A full year has passed since the events of Chapter 17.
Onan and Samantha are living their married life well and peacefully in Magic Land. However, they have not had any children because they consider themselves not ready for that responsibility.
On the other hand, Connor (who now has a beard) is still imprisoned in jail with Kai and Frank. Connor has always felt regret for killing that citizen. Sometimes he wishes he could go back in time and stop himself from killing him. But unfortunately, the mistake happened and cannot be changed. At the same time, he cannot let this regret affect him or stop him from moving forward. He has a kingdom he must save, and that is what occupies Connor's mind the most.
One day, in Magic Land prison, Frank was telling Kai and Connor a story about his adventures.
Frank: "Then the old man told me I was lying and that it was impossible for me to have killed that monster without using weapons, and I told him…"
Connor: "Enough!!! I'm tired of hearing your stupid and trivial stories."
Kai: "I don't think they're that bad. I enjoyed some of them."
Connor: "No. All of them are bad and boring. I really wish they hadn't forced me to listen to his stories."
Frank: "Calm down, man. At least I'm trying to make the atmosphere in this gloomy prison nicer. You've done nothing but failed escape attempts. I don't know when you'll give up."
Connor: "Cortan is your homeland too. And you wanted to free it like me. How can you give up and act so coldly?"
Frank: "That's because I prepared myself mentally for defeat. I'm a realistic person, and I know I cannot always get what I want no matter how hard I try. I'll try to achieve my goals, but if I fail, I will accept defeat. Continuously striving doesn't guarantee success."
Connor: "That's nonsense. What you're saying is nonsense. Kai, help me here. Do you agree that Frank's words are nonsense?"
Kai: "...."
Connor: "Kai?"
Kai: "I really, really, really want to give you motivational words to encourage you to continue your quest, but… look at our situation. We are criminals imprisoned in a high-security prison. Even if we escape, what will we do after that? There is no kingdom that wants to help us. There is no strong evidence proving there is a supernatural source capable of defeating Alvarez, Kleis, and the Vikings. I really don't think you will be able to free Cortan… and I don't think I'll be able to get revenge on Alvarez…"
Connor is affected by Kai's response and sits, thinking about whether he should really give up and accept defeat. At the same time, he thinks about many things. He thinks about the terrible things Alvarez is doing in Cortan. He thinks about how he let his anger control him and kill an innocent person. He thinks about how his life has deteriorated terribly. He was once a prince and is now a jailed criminal… And the last thing he thinks about is his sister. He wonders how her life is now after marrying Onan.
Meanwhile, in one area of Magic Land, there was an empty field. In this field, a competition was taking place between Onan and Samantha. Onan claimed he didn't need magic to defeat a wizard, and Samantha decided to challenge him to prove him wrong. This challenge can be considered training, but in reality, it is one of the ways this couple entertains themselves and spends quality time.
Samantha sends out trunks to grab Onan, but Onan dodges and cuts them skillfully. However, a trunk comes from behind, grabs him by the leg, and lifts him up.
Samantha: "So, little dwarf. Do you still think you don't need to learn magic to surpass a wizard?"
Onan takes out his whip and uses it to pull the magic wand from Samantha. In this way, the trunk disappears, and Onan is freed. He lands on his feet.
Onan: "Yes. I still stand by my opinion."
Samantha: "You didn't use the whip throughout the challenge and made me forget you even had it. Smart move. But you forgot something important."
Onan: "What?"
Samantha extends her hand and summons the magic wand.
The wand slips from Onan's hand and returns to Samantha.
Samantha sends out trunks. One trunk knocks Onan's weapons (whip and sword) away, and the other binds him, thus Samantha wins the challenge.
Samantha: "Looks like you lost, little dwarf."
Onan: "Can you stop calling me that nickname?"
Samantha: "I thought you liked it."
Onan: "I don't… (almost)."
Samantha unties the trunk from Onan.
Samantha: "So?"
Onan: "Look, I don't deny that magic has many advantages, but I still have no desire to learn it."
Samantha: "Not even one spell? I mean, I don't want to force you, but I think you at least need to learn one magical spell."
Onan thinks for a moment and then says: "Okay… I want to learn the healing spell. Healing wounds and illnesses. I always wished to be a doctor like my father. That's why I want you to teach me how to heal people through magic."
Samantha: "Good. But today I'm a bit busy. I'll start your training tomorrow. I'll make sure to make you the best doctor, little dwarf."
Onan: "Samantha…"
Samantha: "Okay, sorry, that's the last time. Anyway, I have to go now. See you later."
Onan: "Goodbye."
Afterward, Onan goes to pick up his weapons, but suddenly he hears a voice:
….. : "Are you satisfied with yourself?"
Onan turns his face and asks: "Who's there?!"
Then Onan sees himself. He sees someone who looks exactly like him. Same clothes. Same skin. Same height. Everything the same.
Onan is surprised by what he sees and asks: "Who… what are you?"
The person who looks like Onan replies: "I am your conscience. You have been dead for a full year. You died the moment you agreed to Samantha's request to abandon the mission to free Cortan and stay in Magic Land. That was literally your worst decision. But now, after tasting comfort, freedom, and love, I have returned to life to ask you one question. Are you satisfied with yourself?"
