The beast-women of the Boreas estate provided meticulous housekeeping services daily. As such, the occupied bedrooms in the mansion were always lit with candlelight before nightfall.
At this moment, the flickering candlelight clearly illuminated the shifting expressions on Alan's face. It wasn't the constipated, conflicted look one might imagine, but rather a complex mixture of shame and self-loathing.
He placed the folded letter, detailing his plans for the Teleport Incident, on the table, but he didn't rush to open it. He just stared at the paper.
The candle burned, and time flowed on.
Alan's hand moved.
He reached into the collar of his shirt and pulled out a necklace. A crystal-clear blue magic stone swayed in the bright candlelight, its light flashing and fading in his eyes.
It was the unlit fire of desire.
A cloud of dust materialized.
[So this is what it means to follow your heart, where thought and action become one?]
Alan silently shook his head.
'No… I'm telling you, can you stop badmouthing me every day? Is this how you treat your host?'
The dust trembled, as if it were laughing.
[Oh? Holding a grudge, are we… Didn't I obediently answer your call last night and serve up a side profile of your long-time online-dating partner, Roxy?]
[What, you fell asleep before you could finish watching? You can't blame me for that, can you?]
Alan pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
'Just be serious, damn it.'
The words danced and dissipated, as if displeased with Alan's command and about to leave.
In the next instant!
It slammed itself right in front of Alan's eyes!
So close!
It looked like it wanted to drill right into his eyeballs to make him 'see' more clearly.
It was incredibly excited!
Like a nosy friend who dashes over to gossip about your love life the second the school bell rings, or like a dog owner who's even more ecstatic than their own Shiba Inu when they see it flirting with another cute puppy.
The dust formed words one by one, at an incredible speed!
[So! Lord Host~ What are you conflicted about today?]
[Let me guess~]
[Was it the name 'Hilda' you wrote down last night? Because of that distant sense of connection from your bloodline? Hmm, I can understand that, which is why I only badmouthed you a little. After all, you haven't seen her in so many years, so it's completely understandable that you want to 'take another look.']
[But you've already decided to 'take another look,' so why do you still look like this?]
[Staring at the necklace?]
[Is it Roxy?]
[But you just saw Roxy last night, so it can't be her, right? After watching her so many times in those one-sided late-night video calls, seeing her draft and redraft her letters, crossing out 'improperly phrased' parts again and again, how could you not know how she feels about you? What's there to be conflicted about?]
[Ah~ so it's…]
[Sylphie!]
[What!! Can't keep up the act anymore?! Have you finally 'noticed' Lady Sylphie's love for you Oh dear, what are you going to do]
The dust scattered before Alan's darkening expression, then suddenly coalesced again!
[Just accept them all, of course! What's there to be conflicted about? You've already been isekai'd, is it even right not to start a harem?]
Reading this, Alan's blood pressure began to soar. He waved his hand to dismiss the dust, but this time, the system panel didn't 'cooperate.' The dust swirled around his hand, remaining steadily in his field of vision.
[What? Feeling a moral burden? Or do you just not know how to start with accepting them both? You want to take a second wife, but you're afraid the first wife won't agree, and if you force it, you're afraid both the first and second wives will leave you, is that it?]
'Shut up.'
[What? Do you have to insist on a first-come, first-served basis? Isn't there a perfectly good template for you to follow?]
[Just do what Rudeus does in the original story. Accept Sylphie first, take advantage of her unconditional tolerance for you, and when the time is right, accept Roxy too. What's so difficult?]
'Shut up.'
[Shut up? Why? Just because you have the locator system doesn't mean you have to go find Roxy, right? Just keep her on the hook and continue your online relationship. Your image is already burned into her eyes; it'll be hard for she to fall for anyone else, right? Isn't it fine to just write a letter every few months to maintain your so-called 'anticipation'? Writing for ten or eight years is nothing unusual, right? After all, her lifespan is long.]
[Don't you want to avoid the disastrous consequences of the Teleport Incident? Then isn't it a good choice to keep Sylphie by your side and raise her? Raise her until she comes of age, then pretend to be impotent and let her make the first move. That shouldn't be a problem, right? After all, you're just 'curing an illness,' aren't you?]
[Then, a quick marriage. While Sylphie is pregnant, find any excuse to go find Roxy, go into a labyrinth or something. After so many years apart, it's only natural for old flames to reignite. What's wrong with making a mistake that all men in the world make? Just do it!]
[Then, take advantage of Roxy's guilt and Sylphie's tolerance for you. Bring Roxy to Sylphie, who already has a child and can't run away, and kneel and beg for forgiveness. You can even offer a divorce! Just say you've wronged her! Let her be the one to say she can accept your harem! Harem achievement unlocked.]
[Perfect! Perfect!!]
[It's too perfect!!]
[See! The script is already written for you, so you…]
[What are you still hesitating for!?]
Alan slammed his hand on the table.
'Shut up!'
He pointed at his own eyes and said, word by word, 'If it weren't for your fucking quest, I would have left with Roxy from Buena Village! It's been over a year since I've seen her, and now you want me to avoid her for another eight fucking years? To make it an even ten so I can get a two-for-one achievement? Do you think this is fun? Do you think having a girl on each arm makes you look so cool?'
The system had completely broken through his defenses. Alan ran a hand messily through his hair.
'Are you playing a gal game? Do you think this is a game or a novel? I see Roxy and Sylphie clearly! They're not paper! They're not pictures! They have flesh and blood, they have their own thoughts! Their feelings are passionate! They are living, breathing people! Taking advantage of guilt? Taking advantage of tolerance? Fuck you! Are you even human?'
[Actually, I'm not.]
'Even if you're not, fuck you!'
[You're triggered.]
At these words, Alan's expression froze. He then took a deep breath to calm himself.
The panel floated in front of Alan's face, as if pacing back and forth.
[Whether I'm human or not is unimportant.]
[What's important is…]
'It,' ethereal as smoke, drifted to Alan's ear, as if whispering to him.
[What do you do now?]
[You want to respect them? And you want to respect yourself?]
[So, are you going to continue to be indifferent to Sylphie's passionate gaze? Or are you going to accept her love and write a letter to explicitly reject Roxy?]
[Hmm?]
[Which will you choose?]
Alan was silent for a long time.
[Falling into the valley was the first time. The room in the Greyrat house was the second. The dawn after the rainy night assassination was the third.]
[Third time's the charm.]
[You might as well count how many times you, you scumbag, have been moved by Sylphie.]
[Hide it?]
[I just want to ask you, Alan.]
The dust stopped, swirling slowly in front of Alan.
It issued an inquiry from the 'soul.'
[Can you.]
[Still hide it?]
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