Chapter 454

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on March 2, 2025

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“Ugh… Chueong!”

Adella emerged from the lake with a cute sneezing sound.

She looked just like a drowned mouse.

“You’re soaked. Hurry up and change.”

“The water was freezing! I thought I would die of cold! You should go in and check for yourself, unni.”

“I’ll pass.”

“Why only me?”

We walked along the lakeshore.

Insects glowing with blue light flitted around between the grass.

While Adella grumbled, Hibirisu silently gazed across the lake, which embraced the moon.

I turned my head to follow her gaze.

“There she is.”

“Dad!”

Hibirisu shoved my hand away and ran toward my father.

Even without her sandals or after tripping over a rock, she bravely got back up.

“Ahhh… Dad! Daddyyy…!”

The piercing wails reached the man.

Brooks, who had bickered with Adella and served us raspberry potato soup.

“Daughter?”

Indeed, he had changed drastically in just a week.

There wasn’t a spot on his body without scars, and his hair was unkempt and disheveled.

The plate armor he used to polish daily was already rusted.

The man’s once large figure was now thin and gaunt.

“No, how…”

“Dad!”

“Wait, no… what am I saying… get away from me!”

“Ugh.”

Brooks brutally pushed Hibirisu away.

Hibirisu’s frail body tumbled across the ground.

Seeing this, Adella quickly grabbed Brooks by the collar.

“What the hell are you doing! You can’t even welcome a daughter who struggled to find you and just throw her aside?”

“Who are you?”

“Who do you think!? I’m a guest who stayed at your house six days ago. Don’t you remember?”

“House? Are you talking about Wilhelm Village?”

“Yes.”

“If you had seen inside, you would know it’s not suitable for welcoming guests.”

“That’s true, it has suddenly turned into a ruin.”

“It’s a house I abandoned five years ago. I sometimes use it as a shelter when I go down to the village… but I live here.”

Brooks turned around and pointed behind the rocks.

A rough-shaped little cabin was faintly visible amidst a splendid flower garden.

“You live here? In this empty place? What on earth happened that made everyone go crazy in just a week?”

“I’d like to ask the same. What brings you to this empty mountain peak?”

Sling—

“If you don’t have business here, then leave quickly.”

Brooks’s hand moved to his waist.

The worn and rusted sword did not gleam in the moonlight.

Adella scowled fiercely as she held her gun.

In the middle of them, Hibirisu intervened and stopped the fight.

“S-Stop. Father, that’s your daughter Hibirisu. You really don’t remember?”

“Hibir… isu?”

“Yes, that’s right, Hibirisu.”

“The name of my daughter is Marigold. Whoever she is, please don’t further dishonor our daughter.”

“Why are you so scary, Dad…”

Tears streamed down Hibirisu’s face.

Was there some change in his heart?

Brooks lowered his sword to the ground.

“Haah. You don’t seem to be wicked travelers, so I’ll tell you. Follow me.”

“Hivirisu. Let’s follow him for now.”

“If Father doesn’t even recognize me…”

“It’ll be okay.”

Having overly used her power of erosion, Hibirisu had no remaining strength.

“Adella, can you carry me?”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. You’re not that heavy.”

Brooks led us to a garden filled with strongly fragrant flowers.

[Cast: Light]

I inscribed the light magic and shot a spell toward the sky.

A garden filled with multicolored flowers spread endlessly.

“Wow…”

Hibirisu’s mouth opened slightly, captivated by the beauty.

Brooks looked back for a moment, snickered, and plunged his large sword into the ground.

“Mary, we have guests. Uninvited guests, this is my daughter Mary.”

“That’s… a grave.”

Adella raised her eyebrows and said.

In front of the cabin was a small grave.

I crossed my arms and kept my head down, remaining silent.

“Phew, where should I start explaining this…”

Brooks sat down cross-legged beside the grave.

He took out alcohol from his bag and gulped it down.

“To get to the conclusion, my daughter left this world five years ago. She lost her life to a bipedal giant monster called ‘Raikado.’ And it happened while I was on the battlefield.”

Adella swallowed hard.

“The witch surely said she saved your life…”

“Witch? Hahaha! Right, someone told me that. That the witch burst the heads of those who pushed my young daughter as bait. When I heard that, I felt so relieved, hahaha! Ha…”

Brooks laughed like a madman. He roared with laughter.

He probably felt he had no choice but to laugh, or he would drowned in sorrow.

Suddenly, Hibirisu pulled at her hair and complained of a headache.

“So what? Mary doesn’t come back… Mary was a pure child who loved flowers and stars. That’s why I made her grave where the stars can be seen best. I plant flowers every day, sprinkle fresh lake water, raising them tenderly.”

“Wait, then what relation does Hibirisu have with you?”

“That’s the question I’d like to ask.”

Brooks stood up and trudged over to Hibirisu.

Hibirisu looked like she would crumble at any moment as tears formed in her eyes.

“Even now when I go to Wilhelm village, I often dream of my daughter. No, perhaps I dream every day. Especially the more I drink the day before, the clearer the dream becomes. Though Mary has died, in my dreams, I happily watch my daughter grow. But now that I think about it…”

Brooks lifted Hibirisu’s chin with one hand.

