The Heroines All Want to Kill Me

I had been quietly watching Frey, who lay unconscious in bed, unable to open his eyes, for hours. "What on earth is going on..." When I pressed him about what had happened yesterday, he suddenly spat out blood and fainted. How could this be? 'Frey doesn't have any pre - existing illnesses...' I racked my brain, trying to recall past memories, but in previous reincarnations, he had never fallen ill like this. So, why did he suddenly vomit blood and pass out this time? '...Could it be related to what he does to me every night?' By using the black magic "Hidden Eye" to observe his actions these past few days, I noticed that every night he would place his hand on my abdomen, close his eyes, and concentrate for a long time. Then, with a tired look, he would stroke the cat I possessed, sigh deeply, and stagger back to his own bed. Since I was with him all day, I had observed him closely, but apart from that, I hadn't noticed any other suspicious behavior. So, the blood handprints on the dormitory sheets, the blood he spat out when he attacked me last time and early this morning, and his current comatose state were likely related to what he did to me every night. But what exactly was he doing to me every night? Until recently, I had thought it was some kind of unknown black magic. Because if Frey had been an accomplice of the Demon King from the start, he might have been using some method to extract black magic from my body, either to do evil or offer it to the Demon King. Then, in the previous reincarnation, the reason my physical condition deteriorated to that extent was that he had been secretly doing those things all along. Frey Rahn Starlight didn't have the ability to heal my body but rather the ability to destroy it. In the end, just as he had said when he attacked me, Frey had never regarded me as a housekeeper, a servant, or even a human being... He had only seen me as a tool. 'It should have been like that...' This was my speculation until now. However, what happened yesterday began to completely shatter this speculation. Yesterday, he appeared in a black robe and a mask and saved me from the demons. If it was just to protect the tool or storage for extracting black magic power, he would never have been willing to endure a fatal wound with a blade piercing through his back. If he didn't consider me as a person, but just a tool as usual, he would never have done such a thing. '...And what on earth was that power?' Frey Rahn Starlight was weak. In the previous reincarnation, he had unknowingly been called the shame of the Starlight family. Because he couldn't properly use the "Starlight Magic Power" passed down through generations in the Starlight family, his martial arts skills were abysmal, and his magic power was almost non - existent. Yet, this very him had subdued Isolte, who was known as the next - generation Sword Saint. Although I woke up from my coma and only saw the moment Isolte fell, it was certain that Frey was holding the sword in a reverse grip at that time. That is to say, he was actually a master skilled enough to defeat a Sword Saint with a reverse - grip sword.

"........" I stared at Frey, who was still lying silently with his eyes closed, and softly asked, "Why... did you protect me?" "Why did you hide your strength?" "And why... were you crying so sorrowfully?" After throwing out these questions that were destined to go unanswered, my thoughts returned to what had happened early this morning. Yesterday, for some reason, I thought he seemed to like the doll I made. Perhaps he would be careless and leave some clues, so I left the cat - shaped doll he slept with on the table. When he placed his hand on my abdomen, trying to do something, he vomited blood again. I couldn't help but suspect once more: wasn't this some kind of black magic? However, due to the lack of conclusive evidence, I could only feel regret secretly.

"...Little cat, so many things happened today."

'...Well, he started talking to himself.' Just as Frey was wiping the blood he had spat on the ground, he suddenly picked up the doll I possessed and began to complain about fate. It seemed that my plan had worked perfectly.

"If I were to tell everything, it would probably be dawn... Anyway, I was on the verge of death at least three times."

'...Could that man really be Frey?' As he was recounting what seemed to have happened yesterday, my suspicion that he was the masked man at the auction grew stronger...

"And... I also read a sincere letter from my father. At that time, I really almost cried... But I held it back. Because, I'm the hero."

'...The hero?' He suddenly mentioned the word "hero." While I was secretly puzzled by this puzzling statement, he suddenly muttered in a trembling voice.

"...To be honest, I'm so tired. So tired that I feel like I'm going to die. But what can I do? I'm the hero. I can only keep going desperately."

'....!' Frey, who said these words, was already in tears. It was a look of extreme sadness that I had never seen in the previous reincarnation. I trembled instantly, sensing something was wrong, but he just clung to me tightly and cried sadly. He held me and cried for a long time, and finally staggered back to his own bed. Thanks to that, I was trapped in the cat's body all night and could only sink into deep thought.

