With the cold voice from the system echoing around , the trial space began to tremble violently.
"Get lost. You stink..." "..." "Huh...? You want to be my servant? Know your place. How can a commoner with no status dare to approach soone of Desmond's na?" "..."
The space flickered, and the trial began to speed up, as though I were watching a video on fast-forward. My vision blurred as the scenes moved too quickly for to process.
"Just leave alone! Why do you keep following around and bothering ?" "..." "Are you smiling? What’s there to smile about?" "..." "Stop smiling. It's making uncomfortable."
I had no idea what was happening.
The situation shifted rapidly. I saw myself forcing a smile as I spoke to the lady, who had lost her mories.
"Why are you crying alone?" "..." "Oh... you want to be friends with ?" "..." "Sorry, but I already have plans."
I caught a glimpse of my pathetic back as I reached out to a mory-less Yuria.
The sa happened with Mikhail.
"Who are you?" "..." "Huh...? You want to learn swordsmanship from ? Sorry, but I don’t teach strangers." "..." "Apologies, I don't et people for coffee on a first encounter..." "..." "Who are you? How did you know I’m from the slums...?" "..." "Are you trying to blackmail ? You better {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} leave before I report you. I’m starting to get uncomfortable."
And even with Shuen.
"What?" "..." "Hmm... I have no idea who you are."
And Shaltia too.
"Don’t you dare touch Her Highness!" "(Flinch...)"
Failed attempts to get closer quickly passed before . The whole thing was overwhelming, and I breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that if I had watched the scene too closely, the fla would have surely gone out.
Fwoosh.
Looking at the small fla flickering like a candle, I exhaled in relief.
‘I barely held on...’
Finally, I could catch my breath.
The trial was relentless. If it had only been a hallucination, it wouldn't have been this difficult. But being in an illusion that was crafted to transmit emotions made it almost impossible not to be affected.
If the process had been any slower and more detailed, the fla would have definitely gone out.
‘Phew...’
Standing alone in the trial space, I stretched to release the tension that had built up in my body.
‘That was close.’
For now, my priority was to recover. I couldn’t be sure the trial was truly over. If the system’s interference ceased, the trial could start up again at any mont.
I needed to regain my composure and stabilize my mind—that was the only way to prepare for whatever ca next.
‘Hmm...’
Sitting down with a thud, I stared at the flickering fla and quietly muttered my confusion. Why had the system helped ?
It had always maintained neutrality, or so I thought. I never expected it to intervene on my behalf like this.
[Caliburn warns the ‘Unknown Being’ not to interfere with the trial.] [The ‘Unknown Being’ threatens the core of Caliburn.] [Caliburn and the ‘Unknown Being’ are in conflict.] [Caliburn... is... chhk...]
[The trial will be temporarily suspended.]
‘Suspended, huh...’
What I needed now was to focus on how I would accept the trial. More important than the trial itself was my attitude toward it.
If I let the trial drag into despair, that would be the real problem. I had to think beyond just passing the trial. I needed to stay calm and steady my mind.
‘Whew.’
However, I couldn’t take the trial too lightly either.
Dismissing it as sothing that could never happen would certainly ease my mind. After all, "denial" can be a very soothing balm.
But at the sa ti, the mories I saw in the trial could also serve as an opportunity to avoid the worst possible outco. If I overca this trial, I could still hope for a happy ending.
Honestly, I wanted to avoid a tragic end.
In the trial, I looked so sad.
Like a clown hiding his sorrow behind a smile, I appeared bleak and miserable.
I asked myself: ‘If it were now, would I avoid choosing dark magic to protect everyone?’
I couldn’t answer that question easily. If I could protect everyone by sacrificing myself, I might gladly make that choice.
So, the point was...
‘I’m still too weak.’
What I had thought of as strength clearly wasn’t enough for the trials ahead.
‘...Then I need to obtain the demonic sword.’
In the trial, I had wielded Tyrfing. I felt a strong desire to overco this trial to gain greater strength.
‘Let’s do this.’
My breathing cald down. The fla, which had been flickering, also stabilized, and the fire of hope began to burn brighter.
I slowly nodded to myself, gathering my resolve. I couldn’t afford to appear weak—I had to grow stronger.
That was the key to avoiding the worst outco, I thought, as I slowly regained my composure.
The noise began to fade.
The static caused by the system’s intervention was gradually dying down, signaling that the trial was about to resu.
