"Happy eighteenth birthday, Lancel Dante! Why are you looking so glo—"
"Gloomy or not, I'm going to the capital. Any objections?"
"W-what?"
"I'm leaving."
"...?"
"Leaving."
After swiftly defeating Viscount Dante, Lancel headed straight for the capital without a second thought.
Marigold.
Lancel had felt as though she had completely vanished from this world.
But that wasn't the case.
She had existed in every playthrough.
—————————
â»What are the Karma Penalty effects?
-10 points or more: Starting travel funds will be stolen.
-50 points or more: Start in a dangerous area.
-100 points or more: Begin with a sickly constitution.
-200 points or more: Permanent physical disability.
-500 points or more: Permanent terminal illness.
—————————
'Terminal illness!'
Marigold with 864 Karma.
In truth, Lancel hadn't been completely blindsided by this. He simply lacked concrete evidence.
No matter where he looked in this world, he couldn't find a trace of her.
No game screen, no ending, no trace of the Marigold family, nothing remained anywhere in the Empire.
It felt as though she had completely disappeared.
'Mary, how early did you die?'
Lancel couldn't even laugh from the emptiness he felt.
Now that he knew she had definitely existed in this world, his course of action was clear.
Find evidence.
Yes. Lancel wanted to find it.
Proof that she had lived in this world.
Even if she no longer existed at this moment.
Even if all that remained were mere traces.
'...Mary...'
He wanted to see with his own eyes the evidence that she had once been alive.
'The question is how to find it.'
After Marigold disappeared, there was a method he had tried in his third life that ended in failure.
Lancel decided to try that method again. There wasn't really a better option.
"Are you truly Lancel Dante, the champion of the Imperial Eastern Swordsmanship Tournament?"
"You can see that with your own eyes, can't you? In this life, I pledge my loyalty to Your Highness Claria. But I have one condition."
"Hmph, I'll hear you out. Think carefully before speaking. It must be something I can grant. If it's too outrageous, I'll refuse immediately."
The 3rd Princess cast an intrigued look at Lancel, who had just won the swordsmanship tournament.
It was a bit mean to say, but Claria was the easiest royal to manipulate.
She was simple-minded and not very good at backstabbing. With other royals, it would have been difficult to establish trust.
"I need to find traces of someone who has died. Lend me people for this task."
"What? That's nothing special. Fine!"
Claria responded as if it wasn't a difficult request at all.
"Lancel, you have great sword skills but such tiny ambitions? Just that small condition? I was anxiously wondering how to respond if you'd fallen for my beautiful self and wanted to marry me! Ohoho!"
"..."
Of course.
Soon, as numerous investigators were dispatched throughout the Empire, nearly half of her fortune would be gradually drained away, leaving her so tight on funds she could barely host the parties she loved so much.
"Just trust me, Lancel Dante!"
But for now, she just laughed with a pretense of dignity.
'How convenient.'
Naturally, he didn't intend to just use her. Lancel had some sense of decency.
He planned to let her feel the pride of having the Empire's strongest knight at her disposal.
For instance, lending his strength whenever fights or duels arose.
"Eek! My brothers are always looking down on me! I need to flatten their noses this time. Bring Lancel here. I need to arrange a duel for tomorrow!"
"You called for me, Your Highness?"
"Lancel! I need your strength! My brother is trying to take over the art gallery I was planning to build! He said someone like me doesn't have the aesthetic vision to curate an art gallery!"
"Leave it to me."
For instance, training her knights while simultaneously searching for hero candidates.
"Amazing! My knights are actually starting to look like real knights, Lancel!"
"They are real knights, Your Highness."
For instance, standing beside her during national holiday events and balls to boost her confidence.
"Lancel, when the parade starts, carry me on your shoulders! I want to look down upon the imperial citizens from the highest point!"
"You'll just look like a child."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Nothing at all."
And finally.
In the near future, when an era of war arrived or when she faced mortal danger.
He would swiftly carry her to safety.
'Isn't that worth the money?'
Yes. For the 3rd Princess who routinely died in various ways, this would be more than enough repayment.
At least, that's what Lancel thought.
"Sir Lancel!"
And when Lancel turned twenty-six.
"I believe we've found what you asked for."
He finally received the news he had been waiting for from the imperial investigation team.
If it had been just a few months later, war would have broken out.
'So it was in a place like this...'
After checking the map, Lancel swallowed bitterly.
"Good work. I'll go there after safely evacuating Her Highness. My disciples will ensure her safety."
"Yes, Sir Lancel."
After passing through a rugged forest, a field came into view.
"...The darkest place is under the lantern, they say."
Lancel removed his hood as he entered a village with a few huts. The rain had stopped, and a thick mist had settled.
It was a place four days' walk from Dante territory.
A small village hidden beneath a grassy hill. Erica Village.
As he entered the village, people came into view.
Women carrying baskets of vegetables, men wiping sweat while holding farming tools, children gathered in the center of the village chattering away, along with dogs and livestock.
It was a defenseless village without even a militia.
"Who are you?"
The voice belonged to an old man guarding the wide-open gate.
"I've come after hearing news of the Marigold family."
"Marigold? People from the capital came looking for that recently too. Has some rumor spread?"
Was he referring to the investigation team that came before?
"Go straight inside. When you reach the cemetery, there will be a caretaker. Speak to him."
