Chapter 207
—You seem to be overthinking it. The reason I called for Vargan isn’t anything special.
A conversation I had with Helion a few hours ago.
He simply wanted to meet face-to-face as master and disciple after a long time, without any particular motive.
I had certainly referred to him as my master in the past, but I didn’t expect he would still cling to that…
The future second-place dude has this annoying habit of remembering trivial things.
—The reason we’re here… I’m sorry, but I can’t disclose that yet. It’s nothing serious. Vargan should just focus on the final exam without worrying about us.
Seriously, he sounds friendly but didn’t give me any information at all.
Three heroes in the top ten showing up together? There’s no way that’s nothing.
I could have brought up a ton of counterarguments, but I knew he wasn’t going to spill anything, so I dropped it.
Helion, this hero, would not confess his secrets even if I tortured him.
Since I know that well, I decided to let it slide.
Anyway, I kind of have an idea of what’s going on, so I figured it’s better to just observe quietly for now.
After that, we just engaged in some idle chit-chat.
I pretended not to notice his gaze, as we exchanged some useless talk.
As time passed and we stepped outside, the once red sky had completely turned black, and after returning to the room with Erica, I quickly grabbed some clothes to change.
I had to leave Erica for a bit to wash up, but it was unavoidable.
There wasn’t a separate bathroom in the room, and even if there was, we couldn’t shower together.
The communal shower had partitions for each stall, leaving only a small gap at the bottom to know if someone else came in.
Though my sight was impaired, the space seemed spacious enough not to be inconvenient for showering.
—Shhhhhh.
The sound of water flowing freely.
A familiar and repetitive rhythm rang in my ears. The warm water melted away the tension of my always-vigilant body.
Standing under such warm water, there are moments when it becomes hard to distinguish whether I’m in the world of a novel or the real world outside.
A magical world intertwined with medieval, modern, and occasionally even contemporary elements.
If you dissect it in detail, the appearance may be the same, but the underlying structure is mostly different.
For instance, even something like this showerhead clearly looks just like a modern one, so I sometimes confuse it with the showerheads that Vargan remembers.
Is this my thought?
Or is it Vargan’s thought?
Well… either way, I’ll be living in this novel for the rest of my life, so it might not hold much significance, but it’s definitely something I can’t overlook right now.
When I washed up and returned to the room, Erica was already back.
Recently, her shower time has been extremely short.
It probably wasn’t like this from the start, but ever since things became unstable, she seems to have tried to cut down on the time spent apart.
“Not rushing out, huh? How unusual.”
As soon as the door opened, I expected her to cling to me as if she’d been waiting, but she just greeted me briefly and stayed sitting on the bed. In her hands were a dozen small envelopes, and her expression was filled with worries.
I naturally sat down next to her.
Ever since Erica’s mana almost went wild, we’ve been sleeping in the same place. I’ve received proper official approval, and since we’re engaged, there’s hardly anyone to bring up rules.
Even if there were complaints, what could be done? I’d have to ignore them or lead her not to think that way.
“Have you still not opened them?”
“…No, not yet.”
Her long black hair swayed gently. Although I couldn’t see it clearly, the dampness remaining from her recent wash would make her hair shimmer even more.
The luxurious letters she held.
Those were sent by her mother, Lilian.
Lilian has always exchanged letters with Erica, checking in on her.
After hearing that Erica wasn’t in good condition, she has been sending them more insistently, yet Erica hasn’t opened a single one.
Erica was scared.
She was scared of everyone around her, including her mother.
It was easy to imagine that Lilian’s letters were filled with worry and loving words, making it even harder for Erica to open them.
Feeling Erica’s emotions, I calmly said,
“You can open them whenever you want. There’s no need to force yourself.”
“…Yeah, but….”
Erica couldn’t tear her eyes away from the letters.
It seemed like she was holding on with a strong yearning.
Then she said,
“…I want to open them right now.”
Erica’s small lips spoke.
Looking at me with eager eyes, her soft voice continued, “I want to read them when I’m with you.”
It seemed like she’d made up her mind.
There was no reason for me to hinder her will.
“…Okay, if that’s what you want.”
Erica carefully took a cutting knife to open the envelope.
Her hands were trembling, so I unconsciously held hers. Cold, delicate Erica. She slowly pulled out the letter inside and began to unfold it.
It seemed she was reading each letter one by one very carefully.
I had no idea what was written there.
I could focus on the small indentations made by the pen as it wrote, but I didn’t feel the need to do that.
Erica turned page after page of the letters.
I could hear her gently trembling breath and the sound of the cutting knife repeatedly.
Whenever her hands shook, I would hold them, but I didn’t make any other reactions. I didn’t want to disturb her.
Thus, Erica tore open all the envelopes, finally setting the last letter she was reading on the bed quietly.
As I opened the envelope, I gently placed the last letter I had been reading on the bed.
Erica spoke with a voice full of moisture.
“…Thank you, Schugenharz.”
Thank goodness.
Erica appeared more stable than I had expected. The warm phrases filled in the letter could have easily caused pain and fear, yet Erica managed to read every single word until the end.
“Am I really that pathetic…? Getting this scared over just a few letters… I can’t even read them without you….”