"...Could it be that everything really has a reason?" After a long night of thinking, the conclusion I reached was a new hypothesis - every one of his actions had a reason. His claim to be a hero and his miserable crying, if there was no reason, were really hard to explain. He looked so pitiful and lonely. Therefore, I planned to ask him the truth this morning. What was the reason for what he did to me every night? What was the reason for hiding his strength? Why did he always vomit blood?... And why, in such a lonely and sad situation, did he have to do those ugly things? However, when I tried to ask, such a situation occurred.

'...Time is running out.' I was determined to officially make plans with the Princess and the Saintess to completely defeat and kill Frey starting from tomorrow. Therefore, before it was too late, I had to find out the truth about Frey Rahn Starlight. Whether it was to continue hating him and push him towards death, or to understand his situation and at least let him stay alive, I needed to make a decision.

——Sigh... Thinking of this, I quietly stretched out my hand and summoned a large amount of black energy from the void. This black energy was the black magic needed for a "curse more terrifying than death" that I had decided to give him on the first day of my return. Since I suspected that Frey was stealing my black magic power, I had been pouring a large amount of the black magic power accumulated in my body into the sub - space every day for storage. If he was really stealing my black magic power, if I didn't save and transfer it bit by bit in advance, I might not have enough black magic power left to cast the curse in the future.

'...With this, it should be enough.' I planned to use this black magic power now to潜入 Frey's subconscious to find the truth. Although Frey claimed to be a direct descendant of the Star Hero and had absolute resistance to mind - control magic since the last reincarnation... But the subconscious was ultimately something that couldn't be fully guarded against. The subconscious space, as the name implies, was an unknown territory... If it could resonate with the aura of black magic, it could be easily penetrated. And even Frey, who had a strong resistance to mental attacks, wouldn't be able to detect the invasion at all, let alone respond. Because this advanced black magic wasn't an ordinary mental attack that "attacked" the consciousness but a magic that "visited" the other person's subconscious. Of course, precisely because of this, it also had its drawbacks. In the subconscious, I might encounter any unknown dangers. Since the medium for visiting the subconscious was the dark aura of black magic, the ugliness and darkness deep in the other person's heart would be materialized and emerge from all directions. And the "Manager" I encountered there would try to tempt me to sink into unconsciousness forever. Of course, since I had invaded other people's unconsciousness many times, I knew how to use magic power to resist or restrain the Manager... But even so, it was definitely a place where one couldn't afford to be careless.

- Rustle... While recalling these precautions, I injected the black magic into the unconscious Frey. Then, I suddenly stopped and fell into deep thought.

「If I use this here, I won't be able to impose the curse more terrifying than death on him...」This was the insurance I had prepared for the worst - case scenario. If I used all my power to invade his unconsciousness... Even if I exhausted the rest of my life, I wouldn't be able to cast that curse anymore. I agonized over this for a moment and finally gritted my teeth and muttered in a low voice.

"...Even without that curse, there are many ways to take revenge." Just like that, after I transferred all the black magic that could keep Frey stable for several months to him, I gently closed my eyes and began to resonate with his subconscious.

"Although I'm a bit reluctant to use the black magic... But it's my own thing after all, so it should be okay to use it, right?" Just like that, with a hint of regret, I was sucked into his subconscious.

.....Something was wrong.

"...Isn't it too bright around here?" A person's subconscious was supposed to be dark and full of all kinds of strange things. However, this space was bright and sacred.

"Could the magic have failed... No, that's impossible." I had poured all the black magic I had painstakingly collected day after day on the verge of death into it. The spell formula was also perfect. Judging from the resonance of my black magic, this was indeed the subconscious world. But why was it so bright here?

"Th - that..."

".....!!!" While thinking this, I nervously looked around. Suddenly, I heard a human voice coming from below and was so scared that I quickly stepped back.

"...Who are you?"

"Ah, hello, sister..." However, what appeared in front of me was a child. I eyed the child suspiciously for a while and then cautiously asked, "...Could you be the manager of the subconscious?"

"...Yes!" The child replied with a bright smile.

"However, how did you get here...!"

"...Don't move." Immediately after, I bound the little guy tightly with magic chains.

"Cough! Cough! I - I can't breathe...!"

