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In the battle against Arundel, Ulte also sustained injuries.
Fortunately, he wasn’t hit by Arundel’s bullets, but the backlash from Genesis’ curse left him extremely fatigued.
Still, thanks to the robust physical form inherited from his ancestors, he managed to hold on.
After receiving treatment and resting for several days, Ulte reviewed the battle with Arundel and felt a deep sense of regret.
Of course, Ulte had done his best in the fight against Arundel and made no critical mistakes or misjudgments.
Ulte was undoubtedly one of the greatest contributors to successfully defending Osiris Manor.
However, Ulte deeply regretted the absence of “Valerius” during the battle with Arundel.
If he could have used the artifact “Valerius,” which possessed short-range teleportation capabilities, he would have been able to decisively push back against Arundel.
Even though it would have been difficult, he might have been able to delay Arundel’s escape until Ray and Luna arrived.
Valerius was truly an artifact with unbelievable performance.
Getting up from his seat, Ulte wandered around feeling regretful when he spotted Luna walking nearby and approached her.
Though conversations with Luna always felt awkward, Ulte decided to muster some courage.
“Hmm… Luna.”
“…”
Luna turned to look at Ulte with an unreadable expression.
Ulte gave an uneasy smile as he brought up the subject.
“By any chance, if the repairs on Valerius are done, can I get it back?”
“…”
“Eh, um… the repairs aren’t done yet?”
“…”
Luna tilted her head slightly to the side.
Luna found the current situation quite absurd.
After risking her life to save him in the Forbidden Forest, he was now asking for his artifact back?
Moreover, Ulte’s artifact had long since been repurposed as material for enhancing Ray’s heart.
Though Luna had a few things she wanted to say, she simply replied briefly.
“…The repairs aren’t done.”
With that, Luna turned away.
Watching Luna walk away, Ulte realized once again that getting Valerius back was hopeless.
Feeling defeated by the sorcerers’ cunning and his own inability to even properly protest, Ulte trembled with frustration where he stood.
While Ulte did acknowledge the debt of gratitude he owed to Ray and Luna for saving his life, it didn’t make losing Valerius any less painful.
Alone, Ulte let out a brief sigh.
Meanwhile,
Luna returned to her quarters and opened a book.
Since before dawn, while most people were still asleep, rapid-fire thoughts and ideas flowed through the young girl’s mind, far beyond what an ordinary person could imagine.
Just then, someone knocked softly on the door.
When Luna flicked her finger to open it, Alesya appeared with a bright grin.
Despite looking rather exhausted from staying up all night, Alesya entered the room with a cheerful smile, waddling over and proudly holding up two fingers.
“We’ve succeeded!!”
“…?”
Really? Did you actually succeed?
The moment she entered, Alesya latched onto Ray’s flesh and wouldn’t let go?
Luna was surprised that her expectations were so completely off.
Alesya, standing unsteadily with her legs spread wide, groaned as she exclaimed happily.
“The third turn is yours! Though I’m not sure if you’ll manage since you’re smaller than me…”
“…”
Luna blinked, then patted Alesya’s head to congratulate her.
For a moment, Alesya basked in the praise, but soon realized how it looked and swatted Luna’s hand away, telling her not to treat her like a child.
*
As night turned into dawn.
Ray sat on the edge of his bed, cradling his face in his hands.
He was experiencing what was jokingly called “sage time” in his past life.
Being intimate with Karen was undeniably an impulsive act.
It went against everything Ray had resolved to maintain until now.
Even right before undoing Karen’s clothes and burying his face in her rising chest, Ray had wrestled with inner conflict.
But the moment his lips touched her soft skin, all restraint broke loose, and he couldn’t control his impulses.
In a fit of uncontrollable desire, Ray poured himself into Karen.
Then, just after they finished, Alesya burst in.
After venting her frustrations, she declared it was now her turn and began untying her dress—leaving Ray without a clear reason to refuse her advances.
