Ch.4343. Distorted Happy Ending

“Ah.”

Aria lets out a single word. That brief but intense sigh-filled voice contained many emotions.

“Didn’t most souls enter their rest?”

Knowing she had already been caught, Aria bit her lip firmly as she asked, and I calmly nodded.

“Yes.”

I needed to keep my answer short.

Right now, I was questioning her, reprimanding her.

But I also needed to gauge how much Aria, who had already entered her second playthrough, knew about me.

“I wasn’t caught by people, but I was caught by the dead.”

Aria’s mistake was not being able to see them, and thus not realizing they were watching her.

“When I think about it, it makes sense. I guess I was too excited about seeing you, Professor.”

Aria smiles brightly, honestly admitting her foolishness. I approach her and raise blue mana in my hand, sweeping it over her once.

[Keeaaaaaah!]

[Deuuuuus!]

“These vermin are quite talkative.”

The evil spirits flee toward the main academy building at my gesture. I drove them away because the noise was hurting my ears and making conversation difficult.

“Hehe, Professor, you’re always the same.”

“……”

Aria looks up at me with dreamy eyes, as if entranced. Though her gaze was rather burdensome, I endured it for now and asked:

“Why did you awaken the academy’s souls again? Did you use the spirit stone?”

“Wow! You already know about the spirit stone? Actually, its precise name is Lemegeton.”

Aria pulls out a small black jewel from her chest.

The unique item Lemegeton that I had seen a few times in the game.

It was a dangerous object that was one of the forbidden items that made the Griffin Kingdom tremble at Black Magic, and only high nobles or royalty knew of its existence.

“Important people might tremble in fear, but it wasn’t such a frightening object from the beginning. It’s a stone given to a child who summoned a demon wanting to see their dead mother.”

Hehe, Aria laughs as she snatches my wrist with incredible speed, so fast that I couldn’t even react.

“Here.”

And then Aria carefully placed the object on my palm.

“I was originally just watching for the right time to give it to you, but if you’ve already figured everything out, I can give it to you without hesitation.”

“You’re giving this to me?”

“Yes, if you use the Lemegeton, you’ll become several times stronger than you are now.”

“……”

The heavy energy I felt in my palm was unusual from the start.

It wasn’t just the stat increases or additional effects I had seen numerically in the game.

There was a strange energy that could only be felt through experience.

“I have so many other things I want to give you, but I’ll get them gradually! There are many items that will surprise you.”

Watching Aria giggle and enjoy herself, I frown and ask:

“Don’t change the subject. Why did you terrorize the academy?”

“Ah, right! That’s for the same reason I gave you the Lemegeton. I want you to become much stronger than you are now.”

“……”

The vitality in the girl’s black eyes gradually begins to fade. Like a machine that has lost its owner and continues to execute only pre-programmed actions.

A kind of madness was glimpsed in her eyes and the words pouring out.

“Did you receive the basic spirit magic book I got for you? Actually, that was quite difficult to obtain.”

“……”

“I secretly stole it from the house of an amazing spiritmaster to give to you.”

So that’s it.

No matter how much of a black market merchant dealing in various items, it seemed too convenient that they had a book related to spirit magic at such perfect timing.

‘So that was Aria’s intention too.’

I was a bit surprised, but my expression didn’t change. Aria continued speaking:

“I thought you would look for a book on spirit magic since there were evil spirits in the academy, so I prepared it in advance. And then you use magic on those evil spirits in actual practice!”

Clap!

Aria claps her hands together and shrugs her shoulders, saying she feels good.

“It’s the perfect harmony of theory and practice! You know too, Professor. Your spirit magic has become incredibly powerful because of this academy incident.”

“……”

“Of course, it seems many people now know you as a spiritmaster, but don’t worry about that. I have another method.”

“……”

“So it’s fine. As long as you keep getting stronger enough to protect yourself…”

“Guilt.”

I cut off Aria’s words that seemed like they would continue forever. I asked the question I had asked at the beginning again.

“Do you feel no guilt?”

Even if no one was physically injured, there were many people who suffered mental damage and trauma.

In addition to that, she forcibly awakened souls that were resting in peace and turned them into evil spirits.

No matter how you looked at it, it was closer to evil than good.

“What?”

