I Knew I Was the Main Character

"You thought I didn’t?"

"You looked?"

"Of course!"

The year Richard Crawford disappeared was the year Laura Crawford turned twelve—in other words, 1998. It was a fairly ordinary year, but for London’s Wizarding World, it was a year that would be remembered fondly.

After all, 1998 was the year Voldemort wreaked havoc on the Wizarding World. It was also the year that the man regarded by the Wizarding World as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named finally died.

Hermione sighed. "After Laura’s mother died unexpectedly, Richard became obsessed with mysterious forces. Like Tony Stark, he began searching for something that could bring the dead back to life."

Lake said, "It’s only human nature."

It was the same old story.

Lake could understand what these people had done and did not blame them. Even if they had released the Parasitic Demon or the Son of Hell, at the very least, that had not been their original intention.

Hermione said, "Actually, after I found out, I deliberately—or perhaps unintentionally—left an aged book about the Parasitic Demon at Richard’s house. I thought that after reading it, he would give up on the idea. But by the time we finished dealing with Voldemort, Richard had already disappeared."

Actually.

Richard Crawford was not the only person who had vanished without a trace at the time. Some other London residents had disappeared as well. Based on the Wizarding World’s deductions after Voldemort’s death, it was possible that when Voldemort had thrown the Wizarding World into chaos, his evil aura had seeped into the ordinary world. Those whose brain waves resonated with it would have believed it without question, even if they had never come into contact with the supernatural world before.

The principle?

Don’t ask. It was occultism. The scientific explanation was quantum mechanics.

Lake frowned. "Even if he disappeared, there should have been some tracking spell that could find him."

Hermione shook her head. "No. We tried, but the tracking spell showed no reaction at all. There are only two possibilities: either Richard Crawford is dead, or he went to a mysterious land."

Lake raised an eyebrow.

A mysterious land?

Hermione said, "Later, I also looked through some records, including the materials in the study at the Crawford Manor. There’s a good chance that Richard Crawford died while searching for Himiko, or that he has already entered Himiko’s domain."

Himiko?

That was familiar.

He had watched the movie.

Lake laughed despite himself. "What’s the use even if he finds her? Ordinary people’s souls go to Hell. Once a soul enters Hell, unless you clear the whole dungeon, the only thing that comes out is a Parasitic Demon."

Hermione shook her head. "If Richard found Himiko, then it really might be possible to pull his wife’s soul out of Hell."

"Huh?"

Lake looked at Hermione. "What happened to ‘the dead can’t be brought back to life’?"

Hermione looked at Lake with the confidence of a top student.

Lake made a gesture indicating that he was ready to listen and turned toward Hermione.

He did not understand the supernatural world very well. At the very least, compared with Hermione, who was now practically a supernatural encyclopedia, his knowledge was far inferior.

Hermione said, "If it’s Himiko, then it really is possible."

To understand Himiko, one first had to understand Yamatai.

The Kingdom of Yamatai had once existed in Japanese history, and its queen was called "Himiko."

And…

Himiko was not one person, but a group of people. Every queen of Yamatai was called Himiko. Of course, they were actually all the same person—she simply reincarnated endlessly…

"Endless reincarnation?"

"That’s right."

Hermione nodded. "According to the records in the Supernatural Encyclopedia Library and the notes left by Merlin, the original Queen Himiko was one of the world’s five great elements who fled after her world shattered. She was the elemental spirit known as the Spirit of Destiny!"

Lake raised his eyebrows. "Wait!"

Hermione stopped and looked at Lake suspiciously. "What is it?"

Lake blinked. "What did you just say Himiko was? A spirit—the fifth of the Four Elements of Creation, the spirit?"

Hermione hummed in confirmation.

Well, damn.

Lake cursed inwardly.

What was this?

He had searched everywhere and found it without even trying?

No.

He hadn’t even been looking.

Lake thought to himself that after learning that he needed to find the Four Elements of Creation to give birth to his Divine Kingdom, he had originally planned to rely on his upgraded cheat to draw one from a lottery.

Maybe…

He could draw a complete Divine Kingdom?

With the hope of obtaining a complete Divine Kingdom, only an idiot would spend a great deal of time searching for the Four Elements of Creation when he did not even know whether they existed on Earth.

But now?

Well, damn. He had not gone looking for her, but she had come straight to his door?

As expected, he was the protagonist.

The protagonist’s first law: if I do not go to the mountain, the mountain comes to me!

A hint of delight appeared on Lake’s face.

But the next second—

"Shit."

"…"

Hermione looked at Lake, who had suddenly sworn, and was speechless. "Did you split your personality?"

Lake came back to himself and waved his hand.

He had also forgotten where Himiko’s island was. He only remembered that it should be reached from Hong Kong Island, and that someone else had apparently visited the island before.

What was that person’s name again?

