Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

At the Witch Cult's stronghold, Petritchus placed the lifeless and despairing Subaru Natsuki on the throne, excitedly calling him the Archbishop of Arrogance.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: Just a reminder, maybe add some comments when you have time?

The book club forum is where dreams begin and where dreams come true.

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Dear fans of Life Absorber, the latest chapter of "Traveling Through Heavens, Can You Be Smarter Than Me?" has been released!

635. With the arrival of the prison warden, justice will prevail! (Seeking votes for the fifth update!)

"emmmmmmm"

"Judging from the results, you do deserve the title of the arrogant bishop."

After watching his reincarnation, Tsugumi expressed her heartfelt feelings to Subaru Natsuki.

"I never expected you to have such a talent for rebellion."

"Hey, stop teasing me, okay?" Subaru said weakly.

To be honest, the shock and hurt from this result were undeniable. Moreover, compared to Emilia, who was looking at him with hatred, Subaru Natsuki was actually more heartbroken by Crusch and Wilhelm, who believed in him until the very end.

Although they hadn't spent a very long time together, Natsuki Subaru felt a level of relaxation and joy from them that was many times greater than what he experienced with Roswaal.

He was trusted 100%, and his words and actions were always carried out. Under his guidance, Crusch was successfully crowned as queen.

To be honest, it would be a lie to say that he never considered simply staying here.

But in the end, he still wanted to go back, after all, his true love for Emilia and...

"You're just a total 'baby bird' fantasist'!" Tsugumi mercilessly exposed this guy's so-called true love.

"The reason you act so shamelessly towards me is simply because I was the first one to stand by your side!"

"You don't have to be so heartless..." Subaru said bitterly.

"I'm not interested in your love life, kid. Everyone has their weird fetishes." Tsuruge waved his hand, completely unconcerned about it.

"The key question is why those witch cult members know all your actions so clearly."

Subaru Natsuki also guessed the key to the problem: these guys were able to judge Subaru Natsuki's actions so clearly, there must be some unknown power at play.

Aside from the most terrifying possibility that they too could return to their own death, the most likely possibility is those Gospels.

These Gospels are actually copies of the originals. The originals were the Book of Wisdom held by the Witch of Greed, Echidna. As the originals, they carried Echidna's power and recorded all information, including information about death and returning to the world before death. They were truly close to omniscience.

The results shown by books, both in the past and the future, are almost omnipotent.

With Echidna's death, the Book of Wisdom was destroyed along with her, but the two copies made from the Book of Wisdom during her lifetime were given to Roswaal and Beatrice respectively, and the effects of these two copies were relatively inferior.

It's like Roswaal's Book of Wisdom only shows the result that 'Natsuki Subaru can achieve his goal by applying pressure,' but it doesn't show the process, Subaru's abilities, or how he achieved it.

The existence of the Gospels is that they are copies of copies, but that does not mean that their effectiveness is diminished.

In reality, these gospels come from the true mastermind behind the current Witch Cult, who also seems to be the culprit behind its distortion into this form.

Anyway, Tsurugi couldn't find Petitchius's true face in Petitchius's distorted memories, but in a sense, it was she who used her special powers to distort the originally relatively normal Witch Cult, turning Petitchius into this bird-like creature, and creating the Gospel.

These Gospels also possess the same ability to foresee the future, but rather distort it than predict it.

Some of the things presented above are not necessarily things that would have actually happened, but rather the result of distorting the facts.

But no matter what, the effect is the same for these archbishops of the dead – but no matter what, these books can't possibly predict the outcome of his actions with perfect accuracy every time!

Someone has their eye on Subaru Natsuki—or rather, she has always been watching Subaru Natsuki.

She is the mastermind behind a certain witch cult. Perhaps for other reasons, she did not really decide to deal with Natsuki before, but this time she has chosen to completely target Natsuki Subaru, and she knows about Natsuki Subaru's ability to return from death.

It's not actually that difficult to get past Subaru Natsuki. His personal strength and current situation are full of potential threats. After all, his abilities are only adequate, not strong enough. To make matters worse, his team is full of traitors and saboteurs, and the various factions that compete for the title of King are all potential rivals.

In particular, there was a high-ranking bishop of the Color Domain who had infiltrated and controlled most of the capital. His troublesome powers meant that countless eyes were watching him closely, and he could carry out assassinations or sow discord at any time.

“You’re definitely being watched closely,” Tsugumi said, squinting.

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Sometimes it's a pigeon, sometimes it's a dog-like demi-human; almost all of it blends in with passersby and has no presence whatsoever.

They will "disappear" out of thin air after a certain period of observation, but not in a physical sense; rather, it is as if they have been deemed "non-existent" by the world.

"The mastermind behind the Witch Cult? A certain archbishop of sin? I don't know who it is, but she must know about your ability to reincarnate through death. It is through her surveillance and alteration of the Gospels that she can ensure that even if you manage to uncover one or two moles, she can still trick you in the next reincarnation."

He paused, then said quietly.

"As for their purpose, it might be to drive you crazy and turn you into one of their arrogant bishops."

"So why me?!" Natsuki Subaru exclaimed, on the verge of collapse.

"Am I really that arrogant?!"

Tsugumi didn't speak, but silently revealed the arrogant crown he had been attaching to Natsuki Subaru's forehead.

The crown, which had been somewhat dusty, now looked as if it had been wiped clean, revealing its glittering gold beneath.

You are more arrogant than you think.

Having been tormented and abused ten times by a group of extraordinary people, yet still wanting to save them, in Tsuruga's view, this person is even more extraordinary than those extraordinary people.

