How To Live As A Writer In A Fantasy World-Chapter 429: Failure (3)
Everyone has their own “secrets.”
Secrets that they can never reveal to others.
Sometimes, people take these secrets to their graves, but most of the time, they end up revealing them before they die.
Even if the secret is so unbelievable that no one would ever believe it.
But if evidence supporting that secret continues to emerge, people will come to believe it.
And today, I plan to reveal my secret to the people I trust and love.
It’s not a secret I intend to take to my grave, but at the same time, it’s not one I can proudly declare.
If I hadn’t gained the absurd reputation of being a prophet or a regressor, I would never have believed this truth myself.
“So, can I ask why you’ve gathered us here?”
Seated beside my mother across from me, my father asked with a questioning expression.
My mother, on the other hand, seemed to have an idea of what was coming and maintained a composed demeanor.
I met my father’s golden eyes before shifting my gaze to the side.
Sitting next to me, Dave and Nicole were looking at me with similar expressions.
Then, across from them—Clark sat with his arms crossed, still clad in his massive armor.
Since I had told everyone not to bring their weapons, he had taken off his helmet, which had been stifling him.
“Hmnya…”
And atop his head, Ariel was sound asleep, drooling.
There was hardly a ruder act than using one’s great-great-grandfather as a pillow, but Clark, ever forgiving, didn’t mind.
Besides, she was adorable, so everyone in the family was watching with amused smiles.
I, too, decided to let this slide.
And lastly…
“You must have something important to say if you even called me here.”
My beloved fiancée, Mari, was seated right next to me.
With my parents in front of us, we couldn’t openly display affection, but we were sitting close enough that even a slight movement would make us touch.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at Mari, who looked as lovely as ever, and gently took her hand under the table.
She interlocked her fingers with mine in response, accepting my gesture of affection.
Just holding hands made me feel warm inside.
“For starters, I want you all to know that not a single word of what I’m about to say is a lie.”
Hearing my heavy and serious tone, my family members reacted in their own ways.
My mother, who had been given a heads-up, remained calm.
My father raised a single brow in curiosity.
Dave and Nicole, being siblings through and through, merely blinked.
As for Clark, being a skeleton made it difficult to read his expression, but his posture conveyed curiosity as well.
And finally, Mari.
When I looked at her, she was smiling knowingly.
As if she had already figured out what I was about to say—or at least had some idea.
The grip on my hand tightened, filling me with confidence.
As the atmosphere grew heavier, I smiled slightly and added,
“And… no matter what I say, I want you to remember that I am a member of the Michelle family.
The third son.
The child of my father and mother, the beloved younger brother of my older siblings, the older brother of my little sister Lily…
And finally, Mari’s fiancé.”
“…Are you finally going to reveal the truth?”
My father murmured in a low voice.
At first, he looked surprised, but his expression quickly calmed.
Well, as my mother had mentioned before, my father was a devoted family man.
A father of two sons and two daughters.
As his third child, I knew there was no way he hadn’t noticed.
He had simply chosen not to say anything until now.
Especially since, growing up, I had asked countless questions that defied common sense.
With the “Chronicles of Zenon” circulating and being treated like a prophecy, it was only natural that he had suspicions.
Yet, for my sake, he had kept them to himself.
‘Really…’
I had thought this countless times, but I was truly born into a warm and loving family.
A family that didn’t obsess over status or fame but instead respected and cherished their children.
But because of that, if my revelation were to create distance between us, it would leave a deep wound.
That fear had kept my lips sealed until now.
However, today was different.
Before the misconceptions spread any further with the conclusion of Chronicles of Zenon, I needed to set things straight.
Things might be awkward for a while, but I trusted them.
My family, who loved me.
My fiancée, who stood by me.
“Yes. Now that Chronicles of Zenon is complete, and my next book is deeply connected to it, it’s time.”
“Hmm… I see.”
My father nodded, then glanced toward Dave and Nicole.
His gaze seemed to ask, What do you two think?
Each of my siblings responded in their own way.
“Well. Our little brother—no, I mean, Isaac—has always been a bit unusual, hasn’t he?
He hasn’t changed at all, so of course, he’s still our brother.”
“Dave’s right.
It wouldn’t make any sense to stop considering him family now.
Isaac has always been smart and logical, yet somehow clumsy and naïve at times.”
Dave, with his usual carefree nature, accepted it without much fuss.
Nicole, who had inherited our mother’s kindness, responded warmly.
It seemed my worst fears wouldn’t come true.
Relieved, I smiled softly and turned to Mari.
As soon as our eyes met, she beamed radiantly and replied cheerfully,
“I can’t live without you now, you know?
My body is practically molded to fit yours, so how could I ever be apart from you?”
“Haha…”
I let out an awkward laugh at her rather suggestive wording.
Emotionally and physically, we were indeed a perfect match.
Still, hearing her say things like that so openly, I could only think, Yep, that’s Mari for you.
Thanks to her, the heavy atmosphere lightened considerably.
Looking back, my worries seemed foolish.
Yet, the truth I was about to reveal would still come as a shock to them all.
I didn’t just catch a glimpse of the future, nor did I return from the future to the past—I came from an entirely different dimension.
More than anything, there was one person who would undoubtedly be the most shocked.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I turned toward Clark.
“Grandfather Clark.”
