Episode 214
"Hmm..."
Isollet is sitting in front of me, sipping tea.
"........"
Lulu and Irina, pressed close to my side, are glaring at Isollet with cold expressions.
"Um, hey... Sister."
"What is it."
"How long are you going to stay here?"
When I gently asked Isollet this question, her eyebrows rose.
Then, as if asking what I meant, she looked at me with eyes showing she didn't understand.
"The tea aroma is nice."
"I asked when you're leaving."
"What is the tea's name."
"......"
This situation has been continuing for a while now.
Ever since the investigation team withdrew, for some reason she started following me around, and has been staying at my house for several hours.
"Um, F-Frey. I'd like to see your room for a moment."
"Really? Well, I guess that's fine. Then..."
-Bang!
"...Huh?"
She said she wanted to see my room while subtly avoiding my gaze, and as soon as I gave permission, she went inside and closed the door.
"...What are you doing?"
"Haa... ah! No, I mean... You use a good bed. For weaklings like you, nothing is more important than a bed, so I was testing if you're using a good one."
".....?"
After she didn't come out for a long time, I thought something might have happened so I opened the door with the emergency key, only to find her lying on my bed with the covers over her, curled up.
"Why is the wardrobe drawer... never mind, forget it."
"I, I didn't do it. The investigation team... the investigation team did it."
There were signs that my room's wardrobe drawer had been opened.
"So this is the famous Starlight family's... underground warehouse."
"So, how long are you going to stay here?"
"...Ugh."
"Hey?"
Then she said she really wanted to see the underground warehouse, so we went in together, and she just stood there for dozens of minutes looking at me with gloomy eyes and trembling.
"........"
"Do you like it that much? Should I give you one?"
"Ah, no... I don't particularly need it..."
She was staring blankly with her mouth wide open at my childhood photo of me smiling, a photo of me sweating during sword training, and my academy entrance photo in uniform.
"Come to think of it, you said that there."
"Hm?"
"Sister, I like you! When I grow up, I'm going to marry you! You said..."
"........"
Or muttering that with a wistful expression at the training ground in the mansion's yard.
Anyway, after showing her around here and there without realizing how much time had passed, she's now leisurely drinking tea in front of me.
Thanks to that, I feel a bit troubled...
'Still, she did help me today.'
It's definitely true that she helped me today.
Originally, she's a capable knight who was offered the position of vice-captain of the knight order by the Imperial family and even the position of captain by the Church.
Moreover, since many knight orders were overhauled due to the Demon King's appearance, most knights are her junior knights or subordinates.
She's also the first daughter of one of the few noble marquis families, and recently she was even designated as the commander of the hero party.
There was no way the vice-captains who were appointed as captains of this investigation team could beat her in strength or power.
That's why, after failing to violate me, they had to receive disciplinary action from her for a while and reluctantly withdraw the investigation team.
Well, naturally that won't solve everything.
Quite a number of black magic tools and corruption ledgers have already been handed over, and although Isollet says she'll try to use today's 'incident' to reach some kind of settlement, whether that will work is uncertain.
"Huu."
Of course, neither matters to me.
If Isollet succeeds in reaching a settlement through some method, that just means I can buy time to prepare for the next attack.
And, if the settlement fails, I'll earn points anyway. So there's no problem...
...Is there really no problem?
-Thump...!
"Ugh."
Suddenly, a sharp pain struck my heart.
"Frey!"
"Master!"
As I clutched my heart with a pale expression, Lulu and Irina were startled and grabbed me.
"Ah..."
And at the same time, Isollet, who was drinking tea in front of me, froze.
'...Annoying.'
Lately, the frequency of sharp pains in my heart has increased significantly.
Seeing that it doesn't improve at all even after taking painkillers, it must be a psychological issue after all?
"M-Master..."
While I was thinking that, Lulu approached me with a frightened expression.
