Episode 117
""".........."""
In the depths of night, a profound silence began to settle over the forest.
[Countermeasure search complete!]
"Hmm?"
Amidst that silence, Kania, who had been watching the system window floating in the air, quietly tilted her head.
[Return the soul to its original state.]
"......?"
[Return the soul to its original state immediately.]
For the entity that her Young Master called 'System' had suddenly begun issuing orders.
"Are you speaking to me right now?"
[To interact, please activate the help function.]
With an expression of disbelief, Kania asked, then read the text floating before her eyes and murmured in a low voice.
"...Help."
She spoke while recalling how her Young Master would sometimes mutter something when using the 'System' in the past.
[Help function activated!]
At that, a cheerful sound effect played as a new window opened, and Kania began to quietly glare at the contents floating before her eyes.
- You are currently violating the rules of the world. Such behavior disrupts the balance, so please restore things to their original state immediately.
"Restore to original state?"
When Kania asked with a puzzled expression, new text appeared below the system message floating in the air.
- Return Frey Raon Starlight's soul to its original body.
Watching the text written in a tone as if commanding a subordinate, Kania tapped her knee with her fingers, then snorted and answered.
"...What if I refuse?"
At that question, the System displayed no text whatsoever.
"Why should I follow your words? The words of the very culprit who caused my Young Master such suffering?"
And watching the situation unfold, Kania began to murmur in a cold voice.
- Refusing the proposal benefits neither of us. I am warning you, return the soul to its original state immediately.
But the System that responded again merely issued commands to Kania in an even more aggressive tone.
"I refuse."
Growing defiant, Kania quietly stroked the magic circle engraved on her abdomen, while Klana and Irina, who had been watching her from the side with anxious expressions, cautiously began to ask questions.
"Kania? What on earth is happening right now?"
"Kania, surely... you're not having a conversation with the 'System' right now?"
"Wait, Klana. How do you know about the 'System'?"
"Huh? W-well, that's..."
Ignoring their words, Kania, who had been lost in thought, soon began to speak with a smile.
"Seeing as you keep pressing me, there must be quite an important reason why my Young Master's soul must return to its original body immediately?"
The System did not respond even after hearing those words.
"Or perhaps, because my soul and my Young Master's soul have combined and created a so-called 'error'... has it become difficult to influence him any further?"
Even when Kania asked again, the System still did not respond.
As if struck to the core.
"...If not that, then is it both?"
Only after Kania whispered softly as if mocking the System did it once again open a window before her.
- If you do not return the soul within 10 seconds, I will impose Frey Raon Starlight's 'penalty' on you instead.
"That is what I wanted. That was my original plan anyway."
Eventually, the red window that appeared before her began counting down, but Kania merely smiled and continued stroking her abdomen.
- 6, 5, 4...
"After all, I was nothing more than a parasite that fed on my Young Master's life."
-3, 2, 1...
"Therefore, I will gratefully accept the penalty."
Thus, at the moment the countdown ended, Kania said those words and closed her eyes with a smile.
".........Hmm?"
But even after a considerable time passed, the penalty did not arrive.
"As I thought, it seems you cannot affect me due to this so-called 'error'."
With a triumphant smile, Kania declared to the System before her eyes in a proud voice.
"Then, who holds the upper hand now?"
This was a victory achieved by Kania, who had long ago decided that she could not trust the System Frey possessed.
"W-what is that?"
"My goodness."
"Klana? Irina? Why are you suddenly... huh?"
However, her triumphant smile did not last long.
- Gooooo...
"The... the sun?"
Because suddenly, a sun began to rise in the dark night sky.
"What in the world is..."
Even though sunrise was still a long time away, the sun that had risen into the sky in violation of natural law began to sway, emitting a hazy light in all directions.
"...According to the memories I recalled, the sun went out."
"What?"
"When Frey died, the sun went out."
Watching this sight, Klana suddenly began to murmur with a pale face.
Her hands trembling violently.
"That sun right now... it's not going out, but it's emitting an ominous energy. That means..."
"That means what?"
"Due to the change that occurred in Frey, something has happened to the sun."
As soon as those words ended, a system window rose before Kania.
- Please restore Frey's soul to its original state immediately. Otherwise, the world will face its end.
Unlike the aggressive and commanding text from earlier, the text that appeared this time felt somewhat urgent.
Questioning this change, Kania quietly asked.
"Why will the end come?"
- To explain simply, a problem has occurred because Frey's soul has departed but he is still alive. It is too late to explain in detail.
Reading the contents, Kania sighed and spoke.
"Very well, then... let's make a deal."
After those words, silence flowed for a moment.
"I don't know what that phenomenon is, but seeing how urgently you're rushing... if that phenomenon ends, you won't be safe either."
