This Eroge Won't Make Me Fall!

Chapter 180 173: Stages Of Grief

The cover of the trees started to fade away as I was able to recognize more and more of the path. No matter how much a place changed, I guess if someone was used to it, they would find familiarity in some manner.

Colorful streets entered our sight as we neared the city. Stones dyed in red and yellow in a medievalistic manner made up the roads of my city while pavements were raised as sidewalks. Even during the day, seeing people play around with instruments in their hands wasn't a rare sight.

I saw some people painting the feeding birds and a fountain while another person tried to paint that painter. Music flowed out in strange harmonies, pleasant yet chaotic, as dozens of voices overlapped.

The people had changed the most.

During my leaving, the city was in the final stages of initial developments, and they likely had the entire two years to grow after that had passed. The people had grown used to spending much more on luxury as citizens with lavish clothes walked around. Food on the streets, which was something that stemmed from the inability of people to have time to make their own due to labor had clearly grown into a habit as many new stalls opened up on all sides.

Restaurants, boutiques, cafes, libraries, music stores, pubs, bars, art galleries, all places that I had never approved personally had popped out like confetti.

And at last, we came in front of one of the largest buildings in Apollon. The three-storeyed building that stretched meters wide stood lofty in the center of the city.

"This is the lord's office," Keith said. "Well, as you intended, everyone involved in the city management uses it."

That's right. It was the lord's office.

"Woah, you designed this place Dusk?"

"Not just the office, young master has practically designed the entire place. Even this unique architecture is not the result of some hidden architect, but our young master's mind. He even gave it a cool name, neo-renaissance."

The lord's office was my office.

"Huhu..." A chuckle left me.

"What's that?" Keith asked. His conversation interrupted.

"HUHUHUH!" I tried my best, but I couldn't hold my laughter in. "BWAHAHA!"

"What? what? Young master, you're scaring me."

"H-he's still injured, is it because of that?"

"Oh no, this is pretty normal behaviour," Keith immediately soothed Dawn. "I am just pulling his leg."

"HAHAHAH!" And I was too busy laughing to care! "I am rich! I am fucking rich! HAHA!"

An entire building, made with taxpayers' money! Books brought with taxpayers' money! Food brought with taxpayers' money! It was all mine for the taking!

Sure, I was rich as a noble son, I was also rich as an adventurer and had made more than I could spend, heck, the entire deal in the empire had made my very name rich.

But this. This is the money I get for doing jack all! True. Real. Fucking. Money!

For a person on the path of the strongest, nothing was better than money. I remembered well the vices of the capitalistic society in my old world. Yujin's life was tough, growing stronger required finances, and what was better than getting money for just existing!

"HAHAH! HUHUHU! HAHAHAH!"

"Miss Dawn, you should just ignore our young master at times like these."

"I-is that so...?"

The other two walked inside, one with a smile and another confused. Even Titania left with them, shaking her head. I continued laughing as my feet carried me after them.

The interior of the building was pretty beautiful too. Few and spaced paintings and murals made over colored glasses decorated the intricately designed walls of ivory. Keith guided us past all the offices and took us directly to the top floor, into the lord's office.

He pushed the door open without caring.

"Lily—Oh?"

Dawn and I peeked over his shoulders as the sight of a wide office revealed itself. Less like an office space and more like a personal study, the room was filled with bookshelves. Ornate rugs spread over the office giving it an almost mystique feeling as it propped up the darkly shaded upholstery of the couches and chairs.

Lily was the current lord of the city, so this was basically her office. It was an aesthetic that I didn't expect Lily to use, but maybe her position had brought along a sense of responsibility for her.

"Well, let's just get in for now," Keith shrugged and stepped inside. I followed right after while Dawn nervously looked around before joining us. I went straight to the couches and dropped myself on the longest one. Titania took another for herself while Dawn settled on the third.

That jump and the run after was tiring, it seemed my body was pretty much fucked up for now.

Resting was a good idea—

"Why didn't you take us to the mansion?" I narrowed my gaze and asked.

"Ah..." Keith said. "About that. I wanted to ask that you go back and return to this place after a couple years. before Maria sees you preferably."

"Hah? What do you mean?"

"You see, that girl has not yet processed your leaving yet."

Those words made me sit back up.

"She's been looping through the stages of grief..."

I didn't like the sound of that at all...

"In the beginning, she always thought you must have gone out somewhere for fun and would come back. Everyday was 'today' for your return. Of course, when a few months passed, it turned into her completely denying your leave."

"Did she...?"

"She would speak to the air, saying 'Young master! You're back! You're back!"

Oh...

"She would bargain with gods asking to bring you back. She almost summoned a demon to turn back time and have you take her along."

Cold sweat ran down my back as Dawn and Titania looked at me with gaping mouths.

"In depression, she wouldn't even leave her room for weeks straight. Saying it's all her fault."

Keith's voice was growing chipper by the minute. He was fucking having fun.

"And well, acceptance never comes."

I held in my fear and spoke up.

"You said she's looping? What stage is she in?"

Keith was almost laughing now. The sweat running down my back now resembled a river.

"Anger," he said. "If she finds you, she'll kill you."

Fuck.