Episode 16
"...Ugh."
Having arrived at the school dormitory, I quietly sighed and began wrapping bandages around my back.
Though it was a situation requiring professional treatment, I had to finish emergency first aid as quickly as possible since I didn't know when Kania might burst into the dormitory.
'...Damn system. If it's going to toy with me like this, it should at least provide some items related to treatment.'
Cursing the petty system as I miserably administered emergency aid with bandages, I suddenly began seething with anger.
To think they'd give someone working this hard to protect the world nothing but a mask that can only hide his identity for one minute per week, or a whip that doesn't even hurt when you strike someone... No matter how much this system is centered around 'acting evil'... isn't this too much?
At the very least, they should give me ointment that heals wounds immediately upon application, or a potion that restores vitality instantly upon drinking.
Thinking such thoughts while fuming, I soon twisted my body with a deeply contorted expression as the pain in my back returned once more.
'...I'm going to go crazy, really.'
Honestly, at this point, even with a mental strength stat of 9, my mental state wavers.
No matter how much I'm the only person who can save the world, no matter how much the world will perish if I don't do this, no matter how much I know there's a chance to come back to life and enjoy comfortable living again.
Being tainted by evil deeds can somehow be resolved by thoroughly separating myself as the one acting evil from myself as the hero.
I can endure being persecuted and hated by the heroines, by the people around me. Because if I'm not hated by them, those I love will die.
But the loneliness is impossibly hard to bear.
This lonely penance without a single person who understands me sometimes shakes even me, who carries the identity of a hero.
So sometimes I wonder if I really need to compulsively commit evil acts like this, and think how nice it would be to reign as a stylish and imposing mastermind of the underworld, steadily collecting points.
However, that's a wish that cannot be fulfilled.
Because I must become not a magnificent mastermind who uses noble and refined language, but an ugly, pathetic, and childish third-rate villain.
According to the prophetic book left by my ancestor, among the alignments available when following the 'One Who Acts Evil route,' the alignment with the highest clear rate is precisely the 'third-rate villain' type I'm following.
The reason is the 'cumulative notoriety system' that will soon be added to the system.
The cumulative notoriety system is one that evaluates my infamy spread throughout the world once per week and converts it to points.
That system is the core of cores in the 'Path of the One Who Acts Evil' system that can literally draw in points... and the alignment that system rewards most generously is said to be this 'third-rate villain' alignment.
Actually, when you think about it, it's an obvious story.
For example, if you ask someone passing by on the street right now if they know Count Justiano, a big shot of the underworld notorious for his evil fame, eight or nine out of ten would shake their heads.
But if you ask if they know Frey, the infamous young master and first son of the Starlight Duke family, eight or nine out of ten would nod their heads.
As can be seen from this example, a scoundrel notorious throughout the empire is perceived by the world as a worse person than a mastermind known only to those in the know, who quietly and secretly reigns in the underworld.
Therefore, the 'third-rate villain' alignment, which has excellent advantages in terms of earning points, was ironically said to be the alignment with the lowest selection frequency in the game from my ancestor's original world.
The reason is simple.
Because the game's story becomes too bleak.
While the clear rate is quite high, users who play the game with that alignment feel extreme fatigue, so people who play games for fun never select the 'third-rate villain' alignment.
However, I chose the 'third-rate villain type' that could almost certainly save everyone except me if done properly.
Because this place where I exist is not 'Blacktail Fantasy 2,' a game for fun and entertainment, but the Sunrise Empire where my beloved family and acquaintances actually live and breathe.
"Let's see. Yes, this much should be perfe... hmm?"
Having thus shaken off lingering regrets and steadied my mind, I finished bandaging inside my clothes and was checking in the mirror to see if the bandaging was visible when I suddenly noticed something strange.
"...Where did my brooch go?"
The star-shaped brooch I had secretly specially ordered from the back alley's owner, which could remotely transmit life force to Kania in emergencies, had disappeared.
It seems I must have dropped it in the back alley... but I have no sense of exactly where I dropped it.
Did I lose it while fighting the Succubus Queen? Did it fall while I was being chased by the heroines at the auction house? Or did it roll away somewhere when I was pushing through the crowds?
'...It hurts to lose it.'
Thinking of the cost that went into making the brooch, I want to put on my coat and go search for it right now, but unfortunately I can't do that.
