༺ Promises Should Be Kept (4) ༻
As dust rose from the wall where Dowd was hurled at, Riru gasped for breath and lifted herself up.
[…It’s my first time seeing someone throw away a meal given on a silver platter so spectacularly.]
Such words trickled out from nearby, but Riru just glared in that direction with tearful eyes.
“No matter how I think about it, this isn’t right!”
‘At the very least…’
‘Neither I nor that man should have our first experience in such a manner.’
‘This is no different than crime!’
[…This is what I was talking about. You can’t keep acting this soft.]
The spirit uttered such words.
Until just now, she had been speaking in a disinterested tone, regardless of the words that came out of her mouth, but this time…
There was an unusual chill imbued in her voice.
[It’s because you’re this soft that things always get taken from you.]
“What?”
[Can I be frank with you?]
The spirit turned smoothly towards her.
Her expression still seemed languid, with her drooping eyes unchanging, but…
The carefree smile that was there before was now gone.
[Tell me. Do you think you can surpass all the other women around him?]
“…”
A few images came to Riru’s mind.
There were definitely women who knew this man earlier and better than she did.
Some of them acted even more aggressively than her so that they could monopolize him to themselves.
[Those women wouldn’t be the end of it. More of them will crowd around Dear Husband in the future too. Do you understand now?]
“…”
[Not only that you have zero experience with men, you also don’t know how to socialize or dress up. You don’t even know what kind of thing this man likes. Now, do you really think someone like you can compete with those women?]
However…
“So?”
Riru, her eyes wide open with pride, began to speak in a resolute voice.
“What of it?”
[…]
Taken aback by her bold words, the spirit widened its eyes.
“I don’t care about those women.”
Indeed, as this spirit said…
It didn’t seem like she could squeeze next to this man and compete on equal terms with the women around him.
She might fall behind. She might have to painfully watch other women advance ahead of her after a crushing defeat.
But still…
“At the very least, he had never backstabbed me or betrayed my trust. That’s why, I shouldn’t do so either.”
She didn’t want to do something ‘against his will’ in such an unfair manner.
Even if she did, she wanted it to be done in her way; fair and square.
To obtain his ‘true’ feelings…
She would not resort to such trickery!
[…]
Hearing those words….
The spirit chuckled and casted its gaze down at her.
[…Uh-huh. As expected, it’s no use. I only wanted to see if things would proceed differently in this branching route, but you’re always so stubborn whether it’s now or later…]
“…? What are you talking about?”
When Riru posed such a question to the spirit, the latter smiled at her before replying.
[Well, most of ‘us’ are like that… But my time axis in particular, is twisted… I know you’ll be this stubborn until the day you die…]
“Can you see the future or something?”
[Rather than see, it’s more like I’ve already experienced it… Or something like that… Even among the many ‘branches,’ there are certain things that will never change. One of them is that you’ll never get intimate with Dear Husband until a certain point.]
For Riru, the answer that came out of the spirit’s mouth was something beyond her comprehension.
Though, she managed to catch one thing.
“…Get intimate?”
[Yes.]
“What does that—”
[You’ll sleep with him. In the future, you’ll even bear his child… No, children. Lots of them.]
“…”
Hearing that answer, Riru’s face immediately turned red as if she was about to explode.
“…Y-You’re telling me… I-I’ll… D-Do such things… L-Later?”
[In fact, you’ll do it a lot.]
“…”
[Even when Dear Husband asks if he has to do it today because he’s physically exhausted, you beg him for one more child and forcibly drag him to the bathroom. It happens frequently.]
“…D-D-Don’t m-make m-me…D-Don’t m-make me laugh. Y-You….Y-You’re just making things up, aren’t you?!”
[Hm. Look at you suspecting the validity of my claims before anything else. Typical response coming from a virgin who has never even held a man’s hand.]
Riru froze, as the spirit hit her where it hurt.
“S-Shut up…!”
As she retorted, Riru’s eyes began to swirl.
She was embarrassed.
Her face was burning, to the point that tears started coming out of her eyes.
[This is also the case during the first time you two sleep together. You’ll bluff about having a wealth of experience out of pride, but once you are stuck with him, you can’t even resist when Dear Husband pinned you down.]