Onan: "I don't understand. Why are you asking me this question? Of course I'm satisfied with myself."
Conscience: "Really? So you're satisfied with your decision to let all the people of Cortan suffer under Alvarez's tyranny? And for what? To have a happy life with your wife? You always criticized yourself for working as a mercenary for Jeto and killing his enemies for money. And now you let the innocents suffer. What's the difference between these two actions? Both are selfish and very bad. In fact, the second action is worse. Why did you criticize yourself for the first act and not the second?"
Onan: "Because the second act brought me happiness and the love I had lacked for so long. When I worked with Jeto, my life was gloomy, and even when I earned money, I didn't enjoy it because I was alone. Now I'm with Samantha, and everything is stable. If I could go back to the moment when Samantha asked me to live with her in Cortan, I would do as I did before and agree."
Conscience: "Is that really what you want to be? A selfish person who only cares about himself, prioritizes his own happiness over others, and lets innocents suffer just to satisfy yourself?"
Onan gets angry and responds: "Why are you talking as if I'm a hero whose goal is to save people? I'm not a hero. Even when I agreed to free Cortan, it was only to earn money. And why should I care about the people of Cortan anyway? I was introverted all my life in that kingdom. I had no friends or anyone who cared about me except my parents, who died."
The conscience laughs a little and replies: "Do you remember the first time you met Storm? He was being attacked by wolves. You didn't know this horse, and you had no relation to him, yet you decided to save him. Without expecting anything in return. Even though you didn't want him to be your horse, you helped him because you couldn't bear to see him hurt. Do you remember in Cortan when Samantha was attacked by the Vikings? She wasn't your wife or even your friend at that time. But you still put yourself in danger just to save her. Do you remember when you were talking to Kai and advising him to stop thinking about revenge and face Alvarez just to help people? You advised him to be a hero. Onan, you have a sense of heroism. Life's pleasures made you forget yourself and your true nature. I'm here to remind you of your true self. You are a hero. That's why you hate killing, because you always wish there were another way to solve problems. That's why you wanted to be a doctor, because you love helping people who suffer. And now we return to the question I asked you at the beginning. Are you satisfied with yourself?"
Onan's mind opens, and everything becomes clear to him. This internal conversation made him realize his true self and what he loves to do. So he answers the question:
" No. I'm not satisfied."
We leave Onan and go to Samantha.
Samantha was at home, thinking about the magic tricks she should present in the next show, when suddenly her father… Clinton… appears.
Samantha is shocked by what she sees and rubs her eyes, but her father is still there.
Samantha: "No… this is impossible. Onan told me you died in Cortan."
Clinton: "I really wish I had died in Cortan. That would have prevented me from seeing the scum you've become."
Samantha: "What do you mean???"
Clinton: "I chose you to be the ruler of Cortan, and I didn't choose Connor because I saw him as unsuitable to rule. But look what happened now. Connor never gave up and was ready to die to free Cortan, and you abandoned it when you had the chance."
Samantha gets angry and replies: "Are you really trying to say that killer is better than me? He killed an innocent person. That goes against the laws of the Knights of Light that you taught us."
Clinton: "Yes. He is better than you. He killed one innocent person, and you let thousands of innocents suffer just to achieve your personal comfort."
Samantha: "Me and the others spent months searching for a kingdom or a way to help free Cortan. And we found nothing. What should we do? Go face Alvarez and die just to prove we care about the kingdom's people?"
Clinton: "The world is a big place. You haven't even explored it all. You just got tired of searching and decided to give up to marry Onan. I am really, really, really… disappointed in you."
Then Clinton disappears. After this conversation, Samantha collapses crying and feels regret.
Both Onan and Samantha faced the same conflict in this chapter. Feelings of regret and conscience appeared and took the form of a specific person.
For Onan, it manifested as someone resembling him to remind him of his true identity.
For Samantha, it manifested as her deceased father as a way for her to imagine how he would react to her actions.
The desire to free Cortan and return to the mission returned once again to Onan and Samantha.
But the important question remains… how? How will they free it?
Onan was walking through the streets of Magic Land, thinking of a way to free Cortan but could not find any answer.
Then a robbery occurs in front of him. Two men with swords are stealing jewels from a shop. But then the wizard Lancer intervenes to stop them. He uses his magic and freezes one of the men. But the other man comes from behind and stabs him. Then he takes Lancer's magic wand and breaks it. Then he tries to kill Lancer, but Onan intervenes and uses his whip to shock the criminal, knocking him unconscious. In this way, he saves Lancer's life.
Then Onan goes to Lancer and tries to help him.
Onan: "Are you okay? Don't worry, I am su— wait a moment…"
Something strange happens. Lancer's face and expressions begin to change. It seems he was using magic to alter his facial features, and now that his wand is broken, the magic effect starts to fade, revealing Lancer's real face. The interesting thing is that Lancer's real face looks familiar to Onan.
Onan: "Wait a moment. I know who you are. You are the man who used to visit Cortan because he had a friendship with Clinton. You are… King Alfred?!!!!!"