Episode 18
Translator: missme
There was a bite in her voice. I was flustered as I looked at her.
âWhy do you think so?â
âAfter I spoke with sister I gave it a lot of thought.â
ââ¦..â
âIf dying here can make my soul go back to my original worldâ¦. Presuming that itâs the only choice then⦠â
ââ¦..â
âThen, my soul got transferred here because I was dead in my original world, isnât it the case?â
Agrita said it in a lower voice. When I heard her, I felt like I had been hit at the head.
I never thought it that way.
Silent tears fell from Agritaâs eyes.
âYou know, the stairs, they were high.â
ââ¦â¦â
âI didnât want to think about it, but it just came to my mind. The stairs⦠they were quite high.â
ââ¦â¦â
âSister. Could I be really dead? â
I didnât know how to reply. The transparent flow of water pouring through Agritaâs cheeks became clear.
âI am only 17.â
ââ¦..â
âI havenât taken the college entrance exam yet, I havenât gone to college, and I tried to dye my hair during the winter vacation, but I couldnât either.â
ââ¦..â
âSister, I â¦..Iâ¦.. â
Her voice, which was mixed with tears, became more and more difficult to understand. Still, I could easily understand her next words.
ââ¦..donât want to die.â
ââ¦..â
âI donât want to die.â
ââ¦â¦â
âI really donât want to die â¦â
In the end, Agrita began to sob, and suddenly I felt the same feeling overlapping me.
âNeither do I.â
And just like that..
I, too, started to cry..
After reincarnation, I was able to calm myself down by thinking of it as my previous life, but if it were the same situation, I would have acted the same way.
There were so many things I wanted to do.
If I do say so, weâre at least at a good age.
If I were to count the things I wanted to do were certainly more than the things that I did. I had more expectations of how I wanted to live rather than the memories of the days I had spent.
It was such a time of my life.
No, I couldnât help it.
I raised myself, approached sobbing Ari and embraced her in my arms silently.
Ari who buried her face in my arms, soon began to cry.
I kept staying still, holding her.
This time, instead of Agrita, I stood for a long time, holding a 17-year-old âShin Ariâ, who was crying that she didnât want to die, in my arms.
***
Ari calmed down after crying for a long time until her body was dehydrated.
She blew her nose with a handkerchief, tints her eyes, and took a sip of cold tea.
Nonetheless, she shared a long, secret story with me.
By the time the story came to an end, Ari put down the empty cup and nodded.
âAri, please take good care of me.â
ââ¦â¦. Please do the same for me too.â
Ari is still determined to survive in this world as Agrita Grace.
I had no choice but to let Ari live. If she dies, thereâs an end to whatever she does afterwards.
A dead soul being able to return to the original world was a problem, and if itâs unable to do so, it will also be a problem.
Even if she can go back, itâs mostly possible that her original body is dead, as Ari assumes, and even if she canât go back, sheâs literally dog-dead.
So now, her best choice was to live within Agritaâs body.
I decided to help Ari survive.
And it was the same with Ari.
âBut, thereâs something I donât really understand.â
âWhat?â
Accepting her completely as Ari, and not as Agrita, I decided to talk to her comfortably.
Ari inflated her cheeks appreciating my goodness.
âHow could someone kill a pretty and nice person like sister?â
I explained all of my situation to Ari. Ari seemed to remember what role I appeared in the book after hearing it. All of the volumes I appeared in the book were only a few pages, so it was reasonable to have not noticed it. In all of the volumes of the book, the ones that I appeared were very few. So, it was reasonable not to notice it.
âNo matter how bad the guy is, isnât he taking it a little bit too far?â
âYeah.â
Ariâs angry expression made me smile.
Ari and I became harmonious. I help Ari, and Ari helps me. The purpose is for both to survive.
Ari, who was blowing air into her cheeks like a child, soon pumped her fist with enthusiasm.
âIâll really do my best.â
â Oh. â
âWith the art of the mortal temptation, seduce the villain! For my sisterâs successful escape!â
Ariâs way of showing enthusiasm was cute. But apart from that, I wasnât so hopeful about it.
With one hand on my chin, meaninglessly I stirred the empty teacup with a spoon held in my other hand.
âseduction technique â¦â¦â.
There was a possibility that she wonât be able to do it properly, but the real question was, will it work?
âDo you want me to make her your doll?â
Ashâs words came to me.
a lukewarm, emotionless voice.
Ash casually said he would make Ari a doll when I was talking to him in his bedroom. In other words, he hasnât given Ari any value or meaning yet enough to do so.
âIâve got a long way to go.â.
Ash, followed up at a banquet hall last evening, and saved Ari from the pond without saying anything. I thought I could see hope in these two people. Although he did not fall in love with Ari at first sight like the development of the book, so I assumed that it would be a sign of special favor.
But it was only an illusion. Ash, referring to Ari as just telling it was in vain optimism, was simply indifferent.
