༺ Before Judgement ༻
It had been a few months since Frey’s funeral, or rather, the event that might have passed for a funeral.
– Whiiiz…!
Just a few months ago, the Empire’s streets bustled with activity. However, now, only the cold wind swept through the streets, as a result of the grand battle between the Hero and the Demon King.
“………”
Silence enveloped the surroundings.
The children who had once frolicked on the streets, the gallant men who had sung and reveled in bars, and the lovers who had shared tender moments on benches – they had all but faded away.
The warm atmosphere created by those people had vanished.
The biggest cause of such a drastic transformation was painfully obvious; the once radiant sun had nearly lost its brilliance, teetering on the brink of extinction. As such, the Empire had long lost its vitality and was now cloaked in a shroud of cold and snow.
In the heart of this frozen empire’s capital stood a partially dilapidated mansion.
“Miss Irina… is this really possible…?”
“……”
Two girls stared vacantly at the extensive magic circle that covered the mansion with dull eyes.
“Miss Serena did it before, and you did it too in the past.”
“…What?”
While looking fatigued, with dark bags under her eyes, Irina adjusted the magic circle and heard Kania speak gloomily.
“It’s impossible… to turn back the time.”
Upon hearing this, Irina clenched her teeth for a moment, but then, as if to blatantly ignore Kania, she continued to draw more formulas to the magic circle.
“No… perhaps, it could be possible…”
“Miss Irina, the form of the magic circle is too unstable. If we continue like this, there might be an accident like last time…”
“…Is that so?”
As Kania watched her anxiously, Irina gazed back at her impassively and responded.
“Then, you can just get out of here and leave this to me.”
Although the statement made Kania flinch momentarily, she quickly regained her composure while clenching her fists.
“This is our last chance. The sun will soon be completely out. So, this will be our last attempt.”
“…I know.”
“So, when do you plan to activate it?”
Irina chewed her lip at Kania’s question.
“…Right now.”
Without hesitation, she closed her eyes tightly and began infusing mana into the magic circle.
“…Let’s give it a try.”
Simultaneously, Kania also began channeling her dark energy into the magic circle. As a result, Irina’s mana and Kania’s dark power intertwined.
– Roaaarr…!
The magic circle began to radiate with light.
“N-no way… is it a success?”
“…R-really?”
Suddenly, the eyes of these two young women lit up for the first time in a long while.
“I-If we can go back to the past… we should meet Frey first…”
“N-no we have to adjust our memories first. In return, let’s use the hint notes we prepared in advance…”
Afterward, the girls sifted through the notes they had readied beside them as they urgently discussed their plan.
– Crackle… crackle…!
“…Huh?”
As the magic circle emitting the radiant light began to flicker suddenly, they stopped talking and blankly stared at the magic circle.
– Crumble!!
And at that moment, the magic circle fell apart.
“Ah…”
Fortunately, it didn’t cause any extreme explosions like it had done for previous tests.
However, watching the magic circle, which held Irina and Kania’s last glimmer of hope, fall apart and vanish into nothingness was a heavier blow than any failure they had experienced thus far.
“………”
Ultimately, the two girls could only stare at the failed magic circle with lifeless eyes.
[Would you like to proceed to the Judgment Room?]
[Yes/No]
“…Ha.”
At that moment, the translucent Frey, who had been watching their actions, spoke.
“Everyone else has already gone to the judgment room…”
Then, he muttered with a dark expression, reaching out his hand.
“I should go there soon as well…”
And just like that, a hesitant Frey finally raised his hand to select ‘Yes.’
– Can you lend me your body for a moment?
“…Ugh!”
Suddenly, a familiar sound echoed around him.
“W-What…?”
Startled by this sudden event, Frey looked around.
“…The pendant?”
He murmured, his eyes widening as he noticed that the pendant’s brightness, which was gradually increasing throughout the ordeal, was now shining splendidly
.
– There’s something I have to confirm before the judgment.
“What…?”
His own voice, but filled with profound darkness, emanated from the pendant.
– Zziiing…!
