How much time has passed?
The fact that just hearing a voice can stir up emotions like this means I definitely didn't manage to take the antidote.
And I'm feeling weak, too.
This is a familiar sensation. The magical restraints placed on me feel exactly like the ones that bound me when I was captured with Elias.
"This is too much."
I muttered to myself, staring up at the ceiling.
I could have broken free when I dealt with Koffman, but they brought the same restraints again, just using different materials.
From somewhere out of my sight, someone replied.
"Compared to how you've been lying and deceiving people with a facade of sincerity, which one do you think is worse?"
"Let's say they're equally bad. But more importantly…."
I turned my head to look at Gerda.
"Your skills are better than I thought. I hadn't heard you could use mind control magic directly."
"Shouldn't I have at least one weapon of my own?"
So she had been hiding it?
I have no regrets about using the potion to exploit her emotions in order to break down her defenses.
I thought she smelled like one of my own before, and it seems I was right.
'I need to think this through.'
Strauch and others might be lenient in some ways, but at least they didn't completely immobilize me.
But what's odd is that Gerda Asman is at least 15 cm shorter than me.
'She must have something she's relying on.'
Does she plan to keep using that power she used earlier?
If she uses it before I can throw a punch, I'll just keep falling asleep, and there won't be much of a fight at all.
'As for the exit…'
It'll be a miracle if I can reach it without being put to sleep first.
And even if I manage to open the door, it won't lead back to our world without Gerda Asman's pendant.
At that moment, I noticed Gerda's expression for the first time.
Her face was dark, almost frighteningly so. The way she stood made her look half-dazed.
When our eyes met, she asked in a cold voice, "When did it start?"
"What are you talking about?"
"The Wittelsbach potion."
Now I understood why she looked more shocked than before.
There was no need to humiliate her further by admitting that I deliberately took the potion before meeting her.
"...."
"You don't have to answer. It doesn't matter anymore. After all, you used me to try and kill Koffman, so what else could I expect?"
Even if it was necessary, Gerda Asman wouldn't accept that justification. I didn't expect the person I used to understand either.
Gerda Asman
Favorability +9
'…Why did her favorability go up so much?'
Wasn't I just someone she kept around for entertainment before the potion? Or did I misjudge the situation from the start?
'…It would be nice if some traits could be shaved off to make it +6 instead.'
In any case, the fastest way to resolve this is to play along with her.
I grabbed my throbbing head and sighed.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize."
Gerda cut me off.
"...."
I could guess why she didn't want an apology.
Just as it's easier for me to deal with a flat-out villain when Gerda Asman is a simple 25-year-old antagonist, it's easier for her to attack me if I'm a thorough con artist.
And apologizing would mean admitting that I used her.
'Let's calm her down first.'
Only then will I have a chance to feed her the potion that induces negative emotions. The process may not be pleasant, but it will lead to a peaceful outcome.
I opened my mouth.
"…Regardless of how it started, my feelings weren't fake. You must have figured out my condition by now, Ms. Asman."
"They may not be fake, but they're still false. What else would you call emotions created by one potion and erased by another?"
Gerda shook a bottle containing a clear liquid.
'....'
The antidote.
I had put it in my inner jacket pocket, but it seemed she confiscated it along with everything else when she sealed off my magic. My jacket was gone too.
I didn't react, but Gerda immediately uncorked the bottle and tipped it over.
*Splash—*
"...."
"I'm sorry. I can't give this to you."
Gerda got up and wiped away the liquid with her shoe.
Then she sat back down beside me.
As the silence dragged on, I turned my head to look at my body. I noticed a pressure bandage on my arm.
Before I could ask, she spoke up.
"It worked well. I didn't want to drink it until you were ready, but… well, since I found out everything, there's no point in apologizing. Isn't that right?"
"No. Bloodsucking in a church is beyond the pale."
Of course, it's beyond the pale anywhere, but there's no need to point that out. She should already know that.
I expected her to push back a little, maybe say that my actions were even more outrageous, but surprisingly, Asman asked calmly, "Is that so?"
"...."
"Before I was resurrected, I would have thought so too. Actually, come to think of it, drinking human blood wasn't even a choice in my mind. It was something out of fairy tales or folklore."
She's well aware.
Has the ideological re-education spell worn off? Why is she suddenly thinking so rationally?
"You think Pleroma is a crazy cult, right?"
"Yes."
"You're not a Pleroma yourself. You haven't even received novice training. You came here to stop Pleroma's plans through me, didn't you?"
"Precisely."
I refrained from saying sorry, as Asman had requested.
I wasn't sorry at all for thwarting Pleroma's plans.
"I thought you were sincere."
"...."
"That's why I answered your questions without suspicion."
