Episode 33
'...What should I do about this?'
I'm currently facing quite a difficult situation.
"Sob... sniff..."
It's because I realized that my younger sister, Aria, is still worrying about me.
'Damn it, this shouldn't be happening.'
There's a reason I let Isollet beat me up to erase her worries about me.
In the 'System's Trial' event that will occur someday, everyone who 'worries' about me will be afflicted by a 'curse.'
That's why I did everything I could to make Isollet turn away from me... but a new variable has appeared right before my eyes.
"..........."
Staring quietly at the variable visible right in front of me, I squeezed my eyes shut and made a decision.
"...Ahem."
"...!"
When I erased the star's mana surrounding my body and revealed my presence, Aria, who had been trembling while looking down at a file, opened her eyes wide, quickly closed the file, and stood up from her seat.
"Hmm? Lady Aria?"
"...Shh, be quiet for a moment."
Aria, who quietly whispered to Kadia who had woken up upon sensing my presence, began to sneak toward the door where I was.
"Hyah!!"
"Ugh!!"
The next moment, she threw the door open with all her might and leaped at me.
"Wh-what... why are you..."
"Y-you...! I told you!! I told you not to even come near our room!!"
"Sigh... oh boy."
She grabbed me by the collar and started shouting, and behind her, Kadia was trembling while tightly hugging a pillow.
I glanced at Kadia for a moment, then spoke to Aria who was gripping my collar with an aggrieved expression.
"Well, still... I already used the medicine, so I should test it, shouldn't I?"
"Please, please just shut up. Please."
"Do you know how much money I spent buying that medicine? 3,000 gold! 3,000 gold! I can't just let that money fly away into thin air, can I?"
"Stop it. Please."
"I bought the highest quality, so it'll definitely feel g..."
"Stop... stop it... brother..."
I was using the same method I had used to make Ferloche and Isollet turn away from me on my sister, praying that this would finally make her turn her back on me, when suddenly Aria started crying.
"Brother... you weren't this kind of person... why are you doing this...?"
At that sudden reaction, I almost hugged her like I did when we were young without realizing it, but right before my hand touched her back, I came to my senses and quietly lowered my hand to the floor.
"When we were young, you hated this kind of thing more than anyone else... don't you remember?"
"...I don't remember well."
"I remember it clearly... the brother who used to say, 'I'll rip off the lower body of anyone who does such things.'"
"Well, I told you I don't remember?"
Of course, since I was the one who said those words, I remember them clearly, but since I was pretending not to know, Aria started grabbing and shaking me.
"Are you cursed? Or are you being threatened? If not, then..."
"That's enough."
"...Ugh!"
As Aria's words started becoming increasingly dangerous, I urgently pushed her away to stop her from speaking, then glared at her with a cold expression.
"Who do you think you are to talk back about me when you know nothing?"
"B-but..."
"Fine, let's say I just threw away 3,000 gold. That's enough, right?"
"......"
"And as I said earlier, if you keep crawling up like that..."
"I will definitely find out."
"...What?"
It seemed difficult to erase her worry today, so I was about to wrap things up and head to my room when suddenly Aria began to speak with a determined voice.
"The reason why brother has changed so much... I will definitely find out."
I looked at her speaking with such a serious voice for a moment, then used my Information Search skill to view her information.
[Name: Aria Laon Starlight]
[Abilities: Strength 4 / Magic 7.2 / Intelligence 7 / Mental Strength 8.5]
[Special Note: Gaze of the Stars]
[Disposition: Guardian]
[Goodness Value: 95]
Upon seeing her goodness value, I couldn't bring myself to say anything and quietly turned around to head to my room.
'...This is bad.'
My sister, who couldn't forget my childhood self, has become a new threat.
There are many events I need to overcome ahead, and many enemies I need to face... but for a family member to become as much of a threat as those things, it feels like I'm truly going to go crazy.
