Chapter 98
“Have you grown tired of me now?”
Marvis’s expression hardened at my question. That was natural since it wasn’t really a question.
‘Marvis’s affection level is 48.’
Certainly not a high number. It’s even below Hexion’s base affection level.
‘But the pursuit hasn’t been canceled yet.’
Marvis didn’t become the leader of Niflheim by chance. Even when the plumbing broke down and citizens of the Dark City were in danger of freezing to death starting from the upper levels, he calmly waited for my decision.
He’s a man with strong patience and responsibility.
If he was going to turn away from me in disappointment, he wouldn’t have come all this way.
The moment he rushed to the Holy City’s temple, it became clear which side held the advantage. If he’s just making sarcastic remarks and resentful comments without unleashing his anger or venting, that tells me everything I need to know.
Throwing a tantrum doesn’t mean he dislikes me—it means he wants more of my attention.
“…Why would you say that?”
“You’re disappointed in me. If you continue to like me, you’ll keep getting hurt. I don’t want to cause you pain.”
I meant this sincerely. Even though the harem route is officially permitted, how could that harem be comfortable if I have to watch the characters I’m pursuing writhe in pain?
The joy of building a harem comes from seeing the wives and concubines getting along harmoniously.
“Shin Joo-ah, you really…”
“But if I’m being selfish…”
I deliberately cut off Marvis’s words and took a step toward him.
“I don’t want Marvis to leave me.”
“…Ha.”
I know. My attitude is far from respectful.
But I had confidence. This was probably the answer Marvis wanted most.
“I must be an idiot for not wanting to leave even after hearing this.”
Marvis looked at me like someone watching a puppy that ran away in surprise after excitedly running around and breaking a flowerpot. Then he sighed and roughly pushed his bangs up.
[Marvis]’s anger gauge has been deactivated.
Current affection level: 61
I felt bad for saying something so trashy, but judging by how much his affection increased, this guy must be a masochist.
“But this is as far as I’m willing to yield.”
“Huh?”
Marvis tucked the key into his chest and, with arms folded, jerked his chin. What was he pointing at?
“Over there!”
“Divine Master!”
From a distance came the clamoring voices of priests, and even faster than their voices, holy knights rushed over and pointed their spears at Marvis.
‘He invaded ages ago, and they only rush over after our conversation is finished?’
I wondered how chaotic the knights’ organization must be to be this slow, but then I remembered the cliché that enemies don’t attack while a magical girl is transforming, so I nodded.
Well, if the holy knights had rushed in earlier, there would have been no event or affection points. Let’s consider it a gameplay allowance.
“Step back, Divine Master! It’s dangerous!”
It’s not me who’s in danger, but you all. Unless it’s a bad ending, my life as the player is guaranteed, but yours isn’t.
“It’s fine, step back. I’ll handle this.”
“Divine Master!”
“If we fight here, the temple will suffer greater damage.”
Of course, that’s not true. No matter how much of a pursuable character Marvis is, he would find it difficult to win with Hexion and Kaint present.
Though Marvis would look sexy glaring at me while chained and imprisoned… let’s satisfy that desire another time.
“Marvis. I want peace.”
“I told you this is as far as I’m willing to yield. Are you aware that you’re the one who disrupted the peace?”
“…I mean, I hope you don’t get hurt.”
“Hurt? Me? By these guys?”
As Marvis scoffed, I felt an incredible killing intent from behind me. Glancing back, I saw Hexion glaring at Marvis with a terrifying expression.
Hexion, so you can make such expressions too.
“In a fight, the side with more to protect is always at a disadvantage. Here, I can rampage as much as I want.”
I could see the holy knights gripping their spears with indignant faces. However, my attention was entirely on Hexion standing behind me. I needed to stop him before his sword went wild.
“Marvis. I don’t want a fight to break out here.”
“Shin Joo-ah.”
He suddenly reached out toward me.
“My liking you doesn’t mean I’ll move according to your wishes.”
His large hand approached quickly, and his long finger poked my forehead firmly.
“Ah!”
“Shin Joo!”
“Hexion, it’s fine!”
He just pushed my forehead. It wasn’t even a hit, but when I looked back, Hexion was pointing his sword with a fierce expression. I didn’t even hear him draw it—he moves so fast.
