SH – Chapter 10 – Will You Date Irina? YES or YES

— Irina von Luccaria’s PoV —

“NOOOOOOOO!” (Irina)

I woke up drenched in sweat.

My body was trembling slightly.

I had a very, very unpleasant dream.

Lately, I’ve been having unpleasant dreams almost every day.

I don’t remember what the dreams are about.

But they’re uncomfortable and scary like they’re digging into the depths of my heart.

If I keep having this dream, I’m certain that I will cease to be myself.

That’s the feeling I had.

The thought of that is scary.

If I can no longer control myself…

What will become of me?

Just imagining that sent shivers down my spine.

Holding onto my trembling body, I weakly muttered on the bed.

“Louis… Help me…” (Irina)

＋＋＋

— Louis von Armstrong’s PoV —

“Oy… Oyy! Irina!” (Louis)

“…Huh? W-What is it?” (Irina)

Three days after that major confession by Irina.

Every day, during lunch break, we were having strategy meetings in an empty classroom while eating our lunches.

But recently, Irina’s behavior has been a bit strange.

She seems to be somewhere else, lost in thought, and she’s been looking unwell.

Could it be that…

I suddenly had a certain suspicion.

It had been about three weeks since summer vacation ended.

It wouldn’t be strange if that thing were to contact her soon.

“What’s wrong? You don’t seem well.” (Louis)

“Well… I’ve been having trouble falling asleep lately.” (Irina)

“Could it be that you’re having bad dreams? Scary ones, perhaps?” (Louis)

When I asked, Irina looked at me with a somewhat bewildered expression.

“How did you know? Are you stalking me or something?” (Irina)

“No, no, it’s not like that! You just mentioned having trouble falling asleep, so…” (Louis)

“Fufu, I’m just joking. Well, you’re right about me having bad dreams.” (Irina)

…As I suspected.

It’s likely that the Evil God has made contact with Irina.

In this world, there exist what are called “Light Factors” and “Dark Factors” within a person’s heart.

While these two forces oppose each other, most individuals have a balance between the two within their hearts.

However, occasionally, some people have that balance disrupted.

For instance, if one leans too much into their “Light Factor”, they might become unable to doubt others. On the other hand, if one leans too much into their “Dark Factor”, they might stop being able to trust others.

When this gets taken to extremes, it can lead to behaviors like indiscriminately trying to help everyone or indiscriminately attacking others.

This makes maintaining that balance important. However, the heroines who are burdened with troubles often tend to lean towards the “Dark Factor”.

Making use of this, the Evil God further amplifies their “Dark Factor”, ultimately aiming to use them as vessels for its own revival.

In the first war against the Evil God, which my father participated in, the deity’s physical form was nearly completely destroyed.

In other words, the Evil God is currently at its weakest state. In order to fix this, it searches for talented individuals with a high “Dark Factor”.

By the way, the protagonist, Allen-kun, is like an embodiment of the “Light Factor”, which allows him to counter the Evil God.

The fact that the Evil God has made contact with Irina confirms that her “Dark Factor” is still quite high.

It’s likely that I won’t be able to resolve this issue without addressing my bad reputation.

Therefore, I need to remove my bad reputation as soon as possible—

“Ugh!” (Irina)

Suddenly, Irina doubled over, clutching her head.

This is bad!

The Evil God’s amplified “Dark Factor” is digging up past traumas and old wounds.

Of course, being subjected to this would cause pain and suffering.

Irina being in pain right now implies that her “Dark Factor” is being amplified in real time.

There’s only one way to remove the amplified “Dark Factor”.

It’s the method that Allen-kun frequently used in the game.

That method is—kissing.

To be more precise, by exchanging bodily fluids, it’s possible to transfer the “Dark Factor”.

While I would like to question why it has to be a kiss, well, it’s a game world, so it’s not the strangest idea.

Anyway, the priority is to help Irina who’s currently in distress.

To do that, I have to kiss her.

I instinctively reached out to touch her shoulder as she crouched down—.

Is it really okay for me to do this?

Shouldn’t this role be reserved for the protagonist?

Such thoughts crossed my mind.

If I do this, there is no way for Allen, the protagonist, to get close to Irina anymore.

If that were to happen, it would likely become more difficult for Allen to fight against the Evil God with one less member.

After all, Allen is the only one with enough “Light Factor” to stand a chance against the Evil God.

But I can’t just leave Irina suffering like this.

…I’m just a mob character.

A powerless mob character who gets killed by slimes.

Of course, I don’t have the strength to stand against the Evil God.

But—

Don’t I want to see her smile?

Don’t I want to not see her in pain?

I like Irina.

I want her to be happy, to genuinely smile from the heart.

She has already suffered enough.

I want her to be rewarded, and I want to do something to help her.

