episode_0170

I couldn’t be honest.

That was my first mistake.

And my second mistake.

It was all a mistake.

I realized that after Yujin left.

It was too late.

I begged Yujin for one more chance, and when that didn’t work, I begged to the gods.

I knew the gods were dead and gone.

I knew that the idea of them resurrecting and watching over us in heaven was just a story made up by the papacy.

But still, I couldn’t help but hope for something transcendent.

And surprisingly, a second chance came.

Whether it was from the gods or another transcendent being, I couldn’t say.

Regardless, I had been striving to make use of this second chance.

I tried to find Yujin calmly.

I even made the mistake of getting wanted by the law in a fit of anger.

Finally, I reunited with Yujin.

And it all led to this.

Though it wasn’t the way I had originally wanted it to be.

There were unexpected obstacles.

Knowing that it was greedy to expect more, I accepted it.

I would become Yujin’s woman.

I vowed to make up for my past mistakes.

To heal the wounds I had left on Yujin’s heart.

Now, my grandiose pride was useless in front of Yujin.

The petty fights were meaningless.

I had always thought of Yujin as beneath me and had focused on making him kneel.

But that was a mistake from the start.

Regardless of status or position.

Yujin was not someone who could be subjugated by money or power.

He always walked his own path.

What Yujin needed was not a master to lead him, but a companion to stand by his side.

“The old me… I was really stupid, huh?”

Looking back on the past, I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

Even if it was something trivial that bothered me, I would always get angry at Yujin.

Even if it wasn’t a big deal, I would still get overly angry.

And then Yujin would apologize first and come in, treating me like a princess.

I always believed that this would work every time.

I had come to see Yujin as just an ordinary person, like any other commoner, who would kneel before money and power.

Without ever considering the emotions he was hiding…

“Maybe that was the turning point?”

Looking back, maybe when Yujin was hesitant to come or go, it wasn’t love.

I suddenly had that thought.

I had relied on Yujin and felt a strong attraction to him, but it was just a primitive and childish desire to make him dependent on me.

It wasn’t love in the true sense.

The love that developed was only after he left.

When Yujin refused to be a puppet of the holy maiden anymore, cut the leash, and ran away.

It was then that I began to see Yujin as a person, not just a doll, and as a man.

The most heartbreaking disappointment had helped me grow.

And led me to this point.

It used to be a memory that made my heart ache and made me feel like crying just thinking about it.

But now, I could smile and say that there were painful moments.

“Yujin…”

“Why?”

“So, who is this other woman? Another one in your life?”

“…”

Of course, aside from all of that.

There was something I needed to make sure of.

It was time to turn doubt into certainty.

As I wrapped my legs around Yujin’s waist and held him close, I felt his body trembling.

Yujin was nervous.

He had started the conversation first.

Hadn’t he prepared himself to be questioned in return?

I pondered on that thought.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“That’s… well… I did think I should talk about it…”

“You seem really nervous. You were confident when you talked in front of everyone earlier. It seems like you’re only nervous in front of me. Am I someone you know?”

“… ”

“If I were to describe the type of young woman that Eugene likes… there’s only Lady Briem, the Countess of Briem.”

“… ”

Eugene remained silent, as if pierced by a sharp needle.

Silence was considered as agreement.

Jill let out a deep sigh and gently grasped Eugene’s chin.

He had always found it strange.

The disappearance of the Count of Briem since a mercenary came to König.

The Countess of Briem, who left the seat of the lady vacant, refusing to hold private consultations with anyone.

And the Countess of Briem, who kept sending letters to someone…

It was clear to everyone that the Countess was having an affair with someone she couldn’t tell others about.

But no one could have imagined that the person was Eugene.

She even made promises about the future…

“I trusted her. Of all people, it had to be Cornelia.”

“… ”

Because she had received legal advice from Cornelia.

The sense of betrayal was significant.

But Jill knew that it was pointless to fuel such feelings here.

There were more urgent matters at hand than wasting energy unnecessarily.

“So, did you… with Cornelia?”

“…?!”

It was crucial to determine how far things had progressed.

“That’s… ”

Eugene’s lips trembled.

—

I had worried a lot.

Although my intuition was correct, I wasn’t entirely convinced that this was the right path.

