This Isn't Quite Right
"Pfft... Puhuhu..."
"......"
Aishi was laughing at me as I lay sprawled on the floor with a dazed expression.
"W-What're you laughing at like that?"
I put on an exaggerated scowl for her benefit, and she covered her smirking mouth with her hand.
"'Cause you look like such a fool~"
"Y-You're the one who secretly turned the floor into ice in the first place!"
"Puh! Puhuhu..."
"Stop laughing!"
I suppressed the goosebumps rising on my skin and played along with the mood. Aishi started laughing so hard tears welled up in her eyes.
'Good.'
Watching her, I let out a quiet sigh of relief inwardly.
'Crisis averted for now.'
Her emotions, as seen through the Mind Reading skill—no more 'despair,' 'melancholy,' or 'impulses.'
The red 'Corruption' status in her special notes had changed to halted.
I knew bits of Aishi's past from the Prophecy Book. A princess who craved just a little love and attention, but lost control to the impulses inside her and went berserk. That rampage as a child had hurt many people, leaving her with deep trauma. If she lost control again, she'd become unstoppable.
That's why people called her 'on a timer,' 'descendant of the Ice Witch,' or 'ticking time bomb.' But stopping her corruption was surprisingly simple.
Just play along with her pranks.
It seemed too easy and straightforward to prevent her from dragging the Western Continent into a bloody war or becoming the Demon King's closest subordinate... but it was working, wasn't it?
The Prophecy Book's line kept echoing in my mind: "She merely dreamed of a simple life where someone occasionally played along with her pranks."
In a way, that simple life aligned somewhat with the modest one I desired.
"Hmm..."
That said, it would've been nice to know the cause of her corruption...
Unfortunately, it wasn't in the Prophecy Book. Since even the ancestor's prophecy omitted it, it might only reveal itself after the final battle—or perhaps it was designed never to be known.
Did Aishi herself know? I should ask if the chance arises.
'Still, she's quite different from how she appeared in the third trial.'
In the third trial, she stayed ice-cold to the end. But her personality in the prophecy—and what she was showing now—differed greatly from that trial.
Did the DLC restore her original personality with a new storyline? Or did the trial trigger some change? Maybe both.
I couldn't know for sure. But one thing was clear now.
All the sub-heroines were starting to change after the third trial.
Was that a plus... or a minus? I'd find out in time.
"Get up already. How long are you going to lie there?"
"Urgh..."
Lost in thought for a while, I slowly rose at her words, her hand still covering her mouth.
'Just play along for a bit. Compared to the humiliations I've endured, pranks are nothing.'
My legs wobbling, I muttered that inwardly and shuffled toward the chair.
"...Ugh."
Then, suddenly, pain flared near my heart.
"W-What the—"
Of course, the life force drain's side effects had been causing heart pains lately. But this felt different.
If usual pain was like a needle stabbing my heart, this was... like it freezing solid.
'Don't tell me...'
A hunch hit me from the anomaly, and I pondered quietly.
"Pfft."
Aishi, who had been staring blankly, suddenly burst out laughing.
"W-What?"
I tilted my head at her, and her response came.
"You must be suffering a lot, huh?"
"What?"
"What, you still haven't noticed even in that state? You're such a loser."
"What are you talking about?"
I gave her a puzzled look, and she rose with a sly curl of her lips.
"You're such an idiot, hehe..."
".....?"
She sidled right up beside me, gazing down at me in the chair with seductive eyes.
"You've been feeling drained lately, haven't you? Body not holding up?"
She leaned against my shoulder and whispered softly in my ear.
"...What?"
"The rumors and the empire's papers match up, and you look ready to collapse right now... No point hiding it, right?"
"What are you even doing?"
"Want me to tell you why?"
Despite my baffled expression, she flashed a devilish smile and pressed closer, whispering.
'Why? Because of the penalty, obviously.'
I knew exactly why my body was like this, so I was just confused.
"Hehe."
As I stared blankly at Aishi leaning on my shoulder—
—poke!
She lightly jabbed my heart with her finger.
"Ack..."
A chill swirled in my heart again.
"C-Cold."
"As I thought... Knew it."
I blurted it out involuntarily, and her eyes gleamed as she trailed her finger down my chest.
'So that's it.'
Only then did I piece it together.
"Remember, Frey. The curse is fully deactivated, but getting close to her—the curse's source—will temporarily reactivate it."
Irina's words before I came here finally resurfaced.
"It'll deactivate again once you're away, but with your body already weak, that's plenty burdensome. And who knows what could happen. So..."
"So?"
"N-No physical contact! Avoid her unless absolutely necessary! She's a sub-heroine, right? I can't stand seeing an ice mage stuck to your side...!"
One of the rare times tsundere Irina yelled her true feelings in that shrill voice—I remembered it well.
"Aren't you curious why your body's like this?"
Finishing my thoughts, Aishi leaned her head forward from my shoulder and asked.
"W-What..."
"Play along nicely today... and I might tell you?"
".....?"
Her face was inches from mine now.
"Why your body's failing you."
"My body's failing?"
