The smell of blood in the courtyard was so thick it would not disperse.
It mixed with the scent of soil and moss, forming a sickening sweetness.
Godrick’s massive corpse lay there quietly, like a small hill.
Rogier was supporting Nepheli.
Her face was as pale as paper. Her breathing was weak, but still relatively steady.
“Our mission here… is over,” he said, panting. He himself had also used up a great deal of strength. “We need to return to the Roundtable Hold and rest.”
Loran nodded.
The two of them said nothing more.
Supporting each other, they dragged their exhausted bodies forward and vanished into golden teleportation light.
Only Loran, Kiro, and Roderika remained in the courtyard.
“Tch. What a troublesome woman.”
Kiro looked in the direction where Nepheli had disappeared and curled her lips.
“She nearly threw her life away just to get one more hit in. I really don’t understand how you warrior types think.”
Loran glanced at her panel.
[Kiro’s Affection toward Nepheli: 0 → +10]
[Status: Unable to Understand / Slight Respect / Competitive Awareness]
As for her Affection toward the other “teammate,” the change was even more dramatic.
[Kiro’s Affection toward Roderika: -50 → +30]
[Status: Seeing Her in a New Light / Tool Certification: Advanced / Slight Wariness]
From negative fifty to positive thirty.
A huge leap.
For Kiro, the standard by which she judged a person had always been simple and brutal.
Are you useful?
Can you bring me fun?
With that dazzling chain of explosions, Roderika had perfectly answered both questions.
A teammate who could provide powerful fire support was clearly far more valuable than a burden who could only cry.
However, Roderika’s attention was not on Kiro.
From the moment the battle ended, her gaze had been…
Stuck on Loran.
It was a complicated gaze mixed with gratitude, worship, and shyness.
He was the one who had pulled her out of the swamp of self-loathing.
He was the one who had given her the identity of a perfumer.
He was the one who had helped her find meaning in battle.
In her eyes, Loran was not merely a companion.
He was her guide.
Her savior.
In Loran’s vision, that pink icon appeared again.
[Name: Roderika]
[Identity: Apprentice Perfumer]
[Affection: +80 toward Loran]
[Status: Extreme Worship / Dependence / Love]
He saw the lace-decorated [Confession] option begin to beat violently in his vision, like a heart.
Once.
Then again.
It flickered with an ominous pink light.
Some invisible force seemed to be guiding his will, urging him to press that button.
Loran clenched his teeth.
His fingers curled up inside his consciousness, resisting that temptation with all his strength.
He could not press it.
Absolutely not.
He no longer wanted to experience that kind of socially fatal scene again.
Nor did he want to receive another inexplicable title.
He was afraid.
However, just as he was using all his strength to resist the system’s temptation, he saw the UI above Roderika’s head flicker.
[Detected that player “Loran” has failed to respond to the “threshold event” for an extended period.]
[Activating backup plan: NPC behavior correction.]
[Correction Direction: Increase target “Roderika’s” initiative.]
Loran’s heart sank.
He saw Roderika, who had been lowering her head with flushed cheeks, suddenly take a deep breath.
Then, she raised her head, met Loran’s gaze, and took one step forward.
“Mr. Loran…”
Her voice was not loud, but it was unusually clear.
“I… I have something I would like to say to you alone.”
Kiro, who was standing off to the side, keenly caught the ambiguous atmosphere suddenly rising in the air.
First, she froze.
Then she looked at Roderika, whose face was completely red.
Then she looked at Loran, whose expression had gone stiff.
A wicked smile appeared on her face, the kind that said she was ready to watch a good show.
“Ohhh—”
She dragged out the sound, smiling with obvious ill intent.
“So you two have something private to say?”
As she spoke, she tactfully backed away.
At the same time, she winked at Loran with an expression that clearly said, “Bro, not bad.”
“Fine, fine. You two take your time. I won’t disturb you.”
She walked over to Godrick’s corpse and, without the slightest politeness, dug out the Great Rune that symbolized a demigod’s power.
“This is mine, then! Consider it my fee for giving you two some space!”
The courtyard became quiet again.
Only the wind remained, whimpering as it passed through the broken walls and ruins.
In the distance, Kiro’s figure had already shrunk into a small dot. She seemed to be studying the excess limbs on Godrick’s corpse with great interest.
Roderika stood in front of Loran, both hands tightly twisting the hem of her Traveling Perfumer Robe.
Her head was lowered.