*Lick.*
And then, she suddenly licked my lips slightly with her tongue.
*Lick, lick.*
With a frightened expression, holding my arm, she licked every corner of my lips and whispered in my ear with a trembling voice.
"D-don't worry..."
"Hm?"
"I'll find a way... s-somehow..."
Her lips were slightly stained with fresh blood.
'...I thought it was just simple anxiety symptoms.'
Lately, whenever I worry about something, my heart aches pricklingly, so I thought anxiety symptoms had flared up.
But the heart pain wasn't caused only by anxiety symptoms.
The fact that my body has started to slowly die is probably the biggest reason.
Seeing that coughing up blood, which used to require physical strain, now happens just from feeling slightly anxious, that must be it.
Well, with 3 penalties and a special penalty, it's understandable... but if this continues, it's still problematic.
Is there really no way to restore the tragically reduced lifespan and vitality?
"Hmm..."
Feeling my heart grow hot with such thoughts, I quietly summoned the system window in the air.
[Hidden Quest: Remove Serena's Subordination Curse]
[Rewards: ???, ???, ???, ???, Serena's 19+ event liberation, Highest priority designation]
'Perhaps, there might be a way.'
The ancestor definitely said that 'Serena's Subordination Curse' only had an unlock code but no method to execute that code in the game was implemented.
And there was one more thing in that format.
That is, the code to increase my vitality and lifespan.
'If I clear this quest, the subordination curse will be lifted. That means...'
A method to execute the 'code' that solves the subordination curse, which had no solution, has somehow appeared before my eyes now.
That means there's also a method somewhere to increase my lifespan and vitality.
Of course, when I asked the system before, it said there's no method in the system to increase my lifespan and vitality.
But that might have been limited only to the system.
And at that time, the 'update' hadn't been done yet.
[System Update in progress........]
Seeing that system busily running with only the affection system update completed while all other functions are stopped...
It's worth hoping for.
-Thump...!
"...Haa."
Of course, I need to fix this 'anxiety symptom' that suddenly flared up too.
If I cough up blood just from getting a little anxious, nothing would be more troublesome.
"........"
After being lost in thought for a while, I raised my head to see everyone around me staring blankly at me.
"Whimper..."
Lulu rubbing her head against my side while sobbing.
"Even now, it's not too late... if I feed her good food and spiritual medicines... I have to make sure..."
Isollet muttering while in panic.
"......."
Irina silently linking arms with me.
"Hm."
Looking at them, a thought suddenly comes to mind.
'So... what exactly is the age-restricted event...'
First of all, Isollet, who's looking at me with gloomy eyes right now, definitely has related events.
They may be 'lower priority events,' but there are as many as 3 of them.
I don't really know what kind of events they are though.
'Also, what is this highest priority event...?'
First, Lulu, who's rubbing her cheek against my side while sobbing, has events open.
So nominally she's the highest priority, but something quite interesting is happening in the system window.
[Affection System
Irina, Cania, Klana [Highest Priority Candidates]
Lulu, Isollet [Potential Candidates]
※ Event occurrence for potential candidates is completely random.
Currently, that text next to the names of three people is flashing in different colors.
Cania in black, Irina in red, Klana in yellow.
[Candidate selection deadline: Until the last day of vacation.]
As if they're competing.
So does that mean one of the three... no, one of the five will have an event with me this vacation?
Come to think of it, didn't Serena's unlock event appear just now? But for now, only the quest name and rewards have appeared...
There's no method of progression, no solution method, not even an accept button, so I can't do anything.
Anyway, judging by the system window text, it seems like an event will happen during this vacation.
Who will have an event with me?
'...I don't know.'
It's quite interesting, but that's not what's important right now.
No, it might be quite important... anyway, what's more important is the 'potential abilities' of each heroine.
Judging by appearances, it seems that when you complete their routes, their potential abilities are liberated.
Then could it be.
Do I have to seduce... all of them?
