Chapter: 187
A cunning rabbit knows how to dig at least two burrows.
Whether he liked Yuli or not, it was alright. But the thought that it might be fun if he did like her lingered in his mind. How fortunate.
Overwhelming emotions. Isn’t it proof that the malignant deity’s sublimation is in effect here?
===============================================================
Click, click, click.
Amidst the heavy tension of the day, I saw her silhouette faintly illuminated by the concealed moonlight. I could sense her shaking emotions from her outline.
“… Mima.”
Yuli whispered like that but still didn’t turn around, keeping her back to me. I tried to make some noise on purpose, stepping on the foliage tinged with the night’s dark blue.
Sabjjak.
And I drew closer.
With each step I took, my footsteps grew louder, and the distance narrowed, causing her body to sway like a flickering candlelight. It felt like she was floundering in some way.
What should I say? The opening line to kick off our conversation. What would be the best choice?
I wondered if she might be angry with me. No, surely… she would be angry. Should I say something to ease her feelings, then?
Or maybe suggest we dance, hinting that the festival isn’t over, that every moment with her is a festival.
… Isn’t that a bit odd? My heart is racing.
No, not odd at all. Open your eyes wide. Even shaken by hurt, she still looks beautiful. I wouldn’t just leave her shivering in loneliness.
A sound scratching like fingernails on a chalkboard grazed my ears. It seemed like several broken modules failed to activate, sending error messages.
I can feel it.
I can feel Yuli’s heart. Living together, I could clearly sense the warmth of her affection from her looks and gestures. It’s hard to express, but to me, her heart smells and tastes like peaches.
If I could touch her, I’d feel it even more intensely.
With a hint of excitement, I reached out and gently took her hand, as if handling glass art. She twitched slightly but didn’t pull away.
I can feel it. The information I’m reading from her skin repeatedly cross-verifies: it’s Yuli’s emotions. I can distinctly recognize her scent.
“… You’re late, aren’t you.”
“Sorry. Something really important came up… But I can definitely say I was fighting for you.”
“For me? After leaving me behind?”
“I just realized that doesn’t make sense. I’m sorry for being late.”
Really.
Yuli grumbled quietly, but it sounded like forgiveness to me. Relief spread throughout my body, and that echo transformed into sweetness that shook me.
I had never felt this way before. To be precise, I had never felt this elevated. I always enjoyed my time with her, but tonight felt a bit more special.
I had come to realize it. I looked at my heart, witnessing where my feelings were directed. There was Yuli.
She turned around, her eyelids slightly downcast, and remnants of tears still lingered around her eyes. I felt sorrow looking at that trace, but as I confirmed the affection in her gaze, my heart soared once again.
In the blink of an eye, it felt like I was alternating between heaven and hell.
Even a brief encounter revealed something. We seemed to be holding the same thoughts. Since I had arrived late, I felt like somehow punishing myself. I summoned my courage to speak first.
“Hey, I didn’t know what love was until now… but I think I get it now.”
At that, Yuli’s eyes widened in joy.
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The trick was to draw romantic feelings from Yuli’s self.
I had lived a long life and seen many kinds of love, but I had never truly felt it. Yet here I was, with this wonderful opportunity… I tried to implant her romantic feelings into myself.
So, in a state of being spellbound, I couldn’t distinguish reality. Even if so many things were illusions, the feelings were genuine.
And… here, in the past of 440, there was no one close to Yuli. Even if I acted somewhat out of character compared to the real her, no one would point it out.
Romantic feelings…?
What a strange feeling. Even the smallest touch filled me with a ticklish joy, and even the most cliché lines somehow sounded charming.
You too must be feeling something like me down there. After all, it’s your own emotions.
Are you listening, Yuli?
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Click, click, click.
My heart was in turmoil. My feelings were shaking my reason, causing me to chase after what contradicted my own interests at times.
But how could I refuse the whispers of this little devil? After all, my heart is me. Denying and suppressing my own feelings would ultimately mean rejecting myself.
I think I finally understand.
Having escaped the dull and boring grayscale world where all emotions were suppressed by various spells, I can recall the vows I made long ago.
I told Yuna I was searching for a happy story.
How ridiculous it was to babble that while tying up my own heart. I had to embrace this wild-hearted emotion.
Yuli, turning her head back and forth nervously, looked down shyly and spoke. Confirming it.
“… Is this a confession?”
“It’s not a formal confession.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Because this isn’t reality. In a dream that will fade once I wake up, repeating half-hearted confessions can’t compare to a single real one.”
Yuli seemed puzzled, unsure if my words were metaphors. I smiled softly and took her hand to get into a dance position. An awkward suggestion.
Just with that motion, she seemed to understand my intentions, and her face flushed as she carefully stepped forward. With one hand, she held mine, and with the other, she cradled my waist.
And so, one, two. A simple step, swaying left and right.
That in itself was a festival. My heart was filled with joy, and I laughed out loud. Yuli laughed too.
Yes, there were still things left to do.
After dancing for a while, I cautiously spoke.
“I’d like to ask for that key…”
“… … …”
“I know, many people have tried to take it from you. Even if I promised to make you happy with that key, it must be unsettling. But you know… I want to ask you to trust me.”
“… Are you trying to threaten me with the atmosphere? Seriously?”
Yuli clenched the key hanging around her neck tightly. She hesitated significantly. A reasonable response. But happily… her hesitation felt sweet.
It seemed like she was more worried that I might leave after receiving the key than the wounds of betrayal.
