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Chapter 138

"Maybe Andrea's mana is contained here."

Cain grumbled about why he had to use his precious mana on the kidnapper, but he immediately started drawing a magic circle.

"This is so difficult, and you just come in and use tracking magic. What kind of abuse of power by the power family?"

"Strictly speaking, it was you, the Magic Tower Lord, who invaded the Royal Palace first."

"Yeah, yeah. Could you not talk? I need to concentrate, Your Highness."

Watching the two bicker, I felt a bit sad. I was worried and anxious about why Andrea disappeared and where he went. Still, in the midst of that, seeing Cain again with my memories back, there was a strangely heartwarming feeling.

I guess I really became attached to these guys.

I chewed on the delicate flesh inside my cheek and waited patiently for the tracking magic to be completed, trying hard not to rush towards Cain or burst into tears.

Soon, Cain put down his quill. Looking at the complicated magic circle on the paper, he placed his hand on top of, the crumpled note and the bandage stained with blood.

"[Persecuts]."

The paper with the magic circle flashed red and eventually turned into tiny fragments of light. Instead of turning into ashes, the burned paper transformed into light particles, seeping into the blood on the bandage and the note.

After a moment, Cain smirked and nodded towards me. It was a sign that Andrea had been found.

***

"What is this place?"

Cain, who had been forcibly brought along due to the teleportation magic, furrowed his brows, looking around. Having previously requested teleportation magic from a wizard in a remote village before, I knew that Cain could send me alone. However, Cain insisted on coming along.

"It was an emergency, so I had to bring you, but... can you stay outside here? You really shouldn't follow me inside."

"Yeah, yeah! Got it. Don't follow, don't follow. Why do you seem a bit fierce now? Did you become a bit more gentle after losing your memory?"

"W-well, I've been through a lot of hardships, you know. Anyway, stay here!"

At times like this, his instincts were incredibly sharp. Just like someone going to buy coffee and telling a dog to stay outside while tying its leash, I warned Cain repeatedly, looking back several times.

Cain leaned against the crumbling wall and clapped his hands as if bored.

The place we were teleported to was a shabby back alley in the city. I don't know exactly where it is, because the building that Cain pointed to as the destination was a two-story house with spider-web-like cracks on the walls and trash littered around. The doorknob was twisted and the door was not closed properly.

"Why on earth would Andrea be in a place like this? If it were a secluded place to hide after escaping, I could understand, but it wouldn't have spontaneously popped into his mind like this.

Through the slightly open door, I could hear a somber and eerie wind sound. It felt like a haunted house. The door opened easily, and I slowly stepped inside. The interior was cleaner than I expected. As I walked further inside, I felt more confident, knowing that if something happened, Cain was standing behind me and could come running to help.

As I passed through the hallway and entered the living room, I saw what looked comfortable -looking hammock hanging by the window. There was no furniture but the hammock. However, I could tell that someone had been here quite often, to maintain it, as there was not a speck of dust inside

"Andrea!"

The house was silent. Was I teleported incorrectly? Was Cain mistaken? While naturally doubting Magic Tower Lord's magical skills, I continued to explore the entire first floor. No one was on the first floor. And when I was about to go up to the second floor, that's when it happened.

[Andrea Sloane's Hidden Ending: "Fate of Solitude"]

[You can check the hidden ending shortly!]
[10]
[9]
[8]

The hidden ending is over already? What did you do?

However, I unconsciously continued to climb the stairs, taking a few steps at a time. An uneasy feeling crept in. An illusion that the world was spinning and turning. Running upwards, but my body constantly felt like it was falling downward.

Something's wrong. This isn't right.

"Andre... Andrea, Andrea!"

Even though I was frantically calling Andrea's name, my voice sounded very far away. Finally, I crawled on all fours to climb the stairs and go through the hallway.

And when I opened the closed door, I could see Andrea. He was lying on the floor. Next to him, was a glass bottle that seemed to have contained a black liquid. In other words, the bottle was already empty.

[4]
[3]
[2]

"Nooo!"

I ran to Andrea who was lying on the ground and kicked him in the stomach. Andrea, who was closing his eyes with a pale, suddenly curled up like a shrimp and began coughing violently.

"Cough!"

"Hey! Hey, you crazy bastard! Snap out of it! Wake up!"

"Hack! Ugh, ugh!"

Andrea, lying on his side, began to vomit after coughing. A black, viscous-looking liquid and blood were splattered near his mouth.

Near his mouth, which emitted an utterly unpleasant sound, there was a dark and viscous liquid mixed with blood. I now knelt down, sat beside him, and began patting him back. It was more like pounding than patting.

"Keep vomiting! Get it all out!"

"Ugh... Stop, Del, stop... Ugh."

Finally, when Andrea stopped vomiting and uttered real words I also let go, relieved. At the same time, the system window popped up.

[Andrea Sloane Hidden Ending: "Fate of Solitude" Failed.]

With this, it became clear that Andrea's hidden ending was suicide.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. Familiar character information floated above Andrea's head as he staggered.

[Andrea Sloane / Assassin Guild Leader / Secret Shadow / Favorability 100]

Favorability 100.

Suddenly, a thin thread somewhere in my heart broke.

"...Did you hate liking me so much? To the point where you would rather commit suicide than like me?"

"W-what do you mean, Del? What...?"

A voice unlike usual was wretched and cracked came out of Andrea's mouth.

"Your favorability is 100. You like me. But you don't want to admit it, you think it's the real Del Narcissus that you like, so now.......!"

"No!"

Andrea held my arms with trembling hands, which had no strength, it felt crude and desperate, like that of a drowning person clutching a lifebuoy.

"No, Del, I... I..."

And Andrea confessed as if he was drowning.

"I want you......I love you."