Episode 246
"Umm..."
Clutching my head that felt like it would split, I opened my eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling.
"......?"
Having just opened my eyes, I tried to hold onto my still groggy mind while looking around, only to realize there was a ticklish feeling near my feet, so I lifted my head.
"Umm..."
Then Lulu came into view, curled up at the foot of the bed where I was lying, eyes closed and breathing quietly.
"Frey... please be safe..."
Staring blankly at her, I quietly turned my gaze toward a sound coming from beside me.
"Please..."
Klana was burying her face in the bed while holding my hand.
'...What is this?'
Did I drink alcohol again? I couldn't understand the current situation at all. Where is this place and why are these two acting like this?
"What is this..."
Trying desperately to grasp the situation, I looked around frantically, then lifted my head to stare at the headboard and was left speechless.
""........""
A black cat doll, a white owl and pigeon, and a red puppy were gathered together looking down at me.
For reference, the canary was also there, but for some reason it was pushed to the very end. It seems to be sleeping curled up now, but why does it look so wrinkled?
"What... is going on?"
When I couldn't hold back and asked while looking at their round eyes that were different from usual.
".....!"
"Frey...?"
Lulu and Klana raised their heads simultaneously and looked at me, then their eyes went wide as they rushed toward me.
"Master!!"
"Frey, you're awake!?"
While bewildered by their intense reactions, I quietly nodded, and the two girls buried their heads in my embrace at the same time.
*Lick, lick, lick.*
Lulu's tongue, which had been making low puppy whining sounds, dug into my neck and started licking me intensely.
"Whimper... whine..."
Watching her look at me while licking my neck wildly, then drooping her ears with a sad expression and nestling into my arms, it felt like a wet puppy wagging its tail, so I decided to just let it be.
"Frey, you... lost consciousness for a whole week."
"What?"
But the words Klana uttered while burying her face in my embrace and then cautiously meeting my eyes were not ordinary.
A whole week passed? What on earth does that mean?
"...Ugh!"
Astonished, I tried to recall my last memory, and the memory of giving Lulu a lap pillow in the carriage came to mind.
Lulu kept scratching the top of her head, so I slowly stroked it, and then I closed my eyes from the fatigue that washed over me, but I couldn't remember anything after that.
If so, does that mean I've been unconscious since I closed my eyes back then?
"You said she'd recover in a few days! That's nonsense. The doctor said it was a fatal injury."
When I still had a dazed expression, Klana glared at me and pressed on.
"I used all my power to gather doctors and medicinal ingredients, and created a recovery room."
"Recovery room?"
"Just by lying here, your body will automatically feel at ease and the healing effect will increase."
Only then did the room's scenery start to enter my eyes.
All kinds of rare herbs and potions obtained from the Eastern and Western Continents, and recovery magic circles that looked like many people had been worked to the bone creating.
It was enough healing power to make even a hemiplegic person fully recover.
"........"
But what made my heart tremble the most was the condition of Lulu and Klana.
Both of them had been taking care of me for a week, perhaps not eating properly, as they were thin with sunken eyes.
- Stroke... stroke...
"So, what happened during the past week?"
But there's no time to be immersed in sadness.
Losing consciousness for a week and wasting time is quite a big risk.
"...People all think you're missing."
So when I urgently asked, Klana glanced at Lulu, who was rubbing her head against my stomach, and answered.
"Except for the fact that you were critically injured... all the plans were perfectly completed. Perloche has almost fully recovered too. So you don't need to worry."
"...I see."
"Venere formed an investigation team to find your whereabouts... Thanks to that, the surveillance is quite severe, but this is a secret hideout I prepared, so it'll be fine. Originally, most people think you're dead anyway."
Klana's eyes as she spoke were quietly shining.
"There were some minor troubles... but we took care of them ourselves."
"...That's right."
And Lulu, who had been looking at Klana and nodded, also had eyes that were...
"With Klana-san... I bit off all the people who were interfering with Master."
...shining darkly.
For some reason, these two started to feel slightly scary.
"Frey, rest a bit."
"Master, please rest comfortably."
Thanks to that, when I broke out in a cold sweat, the two girls rushed to wipe my sweat and laid me back on the bed.
'My body is fully recovered though...'
Perhaps because I received such thorough treatment for a week, my current physical condition is perfectly healthy.
Of course, the penalty remains the same, but I'm maintaining a condition where I feel like I could fly.
