The Antagonist: The World Ends Theory
Chapter 55 - Grein de'Lavoisier

In a place with grassland as the setting. The blue sky stretched out there, strangely bright there even though there was no sun.

In the middle of the meadow, there is a table, two chairs and a set of tea drinking utensils. Like a teapot filled with tea, two cups and a plate of pastries.

In one of his chairs, there was a man drinking tea in the perfect style. In terms of physical appearance, it may be around 18 to 22 years old.

Clara stared in disbelief at the sight she saw after her elite blackout scene. But something made him think harder, a ruby glint greeted his gaze.

With a twitch on her face, Clara pointed resentfully at the person.

"YOU...!!!"

The man looked at where Clara was standing.

"It turns out you're here! Grein de 'Lavoisier! You've been interfering with my life all this time by making me curious, haven't you?!"

The man, Grein smiled wryly at Clara. "Welcome Clara Scoleths, I never thought I would win this time. Do I need to do the celebration right now?" Then he spoke to himself.

"Hey, you're out of your mind, aren't you?" While stepping towards Grein, without asking Clara's permission pulled the chair in front of him and sat down.

"Who is not sane? Me or you?"

"Tch!" Clara clucked slowly. "Oy, I thought you were dead, because I didn't hear anything about you. When I asked His Majesty, he was quite displeased to hear that. Do you have a problem with him?"

"Your guess is not wrong, about me being dead. About me having a problem with him, you should've known."

"You were murdered?"

Grein nodded slowly.

"We Lavoisiers must have the ability to survive beyond you. Our deaths are so coveted anyway - coveted by you."

"uh? What do you mean by that?" Clara snatched the pastry on the plate and ate it with a mixed mood.

"You know, don't you think we have something in common?" Grein propped his chin.

"Well, ruby's eyes are a sign that you're not fully human."

"You know what not? We actually have a relationship besides that. The real source is why he has ruby eyes like mine."

After the cake ran out, Clara picked up another piece of cake. "What's that?"

Grein thinned his smile. "Lavoisier."

Clara's body stiffened, she stopped chewing on the chocolate cake in her hands which began to tremble. "I still don't understand. Please explain in more detail."

"Huh..." Grein grunted softly. "Do you believe that reincarnation does not exist?"

Reincarnation? I can enter the world of this novel. There can be no possibility that reincarnation can exist as well.

"Some believe half don't. I need proof for that."

"Hey, are you asking for evidence now? Didn't we talk about that evidence."

"Eh? Ma. You mean, ruby eyes are not just a coincidence, that's."

Grein nodded faintly.

"Actually the ruby eye is only owned by us Lavoisiers. And to be honest, the man's soul clearly shows that he used to be Lavoisier."

"I guess that's why it's inherited." Clara looked at Grein with doubt.

"Hjp? That's not true. Besides, you see for yourself and can prove it through the paintings. There are no ruby-eyed descendants of Westhley like Lavoisier, but sapphires. So, up here you understand?"

"Then, how did my sapphire eyes come into being?" Clara rubbed her left eye.

"Yeah.it's a different theory again. The point is, even though your eyes are sapphire. You have nothing to do with Westhley. So don't think you and Meiger have a blood relationship."

Silent.

Clara looked right left around her and saw a very beautiful place. "Is this place in the world?"

"It's just a dream world formed because of someone's expectations."

"Who?" Slowly Clara sipped her tea.

"Meiger Westhley."

"Murrah...!"

Just one gulp and Clara spouted out her tea liquid again. Luckily Grein who could anticipate this soon made a protector.

"What?!" Shouting Clara.

"You have weak hearing? I told you that the world was formed because of Meiger Westhley's hope."

"I can hear it very clearly! All I ask is, why can a person like His Majesty have hope?!"

"Eh? He'll be hurt if you yell that line at him."

"But His Majesty told me himself that he felt there was no point in wishing on something invisible. What is seen is useless, what is not." Clara sighs.

Grein just kept quiet listening to Clara's every complaint. Now he knows how Hendrick suffered. Even an Emperor like Meiger was once a place to confide in this girl.

"Then, you. Aren't you dead, why would you show up in front of me like this?"

"Good question. I was brutally killed and my soul split to pieces. Some of those pieces created this me."

