บท 182: Chapter 183: Departed Carriage
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༺ Departed Carriage ༻
"Huff."
Feeling upset, I sighed deeply inside the carriage.
"Master? What's wrong?"
At that moment, Lulu, who had been embracing my arm and nuzzling her cheek, raised her head and asked.
"It's nothing."
I smiled at her and gently caressed her chin.
'It was my last attempt, but…'
Despite my calm outward appearance, my feelings were rotting and festering inside.
'…I guess I failed in a good way.'
Until now, I had never been aware of the existence of the 'Helper System.'
After all, the prophecy had never mentioned anything about it.
In the prophecy, the contents regarding Roswyn were entirely different.
– You must give flowers to Roswyn. Regularly and consistently.
For some reason, my ancestor had written this whenever he mentioned Roswyn.
– Roswyn will die if she doesn't keep the flowers she receives from the System User for a certain period of time.
Therefore, I had no choice but to desperately give her flowers.
For some reason, because she continuously threw away the flowers I gave or gifted them to others, I had to repeatedly offer flowers in fear of her dying.
– Also, there's another reason… but forget it. It's better for you not to know. Clinging to something unlikely to happen will only make you suffer. It's better to focus on something more plausible.
The comment that my ancestor left at the very end had always bothered me, but…
– But still, when giving her flowers, do it 'sincerely' and 'consistently.'
Could it be that what I saw in the Ordeal was related to this?
– You never know, right? Miracles might happen.
"Hmm."
As I recalled the contents of the prophecy once again, I muttered to myself.
'It's such a shame…'
Today, I made my final attempt to awaken Roswyn's 'Helper System.'
I confessed with all my sincerity in the hopes that she would genuinely accept my flower with at least a hint of desire. I even tried to persuade her with my polished acting skills, adding conditions to make her even more willing to accept my confession.
However…
"I'll consider it for now."
It didn't go well at all.
Despite preparing a golden rose instead of a red one, just as she wanted before, the miracle did not occur.
Considering that she now preferred a red rose over a golden one, it seemed as if she didn't even remember what she said last time.
There was no hope left.
Why could that be?
Why hadn't she experienced any changes, even though the other sub-heroines did after the 'Third Ordeal'?
Could it be that my hypothesis was wrong?
"Mhmnyaa…"
Gloomily lost in thought, I suddenly heard a strange sound coming from beside me.
"Hmm…"
Lulu, who had fallen asleep again unnoticed, snuggled up to me.
"…Sigh."
Thanks to her, I could smile a bit.
"Perhaps it's better to give up after all?"
I subtly threw the question at the animals. They were still following my order not to fight, as they sat silently in a row on the windowsill and stared at me with curiosity.
Well, they were quite intelligent creatures; more like mystical beasts than ordinary animals. Perhaps they would understand my dilemma?
"All right, let's just give up."
With that thought in mind, I gazed at the animals for a while before leaning back in my chair.
"This is the best option."
What's important right now is unlocking the 'DLC' story of the second year, not the 'Helper System.
After all, during the ordeal, Ferloche only mentioned 'Five Enlightenments' and did not mention the Helper System.
Moreover, my ancestor had also suggested that it was better to not know about the 'Helper System.'
As such, although the system could have a remarkable effect, the chances of it happening were almost nonexistent.
In other words, my current obsession to awaken the 'Helper System' would only bring negative results.
It was because…
"I can't turn Roswyn into the target of the Demon King."
The other version of myself that I saw in the ordeal deliberately manipulated his memories to make himself hate everyone. Perhaps the reason I made that choice was to deceive the Demon King.
While the system's restriction prevented the Demon King from directly attacking the heroines, there were still plenty of ways she could torment them if they were her subordinates.
As such, if I harbored hatred towards the girls and allowed them to remain by the Demon King's side, I could likely eliminate the chances of the heroines facing harassment from the Demon King.
So, at this moment, I had to do the same thing as my other version.
