TIRS 90

CHAPTER 90……………………………………

 Why Do You Bother Me So Much

“A man…?”

I asked again in a stiff voice.

“I only saw his back, but he had black hair, about this tall… a-and he controlled strange shadows!”

“He controlled shadows?”

This time, Anselot frowned as he asked back.

“Why? Do you know something, Anselot?”

“…”

Instead of answering right away, Anselot gave me a glance.

Reading the sign that this wasn’t a place to talk, I quietly nodded and turned my gaze back to Doris.

“Why didn’t you tell the king or anyone else?”

“H-he threatened me. Said he would kill me if I told anyone.”

“And telling me is fine?”

“Y-you’re the Hero of the Oracle… so I thought…”

“You schemed with Arbella to frame me before, and now you shamelessly come asking for help? Don’t you think that’s brazen?”

I did feel sorry for Arbella’s death, but she had tried to pin a crime I didn’t commit on me.

If I had recklessly drunk the tea she offered, it wouldn’t have been her but me who ended up imprisoned.

“T-that was… I’m sorry. Please, spare me. Please, h-hic…”

Finally, Doris collapsed onto the cold stone floor, sobbing.

She was clearly in no state to be left alone, so I brought the weeping Doris back to the prince’s palace.

“Rest here for now.”

I left her in the lounge of the guest quarters where I was staying, and asked Illei to look after Piya.

“Illei, could you take Piya to the room and put her to sleep?”

“Mm, Lulu.”

Illei nodded obediently and took Piya with him.

Piiit?

— What, you’re just going to put Piya to sleep and then do something together? No! Don’t! Stop it!

Piya protested fiercely, but was dragged away by Illei’s hand.

Once the noisy cries faded, I crossed into the next room to continue my conversation with Anselot.

“Why did you act like that earlier?”

“…The God of Light, Luss, stole darkness from his brother Nox and came to rule over both light and darkness.”

He spoke calmly, explaining in a measured voice.

“And shadows were born from the intertwining of that primordial light and darkness.”

“So you’re saying this is the doing of Luss—the God of Light—or, in other words, something connected to the system?”

“It’s suspicious that a man who manipulates shadows appeared while Your Highness was asleep. But…”

Anselot suddenly narrowed his eyes.

“It’s too much. When I went to the site right after the incident, it felt as though emotions lingered with the dead. Not like him at all.”

“Not like him? You make it sound like you actually know a god or something.”

Even as I said it, the absurdity made me laugh softly.

“Yes, I do know him.”

Anselot nodded at once.

My eyes widened.

“What? Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Anselot, y-you, you—!”

I darted my eyes around, making sure no one else was around, then whispered in a lower voice.

“How can you just say something like that so casually!”

“Weren’t you the one who said you wanted to know more?”

Anselot chuckled.

“Who was it that said they needed more time?”

His smiling face left me unable to argue. I only pouted my lips.

“So… you became a bug because…”

“He really hates me, the god.”

Anselot grinned, but I couldn’t smile with him.

A life lived hated by a god, hunted as a bug, constantly threatened—how could that ever have been peaceful?

Perhaps the secret he was hiding was far greater, and far more dangerous, than I imagined.

If only I could share that burden with him.

Gently, I reached out and brushed his cheek.

“Your Highness?”

Anselot blinked in surprise.

“Just because.”

“…”

Then, a faint laugh slipped through his lips.

“Our princess, why are you so tender…”

It was then.

Anselot’s expression suddenly hardened as he turned toward the lounge where Doris had been left alone.

“Anselot?”

“…Didn’t you feel something strange just now?”

“Strange? I didn’t—”

Before I could finish, he strode away quickly.

‘Finally, I’m saved.’

Left alone in the room, Doris let out a breath.

Just unburdening herself of a secret she had been agonizing over for days was a huge relief.

“This is why humans are so…”

A voice interrupted.

“…?”

Startled, Doris turned toward the sound.

The little boy who was always with Princess Luivel was there.

‘Why is this child here…?’

She was sure she had just seen him heading into the bedroom with Luivel’s bird. Why was he here?

“How foolish.”

Illei tilted his head lazily and muttered.

For some reason, Doris felt as if the much smaller boy was looking down on her, and she swallowed nervously.

