Chapter 74
Se-on realized he needed to study his skills.
The skills he'd used so far, like [Adrenaline], [Undress], and [Pheromones], had only minor effects and weren't much use in combat, so he hadn't felt the need to look into them deeply.
But what were these new abilities he'd acquired? Every one of them was an unrealistic power that could deceive the world or bring it to a halt.
It was wiser to learn their properties in advance than to discover them too late on the battlefield.
First, [Time Stop], the one he'd been most curious about.
Because…… it was every man's dream.
“……Time Stop.”
When he silently murmured the skill's name, the birdsong he'd been hearing fell silent. But he could still hear his own footsteps.
When he turned around, he saw his companions frozen in the middle of a conversation, their mouths unmoving. It seemed time had stopped for every living thing.
Or maybe only the area around him had stopped. It was hard to figure out the range.
Fortunately, his senses were still working. If even light had stopped, he wouldn't be able to see. In many ways, it was a convenient ability—or so he'd thought.
[Time Limit: 5 minutes]
[Time Stops Remaining Today: 3]
[Cooldown Until Next Time Stop: 30 minutes]
[※ Resets every day at midnight!]
Just as expected, restrictions appeared.
He'd figured a ridiculously overpowered ability like this had to have some, but he still couldn't hide his disappointment.
Would this ability grow stronger later, too?
Except for the passive [Pheromones], [Adrenaline] and [Undress] seemed to become more effective the more he used them.
[Undress] had gotten so powerful that it kept taking off more than just Yubel's panties, which had really annoyed her……. Ahem.
“Hey, guys! Can you hear me?”
Just in case, he tried calling out.
Naturally, there was no answer.
[4 minutes 29 seconds]
In the meantime, 31 seconds had already passed.
It felt like a waste to turn the ability off just like that, so he wondered what he could do with it. Before long, all that came to mind were the lewd fantasies any man would have.
A world where time had stopped. Yubel, unable to move. And me, able to do anything for five minutes.
“Gulp……”
To analyze the skill's mechanics, shouldn't he check whether all the pleasure came rushing in at once when the time limit ended?
While he was having such a perfectly reasonable thought, his body had already started moving toward Yubel.
“This is Yubel's fault……”
Yubel was the one who'd told him to choose skills.
He didn't want to do this, but if you gave a man a dream skill like this, wasn't it only natural he'd have these kinds of delusions?
As he rationalized it that way, he grabbed Yubel by the collar, then—
“……No, let's stop.”
Reality hit him.
Yubel had told him to choose skills because she was worried about him.
Wasn't it to protect his sanity?
At her instruction to use all his skill points, he'd spent all 300 he'd accumulated. Thanks to that, he felt much clearer-headed. The Skill Window had even said something about his resolve growing stronger.
Anyway, if he kept acting like a lecher, there was no way he'd make her fall in love with him—he'd only make her hate him.
[3 minutes 13 seconds]
There was still plenty of time left, but maybe he should let time resume now.
He just had to say the skill's name in his head one more time, right?
Thinking that, he returned to his original spot and repeated the skill's name.
“Time Stop.”
.
.
.
“T-Time Stop!”
[3 minutes 3 seconds]
[※Warning※ Unless the user's ‘goal’ is achieved, the user will have to bear an immense ‘penalty’ as soon as time runs out.]
An ominous message appeared before his eyes.
An immense penalty? Since the text was emphasized, he should probably achieve that goal as quickly as possible.
But what was his goal? What had he been thinking when he activated the skill? Surely, he'd been thinking about ‘every man's dream’……
“Ah……”
The ‘every man's dream’ he'd imagined was stopping time and openly admiring a naked woman. So did he have to accomplish that goal?
[Goal: Admire Yubel's naked body (1 minute)]
“W-What is this……”
With a chime, the message appeared before his eyes as if to confirm it was correct.
[2 minutes 44 seconds]
On top of that, it was rushing him.
“……”
I-I can't help it…….
~
And so, Se-on—
With gratitude for Time Stop and self-loathing coexisting within him, he was able to admire her to his heart's content.
I'm sorry, Yubel…….
[Success!]
***
“Are you sure you're okay? You've seemed strangely low on energy for the past few hours…….”
“I-I'm fine…… Thank you for worrying about me, Yubel……”
By then, night had fallen, and it was time to set up camp.