And after a moment.
“Huh?”
A small miracle occurred.
“Hello.”
Frey, who was supposed to have been completely vanished, suddenly materialized in front of the girls.
“…Young Master?”
“Frey…?”
He stood before the two despondent girls.
– Crackle
And around his neck hung a small, sparkling pendant.
.
.
.
.
.
“A-Are you really… Young Master?”
“Frey…? Is that really you, Frey?”
Kania and Irina asked Frey at the same time while they stared at him with their mouths agape.
“………”
Frey responded with a slight nod while keeping his gaze fixed on the two girls.
“Ah…”
“…Really? Truly?”
Both girls, on the verge of an emotional breakdown, let out astonished exclamations.
“D-Did the magic work?”
“T-That’s impossible…? Judging by the ruined magic circle, it’s definitely a failure…”
“But then, how do we explain the Young Master standing before us?”
“…I-I don’t know. I really don’t know.”
An urgent discussion immediately started after that.
“Erm, Young Master? Is it really… you?”
After discussing what had happened for a while, Kania cautiously extended her hand toward Frey.
As her hand made contact with Frey, the area she touched transformed into sparkling star mana.
“……..”
A moment of silence followed.
“Miss Irina… H-How could this happen?”
“Well… you see…”
The uneasy and pallid Irina responded hesitantly to Kania’s trembling inquiry about what had happened to Frey’s body.
“Well, I’m not entirely sure, but currently… we’re in Starlight Mansion, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, even though the magic to change the timeline failed… as a side effect…”
“…A side effect?”
“Could it be that the ghost of Frey’s past self has materialized?”
Kania’s eyes widened upon hearing that.
“Does… that even make sense?”
“I-I’m not sure either. But… clearly, the one in front of us is Frey!”
After saying that, Irina conjured a large number of magic circles that radiated light around Frey before continuing.
“Look at this! Even after thorough magical and enchantment examinations… they all indicate that he is indeed Frey!”
Despite hearing that explanation, Kania still harbored doubts.
“W-Would you… like to have a meal?”
Eventually, she hesitantly posed the question while observing the man before them.
“…Sure.”
“A-As for the menu… what would you like to have?”
Kania momentarily flinched at the response but managed to ask again, her voice trembling.
“Sandwich and coffee.”
“Ah…”
She appeared shaken as Frey ordered the familiar menu and headed toward the dining table.
“…And, rye bread generously slathered with butter too.”
Just like that, Frey ordered his childhood favorite food.
“……”
Seated at the table, Frey began to observe the two girls closely.
“W-What should we do..?”
“S-Shouldn’t we start preparing food… first?”
After some while, the two girls ventured into the kitchen for the first time in a long while.
.
.
.
.
.
“Y-Young Master… Here are the sandwiches, coffee, and rye bread.”
“J-Just in case, I also grilled some fish…”
“……..”
Just like that, she placed familiar dishes in front of me.
“I-Is there anything else you need?”
“R-Right. There are still plenty of ingredients…”
I responded with a silent shake of my head while gazing at the dishes. These meals, although now mere memories, used to be so painful to eat.
“…It’s enough.”
Upon hearing my answer, the girls who had been observing me began to talk quietly among themselves.
“S-Shouldn’t we inform the others first…?”
“B-But we should stabilize and comprehend this situation before anything.”
“Huh?”
“That Frey in front of us… is too unstable. Even the slightest mistake could cause him to disperse again.”
Hearing their conversation, I decided to speak in a low voice.
“…Both of you are in such awful shape.”
“Uh… Erm… Huh?”
“S-Sorry?”
After murmuring between themselves for a while, the two girls responded in surprise.
“Both of you have been confined to this mansion for months, solely engrossed in experimentation, right?”
“T-That’s…”
“And on top of that, your bodies are covered with injuries from magical explosions… The mana circuits in your body are all damaged, and…”
I continued to speak as I stared intently at those girls.
“On top of that, your hearts are also in dire straits.”
As I finished my words with a sigh, the expressions of those two girls stiffened.
