SWNOVELXO Chapter 148
TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 148
Evening came again.
[Would you like to view information about Vitality?]
In the room where darkness had settled, I was staring at the blue window.
The blue window I gazed at while sitting in the chair felt terrifying. Because I had no idea what Vitality contained, what it consumed, or what price it demanded.
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t scared.
If Vitality meant lifespan, then honestly, there was no alternative. Even digging through the knowledge of the novel, there were only two ways to extend one’s lifespan.
One was to reach the realm beyond Sword Master.
And.
The other was to abandon being human.
The former increased the perfection of the body, creating a miracle that extended the human lifespan of 100 years by five to seven times, or even approached immortality. The latter prolonged life through something called Dark Magic.
I didn’t want to use the latter method if possible. There are things a person should and shouldn’t do.
As someone who loves love and justice, walking the path of a villain felt a bit wrong.
But reaching the realm beyond Sword Master was practically impossible. In the novel, it was only mentioned as “such a realm exists,” and no one had ever actually reached it—a divine realm.
Just reaching the level of Sword Master would be enough to extend one’s lifespan.
I nodded slowly, burdened with worry.
“Alright.”
Let’s give it a try.
It wouldn’t be too late to think about it after taking the hit. Thinking it would be better to face it head-on, I gave my answer to the blue window’s question.
“Yes.”
[Viewing information about Vitality.]
And.
The blue window began to reveal information about Vitality in a way I hadn’t expected.
-Viewing of Side Story No. 102, “The True Meaning of Vitality,” begins.
***
Another sunny morning at the Glorious Estate.
Olivia, who had woken up earlier than usual, was staring at the dawn sky with blinking eyes.
-Chirp! Chirp!
“Ugh…”
Woken up by the chirping of birds at dawn, Olivia covered her ears and threw punches into the empty space.
The chirping of those little creatures, which wouldn’t even make a decent fried chicken, sounded louder than usual today.
-Chirp chirp chirp chirp!
“Eeeek! You little birds that aren’t even worth a bite!”
Back when Ricardo was a vagabond in the slum, Olivia had once eaten a sparrow. She remembered receiving a roasted sparrow as a token of gratitude for putting a gold coin in a begging tin—a memory she didn’t particularly cherish.
-What’s this?
-A sparrow.
-Is it edible?
-Yes.
-I don’t think so…
-Then don’t eat it.
-I won’t.
-Then I’ll eat it all myself. Looks delicious…!
-Eeeek…! Don’t eat it all by yourself!
Olivia remembered it as the worst ingredient, with drumsticks the size of a booger, no meat to eat, and plenty of bones to pick out.
Annoyed at the tasteless creatures disturbing her sleep, Olivia found the sparrows utterly unlikable.
She wanted to go back to sleep, but they kept interrupting her. At this rate, it felt like she might have to voice her concerns about the Empire’s safety in an urgent situation.
It was still too early….
[06:12]
Thinking it was too early to wake Ricardo, Olivia pressed her lips tightly together, suppressing the patriotic feelings rising in her throat.
“Air…”
-Chirp chirp chirp!
“Eeeek…!”
She couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Air raid alar—!”
Just as the words “Air Raid Alarm” were about to escape her lips, a stranger’s hand abruptly covered her mouth.
“Mmph…!”
Olivia rolled her eyes to follow the rude fingers covering her mouth. She didn’t know who it was, but as someone upset about having her patriotic concern for the Empire interrupted, Olivia was not in a good mood.
Just as she was about to voice her irritation in an annoyed tone.
“The Empire is safe, Young Lady.”
“Huh…?”
“And why are you getting angry at the sparrows? You enjoyed eating them before.”
Ricardo’s gentle voice reached Olivia’s ears.
Ricardo was looking at Olivia with a small smile. His tired eyes gazing down at her seemed heavily fatigued, as if he hadn’t slept a wink.
Olivia opened and closed her lips, staring at Ricardo.
“Rihardo? (Ricardo?)”
Unable to pronounce properly because Ricardo was covering her mouth, Olivia opened her mouth and bit down on Ricardo’s palm. The salty taste of Ricardo’s palm wasn’t pleasant.
“Why are you biting me?!”
“Just because.”
“What do you mean, ‘just because’?! I thought I woke you up sweetly…”
“Hehe…!”
Olivia gave a mischievous smile and stared at Ricardo. Wiping the saliva off his hand with a handkerchief, Ricardo frowned slightly and gently stroked Olivia’s head.
“Don’t bite me. It hurts.”
“It’s tasteless, so I won’t bite anymore.”
“…”
Ricardo muttered, “I’ll try putting chocolate on it next time,” then smiled and spoke in a low voice.
“Young Lady.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you up so early? You should sleep more.”
“Those birds woke me up.”
Olivia gestured toward the sparrows with a pouty expression, demanding divine punishment for the sparrows that disturbed her sleep.
Smiling, Ricardo said something like an animal rights activist: “Please bear with it,” while stroking Olivia’s head.
Olivia repeated Ricardo’s question back to him. Why was he up so early? Wasn’t it still time to sleep? Olivia asked, looking at Ricardo.
“Why are you up so early, Ricardo? The sun hasn’t even risen yet.”
“Ah… I had a nightmare.”
“A nightmare?”
“Yes.”
At the mention of a nightmare, Olivia fell into thought. Nightmares were indeed scary. Knowing how it felt to lose the will to sleep again after dreaming of ghosts or losing snacks, she asked Ricardo in a concerned voice.
