* * *
‘Countdown, my ass.’
It’s not like something good would happen once the affection level hit zero.
Raizen’s affection level was different from a normal affection system.
Even in the system’s explanation, there was a specific note for “certain individuals.”
My gaze naturally drifted to the question mark icon at the top right of the affection window.
“…?”
A tiny “N” was blinking beside the question mark.
‘What’s this?’
Had something been updated?
I reached out and tapped the icon, and a new window popped up.
Most of the contents were as I remembered.
It started with a general explanation of the affection system before moving on to the specific case of Raizen.
There was a long list detailing the brutal interpretations of negative affection levels.
And at the very end, a new line had been added.
[※ Upon reaching an affection level of 0 for a certain individual, the interpretation of ‘+affection’ will be unlocked.]
‘What the hell… is this?’
‘+Affection’?
Affection itself already means a positive feeling toward someone.
This must be because Raizen’s affection level started in the negatives for everyone.
‘So I have to reach affection level 0.’
It was like a secret mission that had arrived without my knowledge.
Since there was no listed reward for unlocking it, it wasn’t exactly a quest.
[Quest:
Achieve an affection level of 0 for Raizen / No separate progress display
Reward: ???]
“…Wow.”
The moment I checked, a quest appeared like it had been waiting for me.
So that’s why he told me to check the affection level?
If that was the case, they could’ve just issued it as a quest from the start…
‘Making me feel things I didn’t need to feel.’
I let out a small sigh and reread the quest.
Without realizing it, my eyes lingered on the words “affection level 0.”
‘What happens when it reaches 0?’
The moment I had the thought, a strange emotion settled in my chest.
I erased the unnecessary curiosity along with it.
‘There must be a reason for this.’
[I’ll apply the full affection system, including the function that detects Raizen’s intent to kill.]
I recalled what Noah had said when we discussed the affection system.
Yeah, this wasn’t really an affection system—it was more like a murder intent detection system for Raizen.
There was no point in attaching meaning to it.
The only thing to do was to complete the quest.
‘-10.’
Back then, I had no idea.
That I would become so fixated on that number.
—Yes… You already suspected it, didn’t you, my dear child?
A low, rough voice echoed from the glowing communication device.
A deep sigh followed, darkening the expression of Duke Pantheon.
“I’m sorry. I should have been more careful.”
—No, it’s not your fault, Duke. Don’t say such things—it pains this old man.
At the words of the former Marquess of Kreveta, Duke Pantheon let out a short laugh.
—You’re not having thoughts like, ‘Am I really doing the right thing?’ again, are you?
Even though they weren’t speaking face-to-face, it was unsettling how well the old man could read him.
Would he become wiser with time and experience as well?
‘I’m not sure.’
But the only thing he could do was to keep trying without giving up.
With that resolution, Duke Pantheon brought up his next topic.
“And… do you remember when I mentioned that the child might have divine power?”
This time, silence followed from the other end.
Duke Pantheon waited patiently for the former Marquess of Kreveta’s response.
It had been a difficult thing to bring up when he secretly visited the Kreveta family last time.
After a moment of silence back then, the former Marquess had asked:
‘Has our child ever unconsciously used magic?’
That was also the part that had weighed on Duke Pantheon’s mind the most.
Though they hadn’t met often, they spoke frequently through the communication device.
Naturally, the topic of conversation always revolved around the children, Raizen and Sean.
—Sean seems to be using magic unconsciously! I saw him levitating his toys while playing!
Children born with magical talent instinctively knew how to manipulate mana.
While they couldn’t perform complex spells, they could at least use basic magic.
But when Duke Pantheon met Sean in person after the carriage accident, something felt different.
He no longer displayed an instinctive use of magic, and his personality was unlike what he had heard.
—Well… He seems a little dazed… and quiet. The doctor said there’s no issue with his intelligence or learning ability, but… Haha, maybe I’m just overthinking it?
Even if he had lost his memories, could his innate tendencies from childhood have changed so drastically?
There were too many things that didn’t add up, but it was impossible to deny Sean’s existence.
The magic detection device had confirmed it multiple times—Sean was real.
—…I remember.
