“Keeeeen!!”

As soon as I opened the door at the top of the tower, Rafne, who had been sitting down, ran straight toward me.

“Waaaaah…! You really came…! I thought you weren’t going to!”

“I told you I would, didn’t I?”

My legs, already worn out from carrying all the supplies, gave out as soon as Rafne clung to me.

‘Talk about extreme contrasts.’

Not long ago, I was met with Emily’s disgusted gaze, as if I were filth, and now Rafne, the girl who said she couldn’t live without me, was embracing me.

Ironically, the first is the righteous protagonist, and the second was the one who led the bullying.

I couldn’t help but smile.

“Sniff… b-but what’s all this?”

“Oh, I said I’d help fix your curse, right? This is for that.”

As I mentioned before, the dormitory and the tower are on opposite ends of the academy. The items I’m going to create to break Rafne’s curse won’t be made in one go.

Since I’d have to come back here every time to test the prototypes, I figured it’d be more efficient to work from her tower. Her room is spacious enough for my equipment, and being here would be good for her too.

“Sniff… thank you… thank you, Ken.”

Rafne buried her face into my round stomach, sobbing as she did.

[Possessed Trait: Despair – Current Value: 56%]

Fortunately, since my visits began, her despair, once at 100%, had dropped by nearly half.

She was crying so much that I was worried she might get dehydrated, but as long as her mental state was stabilizing, it should be okay… right?

“I made this and this, oh, and this too! What do you think? Do you like it?”

After roughly organizing my things and sitting down at the table, Rafne began bringing out the food she had prepared.

Just like at breakfast, the table was filled with an enormous amount of food.

“Rafne… you made all of this?”

“Yeah, hehe. You like it, right? And this, and this too.”

The dishes she presented were filled with all kinds of delicious meats. Just seeing them made my body react, and it hit me instantly.

These were Ken Feinstein’s favorite foods.

Grrrr~

A loud rumble came from my stomach.

“Take your time! Eat slowly! Here, water.”

I dug into the food like a starving man. I tore into a drumstick, sipped on a meat-based soup, and bit into crispy pork.

This place was heaven.

“Chomp, gulp, it’s so good… so good, Rafne!”

“I’m glad…”

And now I understood. The real reason Ken couldn’t lose weight.

To him, food was the only joy in life.

The sensation of filling his mouth with food he loved, savoring the texture, and then swallowing it into his empty stomach.

The satisfaction and pleasure completely dominated his brain.

Sigh, how am I supposed to lose weight?

“Chomp… by the way, Rafne, how did you know the foods I like?”

Satisfied with the meal, a question came to mind.

Sure, Rafne and Ken knew each other, but they weren’t exactly close enough to share meals.

If anything, they had more of a bullying relationship, so it was surprising she knew his favorite foods.

Rafne hesitated, lowering her gaze as her voice trembled.

“Well, uh… last year, I used to steal… your favorite foods… I'm sorry… I’m really sorry.”

“Oh, I see.”

Considering how obsessed Ken was with food, it made sense. Stealing the thing that gave him the most happiness would’ve been more effective than any other form of bullying.

As I chewed my food, lost in thought, Rafne must have interpreted my silence as anger.

Her expression darkened, and she started to panic.

“I-I’m sorry, are you mad? I’m really reflecting on it, so… please forgive me. I’m sorry I took your favorite food! I didn’t know how much you liked it, I’m sorry…!”

I didn’t care at all, but Rafne was bowing down, pleading for forgiveness.

Tears began welling up in her dull eyes.

[Possessed Trait: Despair – Current Value: 78%, 79%, 80%…]

Wait, wait, don’t raise your despair level just because of this!

“No, seriously, I’m not mad! In fact, I’m really happy to be eating something so delicious right now.”

And it was true. I didn’t care what had happened to Ken in the past—whether it was stolen food, toys, or money, it didn’t matter to me.

But Rafne must have taken my calmness the wrong way, as her tears began to fall.

“Sniff… Ken, you’re such an angel. Thank you… You must actually be mad, but you’re holding it in because of me, right? I’m sorry…”

“No, that’s not it…!”

Dealing with someone with a broken mind is really tough.

I need to do something about this rising despair level before it spirals out of control.

Throughout the meal, I did my best to lift Rafne’s spirits.

The last thing I needed was her despair spiking and triggering a bad ending.

