No Match for Pure Bad Luck
"Hurry! It's my turn in eight minutes!"
"Has anyone seen my swimsuit?"
"Who stole my heels?!"
Lucy had never expected this.
She had no idea the backstage of the pageant would be this chaotic.
Out front, the host ran the show smoothly as beautifully dressed women stepped up to flaunt their charms. But back here, in the waiting rooms and hallways, it was a war zone.
Contestants scrambled to prepare for the next round, searched frantically for their belongings, and engaged in petty power struggles. In the midst of it all, Lucy was dragged left and right, summoned constantly for one trivial task after another.
Yet, she didn't mind.
It didn't bother Lucy at all.
In fact, it only energized her.
Whenever the work grew irritating, or whenever she missed Rin too much, all she had to do was recall the happiness from earlier.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier, Lucy."
At dusk, once the stage setup and Ibis's preparations were complete, the workers were given a break.
Rin had approached Lucy first, who had been left entirely alone by the others after the incident at lunch.
Lucy was deeply moved.
"No, no! I'm the one who's sorry for upsetting you, Rin!"
"I was just in a bad mood, and I took it out on you for no reason."
"I really don't mind, Rin."
Lucy clutched the fabric of her skirt, looking down with a soft smile.
"If you're feeling down, you can take it out on me."
"What kind of logic is that?"
"It was the first time, you know. The first time you've ever gotten angry or annoyed with me."
Thinking back on it after he forgave her, she realized it was the most honest Rin had ever been with her.
Even if it was in a negative way.
Compared to how she had treated him in the past, it was nothing but a drop in the bucket. Lucy was simply happy.
If she focused, the pure demonic energy emanating from his arms seemed to whisper to her—telling her that it was okay, that this was exactly how it should be.
"So, I'm perfectly fine."
She flashed a bright, radiant smile that seemed slightly broken.
"Don't say that. I'm the one who's sorry."
Still, she loved it best when Rin was gentle and warm.
Relieved to see his usual self return, Lucy's breathing grew shallow and rapid.
She had reached her limit.
"Rin... I..."
"Is it really hard for you?"
"Yes..."
Rin, well aware of Lucy's separation anxiety, scanned their surroundings. Seeing no one nearby, he hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Alright. Since I was in the wrong too, you can do whatever you want."
Before the words could fully leave his mouth, Lucy buried her face in the crook of his neck.
Slurp.
She pressed her lips against his skin, sucking up the glistening sweat. Lost in the salty taste and Rin's distinct scent, Lucy's eyes went half-lidded as she focused entirely on drinking him in.
Rin, who had expected her to simply cling to him, was caught off guard. But since he had already given her permission, he could only keep a tense watch on their surroundings, praying no one would walk in on them.
With each passing day, Lucy's obsession grew deeper.
And as her obsession intensified, her self-esteem plummeted.
She accepted Rin's opinions unconditionally, without a single doubt. At her worst, she would even beg for permission just to stand by his side.
This is bad. I have to make my exit eventually.
Oblivious to Rin's internal dilemma, Lucy indulged herself like an untamed filly, only pulling away shyly after she had thoroughly tasted his sweat.
Because of that brief moment of intimacy, Lucy felt she could handle anything with a smile now, no matter who tried to bother her.
Except for other men, of course.
I'm not tired at all.
Rin felt the same way.
"Chun-sik, could you get my dress ready over there?"
"My lady, I will prepare your clothes," Gyanal intervened.
"Oh, really? Then, Gyanal, get my bra and corset ready."
"My lady! How can you say such things in front of a strange man?!"
As the daughter of a prominent family on the island, Ibis had a private waiting room all to herself.
Rin's job was simply to stay by her side and attend to her needs.
Though Ibis teased him like this from time to time, Gyanal, the maid, always stepped in to draw the line, allowing him to avoid any truly awkward situations.
While the work had become much easier, the main reason Rin could finally breathe a sigh of relief was the Demon Sword.
The young girl clad in black who had appeared earlier that day.
Rin was certain she was the Demon Sword, Abyss.
According to the memories of the reincarnated Mr. Lee, the Demon Sword always exuded a dark aura. In the game's text, when Lucy used it as a material to reinforce the Holy Sword, it had cried out in the voice of a young girl, begging for its life.
Furthermore, the girl had briefly enveloped Rin in darkness, isolating him from the rest of the world.
While anyone capable of manipulating demonic energy could pull off such a trick, the matching age group confirmed it. The girl was undoubtedly the Demon Sword.
But that raised a question.
Even if she was the Demon Sword, how was he supposed to find her after she vanished right before his eyes?
Her spawn rate was notoriously abysmal.
Yet, he didn't need to worry about that either.
I can see her perfectly.
For some reason, the girl was watching Rin from a distance, keeping herself shrouded in darkness.
