054 – The Discarded Heart Harvester

“I’m alright, Master.”

“*I’m* not alright.”

“But I am…”

“Listen to me.”

Myaong…

Late Monday morning, instead of going to the academy’s infirmary whilst holding Ms. Isabella, as it was closed.

I urgently left the academy to find a shop that sold healing scrolls.

“You’re not feeling well yourself…”

“Don’t contradict me if you’re worse off than I am.”

Myaong…

Frankly, I no longer had much trouble walking.

Ignoring the fact I was still in a cast, I held Ms. Isabella and entered a scroll shop.

“How much for a healing scroll?”

“2500 shillings.”

‘How is it so expensive!’

The fact that I would have to run the Meehan Sleep Clinic thirteen times just to buy one healing scroll was a bit shocking.

But to heal Ms. Isabella’s leg, I emptied my pockets, bought three healing scrolls, and headed straight back to the dormitory.

“The sun’s starting to rise.”

By the time I returned to the dormitory, it was already 6:30 AM.

It was a bit late to go back to sleep, so I tore the scroll…

‘Why is this so hard to tear?’

I couldn’t tear it with just my strength, so I infused it with Aether, and only then did the scroll begin to rip.

Crackle!

I pressed the torn healing scroll against Ms. Isabella’s injured leg, and her front leg slowly began to heal.

“Why do you get hurt like that, without telling me? It hurts Master’s heart.”

“Sorry…”

“From now on, don’t get hurt without my permission. Understood?”

“Understood…”

Isabella was easier to gaslight than normal, and It was clear that she was severely shocked.

I felt inexplicably apologetic and hugged Ms. Isabella, stroking her wholeheartedly.

“Come to think of it.”

“Hm?”

“It feels like you know quite a bit about demons, Ms. Isabella. Am I right?”

“…A little.”

“Could you tell me about them? About that demon.”

At that very moment, I thought to question her about the demon’s true nature.

“That b*stard ain’t no demon.”

The story I received was more shocking than anticipated.

“A Forsaken Heart Harvester. Once, a grim reaper acting under the Goddess’s command, that one was.”

…

The Forsaken Heart Harvester, it seemed, had been abandoned by the Goddess long before Isabella-ssi was even born.

The exact reason for his abandonment remained unclear, but judging by his actions, it seemed certain he was cast aside for failing to properly heed his master’s words.

‘How can I defeat him…’

Sadly, the information ended there.

Isabella-ssi, too, claimed ignorance of any weaknesses he might possess, so I needed to figure out a way to defeat that grim reaper fellow…

‘…Hmm?’

A Forsaken Heart Harvester.

One who once acted under the Goddess’s commands.

Which implied…

‘Could I just ask her directly?’

I, who could communicate with the Goddess through the status window.

I found myself in a position to directly ask the Goddess for information related to that grim reaper fellow.

“Goddess!! You remember the activation, right?!”

“Hm? What is it you’re doing, Master?”

“I was thinking of having a little chat with the Goddess.”

“…That wasn’t a lie? You can really do it?”

“Yes.”

“Master isn’t a saint, though.”

“It just happened, somehow.”

“?? Master can really… talk to the Goddess…?”

From now on, it was twenty questions time.

…

I received an answer that a method to inflict effective damage on the Forsaken Heart Harvester did indeed exist.

However…

Magic, divine magic, physical attacks, True Ancestor Vampire incantations, and so on.

The problem was that none of the methods I could conjure up seemed capable of harming him.

Scratch, scratch, scratch…

– Heart Harvester.

– Cursed the princess’s heart, so she would die when she turns 10.

– Judging by what he did to me today… Doesn’t seem like he needs 10 years to crush a heart.

– Why the hell is a b*stard like that in charge of the Midnight Auction?

– Nothing better to do?

From the platform, the professor continued his lecture, but the content flowed in one ear and out the other.

I continued to write down the thoughts that came to mind, one by one, in my notebook.

– Casting Silence on the princess made her healthier.

– The heart generates Ether… huh?

Like that, jotting down facts surfacing like nodes on a mind map…

– When she couldn’t use Ether, the Princess got healthier.

– …Ether is the medium?

I managed to grasp a clue as to how that Grim Reaper b*stard was able to damage a human heart.

– The heart is an organ that generates Ether.

– Suppressing the Princess’s Ether makes the curse ineffective.

– Considering he’s a Grim Reaper, he goes by the name ‘Heart Harvester’.

– Only hearts, he can only damage the organs where Ether is generated?

‘This is it.’

I hadn’t been certified by the Goddess yet, but I knew it instinctively.

That demon impersonator injures people using Ether as a medium.

If that’s the case…

‘Just you wait, you heart-attack inducer.’

What if I cast a Silence spell on myself?

What can you even do, Grim Reaper?

As a Earthling who had lived without Ether from the start, someone who doesn’t feel particularly inconvenienced by its absence was me.

I decided to become the counter to that Heart Harvester, or whatever heart-throbber he is.

…

“From now on, Miss Duroline, you will fall asleep.”

“…Can I really fall asleep with something like this?”

“Take a deep breath.”

“…I’m sorry for keep talking, but if I can’t sleep today I’ll really-“

“You are ‘Falling Asleep’.”

Khurgh…

As I looked down contentedly at the snoring customer.

I left the customer’s room with Ella.

‘I’m perfectly fine even without Ether.’

Although I had cast a Silence spell on myself in case that cardiac arrest confirmer or whatever attacked again.

