"Are you sure?"
The familiar voice drew Young Lissop's thoughts back to an earlier time, when he had been asked the same question, when he had seen the same pity on the speaker's face.
Back then, he had not understood where that pity came from.
Now...
He understood.
His fate had been sealed back then.
And the master who had seen his fate had been... trying his best to stop him!
Yes!
That merciful master had been trying to stop him.
But he hadn't listened!
He regretted it!
Young Lissop wept.
He sobbed his heart out in remorse!
He tried to heal himself after his breakdown!
"Go ahead and cry. Once you're done-tell me what you want to choose."
Speaking gently, Arthur sat cross-legged beside the bound Young Lissop, letting him rest his head on his lap and cry his heart out.
As Young Lissop cried, Arthur gently stroked his head and back.
[Bluff] shone at its brightest at that moment.
Like a light in the darkness, it illuminated the cellar.
At least, that was how it seemed to Young Lissop, whose mind had entered an extreme state after his breakdown.
At first, he lay across Arthur's lap.
Later, he prostrated himself before Arthur.
Arthur's expression remained gentle throughout, his eyes filled with pity.
Three or four minutes later, the sobbing subsided.
Young Lissop raised his head and looked at Arthur before him.
"Master, what should I do?"
Young Lissop asked respectfully.
"That is entirely up to you.
If you choose death, I will guide your soul into the Land of the Dead.
If you choose to live, I will help you through this ordeal."
Arthur lowered his head to look at Young Lissop, his smile growing gentler.
That smile seemed to hold boundless strength, making Young Lissop feel that