The result of today's attempt indicated that conquering Roswyn was impossible. Therefore, from now on, I had to distance myself from her.
Otherwise, I couldn't guarantee her wellbeing when she became the Demon King's comrade. After all, Ruby would then consider Roswyn as my only weakness.
"Then…"
After reaching such a conclusion, another concern arose.
"What should I do about the flowers…"
However, for the time being, there shouldn't be a problem since Ruby would also give her flowers regularly.
Roswyn's room, from what I had seen in the Third Ordeal, was filled with flowers. Therefore, as long as the Demon King provided her with such flowers, she shouldn't die.
Of course, I couldn't entirely trust Ruby.
Henceforth, I decided to employ surveillance magic or assign individuals to monitor whether Roswyn received flowers.
Well, it shouldn't be too worrisome. After all, she put Ruby's rose in her hair instead of the ones I gave her.
"Yawn…"
After reaching that conclusion, I tried to close my eyes while letting out a sigh. However, Lulu, who had her face buried in my chest, yawned and opened her eyes.
"Hm?"
With a drowsy expression, Lulu looked around.
"Master, are you okay?"
"Huh?"
"Y-You look so depressed. Did something go wrong when you met Miss Roswyn…?"
I gazed at Lulu and altered my expression to one of wickedness before replying.
"Lulu, I have something I want to ask."
"Yes, yes."
"Roswyn seems to be getting in the way of my shady business…"
I glanced at Lulu for a moment.
"…Getting rid of annoying bitches is one of my principles, you see."
I lowered my voice even further while saying that.
"You remember what I said last time, right?"
"…Yes."
"Well, then, can you bite her neck for me to protect my interests?"
Doing this to Lulu made me feel guilty, but it was a necessary measure.
If she really wanted to be with me, she must clearly perceive me as a 'villain.'
That way, a new stack of penalties wouldn't be added on me.
Therefore, in front of her, I couldn't help but always have to show such a hideous sid—
"Yes."
"Huh?"
Because I was lost in thought, I found myself startled when Lulu responded so quickly.
"I'll bite her for you."
Lulu's expression was calm when she said that.
"…Why didn't you hesitate at all?"
To gauge her intentions, I asked subtly.
"There aren't any pets that would hesitate to follow their owner's orders, right?"
Once again, Lulu responded with a calm voice.
"I'm already tainted by you after all."
With that, she licked my neck.
"W-Wait a minute…"
As I received the burning gazes from the animals sitting by the windowsill, I tried to stop Lulu, who closed her eyes and kept licking me.
"…Huh?"
Suddenly, I opened my eyes wide and stared into the empty air.
[Affection System Ver. 2 Update Complete!]
"What's this?"
Something had happened.
.
.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
"What's going on…"
After sitting on the floor in a daze for a while, Roswyn staggered back to her room.
"What in the world…"
With a deeply furrowed expression, she wandered around her room.
"Ugh…"
Ever since Frey wore a sad expression as he bid her farewell, Roswyn had been experiencing inexplicable emotions.
And these emotions emerged…
When Frey staggered out of her room.
When the female employee informed her that he had canceled his guild membership.
When Lulu engaged in an affectionate act with Frey, when he should clearly be upset for not being able to have her.
The emotions multiplied with every one of these moments.
Then, as the carriage departed, these emotions reached their peak, completely filling Roswyn's mind.
"Ugh…"
And Roswyn had no idea why they had arisen.
Why? For what reason?
He was the same annoying Frey who always pestered her. He was a scoundrel, and on top of that, he was sly.
He was just one of those foolish customers, smitten by her beauty, albeit possessing the deepest pockets among them.
"Ugggggh…!"
So, why did she feel such regret after his farewell and guild member cancellation? After all, she shouldn't have anything to regret.
Why had she been pacing her room since earlier?
"So annoying!"
As such thoughts kept swirling in her head, Roswyn's temper exploded.
– Crash!!
She threw the flower vase that Frey had given her onto the floor.