“You guys were attempting to time travel, weren’t you?”
“T-That..”
When I inquired subtly, the two girls looked uncomfortable.
From what I could see, they must have been trying to turn back time.
However, after countless regressions and research, I had discovered that the laws of the universe prevent time reversals. If it had been possible, I wouldn’t have had to go through all of those hardships.
“E-Erm… Young Master.”
“Frey. ”
While I was deep in contemplation, Kania and Irina asked me a question with trembling voices.
“What are you now…?”
“Did you… return from annihilation?”
A myriad of thoughts flitted through my mind as I heard their question.
How should I reply to their question?
How could I explain that I had temporarily borrowed my body from another timeline, using the pendant that a strange old man had given me, just before the power of the Sun God eradicated my existence?
– Crackle… Crackle...
Damn it. It seemed like I didn’t have enough time to explain.
Even though I had spent months infusing energy into the pendant for this moment, the consumption rate was way too fast.
If I wanted to meet the others, I had to proceed with my tasks as quickly as possible.
“I will disappear soon.”
And so, I set aside everything I wanted to say and steered the conversation to the crux, causing the two girls to freeze.
“W-What does that mean?”
“F-Frey?”
Soon thereafter, I threw a request to the two girls as they were raising their voices hurriedly.
“However, if you are both willing to sacrifice yourselves… my extinction won’t happen.”
Upon hearing this, the two girls were rendered speechless, and I began to elaborate the details.
“If it’s possible…”
Before I could finish my sentence, they both answered in unison.
“H-How should we do it then? What do we have to do? Can we offer our souls? Or do we have to sacrifice our bodies…?”
“That’s why your soul is unstable! I’ll give you my soul! Are there any necessary magic rituals or spells? Let’s do it right now…”
Considering their lives were at stake, they should have had at least a semblance of doubt. But seeing how they didn’t hesitate and immediately spoke…
“Phew.”
In that moment, I began to unravel the pendant I wore.
– Wussshh…
“…Huh!?”
Seeing this, alarmed cries escaped their lips.
“Y-Young master! Where are you going?!”
“Frey! You said there was a way! Why are you suddenly…!”
I abruptly rose from my seat and gazed at the screaming girls.
“Don’t worry.”
With a steady voice, I continued.
“… We will meet again soon.”
I finished my sentence as I removed the pendant from my neck.
– Shaaa…
Simultaneously, I began to fade away.
“H-Have a sandwich at least… I practiced so hard, impressing my hands to remember how to make it for you, just in case we managed to return to the past…”
“Frey!”
Kania handed over a carefully made sandwich as she looked at me hopelessly. Meanwhile, Irina quickly pulled something out of her inner chest pocket.
“I-I also prepared this for you…”
It was so obvious that it was a puppy love flower.
“…You never change, do you?”
I smiled as I looked at the flower. It was identical to the ones I had received numerous times across various timelines.
“Thank you.”
I responded briefly.
“…System.”
It had been a considerable time since I last opened this transparent window.
“What the hell? I haven’t bought this yet?”
However, I noticed that the function I required wasn’t there. Had the version of myself in this timeline not bought something like this?
– Affection Check [70000pt]
With such thoughts in mind, I accessed the skill shop and purchased the skill I currently needed.
It shouldn’t be a problem since he had accumulated plenty of points.
“…Ha.”
A brief sigh came out as I checked the current affection levels of the two main heroines in front of me.
Kania’s Affection: 100
Irina’s Affection: 100
Clana’s Affection: ???
Serena’s Affection: ???
Ferloche’s Affection: ???
“Alright…”
I muttered to myself as I stared at the system window before me.
“…Now, only three heroines are left.”
I rose from my seat, preparing to go to my next task.
“…..Young Master.”
“……Frey.”
After confirming that the sandwich and the flower placed before me had vanished, I briefly glanced at the two girls murmuring with blank expressions.
“G-Goodbye…”
“T-Take care…”
I smiled as I walked out of the mansion.
For the sake of conducting judgment, I had to revive my love for my most precious people.
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