In a tiny voice, she blamed herself, almost crawling into her own thoughts.
I told her it was okay and that she didn’t need to think like that, but Erica shook her head.
“I need to get back to normal… That way, I won’t cause you any more trouble.”
No matter how much I insisted it didn’t matter, Erica couldn’t accept it.
She berated and tortured herself.
Erica mentioned a few students who had changed since her first year.
Diphelia, the next Student Council President.
Finn, who had gained talent.
Alicia, who was constantly working hard to grow even at this very moment.
In contrast, she felt like she was fading compared to those who were starting to shine radiantly.
Erica had lost her self-esteem and confidence.
“Schugenharz.”
She looked at me.
With icy blue eyes that seemed almost ready to shatter.
Gradually approaching her snow-white cheeks.
Quite suddenly.
“…Will you kiss me?”
And she carefully asked.
It had indeed been a long time since I had received such a request from Erica.
Without saying a word, I silently observed Erica’s expression.
Could it be that she saw me kiss Frieda—? I had that thought but quickly dismissed it.
At that moment, I confirmed that Erica was completely engrossed and even checked the surrounding mana.
Erica did not see it. Frieda wouldn’t have spilled it outside either.
So, Erica uttered these words purely out of her own will.
Even if there were other anxious factors that stimulated her, at least it wasn’t because I had kissed another woman.
“If I kiss you… I think I might gain a little courage.”
She was glum. Her trembling eyes looked almost pitiful.
Erica was anxious right now and wanted stability.
Whether it was due to the achievement of magic, her feelings for me, or the blame on other women.
Many factors that I couldn’t fathom must be rattling her back and forth.
With just a few centimeters left, Erica stopped her advance.
Her colorful breath tickled my skin, and I could feel her warmth, unable to fully hide her embarrassment.
She had handed over the choice to me.
No, this was originally Erica’s request.
Whether we would press our lips together or not was entirely up to my discretion.
“…….”
Having made my decision, I moved closer to her.
Erica completely closed her half-lidded eyelids.
I wrapped my arms around her, gently pressing the back of Erica’s delicate head.
Our bodies completely overlapped.
“…Schugenharz?”
The pounding of Erica’s little heart rang directly in my ears.
I gently combed through her delicate hair. This tiny, fragile girl fit so easily in my embrace.
I didn’t kiss her; I held her instead.
“You know that this won’t bring about any change, right?”
“There’s no way it could be.”
“You know that too, don’t you?”
“……”
“It’s different from Frieda’s case.
Erica wants stability and courage, not evidence.
Such emotions can’t be obtained through light words or kisses.
Smart Erica wouldn’t be unaware of that fact.
This time, Erica’s actions are a greed that takes advantage of my concerns about her unstable self.
Once you touch it, it’s a deep swamp you can’t escape from.
“I’m sorry…”
Erica, cradled in my arms, said with a sob.
Her hands clutched me tightly.
I guessed what she was about to say next and hugged her tightly in response.
“…Don’t abandon me.”
Portlet Troa Erica.
The fiancée of Vargan, labeled as the villainess.
The cries of a woman who was merely a character in a novel hurt me this much.
My heart clenches with emotions and anguish I’ve never felt before.
Even though Vargan’s soul is clearly dying, my feelings for Erica are undoubtedly weakening.
When she shows such weakness, I feel a pain so great that I doubt the unchanging setting.
It’s troubling.
Truly troubling.
It’s to this extent that it was explicitly stated in the original work. I can’t help but think that again.
Vargan’s first weakness.
An incurable disease.
It was written plainly even in the novel Liam read.
Even if I hadn’t read it, there’s no way I wouldn’t know this deadly second weakness now that I’m Vargan.
Portlet Troa Erica.
Her sadness was like poison to me.
Her smile came to me like a drug.
*
Helion gazed at the scenery of Rikeion shrouded in dusk through a small window.
In his room, where the air was so heavy it felt stagnant, a knock echoed.
“Master Helion. It’s Kshanoll. May I come in?”
Helion allowed a team member to enter, and Kshanoll approached him, bowing his head.
Even though there’s a difference between team members and team leaders, his attitude was somewhat overly respectful.
He felt the faint mana still lingering in the room and spoke.
“You let Vargan into the room a little while ago.”
“Yes, I thought we could have a conversation since it’s been a while since the priesthood.”
“Surely you’re not… referring to orders from the Central Church… right?”
“Don’t worry, Kshanoll. No matter how close I am to student Vargan, I wouldn’t disclose anything that might leak information.”
“That’s a relief.”
Helion smiled lightly and turned his head back.
Kshanoll’s reflection appeared in the window as his mouth moved.
“From the current investigation, we haven’t found any significant leads yet. I expect we’ll need more time.”
“That makes sense. They always operate in an organized and secretive manner. I didn’t think we would find anything easily.”
“Yes. But I will definitely uncover it.”
“No need to rush. As long as we’re inside, they can never escape.”
Helion slowly absorbed the scenery of Rikeion.
The night that has come here seems to be peacefully without any problems.
“I wonder what the followers of the Goddess Church hiding in Rikeion are doing right now?”
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