The red hood almost covered most of her face, revealing only the slightest glimpse of her flushed chin.
“Mr. Loran…”
She opened her mouth, her voice so small that it seemed like it might be blown away by the wind at any moment.
“I… I…”
She repeated “I” for a long time, but still could not say the words that followed.
The confidence and courage she had just built up in battle seemed to have been completely used up at this moment.
[Status: Extremely Nervous / Shy / Summoning Courage]
Loran quietly looked at her.
He did nothing.
He said nothing.
He simply waited.
He knew that under the system’s correction to “increase initiative,” this moment would eventually arrive.
Finally, Roderika seemed to make up her mind.
She suddenly raised her head.
Her cheeks were so red they looked like they might drip blood.
Her clear eyes shimmered with moisture, reflecting Loran’s figure.
“I like you!”
She practically shouted the words.
After shouting them, it was as if all the strength had been drained from her body.
She swayed.
If Loran had not instinctively reached out to support her, she might have collapsed directly onto the ground.
“P-please be my boyfriend!”
When she said this final sentence, her voice weakened again, becoming as thin as a mosquito’s hum.
But every word entered Loran’s ears clearly.
Then, the world changed.
Not in an abstract or sensory way.
But in the literal sense.
Loran’s vision—
Or rather, the Galgame UI that covered his entire world—
underwent a violent change.
The simple panels that had originally displayed only Affection and Status vanished in an instant.
In their place was a pure black background, like the curtain in a movie theater after the lights had gone out.
Then, soft light lit up from the center of the “curtain.”
The light outlined the silhouettes of two people.
One was himself.
The other was Roderika.
In the image, “Loran” was dressed in gorgeous formalwear resembling that of a Carian royal magic knight.
Silver shoulder armor reflected a cool light beneath the soft glow.
His eyes were full of tenderness.
And in his arms, “Roderika” was wearing a pure white princess dress.
Her red hood had been removed, revealing long golden hair.
There was no fear on her face anymore.
Only the complete peace and happiness of resting against the chest of the one she loved.
The background was the courtyard of Stormveil Castle.
But it was no longer a battlefield filled with broken walls and rivers of blood.
It had become a garden blooming with golden sunflowers.
Godrick’s massive corpse was gone.
In its place was a pure white fountain.
Sunlight passed through the clouds, turning into beams of Tyndall light that fell upon the two of them like the blessing of a god.
In the lower right corner of the image, there was a small signature written in feather-pen script.
—The First Embrace
A CG image so beautifully drawn that it was flawless.
This CG occupied Loran’s entire field of vision, completely cutting off the real world.
He could hear his own heartbeat.
He could feel the arm supporting Roderika’s shoulder trembling slightly.
But what he “saw” was only this unrealistically beautiful image before him.
So he really was playing a Galgame…
This thought struck his brain with unprecedented certainty.
Varré’s confession and Sellen’s proposal could still be explained away within the framework of “special communication methods in another world.”
But the CG before him had, in the most brutal way possible, overturned all his lucky excuses.
This was not some high-dimensional world interaction system.
This was a damn Galgame!
[New CG Unlocked: “The First Embrace”]
[CG has been saved to the Album. It may be viewed at any time from the system menu.]
[Special Event Triggered: Crossroads of Fate]
[Option 1: Accept the confession.]
[Effect: Establish a romantic relationship with Roderika. Roderika will gain the special buff “Power of Love” perfumery effects will be enhanced, with a chance to develop exclusive aromatic recipes. The worldline will undergo a major change.]
[Option 2: Reject the confession.]
[Effect: “I thought you were my friend, but you were trying to date me?” Roderika’s Affection will reset to zero. She will enter the “Heartbroken” state. Her mental state will become extremely unstable, with a certain chance of turning dark.]
[Option 3: Give her the “Good Person Card.”]
[Effect: Due to your title “Good Person,” this option has been enhanced. “You’re a good girl, but we’re not compatible.” There is a 95% chance that Roderika will completely give up and view you as an unreachable ideal type, then begin searching for a “substitute.” There is a 5% chance that love will turn into hatred, causing her to walk a wicked path with the sole goal of “making you regret it.”]
The CG image slowly faded away.
The scene of the real world once again occupied his vision.
Roderika was leaning against him, her body trembling slightly from nervousness.
Her face was full of expectation and unease.
Loran looked at her.
Then he looked at the three utterly despair-inducing options in his mind.
For a moment, he truly did not know what to say.