Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 166: Nightmare (2)

A vast space with a white background.

I turned my head, looking around, but I couldn't tell what this place was.

"Mars. You're honestly the worst."

A voice suddenly came from behind me.

When I turned around, the purely white background was gone, replaced by a turquoise forest that stretched out before my eyes.

And in the middle of that forest stood Christina.

"You're not even that handsome, yet you have no idea how a woman's mind works. You're clueless and can't even lead like a man. As a boyfriend, you're absolutely terrible."

She criticized me scathingly.

Rustle— Rustle—

The bushes stirred, and my old companions, Hyou and Bomuro, appeared.

"That's why I cheated on you. These men may be ugly, but they have everything you don't."

Christina smiled faintly.

The three of them, including her, soon shed their outer layers and began a sordid act.

They writhed together, as if putting on a show for me.

But I, Mars, felt nothing. I hadn't loved Christina that much in the first place. I had only started dating her because I couldn't refuse her advances.

That's why the scene unfolding before my eyes was nothing more than animals breeding.

As I watched them, a question suddenly occurred to me.

How can I be so unfazed by this?

Even if I didn't love her, a lover is still a lover.

Shouldn't it be natural to feel hurt if your lover cheats on you?

'Because Christina isn't your lover.'

She's not my lover?

Then who is?

"Mars."

A voice came from behind me, just like before.

Unlike last time, I froze.

Don't turn around.

My instincts screamed at me.

"Mars, why won't you look at me?"

The voice grew closer.

No.

Don't come any closer. Please...

"Mars, I'm begging you. Please turn around."

Isabelle wrapped her arms around my neck, whispering in my ear. Her desperate plea made me waver. The scales in my heart slowly tipped toward turning around.

In the end, I couldn't refuse her request. Just as I was about to turn to face her...

Whoosh—!

A sharp gust of wind tickled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my hair.

To me, it was just a cool breeze, but not for the Isabelle whose arms were wrapped around my neck.

Slice— Thud—

With the sound of something falling, my back grew damp. The arms around my neck lost their strength and fell away.

I slowly turned my head.

Isabelle and the son of a baron lay dismembered, rolling on the ground.

"Ah...?"

Why... why is Isabelle...?

Who did something so horrible?

I stumbled backward, and just as I was about to vomit from the overwhelming nausea...

"Mars!"

Isabelle's voice rang out again. Unlike the cloying tone from before, this one was bright and cheerful. Startled, I whipped my head in the direction of the voice.

"Isabelle?"

"Mars!"

She came running and threw herself at me. Caught off guard, I couldn't withstand the force of her charge and fell flat on my rear with her in my arms.

"Mars. Mars...!"

Isabelle nuzzled her face against my chest as if it were her mother's embrace. Meanwhile, I was still in a state of shock.

"Two Isabelles...?"

Isabelle, who had been rubbing against me, stopped. She lifted her head, narrowed her eyes, and glared at me.

"What are you talking about? There's only one of me."

"But the one who was holding me just now... huh?"

My gaze shifted to where the bodies had been, and my eyes widened to see that the spot was empty.

"Why is there nothing here? I'm sure they were here just a moment ago."

"Are you talking about the fake who was pretending to be me? She was here, yes. But I got rid of her. More importantly, snap out of it, Mars. This is a dream."

"A dream?"

I pinched my arm hard.

"It hurts too realistically to be a dream."

"That's because it's a realistic dream."

"What does that mean?"

"Try to remember. What's the last thing you recall before entering this strange space?"

I did as she said and retraced my memories. It wasn't hard to recall the Succubus Queen doing something strange.

"The Succubus Queen! The Succubus Queen did something! Why am I only remembering this now?"

"It must be because of some strange trick that bitch pulled. It didn't work on me since I was connected to her, but... Huh? M-Mars? Why are you staring at me like that...?"

"The one who stole the branch of the World Tree... was it really you?"

