This Wasn’t an Erotic Game?

Chapter 34 - Not a Bad First Meeting

『 Translator – Divinity 』

First, I needed to make one thing clear.

My goal was to be cursed and die myself, not to kill the princess who had suffered so much because of the curse.

To save the princess while extracting the fragment of the Evil God, I needed to learn more about it.

I went to the White Church.

"Saint! A servant of Dulaneir greets the Healing Saint."

The priests bowed so deeply that it was almost uncomfortable, but it was rather convenient for me in my current situation.

"I want to access information about the fragment of the Evil God."

"The fragment of the Evil God, you say?"

"Bring me all the information. Don't hide anything from me."

"Of course!"

It was good to have the title of Saint, even if I was a fake.

I could freely access even the top-secret archives of the White Church, a place where only the High Priest could enter.

I began to scour through everything, from ancient documents written on parchment to recent materials printed on clean paper.

Information about the fragment of the Evil God.

A way to safely extract it without further harming the host, whose mind and ego were already unstable.

And a way to apply its destructive power solely to me and make it disappear without harming those around me.

Was there anything?

I sat on the floor, not moving an inch, and perused all sorts of materials for over half a day.

The priests of the White Church seemed impressed by my dedication.

"To think he is so devoted to the annihilation of evil!..."

"Look! Even the Saint of another church is so dedicated to the annihilation of evil! How can you, chosen by Dulaneir, act like that!! You must strive even harder!!"

They even brought young trainee priests to show them my "dedication," as if it were some kind of field trip.

Well, it didn't matter.

I could be a monkey in a zoo for a while in exchange for freely accessing these confidential materials.

And after nearly half a day of frantically searching and examining all sorts of materials...

I finally found a way to save the princess and safely extract the source of the curse.

[If the connection between the host's soul and the fragment of the Evil God is weakened by continuous divine magic, the fragment will seek out another soul nearby and move. If the host has someone they rely on mentally nearby, the fragment of the Evil God will prioritize them as a target and try to transfer to their soul.]

[Therefore, if the connection between the soul and the fragment is weak, no family member, lover, or child should be near the host. It will immediately transfer and settle in the new host's soul. The original host will be saved, but the long and tedious process of weakening the connection between the new host's soul and the fragment must be repeated.]

So, if I become someone Princess Iomene relies on, the fragment will jump out and dig into my soul!

And let's see...

I think I read about this in this parchment somewhere?

Ah, here it is!

After Princess Iomene's fragment of the Evil God transfers to me...

[If the host's soul is not a concern, at least three priests can simultaneously use the Miracle of Evil Destruction to eliminate the fragment of the Evil God within the soul. The moment the fragment is destroyed, it will unleash a powerful curse, destroying the host's soul, but immediately afterward, the fragment will vanish forever.]

I just need to go to the priests and ask them to use the Miracle of Evil Destruction on me, sacrificing my soul to destroy the fragment of the Evil God!

They would have to agree since they want to prevent the end of the world!

Soul shattered!

Reborn in Korea!

Perfect.

The problem is how to make the princess rely on me.

My first thought was, can't I just use Absolute Hypnosis on her and make her go, "I can't live without Master Amael!"?

But would someone who grew up suffering unimaginable abuse for 16 years be mentally sound?

They said she even attempted suicide several times. If I use Absolute Hypnosis on someone in that mental state and manipulate her mind, wouldn't her mentality shatter like a cookie before she even falls in love with me?

It was a possibility, but if that happened, Princess Almene, whose soul is connected to her, would also die, and then the Emperor would obviously not let me go free.

If I die a normal death, executed instead of having my soul destroyed by a curse, my soul would remain intact and go to the afterlife, which would naturally mean...

Hell.

Fuck.

I don't want to take that risk.

Do I have a choice?

I have to meet Princess Iomene, comfort and coax her as much as possible, make her rely on me, and bring the fragment of the Evil God into my soul.

Then, after being hit with the Miracle of Evil Destruction and destroying the fragment of the Evil God, the curse released at that moment will destroy my soul, and I'll go to Korea.

The princess will be saved.

I stood up.

"Thank you for your kindness."

"You are always welcome to visit again!"

"Thank you."

I expressed my gratitude and left the White Church.

── 𓆩♱𓆪 ──

That evening...

At the Imperial Palace...

I arrived in front of the detached palace where Princess Iomene was confined.

The detached palace, which must have once been beautiful, now had an eerie appearance.

All sorts of large magic circles and sacred objects were installed around the palace, and what appeared to be talismans were plastered all over the walls and doors.

It felt like the genre suddenly shifted from fantasy to occult.

"Saint, the curse is dangerous. You must wear this protective suit before entering."

One of the mages, among the many mages and priests waiting outside the detached palace, handed me a thick protective suit.

It looked exactly like a radiation suit.

If I went in wearing that, it would be obvious that they were wary of me!!

"I won't wear it."

"What? Saint! It's a curse! A high-level curse of pure concentration, directly from a fragment of the Evil God!!"

I'm not scared at all.

I'm trying to die from that curse, why would I be scared?

If I get hit, it's actually a good thing. I can skip the hassle of extracting the fragment of the Evil God and have my soul destroyed directly.

Besides, I need to make the princess rely on me, so what would she think if I went in wearing that?

"Wouldn't Princess Iomene be hurt if I went in wearing that?"

"..."

The mage looked at me with a touched expression.

Touched, my ass.

I'm just trying to get cursed and die so I can go back to Korea.

"It's more important that she isn't hurt than for me to be safe."

I said so, refused the protective suit, and slowly...

Cautiously entered the detached palace.

