Chapter 23 - Something Like, “Don't Expect to Sleep Tonight”

No.

I quickly shook my head.

That couldn't be right.

Let's think about this calmly.

Affection didn't necessarily mean romantic feelings. Couldn't loyalty and respect count as affection in the broader sense?

Perhaps I'd misunderstood that man I passed in the corridor earlier.

... But those vain hopes shattered the next day, the moment I met Laward.

Laward's affection was zero.

Loyalty and respect weren't why that man's affection had been maxed out.

“Aaaagh...!”

“E-esteemed mentor, what's wrong?”

“Stab them! Laward, stab my eyes out!”

“What? I couldn't possibly!”

I shouldn't have snapped it up just because it was free.

Being able to see the heroines' affection wasn't worth this. This was wrong.

My eyes had built-in gaydar...

Worse, the Affection Scouter's effect was “always active.” There was no escaping it.

So gay—so, anyway, I couldn't think of any solution except blocking my vision.

Would I have to live with my eyes closed like the Sword Saint now...?

If I'd known this would happen, I should at least have learned how he did it.

“Esteemed mentor, are you all right...?”

“I'm... I'm fine. You should go. You... need to train.”

“Oh, about that...”

Laward subtly averted his gaze.

“What is it?”

“Esteemed mentor, the truth is... I don't think I'll be able to train this week.”

“What do you mean?”

I pressed him even though I knew he could afford a few days off.

The Laward before me was stronger than the one I'd raised in the game. I couldn't see his exact stats, but watching him fight Houndry had convinced me.

He had steadily honed his skills, both during the semester and over vacation. His faith fueled him and gave him mental fortitude.

But perhaps my conversation with Amelia had made me impatient.

I wanted more.

Someday, Laward would become stronger than me. The approach of that moment was bittersweet, but it had to happen.

I'd been unable to overcome everything alone in my previous life.

So just a little faster.

“Laward, I'm satisfied with your progress. When you fought to help the marquis, you exceeded my expectations.”

“R-really? Thank you!”

“But that doesn't mean you can neglect your training. Today is leg day, isn't it? I understand it's hard.”

“It's not that I don't want to train my legs! I actually enjoy it. I-it's just that I agreed to volunteer at the monastery today.”

“Volunteer?”

Where had that come from?

It wasn't as if they'd put his volunteer hours on his school record.

“Yes, a priest asked me to. The monastery's ceiling was destroyed about a month ago, and they still haven't finished fixing it, so I agreed to lend a hand. Apparently, it's turned into a major construction project.”

A monastery with a destroyed ceiling...

Hmm...

“The floor was smashed too, not just the ceiling. They're practically rebuilding it... I hope that sacred place of worship for the Goddess can return to its former glory soon.”

I had a feeling I was the one who'd wrecked it.

“May I go?”

“Y...yes. A monastery serving the Goddess shouldn't be left in that state. That's... thoughtful of you.”

“Thank you for understanding, esteemed mentor...!”

“Of course...”

Laward bowed deeply and left.

Left alone, I remembered the Scouter again.

I spent a long while banging my head against the wall in despair before finally pulling myself together.

“... Upgrades.”

Suddenly, I glimpsed the faintest ray of hope.

Right.

Upgrades.

Before buying that “goddamn Affection Scouter” in the shop, I'd seen something in the fine print.

It initially cost zero coins, but I could pay coins to upgrade it afterward.

I'd have preferred a warning not to buy it in the first place... but there was still hope.

Shop, open.

I quickly navigated the translucent window floating before me.

Shop, Affection Scouter, upgrade.

Until a moment ago, I'd intended to save for Ending Preview, but a more pressing matter had arisen.

No matter what, I was fixing my eyes—this damned thing—first.

DUM

The upgrade options for [Affection Scouter] appeared.

Scouter Upgrade

[Option 1]

-Advanced Status Analysis

-100 coins

-View all of a target's stats, not just affection.

[Option 2]

-ON/OFF Switch

-100 coins

-Turn the Affection Scouter on and off...

I firmly pressed the second option before its description had even finished appearing.

Spending 100 coins stung a little, but there was no time to hesitate.

The other option would have cost the same anyway.

Upgrade complete!

Upgrades remaining: 2

With the coins already on hand, I'd resolved it in no time.

“Whew...”

I'd nearly ended up going through life seeing right through other people's sexual orientations when I had no desire to know them.

Still, the mention of two more upgrades caught my attention.

The other items didn't seem to work through repeated upgrades. The Scouter alone appeared to receive special treatment.

Would it eventually turn into some kind of magic eye?

Coins held: 300

The system followed up with some less-than-welcome news.

I'd planned to buy Ending Preview for 500 coins, but now I needed to earn another 200.

“... Let's just think of the Scouter as costing 100 coins from the start.”

Nothing in this world was free.

I'd consider it the price of having eyes that could check the heroines' affection whenever I needed.

I'd already confirmed it worked, and compared with the other items, 100 coins wasn't particularly expensive.

“The problem is earning 200 coins...”

Swiping through the list, I checked the achievements again, changing the number in something I'd said before.

I searched for an achievement that would earn me 200 coins in one go.

It would be correspondingly difficult, but with eighty achievements in total, I figured there had to be at least one.

Achievements I could complete right now.

At least 200 coins.