She was hiding behind a pile of leftover lumber from the stage construction, but her gaze was so intense that it was impossible to miss.
Despite claiming earlier that he was boring, it seemed nothing in the area caught her interest quite like Rin did.
Perhaps she was intentionally leaking her presence to him, hoping he would strike up a conversation.
Rin decided to play dumb for now, focusing on his duties until a natural opportunity to speak with her arose.
"It's your turn, my lady."
"Alright, I'm off!"
Dressed in pure white, Ibis prepared to take the stage.
Even from backstage, the sheer excitement of the pageant was palpable. The contestants were busy showing off their charms through dancing, singing, and poetry recitations, each performance met with roaring cheers from the crowd.
"Wish me luck?"
Ibis suddenly offered the back of her hand.
When Rin merely stared back, not understanding the gesture, a flushed Ibis cleared her throat.
"Ahem. In times like this, you're supposed to kiss the back of my hand for good luck."
"My lady! How could you offer your hand to a strange man?!"
"You're too uptight, Gyanal."
"And you are far too easygoing, my lady!"
The horrified maid tried to intervene, but the young lady was stubborn.
"Come on! We're out of time!"
"You! If you dare touch her, I won't let you off easy!" Gyanal threatened.
Though put in a difficult spot, Rin calmly walked over to the vanity and picked up a white rose corsage and a ribbon he had spotted earlier.
With swift, practiced movements, he tied it around Ibis's wrist. Both the lady and her maid gasped in surprise.
"Break a leg," Rin said, offering a polite, professional smile.
Ibis bit her lower lip slightly.
"Not bad."
Though she looked a bit frustrated, she took a deep breath to compose herself and confidently strode onto the stage.
Impressed by his clever handling of the situation, the maid refrained from nagging further and went to see her lady off.
With the Demon Sword located, it was time for the next battle of wits: the Demon Hero.
Rin suspected that Ibis was the Demon Hero in question.
To put things in context, the Demon Hero who had infiltrated the Zramun Archipelago was a dual-wielder.
Her race was vampire.
Unlike succubi, who relied on physical seduction to harvest human blood, vampires possessed a passive charm that manifested as an inexplicable, magnetic familiarity. Ibis's behavior was a textbook example of a vampire's charm.
The effortless affection she garnered from both men and women, combined with the way she boldly closed the distance between them—it all lined up. He was sure of it.
"You should go take a break. Now that my lady is on stage, she'll be out there until the finale," Gyanal said.
Rin bowed in gratitude and stepped out of the waiting tent, only to find Lucy kicking the dirt outside.
She looked thoroughly displeased about something.
"Are you on break too, Lucy?"
"Yeah... They said I'm done for the day."
"That's great. I'm almost finished here too."
"Yeah..."
She seemed incredibly downcast.
Was she still reeling from when he got angry at lunch?
As Rin watched her, Lucy hesitantly spoke up first.
"You're... really good with your hands, Rin."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"That rose ribbon earlier..."
"Ah."
He had only tied it quickly to resolve the situation, but Lucy must have been watching from afar. Feeling a bit guilty about earlier, Rin decided to be generous.
"Should I tie one for you later, Lucy?"
"Really?"
"If we can find a red rose, I'll use that."
"You promise?"
"Yes. Once our work here is done, I'll definitely do it for you."
"I'll hold you to that!"
Lucy raised her voice in excitement, but Rin didn't mind. The girl in black had completely vanished the moment he stepped out of the tent. Thanks to a low-grade presence detection scroll he had activated earlier, he knew there was no one else nearby to worry about.
Since they had a moment to themselves, Rin decided to discuss their next steps with Lucy.
"I think Lady Protec is the Demon Hero."
"I knew it."
"You suspected her?"
"It was just annoying how she kept clinging to you."
No, that's just you being jealous. And completely one-sidedly at that.
"That demon named Adora also showed a strange interest in you. It was suspicious in many ways."
Though she was mostly jumping to conclusions, Lucy's intuition wasn't something to be ignored. Rin had felt Adora's suffocating obsession firsthand, so he couldn't dismiss the possibility.
"Can you sense her demonic energy?"
"I don't think I can..." Lucy admitted, looking uncharacteristically unsure of herself.
"The Demon King's energy in your arm and the Demon Hero's energy are both highly pure. If it were a low-class or foreign energy like that succubus in Epaltelga, I could tell, but it's hard to distinguish a high-ranking demon from you."
"I see."
That was unfortunate.
"But!" Lucy added quickly, desperate to prove her usefulness to him.
"I can definitely sense hostility directed at me."
"Hostility?"
"Yes. The more they like you, the more they'll hate me."
"Hmm."
That actually made sense.