I couldn’t take it by force. There was no way. If I did, her heart would crumble, and my heart would too.
After a long moment, Yuli finally stated.
“… Alright.”
“You… trust me?”
“You are, after all… Mima. You were my only ally. Also, if you intended to trick me with beauty, you wouldn’t have acted in such a clumsy way. And…”
Her gaze. It felt like she was peering into my very soul.
“… I can’t imagine someone with that look betraying me.”
“… … …”
That’s correct.
Yuli pulled my hand and nestled into my embrace. Since she was a slightly smaller version of Yuli, I could hold her all at once, much like Yuna.
Yuli hesitated until the end. Holding the key tightly with both hands, she worried about various negative possibilities, but then, at some moment, she mustered her courage.
“… I also have something to say. How did I appear today?”
“You were beautiful. Especially today.”
“Is that so…? I’m glad to hear it.”
Yuli smiled innocently. Just that smile made me understand how joyful she felt. A drop of mischief was laced into her pure beauty, like a lily flower.
Then, she handed over the key with both hands. Gently.
“Does that mean I had quite a talent for acting?”
… Oh.
A surge of anxiety crawled up my spine.
Why? She’s right in front of me. Why should I feel anxious? This situation isn’t dangerous at all. Right?
The key is deeply embedded in my chest…
Click, click, click, click.
The sound of gears clicking echoed throughout the world. Why on earth hadn’t I realized it with such a loud noise?
The key, an object with an unusually high amount of information, contained not only the key to the next layer but also a plethora of malicious data.
The lifeline was severed.
Before my confusion transformed into chaos, Yuli… no.
Wearing Yuli’s shell, the Queen spun around boastfully. The shell started to melt away. Her hair turned white, and her suit transformed into a pure white dress. Finally, I was face to face with the Succubus Queen.
And with an expression that seemed to draw in all the sexuality of the world, she exclaimed.
“Uhuhoh… What do you think? I look just like a real 『Heroine』, don’t I? ♥”
Thoughts flooded my mind, short-circuiting everything momentarily. Regret, confusion, anger, and sorrow each flickered brightly before being subdued. But in the end, one sentence remained.
Was I too complacent…?
“Aha, ahahaha—!!”
Clank. The door leading down opened, and rendered powerless, I plummeted.
With the devilish laughter of the Queen ringing in my ears, I sank deep into my consciousness.
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“Uheh, hehehe… Ahahaha—!!”
On the second basement floor, the Queen, having dropped the mad wizard deep into consciousness, laughed for quite a while. She laughed until tears flowed.
It felt like my heart was being torn apart. The Queen felt a mental agony. It was therefore amusing.
Because, due to the emotions of Yuli that I had implanted for the act, the pain of betraying my beloved pushed her into this plight!
“Aha… What an unusual experience. Ah, I never thought I’d cry over a man. I never imagined it.”
Down below was a well-made “disguise.”
Both Yuli, who fell some time ago, and the ‘Mima’ who just fell, would slowly melt inside and return to information. The ‘Mima’ who had cleaved damage due to the impact of the “key,” and her lifeline cut off, would have no means to crawl back up.
I won.
In joy and sorrow, the Queen raised a toast to her victory.
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I opened my eyes. It was pitch black.
It was a completely black space. Sludgy black tar was dripping down from the sky above, and the ground felt gooey enough to suffocate.
My skin was stinging. These black substances were, one could say, information acid. They were slowly dissolving and digesting the information that made up me. I was being devoured.
Alright, let’s check.
“Queen damn it.”
Good. Ideological verification, check. Now, what about love?
“I really like Yuli.”
That remained. Even if spurred on by the Queen, my feelings were genuine. The blossoming affection seemed to throb in a corner of my heart. However.
That affection was battered down by other emotions… anger and survival instincts were crouched in a corner, unable to rise. I could control it. Okay.
Please. Wouldn’t it have been better to just handle the love properly?
Falling head over heels for someone I’ve known only for a few days…
Am I the type to lose my head when I fall for someone…?
Calm down. Keep checking the situation.
That godforsaken clanking noise? Not hearing it. Good.
The melting speed? With thorough defense, I could hold out for about three days.
The lifeline? It was cut long ago. It had been twisted so badly that recovery wasn’t possible anymore.
Based on such information… I calmly grasped the reality.
I was screwed. I humbly accepted that.
Having been caught up in the Queen’s disguise, losing my lifeline, it felt like I would melt and die here. But no. I’m not giving up.
I might have been played by the Queen ever since stepping inside, but a fight isn’t over until it’s over. Who knows? I might just pull off a random gacha fairy tale event.
But what exactly was the problem?
“… … …”
“… … …”
It was the Pinkvalez, staring at me from over there, that seemed all too real, not a mere illusion or trick.
Please, let it be anything but true.
Let it be the Queen currently playing two tricks. If the Queen was that meticulous, escape would become much harder, but I’d rather face hard mode. Please, oh divine beings.
But the heavens took no pity. As I sank into that black tar, Pinkvalez calmly opened her mouth.
“Did you like a young and perky thing like me, crazy wizard?”
“… … …”
F*.
“You know, I didn’t know what love was until now… but I think I kind of understand it now.”
“Aaaaargh—!!”
I blocked my ears and rolled around. If I die here, it’ll be from embarrassment. The one responsible for my death wouldn’t be the Queen but Pinkvalez.
We reencountered each other in a rather disgraceful manner.
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