༺ Why the Star Loves the Moon ༻
"Huu… T-thank you."
Upon the young Frey’s request, Irina successfully conveyed his message to most of the people and altered their memories.
Frey came out of his room, and holding his hands, they headed towards the place he said he needed to go.
It was then that Irina opened her mouth.
"What on earth... did I just experience in the reception room earlier?"
"Did you know, Miss Mage?"
“Huh?"
Irina, who was mumbling with a serious expression on her face, jerked her head in surprise when Frey asked a question.
"I'm… supposed to be a hero."
Then, with a blank face, the young Frey continued to speak.
"The fate of the world depends on me. If I don't step forward, the Demon King will burn down the world."
"Uhm..."
"At first, I didn't believe it. But then, I started feeling the power of a hero."
As Frey emotionlessly swung his fist, all the trees lined up on the street were demolished.
"Until yesterday... I had barely managed to land blows on sister Isolet, but now, even if I simply swing my fist, the practice dolls explode. It's quite funny, isn't it?"
Frey, touching his fist, chuckled in resignation, but Irina didn’t dare to laugh along.
"Haha..."
Because even though Frey was laughing out loud, his eyes were hollow.
"Miss, thank you."
"Hm?"
"For developing the scroll… I really appreciate it."
Irina unintentionally tightened her grip on his hand and quietly glanced sideways as he smiled for the first time.
"I-it was nothing. I only contributed a small part..."
"If it weren't for this scroll, I might have given up."
Tightly clasping Irina's hand, Frey continued in a hushed tone.
"I had so many precious relationships… and so many sad memories. So, if I couldn't alter my memories... I think I would have run away."
"I-I see."
"But thanks to the memory manipulation scroll you developed, I think I can keep going."
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Frey soon asked a question with a grim expression.
"By the way, are you really okay with it?"
"With what?"
"One of the three remaining scrolls is for you."
Irina tilted her head.
"One for Serena, me, and you."
Irina asked, and Frey clarified once more.
"Komerun... so, umm... mine?"
"Yes, yours. I'm really sorry, but even though you’re the one who developed the scroll, you shouldn't remember this either."
The young Frey, who was mistaking Irina for Tower Master Komerun, quietly spoke up.
"As per our promise, please teleport back to the tower once the final operation is over and I tear our scrolls."
"...Ah, okay."
"Thank you, really."
Irina was surprised when she saw Frey bow his head. Afterwards, Frey looked at her with a puzzled face.
"But come to think of it, I thought I heard father say that Ms. Komerun was quite old. Maybe I heard it wrong?"
"........."
"No, it doesn't matter. I apologize if that was inappropriate..."
"No, it's okay."
Thus, Irina, who had unknowingly begun to stroke Frey's head, gulped when she noticed his bashful smile.
'S-so cute.'
Reminded of the young Frey who had once handed her a fish, her heart throbbed when faced with his smile.
"We've arrived."
"...Ah."
Frey stopped in his tracks.
Knock knock knock
"I am Frey Raon Starlight. I have business with the Lord of the Moonlight Family."
Then, Frey turned to Irina, who was observing the mansion with a frown.
"Miss Mage."
"Hmm?"
"I'm about to commit the very first bad deed of my life."
"Very first?"
"No, should I even call it a bad deed? A false evil act? Anyways, something like that. I don't exactly know the difference between them."
Frey, who had spoken with a pale face, soon wore a guilty expression.
"I-I'm sorry. Am I being too bothersome?"
"No, not at all."
"I'm sorry. I'm just feeling so nervous... The moment that will kick everything into motion is approaching, and I feel like I'm going insane. So, I ended up talking endlessly without realizing it."
As Frey was about to bow his head, Irina stopped him with her hand.
"No, no, It’s fine! You can keep talking. Having a conversation is the best thing you can do when you’re feeling nervous."
"...Is that how it is?"
"Yes, so talk as much as you want."
"Thank you."
Irina reassured him with a smile, and Frey bowed his head in thanks. He then directed his gaze towards the Moonlight Mansion, whose doors had swung wide open.
