Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Tarros Tower (8)
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After I returned, the remaining monsters were dealt with swiftly and efficiently.
Once the stele was destroyed, most of the now purposeless monsters scattered, leaving relatively few for us to handle.
"Keeeen... Waaah...!"
As we took a short break by the stele after clearing all the monsters, Rafne clung to me, tears streaming down her face.
"There, there, calm down. Everything's okay now."
I figured she was shedding tears of relief after all the worry, so I patted her back to soothe her.
"Why are you so skin and bones nowww...! Waaah...!"
Apparently, that wasn't the reason at all.
'...I have lost a lot of weight.'
It had been a week here, but a full year over there.
Now, I was in a state no different from when I'd used Calorie Burn.
Thanks to that, I was able to help substantially with the remaining monsters.
Before the diet, I would've been supporting from the rear with Emily.
Now, I could stand at the front and take them down confidently.
Adrian, seeing me like this for the first time, looked genuinely astonished.
'He's like a completely different person from a week ago... Impressive.'
His words carried a sense of awe, making my shoulders lift with pride for no reason.
And somehow, Siegfried, who had been listening beside him, also smiled as if pleased.
Mary and Emily, who already knew about my weight loss, weren't as surprised.
But for some reason, they couldn't quite meet my eyes like usual.
That left Rafne.
I thought she'd celebrate my diet too, of course.
"Hic, keeen... How much starving did you dooo...?"
Instead, she grabbed my face, tears dripping down, looking at me like a mother whose fridge was empty.
"I-I'm fine, Rafne. If anything, I'm healthier now than before."
I flexed my arm to show her.
Unlike before, the muscle was firm and defined.
For a moment, my eyes met Emily's as she stared from behind Rafne.
Unlike earlier, she was gazing blankly at my arm, but when our eyes met, she hurriedly looked away.
"You're all bones nowww...!"
Rafne just wailed even louder at my proud display.
"Still... I'm just so glad you came back safe."
As I tried to calm the bawling Rafne, Mary approached from behind.
Her voice sounded choked, so I turned, and then—
Poof.
Mary pressed against me from behind.
I could feel her hand trembling on my shoulder.
"I was really, really worried..."
"Sorry. But I really had no choice but to go alone."
No matter what, I couldn't let them spend a year in that hell.
Suffering was my burden alone.
In the end, everything worked out fine.
"Y-Yeah! Exactly! You should've at least consulted us!"
Emily, who had been listening to Mary, flushed red and strode over to me.
"Ah, owow?!"
"Take this! This is punishment for worrying us so much... Hic, much!"
Tears welled up in her eyes as she glared at me.
She'd held back because Rafne was crying the loudest, but her pent-up emotions burst out too.
"But... hic, aren't you hungry? You haven't eaten, right?"
She'd been angry, but now tears flowed as she suddenly asked that.
Her worry for me overrode her anger as she placed her hand on my face.
"I'm fine. Now that all the fat's gone, I don't even need to eat right away."
I gave a simple explanation to Emily, who seemed to think I'd used Calorie Burn.
It was meant to reassure her, but she just cried harder, cupping my face.
"Ugh, really... To wither away like this... Hic, how much did you suffer...?"
Then she bowed her head and pressed her forehead to my shoulder.
'Have I really gotten that thin...?'
The hell was all swamp, so I hadn't seen myself properly.
To me, I was definitely normal weight now.
...But to them, who were used to seeing me fat, this must look skeletal.
Still, it was a relief we could reunite without anyone hurt.
I looked around at my companions welcoming me back.
And smiled.
"How about we head back to the city first? I'm craving something delicious."
Grrrowl...
My stomach growled right on cue.
Rafne reacted instantly to the familiar sound.
"Ken! You're hungry, right! Hic, I'll make you anything! L-Let's go eat now!"
"Oh, I was craving your cooking anyway, Rafne."
"...Ugh, hic, o-okay... I'll go make some... Ugh, waaah...!"
At my honest joy, the sniffling Rafne burst into tears again.
Helpless, I sat a bit longer to calm them before we left the 10th floor for the city.
We had the shortcut key, but challenging the 100th floor right now was impossible.
Both I, worn from a year of survival, and the others, exhausted from the monster rush, needed rest.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ On the way back to the city.
"Ken."
As the monster attacks quieted and we walked leisurely, Adrian beside me called out.
I turned, wondering what was up, and saw his usual sly grin replaced by a serious expression.
"Thanks."
"......Not 'you worked hard'?"
His sudden gratitude made me tilt my head.
"It's what I should've done originally."
"...Ah."