âHaâ¦..â
I swallowed a sigh and glanced at Ari.
I have said this again and again, but Ari was pretty. Ah in this case, it is Agritta, not Ari.
White skin with peachy reddish tones, dense features. Having a slender figure that causes protective instinct, long hair that is smooth and long, and the eyes that are clear and sparkling.
Her aura is elegant, pure, and clean.
Such an attractive appearance which made it hard to ignore after a glance.
âBut what am I supposed to do with all of this?â
I had my chin with both fists and put down the teaspoon.
Ash, as mentioned in the end of the story, did not see this personâs face.
To be precise, he was not interested.
The lack of interest in others included their appearance. Ash had no interest, whether someone looked like this or something like that.
So, to Ash, the appearance of a person, regardless of attitude is always the same.
He adhered to the same attitude when he faced a famous beauty in social circles and when he faced a person with rude fingering from behind.
He consistently didnât pay attention.
One interesting thing here is, this is one of the factors that enhance Ashâs popularity.
The reality is that he doesnât care about what they look like because he identifies others as air or objects. And for the other people, it seems to be a true inner maturity that does not judge others by their appearance.
Well, in fact, I think that Ashâs face and position were the one that have contributed greatly to such a generous evaluation.
Even if he does the same thing, heâll have a halo effect, like doing something cool.
Anyway, as I explained, the power of appearance doesnât work for Ash. So whether Ari is so pretty, I couldnât expect any effect from her beauty.
Another trick was needed to attract attention.
I donât know what it is, but the biggest problem right now⦠..
âAri.â
âYes?â
âLetâs work hard.â
âYes!â
It was quite fortunate that Ari was quick to recover and motivated.
She could have fallen into hiding or become despaired, but after crying her heart out, Ari quickly regained her usual self. She was also active in my proposal to help each other.
Itâs a thankful thing anyway, it allowed me to try to survive.
If it werenât for her, who could see the contents of the book, who would I have been able to confide in such a miserable future, share secrets, and discuss the future?
I let go of my chin and leaned my back on the chair.
It was a question for later as to how to seduce Ash, and now there was something I had to devote myself to before it.
All temptations and seduction can be done only when Ari is alive. It was the first task given to Ari to survive safely against fate like a sunfish.
I happened to have something I wanted to check for this.
âAri. Stay with me as much as you can, and keep following me.â
âI will.â
Ari nodded her head gently.
Ari needs to be in danger a couple more times for confirmation. But of course, she couldnât die. We had to survive the crisis and avoid it.
I believed Sir Davery.
To be exact, I believed in his skill in cutting the poison bee neatly.
Sir Davery will surely be able to save Ari as he did then, no matter what the danger lies upon her.
Trusting that, I got out of the room with Ari.
Faith fortunately became a reality.
âOh, my God. Iâm sorry, Iâm so sorry!â
The maid, Genie, bowed her waist repeatedly in contemplation.
There was a reason for that. She accidentally dropped the vase she was carrying as she climbed the stairs, because it almost hit Ari directly on the head.
As a result, Ari was safe. It was thanks to Sir Davery, who blew himself away holding Ari by a narrow margin.
âAs expected, Sir Davery.â
I checked my watch, holding my thumb up for the performance of the knight that I trusted.
â12:15.â
Also
Soon after hearing the commotion, the servants who came to the scene began to clean up the mess with the broken vase.
I left it behind and spoke to Ari and Sir Davery.
âAri, are you all right?â
âYes, yes, Iâm fine.â
âThank you, Lord.â
âItâs nothing.â
Ari came to me with a puzzled look, free from Sir Daveryâs arms.
Whether Ari or Sir Davery, their expression seemed quite surprised.
Ari knew there would be a risk of death, but she must have been surprised because it was different from what she expected, and Sir Davery seemed rather surprised that he had saved the same personâs life twice in a day.
Soon I whispered to Ari while Lord Davery helped clear up the tumult.
âAri, listen up.â
ââ¦..?â
âIâve just been half certain, and I think the âtimeâ youâre in danger is three times a day.â
âThree times?â
âbreakfast, lunch, dinner.â
Itâs not like sheâs taking a meal, and she might suddenly wonder what nonsense it is.
But this conjecture was based on my observation.
Letâs look back. Ari first died from the collapse of the clock tower where, in the morning.
Second, dead from a square center explosion, at the midday.
Thirdly, dead from falling chandeliers, in the evening.
Fourth, almost dead by pond accident, in the evening.
The fifth, almost dead by poison bee, in the morning.
Finally, a vase drop that just happened, at 12:15 p.m., at midday.
The time zones were all in sync. Never else has a crisis come to Ari in the middle of the night, early in the morning, or in the afternoon between breakfast and lunch, or between lunch and dinner.
Ari opened her eyes wide.
âOh, really!â