Conquest Complete, So Why Is the Affection Dropping? - Chapter 65
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(Lurelia’s Birthday Bonus – Update 4/4 🎉)
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“The fun of dating games is in pursuing multiple characters at once. Why do you think ‘harem’ is in the title?”
“Why?”
“It means pursuing multiple characters at once is actually the lowest difficulty.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Individual routes tend to get pretty dark since they need deeper storylines.”
Aha. So if I wanted a fun and comfortable playthrough, I should have sold my conscience early and gone for multiple routes, but instead, I stubbornly stuck to one path and ended up taking a bungee jump into the abyss of deep, bitter minor routes. I get it now.
After parting with Soo-young, I got on the subway.
That’s when I received a message with a tinkling bell sound.
[Cedric: When are you coming? I miss you.]
I froze when I saw Cedric’s message on my phone screen but then relaxed when I noticed the app icon next to it.
‘Ah, it’s just a notification to log into the game.’
I heard that these days, games send messages like this, making it seem like characters are talking to players directly rather than sending formal notifications for user engagement.
When I clicked on Cedric’s message, a chat window opened up where I could type responses, just like a real messenger.
Could I actually have a conversation?
[Me: If you wait quietly until this master returns, I’ll give you lots of love, ohoho!]
[Cedric: Yes. I’ll wait quietly.]
I tried being playful since I thought I could attempt personalities I wouldn’t dare use normally with a game character, but his overly obedient response made me feel somewhat solemn.
He was so scary in the dream, but is the original Cedric supposed to be this compliant?
[Cedric: You must come back for me, okay? I don’t want to be abandoned by you.]
[Me: That depends on how you behave]
[Cedric: What should I do?]
When he’s being too compliant, it somehow makes me want to tease him more.
Of course, I wouldn’t dare treat someone like this in reality, but maybe because he’s a game character? It felt like some wickedness I wasn’t even aware of was awakening inside me.
[Me: Can you make me win the lottery? If I had about 5 billion won, I could play with just you without worrying about anything else]
There was no more response from Cedric.
‘Did I make too unreasonable a request to a game character?’
To be honest, I wasn’t seriously asking him to make me win the lottery. That wouldn’t be possible anyway.
I just wanted to see his reaction, but it seems today’s AI chatbots have learned to properly ignore users’ nonsense, showing impressive ghosting skills.
After getting off at the subway station and returning home, I disposed of the food waste that had met its end in the refrigerator, changed the bedsheets, and leisurely made coffee.
Now that I’m unemployed, I’ll have to survive on instant coffee instead of going to cafes. It’s fine. Once it’s in your stomach, caffeine is caffeine.
Time flew by as I checked my friends’ status messages on my phone while drinking coffee, chatting with those who seemed free.
After cooking some ramyeon and taking a nap, I woke up to find it had already gotten dark.
The life of an unemployed person is truly comfortable yet empty… As I was thinking this, a payment completion message arrived with a ding.
[Payment Completed] Internet Lottery 5 tickets
-
- 5,000 won one-time payment
Could this week’s first prize be mine? ↘↘↘Check Now↘↘↘ www.@#&%.★★
‘What’s this? Spam?’
I’ve seen plenty of these. They say if you click on links that come with text messages about sudden overseas charges, your personal information and bank account get stolen – scary spam like that.
Normally, I would have ignored it.
However, the problem was that the number sending the payment notification was the same as my card’s notification number.
After checking the number, I quickly searched through my wallet and took out my card.
My card is fine.
The notification number is also fine.
The message link was actually the address of a real lottery sales website.
I’ve never bought anything like this, so who on earth used my card to buy lottery tickets?
I stared at the text message and clicked the link with trembling hands.
After fumbling to enter my long-forgotten ID and password, I logged in to find that the lottery purchase information from just moments ago was really there.
What’s more, all 5 tickets had the same number. They say don’t put all your eggs in one basket, but who’s going all-in with someone else’s money?
‘What the… this is scary… How do I cancel this payment?’
I was about to search for how to call the credit card company when another message from Cedric arrived.
[Cedric: Do you like it?]
Like what? What am I supposed to like?
I don’t have time to fool around with a game character right now. This is a serious situation where my personal information might have been stolen somewhere. It might be just a 5,000 won lottery ticket now, but who knows if my entire 50 million won savings might be stolen next.
[Cedric: 50 billion.]
“Huh?”
A chill ran down my spine. This felt too strange to be just a response to my idle chatter.
I checked the time.
[PM 09:00]
Saturday night, 9 PM. The time when internet lottery results are announced.
‘No way. Come on, there’s no way.’
