Necessity

Bella’s expression as she looked at me was one I couldn’t have imagined seeing on her usually, so I felt a little regretful.

If I had a hand mirror, I would have shown her that face, so she could see that even she could make such an expression. I think she would have been surprised at her own face.

Hearing the flustered voice from behind, I was reminded that I didn’t have much time, and I immediately checked Bella for any injuries.

She was covered in the flesh and blood of Claire, who had been blown apart by the dimensional leap’s attack, but fortunately, I didn’t see any major wounds.

I pulled out the ice spikes that were piercing Bella’s arms and legs. Unlike the other places, no blood was flowing from the hole in her left hand, and I sighed inwardly as I remembered Bella’s setting.

Why didn’t she use this until right before she died? Maybe Bella, like before, had given up on life too easily again.

Suppressing the sudden surge of anger at Bella’s gaze, which was close to resignation as she looked at me, I said.

“I’m not good enough to protect someone while fighting yet. So, as much as possible-“

Suddenly feeling a huge surge of magic behind me, I immediately turned around and swung the Spear of Destruction, obliterating the magic.

Beyond the shimmering, disappearing magic. The woman, frowning and aiming a pure white staff, let out a deep sigh.

“Haa, I guess things don’t go easily after all.”

Light sky-blue hair, almost silver. The professor in charge of herbal medicine, a member of the Order who would later be killed by Roel. And the person who seduced Lakar’s sister, Lamine, and made her number 3 of Confession.

The Ice Witch, Emilia Dwinn.

Looking into her gray eyes, I opened my mouth.

“I heard corporal punishment has disappeared these days, but I guess not.”

Dwinn frowned at the joke I threw out to buy Bella some time to get up. Satisfied with the reaction, I smiled without realizing it.

Gesturing for her to stand back, I continued to talk to Dwinn.

“The Order must be in a hurry these days. Even openly activating the spies they’ve hidden in the Academy.”

“I’m not young or stupid enough to fall for a mere student’s provocation. But still, I am a professor.”

I sneered at Dwinn, who was wearing a relaxed smile.

“If you were smart, you’d be an executive. Not a disposable item playing spy in the Academy.”

As if I had hit a nerve, Dwinn gritted her teeth and began to gather magic silently.

Despite my best efforts to buy time, Bella didn’t seem to have any intention of moving. I frowned at Bella, who was still kneeling and looking at me, and sent her an urging look.

I’m not skilled enough to leisurely support her like Roel in front of an enemy.

“Why are you saving me?”

Another question in this situation? I felt a deep annoyance and shouted.

“Because you have to become the Emperor!”

Thinking about what she did to Luna and Ellie, I want to slap her, but. We need her.

The people wearing robes behind Professor Dwinn scattered around and began to surround me and Bella completely.

Fortunately, other than Dwinn, there was no one else exuding a strong presence. If there’s no Confession boasting a huge presence, I thought it would be manageable enough.

If there’s space magic, the restriction of having to approach the magician disappears.

To persuade Bella, who still doubted my intentions, I added plausible words.

“And your hyung-nim needs you.”

No sooner had I finished speaking than magic flew in from all directions. Swinging my spear to obliterate the approaching magic, I took out bean seeds from the space warehouse and threw them around me and Bella.

The beanstalks grew rapidly and massively, creating temporary cover to block the magic.

“Is that a satisfactory answer? Can you stop being a spoiled brat and help me out a little?”

Bella slowly shook her head at my annoyed words. I was thinking that a light flick on the forehead wouldn’t be too bad, when Bella opened her mouth weakly.

“The medicine has taken all the strength out of my body. I can’t move.”

I sighed at Bella’s appearance, trembling all over with difficulty, as if to show that she wasn’t lying.

“But you should still be able to manipulate magic.”

“…I don’t have a staff either. And no strength to wield it.”

I scratched the back of my head. If Bella doesn’t use it until the end, will I be able to escape the pursuit with Bella?

