Chapter 18 – Episode 17 – Player (2)

Episode 17 – Player (2)

Shall I open his status window?
The moment I tried to open his status window, a strange system message popped up.

【Requesting to view the status window of the player.】

Huh?
…Player?

【The player has declined the request to view their status window.】

What the hell.
The fact that the other party refused means that a system message also appeared for him. He must have pressed the decline button on the system message that appeared to allow him to choose between accepting or declining. Of course, if he has a brain, he would have noticed that someone was trying to open his status window.
The problem is…

‘Damn it. I was too obvious. I should have pretended not to notice.’

I was staring at him too intently.
How could I make such a mistake even though it was an unexpected situation? As expected, the guy was looking around… or maybe not, it’s hard to tell since he was wearing a hood, but his head was facing this way, so it must be. His gaze was fixed on me too.

Soon, a system message appeared in front of me again.

【Another player is requesting to view your status window.】
【Y/N】

This confirms it.
Starting from the fact that my attempt to view his status window was discovered, to the fact that the suspicious guy is a player.
Naturally, I refused to open my status window and nodded my head towards him. As if in response, the hood he was wearing bobbed slightly.

Since we were both with our respective groups, there was no further communication. While we were watching the crowd, our group headed to the city hall following Diana’s movements, and the guys from the Empire were being held by the city officials who had recovered to some extent.

By the time we arrived at the room, it was already evening.
Karsilla, who had been waiting, was sitting on the bed with her arms crossed and a pouty expression. I brought her this far, but I couldn’t keep her with me while investigating something that turns people into monsters, considering the attention it would draw, so I left her at the city hall, and now she’s sulking.

Karsilla is a smart kid, so she must know this. She probably knows that she was left behind because it was dangerous for her.
If I were to say something like, ‘I had to leave you behind for various reasons,’ I know exactly what her reaction would be. That’s what someone who doesn’t understand a woman’s heart would do… no, that’s just what someone who’s completely clueless would do.

“Karsilla. Airplane!”
“No!”

She refused as soon as I said it. Then how about this?

“I was going to give you an airplane ride?”
“……”

She flinched, showing that she was tempted. But she’s not falling for it so easily now that she’s a bit older.

“I was going to give you an airplane ride after a long time… are you really sure you don’t want it?”
“…Did you really want to give me one that much?”
“Of course. I was so excited to give our cutie an airplane ride.”
“…Hmph. Then do it.”

I almost burst out laughing at the sight of her slyly getting off the bed and stretching her arms up. No, no. If I burst out laughing here, it would be a disaster.
She’s surprisingly stubborn, and if she gets genuinely upset, she won’t talk to me for days and will be sulky, and there’s no need to invite that kind of trouble.

I grabbed Karsilla’s sides tightly and lifted her up, swinging her around. She doesn’t even know what an airplane is, but she seems to like flying around in the air, as Karsilla’s pouty mouth burst into squeals.
I was sweating profusely as I worked hard to give Karsilla an airplane ride, and my arms are already sore from just that… this body’s clumsiness is really something.

It’s a good thing I worked hard to improve my physical abilities, otherwise, if I had been lazy about it, I wouldn’t have even dared to lift a child around 10 years old with both hands and swing her around in the air.

“Okay~ that’s it. Papa has to go to work now~”

I secretly wiped away the cold sweat and tried to calm my rising breath. A man has his pride, I can’t be panting and exhausted just from giving my daughter an airplane ride!

“Are you tired?”
“N-No! What’s so tiring about this? I’m not tired at all. I’m perfectly fine.”
“…Okay. Sure.”

Seeing her fanning me with her small hands, my pride as a father is severely wounded. I should have used a buff or something.
I knelt down to meet her eyes and stroked Karsilla’s small head.

“Can you get ready for bed by yourself? I’ll check if you did a good job before you go to sleep, okay?”
“Yeah. I’m not a baby. I can do it by myself.”

What do you mean you’re not a baby?
But I managed to keep my expression under control and nodded. Now that I’ve soothed Karsilla, it’s time to go soothe our saintess.

‘Ugh, I’m not a babysitter, really. This kind of annoying stuff didn’t even happen in Princess Maker.’

Is this the difference between reality and a game?
I grumbled inwardly and headed to Diana’s room, where the saintess was sitting stiffly on a chair with her cheeks puffed out. What now?

“You’re late.”
“I was soothing Karsilla. She’s still a kid.”
“Diana is a kid too.”

One says she’s not a kid, and the other claims she is… can’t we just switch them?
Are you guys in cahoots?

“…Right. Diana is a baby too.”

But what can I do?
I’m the one who raised them this way.
I kept kissing Diana’s pouty lips, who was pouting like a real child, and finally got her to lie down on the bed.

“Okay, let’s go to sleep quickly. You had a hard day today.”

As I gently stroked her hair, her blue eyes slowly closed. I felt the strength gradually leaving her hand that I was holding, and as I quietly looked at Diana’s face, her plump lips slightly opened.

“Yurian.”
“Yeah. I’m here.”
“Is it really true that people are turning into monsters?”
“I guess so. Unless the city’s influential people have all gone crazy or are having a mass hallucination.”
“Could it be a misunderstanding?”

