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༺ A Different Level ༻
"Hmm…"
"M-Master?"
"Just stay still."
I was sitting on my bed, closely examining Lulu's wide-open Magic Eyes.
"Innovative… The magic array is so intricate, and it's functioning flawlessly without any errors or issues. Even the highest-grade artifacts aren't like this."
Meanwhile, Irina stood beside me, excitedly jotting down something in her notebook.
"Your eyes are quite bloodshot… it must hurt."
Irina's actions made me smile, but then I returned to Lulu, gently covering Lulu's eyes as I whispered.
"Ugh…"
Lulu quickly leaned her face into my hand, rubbing her face onto it.
"You can't use your eyes anymore if you do this. It will only make your eyes worse."
I softly reasoned with her.
"Ah…"
Lulu hesitated for a moment, then lightly tugged on my fingers covering her eyes.
"I-is it okay if I do it like this?"
With only the palm of my hand exposed, Lulu asked hesitantly before she resumed her cheek nuzzling against my hand
"Whoooo…"
Watching her for a moment, I eventually turned to Irina, who had been analyzing Lulu's Magic Eyes all this time, and posed a question.
"Irina, what do you think?"
"..."
"…Irina?"
However, Irina's response was somewhat peculiar. Unlike her previous enthusiasm for academic pursuits, she now wore an almost soulless expression.
"Only me… Only me falling behind…"
Irina's voice, tinged with regret, suddenly spilled forth.
"You were already the slowest among the five… now you're even slower than a mere human pet…"
"Irina?"
"I-if things continue like this… ugh…"
The sight of her sitting hunched over and mumbling like a drenched puppy made me feel unexpectedly sorry for her, so I muttered without thinking.
"…So cute."
"…..!"
Upon hearing that, Irina slightly flinched.
"Frey."
Then, Irina approached me, studying my reaction before she spoke in a low tone.
"…You should've taken responsibility for me."
"Huh?"
Intrigued by her unexpected remark, I lifted my head. Irina, leaning on my shoulder, blushed and averted her gaze before she continued whispering.
"As Arianne mentioned earlier, I never had any interest in men…"
– Ssk…
"…But now, even a meaningless compliment from you makes my heart flutter."
She confessed, then gently linked her arm with mine.
"If you turned a mage who only knew magic and combat into a woman, you should bear responsibility, shouldn't you?"
"…Hmm."
Silently, she released her hair down, her intense gaze locked onto mine as she discreetly swallowed her saliva.
"Are you going to act like this again?"
However, I attempted to maintain my composure.
– Ssk.
Inching closer, Irina extended her fingers and gently stroked my chest, murmuring softly.
"From now on, you shouldn't act indifferent, uninterested, or restrained in front of me."
"Uh, um…"
"If you made a girl fall in love, you should definitely make her yours. You fool."
A short silence ensued after her declaration.
"..."
During that silence, Lulu, who had been rubbing her face on my hand, emitted a soft growl.
"Grrr…"
Her soft growl continued.
"…C-can you brief me on the Magic Eyes for now?"
On the other hand, my own face flushed with warmth. Irina, after momentarily glancing at Lulu, drew even closer and began speaking.
"The Magic Eyes she previously possessed specializes in analyzing things. I checked it myself, so I'm sure."
"Is that so?"
"However, upon reevaluation, I've noticed significant changes. They have become so complex that they surpass any existing artifact, and for some reason, I can sense demonic energy as well…"
Now reverted to her usual inquisitive expression, Irina tilted her head and stared at Lulu, who was still emitting those soft growls.
"Judging from that, it seems that something has indeed changed today…"
"Hmm…"
I was momentarily lost in thought at those words.
– Squish.
At that moment, however, I could feel something squishy on my arm.
"… I have told you, right? I won't let you exercise any self-restraint."
I wondered what was going on, but she hugged my arm closely to her bosom.
"Among the other five, I guess I have nothing else to boast about but this…"
"….."
Lulu, stopped her growling as she lowered her gaze and made a sulking expression. Meanwhile, Irina was now blushing while looking at me.
"Anyway, it's correct that the Magic Eyes' original function changed due to some reason, right?"
"…Eh."
However, because I didn't react much, Irina looked slightly disappointed and nodded her head in response.
"Thank you, Irina."
"…..!"
As I kissed her lightly, she, instead, began to show more extreme reactions.
"I, I also… uheub…"
For some reason, Lulu seemed like she wanted to say something but ultimately closed her mouth. For now, I decided to focus on Irina instead, since her reaction was too adorable.
.
.
.
.
.
"…♡"
After showering me with kisses all over, Irina was now holding my hand and leaning on my shoulder.
"Uheub…"
Lulu was quietly nuzzling against my side.
"Sigh."
In such a situation, I let out a short sigh.
"…By the way, it seems the Church has started to cause trouble."
Muttering this, I recalled what happened today.
"That can't be right. There's no way they would use the secret weapon already."
The protesters who had gathered at my mansion earlier were, in fact, lifelike puppets created by the Church.
These puppets were often used for manipulating public opinion, but when armed with stones and clubs, they could be quite convincing as combat units.
The corrupt Pope and bishops were secretly engaging in such activities, but why was the Sun God…
Come to think of it, the Sun God, who resembled Ferloche and seemed somewhat foolish, was currently sealed away. So, it was probably the Pope's madness.
"…Tsk."
The Pope's annoying face came to mind, fuelling my growing irritation.
He was a villain character in Dark Tale Fantasy 2 and was as formidable as the Demon King or the Secret Lord. Thus, I wanted to eliminate him as soon as possible.
