episode_0159

Chapter 6 Episode 15 – Lord of Plague

I feel strong pain in my abdomen. It’s so hot it feels like my insides are melting.

Looking at the pain, it doesn’t seem like it was after the retry, so I wonder if he hasn’t died yet.

When I slowly opened my eyes, a bright light pierced my eyes. Eventually, I tried to move my body, but I couldn’t move because I was so tightly bound.

“You finally woke up?”

When I turned my head toward the voice, I saw a sharp-looking woman with amber-colored hair sitting in a chair, looking at me and smiling slightly.

[Heroine profile]

Name: Patricia

Height: 172cm / Difficulty: S

Progress: 20% / Affinity level: 2

Patricia, the false Virgin and Lord of Plague. And the last S-class heroine.

[Patricia’s strategy progress has increased. (0 -> 20%) Acquire 3,000 strategy points]

[Patricia’s favorability level has increased. (0 -> 2) Acquire 150 strategy points]

Looking at the progress and liking level increase notification window that was hidden in the heroine’s profile, I was able to see that it was not simply a notation error on the profile.

Why is this guy’s progress and liking level rising on his own? I don’t know why, but it’s good if the progress increases, but there’s no reason why it’s bad.

“……This place is cold… .”

When I tried to lower my voice, I felt a tingling pain in my throat and couldn’t speak properly. Is it because he vomited blood?

“I recommend not talking for a while. As I said, your body is on the verge of death right now. And this is the recovery room prepared for you.”

“…what, neck… enemy… .”

“Shh… .”

Patricia covered my mouth with her index finger.

“I know what you’re curious about. I can’t answer everything, but I’ll tell you one thing.”

Afterwards, he slowly brought his face to me and whispered in my ear.

“My purpose is to protect the world of humans.”

What kind of nonsense are you talking about? You know I’m not really naive enough to believe that.

“You look like you don’t believe it. Well, if you see what your younger siblings have done, it will be hard to believe it. But I sincerely want to protect your human home.”

Patricia smiled again. A pure smile without any malice.

‘…You can’t be fooled. You already saw it. ‘How outstanding is that guy’s acting skills?’

When she was playing the role of the mother-in-law, her behavior was that of an innocent girl who fell in love. But now, Patricia has become a treacherous, cunning, fox-like woman whose true feelings are unknown.

“I believe you will understand me. So, for now, focus on your recovery. Because you woke up sooner than expected, I couldn’t finish my work yet.”

“What, what… .”

“Shh… . are you okay. Now, close your eyes. Take a nap.”

Patricia’s long, cold fingers pulled down my eyelids. Perhaps because I had lost a lot of blood, my eyes, which had already closed on their own, were forced to close, and I fell into sleep.

*

*

“Hu… . There is no end to these damn documents.”

“Sister, it’s already been 3 days since you’ve stayed up all night. How about taking a quick break?”

“If I sleep, will you take care of these documents?”

“No, that’s not true, but wouldn’t it be a bigger problem if you collapsed?”

“Shut your mouth. Because I know my body well.”

Inside an office. Leger Fresco, the head of the Fresco family, had been buried under a mountain of documents for several days. I smoked a lot while I was working, so there was a mountain of cigarette butts on my desk.

The reason I smoked a regular cigar rather than the cigar I usually smoke is because I couldn’t leisurely burn a cigar while I was busy with work.

Rattling–. Leger’s hand once again reached for the cigarette he habitually placed there. But her right-hand man, Hugo, prevented this.

“You smoked too much.”

“……Okay.”

Regé was on edge due to the continuous vigil, but he couldn’t say that he wanted to smoke more even after seeing the mountain of cigarette butts piled up. The fact that I couldn’t concentrate without a cigarette in the first place helped me know that it was time to take a break.

“Ha… . I need to take a moment to catch my breath. Hugo, are your children growing up well?”

“Yes. I had a bad flu recently, but I got over it quickly because they are so healthy.”

“That’s a good thing. My kids are also suffering from the flu, but they say they are not as good as a little kid.”

The flu that has recently been spreading across the country has also taken a toll on Leger’s Fresco family. A large number of organization members fell ill with the flu, leaving a huge power vacuum.

Fortunately, thanks to Leger’s plucking out and eliminating all competing organizations in the area, including Eli, in Miri, there are no enemies that could take advantage of the Fresco family’s weakened position to attack them.

