"This... is Frey...?"
Sitting with a dazed expression, Ruby murmured softly.
"Really...?"
Her gaze shifted back to the orb that had just been in her mouth, now sitting innocuously on the table.
- Tap, tap...
Ruby, staring intently at the orb, cautiously reached out a finger to prod it.
"It's... soft."
The orb was squishy. It felt oddly addictive, like touching pudding or jelly.
"Just before his fall, I managed to pull Frey's soul out in the form of an orb. I've kept it hidden until now."
"R-Really?"
"Have you been lied to your whole life?"
Perlote stood up quietly as she replied.
"Anyway, I've given you the orb, so my work here is done."
"W-Wait, why did you give this to me...?"
Ruby, grabbing her cloak in urgency, posed the question.
"With all the regressions you still might go through, you'll need something to keep you grounded, right?"
"Oh..."
"Unlike me, whose mental strength has limits, yours is at its maximum... but clarity of mind doesn't solve everything."
Ruby, already exhausted from her numerous regressions, nodded quietly.
"And there are other uses for it, but... I'm sure you've figured those out."
"Huh?"
"Congratulations. You've finally succeeded in conquering one."
"...?"
Ruby, perplexed by Perlote's cryptic words, tilted her head before her mouth opened in astonishment.
[1 - 02]
[Collect Soul Orbs (2/6)]
"Wait... everything I've done so far was just part of a quest?"
All the efforts Ruby had put into gathering information and training her soul had finally yielded Frey's soul orb from Perlote.
She had spent an incredible amount of time and energy just to obtain that single orb.
If she needed to acquire four more orbs... what lengths would she have to go to?
"Then again, maybe it'll be easier than I think."
With a newfound optimism that simply explaining and asking for the orbs might make things easier, Ruby felt her spirits lift.
"Before you regress, swallow Frey's orb. By merging souls, it won't be affected by the passage of time."
"So, then... Frey would be immune to the flow of time as well..."
"As a soul, he'll be fine. Once your regression ends, extract it again in orb form, just as I did."
"...Thank you."
Ruby, watching Perlote as she was about to leave the inn, expressed her gratitude.
"Even if you're thankful, the regressions won't stop~"
"Right..."
"Oh, and one more thing!"
"Huh?"
Ruby, who was just about to reach out with trembling hands toward the orb, was startled when Perlote poked her head back into the room, causing her to withdraw her hand.
"...Don't do anything weird with the orb, okay?"
"......"
"Oh, and since I'll probably get exiled anyway, let me tell you something interesting."
"Interesting?"
"Just to ignite your sense of challenge."
Ruby nodded at Perlote's oddly cold tone, her curiosity piqued.
"Listen closely, okay?"
Perlote smiled as she spoke.
- Flap, flap...!
Behind Perlote, a pigeon took to the sky, unnoticed by anyone.
.
"So this... is the path you walked."
Since leaving the inn, Ruby found herself gazing more fondly at the orb that quivered in her hand.
"Frey, how much did you love me..."
- Tremble...?
"Even if I regressed tenfold, would it surpass your love and devotion?"
Ruby thought back to Perlote's explanation of how many times Frey had regressed and the truth behind this bizarre situation they were caught in.
"I doubt I could ever surpass it."
The "Path of the Hypocrite" system's trials were supposedly designed to test the hero's limits.
Perlote suggested that the strange events currently unfolding were likely influenced by these trials, affecting reality itself.
Ruby had already suspected as much.
The fact that she possessed "Retry,"
The fact that Glear and Rosewin had been exiled, and now even Perlote was not immune to exile.
All of these pointed to the world moving artificially.
"I curse my past self, Frey."
But there was a more significant point.
The trials were constructed based on things that happened in the "past."
This meant that a similar sequence of events had occurred before.
"Considering I tormented you for eons, this is nothing in comparison."
Yes, according to Perlote, the situation Ruby was currently experiencing mirrored what Frey went through to save her.
