Looking back, it was the absolute worst.
The farm turned into a dump overnight, Belsus was so shocked he ran away from home, and I even had to give up several advantageous cards just to dive into the dungeon myself.
Still, it was only after things got this messy that I finally uncovered a crucial secret.
'If the plants hadn't screamed because of Persephone's curse, I probably wouldn't have noticed their little charade for a while.'
Standing in front of the field, Heean looked down at the green leaves swaying gently in their innocent colors, having completely disposed of the snake carcass.
'Not that I'm going to thank Persephone for it, though.'
"How did it die by getting stuck in a wall...? It was a boss monster."
"Honestly, since none of us got the kill, I guess it feels fair, so I've just come to accept it..."
Before the dungeon closed, the dumbfounded rankers scattered in small groups, chattering as they left.
Among them, only the Paladin kept his gaze lowered, as if lost in deep thought.
---
The Doctor always wore his white coat, both as everyday attire and as pajamas. The only difference was whether he wore a shirt underneath it or not.
Since entering this dungeon, all the young man with half-white hair had done was 'walk'.
He had initially been dropped into the location closest to the exit.
However, facing a 50/50 gamble at the start, he accidentally took the wrong path, the one leading straight out.
He walked and walked until the exit appeared. At that point, it was obvious that even if he turned back, he wouldn't have a chance to kill the boss monster.
Still, wanting to salvage something, he retraced his steps backward. Whenever someone approached, he opened the entrance to his subspace and hid himself entirely.
[The Dungeon has been cleared.]
[There is no Boss Slayer.]
The Doctor had almost reached the core. There was still a little time left before the exit closed completely.
Using his subspace, the Doctor had let all the others pass him by completely unseen.
While they were heading out toward the exit, the Doctor decided to check the core.
Standing before the main doors of the nearly sealed central room, the Doctor placed his palm on the gate. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, his previously blue pupils had turned crimson.
There were traces of a subspace being opened and closed here.
Someone must have dragged the boss monster into their subspace and finished it off inside their own domain.
It was the exact same method he used.
"Hey."
The Doctor suddenly started talking, acting as if someone was right next to him.
"I'm curious about something."
He closed his eyes and stood still for a moment. After enough time had passed for someone to have answered him, his grayish lips stretched into a wide, tearing smile.
"If a subspace collides with another subspace... do you think I could perform surgery on a subspace, too?"
---
Waking from a long sleep, Belsus's eyes gradually regained their focus.
Wrapped tightly in soft blankets, Belsus tossed and turned a little. The fabric smelled of the soap and sunlight from when Heean had freshly washed and dried them.
He buried his nose in the blankets he had missed so dearly before slowly sitting up.
The annex, which Heean had restored to over 80%, was slightly below the level it had been before the curse ruined it, but it was still wonderful. Tossing aside the covers, Belsus got up and looked at his reflection in the mirror.
This incident made him realize something: this subspace wasn't perfect.
The farm and Heean could be threatened in one way or another. If he settled for this comfortable life now, he would eventually lose everything he held dear.
Belsus was a mercenary.
An existence that protected the trivial and insignificant, turning them into something precious.
If possible, he would guard Heean's side forever.
That evening, Heean announced he was heading out and threw on a long robe that covered him from head to toe.
"I'm gonna go have a showdown with that old man Bard at the tavern."
Heean phrased their meet-up to clear their recent misunderstandings just like that. Belsus smiled softly.
"Are you old enough to drink?"
"I'm twenty-three."
After Heean left, Belsus, left all alone, sat on an outdoor bench and watched the evening sunset stretch over the fields.
With nothing to worry about, his thoughts naturally drifted to Heean.
He imagined Bard and Heean sitting in a corner of the tavern, leaning in close to converse.
Bard was middle-aged, but considering he had seduced the most renowned, beautiful soprano on the continent... he clearly possessed charm or eloquence far beyond what met the eye. Even with his age, he was undeniably quite handsome.
"……."
Having finished his meal, Belsus looked at his reflection on the polished surface of his lunchbox. Suddenly, he startled.
