Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Please Stop Her
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Please stop her.
Cecilia had once made Aren a similar offer to the one she'd given to Halibal.
Of course, she had no intention of getting close to her.
It was simply a judgment call: knowing her well would make it easier to respond if something unexpected happened.
‘Going to the dungeon is good, but since she's already a follower, why not try getting a little closer?’
‘Huh? Aren't we already close?’
Cecilia was reminded of Senia by Aren's behavior.
If Senia wore a mask when dealing with others, then Aren's friendly expression seemed to come straight from the heart.
But crucially, all of her actions converged toward one single purpose.
‘Conquering the Demon God's Dungeon.’
It felt like she was pouring her entire life into that one goal.
Cecilia had gotten a similar impression when she first met Halibal.
But the key difference between Halibal and Aren was that he was trying to change.
He was still pushing toward his goal, but he looked around at the people nearby far more often now.
Cecilia had fallen for the man who only had eyes for his goal, but she wasn't opposed to the change.
She knew she was reflected in his eyes too.
But what about Aren?
“……What do you mean by that?”
“No, just curious. How do I look in your eyes?”
Cecilia saw herself reflected in Aren's eyes, but she wasn't human.
A finely honed sword. Or perhaps magic.
The next-generation sword prodigy, or a puppet dungeon conqueror.
She had all sorts of labels attached, but none of them were Cecilia Ren.
“I see you as a friend.”
“No, you only have eyes for your goal.”
“……Cecilia.”
“Sorry, but I'm the type who's all about recognition. I have no intention of risking my life in a dungeon with someone like that.”
“Wait, Cecilia! If I've done something you didn't like, I'll apologize. But I need your help. Your help as someone who's conquered the puppet dungeon.”
“Ah. So that's it.”
Aren looked more desperate than anyone.
“It's for the peace of the world. You conquered the puppet dungeon for that reason too, right?”
“So why do I have to do it with you?”
“Because… it's something only I can do.”
Cecilia snorted and added,
“What are you talking about? So the dungeon Halibal and I conquered was just an anthill?”
At those words, Aren grabbed Cecilia's shoulder.
Her grip tightened.
“……From now on, I'll be the one conquering it.”
“Let go.”
“You're from the Ren family… so you must know. The prophecy handed down from Master.”
Cecilia knew it.
She just didn't pay much attention to things like fate or prophecy.
“Then you must know I'm the child of prophecy too. So cooperate with me. If you and I work together, we can definitely bring the sun back to the world.”
“Why?”
“Because it's my entire life.”
Their gazes locked in midair.
In the past month, Cecilia had never seen darkness in Aren's expressions.
But now, her face was shrouded only in pitch-black shadow.
“You know the prophecy, right.”
“Then…!”
“But you're not the child of prophecy.”
All expression vanished from Aren's face.
Cecilia brushed off her shoulder where Aren had grabbed her.
“Right, or not?”
She poked at the area around Aren's chest with her finger.
“Right, or not? Answer me.”
She felt a springy resistance at her fingertip.
“Honestly, it's a relief in a way. I was worried, you know? Hearing that another woman was sharing a room with my man… of course I'd be concerned.”
“……”
“But it was all for nothing, right? Neither I nor Halibal even register in your eyes.”
It was as good as confessing.
The child of prophecy was a 'boy' who had mastered the Extreme God Single Sword.
It didn't apply to Aren, who was a woman.
The fact that Cecilia knew this meant all the justifications Aren had put forward crumbled from the premise itself.
How? Since when?
Confirming no such questions were coming, Cecilia turned away.
‘Wait, what did I just say?’
Regret flooded in the moment she turned.
‘……My man?!’
In front of this woman?
It had slipped out in the heat of the moment, but she felt like she could die of embarrassment.
The other woman didn't even see her as a rival, and here she was, agonizing all alone. It was mortifying.
With that thought, she suddenly missed Halibal.
‘I wonder what Halibal's doing right now.’
At that moment.
A chilling killing intent prickled at her back.
Before her reason could react, her instincts as a swordswoman twisted her body.
What she saw was Aren, sword in hand, crouched low.
Her hollow eyes.
⁎⁎⁎
Capital Luft.
Libra Grand Theater.
The curtain fell on the stage, and applause erupted from the audience along with the music.
When the lights came on, sniffling sounds came from the left.
“It's so… beautiful and sad…”
It was Mine.
The play was her first, and it had moved her to tears—she was practically sobbing.
To my right sat Alicia, dressed as Alley.
“What a clichéd plot. They should have secured the northern territories before saving the heroine.”
Nearby audience members glared at her with stiff expressions.
Honestly, I felt the same way.
But best to stay quiet.
Even as the audience filed out, Alicia remained seated.
“Time to go. Everyone else has left.”
“Kuhehe. Since we're here, let's go up on stage.”
“……Why?”
“Just because!”
Oh, really!
Without asking my permission, Alicia leaped down toward the stage.
That's when I suddenly remembered her guard, Kaisel.
Poor guy.
