Conquest Complete, So Why Is the Affection Dropping? - Chapter 58
While games and novels might popularize stories where players heal and save slightly mentally ill characters, in reality, mental counseling is a professional’s domain.
It should be socially condemned to push an unqualified ordinary person to save a patient with this level of mental illness, shouldn’t it?
However, protesting against the system would be futile.
Once transmigrated into this world, I can’t even send a complaint email asking ‘What were you thinking with this setting?’ to the planners in the real world until I see the ending or log out.
I don’t want to play through a multiple-personality salvation story where landmines could pop up anywhere. Please just let me have a peaceful romance. I wish developers would acknowledge that games are meant for healing and escaping harsh reality.
“By the way, is conversation possible with this?”
“Shin Joo. Are you speaking to me?”
“Of course, my lady.”
“I’ve been waiting for you to speak to me!”
Though I was just talking to myself, the Cedrics in the Jewels responded so eagerly that I suddenly felt a lump in my throat.
‘I thought I was only weak to visual information…’
Apparently, I’m weak to audio information too.
Though I can only hear Cedric’s voice, and outwardly they just look like jewels small enough to hold in your hand.
When they respond with such emotionally rich voices, it really feels like people are trapped inside the jewels.
Being trapped in small jewels, unable to move, and waiting for a player to release them – it’s hard not to get immersed in such a setup.
‘Against such pitiful men, instead of properly conversing, I just wandered around muttering…’
I even feel sorry. I guess I still have plenty of sensitivity.
“Um, hey. Why are you… all in these jewels?”
The Cedric in the star-like sparkling blue jewel answered in a clear voice.
“Because only one ‘Cedric’ can exist in a single world.”
“What?”
“I’ve been waiting until you, Shin Joo, would recognize and call for me. Now I can finally get out.”
Just as a relieved voice came from a summer sky-blue jewel, suddenly a deep sea-blue jewel next to it shot out a brilliant light.
“Wait a moment! Shin Joo, you came to meet me, right? I’m your Cedric.”
“Uh, um, what?”
“No, my lady. You are undoubtedly my lady.”
“Ah, please summon me to your world quickly. It’s too cold and dark here…!”
Sky-blue jewels from above and indigo jewels from below each sparkled while pouring out what they wanted to say.
It seems only one of Cedric’s personalities can be summoned at a time, but how am I supposed to rank these jewels?
“Wait, hold on! I think you’ve got the wrong person.”
“My lady?”
“Shin Joo…”
After sounds of small gasps and disappointed sighs, silence fell.
The jewels that had been eagerly competing to speak their minds while begging for salvation all fell quiet at once, seemingly trying to focus on my words. Of course, jewels don’t have mouths.
I feel like a professor lecturing to students gathered in an auditorium.
“Well, how should I put this? Just like all of you here are different ‘Cedrics,’ the ‘Shin Joo’ you’re talking about probably exists in different data… I mean, in parallel worlds.”
After chatting a bit, I understand now. This must be a bug that’s messed up the save data.
Seeing all these Cedrics who were flirting and dating with their respective players gathered in one place, this pillar must be the central control unit and these sparkling blue jewels must be Cedric’s save data.
‘Save data… wait? This feels familiar.’
A strange sense of déjà vu came and went. I tried to identify that feeling but quickly straightened up when I felt the countless blue jewels gazing at me intensely while sparkling.
I must be losing my mind too if I can feel gazes when I can’t even see faces.
“I haven’t even established any particular relationship with Cedric yet. So you’re probably looking for someone else…”
“You mean you’re not satisfied with the current one, Shin Joo?”
“What?”
“Then Shin Joo, call for me. I would be more suitable as your Cedric than he who can’t win your favor despite having a physical form.”
“No, Shin Joo. Call for me!”
“My lady, I am already prepared to be your Cedric. If you call for me, you won’t regret it.”
I was trying to clarify the misunderstanding, but suddenly the jewels started competing to promote themselves.
Wait, don’t tell me if I choose someone, the current Cedric’s personality will be saved to a different jewel and my chosen personality will be loaded?
While the current Cedric seems too crazy and scary, replacing his personality with one from the jewels is equally frightening. It really makes him seem inhuman.
Well, he is a game character, so technically he’s not human!
“Look, I’m sorry but I don’t plan to choose any Cedric.”
I think I took a wrong turn. I’m going to leave now.
“Shin Joo, don’t go!”
“Don’t abandon me, Shin Joo!”
“My lady…!”
The sparkling jewels emitted sobbing voices, suddenly making my heart waver. It felt like facing a robot vacuum cleaner begging not to be turned off.
I could understand why people can’t bring themselves to press the power button due to guilt when even an algorithmic robot makes an emotional appeal.
“I’m not abandoning you. It’s not like you’ll disappear just because I don’t choose you. If you wait, I’m sure the ‘other’ Shin Joo you’re looking for will appear and save you.”
“Shin Joo. Only you can save me.”
“Please… please don’t abandon me…”
One of them seemed to start crying, as clear water rippled inside the jewel. I suddenly clutched my collar, my chest aching with guilt.
I wasn’t the one who imprisoned Cedric in the jewels, so why should I, who got dragged here by chance, feel guilty instead?
Perhaps it’s because my empathy is too strong. They say the higher your spiritual intelligence, the better you empathize. If only I had used this intelligence for making money…
I squeezed my eyes shut and turned away.
“Shin Joo!”
“Shin Joo…”
“My lady, please!”
Though their desperate calls almost made me look back, I fled from that room with unwavering determination.
With countless Cedrics trapped in jewels, where only one I choose would gain physical form – I didn’t want to bear such a heavy responsibility.
Besides, this isn’t even Cedric’s route right now.
‘It’s still Kaint’s route… right?’
The ending was right in front of me, so there’s no way I could suddenly enter another character’s route. I must have been dragged here temporarily due to a bug.
“Once I fix this situation, I can go back.”
“Are you planning to leave?”
“Aaagh!”
As he traced my spine with his long fingers and breathed into my ear, I involuntarily screamed from the chills running down my back.
“Cedric!”
The moment I unconsciously called his name, fanfare sounded and a new window appeared.
[Cedric] Affection Limit Released!
[Cedric]’s Current Affection: 100
“Now you’re calling my name.”
A smile appeared on Cedric’s fair face. To think someone showing such a lethal dose of adorable aegyo is actually insane inside. The cognitive dissonance is overwhelming.
There should be limits to gap moe; this has twisted and twisted the cliché until it finally crossed the line and snapped. It’s like poking a sugar figurine because it’s cute, only to end up shattering it.
“It saddens me that you were thinking of leaving me.”
“After what happened, isn’t it stranger to want to stay here?”
The saying that killing one person makes you a murderer but killing ten thousand makes you a hero is nonsense. You’re just a mass murderer. The mage twinkling his eyes cutely in front of me was just an insane mass murderer.
It would have been less frightening if he were just a mad scientist type of mage obsessed with experiments. But this guy has been beyond common sense since our first meeting.
“Hmm…”
Cedric narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, letting out a contemplative hum.
Flip-flip. There was a sound like turning pages of a thick book, then a sparkling window appeared beside his face.
[Cedric]’s Current Affection: 111
Until next bomb: D-1
After breaking through the limit on his own, his affection increased without doing anything.
But what’s that below? What bomb?