Even while thinking it was impossible, my hands were steadily clicking to check the winning numbers.
And the moment I saw the numbers on the screen, my vision blurred, and my consciousness faded as if struck by lightning, accompanied by a chilling shock.
***
When I opened my eyes, I saw a doll-like, beautiful face looking down at me, resting his chin on his hand.
“Are you awake, Joo-ah?”
“Eek…mph.”
I started to scream but quickly shut my mouth. Because the flower-like beautiful man was smiling brightly at me.
‘My goodness. How can a person be this beautiful? Ah, he’s not a person though.’
A face as white as snow dusted with peach powder and rosy cheeks.
Is it okay for a grown man’s face to be this lovely? Should he be sentenced to life as my bed-warming heater for the crime of assaulting my heart?
I blinked to clear my vision and looked around. I was lying on clouds. The background was nothing but blue sky. Is this another dream?
Wait, dream?
Strange. Is this a dream?
As I rolled my eyes, trying to remember something that felt just out of reach, the beautiful man drooped his eyebrows sadly and opened his delicate lips.
“I’ve been waiting for you to come all this time. I was so lonely.”
“Were you? I’m sorry.”
The words of apology flowed out automatically before I could even grasp the situation.
“Are you only going to apologize with words?”
The beautiful man pouted slightly and lowered his head toward me. Just like a puppy asking to be petted, I reflexively reached out and stroked his head.
It looked silky just from looking at it, but touching it felt truly smooth like silk. What a jackpot dream to be able to touch such a beautiful man’s hair.
“I’m sorry. Have you been waiting for me here all this time?”
“Yes. Because I cannot live in a world without you.”
Oh… My lips automatically curved up at this sudden proposal without warning. I was about to pull the beautiful man into my arms and promise to spend our lives together when I suddenly stopped.
‘Wait. What was this person’s name again?’
The face was definitely familiar, and he was treating me like a long-lost lover, but I couldn’t remember the beautiful man’s name.
What was it? I’m sure I knew this man’s name.
“Um, I just woke up, so my head isn’t working properly yet.”
“Yes, Joo-ah.”
I couldn’t bring myself to ask “What’s your name?” directly, so I decided to lay some groundwork.
“I think I have amnesia.”
“It’s normal to lose some memories right before and after the consciousness transfer. Don’t worry, I brought you here in a safe condition.”
I don’t understand what he’s talking about, but at least it gives me a good excuse.
“Yes. I must have memory loss since I’ve forgotten your name.”
“……”
It took less than 3 seconds for the smile to disappear from the beautiful man’s face that had been beaming at me like a child. The temperature around us suddenly dropped, making me unconsciously wrap my arms around myself.
“Uh, um, hey?”
“Am I the only one who always remembers?”
“What? Well, that’s… my memory…”
“I’m the only one who misses you too.”
“I’m sorry. But when I said I lost my memory…”
“Joo-ah. I was born for you. So please, just a little…”
The beautiful man came closer, leaning his upper body toward me with his face drawing near. I could see small numbers moving within his blue eyes.
“Can’t you treat me as someone special, even just a little?”
You are special. Of course, you’re special. If a century’s beauty like this isn’t special, then what man in this world could be?
However, feeling like I had committed some terrible mistake, I could only fidget with my fingers and open and close my mouth without speaking.
“Are you going to forget me again?”
“Ah, no. This time I really won’t forget. I swear! Because you’re special!”
When I met those watery blue eyes, my long-sold conscience came back to prick at my heart, making me blurt out whatever came to mind.
It was a hastily given answer, but he seemed to like it as the beautiful man’s eyes curved into crescents as he smiled.
“Is that a promise? You can’t break it.”
“Of course. I promise.”
When I held out my pinky finger, the beautiful man grabbed my wrist and lifted it to press a kiss to my fingertip. Perhaps it’s a different way of making promises in his culture?
“I am your Cedric. I’ll be waiting for you to call me.”
“What? If I call now- huh?”
As I was about to call Cedric’s name, the floor suddenly gave way and my body tilted backward. The fluffy, bubble-like clouds dispersed with a whoosh, and I started falling downward.
“Uh, aaaaah!”
The sharp wind cutting against my skin was terrifying. I couldn’t even open my eyes properly to look around.
“Help! Someone help… ack!”
As if hitting something, my falling body toppled sideways and rolled over something soft.
Strong arms embraced and supported my body, finally stabilizing my spinning vision.
The red-eyed man who was looking down at me frowned briefly, then grinned.
“Nice voice you’ve got there, Shin Joo-ah. I could hear you clearly even from far away.”
“…Marvis?”