“Did you dream of losing snacks?”
“No.”
“What the heck.”
Olivia let out a bored sigh and shook her head at Ricardo’s uninteresting dream story.
“That’s not even a scary dream.”
“Is that so? I found it terrifying.”
“Was it really that scary?”
“Yes. It was very frightening.”
Ricardo’s sigh, heavy with the word “very,” reached Olivia’s ears. Hearing Ricardo’s trembling breath, as if burdened with many thoughts, Olivia turned her head to look at him and asked.
“Eat something. You’re just hungry.”
“No, it’s just that my thoughts became complicated, and I couldn’t sleep.”
“Complicated?”
“Yes, something I thought was fine turned out to be frightening when I saw it in my dream.”
“Ricardo, you coward.”
“Not as much as you, Young Lady.”
“Eeeek! What’s that supposed to mean about me?!”
“Where’s the person who begged to sleep together because of a cockroach?”
“It’s dead now.”
“Pfft…!”
Ricardo didn’t go into detail about the nightmare he had. Saying that the Young Lady would be shocked and faint if she heard, Ricardo kept the events of the dream a secret, wearing a slightly gloomy expression as he shared his thoughts about it.
“It was really terrifying.”
Ricardo stopped stroking Olivia’s hair and stood still.
Seeing Ricardo’s trembling eyes fixed on her, Olivia, determined to show the dignity of a master, spoke to Ricardo in a firm voice.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, Ricardo.”
“Oh… That’s kind of touching.”
“Yeah. So lie down here.”
Olivia patted the spot next to her on the bed, signaling Ricardo to lie down. Although she knew it was highly improper for a man and a woman to share the same bed, she thought she could at least offer a spot to her butler who had come to her out of fear from a nightmare.
Olivia, not the type of master to coldly turn away a butler who sought her out in fear, wriggled to make space next to her on the bed and pulled the blanket aside slightly.
Ricardo stared blankly.
Their awkward gazes crossed in the empty space.
“Lie down.”
“It’s quite an appealing suggestion, but if I lie in the same bed as you, Young Lady, I don’t think my heart will function properly.”
“I don’t smell.”
“That’s not the reason, though…”
Ricardo took a deep breath and covered his flushed face with his hands. Whether it was a fever or not, Ricardo’s reddened earlobes caught Olivia’s gaze as she stared at him softly.
“Ricardo, do you have a fever?”
“No.”
“Doesn’t seem like it. Your face is red.”
“It’s just your imagination.”
Knowing that her butler’s words weren’t always trustworthy, Olivia grabbed Ricardo’s wrist and pulled him toward the bed.
“Eeeek!”
Caught off guard, Ricardo’s body was tugged by Olivia’s hand and made to sit on the bed.
Ricardo placed his hand near Olivia’s pillow as he tried to steady himself, his body collapsing into an awkward posture as he looked at her.
Ricardo’s face, staring intently at Olivia as if they were lovers about to kiss.
Olivia, with a sullen expression, grabbed Ricardo’s cheeks with both hands and pulled his face closer to hers.
With a soft ‘thud,’ their foreheads touched. Olivia, observing Ricardo’s flustered expression, gave a short and concise remark.
“No fever.”
“No, but…”
“What? Are you sick?”
As Olivia moved her forehead toward Ricardo’s again to check, Ricardo hastily pushed her away.
“What are you doing…!”
“Health check.”
“Who checks for a fever like this…!”
Olivia, with a confident expression, answered Ricardo. She thought there was nothing wrong with it since someone like her existed in the world.
“Why, is it wrong?”
“No, it’s not wrong, but don’t check other people’s fevers like this. Seriously…”
Olivia replied to Ricardo.
“I won’t do it to anyone else. Not even to Father.”
“Why not?”
“It’s bothersome.”
Olivia smiled brightly and coaxed Ricardo to lie down beside her, holding his wrist gently.
“You’re my butler, Ricardo, so I’ll check your fever.”
Ricardo, letting out a helpless smile, lay down next to Olivia and spoke.
“Honestly… You’re impossible to deal with.”
Trembling from his nightmare, Ricardo lay next to Olivia and closed his eyes. Slowly, the two of them drifted off to sleep.
Five hours later.
“Ricardo… I’m hungry.”
Olivia woke Ricardo up.
*
[End of viewing.]
I stared at the illusion displayed by the Blue Window with trembling eyes, my hands shaking.
The tragedy unfolding in this familiar space was making me feel the emotion of ‘fear’ for the first time.
A fear greater than what I had felt even in battles where I crossed the line of life and death—this fear was something I was experiencing in the Young Lady’s Room.
-Ricardo…?
-…
-Wake up, Ricardo.
The Young Lady was holding my cold, lifeless body and crying. She called my name, tears streaming endlessly, looking like someone stranded on an isolated island.
Unable to bear the rising sorrow, she beat her chest.
Uttering words of disbelief, she held me tightly, speaking to me without pause.
-Huh?
-…
-Why aren’t you answering?
-…
-I can walk now… Look… I’m walking like this. Look, Ricardo…!
At the end of her long, sorrowful cries, the moment her tears stopped.
The cold darkness began to engulf the Young Lady’s body, rippling ominously.
It was fear.
A fear greater than my own death.
-I’ll save you. No matter what it takes.
[Vitality…]
[Consumes the user’s lifespan as a medium.]