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Didn’t I tell you not to reveal anything?”

Illei asked in an emotionless voice.

“W-what are you…”

She froze.

Her face stiffened as she noticed the shadows writhing at Illei’s feet.

“N-no way…”

The horrific, grotesque sight made Doris stumble back in terror.

Illei watched coldly, then smiled faintly.

“B-black hair…”

And then it hit her. The boy’s pitch-black hair—it was the same as the man she had seen in prison.

Illei’s shadow shot toward her in an instant.

“Ah—ngh—!”

Doris fell to the ground, but before she could scream, the shadow gagged her. She died on the spot.

“…I broke my promise to Lulu again.”

Illei frowned.

He had spared the witness only because of his promise to Luivel.

It would have been simpler to just kill her, but Luivel hated that.

So he had shown mercy—but she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. And to make it worse, she told Luivel of all people.

“How irritating.”

Illei gazed at Doris’s corpse with cold eyes.

The system administrator would take care of it, so it wasn’t a concern. But Luivel would not be fooled.

She would immediately sense that this woman’s death was unnatural.

Because Luivel was a bug—an existence outside the order he had established.

At the end of this journey, she was likely the one he would have to eliminate with his own hands.

“…Why is it.”

At that thought, an irritation far greater than what he’d felt toward Doris surged inside him.

“Why is it that you bother me so much, Luivel Azester.”

Biting his lip hard, Illei heard approaching footsteps and slipped away before Luivel returned.

When I opened the lounge door with Anselot, whose expression had suddenly stiffened, what awaited us was Doris’s corpse—just like Arbella before her.

The woman who had begged me to save her was now dead.

And yet, it was all smoothed over so naturally.

Not a single person found it odd that Doris, Arbella’s maid, had died in Anselot’s palace.

Not even those closest to me—Klaus and Maria.

On the road leaving Luenhart, I looked back at the palace with a heavy heart.

There was nothing more I could do here anyway.

So it was right not to linger, but to leave.

If this truly was the system’s doing… it would come after me.

“It’s all right.”

I turned my head at the warm grip on my hand. Anselot was watching me quietly.

“Anselot?”

“You’re uneasy, aren’t you?”

“…”

I couldn’t answer. My lips pressed shut.

Then Anselot gently bumped his forehead against mine.

“I’ll protect you.”

His warm breath brushed my face as he spoke.

“Even if it costs me my life, I’ll protect you. So don’t be afraid, Luivel.”

“Mhm…”

Our faces slowly drew closer—

“I brought the horses—”

Hiiiiiihhh!

A loud neigh startled me, and I pulled away from Anselot.

Klaus stood frozen, glaring at us.

He was gripping the reins so tightly the horses snorted and stomped.

“Ah, haha. You’re here, Sir Klaus?”

“…What a disgraceful thing to do in broad daylight.”

He ground his teeth, glaring at Anselot.

(That disgraceful thing—I was about to do it too.)

But there was no need to say that aloud. I rolled my eyes, pretending ignorance.

“Tch.”

Unlike me, Anselot boldly stared back at Klaus, openly displeased—as if to say, If only this guy weren’t here.

Before long, Maria arrived with a priest from Luenhart’s central temple.

Just in time, too—the blessing from Azester’s priest was about to expire.

(Has it really been a month since we left Azester?)

Time had flown so quickly.

The priest bestowed blessings upon us.

[SYSTEM] You are now in a Blessed State. (Remaining duration: 30 days 00:00)

[SYSTEM] The effects of the blessing increase your stats: (Level +15, Attack +40%, Defense +40%, Strength +40%, Stamina +40%, Agility +40%, Intelligence +40%).

My eyes widened at the system message that followed.

The effect was far greater than the blessing from Azester’s priest.

I quickly checked the nameplate and level above my head.

【Radiant Swordmaster】 Lv.47 Luivel Azester
§ Blessed State §

Thinking back to when I had first replaced Hezen as the player, my stats had risen considerably…

(But it’s still not enough.)

The scenario was already passing the midpoint.

And the next one would bring an opponent more troublesome than ever.

I had to grow stronger before reaching the next destination.

(In the end, that’s the only way.)