"I know there's still something else you're hiding from me. You always slip facts in every sentence." Clara's stoning gaze pointed at Grein.

"The clever girl. I love a species like you, but I hate it for the same reason."

"...?"

"In addition to being the reincarnation of Lavoisier. Meiger's soul was also decorated by that broken piece of my soul."

Soon Clara poured another tea liquid into her cup.

"Maybe it sounds like I'm over-capturing a word - you said or something. But there must be a reason behind everything. Either it was the hope of His Majesty who created this dream world. The piece of your soul that was on him. Or the creation of this self."

"It just so happens that I hate girls like you even more. Knowing too much will sometimes lead to bad things in your life. Never mind, you better live happily with Meiger. That difficult?"

"Not really. I've even been happy even if it's just next to the person I love."

"Hee.., you're so weird Clara Scoleths. Though you know that his father made you give birth to your inner person, but you still sincerely love him and do not care about revenge. You should hate him, right?"

"I can't hate him." Lirih Clara's.

"Why is that?"

A beautiful smile rose on Clara's cold face. "Because I love her!"

Grein was stunned to hear it, before he regained his consciousness. "I understand now." Then he muttered. "I understand why men love being around you."

"What's? Oye! Please don't whisper! I didn't hear."

"It's not important either. So, do you want to meet him? Or didn't? Rarely can I meet you. There's not much time I can win."

Won? Why was this man talking as if he was in a competition. More than that...

"With him?"

"Well, personal in you."

BRACKET

Clara hit the table hard. "Could you?"

"Not yet try not to know. You yourself know 'that 'he' has an important role to play in your special condition. He'll probably give you some important information, maybe."

...❀...

"You ready?" Ask Grein.

Clara nodded.

Right now they're trying to create a person in Clara through another body, some kind of hologram if Clara says so.

"Look at my eyes."

Huh uh? I won't be hypnotized or anything like that, will I?

Clara followed Grein's orders and focused on looking into his ruby eyes.

Until a few minutes later, Clara felt tired and almost lost her focus. As his eyes closed bit by bit. The scene in front of him changed rapidly.

"What?!"

It was not Grein anymore in front of him but someone similar to him. Clara looked at her twin. Their only difference was in their irises, perhaps Grein did not completely disappear from his presence.

"Why are you so surprised to see me, Master?"

"Master?" Beo Clara's.

The girl who looked like Clara looked at Clara strangely. "I am the person in whom the Master created 10 years ago. There's no way Master could just forget me."

So this girl's voice that always pops into my mind. The Emperor did not lie about his father.

"A.I don't remember..."

I am not your master.

Clara tried to calm herself down and looked at the stranger in front of her. Grein's gone nowhere, now it's just him and this girl here.

"What's your name?" Clara tried to remember again that in the book belongs to Clara Scoleths and personally there is no name. If the person in her did not have a name, she would probably give it a name.

"Name? Master never gave me a name. Because Master always calls me 'hey' or 'you'. So, how could Master also forget about that?"

"Sorry." Clara looked sad.

"..."

"What if I give you a name?"

"Master can make it as he pleases. I don't really care about that because no one knows where I am in this world."

"However, I want to be able to call you without using 'hey' or 'you'."

"..."

"Claire."

"Huh?"

"Claire! We can have a name that is almost similar. You know I like to forget a lot of things except my name. So, if your name and my name are similar, I'll never forget it."

A faint smile rose from Claire's lips. "As for the Master only. Master must promise not to call me 'hey' and 'you' again."

"I promise!"

"Claire, why did Emperor Siegward make me give birth to you?"

"Don't the Master himself know?"

"..."

"The black magic is swallowing Master more and more, black magic loves the life force that Master has. So, Emperor Siegward made Master another personal creation was to help Master prop up the black magic that Master had already absorbed. Emperor Siegward did not want Master to lose consciousness because of this particular abnormality and eventually Master created my existence."

"Special disorder...?"

Claire nodded.

"really. Specific abnormalities. Since birth the Master has the ability to absorb black magic even without being desired by the Master."

"Is black magic really rampant in this world?" Asked Clara with a worried tone.

"At least this Herbras continent is the place with the most black magic from all over the world. I also until now do not know the source of the black magic. So that I can't stop black magic from growing."

"Eh? So they can also grow?"