“…E-Eee-”
[Even though he only calls you cute, your heart will start to race and you’ll begin endlessly beg him to hold you tight—]
“S-Shut UP! SHUT UPPPPP-!”
Because of the relentless, unfiltered mental assault, Riru let out a scream.
At this, the spirit chuckled and floated around her.
[…Still, I’m being sincere when I said that I’m doing this for your sake. I genuinely hope you won’t regret anything.]
“…”
Riru looked at the spirit with incredulous eyes.
In what way was it for her sake to do something like this?
What regret could possibly arise for her to receive this kind of help?
[…That regret will come.]
However…
The voice that followed carried a conviction similar to Riru’s earlier resolve.
[You will come to regret it. Incredibly so. Over the fact that you failed to create deeper and happier memories with Dear Husband.]
Regret.
When the spirit said that word…
It was coated with pain. Like freshly healed wounds being torn apart, before getting sprinkled with salt.
“…”
Overwhelmed by the depth of emotion in the voice, Riru unknowingly fell silent.
[…But still, there’s another opportunity.]
As it said so, the spirit’s face lit up with another grin.
While speaking, the spirit floated up to Riru’s face.
It didn’t have a physical form, but it still playfully tapped her nose.
[In three months, Riru. That’s when your time to shine will come.]
“…Shine?”
[Yes. A chance to shine so brightly that you’ll deeply embed yourself in his heart.]
“Why can’t you tell me about it in more detail?”
[Because that’s against the rules. Scary guys will come after me if I do that.]
“…?”
[I can fend off most of them, but… I still need to abide by some rules….]
The spirit said this with a bitter smile before letting out another chuckle.
[I can at least give you one piece of advice, though.]
“…What is it.”
[Do you know someone named Iliya Krisanax?]
“…”
‘Well, yeah… I know her.
‘I’ve seen her a few times before. Isn’t she the Hero Candidate?’
‘Why did her name come up so suddenly, though?’
[Get along with her. As much as possible.]
“…What? Why?”
[Because later, you’ll need each other’s help. That’s the only way to lessen the pain when the white one blatantly causes trouble.]
“…Can’t you make it a bit more understandable?”
[I can only tell you that for now. It’s getting harder to maintain this form. You know, it’s the same feeling as when you use up your weekly allowance…]
True to its words, the spirit’s form was becoming blurrier.
It was as if maintaining her appearance any further was a burden of itself.
[I’ll check up on you soon. Until then, try to follow what I’ve said.]
“…Tch. Do you think I’d just believe everything you say? I don’t even know what exactly you are…”
[You said all that, but you’ll still follow my words faithfully. That’s just the kind of person you are.]
“…You’ve been teasing me since earlier…”
Riru said, pouting her lips.
Seeing this, the spirit let out a grin and nodded.
It seemed like it had no intention of denying her words.
[Anyway, remember, it’ll happen in three months. For everyone, it’ll be a big crisis, but it could turn into a big opportunity for you.]
But still, at the very least, in the moment when she said such words…
[Don’t fail, okay?]
Her voice was warm, as if coming from an older sister.
Fuck, my jaw hurts…
The back of my head too…
“…”
I glanced sideways before opening my mouth.
“…Excuse me, Riru.”
“What?”
“Yesterday… What happened?”
Riru, who had been walking irritably beside me, glared at me with a red face.
“…Don’t ask me.”
“No, but still… Can’t I at least ask why I suddenly lost consciousness and when I came to, my jaw was almost split in—”
“Shut up.”
“…”
Yes ma’am.
Judging by her reaction, further questioning would only damage my jaw even further, so I stayed silent.
“…Anyway, come back after you finish taking care of everything.”
I sighed as I spoke such words to Riru.
Despite the shitfest that happened, the Exchange Student Program to the Forge of Struggle would end as of today. After all, today would be the end of the term.
“Next time, come to Elfante proudly, not through illegal entry.”
The return of Kasa as the Chieftain caused a huge aftermath and administrative turmoil.
I heard this person had to stay by her side to help with the cleanup.
It wouldn’t take long, until then, we wouldn’t see each other again.
“Wait for me.”
Riru awkwardly scratched her head as she responded.