The thought of visiting her tower for breakfast only to be greeted by her shadow hanging from a rope made me shudder.

“So, that doll over there… you said it was a new one?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I once read in a book that people really want someone to listen to their stories.

So, I tried my best to listen attentively to everything she said.

I nodded along, showing I was paying attention.

After a year of isolation from people, Rafne must have had so much to say.

Even if it was about imaginary conversations with her dolls, the fact that she could talk about it—and that someone was there to listen—would surely help heal her mind.

[Possessed Trait: Despair – Current Value: 42%]

Phew, I passed that hurdle.

Rafne chatted endlessly for what felt like an hour. I was surprised she managed without any conversations for so long.

Her mood improved as she talked, and the tears in her eyes gave way to a brighter, more lively look.

“You know, I never realized how easy it is to talk with you, Ken.”

That was her conclusion after talking nonstop for about an hour.

Apparently, humans feel a strong sense of closeness to those who listen to them.

Who knew I’d end up proving that fact myself?

“…Huh?”

Then, just as her despair levels were dropping, something else caught my eye on the status screen.

[Possessed Trait: … Dependency LV 6]

‘…Level 6?’

Her dependency level had increased.

No, level 6?! If this were a swordsmanship skill, she’d be right on the verge of becoming a swordmaster.

How is she maxing out a debuff skill like dependency?

“Ken, um… while you were gone earlier, I thought about something.”

As I stared at that absurd level, Rafne suddenly spoke up.

She was smiling brightly, just like before, but there was something unnerving about her eyes.

“When you leave here… of course, you said you’ll come back, but what if you change your mind? What if one day, you don’t want to come back to the tower anymore or you don’t want to see me?”

“I-I mean, that’s not going to happen! I said I’ll always come back, no matter what…”

“…But I hurt you, and I did wrong, so I can understand if you decide not to come back. But if you leave, I’m sure I’ll lose all hope.”

Her expression hardened, probably as she imagined that future.

Then, she smiled at me with a hopeful look.

Her eyes were lifeless, but she was clearly smiling.

“So, I came up with a great idea!”

“…W-what is it?”

Feeling a strange sense of dread, I swallowed nervously.

Her next words were shocking.

“I’ll have your baby!”

“…What?”

She said it with a completely serious face, though it sounded like a joke.

But her eyes showed she wasn’t kidding.

“If you don’t want to come back here, then I’ll just have your baby and raise it. That way, even if you don’t want to come anymore, I won’t be alone. I think it’s a great idea! What do you think, Ken?”

Having a baby together… That’s not something a girl would suggest so casually.

What was scarier was that she didn’t seem to feel any embarrassment, excitement, or romantic feelings about it.

“And if we have a baby, wouldn’t you want to keep coming here? H-hehe.”

She genuinely wanted a baby to avoid being alone.

Her dark eyes were looking at me with greed.

“No, no, hold on—let’s think this through, Rafne!”

I quickly stopped her from rushing ahead.

“Why? Isn’t it a good idea?”

“Well, what about your curse?”

Rushing to deny her outright wasn’t the best approach. There’s a chance she might use her skills to force the issue if I handle this poorly.

She seemed that determined.

So, I needed to approach this rationally and logically.

“Curse? What about the curse?”

“What if the baby is affected by your curse?”

Exactly. The only reason I’m not affected by her curse is because I’m a possessor.

There’s no telling whether a baby would inherit immunity to the curse.

Upon hearing my words, Rafne faltered, realizing the flaw in her plan.

She hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“Well, maybe because it’s our baby, it’ll be immune too…?”

As if that were likely.

“No, Rafne. You need to be realistic. We need to consider the worst-case scenario.”

“Worst… case?”

“Yeah, if the baby is affected by the curse, it wouldn’t be able to stay here. Someone would have to raise it outside.”

It’s impossible to raise a child in an environment filled with extreme stress.

Rafne seemed to understand the implications of my words.

“Then…”

“Right, I wouldn’t be able to visit the tower because I’d have to raise the baby. That means you’d be left here alone again.”

“A-ah… Aaaaaah…”

The thought of being alone again filled Rafne’s eyes with despair.

[Possessed Trait: Despair – Current Value: 74%... 77%... 81%]

“So, that’s just one possible outcome. For now, don’t worry. I’ll keep visiting, okay?”

“Sniff… okay. I’m sorry.”

I never imagined she’d come up with something this insane.