abcnovels
Chapter 170:
Chapter 170:
-The viewing begins.
Olivia gently closed her eyes, listening to the voice of the Blue Window.
The Blue Window, speaking in its usual emotionless tone, always narrated stories she had never heard.
Stories she had never seen nor experienced.
She could choose to ignore it, but the strangely compelling voice of the Blue Window tugged at Olivia’s heart.
-As a penalty for failing the quest, you will view a portion (5%) of the 66th Side Story ‘The Weight of Unrepayable Debt.’
? Access to information will be restricted.
? You will view the ending part of the story.
Slowly, her eyelids drooped.
As the notification of the viewing began, multiple voices started to echo in her ears.-…ugh, the smell of blood.
-I knew you’d end up like this.
-Please cast a buff spell.
-I’ll kill you for sure.
curses soaked in hatred.
‘What is this…?’
Was it because she was only hearing the final part of a story with no context? Or was it just the disjointed voices?
Olivia couldn’t grasp how this story was unfolding.
She simply hoped in blue letters.
[Ricardo was deeply troubled by the enormous debt. It was too much money to handle alone, especially with you as his patient.]
[‘Burden’ would be the correct term, although Ricardo never thought of it that way.]
[Ricardo tried hard. He worked to repay the debt, and to stay by your side.]
[He did all kinds of jobs, from construction work to adventuring, often getting injured in the process.]
[But earning 1 million gold in a year was beyond his capability, and Ricardo’s worries grew with each passing day.]
[Ricardo became anxious and desperate. So, he broke his own principles and took action.]
[One day, strange rumors started circulating in the Empire. While you were bedridden and couldn’t hear them, the rumor spoke of a murderer dubbed ‘the Red-haired Demon.’]
[Wherever the Red-haired Demon passed, unknown priests were found dead, and offerings were missing.]
[The public loved sensational stories.]
[They omitted the fact that the victims deserved their fate and filled the articles with malicious accounts of the demon.]
[Over time, Ricardo’s absences increased, and you mistakenly believed he was abandoning you.]
[Five years passed.]
[As the weight of the unpayable debt lightened, Ricardo’s absences became longer.]
[By then, you were seeing more of the maid Ricardo had hired than Ricardo himself.]
[Eventually, Ricardo left you, leaving behind a vial of medicine and a vast amount of money.]
[You grew to despise Ricardo for leaving without a word, and in time, you saw him again.]
[That place…]
[Would be Ricardo’s final resting place, although you didn’t know it then.]
As the Blue Window’s narration ended, Olivia’s eyes slowly opened.
She was bewildered.
The words made no sense to her, nor could she ever imagine hating Ricardo.
Why would Ricardo abandon her?
What did it mean by Ricardo’s final resting place? Olivia’s breathing grew uneven as she struggled to understand.
And then, as her vision slowly cleared, Olivia screamed.
‘What is this…!’
With a trembling voice, she turned her head, shocked by the scene before her.
It was a cathedral.
A sanctuary bearing the warmth of divinity.
Ricardo, shaking blood off a sword, walked over a pile of bodies, speaking in a languid voice.
-Ah… you’ve arrived?
His voice was directed at the cathedral’s entrance, where numerous individuals had arrived, armed.
Gazing at the piled bodies with an expressionless face, Ricardo.
The many people who had come to capture Ricardo, whom Olivia didn’t recognize.
Michail.
Yuria.
Ruin.
The Royal Knights.
Many familiar faces surrounded Ricardo, who scratched his head with an awkward expression.
-Coming in such large numbers is troublesome.
Ricardo appeared exhausted.
The once kind eyes now held a grim determination, and his face seemed weary.
Wireah the vision.
It was overwhelming.
So deep it was unfathomable.
Wi forward.
-It’s you…
It was a familiar voice.
One she had heard all her life.
-Did you do this?
Seeing the woman stepping forward from among the soldiers surrounding him, Ricardo’s awkward smile grew.
He showed an emotion akin to regret.
Lowering his head as if he were a criminal, Ricardo spoke.
-Young lady.
The person who stepped forward was Olivia.
Walking steadily, her hair floated gently in the magic-infused air. Ignoring Ricardo’s pained smile, she spoke dismissively.
-Trash.
-…
-You piece of trash.
Ricardo’s expression turned sorrowful as he looked at her. Without a word of defense, he merely watched her quietly, murmuring in a small voice.
-I’m glad you can walk.
-Shut up.
-I’m glad you look well.
-Well? You call this well? After all the trouble you caused, you call this well?
-…You’re right. I’m sorry.
The Olivia in the vision spoke to Ricardo.
-Why did you do it?
-…
-Abandoning me. Killing people like a madman… Why? Do you know how much I suffered because of you?
Looking up at the cathedral’s ceiling, Ricardo murmured.
-The sky is clear, isn’t it?
-What?
-It’s disgustingly clear.
-…What are you talking about?
-No matter what I say, you won’t believe me. I’m targeted by dangerous people, you see.
-Hey… speak clearly.
Ricardo smiled bitterly.
Then, stepping lightly, he approached everyone. Casually swinging his sword, Ricardo’s ease made everyone take a step back, raising their weapons.
Ricardo smiled.
-Blame me.
And then he whispered softly.
-To protect you, it was necessary.
A dark aura began to flow from Ricardo’s body.
It was a familiar power.
Sticky and filled with malevolence.
Black magic.
As Ricardo’s sword struck like a storm, Olivia heard a familiar chime in her ear.
-‘Ding.’
*****
-Should we stop now…?
Ricardo’s wildly swinging sword paused, hovering near his own throat.
The furious wave of sword energy.
The blood-red aura.
The dense black magic halted, unmoving.
-…What is this?
Olivia’s eyes widened.
-What is… this?
Stopping mid-battle, as if waking from a dream, Olivia stared vacantly at Ricardo with trembling eyes.
-This isn’t right?
What wasn’t right?
Seeing the truth, Olivia’s trembling eyes fixed on Ricardo’s sword.
Ricardo hadn’t killed a single person.
Michail, Yuria, and others who had spoken against him were all alive and standing.
Covered in blood, Ricardo stood resolutely, prepared to collapse but unwilling to fall, all for a single person.
-Young lady.
-…It wasn’t you. You didn’t do it.
The vision’s Olivia, for some reason, looked at Ricardo with trembling eyes. As if realizing something unknown, she shouted at Ricardo, who shook his head with a bitter smile.
-Shhh. I don’t know how you understood, but it’s too late now.
Gazing with trembling eyes, Ricardo whispered with a small laugh.
-Become a hero.
-No…
-It’s my time to exit.
*****
Three days after the vision ended.
“What are you doing?”
Ricardo spoke to Olivia, who was sitting on the bed, attaching eyes to a teddy bear.
“Huh?”
Olivia answered with a serious expression.
“Making money.”
“Stop it.”
“Why?!”
With a deep sigh, Ricardo picked up a teddy bear.
“Who puts eyes on the forehead? And why on the chest?”
“It’s a female bear.”
“…Fair enough.”
Nodding, Ricardo sat beside Olivia, helping her, until they were scolded by the people who came to collect the bears.
“Ricardo, I got fired.”
Once again, Olivia had lost her job.
End of Chapter