Aria looks at me blankly, as if she had received an unexpected question again. Then she says to me in a cold voice:

“Professor, everyone values their own life the most, don’t they? You would know that best, Professor?”

I look down at Aria without bothering to answer. I stare directly into Aria’s eyes, which have lost their focus and are now clouded.

“So don’t think about anything else.”

Aria extends her hand like lightning. Her strength as she grabbed both my wrists with her hands was considerable, not something I could easily shake off.

If I fought now, I would lose every time.

The protagonist of the second playthrough who had witnessed the end of the world once was a more overwhelming existence than I thought.

“Professor, you just need to think about yourself. No matter what happens, you need to survive, endure tenaciously, and stay by my side.”

My wrists are pressed down by her hands, which are gripping tightly as if telling me not to go anywhere.

But I looked down at her impassively and asked:

“I understand what feelings you had for me in your previous life.”

“Oh? You already know about the second playthrough? As expected of you, Professor! Actually, I thought that would be the hardest part to convince you of.”

“From the way you’re talking, it sounds like I died in the previous playthrough.”

“…I don’t want to remember. Please don’t talk about it, Professor.”

Aria’s expression visibly darkened, but I asked without caring at all:

“Then I have one question.”

“Yes, ask anything. I’ll tell you everything I can answer.”

Then without hesitation.

“What were my last words before I died?”

“……”

This was personal curiosity, and I needed to know what conclusions the me of the first playthrough had reached after numerous experiences.

If it were me, I would have prepared last words that would help the me of the second playthrough, anticipating the possibility of Aria going to a second playthrough.

“Actually, I didn’t hear your last words completely. The situation was very urgent.”

“Even briefly is fine.”

“Professor…”

Aria’s eyes trembled as if she didn’t want to recall the situation, but she took a deep breath and opened her heavy lips.

“…Professor said, ‘If you have a next time, then.'”

If you have a next time, then?

“I couldn’t hear the rest because the situation was so urgent… but maybe Professor anticipated even the second playthrough!”

“I see.”

Of course.

It’s fortunate that I know this is the second playthrough now.

I seemed to understand what the me of the first playthrough wanted to say.

Aria, the protagonist who should lead the world with outstanding leadership, speaking beautiful words of friendship and love.

Considering her current state, along with the fact that it was the only last words I could naturally leave for the me of the second playthrough.

Those words were for me, not for Aria.

Therefore.

“Aria, if you have a next time. Then.”

I easily guess and present the answer I would have given.

“Don’t look for me.”

That’s probably what it was.

“What?”

Aria’s eyes tremble again. She releases my wrists that she had been gripping tightly and steps back in confusion.

“W-what are you saying, Professor? Even as a joke, that’s going too far.”

The one who uttered those last words was me.

With the same voice, the same person speaking, it seemed to have hit Aria quite hard.

“It’s just my guess. If it were me, I would have tried to prevent the you of the second playthrough from approaching me.”

“What, what are you saying?! That’s impossible! My Professor would never try to distance himself from me!”

“……”

“D-don’t say such strange things. I really wanted to meet you. Only after you sacrificed yourself for me until the end did I realize.”

Aria approaches me with her hand outstretched. She tried to embrace me with tears in her eyes, but.

“You were my world, Professor. So please don’t say such…”

Thud.

My hand pushes her away.

“Aria Rius.”

The girl who was innocent, pure, beautiful, and full of love.

“You are broken.”

The protagonist who should save this world is terribly broken.

And it was because of terribly messy and complicated emotions wrapped in the name of affection.

“B-broken? Me? No! This, this is love!”

“……”

“You’ll understand soon too, Professor! If you spend time with me…”

“Enough.”

I press my fingers firmly against my eyes. My head aches from the sudden fatigue.

“Don’t show any more unsightly behavior.”

“Ah…”

Aria bites her lip as if shocked and crumples her uniform skirt with both hands.

‘She probably broke after I died, due to the sense of loss.’

No matter what, I wouldn’t have known about Aria’s condition and ignored it.

‘The ending conquest is on hold for now.’

With the current Aria, it’s impossible to see the perfect happy ending of this game.

There’s no point in having a second playthrough like this.

‘If things continue like this.’

Even with a second playthrough, there will be no happy ending for everyone anywhere.