Chapter 13: Spoilers
At the end of the Bridge of Sacrifice, a blind girl sat all alone by the roadside.
This was Irina.
Kiro sat on Torrent’s back and listened to Irina’s request from above—to deliver a letter to her father, who was far away at Castle Morne.
She took the letter as if she had just pressed an “Accept Quest” button in a game.
“All right, quest accepted. Let’s hurry up and go.”
Kiro casually stuffed the letter into her waist pouch and urged Loran, who was following behind her.
To her, this was nothing more than a standard errand quest. A boring mandatory step before obtaining the reward.
However, Loran stood still and did not move.
He looked at Irina.
In Loran’s vision, Irina’s panel was perfectly clear.
[Name: Irina]
[Identity: Daughter of the Lord of Castle Morne]
[Affection: +10 toward Kiro / +5 toward Loran]
[Status: Hopeful / Worried / Grateful]
This was the standard state of an NPC who held goodwill toward those who had helped her.
Loran’s affection value was slightly lower only because he had not said a word from beginning to end and had been treated as Kiro’s follower.
“Wait a moment,” Loran said.
“Wait for what?”
Kiro frowned impatiently.
“It’s just delivering a letter. What’s there to wait for? Let’s finish it quickly. We still have to go get the Frenzied Flame incantations! This woman’s going to die in a bit anyway, so why are you wasting time here?”
She said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Her voice was not loud, but at the quiet bridgehead, it sounded exceptionally clear.
Irina’s body jolted violently.
“...Wh-what?”
She turned blankly toward the direction of the voice. Her mouth opened slightly in fear, and the color quickly drained from her face, leaving it deathly pale.
“What... what did you just say? What do you mean... ‘going to die soon’?”
Kiro was completely unaware of the destructive power of her words.
She merely gave Irina a strange look, as if she were looking at someone who had asked a stupid question.
“I mean it literally.”
Kiro explained matter-of-factly.
“After we deliver the letter to your dad, we come back and find you dead. Your corpse will be right here. It’s a scripted death. Nothing we can do about it.”
[Irina’s Affection toward Kiro: +10 → -500]
[Status: Extreme Fear / Confusion / Will to Survive / Cognitive Collapse]
A number even more exaggerated than when Loran had been rejected by Varré exploded above Irina’s head.
Loran immediately realized how serious the problem was.
Kiro’s behavior had already gone beyond “spoiling the plot.”
She was declaring a death sentence to a “person” with self-awareness.
“No... impossible...”
Irina’s voice had already taken on a sobbing tone. She shook her head desperately, as if trying to drive those terrifying words out of her mind.
“You’re lying to me, right? You... why would you say something so horrible just to scare me?”
She began to shift backward, trying to distance herself from Kiro, the demon who had brought her a prophecy of death.
Her movements were frantic and helpless.
[Affection: -500 → -600]
Seeing her like this, Kiro not only showed no guilt at all, but even found it somewhat funny.
“Why would I scare you? This is all already set.”
She spread her hands, looking innocent.
“I’m just telling you the result ahead of time so you don’t hold on to any unrealistic expectations.”
Loran shot Kiro a warning look, signaling for her to shut up.
Kiro curled her lip disdainfully, rolled her eyes at him, then turned her head away while muttering things like “ridiculous” and “busybody” under her breath.
To her, whether this poor woman lived or died was far less important than whether she could play with the Frenzied Flame incantations next.
Loran stopped paying attention to her.
He walked over to the trembling Irina, slowly crouched down in front of her, and tried to keep himself at the same eye level.
“How about this?”
He slowed his speech and lowered his voice, hoping to convey some measure of reassurance.
“I’ll stay here and guard you. I won’t go anywhere. Let... that woman deliver the letter for you. How does that sound?”
Irina lifted her head sharply, as if she had just grabbed hold of a lifeline.
“You... you mean it? You... you’re willing to stay?”
“I am.”
Loran nodded.
[Irina’s Affection toward Loran: +5 → +40]
[Status: Grasping a Lifeline / Extreme Dependence / Half-Believing]
“But... but she...”
Irina’s voice turned in Kiro’s direction, and fear surged up once again.
“What she said... is it true? Am I really... going to die?”
This was a question Loran could not avoid.
He was silent for a moment.
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t know what will happen in the future. No one can predict the future.”
Loran’s voice was very calm.
“But at least until your father returns, or until you decide to leave this place, I will stay here and guard you. If something comes to hurt you, it will have to step over me first.”
[Irina’s Affection toward Loran: +40 → +50]
[Status: Dependence / Gratitude / Sense of Safety (Weak)]
“Hey! Are you two done yet?”
Kiro’s impatient voice broke the brief peace.
She jumped down from Torrent’s back, planted her hands on her hips, and glared unhappily at the two people crouched on the ground.
“What do you mean, ‘let that woman deliver the letter’? What are you trying to say, Loran? Why do you get all the good parts while this stupid errand gets dumped on me?”
[Kiro’s Affection toward Loran: -110 → -120]
[Status: Dissatisfied / Feeling Used / Angry]
“Because this is your ‘questline.’”
Loran stood up and looked directly at her.
“You triggered the dialogue. You accepted the letter. According to the rules, this quest should be completed by you.”
“Screw your rules!”
Kiro snapped.
“You’re the one who insists on staying here and playing knight in shining armor, messing up the plan! If you want to stay, then leave the letter too and go deliver it yourself!”
“If I leave, who protects her?” Loran asked in return.
“Protect my ass! She’s just an NPC anyway. Worst case, the quest fails. We can just go get the Frenzied Flame incantations directly. Nothing gets delayed!”
Kiro said the words that best fit her logic.
“She is a person,” Loran said.
Four simple words.
And yet they made Kiro freeze.
“Huh?”
She looked as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world.
“Are you sure your brain isn’t broken? An NPC is an NPC. Just a bunch of data! Are you seriously empathizing with her? What, are you planning to date her too?”
[Irina’s Affection toward Kiro: -600 → -700]
[Status: Fear / Disgust]
Listening to their argument, the tiny sense of safety Irina had just managed to build up instantly collapsed.
She curled in on herself even tighter, covering her ears with both hands as if trying to shut out those terrifying words.
“Stop arguing... please... stop arguing...”
She sobbed quietly.
Loran took a deep breath.
He knew that reasoning with Kiro was impossible.
He had to change methods.