The cryptic quests that had appeared out of nowhere, the grueling conditions that had barely led her to achieve just 2/6 of the first quest—everything might be things Frey had already endured to save her.
There was no concrete evidence, but Ruby chose to believe it.
- Mwah...♡
- Tremble...!
And ever since she accepted that belief, her love for Frey only grew stronger.
"I love you, Frey."
- Tremble...
"Even if there's nothing left of you but a soul. Forever."
Whenever she had a moment, Ruby would take out the soul orb, caressing it with honeyed eyes as she whispered sweet words.
- Smack...
Sometimes, checking that no one was watching, she'd sneak a kiss onto the orb, her love swelling ever more.
"F-Frey, it's winter... are you cold? You're shivering, so it must be cold... in that case..."
"Frey, I can't stop thinking about the time we shared wine at the party."
"Aaah..."
Her face flushed bright red as she slipped the orb down her neckline, or sometimes dressed in a party gown, dipping the orb lightly in a glass of wine while gazing at it, or even pressing it against her stomach as it quivered...
"This reminds me... of when you used to beat me senseless."
- Tremble...
"...The way your fists dug into my abdomen. I can barely remember those moments now."
Sometimes, she went a bit too far, but it couldn't be helped.
She had long discarded her role as the Demon Queen and become a girl.
A girl who had only recently learned what love was.
"...Frey, today is a special day."
After spending months bonding with Frey's soul following her last meeting with Perlote, Ruby finally spoke with a determined expression on a spring day.
"I guess it's time to stop resting. You never had a place to escape like this. It's unfair for me to be the only one finding happiness."
- Tremble...!
Removing the accessories and stickers she had stuck onto Frey's orb, Ruby kissed the orb gently and whispered.
"Just wait a little longer, Frey. I'll bring you back to your true self."
[There's something I'd like to discuss about Frey.]
Four letters drifted in the spring breeze from her hand.
.
"""".......""""
"Uh, um..."
The atmosphere was icy.
"Everyone....."
"Are you asking us to believe that?"
The four main heroines, excluding Perlote, who had gathered in response to Ruby's call.
Kania, Irina, Clana, and Serena.
"Are you telling us to entrust this last piece of Young Master's soul to you?"
"How are we supposed to trust you? Do you not remember the things you've done? I can still vividly recall the expression on your face as you laughed at me while I poured my magic into battle."
"Who was it that sacrificed me in the previous timeline?"
"...Get lost."
They glared at Ruby with cold, wary eyes.
"S-Sorry... I mean, uh... um..."
Sweat started to bead on Ruby's forehead.
The intense hostility was directed solely at her.
"T-This is Frey's soul, you see...? If we combine this with your orbs and feed it to him..."
"The soul of the Young Master?"
"I knew it. This was all part of your scheme."
"You're the one who corrupted Frey, aren't you? There's no other explanation."
The aura of the four heroines as they looked at her was anything but friendly.
Why?
They were people she had once befriended in countless previous timelines.
She thought that reconnecting and obtaining their orbs would be simple.
But as soon as she asked for the orbs in this timeline, they had all turned against her like different people.
"We need to secure that soul orb."
"Serena..."
"Are we close? Why are you using my name?"
Even Serena, who was usually the first to understand the situation and, like Perlote, would grudgingly give advice while being harsh, was now looking at her with hostility.
"...Are you all prepared?"
"W-Wait."
The main heroines seemed intent on killing her.
'...If I fight, I'll win.'
As she sized up the four approaching heroines with cold faces, Ruby quietly contemplated.
'I can overpower them all here, seize the orbs, and feed them to Frey. Problem solved.'
It made sense.
Ruby's combat prowess had already reached a level where she could face Frey one-on-one after countless regressions and continuous training in previous timelines.
With Frey absent, subduing the four heroines should be simple.
'...No.'
But instead of fighting, Ruby simply clenched her fist around the soul orb.
- Tremble...
'I can't do that.'
Guilt held her back.
A feeling she couldn't even have imagined in her previous self.
