Chapter 69: Diary
༺ Diary ༻
00/04/XX
Hello! This is Ferloche.
Today is the second day since I came to the Starlight Family mansion and the first day I decided to write a diary!
By the way, this diary is a gift from Her Highness Clana, and it has a grammar correction magic cast on it. So I can write down the contents without any worries.
Anyway, the reason I’m writing this diary… is that Frey’s atrocities have gone too far!
To never forget Frey’s evil deeds! And to leave a memoir of his atrocities for future generations! That’s why I am writing this diary.
Anyway, today, Frey did something terrible to Ms. Lulu! How do I know? It’s because I overheard the conversation coming from Frey’s room!
“Lick. Lick it with your tongue and clean it.”
“…Yes.”
In anger, I opened the door and tried to argue with Frey, but the surrounding commoner students stopped me.
So I was trembling with anger, but after a while, Frey came out of the room with a sad expression on his face, so I glanced around and quickly went into the room!
“Hey, are you…”
“D-Don’t come near me!!”
“Lulu…”
“Don’t come!! Don’t come!! No matter how much of a Saint you are, only misfortune will befall on you!!”
But again, Lulu pushed me away with a vague statement. It’s a little bit disheartening… but I won’t give up.
I will definitely save Lulu from Frey and befriend her!
Oh! Something strange happened tonight as well.
Around dawn, I heard a scream, so I rushed out to the hallway, and noticed someone standing there!
I thought it was a ghost for a moment, so I tried to chant a purification spell, but soon I discovered that it was Ms. Irina.
“Ms. Irina? What are you doing there?”
With a thumping heart, I approached Ms. Irina and tried to ask what the hell she was doing in the hallway at dawn.
“Are they… Are they… No way…”
But Ms. Irina muttered something strange as if she couldn’t hear me, and was instead looking at something.
“Ms. Irina! What’s going on!”
Eventually, I found out that Ms. Irina was glancing in the direction of the room where Kania was staying, so I hurriedly approached her and asked.
If something is happening to Kania, we need to help her since she is our comrade!
“Hbh!”
But the moment Ms. Irina heard my question, she shut my mouth with her hand. She then slowly turned her head and began staring at me!
“Is it something serious? I have to help…”
“Oh no! It’s nothing! So just go back!”
Ms. Irina and Ms. Kania must surely be in trouble; I was so worried that I clenched my fists and headed for the door, but Ms. Irina blocked my path while blushing profusely.
“But, just now…”
“…This is something a Saint shouldn’t know. Go back.”
For some reason, it seemed a strange noise was coming from inside the room, so I got anxious, but Ms. Irina, who had been squinting at me for a while, desperately blocked my way. Thus, I had no choice but to turn around.
What the hell was that?
00/05/XX
Alas, there’s no one more selfish than a shameless person.
Frey, who has abused Ms. Lulu, harassed the female students, and even attacked Ms. Alice for bringing him meals, is one such guy.
“Alice! Are you okay?”
“…Yes.”
Ms. Alice, who had left Frey’s room looking exhausted yesterday morning, answered my question in a crestfallen tone and headed down to the first floor.
With her whole body covered in food, her hair tousled, and handprints on her cheeks, she must have been beaten up badly by Frey.
“Frey! What did you do this time!”
“Hmm?”
So, in the end, I resisted the common people’s disapproval and went into Frey’s room and started arguing!
“What the hell did Alice do for you to make her look like that!”
“She keeps trying to lecture me despite being a commoner.”
Frey’s words were truly disgusting.
“So I tried to push her onto the bed and show her where she belongs, but she resisted. So I just poured the food on her and only then did she calm down.”
“You… are you even human…”
The expression on his face and his brazen reply was so horrible that I mumbled out loud without realizing it, but Frey came up to me and whispered in a low voice.
“Human? I’m human. But the one who just left my room isn’t a human.”
“Huh?”
“Alice, and the commoners who are peeking secretly through the cracks in the door right now, are just toys that I can enjoy or break whenever I want.”