The Hero's party sat around the campfire, talking about Sullerisu, where they would arrive the next day.
They could actually have reached it at any point that day, but Yubel had sensed something was off with Se-on and suggested they camp, so they took a break.
They'd been talking for quite a while when—
“Um……. What kind of place is Sullerisu, Lady Yubel?”
“S-Sullerisu? Well, um, it's, uh, that kind of place……. Hmm……. S-Sorry, I don't really know— Aah!”
Prea suddenly hugged Yubel.
“You don't have to tell me any more! Sniff, this is my fault……. I shouldn't have made you bring up painful memories……”
“Y-Yeah……. Th-Thank you.”
Yubel had a dark past. Since she was so reluctant to talk about it, Prea was sure she'd been mistreated in Sullerisu.
She'd heard a little about Yubel's awful family situation from Se-on, after all. Hadn't she said she'd been sexually harassed every night? Actually, Se-on hadn't told her; she'd secretly overheard him talking to himself.
Prea once again felt that the world was wrong.
Yubel was simply relieved that Prea wouldn't ask any more.
“Anyway, what should we do about these wings……?”
“Couldn’t you say they’re emergency rations?”
“No, that wouldn’t work……. Oh! Or should I stick close behind you? If I keep hugging you, maybe no one will see them…….”
“W-What are you saying? You're a woman! If it were the Hero, maybe, but your breasts would be pressing against my back!”
“I don’t mind……”
“Ah, I can take care of that.”
The Hero cut in.
Reflexively, I turned my head toward the Hero beside me.
Honestly, I was a little flustered.
Was he really going to hug me from behind instead of Prea? Was I supposed to let this guy, who liked me, get behind me? What if we ended up touching in all sorts of places…….
I couldn't see in the dark, but my face was burning red.
“Mm……. If you can take care of it……”
“Yeah. I just got a pretty good skill.”
Huh, a skill? What did that have to do with this?
The Hero's answer was completely different from what I'd expected. What could he possibly do with a skill in this situation?
Then the Hero muttered something to himself.
“Hey, guys, can you see the wings on Yubel’s back?”
“Huh? Wings? W-What do you mean?”
“I don’t know! Is that something you can eat?”
Huh?
Suddenly, everyone started pretending not to notice the wings right in front of them. ……There was a skill like that?
“What do you think? Amazing, right? One of my skills lets me designate a target and make people unable to perceive them like this. Of course, there is a bit of a penalty……. But this should do it—”
“Hey. What’s the name of that skill?”
“Uh, um……. It’s called ‘Perception Obstruction’……”
At Yubel’s icy reaction, Se-on unconsciously trailed off as he answered. For some reason, he felt like he was getting scolded.
Could it be because he was manipulating his companions’ perceptions? He’d only wanted to test it and then undo it…….
“Of course, I’ll let you guys see her. Don’t worry—”
“W-What is going on here!!!!”
“Kyaah!” “W-Whoa! What’s wrong, Yubel……”
Yubel’s scream rang through the dark night.
Naturally, her companions were startled, but the most shocked of all was Yubel. One of the Hero’s late-game skills had suddenly come up.
What’s more—
“How did you know about skills!”
Surely, her Hypnosis Magic should have erased his memories.
She couldn’t understand how he remembered having skills. Had the grade-school Hero secretly told him?
“I-It’s just……. Because I have them? Is, is there a problem?”
“Ah, um……. Sigh, never mind. You don’t know anything……. Sorry, guys, for suddenly yelling.”
The kid must have told him about the skills and, to top it off, replaced his one-point skill choice with [Perception Obstruction]. That guy was perverted enough to do that. Judging from the Hero’s bewildered reaction, that had to be it.
“Hero, then do you remember any other skills?”
“Uh, yeah……. I have ‘Invisible Hand’ and ‘Time Stop,’ too……”
“……”
She was at a loss for words.
Invisible Hand and Time Stop?
Each of those skills cost an outrageous number of skill points, and they were dangerous even by their effects alone. In other words, they weren’t skills he could’ve bought with just three skill points.
“Ha, hahaha……”
That damn grade-schooler.
Thank goodness the Hero was the one using the skills. What if someone else had gotten them? It would’ve been the end of everything. Someone could stop time and go around having their way with women, doing all kinds of things. ……There was no way the Hero would do that, right?
“Hehe, what are you two talking about? Is it about food?”