“Put the sword away.”
“Shin Joo, but…”
“I told you not to make me repeat myself.”
Hexion flinched and sheathed his sword. I rubbed my stinging forehead. It wasn’t even a flick, just a push with his fingertip, but it hurt more than expected. Ugh.
When I looked up at Marvis, he was looking down at me with a sullen expression. Despite being 150 years old, his sulking face looked just like a fifteen-year-old’s.
“Then what do you want?”
“Come back with me. Stay by my side.”
Oh… the energy I’m feeling from behind is not good.
I’m not even a martial arts master, yet I can read killing intent—perhaps I have a hidden talent?
“Fine. I’ll go back.”
“…Really?”
Seemingly quite surprised, Marvis unfolded his arms, which he had been holding arrogantly until now, and asked. He must have been putting on a proud front, expecting rejection.
“But I have one condition.”
“Condition?”
I need to get rid of the bomb. Hexion’s bomb is one day more urgent than Marvis’s.
“Promise you won’t fight with these two people here.”
When I pointed to Hexion and Kaint, all three men frowned simultaneously.
“Divine Master. Please don’t involve me.”
Kaint drew a merciless line. My pride was cut along that straight line.
“I have waged war against the demon race at sea. I have no intention of reconciling.”
Strictly speaking, he had been at war with foreign countries deceived by the demon race, so it’s difficult to definitively say the enemy was the demon race. Besides, those demons probably weren’t residents of the Dark City.
Wouldn’t it be better to deal with other demons through Marvis?
Of course, this logic wouldn’t work, so I decided to give a standard answer.
“Admiral, you’ve protected the Holy City’s seas not for victory, but for peace, right?”
“…!”
“If war disappears, there will be no more comrades dying or getting injured, and their families won’t have to suffer.”
At my words, the expressions of the children behind Kaint darkened. They must be remembering their real family who died.
“Divine Master…”
Corin called me with tearful eyes. My heart ached at the child’s expression. Maybe I shouldn’t have touched on their sad memories.
“Indeed, if war were to disappear, nothing would be better, and if the price is bending my convictions, it would be cheap.”
Kaint exhaled a low sigh.
“Very well.”
“Huh? Really?”
I inadvertently echoed Marvis’s question. Finding this amusing, Chloe giggled softly, then quickly blushed and hid behind Kiara.
“Divine Master. Do you doubt my words?”
“No! Not at all! The Admiral is always honest.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“What? But…!”
As I became anxious that he might turn away, saying he couldn’t trust me, a very faint smile appeared on Kaint’s lips.
“That’s why I’m going to try believing from now on.”
[Kaint]’s current affection level: 11
Huh?
While I was wondering why his affection had increased, a fanfare sounded loudly right next to my ear. Ah, so noisy.
Quest Successful!
Congratulations! You have successfully completed the surprise quest [Both of You Are Right].
As a success reward, 1 Save Slot has been granted.
Searching for bomb to deactivate…
This was no time to be annoyed by the loud sound effects.
Bomb deactivation.
The reward I had been desperately hoping for, finally!
Currently, 3 bombs are activated.
Which bomb would you like to deactivate?
They show four at once when they appear, but I can only remove one? Why so stingy!
‘The urgent one is Hexion, so should I remove his bomb and return to Niflheim with Marvis? No, if I remove Marvis’s bomb, I can stay at the temple longer, soothe Hexion, and proceed with pursuing Kaint, which would be more efficient, right?’
As I stared at the system window, feeling like an office worker agonizing between kimchi stew and soybean paste stew for lunch, Kaint approached me with a puzzled expression.
“Divine Master. You look dissatisfied with my answer.”
“That’s not it, Kaint. I’m busy right now, just a moment…”
Boom!
Suddenly, with the effect of fireworks exploding, colorful star-shaped holograms shone above Kaint’s head.
[Kaint]’s bomb has been deactivated.
What?
No, wait! He still had more than 20 days left. So why?
‘Could it be that Kaint’s bomb was selected because I just called his name?’
The system usually shoves choices right in my face, but it didn’t even display options this time. Instead, it deactivated Kaint’s bomb immediately after I called him, as if responding to some notification setting word?
Isn’t this a bug at this point? Are you kidding me?
I don’t accept this. Give me back the choice!
‘Success!’
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