"Miss Mage is probably already aware, but I am about to commit my first evil act against my fiancée."
"...An evil act?"
"Yes, from now on, I'm going to commit a lot of very bad deeds, bring about the end of the world... and gain a 'system’?—something that’ll help me defeat the Demon King."
Suppressing his pounding heart, Frey tried to speak calmly, when a voice rang out from within the mansion.
"Please come this way."
"Thank you."
Following the assassins of the Moonlight family, they proceeded towards where the Secret Lord presided.
"Excuse me, you-"
Guguuguuguuu...
"No, it’s nothing..."
Irina threateningly drew out her mana as one of the assassins tried to separate her from Frey.
Then, she followed behind Frey, who opened the door, and entered the room with him.
.
.
.
.
.
"So, have you made up your mind?"
Upon entering the room, Serena's father greeted them with a wicked expression.
"...Yes, I made my decision regarding the offer you made on the first day you brought Serena over."
Frey observed Serena, who was sitting beside him. Her body was riddled with wounds, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Then, he faced her father once more.
"You’ll give me half of the world once it’s taken over if I assist you in casting the curse of subordination on her, right?"
"That’s right. Seems like you finally understand."
Feeling content upon hearing his response, the Secret Lord stood up from his seat with a smile.
"To activate our family’s 'curse of subordination', the consent of someone from the Starlight family is required. I've offered various remunerations so far, but it seems you're finally convinced."
"An opportunity to gain half of the world… Of course, I would take it. But, can you achieve it?"
"If we utilize that child's demonic talent, it should be possible within a few decades. We will join forces and rule this world."
As the conversation between the two progressed, Serena's expression hardened.
However, after being beaten countless times to prevent her from resisting, she could only crouch down and shudder.
"So, how do we proceed?"
"It's simple. The ritual has already been prepared. You just need to agree to the last step."
Then, raising his hand over the magic circle, the Secret Lord whispered out instructions.
"Take Serena's hands, and answer accordingly."
"Understood."
"Frey Raon Starlight, first son of the Starlight family, do you agree to place the ‘curse of subordination’ on Serena Luna Moonlight?"
"Yes, of course."
As he answered, Serena glared at Frey hatefully while shuddering.
"I… I trusted you... For the first time in my life, I trusted someone... I liked... and loved."
"Shut up!"
"Ugh!"
The Secret Lord threw a book at her and continued with an excited look on his face.
"Then, how much of your lifespan are you willing to sacrifice to adjust to the risks of the ‘curse of subordination’?"
"Well..."
"I’ll say this again. Make it 0 years. Ugh, this is why ancient magic is so annoying. Why did they even make such restrictions?"
The Secret Lord grumbled with an annoyed expression, and at that moment, Serena suddenly widened her eyes. She had been glaring at Frey when Frey suddenly whispered into her ears
"......!!!"
Meanwhile, a subtle smile tugged at Frey’s lips.
"Heh, 0 years. I’ll go with 0 years."
Once he answered, Frey looked at Serena with a despicable grin and asked.
"Is it over?"
He looked at the seal of obedience that had been engraved on Serena's body.
"That’s right, it's all over. Would you like to check the contract?"
"No, it’s not like I can change anything now since the contract is bound by magic. Just make sure to hand over half the world. By the way, can I take Serena and play around with her?"
"Go ahead, she's practically a doll now—a doll that will help us rule the world."
"Thank you."
Grabbing the arm of the dazed Serena, he went outside the mansion.
"........"
And for a brief moment, silence filled the room.
"You, Frey’s companion. Aren't you leav-"
The secret head of the family looked towards Irina, who had been standing in a corner of the room.
However, before he could finish, Irina’s magic missile struck his vital point.
"Ugh!”
Thud!
Staring down at the now unconscious Secret Lord, Irina shouted into the air with a fierce expression on her face.
"Come out, purple monster."
"How did you notice?"
A purple mass crawled out of the lord’s body.
"I even hid inside this body to avoid detection while waiting for an opportunity."
"There's no one else who emits such peculiar energy. I felt it as soon as I arrived at the front gate."
The purple mass floating in the air began to speak with a haughty tone.