"..." The little guy - no, the young - looking Frey, looked rather pitiful, gasping for breath. But in front of the manager of the subconscious, one must never let down their guard. Once relaxed, one might be defeated by the manager and be trapped in the other person's subconscious forever. Most of the managers I had encountered had tried to do this.

"...You are forbidden to harm me. You are forbidden to lie to me. You must obey my orders."

"Y - yes..." Therefore, the basic rule for dealing with the manager of the subconscious was to impose a triple constraint with magic power: first, to make it unable to attack me; second, to make it only tell the truth to prevent deception; third, to make it obey orders so that I could subdue it with a single word in an emergency.

"...Woo - ah!" When I removed the magic chains I had imposed, the little Frey, who had fallen to the ground, looked at me in fear and began to slowly back away. But I didn't feel sorry for him at all. Because when I first entered the Duke's mansion, he had bullied and abused me in this very way. So, from my perspective, he was nothing but disgusting.

"Now answer my questions."

"...Y - yes!"

"...Why did Frey protect me yesterday?" When I asked the question, the young him rolled his eyes and then said.

"...Because I wanted to save you."

"Why?"

"Because you, who are important, were in a life - threatening crisis, and Frey wanted to save you."

"...?" I couldn't understand. Why on earth was he doing this?

"...I really can't understand."

"...What?"

"Frey, he regards me as a tool... He wants to use me. How could such a person truly cherish me?"

"...That's not true." Hearing my words, he tilted his head and replied.

"...Frey doesn't regard you as a tool, nor does he use you."

"..."

"...On the contrary, he loves you."

"....!" Hearing these words, I bit my lip tightly.

"...Where do you see that as love?"

"Um, well..."

"If he really loves me, then tell me, what has he done for me? At least something that I can accept." I said angrily. The young him began to hesitate. I gave him a cold smile and started to taunt...

"See? There's nothing, right? He has never treated me well. You're just a pretentious and annoying little brat. So, stop acting and show your true nature..."

"For example... Whether it was last time or this time, he gave you his own life force to save you..."

"...What?" After the little guy replied timidly, I stopped talking and asked in astonishment.

"...Are there several other things? Do you want me to continue?"

"...!" As I listened to what he said next, I instinctively realized... that I was the one who was wrong.

....."........"

"Th - that... Are you okay?" My mind went blank. The story I heard from the young - looking Frey, the manager of the consciousness, was simply unbelievable. What was shocking was the reason why Frey loved me. His destiny as a hero. The hero's weapon that could only be awakened by committing evil deeds. If Frey didn't destroy the world first and then return, the world would be destroyed by the Demon King. The pseudo - villain system that Frey possessed. And...

"Just like that, in the end, Frey, who had fully awakened the hero's weapon, would face off against the Demon King."

"..."

"In that battle, Frey used the fully awakened hero's weapon to defeat the Demon King, but due to the side effects of the hero's weapon, he eventually... not long after..."

"...That's enough."

"...All his life force would be exhausted. According to the words of the previous hero recorded in the prophecy book... After that, Frey fell weakly to the ground. Only then did the heroines, who finally realized everything, grab him and start crying..."

".....That's enough."

"...Frey looked at them with a brighter smile than ever before, and then..."

"....Stop talking!!!!!""But, but..."

"I'm sorry... Please don't talk about that part anymore... Please..."

"....." After my earnest plea, the young Frey was forced to close his mouth due to the pre - imposed magic constraints. Of course, this child was just telling the truth... But if I listened any further, my mind might break down and be swallowed up by the unconsciousness, so I had no choice.

"...I have a question."

"...Yes."

"In the previous round, when I committed suicide in front of him... What was his reaction?"

"...That was the fifth time he cried in his life."

"...The fifth time?" Hearing that it was the fifth time he cried, I couldn't believe it and asked about other situations. The young Frey slowly began to tell.

"The first time was when Isolte was found as a cold corpse in the academy."

"...I see."

"That was the first time Lord Frey lost someone close to him, and he almost gave up on the evil deeds he had originally planned to carry out."

"...And the second time?"

"The second time was when the Demon King's army occupied the imperial city. In order to buy time for the Princess to escape, Frey's fiancée resisted to the death and was eventually brutally killed by the Demon King. At that time, all Frey could do was bury her body - that poor figure abandoned in the corner - in the ground."