I knew by now that trying to stop her myself wouldn't make a difference, so I let it be.
Alicia climbed onto the stage without hesitation.
“The real reason I wanted to come to the theater was to stand on this stage once.”
“Then wouldn't it have been better to rent out the whole theater?”
“With tax money?”
Yeah, that might be a bit much.
Fine. What can you do when the princess wants to stand on stage?
“Come up here too, junior. From here, I can see Mine's crying face perfectly.”
That, I couldn't ignore.
I followed Alicia up onto the stage.
Countless seats stretched out before my eyes.
The feeling of every gaze focused solely on me.
I'd experienced it a few times, but I still wasn't used to it.
Then, Alicia asked,
“What do you think is the most important role in a play, junior?”
It was an out-of-left-field question, but I racked my brain for the answer she wanted.
“The director…?”
“You're trying too hard to match my mood.”
Alicia looked not at the seats, but up at the dark ceiling where the lights hung.
“I think it's the assistant director.”
“I figured you'd prefer something on the acting side.”
“I do like that. But I asked about the important role.”
She pointed to the ceiling lights.
“There was probably an assistant director up there turning the lights on and off. Over there, someone handling the music, and on that side, someone operating the stage mechanisms.”
“……”
“But the actors and audience wouldn't see them. Of course, if someone was bustling around overhead during the performance, it would break concentration.”
Alicia turned to me sharply.
“You're an actor. The lead actor at the center of the stage, wielding your sword under everyone's attention.”
“……You're too kind.”
“And I'm the assistant director.”
She spread her arms wide toward the empty seats.
“Setting up the perfect stage from the shadows so the Empire can win. That's the role of the Red Scales.”
“Aren't you a bit too visible for an assistant director? More than most leads.”
“Don't play dumb. I'm not an actor. Actors just perform on stages made by others.”
Her expression had grown serious before I knew it.
“But I do want to stand on stage.”
“……”
“Stripping away all the cumbersome titles like Red Scales or Imperial Princess, if I were given a stage where I could stand as myself… I'd leap onto it anytime.”
Her gaze lingered on the ceiling lights, refusing to come down.
“They say construction on the base camp in the Ronwood Mountains will finish soon.”
Meanwhile, my eyes were fixed on her.
Maybe Alicia was the only one whose character wouldn't collapse amid all the breakdowns.
Even in the original story, she knew her role from the start.
As princess and Red Scales, she excluded problematic elements and seized all benefits.
But no one can live like that forever.
The gaps visible in between had simply created her quirky image.
Beneath the countless roles, she had never once forgotten her true self as Alicia.
She was simply searching for her real stage amid all those roles.
Alicia, back to her usual self, grinned mischievously.
“What are you staring at so intently, junior? Even if this senior is beautiful, you'll bore a hole through me.”
I smiled vaguely and turned my gaze to the seats.
“Time to head back. Mine's waiting.”
“Oh? Has she stopped crying?”
Just as we were about to leave the theater, the Abyss Core buzzed.
Lapis Lazuli.
It was Senia.
‘Senia? What's up all of a sudden?’
We'd exchanged contacts long ago, but she rarely reached out to me.
“Is there anything Mine wants to eat? Halibal's buying everything today.”
“Sniff… I thought senior was treating us?”
“Didn't bring my wallet.”
Ignoring the commotion, I tuned into the core, and Senia's urgent voice came through.
[…Cecilia's hurt.]
⁎⁎⁎
Entering the hospital room, I saw Cecilia in patient garb and Senia by her side.
Cecilia's shoulder was wrapped in bandages.
“You're here?”
Cecilia waved her free hand happily upon seeing me.
But I wasn't happy at all.
“Usually you're the one lying down and we come visit… It's weird with the positions switched.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
I was newly struck by how strange it was.
That's why I'd rushed straight here.
“You okay?”
“It's nothing. They said a month of rest and I'll be fine.”
“It's not nothing. You're lucky it wasn't worse—you almost lost use of your arm.”
At Senia's scolding, I made a worried face, and Cecilia smiled instead.
“Hehe, seeing that expression makes getting hurt feel not entirely bad.”
“What the hell happened?”
Cecilia stopped Senia from speaking.
“It's Aren Bright. Do you know? That she's trying to conquer the Demon God's Dungeon.”
I knew.
Probably more than anyone in this world.
I'd even taught her the strategy myself.
I'd paired the two as followers for that exact purpose, and I'd been steadily hearing reports of their progress.
In fact, word around the Academy was that my party with Mine and Cecilia's with Aren were betting on which would conquer first.
My gaze naturally drifted to Cecilia's arm.
‘She can't conquer like this.’
I nodded, and Cecilia said with serious eyes,
“Please stop her. She's ready to go in alone if she has to.”
“Tell me what happened first.”
“That's not important. Aren first…”
“No, it is important. Cecilia.”
She wasn't going to tell me properly like this.
I looked at Senia.
She loves her sister—she'll tell me.
“…Aren Bright stabbed Cecilia.