It was a blade honed to perfection—sharp, like Lorenz’s disposition and his insatiable desires.
Sen’s sword pierced straight through Lorenz’s chest, striking the very place she had pressed her ear against countless times—the same place where Belial’s heart beat.
“……”
Sen slowly released the hilt of her sword and staggered back a step. Her trembling fists clenched tightly as she kept her gaze fixed on Lorenz’s face until the very end.
And finally—
Tick.
Through the smallest crack in the frozen flow of time, the world began to move once more.
***
It was a moment that felt like an instant. I quickly lifted my head, searching for Sen and Lorenz.
Sen stood upright, unwavering. She looked fragile yet unshakable, her feet planted firmly on the ground no matter how the wind blew. Her expression was resolute, stronger than I had ever seen it. And I understood why. People become stronger when they have something to protect.
In contrast, Lorenz’s body collapsed onto the white snow—not too fast, not too slow. His knees hit the ground first, his head bowed, and at last, his entire form crumpled forward. The crimson blood spreading from where he fell crept past Sen and reached Kyle’s feet.
Only then did Kyle move.
He strode toward Lorenz and confirmed his death. The surroundings were silent, the only sound the soft rustling of snow beginning to fall from the sky.
After observing Lorenz for a long moment, Kyle straightened his back and raised his voice to those who had followed the fallen emperor all the way to the North.
“The Emperor is dead.”
With that single sentence, the entire situation came to a close. The soldiers who had sworn allegiance to Lorenz lost all will to fight.
“Drop your weapons and surrender. Blake does not harm those who yield.”
At his command, half of the soldiers let go of their swords without hesitation. The rest hesitated, glancing at one another.
Then, Sen, regaining her senses, raised her sword high and shouted.
“Do not trust Lorenz Serena Meinhardt! The Emperor cursed the late sovereign and sacrificed the people of Meinhardt as offerings to magic for his own selfish desires! The proof lies in Blake Castle!”
Her voice, hoarse and cracked, continued.
“The pride you upheld was nothing but an illusion! We never conspired to rebel, and Lord Belial is in no state to even attempt a ritual!”
This battle was meaningless. To die here, reduced to something so insignificant—no one would praise such a death as honorable or courageous.
The realization drained the strength from the remaining soldiers. Seeing those who had surrendered before them being led away to the castle without harm only deepened their resignation.
Kyle spoke firmly.
“Take the prisoners to the underground cells. Verify their identities, distribute food and water. Those who need medical attention will be separated and treated accordingly. Guard them strictly, but do not torture them. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
“The rest of you, gather the bodies. We will hold a collective funeral tomorrow!”
“As Your Highness commands!”
I silently observed the scene unfold.
The battlefield, now shrouded in deepening darkness, was left to the survivors to clean up the tragedy wrought by man.
Kyle, too, ordered Lorenz’s body to be retrieved before lifting a wounded soldier nearby. His expression was grave.
We had won.
And we had survived.
As the tension drained from my body, reality settled in. A shudder ran through me, and pain surged forth.
“Shu.”
Before I realized it, Kyle had approached and gently placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I’m glad you’re safe. We’ll take care of things here—go inside with Sen.”
“I’m fine.”
Kyle gave me a wry smile instead of answering. He carefully lifted my left arm, bringing it into my field of vision. My hand trembled so uncontrollably that it looked pitiful.
“Thanks to you, we were able to defend the North. So for now, you can rest.”
“And you, Your Highness…?”
The sight of him, covered in blood, weighed heavily on me. His shoulders, neck, and cheeks bore countless cuts, and his hands—drenched in someone else’s blood—had not a single spot unstained.
I trailed off, avoiding my own words. Instead, I opened the nut shop inventory. Without even glancing through the long list, I grabbed a Pine Nut-Stuffed Persimmon Painkiller and shoved it into my mouth. The pain dulled, and the trembling subsided.
Next, I purchased a Soft Walnut Shell Ointment and applied it to his cheek.
“What is this? Getting yourself hurt like this.”
“I have no excuse. I tried to avoid getting injured as much as I could, knowing you’d worry.”
Kyle accepted my touch with a faint smile. Then, placing his hand over mine, he took a bit of the ointment and rubbed it on my forehead.
“Go see a doctor for that shoulder. Sen will take you.”
Just then, a familiar voice called out from behind us.
“I’ll escort them.”
It was James.
He was carrying a large sack, and from its slightly open mouth, a faint blue glow seeped out.
“The northern region is nearly secured. We’ve gathered the cores separately. If I recall correctly, you mentioned wanting to use them yourself, Lord Shu.”