But thinking about it, since there's nothing particular going on, just preserving my body doesn't seem bad either.
Originally, I'm currently in a missing state.
I do plan to announce that I'm alive before returning to the Academy as a second-year, but until then, I'll be able to enjoy a peaceful vacation again.
"Frey, are you going to announce to the world that you're alive?"
Reading my thoughts somehow, Klana looked down at me and asked.
"Just... can't we maintain the missing status?"
"What do you mean?"
"Public opinion is too bad."
Klana's eyes as she spoke were quietly trembling.
"I tried to suppress it, but rather, it backfired. If you're found alive, half the public opinion says to execute you, and half says to strip your noble title..."
"I, I'll brainwash all the imperial citizens with my evil eye! I'll make them all Master's dogs...! No, since I'm the only dog, I'll make them slaves..."
- Stroke...
"Huh?"
Listening to her words, I reached out my hand to the head of Lulu, who had been rubbing her head against my stomach and then blurted out a terrible statement while burning with motivation.
- Shaaa...
"Ur? Urur..."
Soon, I stroked her head and cast star magic to put Lulu to sleep, then looked at Klana and spoke.
"I'll announce that I'm alive soon, so strip my noble title, Klana."
"What!?"
"Temporarily, I mean. Not permanently."
Then Klana, with her eyes wide open, asked with a puzzled expression.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Her appearance was so unlike the prickly princess that I burst into laughter, and Klana spoke with an angry expression.
"There are two advantages."
"No, wait a minute."
"First, doing so will accumulate even more points for me, making me stronger. It's not a year, just a few months, but that should still earn me quite a lot of points."
"Wait..."
"Second, it benefits you in completely taking control of the imperial family."
When I gave her a logical explanation, she, who had been holding my shoulder and trying to say something, quietly closed her mouth.
"The Empress is currently under investigation, but her son is still holding on, right? The Emperor is also still alive and well."
"........"
"In this situation, to drive a wedge, there's nothing better than you, the enemy of everyone, finding me and temporarily demoting me to a commoner."
Klana, listening to my words, kept holding my shoulder and staring blankly.
"After that, I have a plan, so don't feel too burdened and..."
"Then will you be happy?"
"Huh?"
Taking that as agreement, I was about to finish speaking while recalling the plan, but Klana interrupted my words.
"If that happens, will you really be happy?"
She had a very sad expression.
"I'm not weak anymore. I have all the power I need to protect you."
"Klana."
"And, I want to make you happy."
Hearing those words, I fell into silence just as she had done earlier.
"Don't sacrifice your happiness for me anymore. Same for other people."
She said that and quietly stroked my head with her hand.
"...I was pursuing my happiness."
"....?"
Why? For some reason, Klana in front of me no longer felt difficult.
From the previous cycle, I thought she was just a troublesome person to deal with, a hard worker and strict ruler, but I didn't know she had a side like what I just saw.
"What I just said was pursuing my happiness."
"What do you mean..."
"Seeing you become Emperor is... one of my ten wishes and a dream."
"......!"
So I revealed the bucket list that had been caught by Kania with an embarrassed expression, and she opened her mouth wide.
"You ascending to the throne and looking down at the world, and me looking up at you like that was my dream."
"........."
"If you become Emperor, this rotten Empire will return to normal. For that, I can willingly accept things like this."
After my words ended, silence flowed for a while.
"W-where... will you watch from?"
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Klana's face turned red, and she whispered in a low voice.
"Will you watch from below? Or... will you watch beside me?"
"Uh..."
"I, I... fully respect your choice..."
Looking at her stumbling over her words with a face red as a beet, I was pondering to understand the meaning of those words.
"Hwaaahm..."
"Anyway, let's discuss this story again later."
When Lulu woke up with a yawn, I ended the conversation vaguely and pulled the blanket over myself.
"I, I'm sorry..."
"Were you very sleepy, Lulu?"
I was stroking the head of Lulu, who was lying on top of me in a completely prone position like a dog, and since I was free now, I quietly closed my eyes to get some more sleep.
[Main Quest - Hero Appointment Ceremony Cleared!]
[Reward......]
"...Tsk."
But when the system window appeared before my eyes at that moment, I frowned and started reading through the contents roughly.
[....Skill Enhancement Ticket x2 (One can be used per skill)]
"Hmm?"
