Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode

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“Umm, this seems like an accident…?”

The princess seemed just as flustered as I was, speaking in a restless voice like that.

Until now, I had thought this gigantic thing was the true form of the 2nd princess.

But it’s an ice statue.

This means I’ve been going about this all wrong.

“Apta. Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?”

Apta had spoken nonchalantly, as if she already knew.

Shouldn’t she have told me that we shouldn’t have come here in the first place?

In response to my words, Apta diagonally turned her eyes as if she was thinking about something, then quickly returned to her usual gaze and said.

“Anyway, we had to come here.”

“Anyway?”

“She is inside this.”

Apta exclaimed while pointing at the statue.

At her words, both the princess and I lost our balance for a moment and stumbled.

Wait, then why did she speak so grandly as if it wasn’t crucial to be here?

I thought I was going to have to go around again, and that freaked me out.

So, does this mean that the 2nd princess is inside this statue that looks impossible to pass through?

Oh boy.

Suddenly, the difficulty of the mission skyrocketed.

“Is there really no way to get through this?”

The princess asked Apta, and Apta closed her eyes for a moment before approaching me.

Her hand touched my chest and then came to a stop.

“It’s your turn now.”

“….”

After Apta’s mumble, the energy inside me began to stir violently.

It felt like my skin was being pricked by needles all over.

I sensed my strength gradually fading away.

It felt like the flow of blood in my body was slowing down.

“Mo, my body is glowing….”

As the princess said, my body was shining so intensely that it was almost blinding.

It was a white light mixed with a slight hint of blue.

And gradually, my vision also seemed to be distorting.

Apta, who had a cat-like beauty, was transforming into some strange creature covered in tentacles───

Thud.

Just before an unspeakable emotion was about to overwhelm me, I felt a touch on my back, and the bizarre scene in front of me suddenly returned to normal.

Simultaneously, the cold air that had felt chilling even while wearing protective gear became warm as if wrapped in a layer.

“Umm, no. Leydan shouldn’t just see good things.”

Ah.

A familiar tone and voice reached my ears.

I slowly turned my head to the side.

White hair.

Blue eyes.

And a subtly similar appearance to Apta.

Since my memories returned, the one I had wanted to see the most was standing there.

“Our Leydan is a bit cowardly.”

Oko smiled brightly at me.

As if the decade she had waited for me meant nothing.

Even though it had been a while since we saw each other, it felt completely natural.

“So? Was traveling to another universe a wonderful experience?”

In response to Oko’s question, I tried my best to smile while tears gathered in my eyes.

“No, it was the worst.”

I answered honestly.

At that, she just chuckled lightly.

“… Why have I completely forgotten until now?”

“Oko wanted you to forget. It was a workaround. Erasing your existence temporarily to eliminate any evidence of touching a human. So that unforeseen disturbances wouldn’t occur.”

The princess said with a somewhat troubled expression as if she was in a bind.

It seemed she felt guilty for forgetting Oko, who had helped alleviate the issues that could have led to the fall of the Empire due to Gaia’s schemes.

Regardless, Oko kept looking at me with a heavy gaze.

Perhaps because it had been so long since I last saw her, but it felt like she was scrutinizing me closely.

Oko, who had been frowning at me, twisted her lips and slightly turned her head towards Apta.

“So, who was it that replaced Leydan’s life force?”

“Yzebra Sentich.”

“Oh, that one who turns pain into power?”

“Yeah.”

“So that’s why, your hair is still white.”

Oko said, then looked me up and down before locking her gaze onto my eyes.

The closeness was overwhelming, and I averted my eyes elsewhere out of discomfort.

“But why are your eyes orange?”

“Huh?”

“No, if you swallowed that thing, shouldn’t your eyes be red?”

“Oh, because Zumiya gave Leydan power. It’s mixed with yellow, I guess….”

“Zumiya? What do you mean by that?”

At Oko’s question, Apta seemed to realize she had said something wrong and opened her mouth but quickly diverted her gaze.

No, that crazy divine race.

How can you say that now!?

“Apta.”

“….”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know, look at me.”

“Wuuhh.”

Oko pulled Apta’s cheek to force her to meet her gaze.

“Thanks for doing something amazing. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“….”

“But weren’t there a few specific matters I asked you to make sure of?”

At this, Apta held up three fingers.

“No matter what happens, I won’t talk about Oko until Leydan regains his memories.”

“And?”

“If I can’t find someone to replace Oko’s life force, I’ll just shove someone in instead.”

“… And?”

At Oko’s stare, Apta suddenly folded her last finger and turned away.

“Apta!!”

“….”

“I told you not to get involved with other girls!!!”

Now, Oko grabbed both of Apta’s cheeks and started stretching them like rubber.

“Wubuh, Apuh!”

“What are you thinking, breaking the most important rule among the three, you jerk!!!”

Seeing how Apta’s cheeks were being pulled around, both I and the princess could only blink in surprise.

Then, Oko’s gaze turned sharply towards the princess.

“Don’t tell me you too?”

“….”

“No, we can’t have this! You’re royal, you know!!”

… For a while, Oko’s cries continued.

“Give me a reason for your words that say, ‘there was a reason for everything.'”

“…We need to build a bond by getting closer.”

“But why did you leave it unattended until then?”

“That was because the deputy director sent me on a different task….”

“Huh? Weren’t you supposed to meet with Zumiya earlier? Did you meet another girl too?”

“Oh, Oko, just calm down for a moment.”

At my words, Oko’s eyes burned like blue flames.

She looked like she was about to roar like a tiger but I had to say something.

“First, calm down… How about we put out the urgent fire before we start moving?”

“How can you say that when the one who cheated is standing right in front of me…!”

If I left this unattended, it looked like Oko would keep whining, so I quickly threw my body toward her.

Bam.

I hugged her tightly to prevent her from saying anything.

I could feel her soft touch on every part of my skin, but I tried hard to ignore the warmth.

“Le, Leydan?!”

“…I can’t hold on for too long right now.”

And quickly, I let go of her.

In shock from the sudden situation, Oko’s face turned extremely red, and she waved her arms around.

“When this is over, I’ll hold on longer.”

I said this hoping it would resonate with Oko, although I wasn’t sure if it would….

“Umm, yeah, we need to hurry. Guys, what are you doing? We need to move now.”

Um, sure enough.

It resonates.

So clearly.

Oko’s sudden shift in tone made both Apta and the princess look at her with icy stares.

Though I understood her position, it was so absurd to openly show her affection like that.

Ah.

The three of them gazed at each other.

“Are you saying we just need to get through here? Let’s hurry up and go!”

Yep, they’re ignoring me now.

As always, Oko was the best at wearing a poker face.

“Everyone, let’s go quickly.”

Just as she said that and tried to move forward.

“Leydan, it’s dangerous…!”

Along with Apta’s urgent voice, my body was pushed forward sharply.

As I was pushed, I turned my face back and saw a gigantic ice block falling towards Apta.

“Apta!!!”

 

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