I Became a Foreign Worker Loved by Transcendents-Chapter 215: She’s Not What She Seems

Everything ended well.

I realized it after returning to reality, and almost a day had passed.

The Devourer of the Void, which had been consuming the world behind the scenes, hadn’t followed us here, and there didn’t seem to be any significant problem with Ga-ram’s sanity either.

“Are you feeling okay?”

Boudoin came to my room when I was spending some time alone in a separate room.

I didn’t let his concerned words trouble me and gave a casual reply.

“My body’s fine since there are no injuries. As for my mind… I’m not quite sure yet.”

After all, I had endured such a torrent of power without any proper protection, hadn’t I?

Even if I thought I was fine, others might see me as a madman.

That was why I decided to spend some time in seclusion, but when facing me, Boudoin didn’t show any particular wariness.

“Unlike the undead like me, the minds of living beings like you are bound to the body. As long as that link wasn’t severed during your return, your original state should remain intact.”

“…So, at least for now, I’m okay?”

“Yes, I didn’t think you’d return in such good shape… Even during our first meeting, I could tell you had remarkable mental strength.”

Coming from someone who was once a king, his praise felt even heavier.

Of course, it wasn’t exactly an assessment solely based on my mental strength.

“…If it weren’t for my ability, I wouldn’t have made it back.”

“You said it’s the power to never be forgotten, right?”

Yes, the power I possessed ensured that no matter what happened, I would never be forgotten.

Even if my mind were to face the risk of shattering, my sense of self would remain intact, allowing me to rebuild my mental state from there.

In some ways, it was a power that granted near immunity to all forms of mental interference.

As Boudoin reflected on that power, he let out a bitter voice.

“It’s a power that those like me can only envy.”

“Envy? You mean my ability?”

“If everyone could use that power… then perhaps she wouldn’t have set out to massacre the living.”

His voice sounded not just doubtful, but full of guilt.

Even though he was now free from the Corpse Lord’s influence, it didn’t mean everything he did had been undone.

As a ruler who upheld the virtues of a just king, he couldn’t lightly brush off his own misdeeds.

“…May I ask what happened to you there?”

The reason he came to see me now must have been to confront that guilt directly.

Sensing this, I quietly nodded and decided to answer all his questions.

“I saw Briton in the past. Right before and after your death…”

I witnessed the past where people infected by the substance from beyond the stars began turning into monsters, sweeping through the entire kingdom.

I also saw how the scholar he trusted discovered those foreign beings while researching the phenomenon and eventually became one of their servants.

And how his mourning companion contacted those beings and awakened as a witch.

“Until the very end, she followed the teachings you left behind.”

What if, in that process, she had forgotten the love and loyalty she had for her companion?

According to Flang, she would have surely fallen and become no different from an ordinary witch.

Forgetting humanity and morality, and twisting the laws of the world for her intellectual curiosity and goals, bringing about even greater chaos…

“At least I believe that thanks to you, she had a human ending.”

Even though she became a being of calamity, she was able to die as a human because she remembered the image of a king who fought for his people until the end.

Despite my opinion, Boudoin simply bowed his head, expressing a sense of profound despair.

“Even though that gave birth to the calamity known as the Corpse Lord?”

If she hadn’t inherited his teachings, the resurrected dead wouldn’t have awakened as a calamity based on that regret.

I couldn’t deny the grief of the virtuous king, even with empty words, feeling responsible for it.

“That may indeed be true.”

Looking at the result alone, the cause was in Boudoin Britannia’s righteousness.

If he knew that his uprightness gave birth to the calamity, even Boudoin in life would have surely condemned himself as a sinner.

“…But then again, no one can predict the immediate future, can they?”

But who could have predicted that a nation ruled by a virtuous king would fall in a single day?

Who could have foreseen that an entity from beyond would approach her?

Who could have expected that the woman who held onto her humanity until the end would be resurrected and grow into an unprecedented calamity?

“Even though the Corpse Lord was born as a result… it was never her own choice.”

