Cursed Villainess' Obsession-Chapter 62

As a year approaches, I still haven’t found it. With time passing, my anxiety grows, and I feel increasingly mentally strained.

To find the key, I naturally have to traverse the fields, which increases the chances of encountering monsters. Frequent battles wear down my body and keep my nerves on edge.

In the beginning, my low stats and sluggishness put my life in jeopardy on several occasions. The Calorie Burn skill also requires food, so using it too often could lead to serious problems; I’ve only activated it in dire situations.

‘But now, I’m doing much better.’

After finishing my gathering, I look down at the cold corpse of the Goatgrasshopper. It’s a monster I would never have been able to defeat under normal circumstances.

Yet now, I can take it down even without the Calorie Burn skill. After enduring this harsh environment for 10 months, I’ve lost quite a bit of weight.

[ Current Physical Specs: 175 cm, 72 kg ]

I managed to capture it only when my life was at stake. The key to weight loss?

It turns out it was all about the diet.

“No wonder I didn’t lose weight while eating so much despite all the training.”

I thought I could shed some pounds just by being active. While I lost some weight through the harsh training with Zikfrit, it wasn’t enough.

Being trapped in this hell and living off tasteless monster meat naturally reduced my food intake. And that’s how I succeeded in my diet.

“Ahh… I want to eat Laphne’s cooking.”

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But the joy of my diet success wasn’t that great. While it’s a good thing my survival rate has significantly increased in this perilous situation, I want to escape this hellhole and eat something delicious. Especially the warm meals Laphne makes.

“...Huh, let’s see.”

I climbed to the highest point in the area, following my usual search method. I scan the surroundings to familiarize myself with the terrain, hoping to spot the building where the key might be hidden.

If I don’t see such a building, I’ll set my sights on the nearest high ground and start searching again.

“Surely, I didn’t miss anything in the places I checked before…?”

I muttered as I marked my makeshift map with a pencil I’d made. The thought of having overlooked something keeps nagging at me.

With so little time left, my anxiety increases. If I can’t find the key and have to leave this place…

What will I do then?

Will I have to re-enter this hell?

“That’s something I really don’t want to do…”

It feels like re-enlisting in the military. Honestly, I think a sense of despair worse than that will wash over me.

Having been discharged as a sergeant, I know very well how terrible it can be. At least there are people there.

In this place, the environment is harsh, but the absence of anyone to talk to is the most agonizing part. Humans are most vulnerable to loneliness.

“…I wonder how Laphne has been holding up.”

Suddenly, I remember the first time I met Laphne. She was so happy to see me.

Back then, I questioned whether that was really all she felt, but now I understand. Unlike me, who has hope of getting out in a year, Laphne has fought against loneliness without knowing when it will end.

“When I get out, I’ll have to talk to her about everything while eating delicious food.”

I’m eager to see my companions outside, especially Laphne. I have so much I want to say and many apologies to make.

‘I hope she’s doing well…?’

When I decided to fall into this place, I worried a lot about Laphne. Yet I trusted that her condition had improved significantly.

After all, during the week I waited for my death, she only cried in her room, and nothing major happened.

It should be fine this time too.

“...Huh, then I’ll head over there…”

I briefly rested at the mountaintop, enjoying the breeze.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something familiar.

“…No way.”

I quickly turned my head and focused my gaze on that spot.

Though it looked small from a distance,

“I found it.”

I discovered the building I had been searching for since I arrived here.

“I found it━!!”

I smiled with joy, marking the location on my map, and hurried down the mountain.

━Sruurrr.

I peered out cautiously from the unsettling purple foliage.

‘It looks exactly like what I saw in the game.’

A small, dilapidated house made of bricks. It’s a peculiar structure that bears the marks of having once been inhabited in such a hellish space.

Users speculated that this house was left behind by someone who arrived before Emily.

‘That means… she’s definitely inside, right?’

The only NPC existing in this place, the Egosword Tirpione.

“Dealing with a nasty personality will be tough…”

The key is inside that house. The critical point is that to obtain the key, I need to gain a certain level of favor with Tirpione.

The problem is that Tirpione is known as one of the NPCs in the Epiris Academy with a notoriously difficult favorability rating to raise.

With her long white hair and porcelain-like skin, and sharp yellow eyes, she resembles a cold, emotionless sword spirit.

No matter what actions Emily takes, she maintains a cold demeanor. As a result, many people who attempt to earn her favor bring along excellent items that can boost favorability.

‘But it’s tough to get those items at this point…’

Still, I’ve cleared this NPC a few times before. Although I’m not Emily right now, I’m confident I can succeed in the time I have left.

“Alright, let’s go.”

With a mixture of excitement and tension, I stood up and carefully approached the house.

The house was built of bricks and wood, with only one room. Even that was battered by the passage of time, with holes in the walls and ceiling.

But at least the door seemed intact.

Taking a deep breath in front of the firmly closed wooden door,

━Creeeak.

I carefully opened the door.

“E-Excuse me…”

If I were Emily from the game, I would have burst in and rushed to talk, but this is reality.

I wondered if I should have knocked, thinking it only natural to show some courtesy.

Thus, I opened the door as slowly and carefully as possible to avoid startling the owner of the house.

Inside was a sparse interior.

The brick house contained only a cold fireplace, a small shelf, a single chair, and a bed.

‘That’s it.’

My eyes immediately landed on the sword hanging on the wall.

It was the only item in this dilapidated house that looked luxurious in design.

However, due to age, the sword was rusty and covered in dust.

And finally, in the center of the house,

A woman sat demurely on a small chair, her head bowed.

Egosword Tirpione.

“Um, um…”

I entered the house and softly spoke to her, who remained unresponsive with her head down.

━Sruurrr.

Only then did she slowly begin to move.

Her flowing white hair tumbled over her shoulders, revealing her porcelain-like face.

As she slowly opened her closed eyes,

The dormant spirit gazed at me.

Her eyes, devoid of the emotions I had seen in the game, were cold and indifferent as they met mine.

“Uh, um… Haha, I got lost and came in here.”

I quickly recited the excuse I had prepared.

If I offered such an excuse, perhaps her sharp, cold demeanor would allow me a bit of leniency for my unauthorized entry.

‘Ugh, those eyes are terrifying… Huh?’

As I locked eyes with Tirpione,

Known for being difficult to raise favorability with even in the Epiris Academy,

Her gaze wavered for a moment.

“…Ho.”

“...Ho?”

Suddenly, her face flushed bright red, and her eyebrows curled into a shape resembling the number eight as she slightly parted her lips.

She lifted her hand to cover her awkward face, but something distracted her, and her hand stopped near her chin.

And for the first time, she spoke.

“Hooeeeek…!”

It was a voice I never would have imagined coming from a cold sword spirit.