- This System is merely an assistant to help Frey...
Before the System's text could even finish, Kania spoke in a cold voice.
"Lies. If you truly wanted to help him, you would have overlooked it when the 'error' occurred."
As she finished speaking and crossed her arms with a resolute expression, the System, apparently quite urgent, began displaying messages without pause.
- If things continue as they are, the sun will shatter into pieces. If that happens, the world will end.
"That's why I'm saying let's make a deal. You don't want to die either."
- The System you are looking at is merely data that displays text...
"Don't lie. If that were true, why have I been sensing such a familiar energy from the system window floating in the air since earlier?"
That was true.
Since the sun appeared, the system window had been emitting an energy that was all too familiar to Kania.
Very dense 'black magic power' at that.
- Gooooooo!!
"I had already guessed your identity to some extent long ago. So stop with the petty tricks and agree to the deal."
Feeling that black magic power, Kania began to speak calmly while watching the increasingly shaking sun.
"Ending everything like this isn't what you want either, is it?"
Then, text appeared before her.
[Sudden Quest Generated!]
[Quest Content: Restore Frey's soul to its original state.]
- Reward: Limited to 'this penalty' only, nullification of Frey's lifespan reduction (The 'life force reduction' already given as a penalty cannot be revoked even by this System.)
- Price: Instead of reducing Frey's lifespan, the following curse will be bestowed upon 'Kania', the current System possessor.
"...Price?"
As she read through the text, Kania frowned at the 'Price' section.
- This System has an obligation to impose a penalty equivalent to half of Frey's remaining lifespan. Therefore, if you wish to make a deal, you must receive a corresponding price.
"So, what kind of curse will you give?"
[Curse of One Heart and Body]
- You, the target of this curse, will literally become one heart and one body with Frey.
Then, the information about the curse appeared kindly before her eyes.
- If Frey feels pain, you will also feel pain. If he feels sorrow, you will also feel sorrow. A curse truly befitting you, his loyal subordinate.
"Hah, well now."
Reading the description, Kania snorted and spoke.
"You seem quite desperate."
Saying that, she stood up and began to walk slowly.
"Kania...?"
"W-what on earth is this..."
Passing by Klana and Irina, who had been watching the shaking sun in the sky with anxious expressions while listening to the conversation she had murmured.
To Frey, who lay unconscious against a tree in the distance. One step. Then another step.
"Young Master."
Kania, who had been walking slowly, stopped in front of Frey.
"From now on, I will be with you."
She whispered in a low voice.
- Shaaaa...
Quietly breathing black magic power into her abdomen, she began to awaken his soul.
"So please, return with peace of mind."
Saying that, Kania, who had activated the magic circle, quietly began to reach her hand toward Frey.
"Then, only one last thing remains."
Kania, who had been doing so, stopped her reaching hand.
- Shuuuuuu...
"...Show me proof that I can trust you."
And glaring at the status window that was emitting an even more sinister energy than before, she spoke.
"I cannot trust you with just the quests the System is involved in. After all, you can intervene whenever you want, can't you?"
- This System does not have the authority to interfere with quests...
"No matter how you say that, since it's just a facade, it lacks credibility."
Even though the sun floating in the sky had begun to distort violently enough to look ominous just from watching.
"Therefore, prove that what you've said so far is true, and that you won't impose a penalty on my Young Master."
Kania, who had placed her hand on Frey's heart, spoke with a bitter smile.
"According to your words, it seems only a few seconds remain before the sun shatters into pieces, so hurry up."
To gain certainty about what she had suspected until now.
Preparing to return the soul to Frey's body at any time before the sun truly shattered.
She issued her final challenge to the System.
And as a result, a black system window that had never appeared before materialized before her eyes.
"W-what is this? This energy?"
"It's not Kania's black magic power...?"
That system window was emitting powerful black magic power strong enough for even Klana and Irina to sense its energy.
"As I thought, the one my damn parents served was you."
Kania, looking at that system window with a triumphant smile.
- Kajijijijijijijik!!
"Huaaaaaagh!!"
Slowly began to separate Frey's soul that was combined with her and breathe it back into his original body.
"Ugh..."
As a result, terrible pain struck her body, and the curse bestowed by the System seeped deep into her bones, sending chills throughout.
And feeling Frey's soul and the System's power slowly leaving her.
"Was it called mind reading? I heard it a few times in the past so I remember..."
She performed an action she had been desperately curious about, something she could only do at this moment.
"Hah."
And, looking at the information window that was probably the last she would see in her life.
"...Me too."
She answered in a low voice and gently closed her eyes.
[Frey Raon Starlight's Current Emotions: Worry, Affection, Love]
It was the moment when one-sided devotion became mutual.