There is a big difference between a savior and an arrogant savior. After all, even the Great Teacher Ye would not show mercy to the incurable Jewish priests, nor would he want to try to save them again and again.

Even Judas, we never saw the Great Teacher use his divine power to reverse time to save his soul.

Bearing original sin is one thing, but do you really want to send everyone to heaven?

If you make a mistake, you must be punished; people must pay the price for their actions!

Even God's own son is like this, but this guy wants to save everyone around him—you can only say he's not arrogant, so who is?

"Why do you think the witch inside you won't allow you to tell others about the return of death?" Tsugumi suddenly asked with a smile.

“…I don’t know,” Subaru replied sullenly.

"That jealous witch claims to love me, even though I don't know her at all. Why does she forbid me from telling anyone about the return of death?"

In countless reincarnations, his heart was crushed by the Witch of Jealousy more than once. Because of Mo Xu Luo's resistance, he was able to see more clearly the witch who repeatedly and obsessively professed her love for him, yet prevented him from revealing the truth, forcing him to dedicate himself in silence.

He couldn't understand why she would help him if she hated him. If she loved him, what kind of love was it?

"Because your arrogance is beyond redemption," Tsurugi said calmly, giving him a deep look.

"If, and I mean if, one day all your friends knew you could return from the dead, guess what would happen?"

He paused, then scoffed.

"Do you feel that people will feel guilty, regretful, like you even more, admire you even more, and want to protect you?"

"Yes, all of this will happen, it's bound to happen, but just like that—they'll also want you dead!"

"Why don't you just die? You're so kind anyway, if you just die, you can save him/her, right?"

"Please, please save my mother, father, wife, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandson... there will always be one of them."

"Since you're so kind, you'll definitely go back to save him/her!"

Tsugumi looked at the stunned Natsuki Subaru and whispered like a true devil.

"Yes, you will definitely go back to save them, but then what? You will find that your friends are looking at you differently, and you will feel that they will all say, 'You can regret it! All tragedies can be undone, you can save all tragedies, you have countless pills to undo your mistakes!'"

"So, die, Natsuki Subaru, just die already! It'll be better if you die, anyway, can you start over? Die, hurry up and die, while you still can..."

"Enough!" Sweating profusely, Subaru Natsuki abruptly stopped Tsugumi, panting heavily.

"They, Emilia and the others, and Otto, and old man Wilhelm, they wouldn't..."

“They may be good people, but they are also human; they cannot control their own thoughts,” Tsurugi said, tilting her head.

“They won’t say it, they won’t show it on their faces, and they might even refuse your return from death. But you know that they’ve had this thought in their hearts, and they also have this expectation, and this expectation will force you to choose death.”

"But at that time, could you clearly say whether it was your own sacrifice or for the expectations of others?"

"The crux of the problem is that they firmly believe you can't die for them. But they will also occasionally and uncontrollably have the thought that if you die, you can save someone, because they know your death is not a real death."

"They would be horrified by their own shameless and selfish thoughts, constantly blaming themselves and trying to stop them. But such thoughts are destined to be uncontrollable; how can humans completely control their own thoughts?"

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"And you, Subaru, you will also be very keen to notice this. You will keep accumulating this pressure, and even if they don't say it or tell you not to die, the more they try to stop you, the more you want to do it, because it is a relief for you."

"But you will feel disgusted by it, because you know deep down that it is an extremely excessive thing to casually put life on a scale to be measured, especially your life."

Tsugumi stood beside the dazed Natsuki Subaru, patted him on the shoulder, and smiled.

"Therefore, miracles and magic come at a price. It's not just a matter of ability, but the price itself is very important. The price makes people cherish what they have, understand that it is hard-won, and then appreciate what they should cherish."

"So, that witch truly loved you, and she wanted you to cherish your life. That's why she left you with the pain of death, because pain is a warning of life."

He paused, then shrugged.

"To be honest, I've also considered whether or not to reveal your abilities. After all, I'd love to see the expressions on those amazing people's faces for some amusement, and that would also greatly accelerate the nurturing of my Arrogant Crown."

"Tsk tsk tsk, the savior bears the pain in his heart and the resentment towards his companions, yet he still goes back to the past time and time again to save them—this is such a nurturing place for arrogance."

"Then why didn't you do it, Prisoner? Could it be because of you...?"

"Shut up!" Tsurugi slapped him on the head, annoyed.

"I'm not a good person, and I'm not someone to be trifled with! Don't forget, I can make you suffer anytime, anywhere, and I can make you die if I can't beat you. Don't say such disgusting things!"

Subaru scratched his head, looked at Tsugumi, chuckled, and teased her.

"Big Brother, you're quite the tsundere type, aren't you~~~"

Then, just as Dongjiang was about to continue beating him, he hurriedly raised his hands and said...

"Enough with the nonsense, Lao Da. Time is of the essence, let's quickly figure out how to pass this level!"

"Big Brother, you must have a way, right?"

Subaru looked at Tsugumi with hope. He had been truly desperate before, not only because he had killed so many people this time, but also because—his save point had been overwritten again.

Although the Witch of Envy was arrogant, her save file standards were extremely strict. She didn't care what happened in the background at all. As long as Subaru Natsuki felt at ease, she would immediately overwrite the save file, regardless of whether you could die infinitely.

So Subaru's only reassurance this time was the moment Crusch ascended the throne—basically a point in time when things were beyond saving.

He failed at this point in dozens of subsequent attempts to rewind, because he was too desperate and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't change the fact at this point.