Copy Skills with Affinity!

Chapter 15

Why Are You Doing This

Katya’s world had always been divided into two colors.

Black and white.

It wasn’t a metaphorical distinction. The world she saw through her eyes was truly split into nothing but those two colors.

They had said it was one of the side effects caused by the holy flame forcibly protecting her entire body, distorting all her senses.

Heat, cold, the flow of air, the feeling of clothes against her skin, taste, smell...

If she had never known those sensations to begin with, perhaps it would have been different.

But since she had lost them only after offering her first vow, it became all the more unbearable.

A body that could feel nothing. Among all the senses that had been ruined, the only ones that remained intact were her sight and hearing.

And even those had eventually begun to warp under the influence of the holy flame coiled within her body. She remembered, vividly even though it had been so long ago, just how much she had despaired in that moment.

The dead appeared black. The living appeared white.

And when she looked at herself in the mirror.

She was always gray.

A human who was alive only because she couldn’t die.

In a world divided into white and black, she alone existed in that state. As if she had been completely cut off from everything else.

It was unbearably tedious. So tedious she had stopped caring what happened.

Until just moments ago.

“You’re out of your damn mind-!”

Lionhearted’s scream rang out from the side.

A bullet so white it looked like it would cling to her optic nerves came flying toward her. And the moment it pierced her heart—

It hurt.

A sensation she had forgotten for so long came flooding back to her.

The moment when the holy flame embedded in her body was forced back, suppressed by an external power—something no one had ever managed before.

Her bodily senses returned.

Just for the briefest instant. Only in that short moment when her heart was pierced.

Color returned to the world.

Brilliant, vibrant colors.

Scenery she had thought she would never see again in her lifetime filled her eyes.

The black night sky. The moon scattering pale light. The people’s expressions. Their faces. The air itself. The blood splattering all around.

Not black and white, but the world as it truly was—the same as everyone else saw it.

And standing at the center of it all.

Holding a revolver still drifting with gun smoke, meeting her gaze—was a man named Aiden Kellermain.

*

Flowing, melting, clinging, that sight was etched beneath Katya’s eyelids.

She too kept her eyes fixed on him, as if even the time it took to blink was too precious to waste.

As the holy flame within her body vanished, her strength to remain standing disappeared, and she collapsed.

But even so.

She kept watching.

She kept watching.

Until her consciousness slipped away and everything went pitch black.

Katya never looked away from that man.

As if she would never let go of him, no matter what.

▣

The cleanup, as always, had been carried out with remarkable precision.

It had taken less than a few hours to wrap up everything—rounding up the remaining enemies, confiscating the smuggled weapons, and detaining the unconscious Katya.

Of course, even with such a tidy conclusion, there was always at least one person left feeling out of sorts.

In this case, that person was Aiden, who was staring at his status window with an expression as serious as if the world were ending.

At any rate, no one had died, Noel was unharmed, and Aiden himself hadn’t suffered a single injury. It was good that everything was settled so cleanly.

Strictly speaking, though, for Aiden, this was the point where it was all truly beginning.

-Skill Info

◆ Mana Arts: The Savior’s Vow

※ Unique – Only this character possesses this skill!

Geas: Save the world.

The sole vow offered to the God of Ascension, Urgan. When you take actions related to the vow you offered, the skill’s power increases significantly.

* Quest Info

◈ Act I,

* You have formed close ties with important figures of the main scenario.

* Your existence is now officially incorporated into the scenario. The scenario will be newly restructured around you.

…The water had already been spilled.

Aiden let out a small, self-mocking laugh.

It was something he had absolutely never intended to do, but in the end, he had done it anyway.

Since it had come to this, though, he had no real regrets.

If the Protagonist wasn’t here, everyone was doomed to die eventually anyway.

With that person gone.

The only one who knew the world’s future and could prepare for it was Aiden.

More than anything else.

When that future without the Protagonist came crashing down, the people who would be swept away included Aiden himself and his family.

There wasn’t a single reason not to act.

He slapped his own cheek hard enough to make a sharp sound, then took a deep breath.

Now that his path was set, it was obvious he would have to move much more actively than before.

Above all—

There wasn’t a single thing that was following the original story.