'Cemetery.'
Lancel's steps somehow felt heavier. For unknown reasons, his heart was pounding. Even his breathing was irregular, unlike usual.
After walking for dozens of minutes to what appeared to be a cemetery, Lancel found a strangely familiar face.
"..."
The caretaker who was looking at him seemed familiar.
"If you're an unwelcome visitor, leave."
Though his bushy beard almost made him unrecognizable, Lancel identified who he was as soon as he heard his voice.
"Albert."
"...!"
The chamberlain of the Marigold family.
He was standing guard there, holding a wooden staff.
With a surprised expression and trembling pupils, he finally spoke.
"How do you know my name...?"
"Chamberlain Albert. I wish to place flowers. Please show me the way."
"..."
For a while, he said nothing.
"Follow me."
He turned around and led the way.
* * *
—Marigold Curtain Marigold.
—The child who brought happiness, now at rest.
Lancel finally faced Marigold's tombstone.
Through his many past lives.
The trace of Marigold that he had searched for so desperately remained only as this short inscription on a smooth stone standing silently before him.
Somehow, words failed him.
As he ran his hand over the tombstone, he felt only the cold, smooth sensation of stone. No warmth, no softness, no sparkling eyes that would turn to look at him remained here.
"How long did Marigold live?"
"..."
Albert hesitated again.
Only after observing Lancel's expression did he speak.
"The young lady lived for ten years and three."
Thirteen years old.
So that was it.
She died before turning fifteen.
'What kind of wretched game is this?'
Even with a terminal illness, a game should at least let you start playing before ending. This was no different from a game over.
If this had been an actual game, it would be a bug-level penalty requiring a complete data reset. Lancel couldn't shake his astonishment.
Yes. It wasn't unexpected.
It had been the same when Marigold couldn't see.
But he couldn't help being speechless.
Wasn't finding this tombstone a miracle in itself?
It was thanks to the 3rd Princess who constantly urged and encouraged the investigation team, though her main complaint was the excessive cost.
If it had been just a few months later, the news would have been difficult to obtain due to the war.
That was precisely why Lancel had failed to find Marigold when he tried the same method in the past.
"Mary."
Lancel spent the remaining two years guarding Marigold's grave.
There was hope. A clear method existed to lower her Karma. Though not easy, it would somehow work.
===============
—Imperial Year 826, June 3rd, Weather: Very Clear.
—The Marigold Knights have discovered a total of 'two' hero candidates. Marigold's Karma decreases by 2 points every 2 years.
—Current Karma value is '855'.
â»Blessing of Happiness! Marigold's Karma will not reset even after playthroughs end!
===============
A total of 355 points. That was how much Karma Marigold needed to lose to escape her terminal fate.
'Karma decreases by 2 points every 2 years. And it continues to decrease even after playthroughs... so about 350 years from now?'
Including the disciple Lancel had raised in the capital during this playthrough, there were a total of two hero candidates.
'Still far from enough.'
Yes.
350 years meant 35 playthroughs. Lancel didn't want to drag out the penalty for that long.
'If I gather just ten people, that's 50 points per playthrough... well-trained hero candidates will lower Marigold's Karma on their own.'
With ten people, he would only need to repeat six playthroughs.
After that, he'd just need to survive for 60 years. That meant she could soon escape her terminal fate.
"I'll come see you soon."
Lancel gently placed a bouquet of flowers before Marigold's tombstone.
And so, 10 years passed.
.
.
.
"Your eighteenth birthday..."
"Enough, just grab a wooden sword and come out."
"Huh?"
In the next life.
As soon as he opened his eyes, Lancel rushed to the capital again and reunited with Marigold.
"...?"
Lancel awoke from his brief nap to find a familiar yet somehow very different figure before him.
The One-Horned Marigold.
"...You've gotten smaller?"
She looked no older than 10 years at most. The horn on her head was also modest, about the size of a finger joint.
But even that made Lancel tremble with joy.
How long had it been since he'd seen Marigold? Even if it was the One-Horned Marigold, and somehow transformed into a small size.
Just as he unconsciously reached out to touch her—
-Hehehe.
Another arm appeared and lifted the One-Horned Marigold up.
She hung limply at a height where her feet couldn't touch the ground. A truly powerless sight.
'...?'
Lancel looked up at the owner of the arm and widened his eyes once more.
"Two Marigolds?"
Another Marigold holding up the One-Horned Marigold.
With the dazzling sun behind her, her eyes were gently closed.
A pair of small, shining wings sprouted from her back.
-Sir Lancel.
Why was it?
The winged Marigold approaching him with open arms.
She seemed somehow familiar.
Only after being embraced did Lancel recognize her.
The gentle hand stroking his head.
There was no doubt.
-Everything will be fine, Sir Lancel. Well done, well done.
===============
—Born with minimum ability stats, minimum achievement points, Karma penalty (Status ailment: Blindness), and maximum happiness. <Foodworm Marigold> bestows the 'Blessing of Happiness'.
â»S-rank guardian spirit has changed from 'Demon King' to 'Foodworm'.
â»'Demon King' is sealed due to extremely low Karma. Guardian spirit bonuses for charm increase, ability stat increase, combat talent, mana increase, and Karma increase are sealed. They will be unlocked when Karma rises.
===============