"You must be desperate. Bright future ahead—you don't wanna die, right? I have the solution."
Hearing that, I quietly weighed my options.
'Guess I have to play along.'
I could reveal the truth now, but that gained nothing. Better to humor Aishi, who thought she'd successfully cursed me.
For one, she was on the verge of corruption—I needed to periodically indulge her pranks to keep her from darkening. I also had to investigate her corruption's cause and build some rapport for a breakthrough in the hero party launching in a few months.
Acting the gullible fool might lower her guard, at least. Maybe even spark some reluctant fondness like with Lulu.
"Y-You really know why my body's weakening?"
Decision made, I asked with a desperate look.
"Pfft."
Aishi smirked and settled lightly on my lap.
"Obey my demands, and I'll tell you."
"W-What do I have to do...?"
"Well..."
She eyed my faintly blushing face.
"...Be my toy?"
A tail had sprouted unnoticed, wrapping around me briefly before she stood.
"I've got quite the grudge against you. Figuring out I'm half-demon and blackmailing me... Annoying as they are, trying to enslave our kingdom's royals too."
"........"
"So, I need to toy with you to vent."
She crossed her legs in her seat, flashing a cold smile.
"Don't like it? Fine. But reject me, and pathetic you won't last long."
She propped her chin, grinning mischievously.
"So, what's it gonna be?"
A moment later, I nodded quietly at her.
"Good. I'll take that as acceptance..."
Her lips curved into a bright smile as she gazed at me, then asked softly.
"...You any good at holding your liquor?"
Was she suggesting we drink now?
.
.
.
.
"C-C-Cold..."
"What? Can't hear you."
"C-C-Cold..."
Aishi smiled quietly at Frey shivering and complaining of the cold.
"I'm not cold at all."
"B-B-But..."
"Such a weakling~♡ So frail~♡"
"........"
Frey fell silent with a frustrated expression, and Aishi giggled in satisfaction.
This prank—lowering the temperature around him subtly with her freezing magic—was her favorite.
Having never felt cold herself, she always misjudged the intensity and failed. But the fool before her was giving exactly the reaction she craved.
"Mm..."
"What? Something wrong?"
"N-No... It's just..."
Aishi, beaming happily for a while, tilted her head as Frey cautiously reached out.
"Y-You're not even drunk?"
He shakily picked up the glass before her and asked.
"What, giving up already? Total loser... Puhuhu..."
Teasing him during their drinking game, she eyed the half-gone Frey.
"I-I'm not drunk!"
He chugged defiantly.
"Urp... Blegh..."
But soon collapsed over the table with a weird groan.
"Paha! Hahahaha!"
Aishi burst into laughter.
"Hilarious~! A lowlife who flips out over girls, and your stamina and willpower suck too~?"
"Ugh..."
She rose.
"Idiot."
Leaning close to Frey slumped on the table, she peered at him.
"Just die like that. Drop dead."
She gripped his chin, whispering huskily in his ear.
"Haaah..."
Frey grimaced and started sniffling pitifully.
"D-Don't wanna die..."
"Hm?"
"Don't wanna die..."
Drunkenly pleading, Frey made Aishi drop her smile and stare blankly.
"...You know?"
Moments later, she hugged shivering Frey from behind, speaking in her soft, gentle tone.
"Your body's like that because of a wicked curse."
"...What?"
"Keep going like this, and you'll waste away and die."
Frey's eyes trembled.
"Hey, Frey."
She patted his back carefully, whispering in his ear.
"Today was really fun."
And she—
"Made you pull out a chair for me, tested the ice ghost prank, even used you as a footrest."
"Ugh..."
Out of Frey's sight as he lay there—
"...For real."
—wore a faintly serious expression.
"Maybe that's why? Even that voice didn't echo in my head. Such a weird experience..."
Trailing off, she accidentally let slip something she shouldn't.
".....!"
She clamped her mouth shut, but in that instant, light flickered in Frey's hazy eyes.
"A-Anyway..."
But it was fleeting; as he wobbled again, she continued.
"Only I know how to break the curse."
"R-Really..."
"So, if you don't wanna die... Let's get along from now on? I'm still mad at you, and you're... k-kinda fun... anyway."
"........"
Her last words trailed off unwittingly.
"...Feels weird."
She tilted her head with a strange look.
"Anyway, got it?"
"Eek...!"
She pressed her finger to his heart again.
"..........."
Silence followed.
"...Huh?"
It broke after a while.
"W-Weird?"
Aishi looked flustered.
"Why... Why won't it retract again...?"
Utterly baffled, she kept poking his heart.
"Haaack...!"
"Ah, s-sorry. W-Wait a sec."
But it only drew more groans from Frey.
"A-Aishi..."
"T-This can't be? The curse... the curse..."
Sweating coldly despite the chill, she focused desperately on retracting it.
"Stop..."
Frey, pale and sickly—anyone could see he was in bad shape—
"...It hurts."
—lifted his head slightly, wearing a pitiful expression.
"........."
She pulled her finger away from his heart and went blank.
".........Huh?"
By now, time had passed noon.