Corruption (4)
“Ugh… Huh?”
I’d expected a wave of pain to crash over me, but the anticipated agony never came. Instead, a sweet fragrance tickled my nose. And there was a familiar back in front of me.
“Ka, yl…?”
“What’s up?”
“Is that really you, Kyle…?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
His usual offhand tone put Rana at ease. He was the only one who ever treated her like that. Still, the seductive voice that had tempted her just moments ago stirred a flicker of unease.
“This isn’t a dream, right?”
“It’s reality, so snap out of it already.”
Now that she thought about it, unlike the darkness, she could keenly sense the flow of time and space here. Then, a sudden thought struck her.
“Wait, why am I being carried?”
Waking up to the sight of Kyle’s back wasn’t bad at all. But it was a little embarrassing, so she tried to get down from his back. Her body wouldn’t budge, though.
“Huh? My body won’t move. My arms and neck too…”
“Stay still. The stabilizer’s messed up your body.”
Ruina Lindel’s stabilizer had frozen her physical functions, halting everything except the bare minimum for life support. At least some time had passed, letting her hear and speak.
“You’ll probably be like this until tomorrow.”
“Until tomorrow like this? But I have lectures…”
“Lectures? In this state? Just rest until you’re better.”
“Okay, got it…”
If Kyle said so, then it was so. His words had never been wrong once.
Grrrrrowl~!
Then her stomach let out a massive rumble. It was screaming for food like a whale.
“Eek…”
The sound was so loud she jumped, thinking thunder had struck. Embarrassment flooded her at the same time. She didn’t need a mirror to know her face was beet red. She wanted to crawl into a hole, but unable to move her neck, she had no choice but to face it head-on.
“You’ve been asleep for two days, so you must be starving. Tell me what you want to eat. I’ll get it.”
“I… slept that long?”
“Yeah.”
With no sense of time in the darkness, she hadn’t realized. Two whole days—shocking.
No, more than that. Through her conversation with Kyle, Rana realized the events in the darkness couldn’t be dismissed as a mere dream. So she asked.
“Hey, Kyle… That was real, right?”
“It was real, no doubt. Even if it was in your mind.”
Kyle’s answer held no hesitation.
Oh, so that really happened…
“Even the part where I was about to get eaten?”
“Yeah.”
“And you hitting me…”
“…Yeah. I hit you.”
“I’ve never even been hit by Grandpa…”
Rana grumbled softly. She’d never been struck by anyone, not even her grandfather. Kyle was the first.
“Then don’t do anything deserving of it. Who told you to give up?”
“Sorry…”
“…No, that was my bad. You’ve got nothing to apologize for.”
Kyle apologized quickly. In truth, Rana hadn’t done anything wrong. It was all the fault of whoever had tried to corrupt her. And Rana’s personality made her prone to falling—pure water tainted by a single drop of blood spreads throughout. The initial corruption was hard, but after that, it was easy. Plus, she’d long recognized the world wasn’t all bright and clean. She’d seen too many people find relief by letting go of something inside. And at the time, she’d been at her limit.
“Still… thank you. I was really scared. Scared I’d disappear like that and never see Grandpa, my friends, or the kids again. And you, Kyle…”
Rana murmured softly. If not for him, she might have vanished forever.
“I see.”
That was his response.
“You’re always so consistent, Kyle.”
“And you hate that?”
“Hehe, I love it.”
Rana liked those responses from him. Friends treated her like a pet needing protection—summoned beasts too. But Kyle was different. Others called him rude, but to her, it felt like person-to-person.
Maybe that’s why a strange thought crossed her mind. What does Kyle think of me? It was just a tiny hypothesis, a guess, but she wondered if he might feel the same. The memories from the darkness justified it. Clothes torn, body covered in wounds and gushing blood, one arm gone entirely—a fatal injury. Even in her mental world, the pain had been real. Kyle endured it to save her. That wasn’t something done on a mere whim.
So Rana quietly opened her mouth.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
She swallowed hard. Lacking the courage to ask directly, she beat around the bush.
“Hey… Do you hate me, Kyle?”
“……”
Kyle fell silent for a moment. Then, in an uncharacteristically serious tone, he replied.
“…I don’t hate you.”
Rana’s heart pounded. Pressed against his back and chest, he’d surely feel it.
“Then…”
Calming her trembling heart, she asked again.
“Do you like me, Kyle?”
“……”
Another brief silence. Finally, he spoke.
“Well…”
Her heart sank at those words. He continued.
“I don’t like you.”
Doesn’t like me. Those words squeezed her heart. Friends had said rejection hurts—and they were right. It stung even more since it was her first taste of love.