“… Since I’ll bring you a gift… Or something…”
“Oooh. Can I look forward to it?”
“…”
At that, Riru closed her mouth and silently glared at me.
Her face turned red again.
“…Riru?”
‘What kind of gift is it that makes you act like that?’
‘No, seriously, why are you like this?’
‘You’re making me anxious.’
“…It’s nothing.”
After saying that, Riru turned around and ran towards the Forge of Struggle.
Acting as if she couldn’t handle it if she were to speak any further.
“…?”
What was wrong with her?
I had my suspicions, but there was no point in asking her since it didn’t seem like she’d answer it. With that in mind, I boarded the train.
Though the place was noisy, the atmosphere was so peaceful that it was hard to believe that just a few days ago, the whole academy was under attack by terrifying Demonic Creatures.
[You can be proud, you brat. They can live so peacefully because of your hard work.]
‘What’s with the sudden lip service?’
I chuckled at Caliban’s words and went to my assigned compartments.
Sitting alone in the peaceful train compartment, I stared blankly out the window.
“…Hm.”
‘How long has it been since I had a moment to myself like this?’
System Log
[ Target ‘Yuria’ feels severe despair! ]
[ Target ‘Lucia’ feels severe guilt! ]
[ Target ‘Eleanor’ feels severe powerlessness! ]
[ Target ‘Faenol’ seems to want to ask you a favor! ]
[ Find a way to comfort them! ]
Of course, it was probably only because the ones that would have swarmed me if I was alone were all in this state.
“…”
But still, I needed to comfort all of them.
Recently, I tried reaching out to them, but they would all just run away at the sight of me, so I couldn’t even succeed a single time.
Apparently, the feeling of guilt they had just by facing me was far too strong.
Seeing as how these people, who would normally cling onto me, were now avoiding me, it meant they were beyond disheartened.
‘Where should I even start?’
I pondered as such, scratching my head.
‘…Still, I should slowly talk to them one by one.’
With that thought, I let out a sigh.
I could still talk to them, after all. I only needed to find the right timing to approach them.
“Ah, there you are.”
“…”
Well, except for this one.
As she barged in without invitation, I met her gaze with narrowed eyes.
“…Hello. Faenol.”
Faenol Lipek.
A mage with flaming red hair from the Heretic Inquisition.
“Hello, Dowd Campbell. I have a favor to ask.”
A simple greeting, followed by her mentioning the purpose of her being here. Then, she let out a grin.
“Do you remember what I said before? About how I wanted you to seduce me.”
“…I do recall that.”
“Yes. It’s about that.”
Then…
She suddenly dropped a bombshell out of nowhere.
“Actually, I didn’t mention it before, but…There’s a time limit on that.”
“…What?”
“You need to seduce me within a month.”
System Message
[ New Quest related to ‘Chapter 4 – Crimson Night’ is updated! ]
[ Increase the favorability level of target ‘Faenol’ to ‘Love Level 1’ within a month! ]
[ Failure will result in a Game Over! ]
…A month?
Because of the sudden time constraint, I had no choice but to blink in disbelief.
No, wait a minute.
Wasn’t there…
System Log
[ ‘Skill: Fatal Charm’ cannot be applied to target ‘Faenol’! ]
…Something like this for her…?
This meant…
I had to do it… Without any assistance from my skills…
To seduce this woman to the point where she was as smitten to me as Eleanor was.
“You need to make my heart race uncontrollably just at the sight of you. Or else…”
“…Or else?”
Faenol replied with a smile.
“Who knows?”
Yet the following words were anything but fitting to such an expression.
“Maybe something terrible will happen?”
She said.
A Vessel, holding three Red Devil’s Fragments, spoke as such.
This was someone who had a 100% Devil Fusion Rate, someone who was capable of bringing out the ‘true form’ of the Red Devil if she were to go berserk.
Though I wasn’t sure what her words entailed, if she herself put it as such, there was no way the situation would be manageable even for me.
“You promised, no?”
“…”
“Then you should keep your promise.”
Yeah.
Promises should be kept.
“…”
I wrapped my hands around my head at the impending headache.
What else did I expect from my circumstances?
So far, my path has been a series of uphills battles.
How could I, of all people, expect some peaceful times after just one incident?
