Chương 43: The Date and the Price of the Emptiness

Kurogami reviewed the board's threats with total coldness while preparing in the inn room early that afternoon. His mind's interface processed the tactical data continuously, reassembling the pieces of the enemy's last attack. Haruka tried to kill me because of an order... Selene told me everything that happened. So that means someone is trying to kill me and it's not the guild. It could be the kingdom, the church, or even someone else.

But now they know I didn't die, so it's plausible that they will send someone else to kill me, and that person will do it when I am alone. It could also be multiple people, but I don't think that's the case, because Haruka attacked me alone when there were several other people and even her friend around... Which means she had to do that at that exact time, so she was controlled to do that. She wouldn't do all this just for money; no normal person would take that risk. She wasn't good...

And I think this Goddess Game is involved in this. My guess is that the church set everything up. And this game... can I really trust everything written there? And when does this game truly begin? I put on my heavy black overcoat with metallic details, adjusting the white streak that stood out in the bangs of my hair. Beside me, the mage Selene, showcasing her striking red hair, adjusted her hooded cloak and her red mage dress.

Meanwhile, the healer Aurelia, with her black hair highlighted by beautiful purple streaks, finished securing the details of her healer attire. Before taking our first step outside, I looked at the huge double bed that occupied the center of the inn room. That was where all the girls in the group—Selene, Liora, Mireya, and Akari—slept together comfortably every night. I averted my dark eyes to the narrow mattress stretched directly on the wooden floor, where I was forced to spend my nights.

"I am the leader and I have to stay on the floor... this makes no logic." Aurelia noticed my static countenance for a few seconds, pulled the red-haired mage to the corner of the room in a loud voice, and pointed in my direction:"Selene, why are you with this person? Is he threatening you?"

"Who do you think I am?"

"Well... he didn't threaten me, but it kind of gives a little bit of fear, yes..." Selene murmured, completely embarrassed. I took a step forward, knowing that the bag containing my technological items from Earth was hidden in a secret passage beneath that same double bed, a tiny cellar that only served to hide a backpack.

"You messed with my things, didn't you, Aurelia?" So it really was her... Taking advantage of the psychological shock, I launched the linear question to test the memories of her soul:"Aurelia, let's go then. I have a question first... answer me, who are you?"

"What do you mean? I am Aurelia..." This answer and her expression say that she is telling the truth. She must not have the memories of the ancient Aurelia... I wanted to confirm.

"And about the things I found? Those strange things?"

"I created those things with alchemy. You saw the records, didn't you? I needed to know what kind of people I am walking with, it's just for that and nothing else, Aurelia. You believe me, don't you, Aurelia? I have no reasons to lie."

"Fine, go on, I believe you." We left the inn room immediately after, walking side by side through the busy streets of Ithrya's capital.

"Have you always been so suspicious?"

"In a world like this? The strange thing would be to trust."

"Fair." There was a brief pause as we bypassed a rustic supply wagon.

"Are you always so quiet?"

"I think more than I speak."

"And what are you thinking about right now?" Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"About how this conversation could be going better." Aurelia averted her face, visibly embarrassed by the direct answer. Our steps guided us through the central district, passing in front of the immense rustic building of the Ithrya Magic Academy. A massive horde composed strictly of girls was coming out of the rustic iron gates at that exact moment.

"I know the world is eighty percent female... but is this school all-female?"

"This is the magic one, and it's not all-female?" I'm starting to change my mind about going to school or not... Wait, why am I thinking about this now? I need to focus. But it's not a bad idea; I can use the books there. We entered the best vanguard tailor shop in the capital immediately after.

I laid down the five gold coins I had obtained from selling the ores directly on the wooden counter with total indifference, aware that such an amount would cover the complete budget of the outing, including the garments and the luxury restaurant. I bought the new black overcoat for myself, the high-level red dress for Selene, and ordered the purchase of an entirely purple outfit for Aurelia—an elegant dress that matched the tone of her streaks perfectly.

The owner of the tailor shop, who was a fox-woman, commented with a polite smile:"What a beautiful couple!" Aurelia poked her head out from the fitting room curtain and shouted irritably:"We are not a couple!" The second she stepped out wearing the new purple dress, I stared at her with my dark, fixed eyes. She looks exactly the same... No. This is not the Aurelia I once knew. We left the shop:"You look very beautiful, Aurelia. You look lovely with those streaks; either way, you always look beautiful."

"Oh, right, I see..."

AURELIA What is he trying to do by saying those things?

"Let me carry the bag."

"No."

KURO She keeps maintaining her distance. It was expected.

AURELIA He is trying too hard... How is it possible for him to have already planned all of this? I need to keep my guard up around him.

