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Translator: Nonon
Proofreader: Silavin
POV: Mary Sue
Mr. Clo’s right fist was aimed at my stomach, where the self-defense talisman was located.
It was a terrifyingly fast blow with no hesitation behind it, and if it were to hit me, the talisman would undoubtedly lose its effectiveness instantly—however.
“[Relaxation][Restraint]”
“Kh!”
I deployed the magic circle I had set up to soften the impact and stop Mr. Clo’s movements, stopping him and restraining him.
I knew that he used martial arts. Vermillion warned me about it, and seeing his battle earlier, he didn’t seem to like using magic very much— and then my body spun sideways.
“—?!”
I was confused for a moment by the feeling of my feet leaving the ground against my will, but I quickly calmed down and looked around in an attempt to grasp the situation.
— I see, so he rotated the arm that was entangled
The magic that was entangling Mr. Clo’s was used by me. In other words, I’m practically the one holding onto Mr. Clo’s arms, so by exerting force that exceeded the power I needed to support my legs, he threw me off balance… that’s a bit too forceful.
He was probably going to try to attack me when I lost my balance, but I can’t just let myself get taken down.
“[Outbreak Water]”
“Ugh–!”
I splashed water on Mr. Clo’s face, blinding him, and at the same time dispelled the magic that was entangling his fists. As my rotating body turned upside down, I aimed the gun again and fired.
“—-Kh!”
However Mr. Clo dodged that too.
… It’s only been a few seconds since he threw a punch, but he’s still able to move quite well without magic.
Immediately after firing the gun, I put my left hand, the one opposite of the hand I used to pull the trigger, to the ground, stretched my arm out as far as I could, lifted my body into the air and fired a few more shots. However, as expected, he still dodged the bullets.
The moment I landed as I continued firing, Mr. Clo closed the distance between us. He probably closed in on me instantly aiming for my landing moment that would make it difficult for me to move, but that’s too naïve.
“[Thunderbolt]”
“Gh!”
As I landed, a magic circle that has been set up at my feet activated upon impact.
The moment he saw the type of magic that was activated, Mr. Clo forcefully killed his speed with which he was moving forward and instantly back stepped to put himself out of the magic’s range.
I then positioned myself while holding my gun to keep him in check and gauged the distance between us.
“… As expected, you seem to be quite accustomed to this world.”
“… After only a second of confusion at your body being lifted into the air following the activation of your magic, you pulled the trigger while firing off water magic. With your other hand on the ground, you instantly killed the momentum of the spin and then propped yourself up with one hand, placing a magic circle at your feet while firing and activated it as you landed, getting back into the position. Being told so by you sounds nothing but sarcasm.”
It seems like he’s complimenting me, I’m happy.
However, even though he’s praising me, the expression on his face is of the same rejection.
“Mr. Clo, please tell me. Why do you hate me?”
“… I have already told you the reason earlier.”
“Yes, I heard you. But there is something I don’t understand no matter what.”
“… What is it?”
Remaining wary and on guard, Mr. Clo was answering to my questions.
Thank goodness. It seems he’s still willing to talk to me. In that case, I have to talk to him more. Conversation is also important for getting to know the other person.
“You said that I didn’t consider your precious person as a living being. That person you were referring to is Violet Valentine, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I don’t understand. I have never treated her as an object. What would compel you to think otherwise?”
To be honest, I think Mr. Clo might be misunderstand something…
“Then why do you think it’s natural for Lady Violet to be unhappy?”
Mr. Clo then replied to my question with a question, using the same non-polite tone he used with me earlier.
The reason why I think it’s natural for Violet to become unhappy…should I reply to that question with ‘because it’s her role in this world’, using the same expression I answered the same question earlier with?
Violet Valentine is the villainess in ‘When the Ring of Fire is lit, World is painted red’ who gets in the way of the love between two because of the difference in their social status. She has the role of the enemy who stands in the way of the protagonist, and cannot be saved. She fades out from the midway of the story in every route regardless of what the main character does.
Even if I try to save everyone, in her case her personality is her downfall and she’s beyond saving. In other words, maybe expressing it this way would be more appropriate then calling it natural.
“Because I don’t know what makes her happy.”
Her fiancé, Vermillion, had no feelings for Violet, because the engagement was decided without his permission and things would be troublesome for him without a fiancée, her love being set to be one-sided and unrequited. After all, when she hurts the protagonist in the bad ending, she’s killed by Vermillion, even if he was blinded by fury.
Her personality was made stricter due to her upbringing in the ducal household, and it wouldn’t change until she was directly rejected by Vermillion. And after being rejected, she falls into despair, shaking off the hand offered by the heroine and becoming an empty shell at the monastery. Even when she’s married off, she becomes dependent on her husband and accepts how he treats her out of the fear of being abandoned.
In addition, her personality also caused her to fall victim to the monster—in any case, no matter how Violet Valentine struggles in Ring of Fire, nothing will come out of it. Besides, duel was unavoidable to resolve the troubles of Vermillion and the others.
“You don’t know, huh.”
“Yes. I’m sure you know too, Mr. Clo. Her role is—“
“Hey, Ms. Mary, you wish to make everybody happy, right?”
When I tried to ask Mr. Clo a question as confirmation, he reverted to using polite language again and interrupted me.
“Yes, that’s right. You asked me ‘who’ I wanted to save earlier. And to answer that question, it’s everybody. I want to make everybody within my reach happy.”
“Is that so?”
Although I was skeptical, the question wasn’t difficult to answer so I answered honestly.
And hearing my answer, Mr. Clo relaxed his power slightly along with his jaw so I thought that he had been convinced, but he turned his face towards me again.
“Where is that everybody?”
… Where are they? What is Mr. Clo talking about?
“Ms. Mary, Lady Violet is somebody important to me.”
“Yes, that seems to be so. I can see that you both have a trusting relationship.”
“Yes, but who I hold important is Lady Violet and not a character called Violet Valentine.”
…? What is he talking about?
I already know that much even without him telling me.
“I want Lady Violet to be happy.”
“However,”
“’she has no happy route’, that’s what you want to say, right?”
Mr. Clo said the words I was about to say.
If he knows, why is saying all this?
“However, that game has nothing to do with what I wish for.”
“Has nothing to do with it? That’s…”
There’s no way that’s true. After all, this world is–
“Yes, it has nothing to do with it. Rather than the nameless everybody out there, it’s her by my side, whom I want to be happy. That’s all.”
That’s why the game is has nothing to do with that wish, he said.
As if a lone young man was saying that it was the woman who was precious to him.
… This world is the world of ‘When the Ring of Fire is lit, World is painted red’.
It’s a world of the game I loved in my past, played thoroughly and even read the story materials for.
It’s a world with magic so developed that it has become a part of everyday life and the world where monsters exist.
It’s a world where I can move my body freely, I can taste things and can breathe without pain.
It’s a world where I can interact with characters I know, with the same appearance, voice, past and personality as the ones from the game I know.
If I respond correctly like in that game, I can make people happy, laugh and sometimes even be forceful, and feel my heart flutter; It’s a world that I could only enjoy through a screen in my previous life.
This world I’m in right now is— huh?
——-
Author’s note:
Her love was set to be one sided and unrequited.
– It’s a setting written by the scenario writer casually, similar to ‘However, her ○○ will never come true’ that’s often seen in the story material collections. That much is true.
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