Then Kyle’s voice whispered in her ear.
“At least, not yet.”
Rana blanked out for a second, a question mark practically floating above her head.
“I like you as a person, Rana Heytald. It’s just… not romantically. Not yet.”
His voice was calm as he continued.
“But if you’re okay with that… I’ll try.”
Rana’s lips curved up involuntarily. Others might call it stringing her along, but she knew his true feelings and didn’t mind. Besides.
“Hehe, so there’s a chance?”
“Yeah.”
It wasn’t zero. At least he liked her—as a person. All she had to do was make him see her romantically. Entrusting herself to him, she whispered in her usual tone.
“Kyle.”
“What.”
“I like you. So I’ll make you like me back. Promise.”
“Do what you want.”
“Hehe…”
Giggling softly, Rana’s eyelids drooped.
“Don’t push yourself when you’re this weak. Just sleep already.”
“Okay…”
She’d talked too long, truthfully. Feeling secure, she closed her eyes. And in her dreams, she had the happiest ones ever.
“Haa…”
I sighed toward the night sky. My mind was a mess.
“I went and said it after all…”
What the hell had I been thinking? It was my decision, but now I regretted it. Enough to want to go back two minutes and smack myself to stop. But self-recrimination wouldn’t change anything now. I knew exactly how Rana felt about me. I wasn’t some idiot—she’d been obvious.
The status window confirmed it, like a final nail in the coffin.
* Currently possessed by another soul.
* Object of affection for Rana Heytald.
That line left no room for delusion. It appeared when I first sensed her change. A week ago, I’d have rejected her outright, no mercy. But things were different now. I’d given her every reason to fall harder, today’s mess was entirely my fault, and that teary atmosphere didn’t help. Above all… like I told her, I didn’t hate Rana. That might’ve been the biggest reason. Sure, I liked all the protagonists, but she ranked in my top three.
“Guess I have to accept it. What choice do I have?”
Even introducing Evan hadn’t worked—she’d have confessed eventually anyway. Rana was loyal like that. Other reasons too: entrance exam with Veil, hunting partner swap. Minor plot changes from butterfly effects—I could ignore those. But her ‘corruption’ episode was different. The timing was off, the location wrong, no foreshadowing. In the novel, her sudden disappearance caused a stir; here, it was a targeted attack at the perfect moment. If her friends hadn’t come, I’d never have noticed. If I hadn’t found her, Tianis professors would’ve exterminated her tomorrow.
Protagonists getting hurt off-script? I couldn’t allow it. Injured, pained, dead—only in designated episodes. And this might not be the end. It could happen to others anytime. I needed them in my sight, especially Rana with her death flag still up.
“My plans are all screwed.”
First, revise living as an extra. “Gotta push my grades into the top 50 first…”
Originally aimed for 200th, slowly to 150th. But academy events required solid ranks for sure entry—top 100. Top 50 for stability.
“Teach Evan magic too…”
The protagonist’s interested thanks to me but hasn’t learned yet. I had to teach him for when I wasn’t around.
“Bring him to the dorm starting this week…”
The possessor has completed a hidden objective.
A system window popped up. It’d been a while—about a month since the last one.
“Knew it’d show at this timing.”
Hidden Quest: Save Rana Heytald! completed.
I addressed whoever was watching this scene. No idea the direction, so I just spoke to the air.
“If you give me some toy like last time, I’ll flip everything over.”
I growled. It wasn’t useless, but a toy crossed the line. Seriously.
Reward: ‘Meteor Summon Spell’… ahem.
The words cut off midway.
“See? Knew you’d pull that. You think I’m a sucker? Wanna flip the whole board for real?”
It’d take time, but I could do it.
…Reward: White Return Pill granted!
“That’s more like it.”
My threat worked; it gave something satisfactory. A family elixir—no complaints. Saving a protagonist warranted at least this. I pulled the generated pill from my pocket and tucked it into my inner one. Eat it later when I had time.
By then, we’d reached the Lowest Dormitory. I entered my room quickly, cleaned with magic, and laid Rana on the bed.
“Hmm… gotta change the blanket.”
The worn-out thing felt uncomfortable for her. Buy a clean one tomorrow.
“Yawn~”
Spraying sleep-aid perfume and propping my chin on the desk brought on yawns. Wanted proper rest, but the narrow space wouldn’t fit two.
“Ah, Elraim’s coming along fine, right?”
Thinking of Elraim delayed by cleanup, I watched Rana and drifted off. Later, Elraim said I’d slept in an awkward position for ages.