My current physical condition requires rest immediately, and if I go around making a scene in the back alley trying to find the brooch, I might be discovered by the main heroines.
'...Come to think of it, what happened to the owner?'
The owner who was beaten unconscious by Isollette had been abandoned in the middle of the street by her due to the emergency of the terror incident.
He probably woke up before long, but with his shop destroyed, asking the suddenly unemployed owner to make the brooch again might be difficult.
Still, the fortunate thing is... I had made a spare in advance in case of losing the 'remote life force transmission brooch.'
I began rummaging through a secret pocket I had made with magic in the front pocket of the bag I brought from home to take out the spare brooch and attach it to my chest.
"...Hmm?"
But then, a scrap of paper somehow got caught in my hand along with the brooch.
'...I didn't put any paper in here?'
Tilting my head for a moment, I discovered some writing inside the crumpled paper and spread it open fully.
- To my beloved son.
".......!"
And the moment I read the first line, my hands holding the letter began trembling violently.
The first line of the letter written in 'Hangeul,' the language left by the previous hero, was written in my father's handwriting that had perfectly imitated the previous hero's script.
- Were you surprised seeing this note? Yes, you would have to be surprised. I was quite surprised just moments ago myself.
"...W-why? There was no such note in the previous cycle?"
Since there definitely wasn't such a note in the bag's secret space in the previous cycle, I worried whether some unknown variable other than the main heroines' memories had occurred, and as I read down through the contents, I soon breathed a sigh of relief.
- Yes, so you succeeded in returning after mutually destroying each other with the Demon King? I can tell since the strange phrase [Memory Adjustment 10 Minutes Ago] has appeared before my eyes.
"...Ah, so that's what it was."
Relieved that it wasn't a variable harmful to me caused by the system, I began reading the rest of the letter's contents.
- So how did you kill me? Poison? Strangulation? Decapitation? Drowning?
And the moment I saw the next content of the note, I tightly closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them again and began reading the next content without even thinking to control my trembling hands.
- Surely you didn't not kill me because of father-son affection or something? No, that couldn't be. 'Parricide' is an act absolutely necessary to make the Hero's Armament run wild, you see.
The note's content is correct. In the previous cycle, I killed my father with my own hands.
To make the 'Hero's Armament,' which offers blind loyalty to the direct bloodline of the 'Starlight' family, the family of heroes, run wild, that direct bloodline had no choice but to commit terrible sins.
And among those terrible sins, the 'event' that absolutely had to occur was parricide. In other words, the protagonist killing his own father with his own hands.
Honestly, that moment when I killed my father was my greatest crisis. To save my father, I had to kill him with my own hands... what a terrible fate is this?
That's why, after returning, the person I wanted to see most was my father... but I deliberately avoided meeting my father. No matter how unavoidable it was, when I see my father's face... I felt like I would go crazy remembering that scene.
- Anyway, my son who is now reading this note. I hope you'll listen carefully to what I'm about to say.
Thus, I was trying my best not to recall that moment again, when I read the next passage and froze for a moment.
- This father is sorry.
"............."
Staring at that passage for a moment, I slowly began reading down through the next content.
- I hate myself so much for pushing such responsibility onto you, who was kinder and more pure than anyone else.
"Father..."
- If only I had been the one subject to that prophecy instead... or if I could have taken on that fate in your place, it would have been good. Unlike a kind child like you, this worthless old man would have been more suited to committing evil deeds.
"...What kind of nonsense is that."
Feeling a tear drop from my eye at some point, I recalled the appearance of my cheerful father who was, if anything, kinder than me, certainly not worse, and gave a bitter laugh.
- Honestly, there are many things I want to apologize for and many things I want to write, but... time is short, and it would be ridiculous for me to ramble on when you're the one who suffered, so I think I should leave my final words here.
"............."
Feeling considerable regret at those words as I read the final passage, my eyes went wide.
- I've opened a nominee account at the Imperial Bank. Originally, I was going to leave complex hints so that only clever you could understand, but with this opportunity, I'll do away with that.
'...A nominee account?'
- There, I've put away the money I've saved for your second cycle. Of course, it's not the Duke family's assets but money earned from personal business... so there won't be problems even if memories are adjusted.
After examining the password and authentication method written in the letter for a moment, I hung my head reading the content written in the postscript.
- ps. I love you, son.