However, after going through regression after regression and witnessing people forget all the bonds and memories they had shared, Ruby now understood guilt all too well.
Regressing meant abandoning those who had been with her.
It was fortunate
that "Retry" allowed the entire world to reset along with her. Without that, she wouldn't have been able to bear it.
- Swoosh...
"Ack."
Kania's dark magic and Serena's lunar mana began to infiltrate Ruby's body, a foul, dark, chilling, and prickly sensation creeping over her skin.
- Crunch...!
"Ugh."
A punch from Clana, infused with the mana of the sun, struck her chest.
"Aahhh...!!"
Irina's flames began to scorch Ruby, burning her clothes along with her skin.
"......."
Enduring the pain with her eyes clenched shut, Ruby staggered and collapsed as the four finally began to relent.
- Slink...
Still lying flat on the ground, bleeding from her mouth and eyes, Ruby held tightly onto Frey's soul orb, refusing to let go even as she lay sprawled.
"I'm... sorry."
Exposing her burned skin, revealing her demonic form with a tail swaying and belly pressed to the ground, Ruby looked up at the four.
"I apologize to all of you..."
As tears began to fall from her eyes, she spoke with her head bowed, fully submitting herself.
""......""
"For all the suffering I've caused you... torment me as much as you want until you're satisfied..."
The four girls scowled and exchanged glances, while Ruby pressed her forehead to the ground and continued.
[1 - 03]
[Atonement for His Wives (0/4)]
[Atonement for His Knight and Your Kin (0/2)]
[Atonement for His Family (0/2)]
.
Moments later, a system window quietly appeared before her.
"Help System."
After reading those words, Ruby, her voice quivering, called out to the Help System for the first time in a long while.
"What... is the true nature of the first stage?"
She had already discovered that there were only three stages.
Now that she was starting to understand the nature of the first stage, perhaps she would finally know something she'd lacked the strength to discover before.
> The nature of the first stage is your 'karma.'
"Ah..."
After a moment, the Help System produced an answer as Ruby had expected, and she sighed.
> Face your karma sincerely.
"Do you think... we'll forgive you so easily?"
"...The sight of Arianne and the people of the Empire weeping in despair is still fresh in our minds."
"We can't forgive you. Go back."
As the weight of her accumulated sins pressed upon her,
"I'm not asking for forgiveness..."
""......""
"So just... use me."
Ruby, realizing what she needed to face, whispered, feeling the warmth emanating from Frey's soul in her hand.
'I love you, Frey.'
For Frey's salvation,
She was willing to endure anything.
.
"Huff, huff..."
"Mmm."
Somewhere, a sound like a dog panting echoed.
Is Ruby licking me again? Or has she put me on her stomach again?
I wish she'd take it easy.
"Please... please let this work... please..."
As I lay there with my eyes closed, her muttering didn't seem quite right.
"I've failed so many times... there are so many ways to use the orb... This is my last option..."
I could hear Ruby's voice, weak and desperate.
Where had I heard this voice before?
The closest matches were my Third Trial self and Retry Perlote's voice.
Could it be that she too was nearing her limit?
Well...
I'll know if I open my eyes.
"What will I do if this fails again... I can't take much more... My soul won't survive... But no, it hasn't been as many as Frey's regressions. Until I reach that point, somehow..."
"...Hey."
"H-Huh?"
As I opened my eyes, I saw Ruby's face rubbing against my cheek, looking at me with a look of desperate hope.
"...Frey."
Seeing her face made my vision start to blur.
Why? Is it a side effect of my soul returning? Or am I also feeling the effects of the fourth trial, like the main heroines?
Well, I'll find out later.
"Frey!!! Are you back? Is it really you? Have you finally come back to yourself?!"
"......"
"It... it's me! Ruby!! Your..."
It won't be long before it's time to assess her progress as the protagonist of this fourth trial.
[2 - 01]
[Restore Frey's Memory]
"Who are you?"
"...What."
[Retry Point Reassigned.]