I opened the door of the detached palace, covered in talismans and magic circles, and as I slowly stepped inside, the first thing I felt was coldness.

It felt like...

For a very long time...

There had never been a single trace of human warmth in this place.

Of course, the physical temperature of the palace was normal, but it just...

Felt that way.

After hearing the door close behind me, I took a short, deep breath.

It was crucial to make Princess Iomene rely on me.

She was a child who had suffered abuse for sixteen years.

I needed to be cautious.

It was important to get close to her slowly, without rushing.

"Princess Iomene?"

I wandered around the detached palace.

But I couldn't find Princess Iomene anywhere.

Only the excessively clean and excessively empty scenery of the palace greeted me.

This place had the atmosphere of a horror game made with RPG Maker.

- The detached palace seems empty.

- Where could Princess Iomene be?

- Oh!

It felt like the kind of place where this description would pop up, and then the princess would suddenly appear behind me.

...Oh shit!!

She really was behind me!!

Startled by the sudden presence, I turned around to see a woman who looked exactly like Princess Almene, whom I had met recently, staring at me.

The difference, of course, was the wings.

A pair of huge black wings sprouted from her back, flapping and almost covering the entire hallway of the detached palace.

Unlike Princess Almene, Princess Iomene had her right eye closed.

That must be the magic that blocked the connection between their souls.

Shabby clothes.

Empty, lifeless eyes that were hard to read.

An expressionless face.

The three elements of eeriness were complete.

Princess Iomene just stared at me with a broken look in her eyes, saying nothing.

I swallowed nervously and smiled at her.

She seemed surprised by my smile.

As she flinched and stepped back, I spoke cautiously.

"Hello, Your Highness. My name is Jericho Amael. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Princess Iomene didn't respond to my greeting.

Was she unable to speak?

It was entirely possible.

"You don't have to be wary of me. I'm not here to harm you."

It seemed like refusing to wear the protective suit was the right choice.

She was looking at me with an unreadable expression, but at least she wasn't showing aggression or screaming.

I could consider that a small mercy.

"I came to heal you..."

But the next moment...

More precisely, the moment I uttered the word "heal"...

Princess Iomene snapped.

"Aaaagh!!!"

She screamed like a wild animal and started convulsing.

Her flailing hand left a long scratch on my forearm.

It was a deep, deep wound, far worse than a simple scratch from nails, and naturally, blood started gushing out.

Ouch!

Fuck, that hurts like hell!

But still!...

It's bearable.

A wound?

I wasn't afraid at all.

Because I had Body Modification.

[Using Body Modification on myself!]

The torn skin knitted together, and the flowing blood disappeared.

I showed this sight to Princess Iomene.

As the wound healed and disappeared in an instant, the princess, who had been screaming and thrashing like a wild animal, stopped and stared at me.

For the first time, something resembling emotion appeared in her eyes.

Surprise.

Or perhaps curiosity.

"Amazing, right? I don't know how it works either, but I have the ability to heal people."

I said cheerfully, but the princess didn't answer.

I wondered if she even understood what I was saying.

Just staring at me with an expressionless face, she seemed to be in a mental state closer to an animal than a human.

Suddenly...

I felt sorry for the young princess in front of me.

She was only nineteen, barely past her coming-of-age ceremony.

It was a time when she should be happily hanging out with friends, buying makeup, and eating tteokbokki, but she was stuck here alone in this occult-like detached palace with gloomy black wings on her back.

And she couldn't even speak.

It wasn't strange at all.

This was a woman who had lived through sixteen years of torture.

It would be stranger to expect her to be normal.

I was trying to make her rely on me, but since she was in a mental state closer to an animal, wouldn't it be better to build trust with her as if she were an actual animal? That's what I thought.

Alright.

Then let's do that.

I slowly approached the princess.

And cautiously...

Like reaching out to a wary cat...

I placed my hand on her head.

She didn't move.

She just stared at me with an expressionless face.

She let me pet her head.

While petting her, I subtly checked her physical condition with the skill, and as expected...

Her body was covered in countless self-harm scars, hidden under her shabby clothes.

And her body was so emaciated that it made me doubt if this was really the body of a nineteen-year-old girl.

It was heartbreaking.

Couldn't I just use my skill to extract and remove the fragment of the Evil God?

[Skill can only be cast on living beings!]

As if reading my mind, the skill window displayed a message.

Well, the fragment of the Evil God wasn't a living being, was it?

This is annoying.

If I could just use the skill, it would be over in an instant.

There was no other way.

I first erased the self-harm scars on her body.

I also reshaped her emaciated body, likely caused by malnutrition and lack of sleep, to match Princess Almene's physique, which I had seen yesterday.

[Body Modification unavailable!]

The only part I couldn't change was the wings. When I tried to remove them, the skill was blocked, as if someone was intentionally interfering with the modification.

It was obvious.

The wings sprouted because of the fragment of the Evil God, so it must be the fragment that was interfering with their removal.

It seemed like this was as far as I could go for now.

After the healing was over, the princess, perhaps feeling itchy, let out a purring sound and then stepped back, looking at her own body.

Realizing that her wounds were gone and her emaciated body now had a healthy amount of flesh and muscle, the princess broke her expressionless mask and looked genuinely surprised.

Seeing her flustered and looking at her own body, I couldn't help but smile.

It was a pleasant sight.

Her reaction was unexpectedly cute.

That's enough for today.

If I progress too quickly, she might be overwhelmed.

"Tomorrow. I'll come again tomorrow. Let's meet again tomorrow, so don't get sick or hurt, and wait for me."

I said to her with a smile, but Princess Iomene just froze, unable to answer.

I left the detached palace.

It seemed like it wasn't a bad first meeting, thankfully.