130. Is It About Time?
130. Is It About Time?
"Chrono said it himself, didn't he?"
That he received a 10, but
Ultimately, all he could give back was a 1.
And yet, was she truly okay with that?
"To be... honest, I do feel a little greedy, it's true."
No matter how much she pretended otherwise, Minerva was also a woman who wanted to be loved.
She wanted to be loved. She wanted to monopolize that love.
She wanted to possess Chrono's love all for herself alone.
"But that's difficult, isn't it?"
A realistic limit.
If so, someone had to concede this.
Whether Chrono focused solely on Minerva,
or Minerva was satisfied with Chrono's 1,
it was a relationship that could not come to be unless someone conceded to the other.
And while originally the former would be the most common case...
"If you tell him to focus on someone, it's obvious he'd focus on Mars, after all."
"....Mmrgh."
A statement that could not be denied.
No, perhaps he might agonize terribly between Ur and Mars.
But if time drifted along indecisively, in the end his heart would tip more toward one side...
...He felt sorry to Ur, but his heart tilted slightly more toward Mars.
"Ultimately, I don't even enter your consideration, do I?"
"...I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. This case is my fault."
"To say it's your fault is..."
Both were at fault.
If he looked a bit more concretely, he and Athena were at fault,
and if he considered it a bit more realistically, it just seemed like he alone was at fault, but...
"No. That's not true, Chrono."
Minerva denied it.
"I... I was the first to hold you in my eyes, in my heart."
A confession that followed.
"I approached Chrono knowing full well that he had a good lover named Mars. Back then, I thought it was because I wanted to be friends....
...There's no way a person who just wants to be friends would do something like that, right?"
"Something like that...?"
A phrase he could not grasp.
In response, Minerva let out an awkward smile.
"Do you... remember the midterm exam, by any chance?"
"The midterm? Did something happen back the..."
...Ah, don't tell me.
The midterm exam.
When he had slept inside the tent,
he had opened his eyes to find Minerva right next to him and hadn't known what to do...
"...Don't tell me you were awake?"
"He...hehe...."
Minerva not knowing what to do.
Well, no, of course it was.
'No matter how much a person is asleep, still...'
Not only had he naturally pulled someone into his arms while sleeping,
he had subtly raised his knee, and for some reason, the knee's direction kept creeping particularly close to 'that' spot...
...A bizarrely strange and melancholic situation had unfolded that was hard to answer for. Just who in the world would do such a thing half-asleep?
Even if there was someone, that would only happen in comics or novels, an event that could never possibly occur in reality.
So Ultimately, they had done that kind of thing while both were awake──no, wait a moment?
"You... what did you plan to do if I had pinned you down back then?"
"You didn't pin me down, did you?"
"Well... that's... but still...."
"On top of that, Chrono said he'd only look at Mars alone...."
Even if she were pinned down, it also seemed like it would be okay since Yuno was outside...
"...Huhng...."
How terrifying.
A chill ran up his spine at Minerva's scheming.
"...Ahem! Anyway, what I want to say is this."
When Chrono looked at Minerva with a burdened expression, Minerva gave a deliberate cough, as if telling him to listen first.
"I can be satisfied by just being able to receive Chrono's love."
Because, originally, that was not something permitted to her.
"Even if you love me a little less than others...."
Even if it was a love amounting to no more than 1,
"I can dedicate everything I have for that."
Solely for that one thing, she could offer a 10.
That was love. Minerva's love.
"So.... Chrono."
Ultimately, what Minerva wished for was only one thing.
"Please... don't abandon me."
"..........."
To be able to be held in Chrono's arms.
That absolutely singular thing.
Wordlessly, Chrono pulled Minerva into his embrace.
"Haaaah....."
A shallow sigh leaked out.
Minerva buried her face between Chrono's arm and chest and closed her eyes.
A smile as if she were in heaven itself.
Chrono brushed Minerva's hair behind her ear and murmured.
"You're pretty."
".....Mmnn."
Minerva buried her face a little deeper.
Chrono lightly closed his eyes.
'For now, it's right to assume the original work has blown up.'
In truth, the signs had been there from the very start.
From the protagonist being a regressor, to blowing up every single god-awful fuck-up imaginable, and in the midst of that, riding the ambiguous regressor route while probing here and there.
When the original protagonist had no intention of following the original work to begin with, could he possibly ride the original flow alone just because he tried to follow it?
Ultimately, unless it was for grasping personalities or behind-the-scenes stories, the original work had practically become meaningless; that was the correct view.
'Though the big picture seems to be continuing in the meantime...'
On the surface, the major flow appeared to proceed just as he knew it.
But when he actually looked closely, from start to finish, things had flowed completely differently from his expectations.
"About time, then."
He quietly murmured.
About time.
Around this point.
If things had flowed just like the original, the specs would not even allow the event to begin, but...
If it was the protagonist, who was a regressor and simultaneously possessed specs to a certain degree,
on top of that, if it was something the protagonist—who was absolute garbage at managing heroines—would do...
[Emergency Mission]
[Rescue the Apostle of Hera]
-This is an emergency mission issued by Hera
1. Rescue 'Yuno' (0/1)
Upon Failure: Yuno's 'NTR Rank' increases
"As expected."
********************
The time rewound to about two weeks prior.
"The succubi have created a dungeon."
A street of drugs and prostitution.
Beyond it, they had obtained information that an apartment had become a succubus nest.
Succubi.
Monsters called incubi in other words.
Monsters that radiate lust indiscriminately toward man and woman alike, stealing vitality to make it their own power.