Having said, Frey clapped his hands, and Lulu, who was trembling in the corner of the room, started crawling towards Frey.
“I need to play with my pet. Can you please leave?”
Yes, this was by far the most repulsive thing Frey has done today.
After this, he did a lot more disgusting things, but I won’t write them down because it ‘s a hassle.
00/06/XX
Finally… Now I really don’t care.
I can’t wait for the dog Frey to die soon.
00/07/XX
Demonic curse.. did someone such a curse on me? I ended up writing profanity in my diary, profanity that is strictly forbidden by the Church.
However, there was no way to resolve my anger if I didn’t express at least that much.
What happened yesterday? It’s such a terrible memory that I don’t want to recall those scenes again, but I can’t run away… I’ll write it down while I still have patience.
It started yesterday evening, when for some reason, Frey, who had been staying in his room all day, suddenly appeared in the dining hall.
“Come on, it’s a party today! I’ll give food to you lowlives, so savor it with gratitude.”
Having said that, Frey clapped his hands, and an endless stream of dishes started pouring in.
Of course, I was guessing that the evil, filthy Frey must have done something to the food.
But when I came to my senses, I was frantically devouring the delicious party dishes that was in front of me!
The evil Frey must have used magic to boost my appetite!
However, the other commoners were also slowly eating, and nothing special happened, so I decided to just keep eating.
I finished eating, but suddenly my eyes drooped. Why?
I thought I was tired from eating and got up to wash my face, but all the other students collapsed with their heads lying down on the table.
‘…I-It’s a trap!’
Then, when I saw Frey, who was sitting, smile, I became certain it was a trap.
Was this the feeling of a fish that couldn’t overcome its instinct to eat the bait even while knowing what would happen next?
“Uh, uh…”
While I was still conscious, I tried to cast a purification spell in a haste, but I couldn’t overcome the drowsiness that took hold of me and I ended up falling on the table.
By the way, at the last moment, it seemed that I could somehow feel dark mana behind me… Maybe it was because of my mood?
“Ugh…”
After losing consciousness for a bit, when I opened my eyes, Frey was groping Alice in front of me.
Seeing that all the other female students next to them were all sitting up in their chairs… Frey must have…
I’m sorry. Suddenly, my hands are shaking. I’ll write more a little later.
I’ve returned after calming down a bit.
Anyway, while looking at Frey groping Alice’s body, I fell asleep again because of the sudden drowsiness that surged over my body again.
It’s weird. Normally, I would have endured with my mental resistance, but why?
Was someone hitting me on the back of the head every time I woke up?
Anyway, the place I woke up after that was the dormitory for female students.
“Lady Ferloche is awake!”
“Phew… that’s a relief.”
I was staring blankly at the girls around me, and suddenly they started asking me questions in a quivering voice.
“Frey said that we were all drunk…”
“Is that true? No matter how you think about it, that’s kind of weird.”
“Lady Ferloche has a strong mental power, so do you know anything about what happened?”
“Ah, that’s…”
At first I tried to hide the truth. I thought the girls would be shocked.
“Please… tell us the truth. Saintess.”
But when Alice, who had been groped, asked me with a firm expression, I couldn’t hide the truth.
“…Well then, I’ll tell you.”
Because of that, as I’m writing this entry in the diary, the surrounding atmosphere was filled with an icy rage.
I hope this chilly anger will reach Frey.
00/08/XX
God, why are you giving me this ordeal?
.
.
.
.
.
The morning of the 6th day of the vacation arrived.
“…Irina, is the investigation into the ‘Stigma’ finished?”
I woke up basking in the bright morning sunlight and realized that Irina was standing in front of me with a worried expression on her face. So, I asked her a question.
“Ah… well, yes. It’s complete.”
Then, she momentarily stammered, but soon responded with a nod, and presented various materials to me.
“This…?”
“It’s a kind of ancient magic. It’s mentioned in old scriptures.”