Of course, the Church was a powerful organization, almost as powerful as the Imperial family, so I needed to stay alert.
"Anyway, is Arianne alright?"
"…Huh!?"
Lost in thought for a while, I found myself mumbling, and Irina, who was leaning on my shoulder, asked me a question with her eyes wide open.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, she seemed to have suffered quite a mental shock. Of course, it was a necessary measure, but…"
"Ah…"
Irina's quiet nod was accompanied by a slightly gloomy expression,
'It's bothering me…'
When the secret weapons of the Church were arrested by the security forces upon receiving my call, Ariannewas was also taken away.
"Irina… I'll do whatever it takes to rescue you. So please wait…"
"Master…♡"
"…Ugh."
Lulu was about to cry at the sight of Irina clinging to me.
"Please wait just a moment. I also have to perform my duty as Lord Frey's sex slave…"
Likewise, the situation with Alice was also bothering me.
How did things end up like this?
Initially, my plan was to have Lulu use her Magic Eyes to command one of the protesters in the crowd to throw a stone.
If Lulu found it difficult, Irina could use magic to make the stone fly towards me.
The hit from the stone would then serve as our cue to intervene and quell the violent protest.
Yet, when Lulu issued the command to attack with her Magic Eyes, all the puppets responded simultaneously, turning the situation into utter chaos.
Considering they were already akin to marionettes, it was a recipe for disaster.
Covering for the two girls who were taken away by the security force was one thing, but the conflict that would arise with the Church due to this incident was also another concern.
"Sigh…"
Of course, the biggest concern was the Secret Lord.
I wondered how much torture he had to endure from Serena to make such a proposal.
Even though the deal he offered me seemed too good to be true, the fact that he also imposed the "Curse of Subordination" on Alice bothered me.
While it might make dealing with Alice in my second year a bit easier, I had no intention of rescuing the guy who dared to torture Serena.
Anyway, it was obvious that he still didn't know that Serena and I had a cooperative relationship.
However, I was quite interested in the conditions he proposed in the deal: "assassins' locations" and "the magic of darkness."
After pretending to cooperate with him to some extent and extracting all the information, I would separately devise a plan with Serena to get rid of him.
But of course, I had to carefully consider how to deal with Alice.
The icy glares I received from those around me, as she, now coming to serve me as her owner, laid out the tasks of a sex slave while being escorted by the security forces, was immeasurable.
It served my interest to keep her under control, but wouldn't transforming her into a secret weapon, a puppet-like doll of the Church, render her too pitiable?
"Phew…"
Having organized my thoughts in this manner, I reclined on the bed, closed my eyes, and opened the system window.
< Affection Management System Ver. 2 >
[Main Heroines] [Sub Heroines] [???]
– Please select a menu.
"Hmm…"
Until now, I had never considered this Affection System particularly important.
[Main Heroines Notification]
However, looking at it now, I could somewhat understand the comments made by the version of me from the past cycle about the 'Affection System.'
[Main Heroines Conquest]
Kania:
[Affection Level 100 (Conquest Complete)]
[Title: First Enlightenment]
Irina:
[Affection Level 100 (Conquest Complete)]
[Title: Second Enlightenment]
Clana:
[Affection Level 100 (Conquest Complete)]
[Title: Third Enlightenment]
.
.
.
Only after seeing this was I able to discover the nature of the Five Enlightenments.
"Anyway… I'm a bit concerned about Lulu's Magic Eyes…"
I stared at the system window for a while, mumbling those words. Then, I glanced at Lulu, who was lying face down on the floor and watching my every move, as I became lost in thought.
'Could it be that Lulu's Magic Eyes are related to her being conquered?'
According to Lulu's explanation, "I kept thinking that I wanted to help Master, and my body heated up, and my abilities developed." Was it possible for such an ability to develop as a result of such an event?
Considering this, it was quite a plausible speculation that the Affection System might have intervened.
Should I try to conquer the sub-heroines even by force, if that was the case?
'Well, I'm not sure…'
I wanted to try it at least once, but unfortunately, it seemed impossible.
Because, only a moment ago, the Conquest Routes of all the sub-heroines, except Lulu and Roswyn, were "suspended."
After such an eventful day, I wanted to take a break and not think about sub-heroines or anything else. As a result, the state changed uniformly.
Well, even if I wanted to change the state again, I didn't know how.
Yet, if I were to work on those girls now, it would likely have a counterproductive effect.
There was no choice but to leave them be…
"Huh?"
While thinking such thoughts and looking at the list of sub-heroines, I suddenly froze when I saw a name that had been hidden at the top.
[Sub-Heroines Conquest]
Isolet Arham Bywalker
[Conquest Progress: 75%]
Details…
"Why is she the only one left like this…"
I was blankly staring at Isolet's name, whose status remained unchanged even though all the other routes were suspended.
"Hm?"
My eyes widened, and eventually, I muttered.
[Conquest Progress: 75%]
"It was only 70% a few days ago."
For some reason, her Conquest Progress was still displayed.
"What in the world…"
Furthermore…
[Conquest Progress: 76%]
"…..!?"
Right at that moment, the Conquest Progress slightly increased.
What the hell is going on?
.
.
.
.
.
Meanwhile…
"Ugh… ugh…"
"L-Lady Isolet, are you okay?"
Isolet Arham Bywalker was lying on her bed, groaning in pain.
"Please, try to wake up…"
"Frey…"
"Huh?"
And then…
"Freyyyyy…"
"…..???"
She was calling out Frey's name.
You can read 505 episodes for $10. p.*atreon.com/Astrid02