Her blushing complexion turned deathly pale.

"Th-that's... well..."

Isabelle fidgeted anxiously, unable to form a sentence.

Just then, the white space began to crack. It crumbled away, revealing a black fissure.

An opportunity!

She pointed at the fissure.

"Huh? Mars, look over there! A fissure has appeared. Maybe we're supposed to go through there?"

"Isabelle. This isn't something you can solve by changing the subject."

"..."

Isabelle bit her lip hard and lowered her head.

"I'm sorry... I... I just wanted to get back together with you..."

"You know that your actions could have led to something incredibly dangerous, right? The people of the city actually fell asleep."

"...I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I was being too selfish... Please, Mars, don't hate me..."

Being hated by Mars was one of her greatest fears. Seeing her tremble like a baby rabbit, I sighed.

"I don't hate you. How could I ever hate you?"

I said, pulling Isabelle into a hug.

"Still, what you did was wrong, so you'll have to be punished when we get back. Don't worry too much. I'll stay by your side. And I'll ask Cloud to try and get you the lightest punishment possible."

"...Okay. I understand."

Isabelle nodded, still in my arms. Soon, the two of us took each other's hands, stood up, and walked toward the fissure.

*

The hallway of a luxurious mansion.

A little girl ran with a book clutched to her chest, followed by a young, anxious maid.

"My lady, you mustn't run. You'll get hurt!"

"It's okay, I won't fall!"

With her head in the clouds, the maid's warning didn't even register. Her face brimming with confidence, Eri ignored the maid and kept running.

'I finished the introduction to magic! Father will praise me!'

She recalled the time when her eldest brother, Callion, had told their father he had finished the same book.

Back then, her father had praised Callion with a gentle smile, a rare sight.

'I'm younger than my brother, so he'll praise me even more!'

Eri couldn't contain the smile spreading across her face. Arriving at her father's office, she knocked on the door.

—Who is it?

"Father, it's me! Eri!"

—Enter.

Eri stepped into the office.

Her father glanced at her briefly before turning his attention back to his documents.

—What is it?

His voice was as indifferent as always.

But that's okay.

It'll soon change to a voice full of pride!

Eri puffed out her chest and held the book forward.

"Father. I finished this book!"

Duke Oller looked at her again, then tilted his head.

"Is that all you came here for?"

"...Pardon?"

"I asked if you interrupted my work for something so trivial."

"N-no... this is the introduction to magic!"

"And what of it?"

Despite Eri's desperate appeal, all she received was a sullen response. Overcome with sorrow, tears welled up in her eyes.

"Y-you praised my older brother when he said he finished it. Why... why not me..."

"Older brother? What older brother do you have?"

"Huh...?"

At Duke Oller's words, Eri's tears instantly vanished.

Her heart began to pound.

What does he mean?

What does he mean, 'what older brother'?

Does he mean I'm not even part of the family?

Is he that angry that I interrupted his work?

"I-I'm sorry... I was wrong..."

Fearing she might be thrown out of the house, Eri confessed her mistake in a trembling voice. But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what came back wasn't forgiveness, but a tone of genuine curiosity.

"Eri, tell me. What older brother do you have?"

"Why... why are you being like this... Callion is my older brother... W-we may have different mothers, but we're still family..."

"Ah... Callion?"

Duke Oller nodded as if he understood. Thinking the atmosphere had improved, Eri's expression brightened.

"Yes, yes! My brother Callion! The other day, when he read the book—"

"You killed him."

"Eh...?"

Her bright expression froze solid. Duke Oller's face was devoid of emotion—not angry, not sad, just blank. To Eri, that expression was more terrifying than anything.

"I'm talking about Callion. You killed him, did you not?"

"What are you talking about...? Me, kill my brother...?"

Without a word, Duke Oller pointed behind her.

Eri slowly turned around.

Callion, hanging by a rope around his neck, looked down at her with his tongue lolling out.