“Damn, why is everything ancient magic? What the hell were those ancients doing?”
I browsed through the materials she gave me, and when I heard the words ‘Ancient Magic’, my brows furrowed as I heaved a deep sigh.
“For now, you can think of a ‘Stigma’ as a curse. But… it has a different purpose from general curses and black magic.”
“A different purpose?”
“Curses and black magic come from the desire to destroy the other person, right? But a stigma is… different from that.”
As I tilted my head at those words, Irina said with a serious expression on her face.
“A stigma is placed on a person for retribution.”
“Retribution?”
“Yes, that magic is nothing more than retribution for humans.”
It seems Irina felt like things were getting more serious than she had originally thought as her expression hardened. She then settled down and began talking.
“Anyway, a ‘Stigma’ differs from a ‘Curse’ in its composition and purpose, so the method of curing it is very different.”
“How is it different?”
“Most curses have complex or non-existent healing method, because they want the cursed person to suffer as much as possible. But a stigma…”
Irina, who seemed to have lost her train of thought for a moment, continued speaking while grabbing the papers in my hands.
“The methods are clear and easy. And it’s designed to follow that law and lead you to repent.”
“Then I’m glad. Isn’t it easier to cure than curses?”
Hearing these words, I smiled and asked, but Irina shook her head in response and replied,
“No, that’s the main problem. Did you say that the stigma placed on her is the 『Stigma of Misfortune』?”
“Yes, so?”
“If I’m right… The reason she pushes people away is due to that very 『Stigma of Misfortune』.”
After saying that, Irina hesitated for a moment, and then asked me a question.
“Frey, what does she need the most?”
“Um… attention and affection? She suffers from severe lack of affection.”
“Yes, I thought so.”
After hearing my answer, she sighed and began to speak again.
“She has a stigma that brings misfortune, and the way to cure that stigma is to get attention and affection from others.”
“Aha… So the characteristics—”
“But the problem is that the effects of the stigma conflict with the purification method.”
Saying that, Irina clasped her hands together, frowned, and continued speaking.
“Everyone who loved Lulu must have been swept away by her misfortune. Kania did a background check on her parents, the people around her, and her friends; none of them had a happy end.”
“Then…”
“Yeah, she always pushes others away since she doesn’t want them to suffer because of her.”
Only then did I find out why she committed suicide, no matter which route she took.
Lulu, who knew very well what would happen to the people who loved her, committed suicide in order to protect the ‘player’ who loved her and tried to ‘save’ her till the end no matter how much she pushed him away.
“Wait, but something’s strange…”
Upon learning the truth, I remained silent for a moment, since I was overcome with sorrow and shock. However, soon I began to ask Irina two questions that flashed through my mind.
“First of all, why didn’t she push me away?”
“It must have been because she thought that it would be nice if you died.”
“…Ah.”
Hearing those words, I realized that at this point in time, I was being treated as a nefarious villain wanted dead by everyone.
“Perhaps she’s been pushed to the limit by the persistent misfortune, so she’s thinking of purifying her stigma by using you and your twisted attention and affection.”
“Because I’m a villain who deserves to be swept away by her misfortune?”
“Yeah… wait no. You’re not a villain.”
Hearing that, I smiled and asked the next question.
“Alright, then that’s all cleared… Next question. Why does the effect of the stigma conflict with the purification method?”
Hearing those words, Irina didn’t answer right away and started to rummage through the documents. I looked at her and inquired once more.
“You said that her stigma is for retribution. Not to mention, the 『Stigma of Misfortune』 in some ways is worse than a curse?”
“…Someone abused the stigma.”
“Abused the stigma?”
I frowned upon hearing Irina’s answer, so in response, she sighed and asked a question.
“Do you know how I came up with such detailed information about the ‘Stigma’?”
“Um… because you’re a genius mage?”
I couldn’t think of a proper answer, so I complimented her, and she answered with a blush on her face.