[Abraham Laon Starlight]
Thus, with my head lowered and shoulders heaving, I worried that Kania might suddenly come in and forcibly swallowed my tears, pushed the letter back into the secret space, and headed to bed.
".....Ugh."
Lying on the bed for a moment to calm my mind, I soon felt a terrible pain in my back and grit my teeth as I muttered.
"...I'm a hero. So... this much... is nothing."
Somehow feeling like someone was sneering and whispering 'Really?' in my ear, I muttered once more powerlessly.
"It's nothing... really......"
It seems it will be hard to fall asleep tonight.
.
"...I have returned, young master."
"............."
"Young master, it's late at night, but if there's anything you'd like..."
"...Not needed."
Eventually, having lain powerlessly on the bed until Kania came, I answered with a blank expression, having lost even the will to act evil.
"Young master, if I may ask...."
"...Yeah?"
"...Are you ill somewhere?"
But Kania asks me a strange question. Does my appearance look that wretched?
"...Mind your own business."
"........."
When I answered without enthusiasm, Kania quietly looked at me like that, then took out a black cat doll from her bosom, placed it on the desk, and headed to her cot.
"Young master, you should at least change your clothes before sleeping."
"...I told you to mind your own business."
"...Then, sleep well."
"...Yeah."
Thus, after the lights went out, I lay with my eyes open blankly for several hours, and after confirming that Kania had completely fallen asleep, I approached her with a hollow expression.
"...Well then, let's do it today too."
Having placed my hand on her stomach and shared life force with her for a while, I suddenly bent at the waist from a surging nausea and began vomiting blood onto the floor.
"...Cough, cough!! Cough!!! What the, why on earth... ah, I overdid it today..."
Since giving her life force had become a habit, and my body was so overworked that my head wasn't working properly, I ended up vomiting blood after giving her life force even though I too was in a state of life force deficiency.
"...Damn, I'll have to stop here for today."
Feeling weakness throughout my body as I wiped the floor, I suddenly began looking at the cat placed on the desk.
The cat that had always been in Kania's arms and was out on the desk for the first time in a while was quite welcome, so I smiled and picked up the cat and began stroking it.
"...Kitty, a lot happened today."
"..........."
"I can't tell you everything because it would take all night... but roughly speaking, I think I barely survived at least 3 life-threatening crises."
"............"
"And... I read a letter with father's true feelings in it. I really almost burst into tears then... but I held it in. Because I'm a hero."
"...Honestly, it's hard. It's so hard I could die, but what can I do? I'm a hero. I have no choice but to do my best."
".............."
Having no one to confide these words to, I was confiding my inner thoughts while looking at the cat, and when tears started flowing from my eyes again, I tightly closed my eyes and muttered.
"...Wait, just a moment... I'll just be like this for a moment..."
Hugging the cat that somehow felt warm, I began shedding tears while trying not to make a sound lest Kania wake up.
"...I guess even a hero... can't help finding things hard..."
Having cried for a long while, when my heart felt somewhat relieved, I put down the cat and headed to bed.
"...I really need to buy one of those."
Thus, closing my eyes and falling asleep, I had a dream of running around playing with a black cat and had a peaceful sleep for the first time in a while.
.
"...Young master, please wake up."
"......Mm."
I was rolling around on the belly of a giant black cat when Kania shook me awake.
"...It's already morning."
Looking at the window and realizing morning had come, I got up from my seat and stretched, savoring the refreshing feeling I had for the first time in a while.
'...How long has it been since I cried? I didn't cry much even in the previous cycle.'
I had rarely cried, except when Isollette died, when the heroines died, and when I killed my father with my own hands, but I really had a proper cry.
Perhaps, being placed in an unreasonable situation where the heroines' memories returned and the difficulty rose several times higher than the previous cycle, I had a lot built up.
'...But I feel quite refreshed? Is it because I cried my heart out?'
Wondering this, I turned on the information window, and a quite surprising situation was displayed.
[Name: Frey Laon Starlight]
[Abilities: Strength ???/ Magic ???/ Intelligence ???/ Mental Strength 9.3]
[Special Notes: Protection of the Stars/Exhaustion/Life Force Deficiency]
[Alignment: Hero]
'...Mental strength went up by 0.3?'
According to the prophetic book, when stats are above 9, the values don't rise easily without some kind of catalyst. Then, could holding the cat doll and crying yesterday have been the catalyst for the increase?