[Yes. What is it you wish to say?]
“When you fought against the demon-worshipping lords, they performed a summoning ritual, didn’t they? I heard about it from Rina as well.”
Clark nodded silently in response to my question.
[You’re right. By the time I arrived, the ritual had already begun. Fortunately, I managed to stop it, but…]
“It wasn’t completely stopped, was it?”
[…Well, it wasn’t a complete failure either.]
Clark hesitated for a moment before answering quietly.
Just as I had seen in my lucid dream, he knew that due to the incomplete success of the summoning ritual, an innocent soul had been pulled into this world.
He had simply never shared that detail with anyone.
Most likely, he considered it his own mistake.
If I brought up this fact, Clark would surely be beyond shocked—perhaps even devastated.
At the same time, he would also be relieved.
Because just before his death, the gods honored his final words and took care of the soul that had been brought here.
I was living proof of that.
“After performing the ritual, I had a dream.
In that dream, I saw you, Grandfather Clark, leaning against a massive stone statue.
And you were speaking with an elf whose face was caved in at the center.”
[…What?]
“And lastly, I even heard your final words—your request for the gods to take good care of that soul.”
As I continued speaking, Clark’s jaw slowly dropped.
Since he was a skeleton, his expression looked somewhat comical.
By now, he must have realized the truth.
Clark blinked a few times before stammering in disbelief.
[You… You’re telling me…]
“Yes. What you’re thinking is correct, Grandfather.”
Unlike Clark, who knew the full context, the rest of my family looked confused.
Leaving the stunned Clark as he was, I slowly looked around at my family.
Then, placing my hand gently over my chest, I spoke in a calm voice.
“I am neither a prophet nor someone who returned from the future.
I swear before the gods that this is true.”
“…”
Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.
“I am simply… a human from a completely different dimension, summoned here by the demon-worshippers’ ritual.”
The dice had been cast.
But the result was already set in stone.
I had already left behind enough suspicious traces, and Chronicles of Zenon had driven those suspicions to their peak.
The shock would still be there, but it wouldn’t be as explosive as when Rina had found out.
‘That time, when she spat out her tea…!’
That moment would probably never be forgotten, even decades from now.
It would likely go down as one of Rina’s most embarrassing moments.
I briefly let my mind wander to suppress my nerves, but the silence around me remained unbroken.
To clarify things further, I spoke again.
“That said, I wasn’t a noble or a royal in my previous world.
I was just an ordinary citizen living an everyday life.
In the country I lived in, there were no kings or nobles—it was far from a monarchy.”
“Hmm…”
“Now that I think about it, he does seem quite humble.”
“Well, our family only recently became nobility, so we’re still quite close to commoners…”
Each of my family members reacted differently.
My father remained silent, his lips pressed together.
Dave and Nicole nodded as if it made sense.
However, even if they appeared calm on the surface, they were undoubtedly shaken inside.
Not a prophet, not a regressor, but someone from an entirely different dimension.
To them, I had simply been their beloved younger brother all this time.
Now, learning that I was actually someone who had come from another world must have been overwhelming.
As they gathered their thoughts, I decided to share some of the conversations I had with the gods.
“The gods honored Grandfather Clark’s dying wish and allowed me to be born as a member of the Michelle family.
For that alone, I am deeply grateful.
In my previous life, my parents died in an accident, and I was alone.”
“…Oh.”
“Ah…”
Sighs of distress erupted from different parts of the room.
I had shared this to ease their worries, but it seemed to have only made them more concerned.
I glanced over at Mari, only to see her looking at me with slightly saddened eyes.
It felt like she was gazing at a fragile artifact—something that would break if she touched it.
At that moment, I realized I had made a mistake.
And then, my father posed an even heavier question.
“Then, Isaac. Let me ask you just one thing.”
“Yes? Oh, alright.”
“If your soul came to this world… what happened to your original body?”
“Ah… According to Lord Luminous, even gods find it difficult to transfer souls between dimensions.
So, as a consequence of that process… I suffered a heart attack and… well, only my soul crossed over.”
Thud.
Upon hearing my words, Clark covered his face with his hands.
His guilt was growing in real-time.
I wanted to ease his burden somehow, so I quickly spoke up.
“G-Grandfather, you don’t have to feel so guilty.
At the time, I had lost my parents and had no will to live.
Rather, I am truly happy to have been born into the Michelle family.”
[…How old were you?]
“Sorry?”
[I asked… How old were you when you came to this world?]
His voice was filled with sorrow and guilt.
I hesitated for a moment before recalling my previous life’s age.
After finishing my military service, my parents had died in an accident, and I had spent a long time in despair…
“I think… I was about 23 years old.”
At my answer, Clark completely broke down, lowering his head and covering his face with both hands.
The rest of my family wasn’t much different, each wearing expressions of deep sorrow.
Perhaps it was because they were such a loving family.
Or maybe I was the strange one.
If I told them that my original lifespan would have extended beyond 90 years, Clark might try to take his own life out of guilt.
“…Then… does that mean you’re actually over 40 years old now?”
Just as the others were still processing the shock, Mari focused on a completely different detail.
I turned to her upon hearing her quiet mumbling.
She stared at me, her expression unreadable, before whispering in a bewildered tone.
“Then… why do you still seem like a kid…?”
“…”
This… wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.
