A cunning rabbit digs at least two burrows.

It was fine whether he liked Yuri or not. But I harbored the thought that it would be more fun if he did. Fortunately.

An excess of emotion. Isn’t that proof that the sublimation of the evil deity is working?

—

From noble mtl dot come

Click, click, click.

In the heavy silence under the obscured moonlight, I saw her silhouette from behind. I could feel her emotions wavering just like her outline.

“…Mima.”

Yuri murmured but still showed her back, not turning to look at me. I made a noise for her, stepping on the underbrush tinted with the dark blue of the night.

Crunch.

And I approached.

With each step I took, drawing nearer, her body flickered like a dim candle. Somehow, it felt like she was floundering.

What should I say? What words should follow my greeting to start our conversation? Which would be best?

The thought crossed my mind that she might be angry with me. No, she definitely would be… So, should I open the angle to ease her mood?

Or should I suggest a dance? To subtly remind her that the festival isn’t over, that every moment with her is a celebration.

…Isn’t it strange? My heart is racing too much.

No, it’s not strange at all. Look closely. Even as she trembles from her wounds, she is beautiful. I won’t leave her alone with her loneliness.

A grating noise passed by. It seemed like a few broken modules failed to execute, sending error messages instead.

I can feel it.

I can feel Yuri’s heart. Having lived and brushed shoulders with her, I can clearly feel the affection from her gaze and gestures. It’s hard to describe, but from Yuri’s heart emanates a taste and scent reminiscent of peaches.

If I could touch her directly, I would feel it even more surely.

With a hint of excitement, I reached out and gently held her hand as if it were a delicate glass artifact. She flinched for a moment but did not pull away.

I can feel it. The information I read from her skin, even after repeated cross-verification, is Yuri’s emotions. I can distinctly recognize her scent.

“…It’s late, isn’t it?”

“Sorry. Something very important came up… But, I was fighting for you. That much I can say for sure.”

“For me, you left me behind?”

“I just realized that’s nonsense. Sorry for being late.”

Truly.

Yuri muttered softly, but to me, it sounded like forgiveness. A sense of relief spread throughout my body, and its echo turned into sweetness that shook me.

This feeling was new to me. To be precise, this heightened state was new. I’ve always been happy spending time with her, but tonight felt a little more special.

Because I’ve realized it. I’ve looked into my heart and seen where it’s directed with my own eyes. And there, Yuri exists.

She twirled around. The corners of her eyes, demurely cast down, still bore the marks of tears. I feel sorrow at those traces, but then my heart soars again when I see the affection in her eyes.

It feels like I’m oscillating between heaven and hell in an instant.

Even in a brief encounter, I can tell. It seems we share the same thoughts. I’m late, after all. With a sense of self-imposed punishment, I mustered the courage to speak first.

“Listen, I didn’t know what love was until now… But I think I’ve come to understand it.”

At that, Yuri’s eyes widened with joy.

—

The trick was to take the affection from Yuri’s ego.

I’ve lived a long life and seen much love, but I’ve never truly felt it. However, having such a great opportunity… I tried transplanting her affection into me.

So, in this enchanted state, it’s impossible to discern. Even if many things are an act, the heart is genuine.

And here, 440 years in the past, there’s no one close to Yuri. Even if I act somewhat differently from the real her, no one points it out.

Affection, huh?

It’s a strange feeling. A single touch fills me with a tickling joy, and even those cliché lines somehow sound charming.

You must be feeling the same emotions down there. They are, after all, your own.

Are you listening, Yuri?

—

Click, click, click.

My heart is in turmoil. It’s a little devil that grips my reason and shakes it, sometimes driving me to act contrary to my own benefit.

But how can I refuse the whispers of this little devil? After all, the heart is me. To deny and suppress it is, in the end, to deny myself.

I think I finally understand.

Having escaped from a colorless world, dull and devoid of emotion, suppressed by all sorts of magic, I can now recall a promise I made long ago.

I told Yuna I was looking for a happy story.

It’s funny, I rambled on with my heart tightly bound. I had to accept this restless heart.

Yuri’s eyes wavered, darting around before she hesitantly looked down and confirmed.

“…Is this a confession?”

“It’s not an official one.”

“What do you mean by that, exactly?”

“This isn’t reality. Even if I confess over and over in a dream that will fade when we wake up, it can’t compare to one true confession.”

Yuri seemed confused, as if my words were some kind of metaphor. I gently smiled, took her hand, and assumed the position. It was an awkward invitation to dance.

With just that gesture, she seemed to understand my intent, her face flushing as she carefully stepped in time. One hand clasped the other’s, the other supported their waist.

Just like that, one, two. Simple steps swaying side to side.

That alone turned it into a festival. My heart filled with joy, and I laughed heartily. Yuri laughed too.

Yes. There’s still work to be done.

After dancing with her for a while, I cautiously broached the subject.

“I’d like to ask for that key…”

“……..”

“I know, many people have tried to take it. Even if I promise to make you happy with that key, you’d still feel uneasy. But you see, I want to say, trust me.”

“…Are you threatening me with the mood? This.”

Yuri clutched the key around her neck tightly. She hesitated a great deal. Naturally. But fortunately… her hesitation was sweet.

More than the wounds of betrayal, it seemed she was worried about me leaving with the key.

I couldn’t take it by force. That would be impossible. If I did, my heart would crumble when hers did.