༺ Promises Should Be Kept (4) ༻
As dust rose from the wall where Dowd was hurled at, Riru gasped for breath and lifted herself up.
[…It’s my first time seeing someone throw away a meal given on a silver platter so spectacularly.]
Such words trickled out from nearby, but Riru just glared in that direction with tearful eyes.
“No matter how I think about it, this isn’t right!”
‘At the very least…’
‘Neither I nor that man should have our first experience in such a manner.’
‘This is no different than crime!’
[…This is what I was talking about. You can’t keep acting this soft.]
The spirit uttered such words.
Until just now, she had been speaking in a disinterested tone, regardless of the words that came out of her mouth, but this time…
There was an unusual chill imbued in her voice.
[It’s because you’re this soft that things always get taken from you.]
“What?”
[Can I be frank with you?]
The spirit turned smoothly towards her.
Her expression still seemed languid, with her drooping eyes unchanging, but…
The carefree smile that was there before was now gone.
[Tell me. Do you think you can surpass all the other women around him?]
“…”
A few images came to Riru’s mind.
There were definitely women who knew this man earlier and better than she did.
Some of them acted even more aggressively than her so that they could monopolize him to themselves.
[Those women wouldn’t be the end of it. More of them will crowd around Dear Husband in the future too. Do you understand now?]
“…”
[Not only that you have zero experience with men, you also don’t know how to socialize or dress up. You don’t even know what kind of thing this man likes. Now, do you really think someone like you can compete with those women?]
However…
“So?”
Riru, her eyes wide open with pride, began to speak in a resolute voice.
“What of it?”
[…]
Taken aback by her bold words, the spirit widened its eyes.
“I don’t care about those women.”
Indeed, as this spirit said…
It didn’t seem like she could squeeze next to this man and compete on equal terms with the women around him.
She might fall behind. She might have to painfully watch other women advance ahead of her after a crushing defeat.
But still…
“At the very least, he had never backstabbed me or betrayed my trust. That’s why, I shouldn’t do so either.”
She didn’t want to do something ‘against his will’ in such an unfair manner.
Even if she did, she wanted it to be done in her way; fair and square.
To obtain his ‘true’ feelings…
She would not resort to such trickery!
[…]
Hearing those words….
The spirit chuckled and casted its gaze down at her.
[…Uh-huh. As expected, it’s no use. I only wanted to see if things would proceed differently in this branching route, but you’re always so stubborn whether it’s now or later…]
“…? What are you talking about?”
When Riru posed such a question to the spirit, the latter smiled at her before replying.
[Well, most of ‘us’ are like that… But my time axis in particular, is twisted… I know you’ll be this stubborn until the day you die…]
“Can you see the future or something?”
[Rather than see, it’s more like I’ve already experienced it… Or something like that… Even among the many ‘branches,’ there are certain things that will never change. One of them is that you’ll never get intimate with Dear Husband until a certain point.]
For Riru, the answer that came out of the spirit’s mouth was something beyond her comprehension.
Though, she managed to catch one thing.
“…Get intimate?”
[Yes.]
“What does that—”
[You’ll sleep with him. In the future, you’ll even bear his child… No, children. Lots of them.]
“…”
Hearing that answer, Riru’s face immediately turned red as if she was about to explode.
“…Y-You’re telling me… I-I’ll… D-Do such things… L-Later?”
[In fact, you’ll do it a lot.]
“…”
[Even when Dear Husband asks if he has to do it today because he’s physically exhausted, you beg him for one more child and forcibly drag him to the bathroom. It happens frequently.]
“…D-D-Don’t m-make m-me…D-Don’t m-make me laugh. Y-You….Y-You’re just making things up, aren’t you?!”
[Hm. Look at you suspecting the validity of my claims before anything else. Typical response coming from a virgin who has never even held a man’s hand.]
Riru froze, as the spirit hit her where it hurt.
“S-Shut up…!”
As she retorted, Riru’s eyes began to swirl.
She was embarrassed.
Her face was burning, to the point that tears started coming out of her eyes.
[This is also the case during the first time you two sleep together. You’ll bluff about having a wealth of experience out of pride, but once you are stuck with him, you can’t even resist when Dear Husband pinned you down.]