The skills on my status window were still working just fine, so there were no disruptions to Mihen’s sleep clinic business.

And as confirmed by the Goddess, the method for dealing with the heart-bombing thingamajig was surprisingly simple.

‘If I just cast Silence, it’s a real free win.’

Because that guy was an Ether lump with ego.

Effective hits can be inflicted using weapons made of Etherium metal, which has the property of absorbing Ether.

‘Just you wait till I see you.’

I decided to purchase a weapon made of Etherium metal as soon as possible.

And turned to look at Ella, who was unusually quiet and just silently following me today.

“Ella?”

“Yes.”

“Um… is something the matter?”

All day, I’d been mulling over whether I was a trigger for heart failure or something, so perhaps my question was a little late in coming.

But I should focus on Ms. Ella now, ask her what was wrong.

“Something did happen.”

Ms. Ella replied, something was indeed the matter.

“Later, could I…explain it to you in my room?”

She postponed the story with a touch of gravity.

“Ah… I understand.”

Realizing that something quite serious had befallen Ms. Ella,

I decided to finish the remaining tasks at Mihan’s Sleep Clinic as quickly as possible.

“You are falling deeper into slumber. Into ‘sleep’ you fall.”

“Sweet dreams. May you have a restful ‘sleep’.”

“To relieve insomnia, it’s good to ease your tension. If you slowly release the tension in your body like this, you will enter a state of ‘sleep’ at some point.”

“…Hold my hand, you say? Uh… not Ms. Ella’s, but my hand? I’m a man, though?? Ah… very well. Now… ‘sleep’.”

After putting twelve more guests to sleep, I returned to the dormitory room with Ms. Ella.

“Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

“I’d like a little wine.”

Ordinarily, after the Sleep Clinic was over, I should have sent Ms. Ella home.

If the news spread that the next head of the Eloise Duchy had spent a night in a room like a commoner, there would be no good repercussions, so I had no choice but to send her.

But Ms. Ella seemed to need some consultation today.

“Ah, just a moment.”

From among the gifts I received from His Majesty, I took out a bottle of the finest wine and began pouring it into the accompanying wine glasses.

“It’s a shame there’s no proper place to drink.”

After pouring the wine on the desk and turning around…

“Would you like to drink…on the bed…”

Soft lips were pressed upon my own.

*Pffft…*

“…Huh?..”

“Shall we…drink…on the bed?”

*Myaong!*

A young lady who pounces first and then gets shy…

The wine she wanted was actually lips…!

“I will partake.”

Mr. Alexander, I apologize.

But your daughter seduced me first!

…

I feasted heartily on the upper lip, but not the lower.

Ms. Ella’s face was on the verge of exploding into redness.

And Isabella and the Goddess were watching, so… something made it feel difficult to create the right atmosphere.

“Hyaueueughh…”

Looking at the adorable Ms. Ella, hiding under the covers on the bed, I slightly lowered my gaze to look at Isabella, who was firmly pressing down on Ms. Ella.

Myaa~ Myaaong~

“Mihan…! The cat keeps teasing me…!”

‘She’s probably right to.’

When cuteness is added to cuteness, only a doting fatherly smile can form.

Suddenly.

“Thinking of it, Ella.”

“Yes?”

“Was the story about you urgently needing to talk to me just a pretense?”

Her words about wanting to consult me about her worries floated back, so I asked if it was merely a build-up to a kiss.

“Ah, that… I really did have something to ask…”

She really wanted to have a serious consultation…

“They told me to have a child…”

“???”

“My, my mother, that is…”

“?????”

“U-um, after hearing that Mihan had the family promoted to a Dukedom, she said to hold onto you no matter what, so that’s to say…!”

“?????????”

Listening to Ella’s rambling words, I was able to realize.

“…Your mother is quite aggressive, isn’t she?”

“Ah, my father was against it, but… my mother said to just get pregnant first… Hyaaa!! I’m not going to say it!”

It seemed…

Ella’s mother didn’t want to let go of me, the one who raised the Eloise family to a Dukedom, no matter what.

“Well… I like it, I suppose. I do love Ella, after all.”

*Hiccup!*

Look at the woman who, after seducing me, is now overwhelmingly embarrassed.

How could I not love this woman, I thought.

“But there is one thing I am worried about.”

“…What kind of worry?”

In this case… I began to worry about what kind of excuse I should make to Ella’s first husband.

“Well… Actually, I knew that Ella had a first husband.”

“…Yes?”

“What should I tell him…? Well, it’s like, isn’t it? If you were to have my child, as you said, I would be happy, but…”

“No, …wait a moment. …What are you talking about?”

Ella, flipping back the blankets, stared at me with a look of utter bewilderment.

“It means exactly what I said…”

“…That I have a husband?”

“Didn’t you have a political marriage arranged?”

“…Where did you hear such a story?”

“Oh… well, actually, I saw your thumb print on the marriage certificate a while ago.”

“That’s… yours, Mihan! It wasn’t another man, it was your thumb print!”

“…Pardon?”

“Other men? I have only eyes for you, Mister Han!”

“…Did I… perhaps sign a marriage certificate?”

“Hyap…!”

Ella covered her mouth with both hands and immediately retreated, pulling the blanket over herself again.

“…Ella?”

“I know nothing of this.”

“…Ella??”

“I…! I don’t know anything…!”

Myaaong~

Of course.

Isabella watched us with an expression of pure, unadulterated amusement.