Escaping the pursuit with Bella all the way to the capital with my insufficient stamina was close to impossible. It was more likely that I would fight with Bella on my back.

Estelle and Ember, feeling sorry that they couldn’t help due to restrictions, had returned to the capital to bring reinforcements.

As I was wondering what to do, Bella, who had been biting her lip, said.

“Just give up on me-“

“I’m never giving up.”

I cut off Bella’s useless words. If I was going to give up, I wouldn’t have jumped in to save her in the first place.

As I listened to the sound of the beanstalks exploding from the magic and racked my brain about how to persuade Bella to use it.

For some reason, Bella looked as if she had been slapped and looked at me with wavering eyes.

“Do you really want me to become the Emperor?”

“Yeah. Very much.”

If it were Roel, the kind-hearted protagonist, he would understand even if Bella refused to become the Emperor.

Bella thinks that becoming the Emperor is proving her necessity to Roel, but Roel will always be by her side even if she can’t do anything.

Because Roel truly understands and loves Bella.

Like a hero, there is no impurity in his heart for Bella.

“If hyung-nim’s girlfriend becomes the Emperor, I’ll get something out of it, right?”

As I added some plausible words, Bella frowned and looked at me with incomprehensible eyes, biting her lip and slamming her left arm hard on the floor.

At that action, I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly that Bella had finally come to her senses.

After several attempts, Bella’s prosthetic arm finally broke. Among the fragments of the prosthetic arm, the golden artifact that had been dormant inside revealed itself with a brilliant light.

One of the most powerful artifacts in this novel, hidden in the prosthetic arm by Bella, whose arm was cut off in the name of corporal punishment when she was young, in preparation for assassination.

The Staff of the Fairy King.

It could create a Subjugation Barrier that blocked external forces by submerging the user’s surrounding space itself with the power of fairies.

It was a barrier that was evaluated as the most powerful among magicians’ barriers, even momentarily neutralizing the attacks of the Order’s leader.

It was a setting I created for my convenience so that Roel, who was escorting Bella, could fight comfortably against the Order’s attack.

Bella, holding the Staff of the Fairy King attached to her prosthetic arm, looked down at it and then raised her head again to look up at me.

“Now… you don’t have to worry about me.”

Her golden eyes captured me.

With eyes still filled with a little suspicion, Bella asked in a slightly cracked voice.

“Can I… trust you?”

As the beanstalks were destroyed by the magic, the wind came. Despite the approaching summer weather, it was a cool wind filled with magic.

Everyone in the world wants Bella to die. Because that was the setting I created.

It’s not that I hated the character Bella. If you create a character to lead the story, you naturally develop affection for them.

It was just a thought that Roel’s harem might be boring if they were only happy….

A character that can be seen as the original version of Ross, whom I possessed. A character close to being a disposable item who intentionally lives a miserable life.

A setting where only Roel in this world understands, empathizes with, and comforts her pain.

Therefore, Bella uses her own life for the victory of Roel, who is the only one who sincerely needs her.

After everything is over.

When the hero’s harem had no choice but to win.

Roel was the only one who missed Bella’s death.

Bella’s sadness, tragedy, and personality. In the end, I created it all.

I hated her because of the damage caused by it. There were times when I felt the urge to kill her….

I, who know her ending that even Roel doesn’t know….

I had no choice but to save her for revenge and for everyone.

Because her scheduled ending was not now.

Kwang―――!

An explosion occurred, and the beanstalks could no longer withstand it and collapsed.

At the sight of Bella sending me an almost pleading look, I turned my back and aimed my spear at Dwinn, who was preparing to shoot ice, and said as if spitting it out.

“As much as you want.”

Recognizing the spatial coordinates, I swung my spear violently. The giant ice spear shattered, and fragments scattered in the air.

Kwang―――! Kwang―――! Kwang―――!

The roar echoing in my ears as I obliterated fireballs, ice spears, and unknown magic, creating an entrance to another dimension.

Suddenly, I thought I heard a small sob in between.