I Married the Beautiful Female Protagonist In Order To Survive

30. Hope and Despair

“Hee hee hee~ hahaha!”

“Giggiggiggi hahahaha!”

Time seemed to freeze, but this time, it wasn’t me voluntarily leaving the “chessboard,” but rather… being “shouted” out by the bizarre laughter emanating from the fairy across from me, the kind of laughter that simply shouldn’t come from a cute little girl.

As far as I could see, Horus, the fairy named “Hope,” was as if possessed, making strange and disgusting sounds as she slapped the table, knocked on the chair, and tapped the chess pieces in her hand incessantly. She was so excited that she could barely control her movements and expressions, revealing a face that could only be described as “ferocious.”

“As expected, this is what chess is like~ As expected, this is the result I wanted~ Hahaha! Didn’t expect it, did you?”

“Controller of Order, how about this move? Was it outside your expectations? Hahaha~ My hidden hand was here all along!”

Faced with this fairy who was so happy that she was about to roll on the floor, I had no choice but to respond with silence.

After all… I really did lose a step to her!

Just now, on the chessboard, Uncle had clearly succeeded in reaching an opportunity to be with Auntie. In my opinion, it was only a matter of time before they were together. The “counterattack” and “obstruction” Horus made – Henry III – could no longer prevent the two from being together. But who would have thought, just when I felt I could relax and enjoy a love confession scene that would surely be a little cheesy…

At a moment when neither Zérola nor Fíora, nor even the Great British Empire, had any defenses, Ludwig, the white-haired elf who had been spending his days lazily since enrolling, jumped out and did… what he liked to do most – seek out strong people and take their power.

Everything… seemed to happen without a hitch, but the fairy’s ear-splitting laughter told me this was all part of her plan!

That nagging feeling I had, that Henry III had “lost too easily,” perhaps he was just bait!? Was this the moment Horus was waiting for!?

“First game, you… lost!”

Horus’ words sliced through the air, like a blade scraping against my eardrum!

“Or rather, how *could* you win? Focusing solely on our pieces within the confines of the board, neglecting those unbidden, untamed. This isn’t merely a duel between you and me, overlooking the grand scheme… did you *truly* expect to win? Hehehe~”

How could a result caused by “third-party” interference be considered a “defeat”!? Yet, in that instant, my instinctive reach for the script sent my heart plummeting, extinguishing the flicker of anger that had begun to ignite within me!

The script… I couldn’t see it!?

No, it was more than that, I couldn’t even summon it. The script’s power offered no response, as if it was just some childish fantasy I was concocting in my mind!

Then it hit me! It wasn’t that I couldn’t see the script, it was… gone!

An icy chill consumed me. I spun around!

Philo stood behind me, eyes closed, but the figure beside her… had vanished. The Order Fairy… was gone!

The chill, the fear, morphed into a nightmare! Because, at that very moment, the “Hope Fairy” was being remarkably “generous,” offering a “well-intentioned” reminder.

“Looking for something?”

“!”

I turned back to see Horus. Her black and white attire seemed to meld together, shifting between pure white and pitch black. Her hair, her garments, even the fairy symbols in her eyes, twisted and merged in sync.

“The contents of the board have shifted. Zerola and Philola can no longer give rise to Kephiel. Without Kephiel as a vessel, Order will not exist in your time, hee…”

Everything confirmed my worst fears! This game… was determining the facts of “the past,” the “fate” of my “present” era!

Using Uncle as a “pawn,” a single misstep, had yielded consequences… I couldn’t bear. Kephiel simply did not exist! Taking with her the Order Fairy, or rather… the greatest strength I possessed, the one capable of standing against the Hope Fairy before me, was gone as well!

The implications of this “game”… were far more profound than I had imagined!

“Heeheehee… hahaha! Order is gone!

Horus doubled over with laughter, a laughter that seemed like it was bursting forth, after being suppressed. At times she was almost serious, trying to feign pity, but soon after, the joy of mocking and ridiculing me took over.

Her hat fell off, her clothes were cast aside, and her once-white hair flickered between black and white, eventually… merging into a grotesque blend of the two.

Finally, she leaned over the table, her barely-there attire bringing her face to my own.

“Euclid, hold onto your hope~ woo… pfft, hahahaha! No wife, no power, everything is gone, you can obtain nothing. Are you in despair now?”

For a moment, I was lost for words, because… I felt as if I wasn’t looking at one fairy, but… two!

Then, Philo, the one who had managed to ground me, and keep me from freaking out too much, finally spoke. Her words at least cooled my panic at the Order Fairy and Kephiel being “gone.”

“‘King,’ ‘Hope’ and ‘Despair’ arise together… they are one, yet they are always together.”

“Heeheehee~ hahahaha~ Is that so? That’s right!”

The fairy before me finally pulled back, resuming her seat! But this time, her appearance was different!

Her eyes, her hair, her clothing, even… the feeling she gave off, was as if a small but noticeable amount of “darkness” had been mixed into a field of light, becoming half-black, half-white, half-true, half-false, half-good, half-evil…

A Hope, A Despair!

“Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Horus~ representing beautiful hope. However…if you yourself harbor no hope, then I can also be your ‘Despair’. Now then, controller of order, surely you will endure longer than those tedious creatures, no?”

“Cling to your hope, do not succumb to despair. Only then…can we continue! Lest this chessboard before us become utterly meaningless!”

“Of course~ you…cannot allow it to become meaningless either. Because, if Keffier had never existed from the very beginning, what qualifications…would you possess to be alive…until…now? Hee hee hee ha ha ha!”

Which side of her…am I seeing now?

One thing is certain, though: the “Hope” Horus hides daggers in her smile, the “Despair” Horus mocks and taunts. Neither harbors anything resembling “good intentions”. From the very beginning…she has been dragging me into a “battle” she excels at!

This is a game, this is a gambit, if I lose…not only me, but even Keffier, will vanish without a trace!

“Come!”

In the next moment, Horus slammed a chess piece down onto the board!

“Let us begin ‘Round Two’! Before even a shred of ‘hope’ remains within you, I am more than willing to gamble away everything’ with you!”

The New Year is almost here. There are no deliveries. I feel like I am going to starve to death.