KURO Silence settled between us for a few blocks. I broke the stillness in a linear manner:"What makes someone win your trust?"

"Time."

"Then I am going to need a lot of it."

"Why me of all people?"

"Because, even without realizing it, you changed my life." Aurelia paused for a millisecond, confused by not understanding how that would be possible, but she kept her doubt to herself and continued to march. We walked to a luxurious and expensive restaurant in the capital. Aurelia stopped before the ornamented facade, looking at the place with clear dread:"This place is too expensive and requires a reservation beforehand."

"Oh, really?" In the exact same instant, the restaurant's receptionist approached with a polite smile:"Mr. Kuro, a table for two, right?"

"Yes."

AURELIA No way I am going to eat in a place like this... Lyra, for a moment I have risen in life!

KURO We sat at the fine table in our new outfits. Aurelia crossed her arms over the purple dress and summoned me directly:"You want something, don't you? Just know you're not getting anything."

"You speak little."

"I prefer to listen."

"And what did you hear about me?"

"That you try to look stronger than you really are."

"How long have you known me?"

"Less than I would like. You feel fear toward me. I can see it. But I wanted to know if this fear is truly yours... or if it's just the impression I give off."

"Are you always like this? Cold... yet polite."

"When I am with people I like, I am like this."

AURELIA Sometimes he seems to carry a weight far greater than he should... No. I cannot lower my guard. I still know very little about him.

KURO I was following everything as planned; I had done everything to make this day very good. At the end of the dinner, Aurelia ordered a cake for dessert and stood drooling with her eyes shining like a cute girl before the sweet. A quieter moment settled at the table while she savored the first forkful.

"You smile more than you think."

"I didn't even smile."

"You smiled just a moment ago." She paused, blinking dazed upon realizing she truly had smiled for an instant. Her countenance returned to being serious, but the blush on her cheeks increased as she swallowed the sweet, swallowed by an uncontrollable paranoia.

AURELIA Surely after this he will want sex... — I thought, while my mind projected a vivid image of him grabbing me brutally by the arm, running at high speed through the dark streets to the inn, throwing my body onto the rustic bed to take me by force. I shook my head hard to brush the image away, dying of embarrassment.

KURO If she got drunk she might even accept... After we paid the restaurant's entire bill with the remainder of the gold, I guided the healer Aurelia to the highest point of the city of Ithrya, where the night wind blew hard against our new clothes.

"Did you like the view?"

"It's beautiful."

"I still think it loses to you."

"That was horrible."

"I never said I knew how to flirt." Silence covered the top of the hill for long seconds. Aurelia stared at the horizon, and I analyzed the exhaustion that weighed on my own mental interface.

"You look tired."

"I am."

"From what?"

"From continuing to live without knowing what to do next. Can I ask a question?"

"Depends."

"Have you ever thought about trusting me?"

"Not yet."

"If I were an ordinary person... would you be less afraid of me?"

"Maybe."

"Understood... Then I'll change the question..."

AURELIA Oh, no... surely he is going to propose. This mood... I cannot fall for this!

KURO In the middle of that cutting silence beneath the gusts of wind, my own tactical mind projected a fantasy: a vivid image of me pulling her into an embrace and kissing her intensely on the mouth, with her corresponding to my touch with passion, saying with all the letters that she loves me and whispering in my ear for us to go to bed already. The biological shock of the twenty percent undid the illusion instantly, returning me to the dry reality of the night. It's a certainty that she won't accept...

If I delay any longer, things will change from here on out. I won't have much time; I still have to craft the weapon tomorrow morning, and her chances of accepting are twenty percent... It's better to try than not to try. Can I not stop liking her? No... did I place this in my mind, this obsession with Aurelia? She tried to kill me, then I reincarnated on Earth and fell in love with her... Do I love her or not? Do I like her or not? I can no longer feel anything physically anyway... Am I even human?

This answer I already know... I'm not, right? So here goes.

"Aurelia... do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"What do you mean?"

"Aurelia, do you have no feelings for me?"

"I do... yes, I think I do."

"You don't, do you?"

"Yes, I don't. Sorry, but I am going to have to refuse." She agreed to come... probably just out of politeness or curiosity. It means nothing — I pondered in my thoughts. Aurelia turned her heels with a sour face and began to walk down the stone staircases, leaving me behind at the top. The night silence took over the highest point of Ithrya for a few seconds while her silhouette vanished into the pitch-black of the descent with paranoid shivers down her spine.

I remained standing alone under the strong wind, looking at the immensity of the medieval horizon with my dark and perfectly serious eyes, recalculating every piece of the board in my mind: She refused... it was one of the possibilities. Her feelings do not exist yet. Insisting now will not change that. It makes no sense to stand around here. I still need to talk to Selene.