

The people of the world were like flowers lined up in a single garden. In this world, every single person received the perfect amount of water and care needed to bloom, and in doing so, found something that made their life worth living. In the real world, Desir had to act as a nourishing light, but in this one, it was no exaggeration to say that their innermost ideals had been achieved perfectly.

“This world is far from satisfying my ideals.”

Only then did Desir realize what he really wanted. His ideal was not something that could be achieved by universally granting everyone a one-dimensional happiness.

“You found your answer.”

Adjest smiled and lifted the glass she was holding. She returned to the alcohol she had started the night with, beer.

“I’m glad to see your face has brightened up.”

“Thank you, Adjest.”

Desir also raised his glass.

Two glasses collided and a clear sound rang out.

That was the last thing Desir saw in that world.