“…E-Eee-”
[Even though he only calls you cute, your heart will start to race and you’ll begin endlessly beg him to hold you tight—]
“S-Shut UP! SHUT UPPPPP-!”
Because of the relentless, unfiltered mental assault, Riru let out a scream.
At this, the spirit chuckled and floated around her.
[…Still, I’m being sincere when I said that I’m doing this for your sake. I genuinely hope you won’t regret anything.]
“…”
Riru looked at the spirit with incredulous eyes.
In what way was it for her sake to do something like this?
What regret could possibly arise for her to receive this kind of help?
[…That regret will come.]
However…
The voice that followed carried a conviction similar to Riru’s earlier resolve.
[You will come to regret it. Incredibly so. Over the fact that you failed to create deeper and happier memories with Dear Husband.]
Regret.
When the spirit said that word…
It was coated with pain. Like freshly healed wounds being torn apart, before getting sprinkled with salt.
“…”
Overwhelmed by the depth of emotion in the voice, Riru unknowingly fell silent.
[…But still, there’s another opportunity.]
As it said so, the spirit’s face lit up with another grin.
While speaking, the spirit floated up to Riru’s face.
It didn’t have a physical form, but it still playfully tapped her nose.
[In three months, Riru. That’s when your time to shine will come.]
“…Shine?”
[Yes. A chance to shine so brightly that you’ll deeply embed yourself in his heart.]
“Why can’t you tell me about it in more detail?”
[Because that’s against the rules. Scary guys will come after me if I do that.]
“…?”
[I can fend off most of them, but… I still need to abide by some rules….]
The spirit said this with a bitter smile before letting out another chuckle.
[I can at least give you one piece of advice, though.]
“…What is it.”
[Do you know someone named Iliya Krisanax?]
“…”
‘Well, yeah… I know her.
‘I’ve seen her a few times before. Isn’t she the Hero Candidate?’
‘Why did her name come up so suddenly, though?’
[Get along with her. As much as possible.]
“…What? Why?”
[Because later, you’ll need each other’s help. That’s the only way to lessen the pain when the white one blatantly causes trouble.]
“…Can’t you make it a bit more understandable?”
[I can only tell you that for now. It’s getting harder to maintain this form. You know, it’s the same feeling as when you use up your weekly allowance…]
True to its words, the spirit’s form was becoming blurrier.
It was as if maintaining her appearance any further was a burden of itself.
[I’ll check up on you soon. Until then, try to follow what I’ve said.]
“…Tch. Do you think I’d just believe everything you say? I don’t even know what exactly you are…”
[You said all that, but you’ll still follow my words faithfully. That’s just the kind of person you are.]
“…You’ve been teasing me since earlier…”
Riru said, pouting her lips.
Seeing this, the spirit let out a grin and nodded.
It seemed like it had no intention of denying her words.
[Anyway, remember, it’ll happen in three months. For everyone, it’ll be a big crisis, but it could turn into a big opportunity for you.]
But still, at the very least, in the moment when she said such words…
[Don’t fail, okay?]
Her voice was warm, as if coming from an older sister.
Fuck, my jaw hurts…
The back of my head too…
“…”
I glanced sideways before opening my mouth.
“…Excuse me, Riru.”
“What?”
“Yesterday… What happened?”
Riru, who had been walking irritably beside me, glared at me with a red face.
“…Don’t ask me.”
“No, but still… Can’t I at least ask why I suddenly lost consciousness and when I came to, my jaw was almost split in—”
“Shut up.”
“…”
Yes ma’am.
Judging by her reaction, further questioning would only damage my jaw even further, so I stayed silent.
“…Anyway, come back after you finish taking care of everything.”
I sighed as I spoke such words to Riru.
Despite the shitfest that happened, the Exchange Student Program to the Forge of Struggle would end as of today. After all, today would be the end of the term.
“Next time, come to Elfante proudly, not through illegal entry.”
The return of Kasa as the Chieftain caused a huge aftermath and administrative turmoil.
I heard this person had to stay by her side to help with the cleanup.
It wouldn’t take long, until then, we wouldn’t see each other again.
“Wait for me.”
Riru awkwardly scratched her head as she responded.