In the case of ordinary people, they had their vitality drained as is until they died,
and in the case of believers serving a Main God, each time their vitality was drained, they lost divine power and ultimately reverted to ordinary humans—truly, an evil to be executed.
Therefore, killing them on sight was the path for humanity, yet they were a tribe that attached themselves secretly, thanks to the stories that they granted beauty innate from birth and a fantastical night.
"Still, normally it ends with just one or two at most..."
But according to recently filed reports, quite a number of succubi had nested and were living in the back alley.
Hence, people were selected to investigate this.
"They're fresh interns just arrived from the academy, yet they'll face succubi, eh...."
Among them, Ter's party was also included.
It was something that could not have happened originally, but...
"No matter how much they're interns, if they're exceptional rookies who exceeded 500 points... they're worth looking forward to!"
If the targets were rookies who resolved the 500-point range—a threshold that ordinary guild members barely scraped past—in just two weeks, they could be trusted.
Thus, the protagonist's party was dispatched to the branch where succubi were discovered; from then on, it was practically a sweeping clean-up.
"This place, and this place as well."
""".....?"""
Succubi nests scattered all over.
Normally, just finding these would take an age, but the situation changed due to Ter's intervention.
"Kee... aaaack......!"
"...They're really there?"
"What the hell is this bastard doing?"
They pinpointed the succubus nest exactly.
No other damage was inflicted whatsoever.
While rescuing the guild members who had been captured and forcibly drained by succubi along the way, their reputation gradually improved,
and "In this place, the boss is present."
"...Originally I'd want to ask what kind of bullshit you're spouting, but"
the moment of decisive battle.
"I'll believe it. I'll bet everything on your discernment!"
"....Heh."
Carrying it out immediately, without any need for miscellaneous evidence or testimony.
The Ares Guild personnel trusted Ter alone and all took up their weapons, heading toward the apartment where the boss monster was.
"Huuuung.... So many humans have come. Being attractive is quite inconvenient, I suppose. Don't you think?"
"A Queen truly is...!"
Just as Ter had said.
The top floor of the apartment.
The Succubus Queen, Asmodeus, greeted all with a dreary smile.
"Let's not all stand around so uncomfortably... how about spending a delightful time together with me?
"Everyone, get a grip on your minds! Otherwise you could be charmed!"
"Kuh...! My body, suddenly...!"
"S-se...x, uh.... uuugh....!"
A wide-range mental attack of the Succubus Queen
utilizing her unique charm, causing them to stagger.
In truth, if the situation had escalated to the point of a Queen-class emerging, it would have been correct to bring executive-level personnel, not just simply guild members.
However, with an unbelieving heart,
thinking, 'no matter what, would a 'Queen' really be in a place like this?' it was something carried out—
─Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
"Oooh.... Oooooh!!!"
"Y-you... you bastard, taking your pants off and what the hell are you doing!"
The one-in-ten-thousand case had now become this immediate case.
A battlefield thrown into chaos in an instant.
That moment when not a single person could come to their senses,
"Hmph. Using cheap tricks."
"!,....You... are rather interesting?"
A single person.
Only Ter advanced toward the Succubus Queen, sword in hand.
"Those eyes, seeing that charm doesn't work on you, you must have an extraordinary mental fortitude... hmm? This scent is...."
Asmodeus greeted the mighty hero who had overcome the charm,
just as she was about to be puzzled, detecting the scent of kin from him—
"You've got a long tongue, whore."
"W-w...wwwwhwhwhwhwhore?!!!"
Ter's provocation.
The battle that followed thereafter—
"Kh....! A whore like you, don't touch my body!"
"Gyaaaack! I will absolutely not kill you gently! I'll lock you in a milking cage for life and milk you for all eternity!"
No matter that Ter ranked among the top even among academy cadets, the battle against the Queen was grueling.
But, therefore, the needed assistance of an aide.
"It's time to rest now, Asmodeus."
"Huh...! Y-you... you are──!"
Another succubus who appeared behind Asmodeus's back.
"I'll be taking that spot now?"
"Thi... this traitorous bitiiieee!!!
Lilith.
The aide who had informed them of the dungeon positions where succubi had been all along,
who dispelled the charm cast on Ter,
and who created an opening in the boss at the critical moment,
a penitent who, though a succubus, had turned her heart for the hero.
"I will never forgive y──cough...!"
"Shut your mouth and die. You disgusting whore."
The battle's end ultimately returned to Ter's victory.
With this, the Ares Guild obtained peace and honor, and Ter—the greatest contributor of this battle—was lauded no differently than a hero within the Ares Guild.
And, "By any chance, could we entertain you all?"
"Hmm...?"
Thereafter, on the final day of the internship,
at Lilith's invitation, Ter and all the guild members went to the 'castle' Lilith had invited them to.
"Now, everyone, enjoy yourselves comfortably!"
"""""Ooooh.... Ooooooh...!!!!"""""
It was, so to speak, a Paradise Lost of alcohol and women.
A heaven where all could enjoy as they wished, and feel as they desired.
"Ter, together with me...♥"
"Not bad."
Ter followed behind Lilith and entered.
"Now... well then, everyone?"
""""........?""""
The banquet hall from which Ter, the obstacle, had vanished,
"Everyone, shall we play a bit more... 'delightfully'?"
"""""Ah......"""""
Soon, a reproduction of Sodom and Gomorrah that none could stop began.
And of course,
"Kyaa.... aaaack...!"
"Don't touch me!!"
Yuno and Merk, who had followed Ter inside, were also placed beneath that scene.