episode_0112

The moment we stepped into the Elf Forest, everyone’s appearances began to distort.

“Wow… I knew it was coming, but… this is genuinely disgusting…”

Everyone’s appearance had changed.

Lia, Alice, and Sophia had transformed into grotesque, twisted goblin zombies, while Serena became a horrifying zombie puppy.

If they were ordinary acquaintances, they’d appear as goblins.

But if they were someone I loved or truly trusted, they’d warp into something even more twisted than a goblin.

‘Which just means they matter that much to me.’

The more I cherished someone, the more distorted they became—proof of my affection.

Distortion was a reflection of my heart.

…With that in mind, I glanced toward Kkamang.

“!!!!!!”

She had transformed into a hellish cat zombie, even more grotesque than Serena—twisted to the point of making me nauseous at first sight.

‘Wow… The spell’s performance is no joke…’

The distortion was proportional to fondness.

The more love, the greater the distortion.

The deeper the obsession, the more horrifying the form.

My own obsession—having played the game like a madman just to see Marianne’s salvation ending—was beyond words in its grotesqueness.

…While pondering this, I checked on the others.

“How about you guys? Can you still look at my face?”

“Cain…”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s not look at each other’s faces until the distortion wears off… I thought I could love you no matter what, but… th-this might be too much…”

“I-I feel the same… Seeing you like this… Ugh…!”

Alice trembled in horror, while Sophia gagged like she was about to throw up.

“Serena-nim… Uweeeeeeek!”

The moment Sophia saw Serena, she vomited on the spot.

Wow.

The spell’s effectiveness is undeniable.

“Cain… Uweeeeeeeek!”

Seeing my face, Serena threw up next to Sophia.

“Cain-ssi… Ugh… Uweeeeeeeek!”

Kkamang followed suit as soon as she looked at me.

Oh.

This is great.

It just proves how much Marianne loves me—enough to make her vomit.

‘Though this is back when Kkamang really was Marianne.’

Anyway.

Judging by everyone’s reactions, I could roughly gauge their fondness levels.

…That’s what I thought until I glanced at Lia.

“Master!”

Lia—who looked like a goblin zombie—beamed brightly and hugged me.

“Urgh…”

“Master?”

“Lia… I’d really prefer some distance right now… A horrifying goblin zombie rushing at me is just… terrifying? Disgusting? Something like that…”

“Goblin zombie? So you love me that much? You really, truly adore me? Does this mean we can get married now?”

“……”

At Lia’s words, the others wore expressions of sudden realization as they studied my reaction.

And then, with satisfied voices—

“So Cain did love us? So much it’s hard to even look at us?”

“How nice. The form may be horrifying, but it’s proof of love.”

“Cain! You really liked me that much? Our friendship was this strong… Uweeeeeek!”

Serena, excited, looked at my face again—then immediately vomited.

Which just meant she loved me that much.

I was touched, but…

“……”

I was too focused on not reacting to Kkamang’s appearance to muster any happiness over the others’ responses.

“Cain-ssi?”

“Ugh… Urgh!…”

“Wow… Cain-ssi… We haven’t known each other long, but… to think you cherished me so much… It feels kind of validating.”

“Urk!…”

I tried to keep my reaction neutral,

but Kkamang’s distortion was so extreme I failed to control my expression.

And so, my true feelings were exposed.

“I also really like Cain-ssi… Uweeeeeeeek!”

On the flip side, I got to see just how much Kkamang adored me, so overall, it was a successful exchange.

But one question lingered.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah!”

“How do I look to you?”

“Like Master!”

“And the others? Do they look the same as always?”

“Yeah!”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, thanks to her trait, Lia couldn’t be affected by any status ailments.

Meaning

she completely ignored the distortion spell.

Lucky her.

“Anyway… Since we all look horrifying to each other… Let’s keep our distance…”

“Sniff…”

“I’ll hug and pet you once the distortion wears off. Just hold on until then.”

“Okay! I’ll wait!”

Lia obediently stepped back and surveyed our surroundings cautiously.

“Phew…”

Suddenly, fog rolled in.

“Lia.”

“Got it!”

Lia erected a barrier, sealing out the fog.

‘Getting caught in that would’ve been troublesome.’

The fog could shift our positions, leading to monsters ambushing us unpredictably.

Those monsters would actually be our allies,

and we’d know they were our allies…

But mid-battle, we might fail to distinguish friend from foe and end up attacking each other.

‘That’s why I equipped the Holy Light Beam Sword ahead of time, but…’

Ideally, we’d avoid the mix-up entirely.

…Just as I finished that thought, I looked straight ahead.

“Cain oppa~”

“My love~”

“Commander~”

Countless beautiful girls came rushing toward me, professing their love.

Characters from anime and games I once liked—those were bearable, but—

Slash!

“Yeah, yeah, I know you’re fakes.”

Slash! Slash! Slash!

I casually cut down the rushing beauties.

No regrets.

