The last progress I saw was 8, and although it has increased significantly since then... still 28? Just twenty... I've met all five male protagonists, but the progress is still only this much?
Hatred towards the system boiled up again. It seemed strange that the progress didn't rise much unless someone's favorability was close to 100.
Oh, now that Andrea is trying to log me out himself, do I even need to think about favorability anymore?
"Well, this should be enough. How is your body feeling?"
The priest asked as he withdrew his hand. He still had his eyes closed. I stood up and straightened my clothes. When I checked above my head, the character information was also gone.
"Yes, I'm fine. You can open your eyes now. Thank you."
The priest opened his eyes and forced a smile. He was sweating profusely. Perhaps it was tough to use divine power, but he seemed distracted looking at me and Andrea. Characters entangled with the crown prince and the second prince. Well, he had heard about the attempted rape by the second prince, so it was understandable.
Although I clumsily covered my face with a hat and scarf, as a priest working in the imperial temple, he must have heard about the imperial Daffodil at least once. I felt uneasy at the thought of this priest accidentally leaking my information to Hunter or Alan. The anxiety suddenly struck me.
However, it seemed that Andrea had already planned everything.
"Priest. Excuse me for a moment."
He politely nodded and greeted, then swiftly pressed on the priest's neck, rendering him unconscious. With just two fingers, as if pressing a certain acupuncture point, the priest couldn't make a sound and collapsed. Andrea carefully laid the priest on the ground. The process was so fast and quiet, I couldn't believe my eyes.
"Wh-what, what did you just do?"
Seeing me shocked, Andrea naturally smiled.
"It's a drug that erases 24 hours of memories."
"You erase memories...?"
There's such a convenient drug?
If it were possible, I wanted to get that drug and feed it to the male leads. Although 24 hours is difficult, still.
Perhaps thinking that I was shocked for moral reasons, Andrea put on a good-natured expression and justified it.
"It's a drug officially sold in the Magic Tower. Nothing strange about it."
If we were going to talk about strange things, selling such things officially in Matap was already strange, but I just nodded vaguely. Andrea smirked and approached me, leaving the priest alone.
"Is your back okay?"
"Yes. It's fine now."
"Then, shall we go? Before the priest wakes up."
The priest was lying on the floor with a relaxed expression. There was no mark on the neck Andrea had pressed, and it seemed more like he was taking a nap than being attacked. I got up from the messy bed. Andrea, despite saying we should leave before the priest woke up, leisurely adjusted my hat and the scarf.
"That's right, beautiful. Let's go now."
***
Even after returning from the temple, Andrea didn't give up on sending my soul back. He took me to new places every day, like a grandmother bringing information that there was a fortune-telling place somewhere.
At first, we targeted the area around the town where One Cup of Sugar was located. Behind this village was a tent village where shamans gathered, the alley we first visited. We visited that place several more times. Every time, shamans with new faces observed me closely. Some said I wasn't a possessed person, and others said I was possessed by a demon and should go to the temple.
"They're just scam artists. I'm a real possessed person!"
There were also people who, upon seeing me, hurled curses at me. The curses were foul and felt like they could melt my brain, vulgar and dirty. Although I'm not very clean and innocent inside, I heard such obscene profanity for the first time in my life. Andrea, who saw me fussing, took me to more distant places from that day on.
After riding a carriage for half a day, we met an elderly woman.
"I happen to have a magic potion that summons souls."
She was boiling a strange purplish liquid in a large cauldron, like a witch from a fairy tale. As the liquid boiled, bubbles popped. She ladled the liquid into a bowl the size of a rice bowl and handed it to me. The instruction was to drink it.
Andrea took out a silver dagger from his sleeve and swirled it in the liquid.
"There's no poison. It should be safe to drink."
Is the absence of poison the issue here? Look at its appearance. Can you really drink that demonic concoction? I wanted to protest, but the dagger was too intimidating, so I silently drank the potion.
On the day I drank it, I vomited violently for two hours and suffered from severe diarrhea for several days. There was no soul-swapping incident. Andrea returned from that woman's house with a smiling face after destroying it.
Next, we traveled a whole day by carriage to meet a young sorcerer.
"This magic spell is very difficult. It's a spell that places a heavy burden on the caster. That's why it costs quite a bit. Still willing to proceed?"
The young man had a twitchy face and a soft tone. He wore elaborate clothes with intricate patterns, emitting the scent of a scam artist. Nonetheless, Andrea silently handed over a pouch of gold coins.
Having received the money, he immediately conducted the magical ritual. He muttered incomprehensible words, drank chicken blood, and even drew something resembling a magic circle with the blood spilled from his own finger. I sat on the floor, trembling with fear, my eyes wide open. When the sorcerer sprinkled blood on my face, I felt like vomiting again, but I endured it. If enduring a bit could lead to a logout, it seemed worth it.
"Go back home and sleep well for a night. Then, the next morning, your soul will have changed."
We did just that. However, even the next morning, I woke up perfectly fine. Realizing that I hadn't changed at all, Andrea cheerfully chuckled, then went outside the bar alone. When he returned, he was holding the pouch of gold coins he had given to the sorcerer. There was a bit of blood on the pouch, but I pretended not to see it.
As time passed, today was the day we headed to the address we bought for a whopping hundred gold coins from the informant. I packed my things familiarly and asked, "What kind of person are we dealing with today?"
"He's a dark magician who was expelled from the Magic Tower."
Andrea said as he lifted my luggage.
"It's the farthest place we've been to so far. It might take two or three days, and we might have to stay in an inn or camp. Is that okay?"
What if it's not okay? He only plans to take me with him, yet he pretended to ask for my opinion. I put on a fake smile and nodded.
"It's okay."
It really was okay. He had been extremely cautious, fearing that even a single hair on my body might get hurt. Except for the days when I suffered from severe diarrhea, it had always been comfortable and pleasant.
During this time, Andrea's favorability remained unwavering. How devotedly he only gazed at Del Narcissus.
"Please take a seat, Mr. Fake."
Andrea escorted me in the carriage. Previously, whenever he touched me, I used to flinch or hesitate, but now I know how to act quite skillfully. It could be because it was me inside this body or because I got used to it as he was close to me all the time. It was fun seeing Andrea fidgeting so much that he couldn't even touch this body and was at a loss.
I sat on the cushioned seat of the carriage. The carriage was spacious and sturdy. When the need arose for us to move around by carriage, Andrea immediately purchased it. He personally placed a blanket and cushion on the seat where I sat. Of course, the seat was facing forward, he always sat in front of me.
Leaning my head slightly against the carriage wall, I glanced at Andrea. He was attaching a chin strap to the straw hat I wore. Considering that the hat had flown away twice in the wind, he decided to do the sewing himself to prevent my face from being exposed.
If the real Del Narcissus knew Andrea, he would have definitely liked him.
Del Narcissus enjoyed being taken care of and appreciated by others. He would have found Andrea, who was as dependable as a tongue in his mouth, quite suitable.
"You're good at sewing."
When I suddenly spoke, Andrea looked up and flashed a friendly smile.
"I handle sharp and pointed things well."
"....."
I regretted striking up a conversation for no reason.
Not wanting to show any signs I was scared, I casually turned my gaze out the window. Laughter heard from the opposite side.