Conquest Complete, So Why Is the Affection Dropping? - Chapter 15
I bit my lip while carefully watching the status window. If the affection drops any lower, jumping off right here might be better for survival.
“Since killing you would bring destruction, I plan to keep you alive by my side.”
“…?”
What, does he mean to keep me like some sacred object?
I’m a person, not an exhibition piece.
“If just keeping me alive is the goal, there’s no reason to kidnap me, right?”
“When you’re not in sight, you could disappear anytime. I’d rather not have you die one day without knowing why.”
I don’t quite understand. I get the setting that the Divine Master is the savior of destruction, and without the Divine Master, the world’s destruction can’t be prevented.
But that’s not really a reason to kidnap and keep someone close.
“Don’t leave my side.”
“Huh, what?”
Marvis’s arm around my shoulder tightened, pulling me into his embrace. His face drew close again.
Don’t tell me he’s going for another kiss here?
“You better keep your lips closed.”
“W-why?”
To prevent tongue action from the start? No, wait, shouldn’t we go through several stages first? We need to build up affection first…
“You might bite your tongue. We’re going down.”
“What? …Ack!”
The summoned beast carrying us went into a steep dive, and the wind rushed upward. I clung to Marvis’s waist with my lips tightly sealed.
I don’t even ride roller coasters because I hate that sinking feeling in my stomach!
“Good, we’re here.”
“Huff, hah.”
“You can look up now.”
“Hey, you. What was that…”
I was about to protest about nearly killing someone, but I closed my mouth again.
‘They called it the City of Darkness?’
Lights sparkled everywhere like the night sky captured in a deep ocean.
Each time the summoned beasts that flew with us sank into the water, round clusters of light rose softly like flowers bearing fruit, then scattered with a whoosh.
With a name like Niflheim, I expected something eerie and gloomy like an underworld or dark forest, but this place was a sea of tranquility without even waves.
“Now, let’s go in.”
When Marvis stroked the summoned beast, it gradually shrank from house size to about the size of an eagle. Even shrunk, it was still imposing, being the size of Marvis’s upper body.
Its name was Dig, wasn’t it? If the last sound had been just a bit harder, it might have contributed to an adult rating.
The summoned beast Dig dove into the water with fluttering black wings. Soon, where Dig had submerged, a cluster of sparkling light swelled like a balloon and burst with a pop.
It’s like underwater fireworks.
“So summoned beasts aren’t living creatures.”
“They have a will. We can communicate too.”
“Is that why you’re friends?”
“…Did it seem that way?”
It didn’t particularly seem that way, but the status window kindly informed me.
His life seems a bit pitiful, having a summoned beast rather than another demon as a friend. Is he friendless because his body is too obscene to hang around with?
“Well, we’ve been together for a long time. In human terms, I guess you’d call it a companion.”
When you say companion, it usually means something else, so I wish he’d add ‘animal’ to it. No, since it’s not even an animal, in this case maybe it’s closer to an attachment object.
“So, how do you like the scenery here?”
“Well… it’s pretty. Almost too pretty to be destroyed.”
I added that last bit out of spite from earlier, but Marvis’s expression became strange.
Somewhere, the ticking sound of a second hand could be heard. That’s when the affection level in the status window, which had been stubbornly red, changed.
[Marvis]’s current affection: 1
“….”
While it’s good to be out of the negatives, the increase is really stingy. I wish they’d add just one more zero after it. I’m not even asking for two, couldn’t they be a bit more generous?
+$NEW★☆EXP★☆PATCH$+ ~ Affection ②x Reward ~
The persistence of showing cash purchase prompts at this moment is chilling.
‘This is straight-up spam, really.’
The developers’ maliciousness could be seen in the absence of a [Don’t show again] checkbox. At this point, they’re probably hoping someone makes an accidental purchase.
‘Even though we’re out of negative numbers, it’s only 1, so nothing much will change.’
[Marvis]’s current affection: 1 The level of affection where he would slip after seeing you slip on ice, then make a cool landing and help you up by taking your hand.
I wasn’t asking for the description text to point out the differences, so it could have kept quiet.