Sure, I used to like those characters,

but I’m a man who loves another woman now.

“You good over there?”

“Yeah!”

“I-I’m fine! Just don’t look at my face!”

“Wasn’t planning to.”

We kept talking,

but neither of us could bear to look at the other’s horrifically twisted faces.

This is kinda awkward.

But.

We just have to endure until the pattern appears.

…Steeling myself, I pressed forward.

No monsters appeared.

It was almost too clean—like the first encounter had been the last.

Occasionally, pretty fairy-like creatures fluttered by, but—

Fwoosh!

They passed straight through my Beam Sword unscathed.

Just disgusting bugs in disguise.

Not actual monsters.

“This is more peaceful than I expected.”

“As I said when we entered. The chance of encountering monsters is near 0%.”

“We did run into one, though?”

“‘Near 0%,’ not literally 0%.”

“So the odds of a second encounter are basically nonexistent?”

“Exactly.”

“Then… what’s that?”

“Hm?”

Something flickered in my senses.

But.

That wasn’t a monster.

‘There it is.’

Ghost-like clusters of magic—entities that spoke truth and lies.

“Everyone, ignore whatever they say.”

“That’s them?”

“No matter what they say, just let it pass.”

The Hero Party steeled themselves to brush off the ghosts’ whispers.

I, too, prepared to listen calmly.

‘Come.’

These ghosts whispered truths or lies—each audible only to their intended target.

Which meant

no one else would know what was said.

A golden chance to uncover hidden truths.

‘The key is controlling what you want to hear.’

It responded to focused intent.

The ghosts answered the heart’s deepest inquiries.

[Lia plans to kill Marianne. She’ll slaughter the Hero Party, too. Then she’ll lock you up and keep you as her plaything for life.]

That voice lied.

[Alice loves you. She would sacrifice her life for you.]

That voice spoke true.

[Sophia worships the Goddess of Light, Serena, but secretly follows Buddha as a Buddhist.]

An outright joke—easily dismissed.

[Serena plans to marry you! She wants to elevate you to godhood so she can keep you forever—raising you as the God of Cooking!]

That one was—

‘Huh?’

I’d just uncovered that Serena saw me as more than a friend—she was thinking marriage.

A human life was too fleeting,

so she intended to make me a god to keep me eternally.

However,

I ignored these miscellaneous details and refocused—I needed to learn about Marianne.

‘Focus. Focus.’

[Kkamang is hiding the fact that she is Marianne.]

‘!!!!!!’

Truth.

Kkamang was Marianne.

‘YEEEEEEES!!!’

I cheered internally.

[Serena will never accept Marianne. She refuses to acknowledge her humanity and intends to kill her.]

False.

Serena did accept Marianne. Recognized her humanity. Would never harm her.

‘YEEEEEEES!!!’

Outwardly, I remained calm—

but inside, I was breakdancing with joy.

Still,

there was more to hear.

I steadied myself and listened for the next truth or lie.

[Marianne doesn’t know why she killed herself. She only guesses that the Demon King’s Core transformed her into the Demon King—forcing her suicide.]

‘Ah…’

Now I knew why Marianne had taken her own life.

The Demon King’s Core.

Becoming the Demon King amplified magic to overwhelming levels—

so much that mere proximity would kill ordinary humans.

To Marianne, that must’ve been horrifying.

She wanted to befriend humans,

yet her presence alone would doom them.

Despair might’ve driven her to suicide.

‘Or…’

She might’ve sought to destroy the Demon King’s Core—dealing the ultimate middle finger to demonkind.

Destroying the Core would kill her, too,

but without a Demon King, demons would be hunted to extinction.

Perhaps she’d laughed at their downfall as she died.

‘Because Marianne was a demon who hated demons.’

At that thought,

I smiled.

I couldn’t help it.

‘Perfect.’

If the Demon King had been someone dear to Marianne, things would’ve been complicated.

Her father, brother—something like that.

Their death plunging her into grief

would’ve been the worst-case scenario.

‘Those chains are much harder to break.’

But.

Marianne’s salvation route was surprisingly simple.

All I needed was to deal with the Demon King’s Core.

[Marianne hates the Demon King. He tried to breed her as sturdy stock for the next Demon King—treating her as a broodmare.]

[Marianne hates demons. Bullied since childhood. Treated like a toy. Some even tried to assault her once she matured into a feminine form.]

[She survived only by swinging her sword, growing stronger. In her world, weakness meant being trampled or violated.]

[Marianne thinks fondly of the farm grandparents. She realized Elrice had tricked her into farm slavery…]

[…but compared to demon lifespan uncertainty, predictable farm labor was far happier.]

.

.

.

[Marianne is happier now than ever. The food’s delicious, she has friends, and there’s even a man who loves her despite being a demon.]

‘……’

My focus had earned me Marianne’s entire backstory.

How her kin tormented her.

How she survived.

All of it.

‘I see… So that’s why.’