Of course, if you think rationally, you have to consider the possibility of a misunderstanding. In fact, you should consider that possibility to be higher. But I know. That turning into monsters is real.
I know the identity and cause of what is called the demon disease, which is plunging the city into fear.
It’s like the king’s ears are donkey ears, it’s so frustrating to know but not be able to say anything.

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, we have to find out. We’ll be busy tomorrow too, so get some sleep.”
“Okay. I hope it’s a misunderstanding. What about you, Yurian?”

Why is she being so persistent? She never does this.
I was suspicious, so I observed Diana’s face, but she had a peaceful expression with her eyes closed. …I have a feeling. Is she testing me? Because she thinks I know something?

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not. Be prepared.”

The hand I was holding twitched. I hope that when she realizes that it’s not a misunderstanding… that people are really turning into monsters, Diana will be a little less shocked.
That’s why I told her to prepare herself, and thankfully, she seemed to understand perfectly. I gently stroked her face at the sight of her trembling eyelids.

She pretends to be strong, but Diana is soft-hearted.
It was the same in the game.
As she solved quests with the protagonist, her suffering as the truth was revealed was well portrayed. At least I hope she doesn’t suffer as much as she did in the game.

…Anyway. What should I do about that player guy?

* * *

After putting Diana to sleep and exchanging a brief greeting with Irian, I headed to the garden.
As always, Lilith was waiting in the garden.

“I thought you wouldn’t come out today.”

My heart started to pound at the sight of Lilith approaching with a slightly flushed face. Ugh, I really can’t get used to her beauty.
If I hadn’t been trained by our Diana and Irian, I might have fallen for her completely. I used to think it was pathetic to see so many monarchs in history ruined by beautiful women, but now I understand. I can understand if it’s a beauty like this.

“I know that Priestess Lilia is waiting, how could I not come out?”
“There were so many things going on. We arrived at our destination. There were the demon’s minions, and even the disease that turns people into monsters. I thought it would be understandable if you couldn’t come out.”

Lilith, who had approached me, quietly stroked my arm and murmured calmly. The blush on her slightly flushed face. Her trembling eyes met mine briefly before looking down again.
…She’s really making my heart ache.

If she was just beautiful, she wouldn’t be this attractive. No matter how beautiful a woman is, there is a limit to human features, and once you reach a certain standard, it becomes a matter of taste.

But this atmosphere. This strange atmosphere is the problem.
The atmosphere, expression, and voice that make people fall for her, that make their hearts ache… these things combined with her beauty clearly created a synergistic effect.

“But I have to make time, even if I don’t have it, for Priestess Lilia.”

I felt goosebumps at the touch of her hand stroking my arm, so I subtly pulled my arm away.
I’m not the one doing the seducing, it feels like I’m the one being seduced.

“I’m glad. I was thinking you wouldn’t come out, but if you really hadn’t… I, really…”

Her teary eyes didn’t avoid my gaze this time. The soft touch and heat I felt from her body, which was now close to mine.
Why is she being so aggressive? Was my cheesy line from last time too effective?
Just in case, I opened my status window.
Since the limit of 3 uses per day would be recharged soon after midnight anyway.

【Lilith】 ● Succubus

▼ Status
[Clone] / [Affection] [Observation] [Composure]

…What is this?
Observation and composure. Where is that in her current appearance… no. Wait a minute.
My head, which had been heated up, cooled down quickly. Now that I’m calm, I can finally see my surroundings.
What is this subtle scent? What are those flower petals on the garden floor?

‘The shape is strange. It doesn’t feel like a simple magic circle, and I don’t feel any magic power. A spell?’

Spells do appear in the game. There isn’t a spell job or skill tree, it’s just something that appears as a joke in the protagonist and heroine’s romantic interactions. I remember the only time it appeared was when the heroine cast a spell of charm on the protagonist as a joke.

The reason I still remember the spell that only appeared once is because the spell cast in that heartwarming atmosphere actually worked and started a new episode. I remember it was a lighthearted episode.

When in doubt, the status window is the best. There are no restrictions on opening my status window.

【Yurian】 ● Priest

▶ Stats
▶ Skills
▶ Traits
◉ Status Ailment: Minor Charm

I don’t know if it’s a spell or not, but seeing that a status ailment has appeared, it’s clear that she’s up to something. No wonder she was so attractive today.
I’m only realizing this now. Is she standing under the streetlights that shine with magic stones like a halo, because it’s the garden of a wealthy city hall? Is she trying to get a soft focus effect?

Lilith, who was approaching with light shining behind her, leaned close as if she was hugging me and looked up at me with teary eyes.
She’s being so aggressive, it’s as if she’s made up her mind today. If I respond appropriately and then pull away, she’ll be even more desperate, right?
I looked at Lilith and subtly placed my hand on her waist. As her voluminous priestess robe tucked in, my hand touched her thin waist, and Lilith’s eyes seemed to smile slightly.

“I’m embarrassed. It’s embarrassing to be this close…”

Then she subtly moved away and lowered her head with a blush on her face.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

She pretended to be flustered. Lilith, seeing my hand that had been on her waist waving in the air, stared at me with a flushed face as if she was embarrassed, then turned around and ran away.
…She’s running away here? Why?
I gave her what she wanted, so why is she just leaving? I pondered for a while, then it suddenly occurred to me. What did I do to seduce Lilith?

‘To make her desperate…?’

Hehehe.