Rin still had no idea why they liked him and found it incredibly burdensome, but regardless, their hostility toward Lucy could serve as an excellent identifier, even without sensing their demonic energy. Whether they liked Rin or not, Lucy was still the Hero. It was only natural for the Demon Hero's party to despise her.
"That makes sense. Let's use that to track them down. Starting with Ibis."
"Okay, I got it!"
The moment Ibis was exposed as a demon, Lucy fully intended to slaughter her. Labin was more than enough rivalry to handle. Besides, Labin wasn't someone Lucy could just make disappear by refusing to acknowledge her. But if there were other romantic rivals besides Labin—who was already the ultimate obstacle when it came to Rin—it was only right to eliminate them.
"Alright, Lucy. Starting tomorrow, you'll stick close to me, and we'll narrow down the suspects who show hostility toward us."
"S-Stick close to you, Rin?"
"Yeah."
"All day...?"
"Basically, we'll have to stay together until the festival ends."
"Until the festival ends?!"
Overwhelmed by this unexpected stroke of luck, Lucy's mouth fell open. This was her chance. She had to show him how gentle and devoted she could be. She would do everything in her power to keep Rin from getting hurt, acting only in ways that pleased him. And then, and then, and then...!
"Hehehe...!"
"Lucy...?"
Rin watched her, deeply concerned by the goofy, dazed grin spreading across her face.
Right then, a massive roar of cheers erupted from the stage.
The winner of the beauty pageant had likely just been announced. Rin and Lucy tried to ignore it and continue their discussion, but the maid suddenly rushed out of the tent.
"Chun-sik? Chun-sik!"
"Yes?"
"Ah, there you are. Thank goodness. My lady is looking for you."
"Isn't the finale of the pageant still left?"
"Yes, and she needs you for that very finale."
"Uh..."
This was incredibly problematic.
The pageant's finale.
According to the memories of the reincarnated Mr. Lee, this event was definitely...
"I'm sorry, but I believe my shift for today is over."
"Do you think I'm doing this because I want to? How dare an outsider refuse a request from the Protec family?" the maid snapped.
For a mere maid, her loyalty was remarkably fierce.
"Ri—I mean, Chun-sik, just go. There's no need to make a bad impression or arouse suspicion," Lucy whispered softly to Rin.
She was prioritizing Rin's safety over her own possessiveness. She was terrified that her stubbornness might cause him harm again.
Unfortunately for Rin, this was the one moment he actually needed her to be possessive.
"Sun-yi, are you sure you'll be okay?" Rin asked, using her alias.
"Yes!"
"But you struggle when I'm not by your side."
"I'll be fine for just a little bit!"
Lucy thought she was making up for her suffocating behavior earlier, completely unaware that her compliance was throwing their plans into disarray. Even now, at a critical juncture, she was making decisions based on her own assumptions rather than listening to Rin.
"Sigh... Alright. If you say so, Sun-yi."
Steeling himself, Rin nodded to the maid, Gyanal.
"This way."
Following the maid, they stepped back into the tent. Naturally, Ibis was nowhere to be seen. But Lucy felt an ominous premonition prickling at her senses.
"Woooooooah—!!!!!"
"Our winner is Lady Ibis Protec! And now, who will the young lady choose as her festival partner?!"
Wait, partner? Lucy thought.
"The chosen partner will have the glorious duty of accompanying the pageant winner, Lady Protec, throughout the entire festival!"
Throughout the entire festival?
Hold on. Why did she call for Rin right now?
Realizing something was horribly wrong, Lucy panicked. She whipped her head around to look for Rin, but he was already walking out toward the stage.
"My partner is already waiting for me over there!" Ibis's confident voice rang out.
"Just stand there and keep quiet. Don't make a fool of yourself," the maid warned Rin sharply.
"The festival partner handpicked by Lady Protec! Everyone, please welcome him to the stage!"
"Chun-sik!" Lucy cried out too late, unable to stop his advancing steps.
As Rin stepped onto the stage wearing his mask, the crowd fell dead silent.
"Whoa..." even the host muttered, taken aback by the masked figure.
"What do you think? Isn't he handsome?" Ibis asked, the only one thrilled by the situation.
"Unfortunately, I haven't won his heart yet. So please, everyone, watch over us!"
Snatching the magic microphone from the host, Ibis made a bold declaration.
"On the third and final day of the festival, after I have won his heart and removed that mask, we will stand on this stage together once more!"
It was a bombshell announcement. Even the maid stood frozen, her jaw dropping.
"Oh? Was I a bit too honest?" Ibis giggled.
Luciena Estelle.
The current Hero, who had suffered betrayal just like her predecessor.
And recently, she seemed to have acquired a knack for ruining everything she tried to do.
She tried to stop her body from trembling, but she couldn't prevent the furious grinding of her teeth.