How to Acquire a Fallen Noble Lady (3)

'Damn it.'

I'd told her to spill everything, but I never expected her to pour out the very bottom of her heart.

Even the kindest person alive still has a little selfish streak, some part of them that wants things to turn out well for themselves.

And right now, her selfishness was working overtime—trying to grind down a guilt that was crushing her whole body.

'Hold on a second.'

Guilt.

Handled well, this emotion could be turned to my advantage.

People have always manipulated each other by poking at guilt—invoking favors owed or slights suffered. So if guilt is a weapon, why couldn't I, the very object of her guilt, wield it?

'No.'

There was no way I couldn't.

"...How could I ever forgive you?"

I immediately layered my voice with just the right amount of gloom and began to act.

"My life was finally starting to look up, and then you came charging out of nowhere trying to kill me... No matter what happens, these feelings will never fully go away."

That was a lie, of course.

Frankly, I'm not the kind of guy she could kill even if she tried, so at this point I didn't really feel anything about the whole attempt.

If anything, I was positively delighted—I'd walked away with the Tome of Spirit and five hundred million won.

But I kept my face weighed down, as if her sin was something I could never forgive.

"A... aah..."

Iris looked up at me, her face brimming with despair.

"But I suppose it could be reduced. Somewhat."

I pulled something out of my bag and pressed it into her hand.

Money.

Around five million won settled into her palm.

"The future matters more than the past, doesn't it? You don't exactly seem to be getting by these days, so take this, travel comfortably for now, and think things over nice and slowly."

"W-wait a moment!"

"Well then, I'll be off."

Something told me this was going to be a long campaign.

"..."

After Kim Hyunseong left, Iris stared blankly at the stack of bills resting in her palm.

She really had been scraping by lately.

Her family's support had been cut off, and she'd never held a job in her life.

All she could do was stretch out what little money remained, pinching every coin.

Even so, it would run dry in about two months.

And then.

'Why...'

Five million won.

Not a small sum by any measure.

And he had handed it over to her freely. Without hesitation.

To a trash-hearted woman who had tried to kill him.

"...Ngh."

The weight of the money in her hand was unbearable.

To an awakened body like hers, forged through years of training, it was nothing—a feather's weight. Yet somehow, it felt heavier than anything she had ever held in her life.

A weight on the heart.

He had surely acted out of goodwill, but to her, it only stacked fresh guilt upon the mountain already there.

"I have to pay it back. I absolutely have to..."

Clutching the five million won in a white-knuckled fist, she murmured to herself, tears dripping one by one.

'That probably landed, right?'

I thought to myself as I headed home.

How to exploit guilt.

Truthfully, this was my first time trying to handle another person's heart like putty, so some trial ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and error was bound to be necessary.

So, if I wanted to leverage guilt...

'I need to maximize the amount of guilt.'

When you've got overwhelming resources, even garbage-tier ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠execution produces good results.

And guilt was my resource.

Which was exactly why I'd chosen the approach of increasing her burden rather than easing it.

I couldn't be sure it had worked perfectly, but one thing was certain—it had been thoroughly engraved into her.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

"I'm home."

I punched in the door lock and stepped inside.

"God, you are absolute trash at this."

"Shut up! So my damage is low—what am I supposed to do about it!"

Inside, Nyarlathotep and Cthugha had their console hooked up to the big TV and were running a duo queue.

The game was an RPG, and judging by the boss's behavior, it was the exact type Cthugha hated.

Cthugha's whole strategy was to face-tank everything—dump out damage, let her HP fall where it may—but this boss was packed with instant-kill moves that made tanking through patterns a death sentence.

In other words, the clear answer was to just endure and dodge properly... and there was zero chance Cthugha would ever tolerate that.

Knowing her, she'd died brainlessly charging face-first into every pattern.

"You imbecile. All you have to do is survive it? Why are you charging in instead of dodging?"

"This is so damn annoying!"

"Hey, I'm back, remember?"

Hwaaek.

At the sound of my voice, the two of them poked their heads around and looked at me.

"Hmm, there you are. Move aside, imbecile. Sit there and clear this for me."

And with that, Nyarlathotep abruptly switched to her grandiose noble diction and booted Cthugha off the seat.

I will never understand why she talks to Cthugha like she's her drinking buddy but puts on that whole archaic act with me.

"S-screw... you..."

Kicked off, Cthugha flopped onto the sofa, spitting curses under her breath in a sulky sulk.

"Take the controller. Quickly, now."

"Yeah, yeah."

I sighed, nodded vaguely, and picked up the controls.

I'd just clear it at a reasonable pace and hurry into some fresh clothes.