"Kyaaaaaaah!!"

Eri was so shocked she fell flat on her rear. She scrambled backward, looking for her father.

Thump. Her back hit someone's legs.

Thinking it was her father, Eri looked up.

But the owner of the legs was not her father.

An old man with a bald patch in the middle of his head was glaring down at Eri, tears of blood streaming from his eyes.

"What you stole, you bitch, was the research I spent ten years preparing. Research I prepared through sleepless nights. And after stealing something like that, you're living just fine, are you? You shameless wench!"

"N-no... The professor made me do it. I had no choice. He said he wouldn't pass my thesis if I didn't... A-and I got kicked out of the Magic Tower because of it, too... I was used..."

The young Eri had suddenly grown into the Eri from her days studying at the Magic Tower.

Someone whispered in her ear.

"Is that really the same thing?"

"Gah!"

Eri flinched and jerked her body to the side.

Her half-sisters were standing there, giggling at her.

"What's the point of being smart if you're so shameless?"

"Sometimes, her actions make me doubt if she's even smart at all. How does she manage to choose only the most foolish things to do?"

"Unlike us, her mother was a common wench. In the end, she's just returning to the gutter where she belongs."

Scathing ridicule rained down on her. Eri's eyes trembled. Unable to contain her rage, she lunged at her sisters.

"I told you not to talk about my mother!"

She intended to rip their hair out, but her leap failed.

Just as she lunged, something caught her ankle. Thwack! She hit her head on the floor and let out a pained groan.

"Ugh... what is... Hiek?!"

Her gaze fell to her ankle, and she recoiled in horror.

The hanged Callion had wrapped the rope around her ankle, holding her fast. With his tongue hanging out, his mouth moved.

"Wasn't I enough? Are you planning to kill my little sisters, too?"

"Aaaah! Let go! Let me gooo!!"

Eri struggled to untie the rope around her ankle. But no matter how hard she tried, the knot wouldn't come loose. To make matters worse, Callion began to pull on the rope.

With nothing to grab onto, Eri was slowly dragged across the floor.

"No! Go away! Go away!! Cloud! Where are you? Help me. Cloud!!"

Eri clawed at the floor and thrashed her body, desperately trying to resist being dragged away. All the while, she cried out the name of the man she trusted most.

"Did you call?"

Then, as if by a miracle, Cloud appeared before her. Hope filled Eri's wide eyes.

"C-Cloud! Help me! Something's wrong here. I'm scared...!"

Eri reached her hand out toward Cloud. She believed without a doubt that he would take it.

However, things did not go as she expected.

Smack.

Cloud slapped her hand away.

Eri stared at her rejected hand with an expression of disbelief.

"Cloud...?"

"You abandoned me when I was at my lowest, and now you're asking me for help?"

"Uh... uh...?"

Eri was genuinely bewildered. Based ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on his recent behavior, she had thought he had already forgiven her. Thanks to that, she could only stammer, unable to form a proper response.

Seeing this, Cloud's face twisted into a look of disgust.

"Forget it. I happened to find a better wizard than you anyway."

"A wizard better than me...?"

"Yes. A wizard better than you."

A familiar yet unpleasant voice made Eri's body flinch.

Her head turned stiffly.

Standing next to Cloud, Leslie was smirking down at the prone Eri.

"Sir Hero Cloud is too good for a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pathetic wizard like you. I'll do a much better job than you ever did, so don't you worry and just back off."

"You heard her. I'm going with Leslie. It was fucking shitty being with you. Let's never see each other again."

"Huh? Uh? W-wait a minute!"

Eri reached out and grabbed Cloud's pant leg.

*

"I was wrong! Please forgive me just this once...!"

"Stop being so pathetic and let go."

"I'll do better. I'll do better than that insolent bitch, so please don't leave me. Please!"

Eri clung pathetically to Cloud's pant leg.

Mars and Isabelle watched her with complicated expressions on their faces.