Since I choose to go down this path… I’ll have no choice but to save all the heroines myself.

In the game, the protagonist is always half-hearted in the things he does.

He couldn’t completely save the heroines, nor could he completely defeat the Evil God.

Then, I’ll find a way to save everyone and create a True Ending.

I don’t know if I can truly save them or if this idea is even possible.

But even so, I have no choice but to do it, for the sake of seeing their genuine smiles—

With this newfound determination, I embraced Irina’s shoulder and spoke in a gentle voice.

“Irina, are you okay?” (Louis)

“…Yeah, somehow.” (Irina)

“I see. It might be strange for me to say this now, but remember when you said you wanted me to convey my feelings once more?” (Louis)

As I said that, she widened her eyes and looked at me.

There was a hint of confusion in her expression.

Taking a deep breath, I began to speak slowly while making sure that my words got across clearly.

“For me, Irina is someone I like. I like you, Irina. Or rather… I love you. I really, really love you.” (Louis)

As I spoke, Irina’s face began to blush.

Perhaps the pain in her head had subsided, as her hands that were previously clutching her head now moved to cover her face.

After a while, Irina timidly asked in a soft voice.

“…Really?” (Irina)

To that question, I answered firmly and confidently.

I no longer wavered or hesitated in my decision.

For their sake, I will do everything in my power to save all of them.

“Yeah, it’s true. I really like you, Irina.” (Louis)

In response, she leaned against me, placing her weight on me, and said with a happy tone.

“I’m glad… I’m really, really glad.” (Irina)

If I had been rejected here, it would have been the end of my resolve. But somehow, she accepted me.

Irina continued, her words coming out slowly and thoughtfully.

“Recently, I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. About my own feelings. And about you.” (Irina)

I simply listened to her words in silence.

“But no matter how many times I thought about it, I ended up with the same answer. I like you. I think I fell in love with you.” (Irina)

Then, she twisted her body slightly to face me directly and looked into my eyes.

Her expression was very serious and yet filled with happiness.

“Hey, Louis. I’ve fallen in love with you. So—please take responsibility for it, okay?” (Irina)

With that, Irina naturally closed her eyes.

I pressed my lips gently against her faintly peach-colored lips.

Simultaneously, I felt the flow of the amplified “Dark Factor” within her being removed and flowing into me.

Then, I felt something dense and dark flowing into me with incredible force.

It’s painful.

My head felt like it was about to split open.

My heart was screaming.

The massive influx of “Dark Factor” is causing my heart to gradually darken and close off as it sinks deeper within me.

Ah, should I just destroy everything?

Can anyone truly love me from their heart?

What bother will all of this…?

Going deeper, and deeper, I feel my heart sinking—

Sinking into the depths of darkness.

However…

If I were to succumb to the darkness, there is no doubt that Irina will be sad.

That was the one thing I wanted to avoid.

I somehow managed to hold onto my sanity and resist.

But if our lips were to part in this current situation, I would undoubtedly…

Just as I was thinking that, Irina unexpectedly embraced me and gently licked my lips with her tongue.

…Ah, Irina, you truly are amazing.

Thanks to that, I somehow managed to regain my composure.

I’m alright now.

My mind has cleared up.

We parted our lips, and I took a step back.

“Ah…” (Irina)

I could hear a somewhat lonely voice, and I decided to tease Irina a bit.

“Hehe, let’s continue this another time.” (Louis)

“…Fine, I get it.” (Irina)

She turned her gaze away in embarrassment and replied.

Irina seems to be unaware that a portion of her “Dark Factor” has been removed.

Well, the concepts of “Light Factor” and “Dark Factor” aren’t widely understood in this world.

My head still throbs with pain, and if I let my guard down, my heart feels like it might sink again.

But if Irina knows about this, she would definitely kiss me to try and help me.

However, there is no solution to this.

So, I have decided that I will definitely keep it hidden from her.

Besides, it sounds kind of cool to say something like “My left arm is throbbing…”, doesn’t it?

“Well then… I look forward to being with you, Irina.” (Louis)

“Yeah… I look forward to it too, Louis.” (Irina)

We locked eyes and exchanged those shy words, full of embarrassment.

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TL notes:

Thanks for reading!

LETS GOOOOOO an MC who actually dates the heroines.

Plus, he basically just decided that he is gonna steal all the heroines away from Allen lol, is this netori? Well, I guess not since they aren’t together yet.

I’m glad the author explained the process of what the Evil God is actually doing and trying to achieve cause I kept wondering what falling into darkness means.

I substituted “like” with “love” during his confession. I know that “like” is “suki” and “love” is “aishteru”. But the author used “suki” 4 times in slightly different ways, so when translated it came out a bit redundant. Anyways, just know that “suki” was used.

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Footnote:

1. None