- Thud
I barely managed to hold together my crumbling mental state and arrived at my room, then weakly lay on the bed and started blankly staring at the ceiling.
[Villain Points 300pt acquired! (Death Flag)]
"...Sigh."
I swept away the ominous system window floating before my eyes and tried to lose myself in thought as usual, but soon gave up.
For some reason, the monologue and self-rationalization that usually came naturally as a defense mechanism stopped coming altogether.
I just want to stop thinking and rest for a while.
System, Demon Lord, Sun God, whatever... please, I just want to rest peacefully for even a day...
"Meow."
"...Ah."
Suddenly, a familiar cat sound reaches my ears.
Understanding the meaning of that sound, I barely managed to grasp my fading consciousness with a smile and turned my head to the side.
- Lick
And at the same time, the black cat doll that had now become an inseparable existence started licking my cheek.
"Meow..."
Then the doll flopped backward onto its back, exposing its belly and looking at me with expectant eyes.
"What is it, you didn't move at all for the past few days... but today you're moving around well?"
"Me-meow... me-meow..."
Watching the doll's cute behavior, I began pressing its belly with infinite gratitude to the doll that helped me rest while forgetting everything.
It seems like I'll have to play with the cat doll all night today.
.
''
"Young master... it is time for breakfast."
"Ah, is that so?"
Emptying my thoughts and focusing only on the cat doll's reactions as I spent time, morning arrived before I knew it.
When Kania called me to have breakfast, I honestly regretted not sleeping, but when I saw the cat doll that had stopped moving again and become wrinkled, such thoughts disappeared.
'...Well, my work ended at 4 AM anyway. It was better than not sleeping.'
Rather than spending the day in a daze after sleeping for about 3 hours, playing with the cat doll that raised my mental strength by 0.3 would have been more helpful for fatigue recovery.
Thinking that, I put the limp cat doll in my bag and opened the door to have breakfast.
"...It is rye bread mixed with butter. Then, please enjoy your meal."
Then Kania, whose face was flushed for some reason, placed the food before me and hurriedly ran toward my room's door.
"Um, Kania."
"Yes, y-yes?"
I called out to stop her and asked something I had been curious about for a while.
"You've been having a lot of stomach pain lately, right?"
"Ah... that, that seems to be the case."
She broke into a cold sweat and answered while avoiding my gaze, and I frowned slightly at her reaction and asked.
"That... perhaps is it related to that black cat doll?"
"Pardon?"
"Well, I actually like stroking the doll's belly... and it seems like you always have stomach pain the day after I pet its belly."
"I-I see."
"Come to think of it, this doll is powered by your dark mana, isn't it? If so, there must be some connection..."
"It is not related."
"What?"
I was carefully asking about the cat and her stomach pain, worried that my actions might be causing her harm, when Kania firmly cut off my words.
"That cat doll and I have no relationship whatsoever."
"But your dark mana is..."
"...Except for the dark mana, it has no relationship with me whatsoever. So please... no, rest assured."
Having finished speaking, Kania bowed to me and started heading toward the door again.
"...Ah, right!"
".....?"
I was looking at her in confusion when I recalled something I had completely forgotten while playing with the cat, and urgently stood up from my seat.
"Now isn't the time to be having breakfast. I need to go to Kadia quickly."
"Huh? Why Kadia suddenly... ah!"
Kania, who had been puzzled for a moment, soon understood my words and made a bright expression, then started heading to Kadia's room with me.
Finally, the time has come to neutralize Kania's curse.
.
"...What is this? This black tea?"
"Th-that is... we were going to give it to the senior maids..."
"...Are you saying you touched this expensive black tea just to drink it among yourselves?"
"...What's going on again?"
Having lured Aria out of the room by picking a fight with a maid outside over something trivial and shouting loudly, I signaled Kania to enter the room.
"I-I'm sorry... temporary head... it's all my fault..."
