Episode 116
'Alright, that should do it. It's such a complex magic circle, so tearing it apart should be sufficient.'
The footsteps of the two rushing toward me gradually slowed, and soon they began shouting something at each other.
"Kania! Now! Right now, pour the black magic power into it!!!"
"Huh? But..."
"You fool!! Magic scrolls are meant to be torn to use!! That one was designed to activate by placing a hand on it because it's so complex, but the activation conditions have already been met!!"
However, thanks to the roar caused by the collision of their attacks earlier, only a ringing sound filled my ears.
So I turned my gaze away from them, and thinking it was over now that the penalty window had appeared anyway, I staggered from the hot energy rising from below.
[Permanent Debuff: Fate of the Defiant]
[The user's lifespan and vitality will be greatly reduced!]
"Hah."
I scoffed as I looked at the familiar system window before my eyes.
"I'm not scared anymore."
Yesterday, when I was with Perloche, the letter Serena gave me.
That letter definitely contained hope.
- P.S. I think I've found a way to save you. Probably.
I believe in Serena.
And I believe in Kania and Irina, who even fought over who would take the penalty in my place—Kania, more reliable than anyone, and Irina, who developed an impossible magic for my sake.
Also.
Perloche, who shared important information with me, though I'm not sure what she's hiding.
And Clana, who tried to become a canary for me.
I believe in them, not this translucent system window floating above me.
That's why I could bear it all.
"Damn it! It didn't activate as designed, so there's not enough black magic power!!"
"I have a way."
"What? Hey, wait!!"
"Excuse me."
Because even if I received this penalty, I had the conviction that I would eventually defeat the Demon King and give a happy ending to the two girls I was looking at right now.
So, I had absolutely no desire to reduce their lifespans and vitality.
"Thank you, girls."
Thinking this, I held onto my consciousness that was strangely growing faint with all my might, and left a single word in a low voice.
"Please take care of me from now on, too."
[Stack: 3] [Special Stack: 1]
And then, the world went dark.
.
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the sun-facing flower held in my hand.
'...It's beautiful.'
It was a sun-facing flower I had seen somewhere before, shining just as brightly and beautifully.
'But I don't need it anymore.'
However, I thought I didn't need it.
After all, I.
I had become a canary just for Frey, sitting on his shoulder, singing when he was tired, nuzzling against him when he was sad, and flying around him when he was happy.
"...Huh?"
But something is strange.
I became a canary, so why is my gaze like this? This is no different from when I was human.
"Oh my?"
And a canary flower in my hand? Why do I have hands? I definitely...
'Young master!!'
'No!!'
While I was thinking that, noisy sounds started coming from ahead.
'...Cough!!'
Flustered, I looked ahead and saw Frey collapsing while vomiting blood.
Am I still dreaming? Frey wouldn't vomit blood. I definitely turned into a canary, so there's no reason for him to receive a penalty...
'Wait.'
A memory that flashed through my mind struck me as I sat there blankly.
Frey, kissing me as I requested in my final wish. Me, falling to the ground while embracing him.
The love we shared for a long time with our hands, arms, legs, and even bodies overlapping.
The moment I wanted deeper connection but gave up because there wasn't enough time, and was about to turn into a canary.
And then...
'...Ah.'
At that moment, Frey, who suddenly sent the star's mana into the canary I gave him.
He destroyed the canary I was supposed to enter, and smiled with relief... my first friend.
'No.'
Only then did I realize.
Once again, I had committed a grave wrong against him.
'Nooooooo!!!'
I rose from my spot late and ran at full speed toward Frey, who was being held by Kania and Irina.
'Cough... hack...'
But it was too late.
Frey, held by them, had already lost consciousness and was vomiting a large amount of blood from his mouth.
'Why, why did you do that? Why? Frey?'
'Haaah...'
'Why on earth? Why?'
I urgently embraced Frey, who had been seated on the ground by Kania and Irina, and asked with a trembling voice.
Drip.
'...Mmph.'
But what came from Frey's mouth wasn't an answer, but blood.
'N-no. No. You can't.'
Panicked, I covered Frey's mouth with my hand, not knowing what to do.
'Noooo...'
But the blood from his mouth seeped through my hand and began soaking my clothes and the floor.
As if saying no matter how much I struggled, the result couldn't be changed. As if mocking me, who tried to save him only to be saved instead.
'F-first, treatment...'
Eventually, when I gave up covering his mouth and pulled my hand away, his mouth covered in blood was revealed.
'Ugh...'
He was smiling.
As if relieved. As if glad to have protected me. As if his lifespan disappearing was no problem at all.
'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...'
I stared blankly at him, then pressed my forehead against his and began to sob.
'I won't do it again... Please...'
I hate myself for not letting go of my attachment despite deciding to protect him. Because of that, I came up with a ridiculous plan that made Frey decide to sacrifice himself.
I should have just turned into a canary without anyone knowing.
I should have flown away somewhere so no one would feel guilt.
And when Frey ended everything, only then I should have flown to the sky and asked for forgiveness.
Why, over that damn flower.
'Cough.'
'Mmph.'