Unless he immediately confessed about his lifespan issue, there was no way to dissuade Alesya.
And even if he had confessed…
To embrace Karen so passionately and then deny Alesya because of lifespan concerns would sound ridiculous to anyone listening.
Refusing Alesya at this point would essentially mean treating her as less than a woman, surely causing her great emotional pain despite her optimistic nature.
Caught between these dilemmas, Alesya moved closer to Ray.
Already overwhelmed by desire, Ray ended up giving in, reasoning that whatever would happen, would happen.
“…”
I lost my mind, Ray.
Ray scolded himself hours later, stroking the bridge of his nose.
Alesya had risen early, tidied herself, and left the room, while Karen remained quietly asleep beside him.
Having intertwined their bodies shortly after waking from unconsciousness, Karen’s energy was entirely drained.
“…”
Ray turned his head to gaze silently at Karen.
He chuckled softly, remembering how she used to obsessively follow him around as a child, drooling and clinging to him.
Until now, he had refused deeper intimacy due to lifespan issues.
Though he believed it was the right choice, he should have either kept a proper distance or clearly indicated that he had no romantic feelings for her.
Instead, his half-hearted rejections only caused Karen greater emotional turmoil, pushing her feelings to extremes.
And it wasn’t just Karen who had been hurt by Ray’s indecisiveness.
Sighing, Ray rubbed his face.
Even with all the help from Luna and extraordinary luck, Ray’s remaining time was less than ten years.
Separation was inevitable, and much sorrow would follow.
Yet fearing that sorrow couldn’t justify severing already established relationships.
Ray realized he needed to change his stubborn mindset.
To live without regrets.
So those who loved him wouldn’t blame themselves.
He needed to adjust his thinking and focus on the time he had left.
Though the end may come sooner than expected, separation was something everyone faced eventually.
There was no need to curl up and moan as if carrying the weight of some monumental tragedy.
Like Alesya, Ray decided to lighten his heart and approach the situation optimistically.
Who knows? With Lady Luna’s help, maybe he could survive for decades, struggling but managing.
“…”
With renewed resolve, Ray unconsciously scanned Karen’s sleeping body.
He reflexively grabbed her breast before realizing what he was doing and slapped his own cheek.
*
Saria tried not to inform Ray about her injuries.
Had events unfolded according to Saria’s plan, it would have created a very frustrating storyline indeed.
However, the healers who examined Saria immediately informed Ray of her condition.
From their perspective, there was absolutely no reason to cater to Saria’s wishes and risk Ray’s disapproval.
Objectively speaking, Ray was far more important than Saria.
Unless there were significant political reasons otherwise, Ray’s decisions took priority.
Thus, Saria’s request to keep her injuries secret was disregarded, allowing Ray to learn about her condition.
“…”
Saria glared pointedly at the healer who betrayed her confidence.
As the healer nervously avoided her gaze, Ray sighed deeply.
“No no, Auntie, stop being stubborn and let me see your wound.”
“I’m fine. It’s healed. The wound.”
“Ahh, okay, understood. Now please show it to me quickly.”
When Ray urged her, Saria feigned anger.
“You’re bothering your aunt.”
“Auntie, you’re the one troubling me right now.”
After some bickering, Ray finally managed to examine Saria’s injury directly.
Using his powers to inspect the wound, Ray frowned.
This was definitely not an ordinary injury.
Starting from the wound, an unusual force was trying to corrode Saria’s body and expand its influence.
‘This seems to be a curse created by the power of an evil deity…’
The fortunate part was that the power was too weak to harm someone as strong as Saria.
Typically, curses like this are difficult to remove but not particularly lethal.
Saria could easily endure this curse for several decades.
With assistance, its effects could be minimized significantly.
Of course, this applied only to someone as powerful as Saria.
“…It seems this was originally intended for someone else.”
Based on the circumstances and symptoms, this was likely a curse bestowed by Arundel, the Apostle of Hatred, using himself as a medium.