Lake quickly searched through his memory database. While looking for the information he needed, he said to Hermione, "By the way, why are you so certain that Himiko is the spirit?"

He did not want to do unpaid labor.

If she turned out not to be Himiko, then after doing all the calculations, he might be the only one who lost out.

Hermione said, "Because only the Spirit of Life can ignore the cycle of life and death and reincarnate multiple times."

The spirits born at the beginning of the world were also divided into ranks. Humans were divided into all sorts of levels, after all, and the same was even more true of worlds. However, spirits could level up, evolving step by step alongside their original worlds.

This Spirit of Life, Himiko, who was suspected to be the fifth of the Four Elements of Creation, was both lucky and pitiful. Her world had been destroyed the moment it was born, causing her level to remain at its primitive stage.

Although she was a spirit, she was an original spirit, so she differed from the other four great elements. After losing her original world, the only way for the spirit to survive was through possession.

But because of her level, the people she possessed were all ordinary mortals.

Still, every mortal body eventually reached the end of its natural lifespan. Therefore, before her host died of old age, the spirit had to find another life to possess.

That was why Himiko had reincarnated endlessly and ruled the Kingdom of Yamatai.

Uh…

Like Pharaoh Apocalypse, she had ruled from generation to generation by relying on her ability to resurrect endlessly.

However…

The mutant Apocalypse was far more powerful than this Himiko. Though both of them had stopped this cycle because their subordinates had plotted against them, the difference was still enormous.

At this point in her explanation, Hermione suddenly stopped and looked at Lake. "You’re acting strange, Lake."

Her tone was certain.

Lake looked at Hermione curiously.

Hermione’s expression was somewhat unpleasant. "What are you here for?"

Lake said, "To accompany you to meet your family."

Hermione was speechless. "Then why have you been sitting here talking to me about Himiko? Come inside. Did you forget something important?"

Lake raised an eyebrow.

Something important.

Right.

Hermione had asked him to come over on New Year’s Day for more than just a visit. More importantly, what Hermione had not said outright was that she wanted Lake to meet Mr. Granger and ask for his permission to marry her.

Lake looked thoughtfully at Hermione. "You’re only twenty-eight this year, right?"

Hermione nodded. "But you’re thirty-six this year."

"Am I?"

Lake said, "I haven’t really paid attention to that."

After extracting the ageless gene from the Winter Soldier and fixing his handsome, mature appearance in place, Lake had stopped paying much attention to his age.

In any case, even a hundred years from now, he would still look as handsome as he did now.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked at Lake. "I can turn a blind eye to your philandering, Lake. But what I want, you have to give me."

Lake turned and walked away.

Hermione was stunned. Looking at Lake’s departing back, she asked, "Where are you going?"

Without looking back, Lake waved his hand. "Give me two minutes!"

He entered the house.

Bang!

Sharon Carter, who had just been about to greet Lake in the hallway, blinked as she watched him shut the door directly in her face. Then, somewhat confused, she walked to the backyard, looked at Hermione, and asked cautiously, "Did you two… have a fight?"

Hermione was confused as well. "I don’t think so."

Could it be that this man did not intend to give her an explanation?

Something was wrong.

He had even given Rachel an explanation. Though they had divorced, at least he had given her one.

Could it be…

This man wanted to have his cake and eat it too?

Hermione drew in a sharp breath. The righteous magic within her began showing signs of transforming into dark magic.

Inside the room.

Duang!

Lake directly took out the Scales of Fate!

Scales of Fate: Item type, SSR-class, mysterious type, materialization of the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Place a corresponding price on one side of the scales; it need not be a physical object. The other side will produce something of equivalent value.

Lake rubbed his chin and stared at the exquisite Scales of Fate. "Give me a pair of diamond rings from the Wings series. They have to be matching, but the color should be different from the previous ones."

As he spoke, Lake placed cash on one side of the scales.

Ever since the newbie protection period had disappeared, Lake had never been short of cash. It was quite strange: stacks of banknotes would be placed on the scales, but the moment they entered the scales, they vanished.

Lake simply hauled out a bag full of cash and poured it onto one side of the scales with great gusto.

He had used this thing several times before.

Emilia’s diamond ring.

Rachel’s diamond ring.

Even Seifer’s diamond ring.

Lake had made all of them with the Scales of Fate after he stopped worrying about money. They were from the same series as well. This was Lake planning ahead—who knew whether he would have other women in the future? What if two of them met without knowing each other and immediately drew knives?

If someone died, which side was Lake supposed to help?

Soon.

Just like before, after he had poured in three sacks, a pink diamond ring from the Wings series appeared on one side of the Scales of Fate.

Click!

Lake picked up the ring. A streak of lightning flashed through his eyes and was branded into the huge pink diamond on the ring, leaving behind a lightning-shaped pattern.