While I was crying with these thoughts.
Frey, whose forehead was pressed against mine, vomited blood once more.
As a result, not only my clothes which were already covered in blood, but my face was also covered in blood now.
'I'm sorry... I'm sorry...'
However, I had no thought of wiping the blood. No thought of stopping my apologies. No thought of stopping my tears either.
'Ughhh...'
My only friend, my benefactor who secretly handled my enemies and selected informants for me, my one true subject.
A man who knew nothing of love, who I thought would never love, who I never dreamed I would come to love.
But that man, whom I loved and wanted more than anyone else... gave up his lifespan and vitality to protect me.
Frey's already short lifespan was cut in half again.
Because of me, because I realized. Because I came up with a strange plan.
'I will swear.'
After crying for a long time.
'No matter how much lifespan you have left, no matter what you do in the future, even if you become a villain.'
I whispered while nuzzling my face against Frey's forehead.
'I will become your own canary, serving you until the end.'
Having said that, I kissed Frey and placed my hand on his heart.
Because I had already used 'Oath' when I was young, I was trying to swear directly to his soul.
'...Huh?'
But what is this?
'What?'
I can't feel Frey's soul.
I can't feel his energy that should be felt from his heart at all.
'Frey... could it be...?'
My face instantly turned pale, but then I let out a sigh of relief when I realized through my hand on Frey's heart that his heart was still beating.
'Wait, then why can't I feel the soul?'
But the next moment, a new question overwhelmed me.
His heart is beating, but why can't I feel his soul? For a person, the soul is the most important thing.
A person without a soul is no different from someone in a vegetative state.
'C-could it be... because of me? Did something happen because of me?'
If the soul of someone who was perfectly fine until just now disappeared, there's only one reason.
Again, it's my fault again.
I killed Frey ag...
'...Ah!'
While I was trembling in despair, Frey's energy started to be felt from somewhere.
'T-thank goodness...'
Thank goodness, truly. If Frey's soul had disappeared because of me, I really wouldn't have been able to endure it.
It's fortunate his soul remains...
Wait.
Does this make sense?
A human soul being felt from somewhere other than the body?
.
"N-no way... Is this, possible?"
Clana, who had been continuously hit by the blood that the unconscious Frey was vomiting, stood up with an expression as if she had seen a ghost.
"F-first, we need to find the trace of the soul."
After looking around frantically, Clana began heading toward where Frey's faintly felt soul was located.
'Did the soul get ejected from the shock of the penalty? If so, this is serious...'
With each step she took, Clana's anxiety grew.
The phenomenon of 'soul displacement,' recorded in only a few cases among the vast number of books Clana had read, was rare and its treatment was equally troublesome.
'If the soul really has left the body, I must become a vessel even if it means gnawing away my own soul.'
A soul that has left a human body will wander the living world forever if it doesn't return to the original body within a certain time.
Because the connection with the main body weakens as time passes.
"I-is that it?"
Having vowed to contain Frey's soul even if her own soul was damaged if necessary, Clana hurried her steps with a tense expression as his soul grew stronger.
"Found..."
Clana, who walked and walked to finally reach her destination.
"...Huh?"
Froze in place.
"Greetings, Princess."
"...Clana."
There, somehow, were Kania, who had been sitting under a tree a short distance from where Frey was seated earlier and breathing heavily, and Irina, whose face was terribly distorted.
"What, what is going on?"
Clana, who had been staring blankly at them, opened her mouth with a pale, drained expression.
"Why... is Frey's soul being felt from you? Kania?"
"Well, about that. Lady Irina had devised a soul-swapping magic for this situation..."
Kania, who received Clana's question with trembling eyes, began to answer with a troubled expression.
"But the black magic power in Lady Irina's body was far from sufficient to stabilize the abnormally activated scroll..."
"Kania forcibly stole the magic circle engraved on my body."
Irina interrupted Kania's words and lifted Kania's top, causing a black magic circle to appear on her abdomen.
"S-so?"
"Yes, I activated the magic at the same time the young master received the penalty... Originally, as designed, the young master who entered my body should have received the penalty and my body's lifespan should have been cut in half."
"But why is Frey's soul being felt from you!!"
When Clana raised her voice, Kania quietly stroked her abdomen and said.
"It seems that I have ended up harboring the young master."
"...What?"
"It seems that due to the abnormally activated magic causing an error... I have ended up harboring the young master's soul."
Clana, who had been staring blankly after hearing those words, asked in a quiet voice.
"Then, is Frey's soul trapped inside you forever?"
"That's not the case. After a certain time, the soul will naturally return to the young master's body. And even if that doesn't happen, since I'm a black mage, manipulating souls is easy as pie..."
"Then, what about the penalty? His lifespan?"
"That's..."
"What about the hemoptysis he's vomiting right now?"
Then, Kania quietly raised her head.
"I don't know."
"What?"
She answered while looking at the opaque window floating in the air.
[System Error! Identification Code: s01]
[The soul's value is incorrect.]
[Searching for problem...]
[Conclusion: The soul's value changed during penalty application!]
[Finding solution...]
"...I also, don't really understand what's going on."