Even the fact that confessing to all three would stop the conquest rate at 94% was just an expectation.

And the acceptance of all three was just a hope of mine.

But I succeeded.

It was a rough and tough road.

But I faced all three and confirmed each other’s feelings.

I succeeded in uniting them.

Now, even though it was a bit awkward for the three of them…

At least, it was certain that each of them shared the same goal as me.

I stayed here to prevent Drachen’s arrival.

And they wanted to dream of the future with me.

That was enough.

There was plenty of room for cooperation.

“The day has finally come.”

Jill, Yulia, Yerina, and Mia sat around the round table.

Looking at them, my heart swelled with emotion.

How much had I longed for this day.

How much had I struggled to create this scene.

Thinking about it made me feel choked up.

I felt that my efforts were not in vain.

I wasn’t unaware that taking Yerina or Jill to the dungeon would make the conquest much easier.

But there was only one heroine I could take at a time.

There was a restriction in the game, and it was the same in this world.

But today, I broke that restriction.

I made the main heroines all have a common goal.

In one dungeon, I could project the healing ability of the saint, the sorcery of the witch, and the combat power of the ice lord.

It was an extremely powerful combination that I couldn’t lose to even if ten people came at me.

“We had time to share our stories, but it was probably not enough. You probably have a lot more to say. But once we start unraveling, there will be no end. So, let’s try to solve the current problem first. Is there any objection?”

“… ”

They nodded without saying a word.

Their faces seemed to be piled up with things they really wanted to say.

But as if they couldn’t say it in front of these women, their eyes only followed mine.

Among them, Jill, in particular, stubbornly followed my eyes.

Perhaps it was because of what I said earlier…

There seemed to be a hint of desire in her gaze.

I, too, have a lot I want to do now that our hearts are in sync.

During the 12th regression, there were desires that I had to endure.

There was also a strong impulse to resolve them, but there was an immediate problem that needed to be addressed.

From the very beginning, gathering these guys in one place was the cause of it all.

“You probably have a vague idea about the Four Kings. The vanguard of the invading army from the other world, known as the Four Kings, consists of four leaders, one of whom is vacant.”

I stopped Sol, who was about to speak.

“I killed one of them.”

Strictly speaking, he was resurrected and alive.

He might still be waiting outside the door, tapping his fingers.

I omitted explaining about that guy because it would complicate things too much.

“Two of them are alive and trapped inside that dungeon. But one thing is certain, they have already been abandoned by their leader. This is their final desperate act, pouring all their abilities into it. If we can suppress this, the threat of the Four Kings will be no more.”

“Do we have the means to suppress them? I heard that one of them is an undead that cannot be killed by destroying the body…”

“We can capture them. By opening a dimensional wall and contacting the gods of the divine realm-”

“If it’s getting too long, there’s no need to explain everything. In short, there is a definite means of suppression, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s settled. You can move on to the next, Eugene. Are you all okay?”

“Yes…”

Yerina cut off the explanation and moved on to the next.

In the past, she would have meticulously dissected the details of the plan one by one.

Now, it seems like time is more precious than that.

Is she trusting me?

I can feel a strong sense of trust emanating from the thick wall of obedience towards me.

Certainly, the method of madness seems to help suppress Yerina’s madness.

“S-so… what… what should we… do?”

“Buy us some time by suppressing the dungeon. If attempts to conquer the dungeon are interrupted, they might pop out like just now. We need to suppress them so they can’t do that, and if possible, it’s okay to destroy the dungeon altogether.”

“Is that really okay? If we destroy the dungeon, they might escape?”

“It doesn’t matter. We can subdue them again later. Right now, the dungeon is too threatening, so if we can conquer it, we should take care of it immediately without wasting time.”

Just the undead legion alone is very dangerous.

If we make a mistake, they could become so strong that even pouring all the world’s power into subduing them would be impossible.

The problem is, that’s not the end of it.

There are clear signs of something else being manipulated in the dungeon.

Their target is not the undead legion, but something else.

But I still can’t grasp what that is…

So I need to be prepared.

Prepared to lose a lot.

“And Mia.”

“Y-yes?”

“If necessary, we may have to sacrifice Elvengard. That’s what I know.”

“…”

In the worst-case scenario, we may have to sacrifice Elvengard.