CHAPTER 516: SIDE STORY - THE END (1)

0% “...Just give up already.”

“Ugh.”

In a dark room, the crimson-haired girl, kneeling on the floor, saw the face of the woman who had brought her to this state reflected in her eyes.

“Roswyn...”

“The mana-restraining cuffs on you, you know, are worth enough to buy several dozen plots of land the size of a decent village?”

“Bullshit. There’s no way something like this...”

“Even for a dragon, it’ll take time to remove.”

Sitting cross-legged on an expensive chair, Roswyn whispered in an icy tone.

Just as she said, the cuffs on Irina’s wrists showed no sign of loosening.

“So, Irina, let’s not waste time, shall we?”

“Grr...”

“No matter how much you try to release your mana, you’re only hurting yourself.”

Irina, confident that she could burn through most restraints within minutes, was forced to acknowledge that—for once—her captor was right.

“...I can’t believe I made such a mistake.”

Lowering her head, Irina tightly shut her eyes and muttered.

She had thought her abilities would be enough to escape any trap when she infiltrated this mansion.

But it was a complete miscalculation.

“...”

Frey, sitting next to Roswyn, and Kania, standing beside the chair—both were stronger than she had anticipated.

“How did you even obtain such power?”

“...What?”

But the most unexpected of them all was Roswyn.

The infamous Villainess of the Empire, Frey’s closest companion, the woman known for her absolute cunning.

“What did you sacrifice? Your soul? Your lifespan?”

“Uh, um...”

Before Irina could even attempt to fight back, Roswyn had rendered her unconscious.

Now, in a cold voice, Irina questioned her.

“Whatever it is, it must have been something vile and unholy.”

“N-no! I just...”

“Disgusting. Revolting.”

“...!”

Roswyn flinched, her body trembling at Irina’s harsh words.

But to Irina, even that looked like nothing more than a pathetic act.

“So, what will you do with me now? Brainwash me like your little butler over there?”

The atrocities committed by the villainous duo, Frey and Roswyn, were well known throughout the Empire.

Frey crushed people beneath the weight of power and wealth.

Roswyn weaved intricate plots, using the underworld’s influence to make people disappear without a trace.

How many had been enslaved by Frey’s tyranny?

How many had vanished at Roswyn’s mere gesture?

But among all their crimes, the worst of them all was what they had done to Kania.

She had once been part of the movement against Frey.

Yet, at some point, rumors began to spread—wherever Frey and Roswyn wreaked havoc, Kania was always seen in the background.

She must have been captured while acting alone.

Just like Irina was now.

—Srrrk...

“...Ugh.”

Irina, glaring fiercely at Roswyn, instinctively trembled as the woman took a step closer.

What... What are they going to do to me?

The woman before her was the most notorious villainess in the Empire.

There was no way she would get out of this unscathed.

Rumors of her personally torturing people until they went insane or were left crippled flashed through Irina’s mind.

There were even whispers that if Roswyn didn’t like a particular slave, she’d kill them on the spot.

Some even claimed she had a sick hobby of turning people into rose bushes and planting them in her garden...

“Hey, Roswyn. How much longer is this going to take?”

“Ugh... P-please, just a little more time.”

“It’s taking longer than it did with me and Frey.”

“I know, but... j-just wait a bit more.”

“...?”

Irina, her body drenched in cold sweat, furrowed her brows in confusion at the conversation happening in front of her.

“W-why isn’t it working? The code should be right...”

“Try harder.”

“I... I don’t know... I crammed my coding studies, and now it’s all fuzzy...”

None of it made sense.

What the hell are they talking about?

“At first, you knocked me out just fine.”

“That was different... Knocking someone out and retrieving a backup memory file are totally different levels...”

At first, she thought they were speaking in code.

But the more she listened, the more something felt... off.

“Ugh... I don’t get it. Why is there an error...?”

“...No way.”

As she stared intently at Roswyn, a thought crossed Irina’s mind, and her face stiffened.

“The rumored... her ability...”

Roswyn’s eyes were fixed on thin air, flickering rapidly, while her hands moved as if she were typing on an invisible keyboard.

The secret technique Roswyn was rumored to possess—

A technique that no one had ever escaped from.

“Hmm... what should we do, Young Master?”

“...Actually, I just thought of something.”