"Yes, Master. But of course there is a limit, the spreader is also dead, for sure. Because I feel that this black magic existed hundreds of years before Master and I were born."

Hundred years? What does this black magic matter have to do with the war hundreds of years ago on this Herbras continent?

"Master, this ability is none other than the mission carried by the Master. So, Master should still absorb the black magic."

"What if I'm swallowed?" Clara asked worriedly.

"Master just needs to kill himself."

Eh? You said it without a heart.

"But I want to live."

"Masters..."

"..."

"...I'm sorry to you about something..."

Clara was focused on waiting for what Claire would say next.

"Time's up."

"Huh?"

When Clara was in focus, Grein came back. Claire has disappeared somewhere.

"Eits, relax. It's also your fault, why chat for so long? I also have a time limit to let Claire's consciousness linger in my body."

Clara sat back down with a disappointed feeling. She was so eager to hear Claire's next words. But there is a deadline for all of that.

"That's a sign your magic needs to be renewed."

Grein sipped his tea. "Of course my magic is Whatsapp which must be updated every few periods."

Clara fell silent.

Lamat - Clara's lamat stared at Grein and his tea. "Where do you know Whatsapp needs to be updated?"

"Eh..."

"And how do you know about all that? This is a world set in medieval Europe. Can't an app from the future get lost here? The app wasn't me!"

SRETT

Clara pulled Grein's collar firmly. Just by looking at her, Grein knew that Clara would force him to talk.

"All right, Clara Scoleths. I'll talk if you sit up sweet."

"What if you trick me? And I ended up being returned to the real world?"

"Haa. if you haven't woken up in the real world it's also free. I can still kidnap you as I please."

"What do you mean?"

"Have I not told you yet?"

"Say what?"

"Again...! Definitely not. Here is Clara Scoleths, who is here not your body, but only your consciousness. I'm sure your real body is in your room. Maybe Meiger was with you the whole time until you woke up."

"Seriously? Your Majesty doesn't look like a romantic man to me." Clara was enthusiastic.

"No, really. Don't expect a romantic scene if you marry her. I guarantee 1000% that he won't treat you like a woman."

"Hey! Is Your Majesty really that bad?!"

"No. You act like a man who wants to fight. Don't blame yourself, blame yourself."

"Huh! Yes already. Just continue with the previous one."

"alright. Clara Scoleths, actually you're not from this world, are you?"

Heh?

Again Clara was in sudden shock. How many times has it been for today. He was very upset, even though the one reading the novel was himself. But the one who knows everything is Grein.

"You're kidding me, aren't you?"

"You didn't dodge when I said that. It should be me asking you, why are you in this world?"

"I don't know."

"Let me tell you."

"Hm?"

"I'm the one who pulled you into this place."

BRUG

SRETT

Clara kicked the table in front of her and dragged Grein down firmly. It turns out that Clara's energy can be very powerful if she's already angry like this.

"Why did you leave me stranded here?! I love isekai stories, although my sense of joy will decrease when the MC ends up creating a harem. But, that doesn't mean I want to be isekai by you either...!"

"Calm, relax. I also have a reason for what I'm doing." Grein raised both his hands to calm Clara down.

"Say your excuses!" Clara is getting more violent.

"Huf... Do you remember what we just discussed about Meiger?"

"Ruby's eye?"

"Not that one."

"The hope of becoming the world?"

"Next one."

"The fragment of your soul is with His Majesty?"

"Well! That one!"

"Then, what does that have to do with why you pulled me into this novel world???"

"Look. When you have the same soul as everyone else. What were you thinking the first time?"

Clara held her chin, thinking. "match."

"really so. I chose you because your soul has the same origin as the real Clara Scoleths. So, I decided to call you to this world."

"Then, where's the real Clara Scoleths?"

"He's dead."

Clara fell silent.

Heh? Whahuh?

"It can't be." Clara's hands trembled violently as soon as Grein's sentence was finished. "But, why?"

"It was actually because he realized that he could no longer hold all the black magic within himself. So he's just looking for a safe path."

Clara recalled her conversation with Claire just now. About what would happen if Clara's consciousness almost disappeared.

"Master just needs to kill himself."

Fearfully Clara swallowed her saliva.

"Killed yourself?"

Grein nodded faintly.

"What poison did you find in your room? You found it when it was reduced by half. That means someone's been drinking it."