"But how unfortunate. You should have realized from our last battle that you can't beat me. If you had just ignored me and moved on, you could have saved your life."
"Shut up."
As Irina assumed a battle stance, the purple mass emitted a similarly purple energy.
"Little commoner brat, don’t blame me when you brought death upon yourself… Huh?"
However, the purple energy never reached Irina.
"Did you just call me a brat?"
"H-how...?"
It was because Irina, who had cast more than 10 layers of magic circles in the blink of an eye, started pulling the purple mass into the magic circle.
"Do you know who was the only one to inflict a fatal wound on the Demon King in the final battle?"
"W-what are you talking about?"
"It was me, Irina Philliard. The greatest archmage of all time."
Looking down at the trembling purple mass, Irina declared her victory.
"I don't know why, but mana returned upon entering the ordeal. That means you're no match for me anymore."
"No, it can't be! I received power directly from the Demon King! So why? Why?!"
"Didn’t I just tell you that I fatally wounded that very Demon King? Well, it seems like I’ll have a gift for Serena once I get out of this ordeal."
"W-wait... AHHHHHHH!"
After completely stuffing the purple mass into the magic circle, Irina left the room.
"What Frey whispered to Serena… Could it really be true?"
Her eyes shook.
.
.
.
.
.
"Ah, there they are."
Irina, who had engraved the magic circle containing the purple mass onto an extra scroll, called out to Frey and Serena upon discovering them in the courtyard outside the mansion.
"Hey-"
"F-F-Frey... Why… Why did you do that?"
"Mm."
However, she soon stopped in her tracks.
"Why? Just did you do such a thing?! Are you crazy?! Did you say it by mistake? Answer me. Please… Say something..."
"...You idiot."
"What?"
Frey wistfully gazed at Serena.
"Back off, you’re suffocating me, you idiot."
".....Ah?"
Being called an idiot for the first time in her life, Serena’s expression slowly crumbled.
"Why... why on earth…?"
"You idiot, I said you’re suffo-"
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO YOURSELF!?!?"
Serena screamed as she tightly hugged Frey, causing him to cough.
"Why did you sacrifice 90 years of your life!?"
"Cough, cough"
"Look!!! You're already coughing!! What are you going to do!!!"
"Serena."
Frey tightly returned her hug and whispered before pulling out three scrolls.
"I love you."
".....!"
After declaring his love for her, Frey began to tear the scrolls.
"...I love you too, Frey."
As he tore the scrolls in half, the two’s memories changed into one of Frey's one-sided betrayal.
And right before the memories of the real Tower Master, who was still working on the scrolls’ formulas from inside the tower’s laboratory, were modified-
"I will love you. No matter what happens, my love for you will be forever."
Serena whispered with eyes filled with determination.
And a fourth scroll was torn.
Fzzzzzt!
In addition to the three scrolls in Frey’s hands, Irina tore a fourth scroll. It was the one she had received from Ferloche back in the reception room.
And countless error windows began popping up before her eyes.
<No way, the Star God. This damn bastard...>
Irina, who was watching the red warning windows filled with malicious energy, soon answered with an awkward smile.
"D-Demon God, I don't know what’s going on, but… this seems quite good?"
At that moment, the world came to a stop.
"Hu..."
Irina, who was enviously watching Serena kiss the young Frey, saw Ferloche walk into the frozen world.
"Ferloche, just like you asked, I tore the scroll right before the end of the Third Ordeal. Now tell me the truth. This isn’t just a fictitious world within the Ordeal, right? That’s why my mana returned. Not to mention, everything is too vivid."
"Haa..."
"It's also weird that I was the one to finish the memory manipulation scrolls with knowledge from the future."
"Ms. Irina."
"But the strangest thing is you. What's with that look, and what was with that scroll? Are you really the idiotic Ferloche I know?"
Irina vented all the doubts she harbored.
"...Explain everything."
And with a sullen expression, she demanded an explanation from the young Ferloche.
"Explain everything, Ferloche."
Meeting Irina’s gaze, Ferloche nodded.
"I understand. I’ll explain everything."