'Why am I thinking about this?'
---
"Why did Persephone attack Belsus?"
Before I even sat down, I slammed my palm on the table and interrogated him.
Across from me, Bard somehow looked about two years older than before. The wrinkle by his eye seemed slightly deeper. I genuinely hoped it wasn't just my imagination.
"I'm sorry."
At some point recently, Bard had started dropping honorifics and speaking informally to me.
Well, I suppose he's about twenty years older than me. It's more comfortable for me to hear him speak casually anyway.
In return, I'll just speak casually to him too.
"Persephone acted that way to send a warning to me."
"...A warning to you, not me?"
Persephone, to Bard? Why mess with Belsus just to warn her own lover?
"She wanted to ruin Belsus to drag down my reputation."
"Ah. Aha..."
"Persephone has always wanted to run dungeons with me. But I pushed her away and intentionally partnered with Belsus instead. So she decided to show me what she's capable of. To force me to make her my number one priority before she ruins everything around me and shatters my relationships."
Listening to this gave me slight chills. Bard's acting was incredibly realistic, and above all, having Belsus's testimony from directly interrogating Bard confirmed it was all true.
"Hmm... That's a very scary girlfriend."
Momentarily at a loss for words, I squeezed out a forced response just to play along.
Bard looked like he had already downed a few drinks before I joined him. His face was slightly flushed, but upon hearing the word 'girlfriend', he suddenly looked completely sober.
"That's..."
"Why play dumb? The rumor's already spread everywhere."
It was a lie that the rumor had spread, though. I took a sip of my rum and fruit juice cocktail.
"Why are you slandering me like that?"
"What slander! You said it yourself! You said that since characters might betray you, you have to form a legal register relationship and become family! That's exactly what this is!"
"How is that the same thing?!"
"Then what?!"
"She's my daughter!"
...Excuse me?
Hearing this for the very first time made whatever little alcohol I had drank instantly vanish from my system. Looking pale, Bard stared at me like I was a madman, losing all his dignity and shouting as if he were dying of injustice.
"I was trying to adopt her as my daughter!"
"Seriously?"
Not a lover, but a daughter...?
"Jeez, what the... You should have said so earlier. I thought..."
Belatedly trying to play it cool, I took another large gulp of my drink.
"How was I supposed to tell you! You just jumped to your own conclusions!"
Bard, who had jumped out of his seat in exasperation, flopped back down, defeated by his own frustration. With a suddenly haggard face, he ordered a bottle of strong whiskey and started drinking it straight from the bottle.
"But hey, I heard something from Belsus. Persephone is a guy...?"
The moment the word 'guy' left my lips, Bard sprang up. Acting as if he hadn't had a single drop of alcohol and clamped his hand firmly over my mouth.
"Watch your mouth. We're in a tavern."
So it wasn't just that Belsus had been completely fooled by Persephone dressing as a man, but that Persephone actually had something extra dangling down there... Honestly, this was way too shocking. It was so shocking that I barely even cared anymore whether Persephone was Bard's lover or his daughter.
It definitely wasn't like this in the game... Why on earth did his gender change after possessing the body? I couldn't figure it out.
"Ah, so not a daughter, but a son? Did you adopt him as a son?"
Bard's face darkened once again. His facial expressions, shifting abruptly as if he had just witnessed the end of the world, were almost comical at this point.
"What kind of son does that?"
"Fair point. What kind of son destroys all of his dad's relationships just because his dad isn't paying enough attention to him?"
A male Persephone. A male Persephone... Well, those looks wouldn't go anywhere, but still. A guy? Ugh... But at this point, it was so bizarre that I actually really wanted to see his real face just once.
By the way, a guy cross-dressing to play the female lead role, wearing dresses without getting caught, and even taking on a female soprano part. Is that even possible?
"Is it like a castrato or something?"
I only asked it as a joke, but Bard, his eyes now glazed over with alcohol, dropped his gaze and mumbled.
"I'd rather he be a castrato."
"What?"
Even so, who wishes their own character was an eunuch? Isn't that just purely malicious?
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