“… Since I’ll bring you a gift… Or something…”
“Oooh. Can I look forward to it?”
“…”
At that, Riru closed her mouth and silently glared at me.
Her face turned red again.
“…Riru?”
‘What kind of gift is it that makes you act like that?’
‘No, seriously, why are you like this?’
‘You’re making me anxious.’
“…It’s nothing.”
After saying that, Riru turned around and ran towards the Forge of Struggle.
Acting as if she couldn’t handle it if she were to speak any further.
“…?”
What was wrong with her?
I had my suspicions, but there was no point in asking her since it didn’t seem like she’d answer it. With that in mind, I boarded the train.
Though the place was noisy, the atmosphere was so peaceful that it was hard to believe that just a few days ago, the whole academy was under attack by terrifying Demonic Creatures.
[You can be proud, you brat. They can live so peacefully because of your hard work.]
‘What’s with the sudden lip service?’
I chuckled at Caliban’s words and went to my assigned compartments.
Sitting alone in the peaceful train compartment, I stared blankly out the window.
“…Hm.”
‘How long has it been since I had a moment to myself like this?’
System Log
[ Target ‘Yuria’ feels severe despair! ]
[ Target ‘Lucia’ feels severe guilt! ]
[ Target ‘Eleanor’ feels severe powerlessness! ]
[ Target ‘Faenol’ seems to want to ask you a favor! ]
[ Find a way to comfort them! ]
Of course, it was probably only because the ones that would have swarmed me if I was alone were all in this state.
“…”
But still, I needed to comfort all of them.
Recently, I tried reaching out to them, but they would all just run away at the sight of me, so I couldn’t even succeed a single time.
Apparently, the feeling of guilt they had just by facing me was far too strong.
Seeing as how these people, who would normally cling onto me, were now avoiding me, it meant they were beyond disheartened.
‘Where should I even start?’
I pondered as such, scratching my head.
‘…Still, I should slowly talk to them one by one.’
With that thought, I let out a sigh.
I could still talk to them, after all. I only needed to find the right timing to approach them.
“Ah, there you are.”
“…”
Well, except for this one.
As she barged in without invitation, I met her gaze with narrowed eyes.
“…Hello. Faenol.”
Faenol Lipek.
A mage with flaming red hair from the Heretic Inquisition.
“Hello, Dowd Campbell. I have a favor to ask.”
A simple greeting, followed by her mentioning the purpose of her being here. Then, she let out a grin.
“Do you remember what I said before? About how I wanted you to seduce me.”
“…I do recall that.”
“Yes. It’s about that.”
Then…
She suddenly dropped a bombshell out of nowhere.
“Actually, I didn’t mention it before, but…There’s a time limit on that.”
“…What?”
“You need to seduce me within a month.”
System Message
[ New Quest related to ‘Chapter 4 – Crimson Night’ is updated! ]
[ Increase the favorability level of target ‘Faenol’ to ‘Love Level 1’ within a month! ]
[ Failure will result in a Game Over! ]
…A month?
Because of the sudden time constraint, I had no choice but to blink in disbelief.
No, wait a minute.
Wasn’t there…
System Log
[ ‘Skill: Fatal Charm’ cannot be applied to target ‘Faenol’! ]
…Something like this for her…?
This meant…
I had to do it… Without any assistance from my skills…
To seduce this woman to the point where she was as smitten to me as Eleanor was.
“You need to make my heart race uncontrollably just at the sight of you. Or else…”
“…Or else?”
Faenol replied with a smile.
“Who knows?”
Yet the following words were anything but fitting to such an expression.
“Maybe something terrible will happen?”
She said.
A Vessel, holding three Red Devil’s Fragments, spoke as such.
This was someone who had a 100% Devil Fusion Rate, someone who was capable of bringing out the ‘true form’ of the Red Devil if she were to go berserk.
Though I wasn’t sure what her words entailed, if she herself put it as such, there was no way the situation would be manageable even for me.
“You promised, no?”
“…”
“Then you should keep your promise.”
Yeah.
Promises should be kept.
“…”
I wrapped my hands around my head at the impending headache.
What else did I expect from my circumstances?
So far, my path has been a series of uphills battles.
How could I, of all people, expect some peaceful times after just one incident?