‘Whew...’
Crackle...
‘Let’s overco this.’
[The trial is changing.] [The ‘Unknown Being’ interferes with the trial.]
‘Huh...?’
With those words from the demonic sword, my vision changed again.
A cold wind blew in.
And once more, a familiar white door appeared before .
I slowly stood up from where I had been sitting and approached the door, gripping the fla tightly in my hand and steadying my resolve.
‘Here we go.’
Creak.
The door opened, and a warm breeze, in contrast to the previous cold, brushed past my hair and softly touched my face.
Flash.
‘Where...’
I woke up in a familiar place.
A familiar ceiling.
A familiar sll.
And a familiar bed.
‘A bed...?’
When I opened my eyes, I realized I was lying in a bed—the sa bed I had seen for 13 years.
As I tried to quickly sit up, a warm hand gently pressed back down onto the bed, softly telling , “Don’t move.”
"Just lie down for a bit."
I found myself resting my head on a soft lap.
I squinted my eyes open and looked up at the owner of the lap.
"...Hehe."
"Huh...?"
"Surprised?"
"My lady...?"
It was the lady.
Looking down at , she smiled as she gently brushed my hair aside. She was dressed in a rather revealing outfit that left little to the imagination, smiling all the while.
"Yeah, it’s ."
"...Huh?"
"It’s been a while, hasn’t it? A really long while."
She stared at intensely.
"What is this...?"
The trial had taken a strange turn.
‘What is this?’
The mory-less lady was gone, replaced by this alluring woman in white lingerie, gazing at with a seductive look as she played with my hair.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Uh... not really? Didn’t sleep great."
"Really? That’s too bad. You should’ve slept a little longer."
"Uh, wait... What’s going on? This sultry version of you is kind of weird."
"What do you an ‘what’s going on’? It’s a good thing."
"Huh?"
With a lazy expression, she placed her hand on my forehead, took a deep breath, and spoke softly, though I didn’t understand her words.
"I’ll say this quickly before the others arrive."
"What...?"
"I’m excited too since we haven’t talked in so long, but there’s not much ti."
"What do you an?"
"Just listen."
She grabbed my collar roughly and closed her eyes. In that mont, sothing soft and wet touched my lips, and I widened my eyes in shock as she gave a light kiss, then licked her lips with a grin.
"I should have done this sooner."
"Wait... huh?"
"Just feels good, that’s all."
Bang! Bang!
"Crazy woman!!!"
"Open the door!"
"Open the door now, or I’ll slice through it with my sword."
The pounding on the door was so loud it felt like the door might break. The lady glanced at it with a smile, then put a finger to her lips, gesturing for silence.
"Sorry."
"Sorry for what? Also, thanks for the kiss."
"...I an, I’m sorry."
She gazed at the door that was about to burst open and spoke with a hint of sadness.
"I’m really sorry."
Crash!
"Ti to go."
She lightly pushed my chest, and as I stumbled backward, she waved her hand in farewell.
My vision dimd.
Sinking deeper into the darkness.
No, it was more like I was returning to the original ti.
In the fading vision, the lady wore a sad expression and whispered softly, though I couldn’t hear her words.
"My prince."
"..."
"This ti, I hope you can claim your happy ending."
[Caliburn’s trial is concluded.]
Flash.
"Huaah!"
I ca back to my senses, touching my lips where they had t hers in the trial, standing there in a daze.
It didn’t feel like a dream.
The kiss had been so vivid that I stood there for about three minutes, dumbstruck. Then, from the sky, familiar voices called out.
"Commoner!!!"
"Ricardo!!!"
"...I’m back."
I had returned.
Back to the real world.
I didn’t know exactly how things had resolved, but the sense of relief from being back overwheld , and I let out a long sigh.
‘...Looks like things are okay.’
Physically, I felt perfectly fine.
There was no trace of dark magic, and even though I was holding the demonic sword, no ominous energy was coursing through my body. In fact, the flow of magic felt even purer than when I had wielded Tyrfing, and with a smile, I pushed aside the mixed feelings.
All in all, things turned out well.
I now felt confident that I could draw the demonic sword. Whether or not I had passed the trial was unclear, but at this mont, I felt qualified to wield it.
"..."
Firming my resolve, I slowly tightened my grip around the sword, and as I began to pull it from its sheath, a smile crept across my lips.
[The blessing of the demonic sword 'Caliburn' is bestowed upon you.]
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