The fact that the Protagonist was missing.

Katya’s sudden appearance.

The mystery of who was behind the arms smuggling.

The hostility between the Emperor and the Second Prince.

The framework within which the scenario was unfolding hadn’t strayed much from what he knew, but the details filling in that frame were completely different from what he remembered.

Therefore, what he needed right now—

Was to bridge the gap between this real world, where the gears were out of alignment, and the original world he knew.

Only then would he be able to prepare properly for when the true “Act I” began.

He already knew the rough progression. However, he would have to examine every individual involved in that episode in detail.

♠ Main Quest

◈ Act I,

Chapter 1 will begin soon!

Aiden narrowed his eyes as he glared at the window floating before him.

If it’s Chapter 1…

It would be the “Phantom Knight” incident in the Imperial Capital.

An event forcibly triggered by the organization behind the arms smuggling, meant to deepen the chaos within the capital.

Every night, at a fixed hour, a phantom knight clad in armor would appear out of nowhere and roam the city streets, plunging the citizens into terror night after night.

It had been the Protagonist’s role to subdue that phantom knight and restore peace to the people.

If he remembered correctly, this was exactly the point in the original story when the Protagonist first became entangled with Noel, marking the true start of the scenario.

“……”

Of course, Aiden himself had skipped over that entire process and ended up occupying the position of Noel’s fake husband.

“Ah, Aiden.”

“…Thank you for your hard work.”

And as if speaking of a tiger made it appear, Noel trudged into the room, looking thoroughly exhausted.

Under normal circumstances, this woman would never show such a worn-out expression, but the scale of the mess she’d had to clean up was hardly ordinary.

Considering that a royal of another nation had caused such a commotion, and she’d been forced to handle it single-handedly, he couldn’t even begin to imagine the burden she’d shouldered.

“How is the princess’s condition?”

“She’s cooperating more quietly than I expected.”

With a sigh, Noel removed her hat and brushed back her hair.

“Since there were no casualties in the end, the consensus was not to make the situation any bigger than it already is, and for everyone to simply remain quiet for now.”

“I see.”

“It’s fortunate, I suppose. Though it’s hardly satisfying.”

Just like with His Highness Daniel before, the authority of royalty was beyond anything imaginable.

To be frank.

Both times had been little more than acts of self-defense, but Aiden had harmed two members of the Holy Crown Kingdom’s royal family. It wouldn’t have been the least bit strange if some sort of threat had been made against his safety by now.

If the other side wanted to keep it quiet, though, that was hardly bad news for him.

“They said they’ll be dispatching an additional delegation from the Holy Crown Kingdom to discuss the related matters.”

“A delegation?”

“Setting aside the issue with Princess Katya, there’s still the unresolved matter of your ability to wield the holy flame. They said it would take some time, but this time they’re coming through formal channels and on a much larger scale.”

-Which meant.

Someone in a fairly high position within the Holy Crown Kingdom would be coming over personally.

Just to meet with Aiden, they had first sent a princess. And now, they were going to send someone even more significant…

“……”

Aiden’s mind started running calculations.

He already had a rough idea of which high-ranking figures were in play within the Holy Crown Kingdom.

If, someday, such a person were to arrive as part of the delegation, then what he would have to do—

“That’s good news.”

“Pardon?”

Aiden clenched his teeth as he answered.

“I’ll make sure to collect every debt they owe me.”

After all, he was the one who had been dragged into conflicts twice in a row by the Holy Crown Kingdom’s royals. If things had reached this point, it wouldn’t be worth his while unless he managed to wring something out of them in return.

Seeing his expression, Noel’s lips twisted slightly.

“Are you plotting something?”

“I am. Without question.”

“…I’m rather looking forward to it.”

Just wait and see.

He fully intended to put them through something very interesting.

While he was chewing over that determination, Noel let out a sigh and continued.

“And… Princess Katya did set one condition in exchange for not causing any more disturbances for the time being.”

…The fact that she needed to set a condition just to refrain from rioting really said everything about her, but still.

He ought to hear it out first.

“A condition?”

When Aiden asked in bewilderment, Noel scratched her cheek.

A clear sign that she herself found it rather absurd.

