episode_0164

The days flew by as soon as my vacation ended.

The long, long year reached its halfway point and began to shorten again, little by little. Before I knew it, a cool breeze was settling on my back.

Last summer, sweat poured down like a downpour, and before I had a chance to cool off in the cold seawater, it dried instantly.

Perhaps it was because I was in such an overwhelmingly elated state, playing with everyone.

My body and mind had no time to feel the passage of time; everything flowed by quickly and vaguely.

It was like I’d had a dream on a sweltering summer night, my heart pounding.

Honestly, I don’t remember much of what I did.

I got drunk on alcohol, drunk on the sunset sea, and drunk on the atmosphere surrounded by pretty women. I simply spent the summer in a trance.

However, even if grains of sand slip through your fingers, some glittering gold dust tends to remain.

In my case, it’s memories etched in my heart like a tattoo.

We enjoyed busking by the night sea, read challenging but interesting books, bought pretty clothes and good swords. We spent time together, pouring out all the heavy stories we had been carrying in our hearts.

And… the memory of those hot nights, which I want to forget but can’t, still lingers.

The memories of a passionate youth are like wine; it may taste bitter at the time.

But as time passes, the juice ripens perfectly, enveloping the whole body in sweet aroma and taste.

The best sweetness in life, which cannot be bought with anything, is lost forever if you miss the chance. I can say this with certainty because of the memory of my past life, where I foolishly let my gray youth slip by.

That’s why I think I interacted so enthusiastically with Yuri and the others.

I gave each of them gifts so that everyone could have the best summer vacation without exception.

The reward I received was a beautiful smile, worth more than that paltry sum of money.

Ding-

『[Condition: Making happy memories♡] Satisfied.』

『[Side Story: Summer Vacation] Cleared.』

『Experience and rewards will be given.』

『54 days until the next main scenario is unlocked. Freely enhance your skills and prepare for the upcoming [Trial].』

『Scenario unlocked. [Repetitive Scenario: Midterm Exam]』

‘So… is it really a god game with freedom, just like the original?’

I rested my chin in my hand, gazing at the status window.

Acastus encourages trying different methods the second time you repeat the same story. Various attempts lead to various stories, and the more various stories you gather and increase the collection rate, the more experience points you gain.

In short, the more adventures you have, the stronger you become. The fact that it ‘forces freedom’ for free growth is a bit paradoxical, though.

The scenario conditions are essentially just one recommended play method.

It’s something the system arbitrarily presents to grow the player in line with the ideal end goal. Even if you don’t clear the scenario, the attempt itself is valued, so experience points are awarded according to the story’s progress.

To summarize.

Assuming that this world and the status window borrowed Acastus’s system as it is, I just have to do my best freely.

No matter what happens, I don’t need to analyze the system’s actions and principles of thought.

The important thing is that I can grow in the way I want without worrying about the scenario for now.

Just in time, three scenario completion rewards piled up, so I thought, ‘Should I enjoy these now?’

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.

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There are a total of three rewards I haven’t touched yet.

An intrusion scenario, chapter 4 of the main story, and a side story. I could say I missed my timing for a while because I was so busy during the final exams.

First, the intrusion scenario completion reward: [Invigorating Tonic Recipe].

As I pressed and held the reward on the status window, a thin sheet of paper fluttered down from the system inventory.

“Hmm… what is this?”

Honestly, I’m a bit surprised.

Suddenly, an invigorating tonic? It was like grasping at clouds.

However, the massive flow of the system wouldn’t have given this paper as a reward without reason, so I decided to quietly guess its intention.

As I said before, the rewards of the scenarios provide a stepping stone to the next scenario. It contains an item that will be necessary in the journey ahead, or important information.

Therefore, it’s possible to guess the contents of the next scenario depending on the reward.

So, is recommending an invigorating tonic to me a sign that I should take good care of myself? I’m more likely to think that it’s a bit absurd.

However.

“It’s… surprisingly plausible.”