At last, the long-awaited answer came, pulling Duke Pantheon out of his thoughts.
He parted his lips slightly, hesitated no longer, and spoke.
“The child has been confirmed to possess divine power.”
—Ah… I see.
A heavy silence settled between them.
Duke Pantheon clasped his hands together and rested them on his desk.
His deep crimson eyes, fixed on the communication crystal, flickered with unease.
A moment later, a deep sigh echoed through the crystal.
—Perhaps I’ve grown old. Seeing as I’m having sentimental thoughts I never used to entertain.
“Sentimental thoughts…?”
—You must know, Duke. When one fights in a war, there comes a moment—after denying the gods a thousand times—when one ends up believing in them, if only once.
Duke Pantheon understood what the former Marquis of Kreveta was trying to say.
Life and death.
A battlefield offered only those two paths.
Inevitably, people turned to the gods.
Prayed that their comrades would survive the day.
That the goddess of victory would smile upon them.
Yet such hopes were often crushed beneath the relentless assault of the enemy.
The comrade you joked with that morning lay dead by nightfall.
The soldier who loved giving children piggyback rides lost his legs forever.
The gods had not answered their prayers.
The gods had not protected them.
And just when resentment and cynicism had reached their peak—just once—a miracle would happen.
“Yes. There were moments like that. Like miracles… like salvation itself.”
—I began to wonder… if that moment had come to the child. A fleeting, almost delusional thought that perhaps the gods had saved our child and chosen him as their emissary.
The former Marquis of Kreveta let out a quiet chuckle, as if amused by his own words.
But Duke Pantheon could not bring himself to laugh.
Because, perhaps, those words were closer to the truth than mere fancy.
“I’m sorry.”
That was the only thing Duke Pantheon could say.
He could not keep this secret from the former Marquis any longer—not when he had already withheld it from his dear friends, the Kreveta couple.
‘There must be a way.’
When he first spoke of Raizen’s curse, the former Marquis had said as much.
Then he had gone to great lengths to find that way himself.
He had been the one to support Duke Pantheon and his wife, ensuring they did not crumble under the weight of their son’s curse.
Even upon learning that there were no priests left in the temple with divine power, the former Marquis had said:
‘There is no such thing as a problem without an answer. At least, that has been true in the life I have lived.’
And in the end, he had been right.
By some twist of fate, that answer had turned out to be Sean.
—Perhaps… this is destiny.
Destiny. Fate.
Duke Pantheon repeated the word over and over in his mind.
—So don’t burden yourself with needless guilt, Duke. I…
“…….”
—I already owe you too great a debt for protecting and caring for our child, despite knowing the trouble it could bring to your household. And I believe those children… would have been grateful to know that they could help one another.
At the mention of “those children,” Duke Pantheon could not help but think of his long-lost friends—friends he had buried deep in his heart.
Alan and Daisy.
And now, even Lilliana, who had become the Duchess.
The four of them had always been together since childhood.
Dreaming of a future where that would never change.
His jaw clenched unconsciously as he recalled the friends he could no longer see.
“It was only natural. If we had been the ones in trouble, they would have done the same for us.”
—……
“I will protect the child. No matter what.”
From those who orchestrated the attack on the Kreveta couple.
From the decaying, hollow temple. From any other danger that might arise.
“And, just as Alan and Daisy wished, I will help him live the life he desires.”
A quiet, withdrawn child.
The Kreveta couple had kept Sean hidden away, limiting even his contact with their vassals and distant relatives, fearing the spread of baseless rumors.
—Sometimes, it feels like our child left his soul in another world.
Alan had once said that, laughing as if it were a joke.
But beneath that laughter had been nothing but worry and unease.
Eventually, he had started saying that if Sean wished for it, he wouldn’t have to inherit the family—that he should be free to live however he wanted.
Even their father, the former Marquis of Kreveta, had agreed.
—Yes. Please take good care of our child. I’ve already dealt with those fools who ran to the ducal house spouting nonsense about his inheritance. But if anything like that happens again, be sure to let me know.
…So he had found out about that too.
Duke Pantheon let out a faint smile, silently vowing to be more thorough in the future.
“Of course. I’ll see you at the Awakening Ceremony.”
* * *