I know.
I know exactly how you're feeling right now.
I knew what methods I had chosen, and I knew this would be the outcome.
"When I woke up again, there was nothing left. One day I opened my eyes and found I had moved 40 years into the future, and the truth was I had already died and been resurrected."
Talking about her past in this situation…
It'll just make things more uncomfortable for both of us.
But I listened quietly anyway. I didn't want to cause more resentment.
"In a world where I was left alone, I thought I had finally found someone trustworthy, but it turns out I made the wrong choice from the start."
I had no response to that.
Am I supposed to convince her that this was the best way to prevent a crime?
'That'll go over well.'
Even so, I have no regrets.
I'd make the same choice if I had to do it all over again.
To me, lives are more important than Gerda Asman's feelings. Even with the potion, that fact doesn't change.
"Perhaps you don't care about the situation of a child kidnapper… but if it were me, I'd feel the same way. I understand why you tried to stop Pleroma's plans, Mr. Weitzel."
"Now you understand?"
Why didn't you think that before you kidnapped those kids?
But at the same time, I wondered why Gerda Asman had suddenly started speaking so "normally."
"After the connection with Koffman was cut off, I realized something was wrong. I remember wanting something and bringing those children here, but I can't recall what I wanted. How could I continue to trust Pleroma in such a situation?"
"Since we're on the topic, let me tell you something: send them back immediately, before things get any worse."
"I've already sent them back to where they belong."
I felt a sudden wave of relief.
She sent them back so easily?
Is this a joke?
'Well… it's certainly good news.'
Gerda must have seen the surprise on my face because she gave a faint smile as she spoke.
"You were here to stop me from doing anything worse, right?"
"…Yes."
"I'm still confused about a lot of things, but I understand at least one of your objectives. So… what if I no longer stand on their side?"
Gerda Asman took my hand the way I had often taken hers, overlapping our fingers.
"Would that change anything? Or am I still just a tool and a target to you?"
"...."
So, she sent them back to see my reaction—to see if I'd view her differently if she removed the cause that made me use her as a tool?
She may be confused by Pleroma's brainwashing, but she hasn't completely come back to herself yet.
"No."
"…Then."
"But the truth is, I can't continue this relationship. I'm sorry. I was too careless in my thinking."
I admit it.
I was too focused on my goal, and I didn't fully consider the emotional impact on the people involved.
It was an unavoidable situation, but it's only natural for her to feel deeply betrayed.
Gerda Asman shrugged as if she had expected that. Then, with a cold expression, she spoke.
"Well, that's too bad. But I need blood."
And there's her true nature, coming out.
I also stripped my voice of emotion and replied.
"If you're thinking of returning to society, you'll have to give up that kind of activity."
"No."
Gerda responded with an icy tone.
"Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could return."
With those words, my consciousness faded again.
* * *
'This is ridiculous… I'm at a loss.'
Does Strauch deserve some credit for not drinking blood?
A day has passed in this world, and now my vision is spinning.
This body already lacks stamina, and she's practically draining it to the last drop.
I tried to use force a few times, just in case, but I failed every time. Whether it's because she's gotten stronger after drinking my blood, her skills keep improving.
I even attempted to use the retry feature, but it didn't work.
It makes sense. To undo all this, I'd have to go back two weeks and avoid meeting Gerda Asman altogether….
I shook my now pale blue left arm and spoke up.
"Let's stop this and negotiate."
"Go ahead. I'll listen."
"If you let me go, I'll let you drink my blood daily. As long as I have time to recover, you can decide the amount."
"What's your guarantee?"
"Don't you trust me?"
Gerda burst out laughing.
"Trust you?"
Then she spoke again immediately.
"I suppose I would… if all the trust you've shown me wasn't just created by a potion. But at least it's convenient. You've already taken the potion a few times, so you probably won't object to drinking it again."
"That's a terrifying thought."
From what I understand, she's suggesting that she'll keep making me drink the potion while draining my blood.
Gerda sat down in front of me, holding a bottle of an unfamiliar potion.
"You must be tired. Let's make this easy."
"What stage is that?"
I asked, eyeing the bottle in her hand.
"Does it hurt to know this much?"
"Does it matter at this point?"
"It's ten times stronger than stage 10. Ever tried it?"
No way. Drinking that would be the end of me.
I checked the status window.
Six hours have passed in the real world.
'Leo and Elias…'
They're probably struggling to find the location of the coordinates. Narce must be having the same trouble.
What should I do?
To execute my plan, I need to free my magic first.
I stared at the floor, lost in thought.
'There is…'
There is a way.
It's risky, but… it's about time to go home.
I'm just grateful she brought me the perfect material.
I looked up and spoke.
"…Alright, give it to me."