Chapter 103. The Way He Loves (1)
Chapter 103. The Way He Loves (1)
1
A pale dawn.
I woke up and washed my face. After dressing in the black butler's uniform that had become quite familiar by now, I slowly stood before the mirror.
There, [I] was still reflected.
"Hm."
Once, the Black Dragon Master had said I had [a slightly sly look about me].
The man reflected in the mirror spoke slowly.
"Raviel."
Thump.
"Raviel Ivansia."
[Your immersion in the character deepens.]
[Your current Immersion Rate is 62%.]
I had merely murmured the name of the lover I loved. And yet my heart raced, my breath quickened, and the man reflected in the mirror flushed slightly. Even I could read the expression easily.
"...I really do love her."
How fascinating.
Surprised by my own emotions, I moved on to the next thing I had to do.
"Status window."
Letters slowly bloomed before my eyes.
+
Name: Death King (死王)
Rank: D-rank
Skills (6/6)
1. I Want to Be Like You (S+)
2. Regressor's Clockwork Watch (EX)
3. Sword Constellation (A+)
4. Goblin High Society (F)
5. Hundred Ghost Reincarnation (SSS)
6. Demonic Heavenly God Art (A+)
※The blessing of the God of Beauty (美神) is in effect.
※The blessing of the Snake God (蛇神) is in effect.
+
There, the path of the life I had passed through, the life I had left behind, was drawn out.
My jealousy. My secrets. My strokes of fortune. My humor. My will. Even my happiness.
The life of the human [Kim Gong-ja] was expressed so plainly.
"......"
I drew in a deep breath.
"Character window."
Then, letters I had never seen before etched themselves before my eyes.
+
Name: Kim Gong-ja
Favorability: 90
Preferred genres: [Wuxia], [Romance], [Mystery], [Adventure]
Disliked genres: None
Preferred characters: [Mentor], [Noble hero], [Victim], [Hard worker], [Child], [Good person], [One who knows how to doubt themselves], [One who is generous to others], [One who understands me]
Disliked characters: [Psychopath]
Preferred plots: [Evil is punished and good prevails], [Friendship], [Love]
Disliked plots: [Self-hatred], [Giving up], [Escape], [Oblivion], [Distrust], [Monopolizing]
Mental state: 'I want to know how I appear to others.'
+
Gulp.
I swallowed.
"Okay."
I was still Kim Gong-ja. I hadn't been devoured by the role like the Heretic Questioner had been. The plan I had set would proceed smoothly.
Without fail.
"Sword Emperor."
-Huh?
The ghost who did not appear in the mirror answered.
"If I end up buried in the role of the butler, there's something I need to ask of you."
-What?
"If my Immersion Rate reaches 100%, there's a high chance I won't even be able to hear your voice anymore. I'll still have the skill, but I'll forget how to use it entirely. No matter what happens, we have to stop my Immersion Rate from hitting 100%."
I touched the hilt of the dagger hidden at my waist.
"99%. That's the Maginot Line. My immersion absolutely must not go above 99%. Understood? If by any chance it looks like I'm about to cross 99%, stop me by any means necessary."
-Heh.
The guardian spirit chuckled.
-Worrying about all sorts of things. You think a bastard with as much pride and ego as you would actually go up to 99%?
"Yes, I will."
I tidied my clothes one last time.
The perfect image of a butler was captured in the mirror.
"Because I intend to deliberately raise it that far."
-What?
The guardian spirit was startled.
-Why? You'll fail the stage and get trapped in this world.
"I can't tell you the reason right now. No, no one but me can know. I'm going to clear this stage by exploiting a loophole in the Tower's system."
The Tower was watching us even now.
If it learned what strategy I had come up with, the Tower might hurry to patch the loophole. That must not happen.
While the Tower still had a systemic flaw, a gap it hadn't yet considered. This was the opportunity. I had to clear [The Tale of Sormwyn Academy] quickly.
"Please help me if I'm in danger."
-......
"I'll be counting on you. The greatest of all time who said he'd become my master."
And then I realized the Black Dragon Master had been right.
The man reflected in the mirror was grinning slyly, like a mischievous brat.
"Well then, I'll be off to help my lover."
2
Lady Silver Lily and I had begun dating, but unfortunately, we couldn't enjoy an outdoor date. The lady had taken to her bed.