After much deliberation, Yuri said.

“…Alright.”

“You trust me…?”

“You are, that is… Mima was my only ally. And if you were planning to charm me with your beauty, you wouldn’t have acted out such a pathetic scene. And…”

The gaze. As if peering deep inside me.

“…Someone with those eyes doesn’t seem like they could betray me.”

“……..”

That’s the right answer.

Yuri pulled my hand, tucking herself into my embrace. She was a slightly smaller version of Yuri, so I could envelop her in one go, just like Yuna.

Yuri hesitated until the very end. Clutching the key with both hands, worrying about all the negative possibilities, and then. At some moment, she mustered the courage. And spoke up.

“…I have something to say, too. How was I today?”

“You were beautiful. Especially today.”

“Is that so… I’m glad to hear that.”

Yuri smiled innocently. Her smile alone was enough to show how happy she was. A drop of coquettishness mixed with the purity of a lily.

And then, she handed over the key with both hands. Softly.

“Does this mean I have quite a talent for acting?”

…Uh.

A sense of crisis creeps up my spine.

Why? It’s in front of Yuri. Why should I feel a sense of crisis? The situation isn’t dangerous at all. Right?

The key is, deeply embedded in my chest…

Click-click-click-click.

The sound of gears meshing and turning echoes throughout the world. How did I not notice such a loud noise?

The “key,” an object unusually rich in information, contained not only the key to the next level but also a wealth of malicious data.

My lifeline is paralyzed.

In front of me, a mess of confusion, Yuri… no.

The queen, wearing Yuri’s shell, spun around proudly. The shell melted away. Her hair turned white, and her suit transformed into a pure white dress. I finally came face to face with the succubus queen.

And with an expression that seemed to have gathered all the allure in the world, she said:

“Ufufu… How about it, don’t I look very much like a ‘heroine’♥?”

A myriad of thoughts flash through my mind in an instant. Regret, confusion, anger, sorrow, each emotion flares up and then fades away. What remains is a single sentence.

Was I too complacent?

“Ahaha, ahahaha, ahahahahaha──!!”

Clunk. The door to the underground opens, and I, powerless, fall.

With the queen’s seductive laughter ringing in my ears, I sink deep into unconsciousness.

—

“Ehehe, hehe… Ahahahahat──!!”

Second basement level. The queen, who had dropped the mad magician into the depths of consciousness, laughed for a long time. She laughed until tears streamed down her face.

It feels like my heart is tearing apart. The queen was feeling emotional pain. And that was what made it funny.

The pain of having betrayed a loved one and driven them into a corner, all because of the emotions of Yuri, implanted for the sake of acting!

“Ahaha… What a novel experience. Ah, to think I’d cry over a man. I never imagined it.”

Below was a well-crafted “disguise.”

The shards of glass that fell long ago, and ‘Mima’ who just fell. They will slowly melt inside and be reduced to information. ‘Mima,’ who has taken damage from the “Key” and whose lifeline has been cut, has no means to crawl up from the inside.

I won.

The queen raised a toast of victory amidst joy and sorrow.

—

I opened my eyes. It’s pitch black.

It’s a pitch-black space. Sticky black tar is dripping down from the sky, and the ground feels so sticky it seems deadly.

My skin stings. These black substances are, so to speak, informational acidic materials. They are slowly dissolving the information that constitutes me and digesting it. I’ve been devoured.

Now, let’s check.

“The queen is a b*tch.”

Good. Ideological verification okay. Then what about love?

“I really like Yuri.”

This remains. Even if spurred on by the queen, my feelings were right. The budding affection still throbs in a corner of my heart. But.

That affection is crouching in a corner, beaten up by other emotions… like anger or the instinct to survive. I can control it. Okay.

Please. Why couldn’t you just date properly?

For the first time, the emotion called love went haywire, and I became too immersed in Yuri, whom I had met just a few days ago…

Was I always the type to lose my mind and fall head over heels when I fall for someone…?

Calm down. Continue the check.

That damn clanking noise? Can’t hear it. Good.

The melting speed? If I defend thoroughly, I can last about three days.

The lifeline? It was cut long ago. Twisted and snapped so thoroughly that it’s been scrambled.

Based on such information… I coldly grasped the reality.

I’m screwed. I humbly acknowledged it.

Having been devoured by the succubus queen and lost my lifeline, it seems I can’t escape and will just melt away? No. I refuse to give up.

Though I’ve been played by the queen since entering here, a fight isn’t over until it’s over. If necessary, I’ll even tamper with the metamorphosis random gacha.

So what exactly is screwed?

“……..”

“……..”

The pink-haired lez staring at me from over there seems real, not a hallucination or an act.

Please, let it not be true.

I’d rather the queen be in the midst of her second act. As meticulous as she is, escape would be harder, but I’d rather take on hard mode. Please. God help me.

But even the heavens are indifferent. Pinkbalez, melting into the black tar, spoke nonchalantly.

“So, did you fancy me, young and firm as I am, you ant-kissing sorcerer?”

“……..”

Damn it.

“You know, I never knew what love was… but now, I think I’ve come to understand.”

“aaah-!!”

I covered my ears and rolled around. If I die here, it’s from sheer embarrassment. The killer isn’t the queen; it’s Pinkbalez.

Our reunion was somewhat sordid.