Feeling uneasy, Irina shifted her gaze toward Kania and Frey, who were whispering to each other while looking at Roswyn.

“...What? Shower her with compliments?”

“Serena told me. That’s how her ability works.”

“...What?”

“If she hears genuine praise, she gets happy. That’s the trick.”

“...?”

“That’s how she truly blossoms, like a flower—”

Irina clenched her fists.

They must have been discussing how to manipulate her after the ritual was complete.

“H-hey... I-I’m really sorry, but can we take a short break...?”

“Of course.”

“Here, have a seat.”

“Huh...?”

Half fearful, half suspicious, Irina watched as an utterly absurd scene unfolded before her.

“Good work, Roswyn. Want a shoulder massage?”

“Your shoulders look really tense.”

“...Huh?”

Frey and Kania had suddenly seated Roswyn in a chair and started treating her like royalty.

“A-aren’t you mad?”

“Hmm?”

“I mean, this is an urgent situation, and I... I was being useless...”

“...”

Roswyn hesitated, lowering her head in guilt.

For a moment, Frey and Kania exchanged glances.

- Srrrk...

“...!”

Then, Frey placed a hand on Roswyn’s head.

“No. You’re doing an incredible job.”

“If my maids were all like you, I’d have nothing to complain about.”

“B-but...”

Caught off guard by their sudden praise, Roswyn’s face turned bright red.

“...R-really?”

She shyly asked.

“Am I really... doing well?”

As Frey and Kania nodded and gently patted her head and shoulders, a smile slowly crept onto Roswyn’s lips.

“Ehehe...”

...Are these people insane?

Irina, who had seriously been wondering if Roswyn was actually the one in charge here, was completely dumbfounded.

“Hmhm... Then, let’s try again. Not like taking a break will change anything...”

“You’re doing great.”

“You’re truly the best, Roswyn.”

“Huhu...”

Watching this ridiculous scene unfold before her, Irina was left utterly speechless.

“Alright, let’s go back to line 2300 and completely rewrite the variable declarations first...”

Ten minutes later, her jaw was still hanging open as she blurted out,

“...Where the hell am I?”

.

.

.

.

.

By a stroke of luck, Roswyn’s mind had returned to normal, and someone using Glare’s name had secretly granted her a coding function within the Helper System.

The so-called “Overwrite” operation, utilizing that function, had been a massive success.

“What...? T-the coronation? That senile old fool?”

“It worked!”

“Irina, are you coming to your senses?”

At first, when she was restoring Frey and Kania’s memories, Roswyn had struggled, her coding knowledge rusty from lack of use.

But thanks to Serena’s whispered advice to Frey about the “power of compliments,” Roswyn managed to enter an Awakened state.

With her original talents fully unleashed, the most broken character in the series effortlessly helped those around her regain their memories.

“F-Frey...! I had a nightmare...!! I—I became a total bitch and tried to stop you...!!”

“I-I dreamt I became the main wife... Hehe...”

“So, what exactly happened?”

Thanks to this, Serena, Clana, and Ferloche joined them less than a day after Irina regained her senses.

“...I had a dream where I suddenly became irrelevant.”

“Woof?”

Isolet and Lulu joined them 12 hours later.

“W-what are you people...?”

“Oh, just stay still for a moment, sis.”

“Right, she was the Demon King, wasn’t she?”

“Roswyn, I think we really need to hurry this time...”

“Aaaaah, I get it, I get it! Just hold on a second...”

And when all of them combined their efforts to temporarily subdue Ruby, giving Roswyn the chance to restore her memories—

Less than two days had passed.

“So... what do we do now?”

“...”

Thus, Frey and the heroines found themselves seated in a row at the highest level of the burning Demon King’s castle.

“All of our memories are back, but... what do we do now?”

“That’s... um...”

“We don’t know either.”

“...Huh?”

Ruby, who had just regained her senses, stared blankly at Roswyn.

“Hey, you must have some kind of solution, right?”

“J-just a moment... I’m a little busy right now...”

“Hmm, how about structuring the code like this this time?”

But Roswyn, having somewhat grasped programming now, was deep in discussion with Serena, rapidly typing away.

“Cough! Cough!!”

“Everyone, Young Master is coughing up blood again.”

“Oh, I guess this wasn’t it...”

“Let’s heal him first.”

What they were desperately struggling with was Frey’s “penalty.”