Killing Arundel would lift the curse.
“To create urgency and force my hand, perhaps…”
For example, if Arundel had used this curse on Bella, her weaker body would have struggled to survive even a few hours.
In such a scenario, Ray would have been forced to chase Arundel into an unfavorable battlefield, knowing it was a trap.
But due to unforeseen circumstances, Arundel ended up cursing Saria, who blocked his path, before fleeing.
“Hmph, damn it.”
Fortunately, the curse couldn’t harm Saria, and time was on their side.
Even if Arundel escaped, the Empire should have ways to either remove the curse or counteract its effects.
Relieved, Ray still felt apologetic towards Saria and frowned.
Seeing this, Saria reached out, grabbed Ray’s cheeks with both hands, and stretched them repeatedly.
Despite his cheeks being pulled and distorted in front of others, Ray didn’t avoid her touch.
*
After examining Saria’s injury.
Ray walked alone to the seashore, gazing at the waves while lost in thought.
“Let’s summarize the situation…”
There were two main issues Ray needed to resolve immediately.
Implanting the Imperial Dragon Heart into Lea’s heart.
Permanently resolving Saria’s curse.
“I should probably visit the Imperial Capital once.”
He needed to go with Luna.
For Luna to personally inspect the capital’s defense systems and analyze the Imperial Dragon Heart, completing the plan to transplant it into Lea.
Once the plan was ready, he could bring his sister along for a little sightseeing trip to finish the procedure.
Additionally, Ray planned to ask the Emperor for active cooperation in solving Saria’s curse problem.
This wouldn’t be an unreasonable request.
If no solution emerged, he’d need to contact the church in the southern region.
Regardless, there were still a few secondary issues remaining.
Issues involving Ulte and Titi, the expansion of the Demonic Realm, and the matter of the corrupted dragons…
But,
Ray didn’t need to obsess over solving every single problem.
“I’ve done enough. Really.”
Ray didn’t know exactly how the world had come to its end in the original timeline.
But he knew humanity centered around the Empire hadn’t collapsed overnight.
Given the sheer volume of “novels” seen by his acquaintance, it was clear the Empire had resisted for quite some time.
This meant the forces worshiping evil deities hadn’t completely overwhelmed the Empire.
“Without me, we were still fighting fiercely, albeit at a disadvantage.”
And now, Ray had changed the future.
“What can a handful of devil worshippers do now that they’ve been thrashed like dogs?”
Humanity now held a definite advantage.
Though he planned to meet the World Tree before dying, once Lea’s issue was resolved, he felt it would be fine to end his journey whenever he wished.
If he could spend the rest of his life quietly in Phillips County…
“That was a good life… worth praising, wasn’t it?”
By then, Luna would have reached Lord-level or higher, watching over those who remained.
Yohana would rise as a key power within the Empire and the royal family, supporting them.
Many others who shared ties with Ray would become pillars of support for each other.
“The only immediate concern is…”
Internal division within the Empire.
Perhaps somewhat speculative, but…
The stability brought about by Ray’s efforts might paradoxically deepen internal conflicts.
Historically, the presence of a “powerful enemy” often unified people.
Conversely, when external threats disappeared and a sense of crisis diminished, factions started harboring different ideas, leading to major rifts.
“The conflict between the central and southern regions worries me…”
The central region dominated by the royal family.
The southern region led by the church and frontier lords.
Even in times of peace, a suitable mediator would be needed to suppress and reconcile tensions between these two forces.
“…”
After watching the waves for a bit longer, Ray turned resolutely.
“I need to meet Anthonyus.”
Anthonyus, the High Templar of the church and bloodline of the Sacred Maiden.
He needed to talk with him and finalize a certain “deal.”
It had to succeed.
Ray firmly believed this deal with Anthonyus would serve as the final arrangement for those who would remain in this world after he was gone.
Deal (1)
