As soon as I left the Black Market, I sat in a nearby café with Esther, thinking about the near future. Or rather, about one person.
Yennefer Ye Heresia.
Princess of the Dark Elves and one of the [Fates].
Honestly, even I thought that after what she had experienced, she had every reason to want people dead.
But it was still world-shattering, a finale I wanted to avoid.
So I had to stop her at all costs.
And the best way to do that was to save her siblings.
Of course, it won't completely fix the situation, but it's something we can already work with.
"Esther."
"Yes, Young Master?"
Reluctantly tearing herself away from the cream cakes in her hand, she looked at me.
"Do you know the man who rules this neighborhood?"
"Hmm... that's Baron Thebald, isn't it?"
"That's right."
Baron Thebald, also known among players as the Fat Perverted Baron.
True to his principles, he couldn't pass by cute boys and cute girls that look like cute boys.
He was the one who bought Lily – Yennefer's sweet little sister – for his dirty games.
The problem is that the place where Lily is kept changed every time in the game. So even after spending many cycles here, I didn't know which of the countless places the Fat Baron would choose.
Searching them all in a short period of time was impossible even with the full influence of the Nilfheims, let alone me and Esther.
And more often than not, by the time the player has found the place on their own, her little sister is already tortured and killed, brutally crushed by the weight of the Baron, whereupon Yennifer's psyche breaks down and she begins her evolution into the Cataclysm of this world.
That's why I needed the help of a man like Dung Beetle. His filthy net should provide the answer.
Closing my eyes, I tried to come to my senses and calm down.
Even if I crashed with grief right now, there was nothing I could do before Dung Beetle gave me the information.
Since I couldn't do anything about it now, it would make sense to do other things.
After finishing my coffee, I got up from the table. Esther had finished eating her desserts, too.
On the way back home, I stopped in a shopping district.
"Hold on a bit, I need something here."
I pointed to a store with a sign [Herbs and Potions].
"Then I will be here, Young Master."
After greeting the saleswoman in a large cosplay witch hat, I quickly found what I needed.
After paying for my purchases from a wallet almost as heavy as the one I had before visiting the Black Market, I left the store in high spirits.
Alternating between dark and light alleys, we were on our way to the Nilfheim mansion when Esther turned to me.
"Young Master."
"Yes, Esther?"
"You know, with the news of the end of the world, I finally decided to venture out and try the cream cakes I've been wanting for a long time."
Remembering how she'd gorged herself on them at the café earlier, I grinned.
"Heh, did you really like them that much?"
"No, they suck."
...?
"Or rather, they're good, but not as good as I expected them to be. That's why they suck."
"These things happen in life."
Sometimes our expectations don't match reality. At this point, those are all the comforting words I could say.
"I always knew life was shit."
Esther glanced at her reflection in the dark glass storefronts.
"But that's why it scares me so much. What if, in this shitty world, even my dreams turn out to be as empty as these cream cakes?"
She bit her lip.
But at this point—
"My daughter, what matters is not whether your dreams are empty or not, what matters is that they are yours and yours alone. Fill them to the brim with yourself and you will find happiness."
Gigachad's words rang in her ears. When she heard them, Esther bowed her head and thought.
I don't know how long we walked like that, but eventually something changed in her eyes.
"Thank you, Gigachad. I really feel better after those words."
"Of course, after all I'm a part of you, Esther."
Playing with his pectoral muscles, Gigachad smiled dazzlingly.
No, really, that smile was literally blinding.
Perfectly white teeth gleamed in the daylight like a second sun.
As expected of Gigachad. Even his simple words were filled with deep meaning.
Returning to the mansion without much incident, the first thing that greeted me was a blank stare of disgust from Mariette, the Head Maid.
Could it be because of what she last saw in my room?
She was especially nice today.
With a wink at her, I went up to my room.
But before I could do anything, the door opened wide and a handsome man walked in.
I looked at him. There were only two people in this manor who could brazenly enter my room without knocking.
"Big Brother."
Dantalian, First Young Master of the Nilfheims and my older brother.
...and right now, the man Esther and I denounced to the Special Inquisition.