The Day After the Wrong Button

The day after pressing the wrong button. Today as well, I tended to Erielle and absorbed her demonic energy.

It really didn't feel that far off now. At this pace... I thought I could absorb all of it in two days.

"It's strange. Just having you nearby seems to make my body feel better."

"Haha... Is that so? If that's the case, then I'm glad... cough... khup."

"Go back to your room. You might end up collapsing like me. Besides, you said you'd be taking vacation starting three days from now. Get some proper rest."

I had nearly coughed up blood right in front of Erielle. I barely managed to swallow it back down, bowed my head politely at her words, and left the room.

"Cough... cough."

'Status window.'

Analyzing the rate of lifespan reduction from absorbing demonic energy so far, it didn't seem like I would run out of time before I could finish. In that case, I would absorb all of Erielle's demonic energy first, stop the dark mages' plan, and then look for a way to extend my lifespan.

'Obviously I'm not going to do something like absorbing life force.'

Of course, if I absorbed life force indiscriminately—whether from dark mages or ordinary people—I could somehow prolong my life. But... could that ever be the right thing to do? To commit the same acts as those dark mages just to extend my own life? No, I couldn't. If I did that, I would become no different from them.

I would have to find another way somehow.

I continued walking until I reached my room.

"Now... two days left."

The amount of time I could still use to completely extract the demonic energy from Erielle. And on the third day, I had to head to Snowfield Village in advance and prepare a way to stop the dark mages.

That was why I had already told the family head and Erielle that I would be taking a vacation. I had been worried they might not allow it, but fortunately they readily gave permission.

"....Hmm."

The old man who had seemed to lead the dark mages' assembly. His strength was so overwhelming that I shouldn't be thinking about whether I could fight him, but whether I could survive if I encountered him.

Fortunately, during the dark mages' meeting, the old man had said he would not personally step forward for the Snowfield Village attack. He had to conduct preliminary investigations on other village assaults and prepare to accelerate the empire's downfall scenario that they called the 'great cause' or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something like that.

Instead of going himself, the old man had repeatedly talked about his plan to send the dark mage directly beneath him to burn all of Snowfield Village to the ground.

Yes... that was fortunate. If that old man had stepped forward, there was no way I could have stopped Snowfield Village from falling with my own power.

However, even without the old man, the dark mages present at that assembly were plenty strong. Strong enough that I absolutely could not let my guard down.

"Directly beneath him... that would be around high priest level."

At the dark mages' assembly, I had learned that they had ranks based on strength and the amount of dark mana they possessed. In order: Pope, Cardinal, High Priest, Priest, and ordinary believer.

The old man had called himself a 'Cardinal,' so the one directly below him would be a high priest. Even the lowest rank, an ordinary believer, could easily slaughter dozens of regular people. That meant the high priests and cardinals, who stood incomparably higher, were truly indescribable monsters.

'Status window, dark magic category.'

Wow... I had grown quite a lot. After killing so many dark mages and absorbing vast amounts of dark mana, I had grown this much. Ironically, every time I absorbed Erielle's demonic energy, my lifespan decreased while my dark mana increased. It was like a double-edged sword—my life shortened, but I grew stronger at the same time.

"...Come to think of it, that dark mage I met inside the well back then said I was around high priest level."

The village I had visited while searching for dark mages alone, without Erielle. The dark mage I saw at the bottom of the well had definitely said I was around 'high priest' level. And the dark mage coming to Snowfield Village was also around high priest level.

What did that mean?

"I absolutely cannot lose."

I possessed an absurd counter against dark mages who could perform inverse calculations with the Magic Eye. Against a dark mage far stronger than me, like that old man, it might be different, but against one on par with me or slightly stronger at the high priest level, I could show an overwhelmingly one-sided exchange.

'Still, I must never let my guard down.'

Because one could never predict what those dark mages would do. There was a very high chance they would take the entire village hostage or present me with choices I couldn't avoid.

"...Huu. Then shall I go find some dark mages today as well? I can't afford to lose my edge."

Judging by the time, it was about when everyone would be going to bed. When everyone was asleep, the Night Crow would awaken. I would quickly eliminate them, then predict the situation in Snowfield Village and think of countermeasures.

Time flowed on, and the final day arrived. After doing my best to absorb the demonic energy all this time, only about 12% remained in Erielle's body. Good. It looked like I could absorb all of Erielle's demonic energy today. I had extracted as much as possible yesterday too.

"Lady Erielle, today as well..."

"Oh? Sir Venice? Weren't you supposed to be on vacation?"

"....Huh?"

When I woke up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the morning, quickly got ready, and headed to Erielle's room with light steps, the person who greeted me wasn't the usual indifferent Erielle, but the maid who was cleaning her room.

....Where was Erielle? I had to finish absorbing the demonic energy today.

"Ah, Lady Erielle said she had urgent matters to attend to and headed to the imperial palace."

"....What?!"

"The family head, the mistress, Master Jake, and Master Kyle all went together. It seems they were summoned by the imperial family."

The maid's cheerful voice saying, 'The family head and Lady Erielle told me to tell you to go rest well on your vacation!' didn't reach me. Right now, I could only walk silently toward my room in a daze.

"....This is."

I saw a small note inside the tiny mailbox in front of my room door. I must not have noticed it when I left earlier because my back was turned.

The handwriting was neat and detached, just like Erielle's personality.

Why... why did it have to be today of all days? There was tomorrow... and the day after...

"Damn it... damn it!"

So that was why it had been so noisy since early morning. I had to head to Snowfield Village tomorrow to prepare in advance. Now I had no time left either...

"Going to the imperial palace right now is..."

Obviously impossible. Even renowned nobles had to prostrate themselves to enter the imperial palace. A mere commoner like me wouldn't even be allowed inside the royal castle.

My head went completely blank, cold sweat broke out, and my heart pounded violently. At this rate... I wouldn't be able to save Erielle.

"No... Let's calm down. I need to stay composed."

I would save Snowfield Village first, then go to Erielle as quickly as possible to absorb the remaining demonic energy. One day. One day should be enough. Since there wasn't much demonic energy left, Erielle had been given a little more time. It would probably be fine.

"For now... for now, let's head to Snowfield Village."

Don't get impatient. First, deal with the situation right in front of me. Forcing myself to ignore the anxiety that refused to disappear no matter how hard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I tried, I grabbed my bag and headed for Snowfield Village.

Throb—

".........?"

"What's wrong, Erielle?"

"...It's nothing."

While riding in the carriage toward the imperial palace, Erielle had felt a faint pain near her heart, but she didn't think much of it. She believed she had mostly recovered, and the pain wasn't severe enough to worry about.

'...It's annoying. I just want to see Venice soon.'

Erielle let out a small sigh and turned her gaze back out the window.

Throb—

Still unaware of the parasite deep inside her body that continued to devour her without disappearing.