He meant the purpose of this journey.
Eliminating the fated prophecy on Rafne.
Which also stopped the demon invasion.
As royalty, it was his duty.
That's what his thanks meant.
"No big deal. I did it because I wanted to."
"...No, it was still life-risking."
Adrian averted his eyes, seemingly guilty.
He continued.
"Honestly, at first, I didn't fully believe you. I just figured someone who'd died and come back might know something I didn't."
He referred to the Reaper's Curse incident.
My impossible resurrection from death.
"I'm curious how you knew, but I won't pry. I have my own secrets, like you."
"...You won't ask?"
"Results matter more than personal details."
True, he hadn't questioned my plan to conquer the tower much.
He'd trusted the result of me resolving the curse.
And my clear desire to save Rafne.
"So I'm just grateful. You solved Rafne's unsolvable problem. ...And risked your life."
"It's not fully over yet. The final hurdle remains."
"Heh, don't worry about that."
Adrian smiled at me.
Not his usual amused smirk.
A smile of respect and expectation.
"I think you'll pull it off. I was doubtful before... Now, I'm certain."
His trusting words embarrassed me; I scratched my head.
Feeling that odd mix after his thanks, we arrived at the city.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "D-Delicious...!!"
Rafne's special course meal just for Ken Fine Stein brought tears of emotion to my eyes.
"Eat lots! Here! This too!"
"M-Mmph! W-Wait, slow down...!"
Sensing the seriousness of my dieted state, Rafne kept shoving food at me.
Without eating a bite herself.
"Stop it, Rafne. ...Honestly, the old Ken was cute, but now is way better, right?"
Emily, eating beside her, joined in stopping Rafne.
"Definitely... Before, he was cute... Now, ugh."
Mary agreed, backing Emily, but blushed and looked down when our eyes met.
'...What are they saying?'
I got that the dieted me was better.
But calling pre-diet me cute?
That fat slob...?
'They always saw me positively.'
It made me grateful they'd found even that version of me cute.
Though one was overdoing it.
"W-What are you two saying! Hic, Ken's all skin and bones now!! No more burying my face in that soft bellyyy!"
"W-Wait...! Rafne...!"
I tried to stop her from blurting that embarrassing thing at them.
"...Bury in your belly?"
"Your face...?"
Too late; they stared at me with strange expressions.
"No, ...what Rafne meant was..."
Bam!
A fist slammed the table, cutting me off.
Emily glared, fist clenched.
"I-I've never done that—!"
"......Huh?"
"M-Me too... I've never done it either."
"...Mary too?"
I was stunned by their unexpected words.
I'd braced for 'Pervert!' or 'Die!'...
Instead, they looked wronged, staring at me.
"Why'd you lose weight before we could try it!"
"Exactly. It feels like we missed out... I don't like it."
"B-But just now you said the slim version was better..."
As I floundered at their sudden shift, another voice came from across the table.
"Oh? That good, huh. I'd like to try it sometime."
Adrian, eating with us, joined in.
His serious smile sent chills down my spine.
"It was definitely soft and squishy before."
Even Siegfried, quietly eating meat, chimed in.
"Eek! P-Please stop, both of you!"
Imagining it, I shrank back in horror, putting distance between us.
"Here, Ken! One more bite!"
"Mmph!"
"I'll share mine too! Eat this!"
"Mmf!"
"Have some of mine. ...Can you gain it back and lose it again?"
"Ughk..."
The relentless one-bite rush.
Harder than the monster rush—endless food poured into my mouth.
The meal I'd craved for a year ended as food torture.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Hehe... Heeheehe."
In the quiet, dark forest.
A cold woman's voice echoed from the eerie, grotesque purple foliage.
"...Master... You fooled me good."
There sat a sword embedded in a tree, and beside it, a woman stroking a monster.
Countless monsters slumbered around the woman—Tirpione.
Muttering what sounded like resentment,
she suddenly blushed.
"...Haaah, how clever you are...!"
Recalling the man who'd smacked her head, she voiced her affection.
"But if you think this means we're done, you're mistaken. Hehehe."
Blushing, gazing at the moon, she touched her lips and laughed.
"...The master-servant contract is already complete."
Savoring the taste of her master's blood, Tirpione dreamed of their reunion.
"Soon... You'll need me."
She rose and approached her true body—the sword.
Grabbing the hilt,
she yanked with full force.
"...Ughhh!! But this is too much!! Stuck like this, a girl can't pull it out—!!"
Despite straining, it wouldn't budge; Tirpione grumbled resentfully again.
It took until the next day, with monster help, to finally draw the sword.