Katya's world is always divided into two colors: black and white. Not in a metaphorical sense, but because the world she sees is divided solely into those two colors.
Hadn't it been said that this was one of the processes in which all her senses became abnormal due to the divinity forcibly guarding her entire body? Heat, cold, the flow of air, the texture of clothes, taste, smell...
It would be different if she had never known such things from the beginning. But since she first took her vow.
Because those senses were 'stolen,' it was even harder to endure. A body incapable of feeling anything.
Among all her damaged senses, the only two that remained intact were her eyes and ears. Even those began to be corrupted by the divinity coiled within her body—the despair she felt when that happened so long ago is vivid enough to be remembered clearly.
The dead appeared black. The living appeared white.
And when she looked at herself in the mirror... she was always gray. A human living only because she could not die.
In a world divided into white and black, she alone was in that state. As if isolated from the world.
It was terribly boring. Enough that I didn't care what happened.
Until just moments ago, that was the case. “Damn it, crazy—!” A scream from Lionheart is heard from the side.
The moment a bullet, carrying a trajectory white enough to cling to the optic nerve, flies toward him and finally pierces his heart. 'It hurts.' That 'sensation,' which he had long forgotten, returns.
The moment the divinity residing within his body is 'pushed' and suppressed by an external force—a feat no one has ever accomplished before. His bodily sensations are restored.
Just a fleeting moment. Though it is only that brief moment when his heart was pierced.
Colors returned to the world. Vivid hues.
Scenery he thought he would never see again in his lifetime comes into view. The black night sky.
The moon scattering a pale light. People's expressions.
Faces. The air.
The blood scattered around him. Not black and white, but a world exactly as it is, 'just like everyone else.' And standing in the center of it all is.
It was a man named Aiden Kellermain, holding a revolver from which smoke was rising, meeting her gaze. “—” As if flowing, melting, and sticking, that image was captured beneath Katya’s eyelids.
She, too, held him firmly in her sight, as if even the time to blink was too precious to waste. As the divinity residing within her body vanished, her body lost the strength to stand and began to crumble.
Yet, even so. Continued.
Continued. Until her consciousness left her and everything went completely dark.
Katya kept that man in her sight. As if determined never to let him go.
▣
The cleanup was carried out remarkably cleanly, as always. It took barely a few hours to handle the entire task: cracking down on the remnants, confiscating smuggled weapons, and detaining Katya, who had collapsed unconscious.
Of course, despite such a clean cleanup, there is bound to be at least one person who feels uneasy. In this case, it would be Aiden, glaring at the status window with the most serious expression in the world.
Anyway, it’s good that everything wrapped up without anyone dying, Noel being fine, and Aiden himself getting hurt. Strictly speaking, for Aiden, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this was "just the beginning" given the situation.
§SKILL§
◆ Magic Power: Savior’s Oath
※ Unique – Only this character possesses this skill! Forbidden: Save the World.
This is the only oath dedicated to Urgan, the God of Ascension. Power increases significantly when performing actions related to the oath offered.
§QUESTINFO§
◈ Act 1, <Imperial Rift> - You have formed close relationships with key figures in the main scenario. - Your existence is officially incorporated into the scenario.
The scenario is reorganized based on you. … … It’s already spilled milk. Aiden let out a wry laugh.
It was something he absolutely had no intention of doing, but he ended up doing it anyway. Of course, having come this far, he doesn’t particularly regret it.
'Without the protagonist, everyone dies anyway.' Unless that guy is gone. Aiden is the only one who knows the future of the world and can 'prepare' for it.
Above all. The people who will be swept away by the future that will unfold without a protagonist include Aiden himself and his family.
There is absolutely no reason not to do it. He slapped his cheek hard enough to make a cracking sound and took a deep breath.
Now that his task was set, it was only natural that he had to move much more actively than before. Above all.
'Nothing followed the original story.' The absence of a protagonist was one thing. Katya's sudden appearance was another.
The fact that the mastermind behind the arms smuggling was unknown was another. The strained relationship between the Emperor and the Second Prince was another.
The 'framework' of how the original scenario operates didn't deviate much from what he knew, but the details filling those specifics were worlds apart from what he remembered. Therefore, what was needed immediately was to bridge the gap between this real world, where the gears were out of alignment, and the original world he knew.
Only then would he be able to prepare when the full 'Act 1' began. He already knew the general progression.
However, I suppose we’ll have to examine the characters involved in the 'progress' of that episode one by one.
§QUEST§
◈ Act 1, <Imperial Rift> Chapter 1 begins soon! Aiden glared at the spear that had appeared before his eyes with narrowed eyes.
'If it’s Chapter 1… …' It must be the 'Ghost Knight' commotion in the capital. An incident forcibly instigated by an organization involved in arms smuggling to exacerbate the chaos within the capital.
A situation where a Ghost Knight in armor suddenly appears roaming the city at a set time every night, leaving citizens terrified night after night. Wasn't the protagonist's role to subdue that Ghost Knight and protect the citizens' peace?
Based on the original work, it felt like the scenario truly began around this time when the protagonist got involved with Noel. “…….” Of course, Aiden himself has skipped that entire process and is currently occupying the role of Noel's fake husband.
“Ah, Mr. Aiden.” “……Thank you for your hard work.” And just as the saying goes, "Speak of the devil and he appears," a weary-looking Noel trudged into the room.It is unlikely he would show such signs under normal circumstances, but given the sheer scale of the matter he has to handle, it must be just that.
Having to single-handedly clean up the mess caused by a member of foreign royalty to that extent, one cannot even begin to imagine the extent of the heavy workload he must have been under. “How is the Princess doing?” “She is cooperating more quietly than expected.” Noel sighed, took off his hat, and ran his hand through his hair.