Once I filtered them, one achievement stood out.

[Miracle Morning!]

-Encounter Lucia after she has slept soundly for an entire day.

It was one of the achievements I'd briefly glanced at the other day.

For something worth a whole 200 coins, its difficulty could be called “very easy.”

I had an idea why this barely achievement-like achievement existed.

Her abilities depended on getting proper sleep.

Lucia suffered from chronic fatigue and had her days and nights reversed, so managing her fatigue was important.

She almost never got a proper night's sleep in the game, but at full strength, her stats multiplied several times over.

A Lucia who could function normally during the day surpassed even Laward.

A hidden stat revealed in the hidden ending.

A heroine's unique ability.

“Well... getting her to sleep is easy.”

Lucia wasn't a baby fussing at bedtime. All I had to do was tell her to get some good sleep.

I immediately put my plan into action.

“You want me to go to bed early tonight?”

Lucia repeated my words with a blank expression.

“Lucia would rather you said the opposite.”

“...”

“Something like, ‘Don't expect to sleep toniii—owww.’”

I pressed a finger firmly against Lucia's forehead, pushing her back down as she tried to get out of bed.

It was around seven in the evening.

Her active hours started now, so I'd stopped her just as she was throwing off her blankets and getting up.

Sometimes, her constant barrage of strange jokes was a little much for me.

“That's way too suggestive for forty.”

“Forty?”

Come to think of it, she'd made these jokes even when her affection was zero...

“You've been acting a little strange since yesterday.”

“Yesterday... there was an unfortunate incident.”

“Re...ally? Are you all right?”

“Barely. Anyway, get some proper rest today. You must have worked hard putting Houndry in order.”

“Thank you for letting me rest.”

She shielded her forehead with both hands and attempted to get up again.

“But Lucia still has things to do today. I have to look after my sisters and cleaaaaan.”

Naturally, I pressed her forehead hard with my finger again.

I sank her, shield and all.

FLOP

That made twice.

Sprawled on the bed, Lucia gazed up at me in bewilderment.

“What's gotten into you all of a sudden?”

What did she think?

I needed those 200 coins.

“Nothing. I'm just giving you a day off.”

“Then please let me ask Fran to look after my sisters. Though I don't know if you've learned the name, Lord Karma.”

“Fran?”

“A particularly feminine guild member. I think Fran would take good care of my sisters.”

“Oh, Fran would have been kicked out yesterday. Probably.”

“Why...?”

“There was an unfortunate incident.”

“...?”

“I'll find someone to take Fran's place, so don't worry. Just rest.”

I blew out the lantern and rose from the chair beside her bed.

“Good night, then.”

As I felt my way toward the door in the darkness, Lucia's fingers caught the hem of my clothes.

“I can't sleep.”

That stopped me in my tracks.

“Trying to sleep at the time I usually wake up is impossible.”

Her clear voice rang out calmly through the dark room.

“What do you expect me to do...?”

“Read me a book.”

“As if Houndry has any books. You should know that better than anyone.”

“Then how about telling me a funny story?”

“Do you really think you can expect that from me?”

“Otherwise, I won't sleep. I'll cry and cry.”

Here was something worse than a baby fussing at bedtime.

Was it really so strange for me to tell her to set everything aside and get some proper rest today?

Perhaps I'd been too cold to her normally. She was clearly taking this opportunity to whine to her heart's content.

“That's an order. If you don't lie down and close your eyes right now...”

“Lucia never had parents, so I always envied that sort of thing.”

Damn it.

Struck by an unblockable attack, I sat back down.

The lantern was still out.

“You can pat my head too, if you like. Say, ‘You've worked hard. You've worked hard.’”

Ignoring that, I chose a story to tell her.

Now that I actually had to tell one, it was difficult.

What could I say to make her quietly fall asleep?

I didn't have a stockpile of stories saved up for an occasion like this. In the end, I had no choice but to pull something out of my own head.

I told her about my previous life, particularly my experiences in the paladin order, with a few suitable alterations.

Slowly and quietly, in the pitch-black room.

“... Anyone struck by that arrow turned to stone.

Though calling it an arrow isn't quite right. No matter how many times you dodged it, it kept pursuing you...

It was a ‘snake.’

Yes, Lucia. You heard correctly.

Stone.

Stone.”

“Hmm, what happened to them? I'm not sure how to describe it.

They froze solid, just like statues.

They were petrified—turned to stone.

Statues... or perhaps dolls would be a better word.

Stone dolls, you see.”

“That paladin researched it without stopping to sleep or eat.

He had to find a way to counter it, no matter what.

He had to break through.

Before his remaining brothers froze solid too.”

After talking to myself for a while, I realized Lucia had stopped responding.

“...”

She seemed to have drifted off without realizing it as she listened.

Sleeping soundly, I see.

The story was just getting interesting. Her timing really was terrible.

“Whew.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and slowly started to stand—

“Mm, mmm...”

A low moan escaped her.

Startled, I looked back, but her long lashes were resting neatly over her closed eyes.

Was she just talking in her sleep?

“You've... worked hard...”

Oh.

Oh...

Those few sleep-mumbled words left me frozen.

Frozen like stone.

“...”

I pulled Lucia's blanket up and closed the door.

I fought back the urge to tell her that the story wasn't over yet.

That, in fact, it was starting again from chapter one.