Holding them accountable for everything would be like believing humanity could overcome a natural disaster.

At least to me, what I saw back then made me realize that “Outerbeings” were intervening in this world.

I came to understand that these calamities, for some reason, had their own will and were targeting this world.

“Even though the outcome was wrong… the beginning at least…”

So I sincerely pitied the one in front of me.

Even though they had been played by Outerbeings, I admired how they still revered the beauty of life and met their end as humans.

“I don’t want to deny the lives of Gwen Hwibar and Boudoin Britannia.”

So I hoped that the one in front of me wouldn’t deny that as well.

Because denying that would be like denying both his attempts at atonement and his efforts to save the living.

“So please, don’t blame yourself too much. It’s not all your fault… None of this turned out the way you intended.”

If he wanted to correct things even now, I wanted to respect him and forgive everything he had done.

Despite my earnest plea, Boudoin still couldn’t set his mind at ease and continued to show his guilt.

“But still, if I hadn’t been there…”

His overly righteous spirit had turned into a curse that now shackled him.

As I wondered how to comfort him, something surged from within me, and started to clamp my mouth shut.

-I can’t listen to this anymore.

Whoosh. Annabel slipped out from me and appeared in front of us.

As if recognizing her figure, a sharp gleam appeared in Boudoin’s eyes.

“…Red Knight?”

“Yes, I’m the one who inherited the Red Knight’s persona. Does the name Annabel Britannia help you understand?”

Annabel Britannia.

To Boudoin, it was a name he could never overlook.

Just like Gwen, he had also considered her his kin.

“…So, that’s how it’s come to this.”

And that would mean he also inherited the guilt he had felt toward her during his life.

Soon, Boudoin asked Annabel in a voice even heavier than before.

“Do you… resent me?”

For not being able to protect her as a father, for forcing her into death, and for making her commit sins even after that.

“Resent? Why would I resent you?”

But what came out of Annabel’s mouth was an exceedingly light voice.

She then furrowed her brow and leaned in, poking Boudoin’s forehead with her finger.

“Don’t misunderstand. You are not Boudoin Britannia. Just as I inherited Annabel’s memories and personality but am a separate entity, you, too, are merely an undead being that inherited the personality of Boudoin Britannia.”

Her gaze narrowed.

And her voice carried a hint of irritation.

“Did you really think that just because we share memories, you and I could still be father and daughter?”

“……”

“…Your silence means you know it, too. No matter how many memories we inherit, we are different beings from our past lives.”

With a quick motion, Annabel pulled back the finger she had jabbed at him.

She crossed her arms, as if to represent her frustration, and looked down at Boudoin, asking sharply.

“And that means you are not Boudoin himself, so you bear no responsibility for the birth of the Corpse Lord either.”

“Th-that’s…”

“Sure, inheriting the memories of your past life may be troubling, but it should stop at being just that. If you recognize that you are a separate entity, what you should take from those memories is not responsibility but how to build your own identity.”

Not responsibility, but the path of your future actions.

Annabel, emphasizing this point, asked Boudoin another question.

“Then let me ask you something. Why did you start saving people the moment the Corpse Lord disappeared? If you chose to follow her, wouldn’t it have made sense to continue her work even after she was gone?”

It was true that he was awakened by the Corpse Lord, but the reason she instilled such ideals in him was because she remembered Boudoin’s teachings.

He, too, had fully participated after being resurrected, so taking up her mantle and awakening as the new Corpse Lord could have been a possibility.

“The King of Britannia, whose persona you inherited, was someone who revered the sanctity of life more than anyone else.”

But there must be a reason why he chose a different path from hers.

Seeing Boudoin remain silent, Annabel continued with conviction in her voice.

“You, who inherited that persona, followed the Corpse Lord because you believed the tragedy you witnessed would spread across the world. But the Lord, who was supposed to carry out that ultimate purpose, crumbled, and as a result, you felt your ideals start to waver.”

He probably followed that path because he saw no other choice, but the woman, who was naturally weak-willed, could never properly fulfill that role.