“Since there were no victims to begin with, we decided to keep quiet for now rather than needlessly blowing things out of proportion.” “Is that so?” “It is a relief, indeed. Though I am not entirely satisfied.” As was the case with Prince Daniel before, the authority of royalty transcends imagination.
To be honest. Even though both times were close to self-defense, it would not be surprising at all if any kind of threat were made against Aiden, who had harmed two members of the Holy Kingdom’s royal family.
If the decision is to quietly bury it, then it is not a bad thing for him, in any case. “The Holy Kingdom said they are dispatching an additional delegation to discuss related matters.” “A delegation?” “Leaving aside the matter of Princess Katya, the issue regarding Mr.
Aiden’s health, who handles divinity, has not yet been resolved. It will take a little time, but they said they are sending a large-scale delegation this time, following formal procedures.” —That implies.
It means someone holding a fairly high position within the Holy Kingdom is coming over. To send the Princess first just to see Aiden, and now someone like that is coming afterward… … .
“…….” A calculator ran through Aiden’s head for a moment. He already had a rough idea of which high-ranking officials were on his side.
If such a person were to come as a delegation in the future, what he would have to do was… “That’s good.” “Yes?” Aiden replied, grinding his teeth. “Because I’m going to make sure I collect all the debts they owe me.” In any case, he was in a position where he had been picked on by the royal family of the Holy Kingdom twice in a row.
If he has come this far, it wouldn't add up for him unless he squeezed something out of them. Seeing this, Noel’s lips twisted slightly.
“Do you have something up your sleeve?” “Yes, I do. Definitely.” “……That sounds quite promising.” Just you wait.
I plan to make you suffer quite a bit. As he mulled over this resolve inwardly, Noel continued with a sigh.
“And…… Princess Katya has set a condition that you stay quiet and not cause a disturbance right now.” … … Seeing that she even imposes a condition for not causing a disturbance, it really makes you think she’s something else. But I suppose I should at least listen to it.
“A condition?” Aiden asked back in bewilderment, and Noel scratched his cheek. It was likely an expression of his own bewilderment.
“……She requested an audience with you, Mr. Aiden.
She wants you to come at least once.”
▣
Aiden scratched his head and stared straight ahead. When I heard that Katya was being held in the detention cell underground at the Imperial Command, I expected a somewhat menacing atmosphere.
However, seeing Katya sprawled out on the bed right in front of him, rolling around, I could immediately dismiss such expectations. She looked just like a lazy cat, with not a trace of the violence she had displayed before.
“You look… freer than I expected?” Considering Katya’s personality, it wouldn’t have been surprising if they had used every means possible to restrain her. Aside from being confined to a room, she didn’t seem to have any particular restrictions.
At his words, Noel replied with a wry smile. “…Actually, the atmosphere was quite hostile just moments ago.” “Is that so?” “She became this docile the moment I said I would bring Mr.
Aiden.” “….” It was a bit surprising, though, that the princess, who had been running wild like a monster, would become this docile for just one interview with him. Instead of expressing his bewilderment, Aiden simply nodded slowly.
It wasn’t a reaction he couldn’t understand. -Quest Info ◈ Life is Beautiful - Katya Heinkel Craven desperately desires something from you.
Please do your utmost to help the target fully feel 'senses'!
★ Successfully made the target feel 'pain'.
★ You handled the situation wisely. Talk to the character to claim your reward.
Previously, ever since I received this quest, I had anticipated that I would become more deeply entangled with that woman than before. I don't know for sure, but once I gave the 'stimulation' of pain to a human who felt no sensations, it was impossible not to take her interest.
'I don't know what the reward is, but...' According to the written description, the application method of the Weaver of Fate was supposed to change. I'm pretty sure it means that the 'relationship' between Katya and him is changing because of the actions he took.
It is unknown how that will play out, though. '...I just hope it isn't something too bad.' I sincerely think that.
Of course, having achieved the goal of making her feel sensations, it won't come back to harm him, but who knows? It is hard to find anyone with a personality as fickle as Katya's.
She might harbor some grudge against him... "Ah." Just as she was having such thoughts, Katya sprang to her feet upon spotting Aiden approaching the very edge of the cell. "You're here!" Hearing the voice filled with boundless energy, Aiden's expression turned strange. It wasn't just the voice; Katya's face was covered in a flawless smile that looked as if she were using every muscle in her body.
She looked just like a pet meeting its owner after a long time. "......." What is this? It was a scene that felt bizarre, akin to watching a giant dinosaur acting cute. "You know, I've been thinking about it a lot!" Even as Aiden froze, Katya continued her energetic speech, completely oblivious to his stiffness. "I...
I'm not going back to the Holy Kingdom!" "......." Aiden stared at Noel with a dazed expression. It was an action intended to demand an explanation, but seeing their reaction—with their mouths gaping open—it seemed I was hearing about it for the first time just as they did.
“.......” No. How were they going to handle such a thing?
What was they going to do?Leaving aside whether it is actually possible at all, I must ask this first. “……Why……?” As soon as I managed to squeeze out that question, an answer came back as if it had been waiting.
“It’s obvious.” Literally. With a look that seemed to say, “Why ask something so obvious?” Katya continued, still smiling broadly.
“You’re right here, so why go back over there?” “…….” Along with a sentence that somehow sent shivers down my spine. Suddenly, a window appeared before Aiden’s eyes.
-Quest Info ◈ Life is Beautiful - Complete related quests. - The application method of 'Weaver of Fate' on 'Katya' changes!
- The bond type changes to 'Obsession'! - The target will pay close attention to your every move from now on, and the importance of the relationship you form with them regarding their overall mental state will increase significantly.
- Additional copyable skills are unlocked! … … Uh. What?