"Stop it!! It was none other than father who allowed the servants to use the tea freely!! What exactly is the problem!?"
As the maid began to wipe up the tea I had spilled while sobbing, and Aria started asking what the problem was that I was doing such things, Kania secretly slipped out of the room.
[Villain Points 100pt acquired! (Secret Operation)]
Only then did I stop my angry act, swept away the villain point window floating before my eyes, and walked out into the corridor.
"Kania, did you see the maid I scolded earlier?"
"...Yes, I saw her."
"That child, she's the maid who protected the Starlight family until the end in the previous iteration, right?"
"That is correct."
"Then, raise that child's position and salary. Of course... within your authority."
"I understand."
After finishing what was not quite an apology to the maid whose tea I had spilled, I cautiously asked Kania.
"So, what's the result?"
"...Please see for yourself."
Then Kania looked around for a moment before finally causing a black aura to rise from her hand.
"...Oh my."
And my expression naturally brightened as I watched that.
You might think what's so great about just producing a black aura, but this aura has a more formidable ability than you'd think.
If Kania clenches her hand while producing this aura, not just this mansion but all the light in the surrounding area would be sucked into the aura, bringing complete darkness.
The point is that this magic is not a beginner-level dark magic that Kania had no choice but to use due to her curse until now, but an intermediate-level dark magic with some power.
In other words, her curse has been neutralized much more than expected.
"...It seems to have recovered more than expected?"
"Yes, that 'Potion of Potential' was more effective than I thought. Even though I only contacted her briefly for fear of my sister waking up, the curse has improved this much."
"Well, Kadia hasn't fully awakened her abilities either... so continuing contact probably wouldn't have much effect. Still, it should be a bit easier to breathe from now on."
When I spoke with a pleased expression, Kania, who had been silent for a moment, hardened her expression and spoke.
"Young master, about that... I don't think you'll need to give me life force anymore from now on."
"Don't talk nonsense."
I firmly cut off her words and spoke with a stern expression.
"Even if the curse has been neutralized to some extent, your life force is still being endlessly devoured by the curse of self-destruction."
"However, if you keep giving me life force, young master..."
"I recover quickly. I even bought a recovery skill from the 'System.' But you don't recover, do you?"
"...Then please give it once a month."
"Once every three days."
"That is too much."
"I'm telling you your life is at stake?"
After arguing back and forth with Kania for a while, we passed by a classically styled room and simultaneously stopped walking, quietly looking at the nameplate beside us.
[Abraham Laon Starlight]
"Still, I should see his face before leaving, right?"
"........."
As I looked at the nameplate with a bitter expression, Kania quietly stood beside the door and spoke.
"I will watch to see if Lady Aria comes or not. So, please go offer your greeting."
"...Thank you, Kania."
I quietly expressed my gratitude to Kania, then carefully opened the door and went inside.
"...Father."
Upon entering, I saw father lying on the bed with his eyes closed.
I looked at him, took a deep breath, and then quietly opened my mouth.
"I won't speak at length."
Not wanting to create any more melodrama, I suppressed my emotions as much as possible and left a single short word.
"...After I catch the Demon Lord, I will definitely return to this place."
After finishing that short greeting and coming out of the room, Kania raised her eyes and asked.
"...You returned sooner than expected?"
"I'm tired of melodramatic scenes now."
"I see. Lady Aria is on her way, so I was about to call you. What shall we do?"
Having come out of the room, I squeezed my eyes shut at the news that Aria was coming to see me and hurried my pace as I spoke.
"Let's get out of here quickly."
"...Yes."
Thus, I went straight to the mansion's exit and boarded the carriage Kania had waiting by the roadside.
"Young master, Lady Aria is coming out."
"...Start the carriage."
Soon the carriage departed with a rattling sound, and I leaned back in my seat, deliberately ignoring the sound of my younger sister desperately calling my name, and asked Kania who was beside me.
"Kania, could I ask you to use regular magic instead of dark magic?"