'Easy.'

Duck under this pattern, jump over that one, roll forward after the slam...

About five minutes of play later, the boss went down without a fuss.

"Leaving things to you really is the comfortable option. That one is hopeless."

"Tch."

Cthugha whipped her head away in annoyance.

"Well, can I head off now?"

"Yes, go on. Ah, and one more thing."

As I turned to leave, Nyarlathotep caught me.

"It's a bit of a shame for today, but you did well. See that you do the same going forward."

"Okay, thanks."

I gave a careless word of thanks and retreated into my room.

But partway through changing, something started to nag at me.

'...Going forward?'

...No way. She just means keep it up whenever we meet again, right?

There's no way she wants me to pull this same exhausting con on other people too.

"Whew."

Once I'd changed, I sprawled lazily onto my bed and spread open the Tome of Spirit.

-Do not engage in training of any kind from now on. To you, such things are nothing but masturbation for the satisfaction of your own mind.

Ever since I'd contracted with her, I had cut off every form of training entirely.

According to her, training for me now only engraved bad habits into my body.

She'd actually told me to just eat and play around instead.

-If you would be a contractor of an Outer God, do not cling to the forms of humanity.

Outer Gods.

I honestly had no idea what that even meant.

I understood they were something beyond Constellations, but beyond that? I couldn't grasp a single thing.

Same with the so-called most ancient of ancient beings. That one at least resembled a Constellation—while also being, without question, something that left Constellations in the distant dust.

I'd thought Constellations sat at the center of the world. Instead, it turned out there were unfathomable existences looming far, far above them.

And those unfathomable existences had singled me out and were raising me with intent.

Frankly? I was happy about it. I just couldn't tell whether I should be.

Wait, why am I spiraling into this kind of worry all of a sudden?

"Oh."

Right—the Tome of Spirit.

The book forcibly stimulated its owner's mind, grinding their mental fortitude downward.

It kept prodding and provoking me psychologically, so pessimistic thoughts flooded in to fill my head.

It was effective at grinding the SAN value, sure, but honestly... it was kind of pathetic-looking, too.

Creak.

Just then, Nyarlathotep opened my door and walked in.

"I knew it would come to this."

"What."

She shook her head as though she'd just witnessed something she never should have had to see.

"Did I not warn you to stop clinging to the forms of humanity?"

Hwaaek!

She snatched the Tome of Spirit straight out of my hands and declared:

"SAN value gained through such a trinket has no practical worth—its efficiency is abysmal."

"Excuse me?"

I never heard anything about that?

"I shall see to the growth of your SAN value myself, so do not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so much as glance at these things."

Handing the book back to me, she continued:

"Return it instead ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to that one—Aisis? Whatever her name was. It should prove quite effective. For her."

With that final piece of advice, Nyarlathotep swept out of the room.

"...Huh. She's right, isn't she?"

Now that I thought about it, when I'd attempted that mind-control earlier, my SAN value had indeed been draining steadily.

So the Tome of Spirit traded ease of training for low-quality mental fortitude?

'Nothing in this world comes easy, huh.'

Resolving to return the thing to Iris, I set the book aside.

Creak.

"If you're that starved for reading, then read this instead."

"The Necronomicon?"

It was the strangest grimoire I had ever laid eyes on in my life.

"In exchange, read no more than one page per day. Consider today a test. Read a little of it now."

"Hmm..."

Without much thought, I opened the first page of the Necronomicon.

Instantly, a banquet of information came pouring into my head.

The first page detailed what the Great Old Ones were.

They were primordial existences that dwelled in the cosmos.

Each and every one wielded power utterly beyond human comprehension.

In fact, though the book described their power in exhaustive detail, I could not understand a single syllable of it.

So immense were they that they had wiped out civilizations beyond counting.

Even the Old Ones that had once taken root on Earth were no match for them.

The Constellations were garbage. Dregs that had failed to become Great Old Ones.

Foolish dregs that meddled with humans, hungrily expanding their claims of ownership.

"Snap out of it."

Aaah—Cthulhu!

"I told you to pull yourself together!"

Flinch.

Jarred by a scream that felt like it was skewering my very soul, I stared at Nyarlathotep with a blank face.

It felt like my brain was melting.

Thud.

I collapsed onto the bed just as I was, and slowly began to drift off.

"It seems you were not yet ready for it. Three lines a day, from now on."

She stroked my head gently and slipped out of the room.

But wait, if it's Cthulhu... the insane gamer who grinds twenty-four hours straight without a single break...

"..."

And so I fell asleep.

Splash.

Down in R'lyeh.