What does that poison mean? Which I found in Clara's drawer.

"Why can't the person inside me recognize which one is the Master? I'm not the real Clara Scoleths." Clara tried to pry the truth bit by bit.

"He knows exactly."

"...What are you trying to say?"

Grein took the cup of tea he had poured out. "It was Claire who caused the action to happen. The night before 'Clara' again dominates consciousness in his body. Claire prevents him by killing Clara. He did that so that his Master would not have to bear that burden anymore. And that effort did not work, for I called your soul to fill the body of Clara Scoleths."

Is that why he apologized before our meeting time ran out? He was trying to kill his Master...

Slowly Grein started sipping his tea again.

"Where is his soul now?"

"Maybe it's been purified again. I don't know, I'm not the creator anyway."

"Of course."

"...'Rara's yeah..." Grein stole a little look at Clara's face. "Either in this world nor in the previous world. You were called that, weren't you?"

"....." Clara did not answer.

"By the way, why did you call me into this world? What's your excuse?"

"I'm just here to collect on a promise you made."

"uh? I never even promised you, all this time I only promised the old man from Ranunculus that?! Although in the end it can not be kept because the situation there is getting complicated."

"So, yeah, it's only natural that you forget about it. Because it's been happening for a long time."

"Then why don't you just forget it?" Clara asked.

"A promise is a promise. What do you expect when someone promises? Keep that promise, don't you?"

"The conversation is getting more complicated. I better get out of here."

"Please. No one forced you to stay here."

"Currently, even if I asked you why you called me here, you would not answer. I'd rather go than get mentally tired!"

"Are you sure you want to just come back without asking me anything?"

"Can I go home?" Clara answered quickly.

"Tch, if it's that one until you duck down and beg while crying you'll never get it."

"Can."

Lazily Clara responded to that. He himself since he first met Grein some time ago already knew that in the end he would not be able to go home.

"Oh come on, there must be something you can ask me. Like yogurt for a lifetime or whatever it's important don't ask me to 'go home."

"Why are you forcing?"

"Tell me!"

"All right, can you make my skin stand up to the sun? I'm sick of the darkness, I want to go out during the day to go to the market with Jean and Avrim."

"Ah, that one can of course."

"Did? That right?"

CLICKS

Grein flicked his finger then sucked in the fresh air with his elegance. Clara who did not feel any change immediately protested.

"Why can't I feel anything - what?!"

"Just wait until you wake up and get out of that 'night castle. By then you'll be able to get out again during the day without worrying about anything."

"Suppressed the word - you said old man."

"Oi, I'm not that old, you idiot."

"Huft..honestly I'm so tired of all the trouble that's been hitting on me." Clara Complaints.

"Is that so? Among all human beings, they also cannot always be happy without interspersed problems."

"....."

"Well, if your problem is boiling water. Then the eggs, potatoes, and coffee beans are put into it. If it were you, which would you be?"

"Huh?"

"When you get into trouble. Are you going to be like a weak potato, a strong egg or something new like a coffee bean?"

Talking is not as easy as doing.

...❀...

In a room with minimal lighting. A girl with white eyes tried to open her eyes. Next to him, the man whom people call 'emperor' sat there.

"Did I sleep too long...?"

Still with a heavy head Clara tried to sit down. But the Emperor immediately hugged him from the side. Makes Clara so shocked and blushed.

"You're a real hassle, you broken weapon base."

"Sorry, Your Honor. Servant did not intend to trouble His Majesty." Clara half laughed.

Meiger let go of his embrace, looking at Clara sharply. He had waited long enough for this weapon to wake up. Too bad this absurd weapon really likes to sleep and worries many people.

"If you do it one more time, then you're done."

After threatening Clara, Meiger got up and left Clara's room. He had wasted a lot of time and neglected many tasks just to wait for the 'princess' to wake up from his sleep.

"Your Majesty!"

Despite being threatened, Clara's mood somehow improved after a conversation that made her blood up with Grein. Maybe because Meiger was worried about him in a way that was not romantic at all.

What am I really thinking?! Why do I look like a masochist now?!

PLAQUES

Clara hit both of her cheeks very hard. Make his fantasies disappear and be replaced with cruel realities.

"Before I passed out, I felt that there was something I should tell His Majesty, but what?"

TB

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See you in the next chapter~