Chapter 86
“Divine Master.”
Hexion called me. His grip on my hand tightened, making me flinch.
What I said was born from frustration, but there was no denying it was trash talk. My heart belatedly shrank as I glanced at Hexion, who continued speaking with a composed expression.
“You don’t need to ask my permission. You just need to command me.”
“What?”
“I am the guardian knight the Divine Master relies on most.”
Hexion stood up while still holding my hand. With the sudden increase in height, I hesitantly followed him.
“Isn’t that right, Divine Master?”
I don’t understand why he’s saying this, but I know how I should respond.
“Of course… that’s right.”
[Hexion’s current affection: 3]
The negative points were cleared in one go. Like other conquest characters, it was truly difficult to understand why Hexion’s affection increases.
I can somewhat understand that it drops when I’m favorable to other men, but what exactly makes it rise?
“I will escort you to the temple.”
After being asked twice, I couldn’t keep refusing, so I followed Hexion while checking Marvis’s reaction. I could see him glaring at us with a dark expression.
“Marvis, um…”
“Divine Master. Staying here longer would not be a wise decision.”
Kaint urged from outside the window. Since he came all this way to rescue me (though I didn’t actually need rescuing), I couldn’t keep him waiting, so I climbed through the window with Hexion.
There were broken glass pieces embedded here and there, but they had all been cleared away by Hexion’s punch, so I wasn’t pricked.
After passing through the indoor garden and exiting the main gate, I could feel the change in the street air. Niflheim’s streets were usually filled with regular noise and busy people, but now there was no such vitality.
It was as if everything had frozen.
My question about why it felt this way despite the weather not being cold was answered the moment we reached the plaza after passing through the main street.
It was because Holy Knights were pointing swords at the Dark City residents who were kneeling on the ground.
Behind them, Navy soldiers in uniform were holding guns.
So they hadn’t come just the two of them, Hexion and Kaint. Come to think of it, while entering Niflheim might be possible, finding Marvis’s mansion would have been impossible without getting information from locals.
“Savior…”
Miki recognized me and called out in a trembling voice.
“Savior!”
Others also raised their heads and called me. As the cheers suddenly grew louder, the Holy Knights pressed their swords closer to some residents’ necks, as if to quell the commotion.
“Eek, Savior!”
“Stop!”
I let go of Hexion’s hand and stepped forward.
“Everyone, put down your swords. The same goes for the soldiers with guns behind you.”
“That’s not possible, Divine Master.”
It was Kaint who blocked me. At his gesture, the Holy Knights with swords retreated, and the soldiers with guns came forward.
“Uwaah…”
I could see pale-faced Miki and Morgan clinging to each other, trembling. I clenched my fists at the sight of their eyes full of fear looking at me.
“Admiral, why are you doing this? It’s common sense not to threaten civilians.”
“I’ve only taken necessary measures to safely escort the Divine Master to the temple. There have been no casualties.”
“These people aren’t attacking me. So withdraw your soldiers.”
“Once the Divine Master leaves this place, we will withdraw as well.”
This wasn’t the Kaint who smiled gently and handed me flowers. Without the memories of the previous cycle, he maintained a cold attitude without changing his expression despite my scolding.
He was a man with no room for even a needle to enter unless his heart was shaken. I had forgotten that.
“I haven’t received any threats since coming here. These people are all innocent civilians, so release them right now!”
“I will be the judge of what is dangerous and what is not.”
“I am the Divine Master. Are you saying you don’t believe me?”
“I’m not naive enough to believe someone who abandoned her guardian knight, who was falsely accused and imprisoned, and then ran away.”
His yellow eyes gleamed sharply. The moment I met that gaze, I felt a pain like something pricking my heart.
“If you cannot trust the one you love, who in this world can you trust?”
Recalling the image of Kaint smiling at me as if looking at something infinitely lovable, I quickly shook my head.
‘He’s not that Kaint.’
Now I understand roughly. Judging from the circumstances, this cycle seems to be set after the point when Hexion was falsely accused and imprisoned in the temple.
‘Back then, there was an option to run away.’
You were shocked to face the evidence of Hexion’s betrayal.
Standing at a crossroads, what will you do?