“…She requested a meeting with you. She insisted you come see her, no matter what.”

▣

Aiden scratched his head as he looked around.

When he had heard Katya was being held in the detention block beneath the Imperial Capital Command, he’d pictured a rather grim atmosphere.

But right now, the sight before him made it clear he could discard that expectation immediately.

Lying sprawled out on her back across the bed, rolling around lazily—Katya didn’t look the least bit like the violent menace she had been before.

More like a languid cat…

“You seem… freer than I expected.”

Considering her temperament, it wouldn’t have been surprising if they’d used every possible restraint to keep her under control. But aside from the fact that she was locked in the room, there didn’t appear to be any significant restrictions in place.

At his comment, Noel responded with a wry smile.

“…To be honest, up until just a moment ago, the atmosphere was rather hostile.”

“Was it?”

“The moment I mentioned I’d bring you, she settled down immediately.”

“…”

It was a little surprising that a princess who had rampaged like some kind of monster would grow so docile just for the sake of a single conversation with him.

But instead of showing his bewilderment outright, Aiden simply nodded slowly.

It wasn’t a reaction he couldn’t understand.

-Quest Info

◈ Life is Beautiful

-Princess Katya Heinkel Craven desperately wants something from you. Help her fully experience ‘sensation’ as much as you can!

★ You successfully caused the target to feel ‘pain.’

★ You handled the incident wisely. Speak with the character to claim your reward.

From the moment he received this quest, he had already expected he’d end up entangled with this woman more deeply than before.

He didn’t doubt that after giving a person who couldn’t feel anything the ‘stimulus’ of pain, it was inevitable she’d take an interest.

‘I don’t know what this so-called reward is supposed to be…’

From what was written, it said the Weaver of Fate’s method of application would change.

Most likely, it meant that because of the action he’d taken, the relationship between him and Katya would shift in some way.

What direction that would take, however, was anyone’s guess.

‘…I just hope it’s nothing too terrible.’

He sincerely meant that.

Granted, since he’d fulfilled the objective of making her feel sensation again, it probably wouldn’t come back to harm him directly but with her, you could never be sure.

There weren’t many people in the world as capricious as Katya Heinkel Craven.

For all he knew, she might be harboring some grudge against him anyway…

“Ah.”

While he was lost in those thoughts—

Katya, who had spotted Aiden approaching the front of the detention cell, suddenly sprang to her feet.

“You’re here!”

Hearing her voice, bright and bursting with energy, made Aiden’s expression twist into something unrecognizably strained.

And it wasn’t just her voice. The smile spread across Katya’s face was so wide and pure it looked like she was using every muscle in her face to make it happen.

She looked exactly like a pet reunited with its master after far too long apart.

“….”

What in the world was this.

The whole scene carried the surreal quality of watching a massive dinosaur trying to act cute.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about this a lot!”

Even as Aiden stood frozen, Katya’s voice continued on, bright and unrestrained.

“I’ve decided—I’m not going back to the Holy Crown Kingdom!”

“….”

Aiden slowly turned to look at Noel, his face blank with disbelief.

He meant it as a silent plea for an explanation, but seeing Noel standing there with her mouth hanging open, it was obvious this was the first she’d heard of it too.

“….”

No—

Before he even thought about how she planned to do that, or what she intended to do, or whether it was even possible—

He needed to ask this first.

“…Why…?”

The moment he managed to squeeze out that question—

She answered immediately, as if she’d been waiting.

“Obviously.”

Just like that.

With a tone that all but asked why he would even bother questioning something so self-evident—

Katya continued, still wearing that broad, unsettling smile.

“You’re here. So why would I go back there?”

“….”

For some reason, a shiver crawled down his spine at that sentence.

And right then—

A window abruptly appeared before Aiden’s eyes.

-Quest Info

◈ Life is Beautiful

* Resolving the related quest.

* The Weaver of Fate’s application regarding ‘Katya’ will change!

* The bond type has changed to ‘Obsession!’

* From now on, the target will be intensely preoccupied with your every move, and the importance she places on her relationship with you will become extremely high across all aspects of her mental state.

* Additional skills available for copying have been unlocked!

…Uh.

What?