'...Well, one should have days to let out emotions sometimes.'
Perhaps last night was a crisis point for whether my mental state would break or not. But since my mental strength stat is nearly top-tier, I was able to endure such a crisis well with just the help of a cat doll.
Well, hugging a cat doll and shedding tears is a bit embarrassing... but thanks to that, the fortune of my mental strength stat rising came, and my mood became refreshed too, so I can accept that much.
"Kania, what are you standing around for? Bring my breakfast!"
Having finished those thoughts, I snapped at Kania as usual and ordered her to bring breakfast.
"........."
"...What are you doing?"
But something is strange. Kania isn't following my command and is just looking straight at me.
"...Young master, let me tell you an interesting story."
"...What?"
As Kania, who had been looking at me for a while, said something absurd, I frowned and was about to shout for her to just bring breakfast...
"Forget it! Just bring breakfast...!"
"Yesterday, I went to the auction house in the back alley, you see..."
"Bring, it..."
Hearing the words that came from her mouth, I trailed off and urgently began turning my brain.
"...The back alley auction house, how interesting. Continue speaking."
"However, there I discovered someone wearing a sword identical to the one the master used."
"...Is that so?"
The moment she mentioned my father's sword, I suddenly recalled that my beloved sword was a gift from my father.
'...It was so clean and sharp that I thought it was newly ordered from a craftsman, but that was a sword my father used!?'
For a moment lamenting my father's stingy side, I then recalled that was all to prepare my funds, quietly cleared my throat, and responded to her words.
"Couldn't it just be similar? Or perhaps that person was my father who came out for some fresh air."
"...Is that so?"
"...Yes, so stop with the nonsense stories and now just..."
"...Ah, young master. You dropped your brooch."
"Ah? Mm..."
Trying to dismiss her words as misunderstanding or coincidence and get her to bring breakfast, when she bowed and held out my brooch, I unconsciously took it and reached my hand to my chest.
"...Huh?"
But on my chest, a star-shaped brooch was already prominently pinned.
"The person with the sword dropped that brooch, you see... but that brooch is exactly the same as the one you always wear, isn't it?"
".........."
"Surely you won't say that too is a coincidence?"
When Kania quietly interrogated me, I desperately began making excuses.
"...This is a brooch I bought from a magic tool shop in the back alley. It was quite a famous place, so that guy probably bought that brooch there too."
"...Where is that shop?"
"It's gone, that place."
"Didn't you just say it was famous?"
"The owner there got into a dispute with someone with a violent temper, you see. So the shop was completely destroyed."
"...I see."
"Yes, so stop with the nonsense and..."
Having somehow made excuses while sweating cold sweat, I was trying to send Kania out first and think about future countermeasures...
"...Ah, young master! Over there!"
".....?"
When she suddenly made an astonished expression and pointed behind me, I quickly turned around thinking perhaps a demon lord executive who found out about yesterday's events had invaded.
And at that moment...
- Kuh!
"...Arghhhhhh!"
She pressed hard on my back, and I screamed, clutching my back as I fell face-down on the bed.
"W-what are you doing right now..."
"...Isn't this the technique you used on me yesterday, young master?"
".......!!!"
Kania looked at me, who stood there with my mouth agape at those words, with an expression of disbelief and asked.
"...Yesterday, why did you save me? Young master?"
"Ah..."
And, at that moment...
[Penalty triggered!]
"...I really don't understand. And I can't understand what happened early this morning either. So please, convince me properly..."
"...No!!!"
".....!?"
The system window I had desperately hoped wouldn't appear rose before my eyes.
[Permanent Debuff: Fate of the One Who Acts Evil]
[User's lifespan and life force greatly reduced!]
[Stack: 1]
"Young master? What's wrong..."
"Kuh-heuk!!!"
"...Kyah!?"
Looking at that system window with an expression of despair, I soon vomited more blood than ever and muttered inwardly.
'...No wonder my luck seemed good.'
Thus, having collapsed forward while vomiting blood, I looked at Kania reaching out to me with eyes beginning to close, and then lost consciousness.
".............Young master?"
Meanwhile, Kania, who had reached out and caught Frey as he fell forward, looked at Frey, who had lost consciousness and gone limp, with a bewildered expression and began shaking him.
However, making her actions in vain, that day Frey did not regain consciousness.