Besides, why slip along with me? Is this about building rapport through shared experiences or something?
Pushing aside my bewilderment, I asked Marvis.
“But isn’t it too empty? Does no one live here?”
“The water surface can’t escape the Dawn Sky’s gaze. We live below.”
Marvis slowly walked onto the water. I hadn’t noticed in the dark, but there was a path. Following him, only a shallow ripple about the thickness of a shoe sole splashed beneath.
Where the gathered lights had scattered, something became visible. It was stairs leading underground.
‘Oh?’
The structure seemed quite large, with circular stairs wrapping around something cylindrical.
It was an elevator.
“Come, let’s go down.”
“Aren’t we taking the elevator?”
“Ele… what?”
“This.”
I pointed at the elevator made of thin bars.
“The elevator. Since this is here, the underground must be quite deep, wouldn’t it be faster to take the elevator down?”
Marvis answered my question indifferently.
“That’s just an ancient relic. The method of use has been lost for a long time, it doesn’t move anymore.”
So there are ancient relics here too.
Maybe this relic is connected to the warp gate, and that’s how he invaded through the hole in the sky.
“Wait, Marvis.”
When I stopped and looked at the old elevator, a translucent quest window shyly appeared.
Surprise Quest, [Open the Dawn Sky]! Would you like to repair Niflheim’s elevator, an ancient relic, using the [Ancient Language Decoding] skill? The elevator is the most crucial structure connecting the surface and underground city, allowing instant movement from the highest to the lowest floors. Success Reward: Marvis’s affection increase (random)
Not only bonus roulette but now even affection is random – I must have misunderstood the developers. They must be struggling to write a new legend of failed games.
‘Still, I understand why the system triggered this event.’
Since I got the ancient language interpretation skill, they probably want me to go around finding relics and completing quests.
‘The problem is the skill activation condition.’
I already used the ancient language decoding skill to fix the gate today. To reset the usage count, I need to sacrifice Hexion’s affection.
Would you like to reset [Skill: Ancient Language Decoding]’s usage count by consuming 30 of [Hexion]’s affection? Yes / No
The last time I checked, Hexion’s affection was 99. Though I’m still puzzled how it hit the maximum, even if I use 30, it’ll be 69. That should be less difficult than raising it from 39.
‘It feels a bit weird using Hexion’s affection during Marvis’s event…’
I’ve played games where raising one person’s affection lowers another’s to make simultaneous routes difficult, but this is the first time I’ve seen a system that uses affection-like game currency or items.
‘What to do.’
Actually, the answer is already decided. Since the system sent me here, I need to activate the ancient relic for the next quest to continue. Marvis’s affection will increase too.
‘Since I didn’t earn Hexion’s maximum affection through my own efforts anyway.’
They say easy come, easy go – maybe affection gained without effort doesn’t leave much attachment.
‘Sorry, Hexion.’
Though it pains me to arbitrarily cut Hexion’s affection when he did nothing wrong, I didn’t want to feel uncomfortable either.
I checked the mechanisms visible through the bars. No rust, no worn gears. It doesn’t seem deliberately preserved, but it’s well-maintained.
‘Though it’s interesting that it’s more advanced than expected for an ancient relic.’
While the temple was an analog world where even lamps had to be lit by hand, this place had pre-modern mechanical facilities, though not electricity-powered like the real world.
“This looks like it could move. I might not be good at making things, but I’m good at fixing them.”
“What? Really?”
It’s partly because Divine Master’s ability is restoration, but I’m actually confident in fixing things that others have made. If I had the ability to create from nothing, I could have done more productive work.
Placing my hand on the elevator button, I clicked ‘Yes’ on the skill reset window. Though my conscience ached, my finger was honest.
Restoring damaged data……
Sparkling light spread out, and then with a whirring sound, the gears began to turn.
Clang. Clang.
From pipes extending down into invisible depths came sounds like metal balls moving.
Though it should have been just unpleasant noise, there was a strange rhythm to it.
‘It worked.’
I felt it clearly. The elevator was fixed!
When I pressed the button, the thin barred door opened with a clank.