“Hah.”

“Why does the daughter in my dreams overlap with this child’s face? There’s not a single resemblance to our daughter. What’s your name again?”

“Hibirisu…”

“Hibirisu Hibirisu. That name sounds familiar, very oddly so.”

Brooks rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

Suddenly, a massive surge of magical energy swept across the ground.

At that moment, Adella’s sensitive tail stiffened.

[7 Circle Cast: Dragonia Tenebra]

A shadow lying in the moonlit flower garden began to sway like a wave.

“It’s familiar because erosion is a monster that feeds on human wishes.”

“Whoa, that startled me!”

Two horns sprouted from Adella’s shadow.

A small head popped out first, followed by short arms and legs that were most noticeable.

Dainty black shoes clicked on the ground as they landed.

The eyelashes of a little girl dressed in vintage maid clothing slowly rose.

“It is the seventh day, as promised by my mother. Have you made up your mind?”

“Who is this? She’s shorter than NaeMe unni!”

Adella said, turning to look at me.

What does it matter if she’s small?

Just as she said, the girl was a handspan shorter than me, staring up at us with wide eyes.

“Ma… Mazzak!”

Brooks alarmingly drew his sword.

Clang!

But with a single gesture from the girl, the metal vanished into dust.

Black scales blossomed across the weak child’s arms.

【Ruri】

She was the pure-blood dragonkin Ruri, the child who believed and followed me during the great hunt against erosion.

* * *

Although there were various ways for erosion to devastate the world, there was generally one pattern.

First, it uses humans on the verge of death as hosts to spread a wide-area barrier.

Once specific conditions are met to activate, it generates overlapping dimensions.

Thus, two dimensions exist in one world, and due to the principle of uncertainty, the spatial congruence decreases as time passes.

When this stress accumulates within the mana system, stability is disrupted, leading to the final collapse of the dimension itself.

By the moment the dimension collapses, most living beings will probably be extinct.

In sloth, the body hardens; in anger, it turns into a monster.

However, even if one manages to survive, they must endure an explosion with the power of a hydrogen bomb thereafter.

“And boom. That’s how an entire city disappears without a trace.”

The dragonkin girl, adorned completely in black from head to toe, calmly explained erosion.

“You explained very well.”

NaeMe patted Ruri’s head skillfully.

“You’re not to pet anyone aside from Mother.”

“I’m allowed. I’m Esteria.”

“…?”

NaeMe had anticipated this and embedded an exception code in advance.

Ruri, who was confused, soon collected her thoughts and remembered her original task.

“Hibirisu, you are a false host created by Mother to seal erosion.”

[23h 48m]

There was no trace of mercy in the death sentence.

Hibirisu gripped the earth hard until her nails broke.

“Everyone, you’re too cruel. Ugh… sniff… If you’re going to kill me anyway, why did you send me as Brooks’ daughter? Why…”

“That was also your choice, Hibirisu.”

“My choice?”

“Hmm, should I say it was Marigold’s choice? Perhaps you’ve forgotten, but Marigold wished to live at least five more years. Mother granted that wish.”

“…”

“Do you still have the poison?”

“Here…”

Hibirisu, who was feeling hopeless, withdrew the poison from her pocket.

Adella and Brooks, who had been quietly listening, jumped out simultaneously and stopped her.

“Wait, this can’t be right. There must be a way to save Hibirisu and block erosion. Right, NaeMe unni?”

“Exactly. She’s still just a young child! Besides, I might not know if it’s another dimension or whatever, but she was my daughter over there, so I can’t just ignore this.”

Before long, Adella became genuinely invested in saving Hibirisu.

Seven hours of gameplay seemed short.

However, in the game world, we had now entered the seventh day.

I could not end this journey with Hibirisu like this.

“I believe there will definitely be content to battle monsters with Hibirisu until the end. No, I’m sure of it!”

“That sort of content is not yet…”

“Quickly tell me how to save Hibirisu. You know I have a tendency to hold grudges, right? I’ve never been able to see a bad ending in dating sims, so I always have to follow the guides!”

“I didn’t need to know that in detail.”

Adella entered her true flattery mode.

She followed and begged, kissed NaeMe on the head, and massaged the tension from her shoulders.

As NaeMe continued to keep her ambiguous attitude, Adella finally resorted to her last measure.

“NaeMe unni, a dessert shop has just opened in front of your house? I went there with friends after school, and it’s totally the best crepe place!”

“Crepes?”

NaeMe perked up her small ears.

“Yes. When you return to Korea, I’ll treat you to crepes ten times from here. Anytime you want!”

“I have about five bad endings I’d love to show you… well, fine. I’m not the type to spoil, but please don’t misunderstand. This is strictly for efficient pre-testing.”

“Wait, you had five? Of course…!”

“Ruri, come here.”

NaeMe let out a light whistle.

The maid girl, hearing an irresistible command, walked over promptly.

NaeMe scratched Ruri’s chin with her fingers.

Gently scratching between the scales on her neck with her fingertips.

Ruri closed her eyes, enjoying it like a puppy.

“Take us to the witch.”

“Mother is busy right now.”

“I know she’s not busy at all.”

“Can I ask why?”

“We’re going to separate the dimensions together.”