Chapter 15

Why Are You Doing This

Katya’s world had always been divided into two colors.

Black and white.

It wasn’t a metaphorical distinction. The world she saw through her eyes was truly split into nothing but those two colors.

They had said it was one of the side effects caused by the holy flame forcibly protecting her entire body, distorting all her senses.

Heat, cold, the flow of air, the feeling of clothes against her skin, taste, smell...

If she had never known those sensations to begin with, perhaps it would have been different.

But since she had lost them only after offering her first vow, it became all the more unbearable.

A body that could feel nothing. Among all the senses that had been ruined, the only ones that remained intact were her sight and hearing.

And even those had eventually begun to warp under the influence of the holy flame coiled within her body. She remembered, vividly even though it had been so long ago, just how much she had despaired in that moment.

The dead appeared black. The living appeared white.

And when she looked at herself in the mirror.

She was always gray.

A human who was alive only because she couldn’t die.

In a world divided into white and black, she alone existed in that state. As if she had been completely cut off from everything else.

It was unbearably tedious. So tedious she had stopped caring what happened.

Until just moments ago.

“You’re out of your damn mind-!”

Lionhearted’s scream rang out from the side.

A bullet so white it looked like it would cling to her optic nerves came flying toward her. And the moment it pierced her heart—

It hurt.

A sensation she had forgotten for so long came flooding back to her.

The moment when the holy flame embedded in her body was forced back, suppressed by an external power—something no one had ever managed before.

Her bodily senses returned.

Just for the briefest instant. Only in that short moment when her heart was pierced.

Color returned to the world.

Brilliant, vibrant colors.

Scenery she had thought she would never see again in her lifetime filled her eyes.

The black night sky. The moon scattering pale light. The people’s expressions. Their faces. The air itself. The blood splattering all around.

◆ Mana Arts: The Savior’s Vow

※ Unique – Only this character possesses this skill!

Geas: Save the world.

The sole vow offered to the God of Ascension, Urgan. When you take actions related to the vow you offered, the skill’s power increases significantly.

* Quest Info

◈ Act I, <Imperial Capital Fracture>

* You have formed close ties with important figures of the main scenario.

* Your existence is now officially incorporated into the scenario. The scenario will be newly restructured around you.

…The water had already been spilled.

Aiden let out a small, self-mocking laugh.

It was something he had absolutely never intended to do, but in the end, he had done it anyway.

Since it had come to this, though, he had no real regrets.

If the Protagonist wasn’t here, everyone was doomed to die eventually anyway.

With that person gone.

The only one who knew the world’s future and could prepare for it was Aiden.

More than anything else.

When that future without the Protagonist came crashing down, the people who would be swept away included Aiden himself and his family.

There wasn’t a single reason not to act.

He slapped his own cheek hard enough to make a sharp sound, then took a deep breath.

◈ Life is Beautiful

-Princess Katya Heinkel Craven desperately wants something from you. Help her fully experience ‘sensation’ as much as you can!

★ You successfully caused the target to feel ‘pain.’

★ You handled the incident wisely. Speak with the character to claim your reward.

From the moment he received this quest, he had already expected he’d end up entangled with this woman more deeply than before.

He didn’t doubt that after giving a person who couldn’t feel anything the ‘stimulus’ of pain, it was inevitable she’d take an interest.

‘I don’t know what this so-called reward is supposed to be…’

From what was written, it said the Weaver of Fate’s method of application would change.

Most likely, it meant that because of the action he’d taken, the relationship between him and Katya would shift in some way.

What direction that would take, however, was anyone’s guess.

‘…I just hope it’s nothing too terrible.’

He sincerely meant that.

Granted, since he’d fulfilled the objective of making her feel sensation again, it probably wouldn’t come back to harm him directly but with her, you could never be sure.

There weren’t many people in the world as capricious as Katya Heinkel Craven.

For all he knew, she might be harboring some grudge against him anyway…

“Ah.”

While he was lost in those thoughts—

Katya, who had spotted Aiden approaching the front of the detention cell, suddenly sprang to her feet.

“You’re here!”

Hearing her voice, bright and bursting with energy, made Aiden’s expression twist into something unrecognizably strained.

And it wasn’t just her voice. The smile spread across Katya’s face was so wide and pure it looked like she was using every muscle in her face to make it happen.

She looked exactly like a pet reunited with its master after far too long apart.

“….”

What in the world was this.

The whole scene carried the surreal quality of watching a massive dinosaur trying to act cute.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about this a lot!”

Even as Aiden stood frozen, Katya’s voice continued on, bright and unrestrained.

“I’ve decided—I’m not going back to the Holy Crown Kingdom!”

“….”

Aiden slowly turned to look at Noel, his face blank with disbelief.

He meant it as a silent plea for an explanation, but seeing Noel standing there with her mouth hanging open, it was obvious this was the first she’d heard of it too.

“….”

◈ Life is Beautiful

* Resolving the related quest.

* The Weaver of Fate’s application regarding ‘Katya’ will change!

* The bond type has changed to ‘Obsession!’

* From now on, the target will be intensely preoccupied with your every move, and the importance she places on her relationship with you will become extremely high across all aspects of her mental state.

* Additional skills available for copying have been unlocked!

…Uh.

What?