"Who do you think you are, Frey? Why are you… doing this to me!"
Eventually, Roswyn began to fiercely trample the fallen golden rose Frey had given her.
"How dare you make me feel… these kinds of emotions!"
As a result, the golden rose that Frey had carefully obtained was now utterly crushed and mangled.
"Haa… Haa…"
After venting her anger on the innocent flower for a while, she tried to catch her breath, gasping heavily.
"What the hell really…"
Soon, she sank into a chair and muttered with a confused expression.
"Why am I acting like this…?"
With that, she tried to cool her heated head for a moment.
"...…"
The silence continued for a while.
"…Have I been too harsh to him all this time?"
Roswyn's murmuring broke the silence as her expression started to show a hint of unease.
"Hmm, yeah. I guess I was a bit harsh. After all, he's a regular at our guild."
She continued to mutter with her legs slightly crossed.
"Well, I can just treat him better from now on. Then, he will probably be fine again."
She got up from her seat and began to pace around the room again.
"He's just slightly upset with me. After all, I have rejected him multiple times. But in the end, he still comes back with a smile, doesn't he?"
As she paused for a moment, Roswyn's expression grew even more uneasy.
"But what's up with Lulu?"
For some reason, the unpleasant feeling, after witnessing Lulu's affectionate act, lingered.
"Well, obviously, it's a fake act. And judging by his expression, it seems like Frey is annoyed by it, too."
Roswyn stood there for a while, deep in thought, chewing her lips before finally concluding that it was nothing.
"After all, Frey… likes m-me. That's right. There's no doubt about it."
Although Frey smiled faintly to Lulu, Roswyn quickly dismissed it and arrived at such a conclusion.
"…I need to go collect information."
She held out Frey's letter of request that had been on her desk until then.
"I-In any case, he has nowhere else to go for information except our Information Guild, right? He'll be back in a few days, grinning like a fool, so I'd better get ready."
Roswyn continued to mutter to herself.
"Yeah, I can't afford to lose a regular customer like him. Yep, yep."
She began to head towards the door.
'I just need to treat him better next time. If I'm a little nicer, he'll be head over heels for me anyway.'
She had finally reached a decision, as she turned the doorknob.
'Should I also accept his flowers next time?'
With a slightly furrowed brow, she left her room.
"I'll be going out for a little while~ So, you're in charge for now…!"
While calling out to the female employee, she suddenly covered her mouth and began to cough.
"Cough, cough!"
"Huff…"
The female employee briefly glanced at her before continuing to smoke a strong cigar.
"Hey, what are you doing? Are you crazy!?"
Since Roswyn had mysophobia, she was startled at such an act. As such, she began to shout at the employee.
"Where did you say you're going…?"
The female employee asked with a sunken look.
"I-I'm going to investigate the request that Frey gave me. By the way, what the hell are you…"
Roswyn used the letter of request to fan away the smoke.
"Huff…"
"Cough, cough! Seriously!"
When the female employee exhaled cigar smoke once more, Roswyn grew annoyed before quickly leaving.
"...…."
While gazing at an annoyed Roswyn's departure, the female employee continued puffing on her strong cigar.
"This is pointless…"
– Syahhhh…
As she absorbed the cigarette smoke all at once with the power of the moon infused in her body, she closed her eyes and mumbled.
"…It's already too late."
.
.
.
.
.
At the same time.
"Huh?"
Frey was staring intently at a certain area of the window that had popped up in front of him.
[Sub-Heroines Conquest]
Isolet Arham Bywalker
[Conquest Progress: 70%]
Details…
Ariane
[Conquest Progress: 5%]
Details…
Lulu
[Conquest Complete]
Details…
.
.
.
"What is this…"
The list of sub-heroines was quite long, but Frey's gaze was fixed on one of them.
"…What happened here?"
[Sub-Heroines Conquest]
Roswyn Solar Sunset
[Conquest Route Closed]
Details…
With that, the carriage he had boarded swiftly departed the alley.
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