Lady Silver Lily had always been frail. She was weak to sunlight as well. Looking back through the [butler]'s memories, Lady Silver Lily had more days absent from the academy than days attending.
And yet she had stayed up all night for the past several days and overworked herself, so of course she collapsed.
"Don't worry. It's been like this since the first run."
Leaning against the bed, Lady Silver Lily spoke.
"To be more precise, it's been like this since birth. I couldn't run around outside, so I almost always stayed in the mansion. It got worse after I stabbed a knife into the mirror and my heart disappeared."
"......"
"That's why His Imperial Majesty granted an epithet not only to me but also to Golden Thread Plum. At this rate, even if I became empress, I would die before long. It would be difficult to produce an heir. I am not suited to be empress......"
Cough. Lady Silver Lily coughed.
The sound was a little drier than yesterday.
"It's hot tea. Please drink."
I handed her the tea I had prepared in advance. Lady Silver Lily said, "Thank you," and took a sip. Then she raised her eyebrows. She looked slightly surprised.
"...You added plenty of honey. It suits my taste perfectly. How did you know?"
I smiled.
"You told me before, my lady."
Lady Silver Lily had said it when she was giving me love lessons. During the sixth run, some apostle had tried to win her over using a strategy guide. It had been written in that guide.
+
1. Lady Silver Lily is weak to sunlight.
2. Lady Silver Lily has a dull sense of taste and likes strongly flavored food.
+
I simply remembered that and made use of it.
"Hm. Then doesn't that mean you've ended up using a strategy guide as well?"
"Since you told me yourself first, my lady, it's hard to call it a strategy guide. I'd appreciate it if you considered it as using a reference book."
"Now that I see it, you have a rather annoying side to you too."
Lady Silver Lily tilted her cup.
The quiet sound of sipping tea echoed in the bedroom.
"So what is this scheme you've come up with? Sharing this warm time with you right now is nothing more than a brief amusement. One of the two of us will inevitably forget the time spent with the other. There can't possibly be a solution."
"You've never once entrusted your life to another person, have you, my lady?"
"Hm?"
"Please trust me."
"......"
"Even if it's a fake romance, the person you agreed to date is by no means an incompetent man."
Lady Silver Lily gazed quietly at my face.
"In life, there are times when you need other people's help. Right now, my lady, that's exactly where you are."
I too had received help from the Sword Saint and the Black Dragon Master when saving the Aegim Empire. When breaking through the Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon, I had received help from the pharmacist, Viper, and the Medicine King. I would never say it out loud, but I was always indebted to the guardian spirit as well.
I had never once thought of myself as alone.
Unlike the lover before my eyes.
"Until now, you've shouldered too much on your own, my lady. [The empire must remain steadfast even after my death], [I must set the crown prince straight], [I must deal with the Blood Demon as well]. You've been doing that for all 140 days, haven't you?"
"Do you think I'm exhausted?"
"Yes."
"......"
"Please rest, just a little."
I placed the spring flowers I had picked at dawn into a vase and set it beside the bed.
"I think I would hate it if the person I love tried to shoulder everything alone. No, I do hate it. When I'm exhausted, I'd want the other person to take responsibility, and when the other person is exhausted, I'd want to take responsibility."
"We are merely enjoying a fake romance."
"It doesn't matter, because I'm sincere."
"...Does it not feel like an insult to you?"
"Ah, you still don't know me, my lady."
How could someone be this lovable? I let out a small laugh.
"I'm a positive guy. Did you think I'd get gloomy or wallow in insecurity just because you agreed to date me as a pretense? Not a chance. I see it as an opportunity. You're going to fall in love with me anyway."
"Good heavens. What on earth is the source of that confidence?"
"Because I'll be the only one spending time with you, my lady. Until you tell me you're [exhausted], I will not give up on you no matter what."
"......"
No matter what.
"I will do my best to become your support."
Lady Silver Lily did not answer. Instead, she quietly drank her tea.
Day by day, my lover grew thinner.
Every night, the [demons] that appeared at midnight grew stronger as time passed.
At first, the demons had only managed to take the shape of [tongues] and [lips]. But the next day, and the day after, they changed. [Arms] appeared, and [legs] appeared.
-Hee-hee.
It was only around the time they grew limbs that I realized. The demons resembled Lady Silver Lily. If you simplified Lady Silver Lily and shrank her down, they would look exactly like that.
-Are you going to kill us?