Due to the system’s reimposed penalties against the False Hero, a total of eight stacks were about to explode at once, and Roswyn and Serena were doing their best to hold them back.

“From what I can tell, it seems like a parallel world recreating the past has become our Ordeal.”

Watching their desperate struggle and Frey’s awkward, bloody coughing, Ruby alternated her gaze between them before finally speaking up.

“...Then, doesn’t that mean the way to end this Ordeal is clear?”

The moment she finished, everyone’s eyes turned toward Ruby.

“If Frey kills me—“

“”No!””

Simultaneously, everyone objected.

“Tsk.”

“Ow.”

Ruby grumbled in annoyance, rubbing her head where Frey had flicked it.

“I’d still be willing to die for you a few more times if necessary...”

“You’ll really get scolded, you know?”

“...Sorry.”

Though Ruby smirked at Frey’s stern voice, she truly meant what she had said.

Even after everything was over, the countless deaths she had endured remained vividly burned in her mind. But she chose not to erase them.

She wanted to forever remember that she had loved this man.

So, for Frey’s sake, she would gladly throw herself into the flames again.

“...”

And it wasn’t just her.

Due to the side effects of Roswyn’s Overwrite operation, which briefly restored memories from the previous cycles, the others also remembered.

“...I was truly devoted, wasn’t I?”

“Huh?”

“Hehe... Never mind.”

Serena, recalling how she had always been hopelessly devoted to Frey across countless regressions, was able to shake off her lingering nightmare with ease.

“Young Master, I respect you even more now.”

“That’s right! Frey is amazing!”

“...Ferloche, you too.”

“Huh?”

The others, having now experienced firsthand even a fraction of the suffering that Frey and Ferloche had endured across countless cycles, gained a new understanding.

And through that understanding, the bonds of love and friendship they had formed—

“You must have been through so much, Ferloche.”

“Come here. Let me give you a hug.”

“...H-huh?”

“Frey, you too.”

“W-wait, what?”

Like Ruby’s choice not to erase her memories,

Like Serena’s unwavering, single-minded love,

Their feelings would remain forever.

.

.

.

.

.

“Roswyn, how’s the situation?”

“Ah, Frey.”

As the sudden embrace came to an end, I approached Roswyn, my hair completely disheveled.

After regaining my memories in this strange parallel world, I had already been briefed by Roswyn on the situation.

A power struggle between the System and the Magic Tower Master.

The fact that the Magic Tower Master had pulled off something of this scale was surprising, but so was the System’s ability to buy this much time in a world without a Main God.

Or rather, since it’s borrowing the kid’s name, should I call it Glare?

“I think we’ve reached a stalemate.”

“A stalemate?”

“Yes, because we regained our memories in the middle of the Ordeal... We’re refusing to let it reach a conclusion.”

“...So there’s no happy ending or bad ending.”

“Yes, exactly.”

Scratching my head as I listened to Roswyn’s explanation, I realized the situation had taken an interesting turn.

There were terms I couldn’t quite grasp—dummy data, firewalls, and whatnot—but it wasn’t entirely beyond my understanding either.

The Magic Tower Master needed this world to reach a bad ending to achieve her goal of “reversing time,” while the System—and we—needed a happy ending to prevent that.

“So, in the end, we have to achieve a happy ending...”

“Th-that’s the part we don’t know how to do.”

And that was the problem.

The only way to trigger an “ending” in this world was by killing the Demon King.

But with everyone now knowing the truth about Ruby, killing her could never be considered a happy ending.

In other words, we were stuck in a deadlock.

“Wh-what do we do...?”

“...”

Well, on the surface, at least.

“The solution is surprisingly simple.”

“Huh?”

We’ve already made the impossible possible.

If we’ve succeeded once, why wouldn’t we be able to do it again?

“We go after the mastermind behind this mess.”

“O-oh! That makes sense!”

We had already overturned fate and defeated an otherworldly being that had invaded from beyond.

“Open a portal to where Glare and the Magic Tower Master are.”

“Yes, then...”

All we had to do now was something similar—only slightly easier.

“Uh, um.”

“Hm?”

At my request, Roswyn stared blankly into the air for a moment before quickly typing away.

“...I really am an idiot, aren’t I?”

“What are you talking about?”

Then, she suddenly stopped typing, giving me a bitter smile as she asked that question.

