"Hue~! I'll finally be the monarch of the shadows and the supreme leader too! I'll be everything! Heuhue!"
Now that Rose was gone, Iris seemed to remember the skill book and pulled it out, laughing as she held it high above her head.
She really seems excited to have that skill.
I wonder if it's a good idea to give it to her...?
Now I'm a little worried about what she might become with the signature skill of an assassin family, but thinking about it now was already too late.
The book she was holding disintegrated into particles; she had already used it, but I think it's still a good idea to warn her not to get carried away.
"love, even if you possess that skil—"
[Mission Complete]
Just as I was about to speak, I suddenly heard the system say something about a mission.
I didn't understand which mission it was referring to; the only active one was Rose's, and there was no way it could have been completed yet. But before I could even question it, the system continued.
[Conditions met; Legacy Que-]
But, without warning, it simply stopped dead in its tracks.
"Damn it! What now?"
And, at the same time, everything turned achromatic and slowed down.
This situation was so familiar that I could only think of one thing—and it seemed Iris could too.
"Ugh! Honey, Mirror's coming."
She was looking all around, striking a fighting stance—even though I'd clearly told her that was the last thing she should do if it showed up again.
GRRRRAAAAAOOOHHH!!
But just as I was getting ready to deal with Mirror, that was coming back—for whatever reason—I heard a strange growl.
I couldn't match it to any animal I knew. It was something new, something more dangerous.
That sound alone made me have an overwhelming urge to run away.
But I couldn't because at the same time my body was paralyzed and shaking.
Everything seemed out of my control. I even felt like I was losing the ability to breathe.
Iris didn't seem any better off than I was.
It was really strange to see her so scared like this. She was even sweating, but she didn't change her battle stance—though she was most likely paralyzed just like me.
I really didn't know what was about to happen, but I had to get ready; this wasn't the same as with Mirror—something else was on its way.
Frrrssssshhh
I heard something, but before that strange sound reached my ears, I saw something flash by quickly.
Everything lit up—but at the same time, it also went dark. Two opposing phenomena that are impossible to occur simultaneously—but that's what I thought I saw.
It happened too fast, and I only caught a fleeting glimpse of something; only then did I hear that sound.
My eyes hurt, but I couldn't even blink, and only now can I think it was like some kind of golden and black lightning.
But before I could analyze what that was more thoroughly, the achromatic quality of our surroundings disappeared, and everything returned to normal.
[-st unlocked: Dweller Convergence]
The sensation and the instinctive fear in my body also began to subside. I felt like it was taking me a little while to recover.
"W-what was that, Honey?... Are you okay? You're pale—paler than usual."
Iris, on the other hand, moved closer to me and began feeling me all over.
Finally, after a moment, I recovered.
The truth is, I didn't really understand what had happened, and in the end, aside from that unexplained series of events, nothing else happened.
The system also seemed to be left out of it again, so there was no point in questioning it...
I surveyed my surroundings and realized something was different.
There was something on the table. When I walked over and picked it up, I realized it was a letter.
It was absolutely suspicious and set off all my alarms… but I still had to find out what this was all about, so I opened it.
Obviously, there was a piece of paper inside. I unfolded it, and there was something written on it.
But reading the first line took my breath away.
{A message to my dear, arrogant past self, Astan Rotwel 🎭}
"Honey! Is this what I think it is...?"
"I don't know what you're thinking, but... let's just keep reading."
Iris, who had peeked over my shoulder and read it, seemed to come to the same conclusion as I did.
This letter implied something incredible, but I'm not going to believe something as nonsensical as that.
Besides, it doesn't sound like something I'd write… but I kept reading anyway.
{I guess you're confused and mostly doubting everything, especially since it doesn't sound like something you'd write. But I'm not entirely you, and let me tell you that it's a little hard to fully maintain a personality when you're fused with more than one person… Phew, it's lucky it's not with our ex-wife, or it would be even worse…}
"Honey! What is this? Why does it say that there?"
It's just the beginning of the letter, and it's already giving me trouble. Yeah, there's another implication here that didn't make Iris happy at all, and I understand why.
"Love don't take what it says there seriously..."
"But how could you do something like that?"
"I didn't do it, and to begin with—"
"Don't interrupt me. This is serious. How can you marry someone in the harem and then get a divorce? We're supposed to be together forever after adding them to the harem! That's the rule."
"(￣︿￣)..." Yeah, it seems we weren't on the same page.
It seems the possibility of divorce between us doesn't even exist in Iris's mind.