In the end, seeing his Lord crumble, he must have felt his ideals being denied, which, coupled with his memories as a righteous king in his past life, led to overwhelming guilt.

If the complete destruction and preservation they sought couldn’t be achieved, it would mean that they had walked the wrong path.

“As you wandered, you must have encountered them soon enough—people who desperately resisted to survive in a world plagued by calamities far worse than the Corpse Lord.”

But how could this world be plagued by only the Corpse Lord?

Even now, the Demon King’s army was invading various parts of the continent, and monsters were swarming within the realms of humanity.

Seeing those people, unable even to voice their resentment against him as they struggled for survival, perhaps he was left alone with these thoughts.

“If that will to survive continues on, even if the world were to fall into ruin, the will of the living might remain in this world.”

“……”

“Because you, who seek the sanctity of life, placed your hope in that, you even went so far as to draw the monster’s attention to protect those idiots, didn’t you?”

Boudoin listened to the speculation without denying it even once, and eventually bowed his head.

Facing him, Annabel withdrew her gaze and drove in the final nail of her argument.

“If you want to walk a different path from the Corpse Lord, then stop feeling responsible for things you didn’t do. If you really want to inherit your past life’s persona, just protecting the people who remain will be enough to fulfill that calling.”

Not as the King who gave birth to a calamity, but as a resurrected undead atoning for the sins he committed.

It would still mean he was a sinner, but that responsibility would be far lighter than having given birth to a great calamity.

That alone would allow him to dedicate himself to helping people through the persona he inherited, rather than wallowing in self-loathing.

“…So, that’s one way to look at it.”

Seemingly accepting that perspective to some extent, Boudoin soon thanked Annabel in a slightly lighter voice.

“Thank you… for teaching this foolish one.”

“I wasn’t teaching you. I just scolded you because your actions were frustrating. Do I really need to say out loud how much more of a pushover you look now compared to your past life?”

Still showing her irritation, Annabel sharply turned her head away.

Seeing her, Boudoin slumped his shoulders as if in shame.

“I’m sorry… for showing you only my pitiful side.”

Oh dear, it seems he took her words too literally.

Worried, I quickly approached him, leaning close to his ear, and whispered in the smallest voice possible.

“Don’t be too upset. This one speaks roughly, but isn’t a bad person. In the world I came from, we call someone like her a ‘tsundere’…”

“Tsun…?”

“It means that despite her sharp attitude, she’s kind inside. I’m sure deep down she wants you to be strong.”

“What nonsense are you spouting now?!”

Oops, I intended to say it quietly, but did she hear everything?

Sharing senses with her wasn’t always a good thing, it seemed.

After finishing my conversation with Boudoin, I decided to leave Annabel with him and step away for a bit.

Even though she was a separate entity from her past life, I hoped she could still share the stories they hadn’t been able to in their previous lives, now that she had inherited the memories.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

Of course, I worried that Annabel’s words might hurt him, but… no, it’d be fine. She always listened to my unreasonable requests in the afterlife, after all.

Even though he might pretend otherwise, Boudoin would take good care of her.

With that trust firmly established, I decided to take some time to inform those around me of my return.

“Merilyn, I’m back—”

But as soon as I stepped into the first place, my body froze.

After seeing the scene inside Merilyn’s room, I found myself holding my breath without realizing it.

“…Merilyn?”

Yes, it was definitely Merilyn lying on the bed.

But despite my arrival, she didn’t react, simply lying in bed and blankly staring at the ceiling.

“Ooooo… ooh…”

The sounds coming from her mouth were far from what you would consider coherent language.

At first, I thought it was a gag preventing her from speaking… but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t.

The item paired with the bib around her neck was, in fact, a pacifier—an infant’s accessory commonly known as a ‘dummy.’

“Oooop, slurp…”

But why was Merilyn lying in bed, sucking on that pacifier, and endlessly babbling nonsense?

What on earth could have happened while I was gone…?

“Oooop… boo…”

A great demon ranked second in the Demon King’s army.

And this is how she greets me in such a pitiful state?