-Are you going to kill me?
Every night, I silently dealt with the demons. Lady Silver Lily said, "I'll help too," but I firmly refused. Right now, more than anything, she needed time alone, quiet rest.
Paperwork requiring Lady Silver Lily's approval? I stopped all of it.
There were only a few days left until this world was destroyed anyway. If the empire would collapse just because the ducal lady didn't tend to it for a few days, then let it collapse.
Rest.
A vacation all to herself.
That was the first gift I gave to Lady Silver Lily.
"...Days like this are a first for me."
Lady Silver Lily murmured, looking slightly troubled.
"Is it truly all right to stay still like this?"
We were sitting in the shade of a cherry tree, idly gazing at the lake. I had carried Lady Silver Lily here in my arms.
That was all.
There was no complicated paperwork, no Blood Demon, and no students whispering about Lady Silver Lily as a spectacle.
"It's all right."
"But......"
"I said it's all right, my lady."
Lady Silver Lily closed her lips. She seemed to find this peaceful time that had come to her almost unbearable.
"I'll make it all right."
"I don't want to lean on you."
"When did I ever say I'd only ever help you forever, my lady? When I need help, you can help me. We can just help each other, can't we? Let's help each other as we live."
"......"
The day simply passed quietly.
That day was the 'tenth day' Lady Silver Lily had mentioned.
"You must be thirsty. Today I tried adding a little honey to milk tea. It should suit your taste."
"......"
"When the sunlight softens a bit more, let's go out on a rowboat. I'll do the rowing."
That day, Lady Silver Lily did nothing.
In the morning, I woke her and had her wash her face. I brought her a simple meal. In the late morning, I sat beside her and read from a poetry collection she liked. In the afternoon, I packed snacks and we took a walk to the lake at the academy.
Whiiiiish-
The spring day whistled, bewitching the magnolia petals and cherry blossom petals. Lady Silver Lily quietly lifted her head to watch the white scattering across the sky. Cherry blossoms fell onto the lake's surface and bobbed on the ripples.
"......"
For an hour, she said nothing.
Even when I carried Lady Silver Lily and placed her in the rowboat, she was quiet. Quietly, she gazed at the drifting waves of petals. Lapping. Sloshing. The lake meekly yielded a path to my rowing.
"Spring is white."
Lady Silver Lily murmured.
"In the empire, they call this time [white spring]. There is a season when the cherry blossoms bloom before the magnolias fall. An old poet I like once said, [White blooms within white, spring blossoms in full within spring. The white that winter could not scatter entirely lets out its last breath]."
The speed of her words resembled the speed of cherry blossoms drifting through the sky.
"It's a beautiful season."
"Yes."
The sunset came.
"I don't know how long it's been since I last saw a season like this."
A gentle spring flowed by.
"......"
"......"
The two of us were drunk on the season. A pleasant daze. The soft, hazy spring air filled our heads.
[The presence of the Silver-Plated Heart grows clearer.]
So when the time for this world's destruction approached, we were not flustered at all. No, we didn't even exchange any particular words.
[The Silver-Plated Heart manifests.]
The reddened sunset grew redder.
From across the academy, the faint screams of students could be heard. The blood that must have overflowed from the mirror had likely engulfed the academy in an instant. And it flowed into the edge of the lake, dyeing the water red.
"Butler."
"Yes."
"Being with you is comfortable."
We had stopped the rowboat in the very center of the lake.
The red blood encroaching from the edges had not yet devoured our sanctuary.
"May I truly trust you?"
I let go of the oars.
"You said it yourself, my lady. That we are beings no different from parallel lines, so whoever dies first will inevitably regress first. And so the two of us can never be together."
"Mm."
"From now on."
I took Lady Silver Lily's hand.
"My aura will wrap around your body. Not just your body, but into your mind as well. And I will wrap my own body and my own mind in aura the same way."
And then.
"At exactly the same time, I will blow up your head and my head."
"......"
Lady Silver Lily's breath stopped for a moment.
As her breathing grew quieter, her pupils widened.
"That is......"
"It's true that whoever dies first regresses first. It's also true that the person who fails to regress will not remember the other. Then there's only one way for us to be together. We die at exactly the same time, at the same moment."
I held Lady Silver Lily's hand a little tighter.
"Raviel Ivansia."
The person I love.
"Please die with me."
A moment later.
She nodded.
And so we did exactly that.