But the reward written at the end of the window that appeared looked quite decent.
'Did he eat something wrong...?'
Being able to raise skills that require enormous points to enhance, without consuming points, was quite a big gain.
Why would the Demon God give such a benefit? Shouldn't he desperately refuse to give it?
"Hmm..."
After pondering for a while, I soon recalled that this reward was a fixed reward for clearing this scenario quest.
'The Demon God can interfere with the system, but... can't completely overhaul everything?'
If my guess is correct, this was quite good news.
Doesn't this mean there might be limits to the petty things the Demon God does?
[Affection System] (LV 3 -> LV 4)
- Overall system enhancement
[Telepathy] (LV 1 -> LV 2)
- Usage limit changed to cooldown application
- Outputs thoughts the other person is currently harboring, in order of strongest thoughts. (Maximum 4 types)
Moreover, I had been pouring all my points into the Hero's Armament awakening, so I hadn't had a chance to invest in skills, but this was completely free.
Thanks to that, I looked at the system with a smile for the first time in a while and raised the skills with extreme caution.
"Master?"
"...Frey?"
While I was smiling pleasantly even after completing the level up, Klana and Lulu were tilting their heads, so I decided to test the function of the leveled-up Telepathy.
[Klana's current emotions: Anxiety/Emotion/Worry/Sadness/Excitement/Fluttering]
[Klana's current thoughts]
- I want to keep holding hands with Frey.
- I want to protect him somehow.
- I'm depressed and sad because I keep losing to other women all the time.
- I want to become his wife rather than making him my husband.
"Uh... um..."
The power of Telepathy was more powerful than I thought.
- Stroke...
"F, Frey?"
With my face flushed and mumbling, I lowered my gaze and cautiously held Klana's hand.
"...Hehe."
Then she, who had been looking down at me with round eyes, soon smiled bashfully and gently closed her eyes, leaning her body against the bed.
"I, I can... do it too..."
Seeing her pretending to rest with her eyes closed but with an expression that shows she's dying of happiness, just holding hands was that enjoyable to her.
"...Hmm."
After finishing the verification of thoughts, I quietly shifted my gaze to Lulu.
Originally, Telepathy could only be used once per person, but since it now has a cooldown, I checked to see if it could be used continuously during the duration.
[Lulu's current emotions: Blind loyalty/Eternal love/Worry/Ticklishness/Desire to be dominated]
As expected, the Telepathy function worked well.
- I want to have my stomach stroked by Master.
- I want to save Master. If I can't save Master, I'll die.
- I want to live eternally obeying as Master's pet and be buried in the same grave.
- I want to be controlled, dominated, and restrained by Master.
It worked too well, which was the problem.
"...Hah?"
- Stroke, stroke...
"Ah, uah... th, thank you..."
After sighing slightly, I slowly stroked Lulu's stomach and tried to check the Affection System that had just been leveled up.
"Goo!"
"Ow."
But at that moment, the pigeon sitting on the headboard above my head lightly pecked my forehead, so I craned my head to look at it blankly.
"...Hmm?"
The guy, who always had a stupid expression, had a serious expression for some reason and was holding out a letter.
"What's going on..."
So I received the letter with a worried expression.
"......?"
And then I tilted my head.
- Klana.
[Professor Isollet, don't worry.
Frey Laon Starlight is currently in our custody.
To explain in detail.......]
For some reason, the letter the guy gave me was a letter Klana had sent to Isollet.
"Huh? That's...!"
At the same time, Klana looked at the letter with round eyes.
"Why, why is that letter there...?"
"Goo... goo..."
"Ack?"
At the same time, the guy Perloche had named Gugu collapsed weakly into Klana's arms.
"I, injuries..."
The guy's body had quite a few wounds.
"Wait a minute."
Looking at the guy with a bewildered expression.
"I don't know what's going on... but the fact that this letter is here..."
I muttered, seized by considerable fear.
"...Sister Isollet doesn't know I'm alive?"
It seems I'll have to prepare to go out.
.
Meanwhile at that time.
"Ugh..."
Isollet, completely drunk, was sprawled on the bed in her room.
"F, Frey... you bad guy..."
Hugging her beloved sword and Frey's photo that he had given her as a gift.
"I gave you my body and heart... where did you go..."
Her whole body was soaked with tears, and she was sobbing.
"Now I can't even get married....."
For a while, her sorrowful wailing could be heard from her room.