It was all the fault of the aftereffects of acting!
"You should know how you came here, and what kind of world this is, right?"
Everyone nodded hesitantly.
"As I just said, Pallez has been hunted by Amon for thousands of years, which means you've also been here for thousands of years... oh, Mr. Longzel is the sole exception, but even he has been here for over a century."
Edward told them frankly, "In other words, every one of you is actually an elderly person."
Mobet murmured, "Well... we already knew that, actually. Before meeting Longzel, I lived in places with humans and other intelligent races. I married again and again, and watched my wives grow old, weaken, and die, over and over. We would forget our purpose and spend decades or centuries living ordinary, unremarkable, but happy and carefree lives."
"But we're all only Sequence 5. In theory, we shouldn't be able to live this long, so this must be some special rule of this world."
Edward nodded. "Exactly. But this rule of 'immortality' only applies to this world. Once you leave and return to reality, the time you've lived through will make you experience thousands of years passing in an instant, and that will also mean the arrival of death."
He spread his hands. "In other words, leaving means dying."
By now, even the honest, simple Groselle roughly understood what Edward meant. Everyone fell silent.
A moment later,
Mobet asked, "Then why did the old man send you to find me?"
"Congratulations, you spotted the missing piece. Since I'm here, naturally, I have a way for you to keep living after you leave." He paused here. "Hmm, strictly speaking, it isn't really 'living,' but existing as evil spirits."
Snoman, the ascetic who had remained silent all this time,