My body and mind are exhausted from Moriarty’s invasion. It’s quite reasonable to recommend that I stabilize my mind and recover fully before proceeding to the next story.

So, I should simply accept it without any hidden meaning.

The problem is this.

“Just looking at the ingredients in the recipe… it looks like it will be terribly unappetizing.”

First, it starts with herbs. It uses a base of decocted broth from finely chopped and ground well-known medicinal herbs, including mandrake.

As a true carnivore, I can’t accept that.

At the Aither Temple, I somehow managed to hold back in front of people, but if my wife made such a herbal dish at home, I would flip the table without even considering anyone else’s feelings.

Fortunately, I’ve never done such a terrible thing. I luckily picked up the best wife, Yuri, so I’m blessed with sumptuous meals every day.

And our head chef, Yuri, has talent in a slightly different direction.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

“Ah… it’s nothing.”

Flutter-

When I showed her the recipe, peeking beside me, she scanned it quickly from top to bottom. She immediately understood why my expression was sour.

“Someone recommended this…”

“It clearly isn’t a taste for your sister-in-law.”

“Uung…”

I pulled Yuri into my arms and rubbed against her.

Swish-Swish-

Burying her head in her soft breasts, I massaged various parts of her meticulously to relieve the fatigue of the day.

Even though she was restrained and being playfully abused, Yuri read the recipe with considerable concentration. And before long, she gave the best answer.

“So… we just need to make it delicious while making the most of the effects, right?”

“U-ng!!”

Chuuup- Zzong-

Just as I expected, Yuri is the best. I relentlessly showered her face with passionate kisses to express my overwhelming satisfaction.

“Don’t do it in strange places—”

Then, Yuri uncurled her body and pushed me onto the sofa. She held my cheeks in her hands and kissed me right in the center.

“Chuuup- Churut-”

Her soft lips were always delicious, no matter when or where I stole a kiss.

If we mixed tongues, I would be unable to resist the urge to do more, so I gently pulled her away and lay her down next to me.

“Additional payment is required for the next step… Hehe.”

“Then let’s do it after I take this booster.”

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.

.

Yuri went out shopping and Nix was fast asleep inside the black crystal, so.

The Philbrogue mansion was filled with a quiet atmosphere for a change.

I lay on the cozy bed in my room and examined the second reward.

It could be a long time since we last saw each other or it may be recently. It was the [Leah’s Gemstone], which made it possible to reunite with my mother.

Holding the small stone with pure ether shimmering, I examined its contents.

Now, I don’t need to use ‘astral projection’ to enter the gemstone anymore. This is because I have mastered ether manipulation to the point where I can draw mother’s trace into the physical world.

“Can I see Mother’s face after a long time.”

I closed my eyes and concentrated.

Fwooash-

A warm and fragrant aura like the scent of late spring flowers.

My mother’s ether spread slowly through the room, and soon, small particles of light began to gather before me.

But it was a little different from what I expected.

I intended to summon her to show my new life, but the particles of pure ether, far from forming a human shape, simply blew in like the wind and seeped into me.

“…Why is this happening?”

A full aura lingered throughout my body, but the gemstone lost its luster and turned into an ordinary stone.

A baffling event happened, leaving me dumbfounded, but before I can react, I decided that it was more important to find out what changes have occurred to me.

There are no immediate physical changes. The usual light body and relatively heavy, twin breasts.

I didn’t feel even a hint of discomfort.

“…Status.”

So, I naturally called up the status window. It was the screen that allowed me to grasp my physical condition most intuitively.

And I couldn’t hide my astonishment.

The information was the same as yesterday. Name, level, gender, traits, skills… there were no changes in the content.

But… a strange message was flowing from the message output window.

『Hoo-aaam… I slept well-』

『Hello, my lord? It’s been a while.』

『[Status window] greets you.』

Eyes wide open.

I held the status window in both hands.

I leaned my face close and asked.

“…Are you in there?”

Then, another message came.

『I’ll explain what’s going on… slowly.』