“No, of course, that’s part of it, but… there’s a bigger reason.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve checked the symptoms of the ‘Stigma’ I had noticed several times in the previous timeline.”
“Huh!?”
When I opened my eyes wide, Irina opened her mouth with a grim look.
“Honestly, when I first heard about it, I was skeptical… But as I researched it, I confirmed the symptoms based on my memories of the previous timeline. That’s why I was able to find it so quickly and in such detail.”
“Do you remember where you saw it?”
I inquired carefully. Irina then gulped and answered in a hushed tone.
“When we invaded the Demon Castle, we found it on the slaves of the demons and the criminals in prison.”
After those words, there was an awkward silence lingered between us for a moment.
“…Anyway, if I want to cure her, I just need to keep showering Lulu with affection and attention, right?”
After breaking the silence, when I asked calmly, Irina quietly nodded her head.
“Sigh, I already have my fair share of misfortune… so I’ll be fine even if a bit more misfortune befalls me.”
I sighed as I had already embarked on the only path that could save Lulu. Irina stared at me and said in consoling tone.
“You don’t have to worry about that. According to the ancient scriptures, the 『Stigma of Misfortune』 has no effect on people more unfortunate than those who bear the stigma. So you… uh…”
“…Will it not work?”
Hearing that, I laughed and muttered.
“Haha… Should I be happy about this… or should I be sad…”
“Frey…”
“Indeed, I should be happy. Now I can save Lulu without any burden.”
I got up from my seat with a grin and started to speak to Irina, who was getting ready to leave.
“Today, Kania will be staying overnight with Kadia and Aria. She’s going to do a safety check and get some treatment from Kadia. And I’ll be away from the house for a while.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’ve recently made some interesting friends. I’m going to have a chat with them for a bit.”
Having said that, I started preparing to head outside, but Irina grabbed my arm.
“Frey, I have a favor to ask.”
“Hm?”
As I stared at Irina, who had a fairly serious expression on her face, she asked a question in a trembling voice.
“Please tell me what the second ordeal is.”
“That again? The second ordeal really isn’t a big deal. So don’t worry too much…”
“Please… Frey…”
“Ummm…”
I tried to laugh the question off as usual, but Irina wept and kept asking, so I sighed and opened my mouth.
“Fine, I’ll tell you.”
Irina then nodded her head with a slightly pale face, and I began to explain the second ordeal, giving her the most gentle explanation possible.
“Then, I’ll be back. Look after the house while I’m away, Irina.”
After finishing my explanation, I gently tapped her on the shoulder and left the room.
‘…Why was Irina making that face?’
When I last looked at her, her face appeared to be pure white, as if all her blood had drained from her face.
.
.
.
.
.
“Then, let’s finish today’s meeting.”
“”Thank you, Lord Frey.””
After leaving the mansion and leading the Demon King’s Army meeting until late at night, I ended the conference and started to head out.
“Hey… Help me with my training.”
“Oh! Me too! I want to practice too!”
“…Later.”
I passed by the woman with charming eyes and the rabbit-eared woman who would always ask me for a fight. I then asked Dmir Khan, who was waiting at the entrance, to use his teleportation magic.
“Aren’t you going to help them with their training?”
“They’re combat executives. They’ll take care of themselves.”
After hearing my words, Dmir Khan leaned back slightly and smiled. He then whispered to me.
“Do you want to destroy the moon?”
“…All except the brightest.”
“I understand. Farewell, hope of the Demon King’s Army.”
The next moment, the Starlight Dukedom appeared in front of my eyes.
“…Have you really mistaken me for the Demon King?”
I pondered for a long time, but snapped out of it once I realized that the front of the mansion was in chaos.
As I approached the mansion cautiously, I noticed some students were staggering in the mansion’s yard and vomiting.
“…Oh no.”
After noticing that poison gas infused with lunar mana was leaking out of the mansion, my complexion turned pale as I rushed to the gate.
It seems that the Elders of the Moonlight Family have finally sent their assassins.