Chapter 40

「The End of Childhood」.

A novel written in the mid-20th century by that famous SF author Arthur Clarke.

Probably, even among people interested in this field, those who don’t know the detailed content but at least recognize the name are extremely rare. It’s that famous.

In fact, I can confidently say that anyone who hasn’t been influenced by this novel must have seen works that were.

Because hardly any existing SF work remains untouched by “The End of Childhood.”

However, on Earth, 70 years passed from when this novel appeared until my reincarnation.

Meaning, while its ending might’ve been fresh and shocking 70 years ago…

In the 2020s, it became something so overused it felt stale—like old bones boiled dry.

Especially since that one work where humanity was turned into LCL… no, orange juice, also took inspiration from “The End of Childhood,” making its ending even more famous.

But flipping that thought around…

This meant that in a fantasy world where not even similar concepts existed yet, the ending of “The End of Childhood” would be incredibly shocking.

“…Director, forgive me if I’m out of line, but have you finally gone mad? Or is something wrong with your head?”

This was Karlreya’s first reaction upon hearing how I planned to end “Knight Shin Chronicle.”

And as she said this, Serika beside her also looked perplexed.

What, I thought Serika would be on my side, but even she found the ending of “The End of Childhood” somewhat shocking?

“…Excuse me, Karlreya-sama.”

“Why do you ask, Lady Grinevalt?”

“It seems like the way Karlreya-sama speaks to Director… er, Ragnar has changed a bit. What’s going on?”

“…..”

For some reason, Serika seemed more concerned about Karlreya’s change in tone toward me than about all of humanity being connected through卡拉.

By the way, ever since Karlreya was forcibly made to pilot Knight Shin and then stepped down, her tone toward me changed.

If we put it nicely, it’s because the distance between us shortened and we became closer. But if we put it harshly, it’s because she lost some manners.

Honestly speaking, though, I find her current tone more comfortable than before.

After all, since Karlreya’s true identity is Empress, it was quite tiring always having to watch what I said in front of her.

But now that she speaks casually to me first, I too can speak more freely without much thought, which is convenient.

“Well, someone forced me to become like this. I started thinking there’s no point in being formal with this person…”

“…..”

As Karlreya muttered while glaring at me, I deliberately looked away.

Since it was my fault, even if I had ten mouths, I wouldn’t have an excuse.

Meanwhile, Serika, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, frowned as if something didn’t sit right with her.

“…?”

Seems like something upset her, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

Because to wrap up the final episode of “Knight Shin Chronicle” in the style of “The End of Childhood,” cooperation from these two was essential.

“Anyway, I think this is taking things too far. People are already hyped about how “Knight Shin Chronicle” will end. If we pull off such a chaotic ending, just imagine how much hate we’ll get!”

“Hmm.”

If this were Earth, it might’ve been called a stale ending, but definitely not chaotic. Perhaps this kind of culture is still a hundred years ahead for this primitive fantasy world.

I sighed lightly inside but maintained a serious tone outwardly.

“I don’t think this ending is particularly chaotic.”

“…Pardon?”

Karlreya’s face twisted in disbelief at my words.

“You don’t think it’s chaotic? The ending where all of humanity dies?”

“That’s correct.”

I nodded firmly at Karlreya’s question.

“Do you remember the events of Episode 25 of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’?”

“…How could I forget? I once regretted creating such content with my own hands.”

As she spoke, Karlreya trembled as if recalling the fear of nearly blowing up the Earth herself.

“Do you recall the casual line Dr. Rachel mentioned back then? Do you remember what it was?”

“Ah… Wasn’t it when Unit 0 awakened as a true god and began the creation ritual? Something about all false creations dying during the new creation process…?”

“Ah.”

I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

That line was intentionally inserted subtly so it wouldn’t stick in people’s minds, yet she remembered it.

“Think back to the events of Episode 25. At that time, Unit 0 was originally set to reset humanity by exploding Earth. It only stopped because the Illuminati and the Elder Council desperately intervened, even using the Holy Sword.”

“…..”

“The viewers watching this development would’ve been shocked. Naturally. After all, humanity almost faced extinction. However…”

I smirked as I continued.

“Simultaneously, a thought would’ve crossed their minds. Thankfully, Unit 0 stopped, and humanity survived.”

But what would’ve happened if Unit 0’s creation ritual truly caused humanity’s extinction?

Most likely, most viewers would’ve harbored this question deep within their hearts.

Because unless they knew nothing from the start, once aware of the possibility of an event, curiosity is inevitable.

Karlreya may not realize it, but this is what’s known as “Chekhov’s Gun.”

If a gun appears in a story, it must eventually be fired.

Similarly, any setup introduced in a story must inevitably play a meaningful role.

Honestly, didn’t people secretly want to see Kazu transformed into a Perfect Being when the related setup appeared?

The same applies here.

To enhance the work’s completeness, scenes involving humanity’s extinction must appear if such setups exist.

“…..”

Sure enough, Karlreya remained silent, unable to refute my argument.

“In short, the setup for humanity’s extinction is already laid out. Additionally, I plan to give the protagonist Kai a final choice here.”

“…A final choice?”

“Truthfully, Kai’s active role in ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’ essentially ended in Episode 25. Because, internally, once he defeated the strongest outsider Nyarlathotep, there was practically no opponent left for him.”

Thus, starting from Episode 26, ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’ focused on conflicts between the Commander-in-Chief, the Elder Council, and members of the Illuminati rather than battles against outsiders.

“Kai reverted to human form at the end of Episode 25. This means Kai is a half-god, possessing the sole qualification to judge humanity.”

“…Now I understand what Director intends to say.”

Karlreya closed her eyes.

“Under the pretense of protecting themselves from outsiders, humanity sealed Kai’s younger sister as the core of Unit 0 and even created a clone named Saya. Upon realizing this truth, Kai developed a strong hatred towards humanity.”

Therefore, it would be a very natural progression for Kai to decide to destroy humanity as part of the ‘Human Ascension Plan’ in the ending of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle.’

…Of course, no matter what, this ending will remain undeniably chaotic.

However, since I’ve carefully laid numerous setups throughout the planning stages of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle,’ including the orange juice ending, Karlreya won’t easily find a counterargument at this moment.

‘Besides, if Emperor or others react strongly, I still have one backup plan.’

Though I’d prefer not to use it, sometimes it’s unavoidable. In this uncivilized fantasy world where class distinctions still exist, my head might literally roll in ways unimaginable in modern democratic societies of the 21st century.

Karlreya closed her eyes and spent some time organizing her thoughts.

She opened her eyes after quite a while.

Of course, the first thing she did was glare at me.

Clearly, she bought into my argument.

“Alright… Let’s try it. But if His Majesty decides to kill you, I won’t stop him.”

“Would I expect anything less?”

I shrugged at Karlreya’s words.

“Oh, by the way, I thought up an ingenious idea since just having humanity die feels a bit bland. I recommend inserting a classical piece as the music when humanity perishes. Professor Hermion suggested ‘Beautiful Death, Come To Me,’ and it sounds pretty good—”

“No! Anything but that!”

Ultimately, my plan to insert classical music during the scene of humanity’s demise was vetoed by both Serika and Karlreya.

Truly, it was a regrettable loss.

By the way, episodes 49 and 50 aired without undergoing censorship by the Emperor, as per our previous agreement.

On the day after the successful airing of episodes 49 and 50 of ‘Knight Shin Chronicle’…

Karlreya approached me early in the morning.

“…Director, His Majesty requests your presence. He wants you at the palace immediately.”

“…..”

Could something have gone terribly wrong?