-Beep beep, beep!
While I was startled by the conclusion I reached after much thought, mechanical sounds came from in front.
"...Hello."
Soon, Isollet took out a communication magic tool from her bosom and started a conversation.
"That was a legitimate exercise of authority. So... yes?"
Judging by her expression, some kind of problem seems to have arisen.
"...Understood, then."
After talking on the phone for a while, she hung up and looked at me intently.
"It seems I have to go now."
Then, Isollet stood up from her seat with a regretful expression.
"...Come to my house in a week. We need to train, and let's talk about what we couldn't finish then."
I explained to her earnestly earlier that I'm not terminally ill anymore, but for some reason she didn't seem to believe it.
"Well then..."
"Hey, Sister."
As I watched her head to the front door with a dark expression, I finally voiced the question I'd been wondering whether to ask.
"...What's that you've been keeping in your bosom since earlier?"
".....!"
At that, she flinched and stopped in her tracks while heading out.
"T-th-this...?"
She then carefully took something out of her bosom.
"Y-you gave it to me."
"......."
What Isollet showed me was the photo albums of mine that she had been staring at blankly for dozens of minutes earlier.
"Is that... so?"
"Y-yes. No problem at all."
But her stomach was still bulging out.
Her stomach, which had never protruded even once in her life due to lifetime high-intensity training, was bulging.
"Come to think of it, why was my closet door..."
"G-goodbye."
When I tilted my head and took a step toward her, she hurriedly ran to the entrance.
-Click.
Like that, she quickly left my mansion.
"...Haa."
A sense of relief I felt for some reason when Isollet disappeared from the mansion, and at the same time, a strange sense of regret.
"...What?"
Feeling such complicated emotions while sitting on the sofa, Irina frowned and stood up.
"Klana has... already arrived? Why? How come?"
".....?"
Communicating without even a communication crystal... could she be using sound transmission right now?
"...Grr."
I was staring blankly at her doing something that would overturn the magic academic world in daily life, and she started biting her lip.
"Frey, I think I need to go somewhere for a bit."
"O-okay..."
"If it seems dangerous, send a sound transmission immediately. Or tear this scroll. I'll come help right away."
Then, after giving me an armful of scrolls.
"You broke the promise... Klana!"
She left the mansion shouting fiercely.
"What could it be..."
Feeling an inexplicable chill, I stared blankly at her retreating figure.
"...Right, Serena was supposed to come."
I was going to prepare to welcome Serena, who was supposed to visit my house today with the results of the request I had entrusted.
"Master..."
"Hm?"
Lulu, who had been sitting quietly next to me, looked around for a moment, then quietly wrapped her arm around mine, making me tilt my head.
"Now, it's just... the two of us alone, Master?"
Lulu, who had been staring at me intently.
"I have something to say, Master."
Finally, she whispered in a low voice.
"Please listen."
.
Meanwhile, at that time.
"Heheheung~ heheung~"
"...Sigh."
Serena, who was smiling foolishly for some reason, entered the Starlight mansion together with Miho, who had a very dissatisfied expression.
"Meeting Frey~♪ Going on a date too~♪ Hehe..."
"Human, are you a genius? Or are you a madman?"
"Hehehe, hehe..."
Ignoring Miho's question, she just smiled foolishly while crossing the mansion's yard.
".....?"
Then, she started tilting her head.
"What is it?"
Because an unidentified movement in the grass near the mansion's window was caught by her sharp eyes.
"...Hmm?"
Serena's eyes, which had been wearing a foolish smile, flashed sharply.
"B-blood... coughing up blood... ugh..."
Aishi, who had come to check on Frey's condition on the pretext of playing together that day, witnessed Frey coughing up blood and ended up sobbing alone.
"F-Frey isn't terminally ill... it must be a lie. Mhm mhm."
And Rosewin, with anxious eyes, kept looking around while hiding in the mansion's grass.