1.Take the evidence and confront Hexion.
2.Send a letter requesting help from Admiral Kaint.
3.You can’t take it anymore. Escape from the temple.
The previous cycle must have branched from option 2, and this cycle from option 3.
There were multiple choices in the previous cycle, too, but I don’t know why it continues from the first cycle. However, being an extension of the first cycle, one thing is certain.
There is no connection between the Kaint who was my partner and the Kaint who distrusts me now.
‘Kaint doesn’t like me.’
That’s natural since we’ve gone through different routes. It’s perfectly normal, but…
Strangely, my fingertips grew cold and my lips trembled.
‘Yet Hexion still acts as my guardian knight.’
Both Hexion and Marvis are as I remember them, but Kaint is different. The Kaint, who was the only one to promise to spend his life with m,e is now gone. Vanished.
“…Divine Master!”
Hexion urgently called me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. When his large hand covered my eyes, I felt hot liquid rising between them.
I hadn’t realized I was crying, but when Hexion embraced me, suddenly a wave of sadness rushed over me.
Strange. Why am I crying?
“Admiral. Divine Master didn’t run away. She was merely kidnapped, having fallen for the Demon Race’s tricks. Do not slander the Divine Master!”
“It may have started as a kidnapping, but the fact that she had no intention of escaping on her own has just become clear. We cannot say there was absolutely no intention to defect.”
Kaint’s voice remained cold.
Even when he had no affection, he had always maintained a kind attitude, but was he such a cold man to those who had lost his trust?
I buried my face in Hexion’s hand. Thinking that he was looking at me with the same eyes that had despised Hexion as a defector in the previous cycle, I couldn’t bear to face him.
“Hexion, I’m sorry…”
“Do not apologize to me, Divine Master. You have done nothing wrong.”
Hexion lifted me up in his arms. I clung tightly to his neck. Gently stroking my back to comfort me, Hexion shouted toward the Holy Knights.
“Open the gates! We’re returning to the temple.”
“Hexion, please… don’t hurt these people.”
“Sheathe your swords! Not a single casualty is to be tolerated!”
Hexion responded earnestly to my sniffling request and strode to board the elevator. Clank. At the sound of the bars closing, I finally raised my head to look outside and saw the faces of the Demon Race looking this way with blank expressions.
Fortunately, the Holy Knights had sheathed their swords, and the soldiers had lowered their guns.
Kaint is a man who always keeps his promises. He said they would withdraw once I left this place, so they will return without attacking the residents.
Even if he no longer loves me, he is a faithful man. That much I can believe.
‘…Yet Kaint doesn’t trust me.’
I still trust him. That fact strangely made my heart ache again, so I pressed the corners of my eyes with the back of my hand to prevent tears from flowing.
“Hexion. How did you get out of prison?”
“Only after the Divine Master disappeared did everyone acknowledge it. That the Demon Race framed me to separate me from the Divine Master, in order to kidnap you again after you had escaped.”
It seems they thought Marvis had framed Hexion to divert everyone’s attention, intending to bring me back to Niflheim after I had escaped and returned to the temple.
Not a single word was correct from beginning to end, but it wasn’t the situation to explain. I just sniffled.
“I wasn’t taken by force.”
It’s true that Marvis took me in when I fell from the sky and I ended up staying against my will, but choosing to remain by his side was my decision. If the bomb message hadn’t appeared, I would have been deeply immersed in my romance with Marvis.
“I know.”
“You knew? Then why…”
“Divine Master has vigorous s****l desires.”
“Cough.”
My crying hadn’t even stopped when a sudden cough erupted, making me choke and pound my chest.
Should I be surprised now, or embarrassed?
“Hexion, what are you saying?”
“I wish Divine Master had been more patient, but rather than watching you satisfy your accumulated lust elsewhere while ignoring me, your foremost guardian knight…”
“Wait, Hexion?”
“You may command me to do anything. I will make you forget all about that Demon Race.”
[Hexion’s current affection: 17]
Until next bomb: D-4
The affection rose with the sound of bubbling soap bubbles, and the bomb period was extended by 3 days.
This was no time to feel relieved about avoiding immediate destruction. It seemed an even bigger wave was about to come.
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