"...Pardon?"
"Judging by how I keep hearing Aria's crying sound, it seems like there's no soundproofing magic on this carriage... I know it's difficult, but could you cast a soundproofing spell?"
"Young master..."
I asked Kania as a courtesy because Aria's crying was so sorrowful, but for some reason Kania's face turned pale.
"Crying sound?"
".....?"
Not understanding her reaction, I was confused when Kania took my hand and spoke with a worried expression.
"Lady Aria opened the door, looked at us for a moment, and went right back inside. And right now, aside from the rattling sound of the carriage, no sound can be heard."
Hearing those words, I stiffened my expression for a moment, then cautiously asked Kania.
"Um, Kania. Is there perhaps a dark magic that erases or empties memories for a certain period of time?"
"Why would you need that..."
"Well, you know... if I turn off my brain for a moment, maybe it'll fix itself?"
Saying that, I covered my ears with both hands and muttered.
"No, cast a sleep spell on me. But can you manipulate dreams freely? No never mind... just get rid of this crying sound. I feel like I'm going crazy."
"Young master...?"
"Kania... why am I like this...?"
Trembling in confusion at the terrible experience I had never once encountered in the previous iteration, I suddenly felt my head clear, made a blank expression for a moment, and then smiled.
"Ah, it's fine. The sound stopped."
"......."
"What kind of magic did you use? Did I just faint and wake up? Or is this a dream? That's it, right? You're showing me an illusion while treating me, right?"
"Young master..."
"Thank you, Kania. I really can't do anything without you... haha... ahaha..."
Shaking Kania's hand as if doing a handshake, I noticed she was making a sad expression and tilted my head to ask.
"Kania? What's wrong?"
"Just how... how long have you been enduring with that mental state?"
"Mental state? I'm fine. My mental strength is 9.3, you know? So I don't get affected by ordinary mental abnormalities... and even serious mental conditions heal automatically if they last more than a few minutes. Surprising, right? Even right now, I've come back to my senses immediately..."
"...You don't look sane at all right now, young master."
When Kania spoke firmly, I quietly withdrew my smile and muttered in defeat.
"Sorry... even with a high mental strength value, I think I'm reaching my limit..."
Then Kania lowered her head deeply and began to mutter.
"I'm sorry... it's all due to my inadequacy... if I had been more competent..."
As the self-reproachful mutterings of Kania and me echoed in the carriage for a while,
"Perhaps... I should secretly receive some mental treatment... I'll look for a suitable place..."
- Flap! Flap!!
"Ugh!!!"
Suddenly, a familiar-looking white owl flew into the carriage window and began flapping its wings vigorously.
"...Coo!"
Soon the owl spat a letter onto my lap and flew away into the sky, and watching it disappear, Kania and I simultaneously muttered.
"Serena sent this."
"...It's from Lady Serena."
After those words fell and silence began to flow in the carriage, I quietly opened the letter on my lap, frowned, and muttered.
"...Did she recall her previous iteration memories and go crazy?"
"Pardon?"
"See for yourself."
I handed the letter to Kania with an incredulous expression and muttered.
"I don't know what it is... but another thing to worry about has been added... sigh... how am I supposed to deceive a child I barely managed to fool while going through all kinds of trouble in the previous iteration..."
"...What is this?"
"Hm?"
But when Kania tilted her head and asked about the contents, I scratched my head and said.
"Well... though it's quite poorly written for her, it's still readable...!"
But looking at the letter again, I froze with my mouth wide open.
"Is this perhaps a code you and Lady Serena used? I can't figure it out no matter how I look..."
Because I realized that the following content was written in 'Korean':
- I will visit you soon.
Ps. I love you. (maybe?)
[Serena Luna Moonlight]
Staring at the letter with a hardened face, I finally let out a sigh and muttered.
"...This is completely fucked."
Now I'd almost feel slighted if a new variable didn't appear.