“If I had just accepted the flower, everything would have been solved so easily.”

“...”

Hearing that, I let out a small chuckle and replied,

“No, you’re wrong.”

“Huh?”

“You were the lock, Roswyn.”

“...?”

Roswyn blinked, tilting her head in confusion.

She could master coding like a genius, yet at times like these, she seemed so clueless.

Well, that was part of her charm—Roswyn always excelled at what she put her mind to, but only in fields she considered herself good at.

It explained why she had single-handedly mastered coding: she had read in a book about overcoming depression that praising yourself internally was the key, and she had taken that advice to heart.

Looks like I’ll have to keep complimenting her from now on, so she doesn’t end up befriending a brick wall.

“If you had accepted the flower, Ruby would have died for sure.”

“Ah...”

“You were the only one in this world who still remembered her. That’s why, whether you realized it or not, you kept refusing to take the flower.”

I meant what I said, though I wasn’t entirely certain.

Maybe her subconscious did prevent her from taking the flower... or maybe not.

After all, even Serena couldn’t predict the mysteries of human subconsciousness.

“Hehe...”

But watching Roswyn smile shyly and continue typing, I suddenly felt like I knew the real answer.

“Good job, good job...”

“Hehe...”

As I kept patting Roswyn’s head, her grin stretched from ear to ear.

“...Ah, but...”

Then, suddenly, she looked at me hesitantly and muttered in a small voice,

“Now that I think about it... this won’t work.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Actually, I had a similar idea when I was talking to Serena earlier... But we concluded that it was impossible.”

Seeing my puzzled expression, Roswyn explained in a dejected tone.

“They’re in a higher dimension... And only higher beings can enter.”

“Ah.”

So that was the issue—eligibility.

“K-Kania doesn’t have enough divinity to go... And Ruby gave up her qualifications herself...”

“Don’t worry.”

“...Huh?”

I hadn’t expected to receive an offer from the Star God like this.

Could it be that when she secretly came to me the night before the coronation, she already foresaw how things would unfold?

...No, that’s ridiculous.

It must just be a coincidence.

“Have you set the coordinates, Roswyn?”

“Y-yes. But I’m telling you, without divinity—“

- Crackle...!

“W-wait, what?”

As soon as I finished preparing, I timed it perfectly with Roswyn’s movements, releasing my Stellar Mana for the first time in ages.

“Young Master? Y-your Stellar Mana...”

“You... Since when did you get your Stellar Mana back?”

The others, quick to pick up on the shift, immediately turned their attention toward me.

“...So we don’t need the stamina recovery magic anymore?”

““Slurp.””

Some of their reactions sent chills down my spine, but that wasn’t the focus right now.

“...?”

“There’s something... different about your energy...”

I noticed Ruby and Irina tilting their heads in confusion.

“...Young master?”

“You... Something about you feels different.”

“The energy in your body... It’s not mana.”

Sharp as ever.

One by one, they began to sense the anomaly.

Honestly, their intuition never failed them.

“Guys, I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Huh? Where are you—“

I smiled warmly at them, stepping into the portal before anyone could try to follow.

- Crackle... Sizzle...

Stellar Mana.

No... it could no longer be called Stellar Mana.

As I felt the energy surging through my body, I realized the Star God had been right.

The reason my Stellar Mana had vanished was because my divinity was awakening.

Was Glare stalling for time, waiting for this very moment?

“...Hmm.”

Well, whatever.

Stepping into the portal, I paused briefly, deep in thought.

“...Maybe I should check.”

There was something I wanted to confirm.

I had already achieved my life’s purpose—a happy ending for everyone.

All I wanted now was to spend peaceful, mundane days with my loved ones.

And yet... I had somehow surpassed the limits of humanity, even awakening my own divinity.

Just what kind of being was I now?

“...Haha.”

Half out of curiosity, half out of certainty, I opened my System for the first time in ages.

“As expected.”

I let out a lighthearted chuckle and stepped through the portal.

[Name: Frey Raon Starlight]

[Abilities: Strength – Unmeasurable / Mana – Unmeasurable / Intelligence – Unmeasurable / Mental Strength – Unmeasurable]

[Passive Status: Awakening Star God’s Divinity]

[Goodness Stat: Unmeasurable]

Everything had changed... except for one thing.

Silently watching over me, as always.

[Disposition: Hero]