There might not be any more battles ahead, but when it comes to luck points, the more, the better. I offered a brief, grateful smile and reached into the sack.
[Current Balance | ♣ x 3000]
Exactly 3,000 luck points. Coincidentally, just enough to purchase The Lucky Alarm Clock.
‘The problem is, I have no idea what it’s for….’
I wanted to stay by Kyle’s side a little longer, but he seemed to be worrying about me too much. So, in the end, I decided to return to the castle with Sen.
Nox and Lorenz were both dead now. There shouldn’t be any more threats to Kyle’s life.
[Accumulated miracle points can be settled all at once whenever you choose.]
[New notifications: Approx. 33 messages.]
[New notifications: Approx. 64 messages.]
[New notifications: Approx….]
[Processing settlement. Unable to retrieve estimated time of death for ‘Kyle Jane Meinhardt.’ Please wait.]
“Wait, wait!”
I had been too caught up in the battle to check the system logs, and now everything was flooding in all at once?
I yelled at the air in frustration, making Sen tilt her head as we rode back to the castle.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt, Shu?”
“…No, not exactly.”
Seeing me hesitate, Sen, who was holding the reins, smiled faintly.
“Your shoulder must hurt a lot, but hang in there. We’ll have a doctor look at it right away.”
I had eaten the persimmon roll, so I wasn’t in much pain. I shrugged.
“You seemed to have sprained your hand. Get yourself treated too.”
She took a deep breath before responding.
“I’ll go see Lord Belial first. Then I’ll get treated.”
“Huh?”
“I need to tell him. The war is over.”
Clop, clop, clop. Amid the silence, the steady rhythm of the horse’s hooves rang clearly.
Sen’s voice trembled slightly.
“I need to tell him we avenged him. That we won again with your and His Highness’s help. That without the people of Blake, we might have died like dogs on the roadside… I need to tell him everything. His Highness will be grateful too.”
Before I could stop myself, I blurted out the most honest thought in my head.
“With his personality?”
“Ahaha. You never know. Maybe, if he opens his eyes again, he’ll have changed. He did almost die, after all.”
Sen dismounted first, letting out a deep sigh.
“…If luck is on our side, His Highness might wake up one day. His body has fully healed. According to the doctor Kyle sent, it’s likely a problem of the soul.”
If a miracle happens, he can wake up. His body isn’t the issue. His soul is simply asleep.
A single line from the Luck Corner resurfaced in my mind, freezing me in place.
[The Lucky Alarm Clock | ♣ x 3000 | Wakes even the soul!]
So that’s why this item found its way to me.
“…Sen.”
I grabbed her arm, my voice desperate.
“Where is Belial right now?!”
***
The blue-glowing alarm clock was astonishingly small. It looked less like a clock and more like a fragment of a wind-up mechanism.
I turned the ice-cold alarm clock over in my fingers for a moment, then slowly exhaled and placed it gently on Belial’s chest. A faint, pale blue light shimmered over his deathly pale face.
Having heard the explanation from me, Sen knelt beside him, her expression on the verge of breaking into tears.
She clasped Belial’s hand in both of hers, pressing her forehead against it as she whispered desperately.
“Your Highness. Please wake up. Shu says he can wake you. That it’s possible….”
The tiny wind-up mechanism melted away, slowly absorbing into him.
“…It seems we still have a miracle left for us.”
Tears welled in Sen’s eyes before trailing down her cheeks.
“Shu, thank you.”
“…….”
“You really are like a miracle yourself.”
“No.”
I whispered, watching Belial’s trembling eyelids.
“To me, this world was the miracle.”
[Midway settlement complete.]
[New characters detected: ‘Sen’ (not in the original story).]
[New characters detected: ‘Belial’ (not in the original story).]
[Unable to retrieve estimated time of death for these characters.]
[Impact on character progression will be reflected accordingly in ∞㏄¿ values.]
I wanted to tell Sen.
That once, her life may have been confined to the pages of a novel, but not anymore. That she was someone capable of reaching a happy ending, no matter what world she existed in. That even beyond the story, she could continue to find happiness.
That, somewhere along the way, I had come to care about her.
But in moments like these, I always found myself at a loss for words. So instead, I simply looked at her.
“Thank you.”
And that was enough. Sen saw everything I wanted to say reflected in my eyes. She smiled, radiantly, like a princess from a fairy tale.
Then, as Belial slowly stirred, rising from where he lay—
A system window appeared between us.
[You may now choose the ‘ending’ of this ‘story.’]
[If you so desire.]