To her, it makes more sense that I'd marry someone else in the future and then get divorced… while obviously staying married to her the whole time.
"This letter is so we can avoid that bad ending, Honey. You know, future letters always happen because we make mistakes… Ugh!, maybe we'll do something wrong or we already did—something that triggers a butterfly effect… Maybe it was because I stuck my finger in—"
"Stop it. Anyway, don't believe everything that's written here… Let's just keep reading, and once we're done, we'll draw our own conclusions."
{Hmm, should I have written that? Well, I don't think saying it changes anything.
Alright, I'll be very thorough with what I can say, since I have a whole page to fill, so it's okay to say a little nonsense here and there, right?... No, I don't think so, since this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity...
Anyway, you'll decide for yourself whether what I say is true or not once you finish reading.
First of all, congratulations on reaching the first turning point—if you can call it that—and on collecting your first "Dweller" skill.
As you've seen—or will see—the system has unlocked a quest line that asks you to collect more while offering increasingly better rewards each time.
And in fact, collecting those skills is really important—not just because of the benefits and rewards, or how powerful the skills themselves are.
But also because you could say it's a key part of achieving the goal of this massage parlor.
Don't believe me?
Well, I'll answer that question you've been pondering for a while.
Yes, I remember how, at first, I had a lot of trouble finding a pattern among the clients.
Especially because the most pronounced pattern was Iris's "dissatisfied wives." Right now, I should be feeling that, even though it's utter nonsense, it really does seem to be the case.
To the point where I even feel a little regret for not having done something with Lys to prove otherwise.}
"Honey, you don't have to regret it—it was obvious nothing would happen, since it's only supposed to happen with 'MILFs or unsatisfied wives.'"
"I told you that you don't take what's written here seriously, and I don't feel any regret about anything."
Yeah, this is definitely wrong, since that's definitely not something I've ever thought, although I have to admit it does bother me a little, and I can't accept that this is the pattern—and Bianca is certainly the only thing I can rely on to disprove it...
No, I can't let that distract me; I need to keep reading.
{Ah, now that I think about it, I guess this is after Rose, so you shouldn't have thought that yet… Was it after the triplets that I thought it?… Yeah, I think it was around that time; the missions didn't help disprove it either—it was tough, }
'...'
I really don't understand why she's even rambling in the letter. Even if she was only doing it while writing it, what's the point of writing it down?...
{Yeah, if you notice I'm rambling a lot, it's because I'm not writing this by hand but mentally—didn't I already say how hard it is when it's a fusion of more than two people?
Oh! I mustn't get sidetracked… What was I getting at?... Oh right, 'dissatisfied wives'… In a way, she's not entirely wrong.
After all, clients have to meet certain requirements for the two of you to be able to 'deal' with them.
Haha! So don't expect to see any men anytime soon, unless one of us lets our hidden tastes slip… Astan, I'm talking about you—I mean, me.}
"Honey! You really did have something like that stashed away."
That threw me off a little, and Iris too.
"I told you not to believe everything it says here.... Keep reading."
And luckily, that misunderstanding was cleared up right away...
"Haha! Just kidding—take it as a bad habit from my profession....Well, as I was saying, that's just an initial requirement, and the real pattern with clients has to do with the 'Legacy Quest,' which until now has been inactive.
Yeah, I guess you've already pieced something together in your head just from me saying this… but I'll make it clear anyway…
At least with the first few clients, each and every one of them holds a possibility.
"A possibility of what?" you ask.
Well, it's the possibility that you might obtain "Dweller"-type Skills.
To clarify, that doesn't mean they're all the source. It could be a third party connected to them, but as I said, making a connection with them opens up the possibility for you to obtain abilities.
And the quests you receive are the way to make that connection.
Or, yeah, you probably already figured that out, but that would make it possible for some clients to have some kind of connection with each other, so don't be surprised when it happens. Haha!
Now, as for who the holder is, what kind of "Dweller" it is, and how to obtain it—you'll have to figure that out for yourself, just like with the lovely Rose.
That's the real pattern behind it all, and it's not just about dissatisfied wives....Well, many of them are, but that's another matter. Hahaha! }
I'm still skeptical that this letter is actually real, but, in fact, it knows too much to simply ignore.
I'm not going to fully trust what's written here, but I can't just dismiss it either.
So I'll keep what's said here in mind—at least this seems more real than the whole dissatisfied wives thing.
{The second point I think I should tell you is that you should stop being such a slug.}
"Haha! Honey, everyone calls you a slug—even your future self."
"..."