‘I need to send a gift to the director. Thanks to that, I was able to easily take control of Eli.’

During the previous Leon event, Zeke wiped out a faction of the Rude Zetas that was controlling Eli. Although they were considered a sect, their power was quite strong as they controlled Eli, a strategic point called a paradise for criminals. If it weren’t for Zeke, it would have taken a considerable amount of time for Leger to sort them out alone.

Of course, it was all Zeke’s fault that the Fresco family, which dominated the empire’s backwaters, became weak, but Leger was nevertheless grateful to Zeke.

Ironically, he was able to get to where he is now thanks to weakening the family.

“Sister, please close your eyes.”

“……Sure. Then wake me up in about 30 minutes.”

“Yes.”

Leger gently closed his bloodshot eyes. I felt pain based on fatigue along with a stiff feeling. If I fell asleep like this, I wouldn’t wake up until the next evening, let alone 30 minutes, but since I was so tired, I had no choice but to sleep for a little while.

“Sister!”

However, as if she would not be allowed to even take a short nap, the office door was opened roughly and a voice was heard calling her urgently.

“I’m in big trouble! The kids are in a strange state!”

*

*

I felt a small warmth in my head. It felt like someone was patting my head. I can see that it is moving around little by little, so it is clear that it is being stroked.

‘I don’t think Patricia will pat me on the head. ‘Am I dreaming?’

If it was such a vivid dream, it must have been a revelation from Mary.

I wanted to ask about fake Virgins and the identity of Mary, and it just so happened to be a good idea.

When I slowly opened my eyes, what I saw was not Maria’s pure white hair, but short, braided blonde hair.

“Mr. Leger?”

“Has he finally woke up?”

I was momentarily stunned by the completely unexpected appearance of Mr. Leger. Rather, Mr. Leger’s behavior is beyond words. What on earth happened?

“Ugh… .”

I tried to get up, but I had no energy at all.

“You seem to have no strength in your body. It’s worth it since I’ve been asleep for over a week.”

“Work… Sunday? Holly… .”

“Thank goodness. If it had been later, I might never have woken up.”

M. Leger reached for the cigar he habitually kept in his pocket, but quickly withdrew it. It seemed like he was trying to restrain himself since he was in front of a patient.

“……What happened? Where am I and why am I here?”

Looking around, it was a completely different place from the recovery room at the Patriarchate where I was before going to sleep again. It looks like a hospital, but does the fact that Mr. Leger is there mean that it is Eli’s hospital?

Tuk, Tuk, Tuk–.

Monsieur Leger tapped his knee with his finger and was silent for a moment.

“……A lot happened. First of all, the one who brought you here was the maid who always followed you around.”

“If it’s a maid, is it beer?”

“Yes.”

“Then where is Birr?”

If it were Bir, he would definitely be by my side whether I was asleep or not. However, not being seen in the hospital room means that he was away due to something happening… .

“Dead.”

Yeah, dead or dead. It’s one of two things.

[Game over. The heroine has died. Do you want to reset?]

A game over message window appeared before my eyes. Considering that this notification window appears when the heroine’s death is confirmed, it means that Mr. Leger is not lying. There is no reason to lie in the first place.

“The maid ran non-stop from the capital to here, Eli. The distance alone is over 1,300km in a straight line, and the process of getting there must not have been smooth. It’s good enough to have arrived. He asked me to save you, as if he didn’t care that he was dying. While shedding tears.”

“……Bir cried?”

Mr. Leger nodded quietly.

“…Why did you come to Eli and not the Management Bureau?”

“I don’t know that either. However, seeing as I haven’t been able to contact the management office for a few days, it’s clear that the situation there is just as bad.”

While my head was dizzy, one word caught my ear.

“If it’s the same… .”

“……The doctor told you to take absolute rest, but I will tell you that you are not going to faint from shock at something like this.”

Mr. Leger seemed unable to bear it any longer, so he took out a cigar and put it in his mouth. I didn’t light it up, but seeing as the trembling eyes had calmed down to some extent, it seemed like just biting was relieving the withdrawal symptoms to some extent.

Mr. Leger, who had been chewing his cigar for a long time, finally opened his mouth.

“The empire collapsed. In just one week.”