"Th - the third... time... is...?"

"The third time was when Irina Filiard was torn to pieces and died after inflicting a fatal wound on the Demon King. At that time, not even a body was left... He could only collapse and sit in that pool of blood, crying for a long time."

"...You can tell the rest yourself."

"The fourth time was when Pelosh sent the imperial subjects onto the ship and stayed on the land to block the Demon King's army and died; the fifth time was you, and the sixth time was when he personally offered the Princess as a sacrifice."

"...Ha." It was almost unimaginable how much mental pain he had endured at that time. And did I actually call him disgusting in front of such a person and then commit suicide?

"The seventh time... was when he had his last meal with his father before perishing together with the Demon King."

"..."

"At that time, Frey put as painless a poison as possible in his father's meal and ate silently. His father suddenly looked at him, showed a faint smile, and then closed his eyes... Frey lay on the dining table and cried for a long time."

"...And then, he perished together with the Demon King... and returned, right?"

"...Yes. And you've already seen the 8th time he cried, right?" After the young Frey finished speaking, a long silence filled the air.

"...So, is it because he gave me too much life force that Frey is unconscious now?"

"....."

"Could it be that I always thought the life force he injected was my own and turned it into black magic and used it recklessly?"

"Um, well..."

"Even though it was like this, I thought he was stealing my life force and even planned to hate him and kill him... How...""...That's a system punishment." I laughed self - deprecatingly. Suddenly, the young Frey interrupted my self - talk.

"If the identity of the pseudo - villain is exposed, the lifespan and life force will be greatly reduced. In that case... the clearance rate will also drop significantly..."

"Woo...!"

"...Sister?" Hearing those words, a wave of nausea washed over me. It was truly revolting. An evil black mage with cursed magic power had sacrificed his own life to save me, transferring his life force to me, while I had been recklessly squandering this power. I, who had once been consumed by hatred and bent on killing him, and I, who had triggered the system punishment, significantly reducing his lifespan and life force, and even diminishing the possibility of this world being saved... It was so nauseating that I could barely stand it. "Ugh... Ugh..." With these thoughts in mind, I slumped to the ground, retching continuously.

"…Please don't do this." At this moment, the young - looking Frey came over, gently patting my back, and said with a solemn expression, "Please don't hate yourself."

"…What?"

"Let me be the only one to be hated."

"....!" He said these words with a smile, and his brilliant smile blended perfectly with the sacred and bright atmosphere around him, shining like starlight. I stared at him blankly. Suddenly, I had an intuition that if I continued this conversation with the manager, my consciousness would dissipate and merge into the void of unconsciousness. So, I raised my trembling hand and softly snapped my fingers.

"...There will always be hope in the end." Just like that, listening to his dream - like voice, as if it came from a dream, I returned to the dormitory room. Frey was still lying there with his eyes closed.

....."Mmm." When I opened my eyes, the ceiling of the dormitory came into view. Why was I seeing the dormitory ceiling? Why was my consciousness so blurred?

"...Young master."

"Kania? Why are you here... Ah." I was in a daze for a while. Suddenly, I noticed Kania standing in front of me with a blank expression, and I froze in place. '...This is bad. This is really bad.' Kania had discovered my previous acts of kindness. And the price seemed to be much higher than I had imagined.

"How long have I been like this?"

"...You've been like this for a whole day." Hearing this, I looked out of the window. The birds were chirping merrily in the morning light. I tried to struggle to get up, but my body was too weak to move.

"......" Kania just quietly looked at me. I had intended to explain everything to her... But then I changed my mind. If she knew all the truth, she would probably sink into deep self - blame. Although she didn't mean to, she had been regularly draining my life force and had triggered the system punishment, putting me in danger. Of course, I had decided from the beginning to bear all of this alone, so I wouldn't tell her the truth and make her suffer. From now on, I had to follow the pre - prepared script to prevent the heroines from discovering my good deeds. This script would try to make Kania feel less guilty. I was the one who should bear the pain.

"You must be curious about what's going on."

"....."

"...Then, I'll tell you the truth." I made up my mind and looked at Kania coldly, saying, "...I used you." At that moment, cracks appeared in her expression. For some reason, I felt a sense of familiarity. It seemed that I was indeed more suited to being hated.