“Y-Yeah……. We’d like to hear what these skills are, too.”
“Why are you so curious? Those are just the Hero fellow’s skills, right?”
“Ah, the Holy Sword……!?”
The Holy Sword finally broke its long silence and began to speak.
I recoiled and moved away from the Hero—or rather, from the Holy Sword. I was still reeling from the shock of the skills, but I couldn’t help focusing even more on the Holy Sword.
It was practically a highly dangerous object to me.
“Yes, I heard your story, but……. Why is that demon girl so scared? Krahaha! Are you afraid I’ll eat you? What a little cutie.”
“W-What are you talking about! I’m not scared!”
“Yes, yes, I have no intention of attacking you, either. Besides, you’re not a demon in the first place. Things would be different if you were a demon, though.”
“Huh, u-uh? I’m not a demon?”
[……Hmm.]
Along with the Holy Sword’s sudden arrival came a rather absurd claim.
I wasn’t a demon? What was that supposed to be based on? The parasite that had once owned this body had officially confirmed I was a demon, after all.
“Yes, your soul is very calm, unlike the demons I’ve seen until now. It’s closer to a human’s. And this is the main reason: what kind of idiot demon would walk around with its heart inside its own body? Well, I’ve seen one before. But that thing wasn’t quite a demon.”
When the Holy Sword finished speaking, my companions arbitrarily concluded that I must not have been a demon to begin with. Were they mistaken in thinking this body hadn't originally been a demon? It was convenient for them to misunderstand.
But I, the person in question, couldn’t accept it.
I knew this body had been a demon from the start. And I’d heard the heart was in the Demon King’s Castle.
So, using “I want some fresh air” as an excuse, I went some distance away to talk to the parasite.
“W-What……. What does that even mean? Our heart is inside our body?”
[……So that was it. Yubel, I’m sorry. Allow me to apologize. Even if you kill yourself, you won’t be able to return to the Demon King’s Castle in an emergency.]
“Sorry, I don’t understand……. So is it true that the heart is inside?”
[Yes. But it isn’t my heart. It’s yours.]
“……What?”
[The body we use is merely a vessel. A vessel that holds a soul. So naturally, our hearts reside within each of us, whose personalities are different.]
What the parasite was trying to say was that we were completely different beings, and though we shared the same body, our hearts were separate.
And my heart was housed in this body.
Then……
“W-Was I really about to die……?”
Hadn’t I truly been on the verge of death when I met the Witch of Frost, and when I stabbed myself with a kitchen knife at Broad’s house?
I—I didn’t want to die……?
It felt as if all the blood in my body had turned cold.
It felt like the sturdy armor that had protected me had crumbled away.
“Hah, hah……”
Everything around me looked like it could be used to threaten me.
What if that tree suddenly stabbed me? What if those vines strangled me? What about that rock? That crow sitting over there? Could I survive in this magical world? After nearly dying once, I couldn’t feel safe. I needed to be brave. I was so,
so scared.
[……I’m sorry. That was my mistake. If this body dies from now on, you’ll disappear along with it. The heart can’t be moved from the place it’s been set.]
“U-Ugh……!”
[You, just calm down for a moment……! Tch, I made a mistake. Yubel! Come to your senses! Are you all ri—? Yubel……!]
My mind went completely blank, and I couldn’t think about anything.
I don’t want to die.
To be exact, the thought that I wanted to live filled my mind so completely that there was no room for anything else.
I want to live.
Sometimes, I thought I heard someone calling my name, but I wasn’t calm enough to care.
Someone, protect me.
I collapsed onto the soft dirt.
It’s cold.
Strangely……
“Hic……! Cough, hack! He-Hero……!”
I felt a pressure as if someone were squeezing my throat.
Make me warm.
Desperate to make it stop, I called out to him. For some reason, I wanted to smell that scent of his that made my body go limp.
Please hug me.
“G-Gh……. P-Please……!”
Please come find me.
Reassure me.
I don’t want to lose consciousness like this.
I don’t want to die.
I miss you, Hero.
I miss you, Hero.
.
.
.
.
.
In the distance, I saw someone running toward me.
I couldn’t tell who it was, but the face was familiar.
Why did I feel that way?
‘She’ uttered a brief word in a voice I felt I’d heard once before. No, now that I thought about it, I’d probably heard it hundreds of times.
“My Lord?”