How a Villain Defies Destiny Chapter 107

[Tsk, fine. Humans usually don’t realize the essence of things until they experience them firsthand.]  

 

Fenrir clicked his tongue with a sour expression, chiding.  

 

I’ve grown quite accustomed to Fenrir’s openly displeased attitude, so I was about to brush it off casually, but Huluppu spoke up first.  

 

[Fenrir’s words might sound a bit sharp, but I agree with the sentiment that you should live freely. It’s okay not to be bound by duty or fate.]  

 

Huluppu’s silver eyes, which had been meeting mine, slowly drifted upward.  

 

Following his gaze, I saw the dawn’s haze had completely lifted, revealing a clear blue sky.  

 

‘Guess it’s about time to go back…?’  

 

I was just starting to wonder why Huluppu had suddenly looked up at the sky when he continued speaking.  

 

[In truth, there have been humans who accomplished what even the gods believed to be absolutely impossible. So, Laura, don’t push yourself too hard…]  

 

As if reflecting on everything I’d done so far, he trailed off with a soft chuckle.  

 

[Just keep doing what feels right to you, as you always have. And if you channel divine energy into the branch I gave you, you can reshape it—turn it into a ring, a necklace, or some other accessory to carry with you always.]  

 

“Thank you.”  

 

[Last time, I had to send you away in a hurry, so I couldn’t say a proper goodbye. But today, it seems I can.]  

 

As expected, it really was time to part now.  

 

I, too, rose from my seat to offer the farewell I hadn’t been able to give before, as Huluppu slowly approached—  

 

[May Astarte’s love be with you.]  

 

Huluppu reached out, resting a hand on my shoulder with a gentle smile, murmuring words of blessing.  

 

Then, he lightly pressed his lips to my forehead.  

 

“Ah—!”

 

Startled by the soft sensation, I was about to open my mouth when my vision flipped.  

 

Gasping slightly from the dizziness, I opened my eyes to see a familiar ceiling.  

 

It was my room.  

 

‘Again, I didn’t get to say goodbye!’  

 

All I had wanted was to exchange a simple farewell—just a casual *”See you next time”*—but I still felt disappointed.  

 

The abrupt shift in space and time still wasn’t something I could get used to, but at least my mind was clearer than last time.  

 

‘Last time, I woke up the next day… Wait. Did I wake up immediately this time?’  

 

A sudden unease washed over me.  

 

I remembered Yves’ account of when he first met Huluppu—how he briefly regained consciousness before collapsing again.  

 

‘What time is it now?’  

 

I tried to sit up to check the time, but my body refused to move.  

 

‘At the very least, if I could just turn my head slightly to look out the window…’  

 

Straining to tilt my head to gauge the approximate time from the sky’s color, I suddenly heard Yves’ voice.  

 

“Laura, are you all right?”  

 

“Ah, yes.”  

 

I couldn’t even move a finger, so I was slightly worried my vocal cords or lips might not respond either, but thankfully, I could still speak.  

 

Confirming my voice was working normally, I asked Yves in return:  

 

“Did you just wake up too?”  

 

“Yes.”  

 

Since he seemed to have woken up around the same time, chances were he didn’t know the exact time either.  

 

So, I decided to check on him first.  

 

“Are you feeling okay? For some reason, my body won’t move.”  

 

I couldn’t see him, so I asked about his condition—but strangely, I felt a wriggling sensation behind me.  

 

‘Also, his voice sounded like it was coming from behind me earlier… Was that just my imagination?’  

 

I couldn’t turn my head even slightly, and even when I rolled my eyes, all I saw was the ceiling. There was no doubt I was lying flat on the floor.  

 

So, there was no way Yves could be behind me.  

 

‘Right. It must just be my mind playing tricks.’  

 

Just as I dismissed it as my imagination, his voice came from behind me again—as if mocking my assumption.  

 

“I don’t seem to have any major issues.”

 

When I became aware of the distinct sensation of movement and the feeling of something firm yet much warmer and more elastic than the ground beneath me. I realized that what was against my back was not the cold, hard floor.  

 

“…Yves, are you behind me right now?”  

 

“To be precise, it’s not behind but beneath.”  

 

“Don’t tell me I’ve been crushing you this whole time?”  

 

“Your choice of words is off. It’s not that you crushed me—before you lost consciousness, I caught you as you collapsed.”  

 

“Wow… I see.”  

 

A sigh of admiration escaped me. When moving through space, I hadn’t even registered that I had fallen.  

 

‘When crossing into Huluppu’s space, there isn’t even a sense of fading consciousness.’  

 

It felt far more natural than teleporting, so much so that I barely noticed the shift in space or any dreamlike sensation.  

 

‘Ah, that’s not the important part right now.’  

 

Remembering that I was currently lying on top of Yves, I apologized using the only part of me that could move—my mouth—since my body remained immobile.  

 

“I’m sorry. My body feels strangely weak, so I can’t get up right away.”  

 

“Take your time. Are there any other issues besides that?”  

 

In response to his question, I first sniffed the air.  

 

‘Hmm, my sense of smell seems to be working fine.’  

 

Aside from taste, which I couldn’t verify, everything else seemed normal. I could see the ceiling, hear Yves’ voice, and feel his body heat.  

 

“Nothing else seems wrong.”  

 

After quickly checking my condition, I asked him the most important question.  

 

“More importantly, Yves, if you can move, could you check what time it is?”  

 

“Hmm…”  

 

Unlike me, who couldn’t move a muscle, Yves should have no trouble doing this—yet for some reason, he let out a troubled sigh.  

 

“What’s wrong?”  

 

“…”  

 

“Are you hurt? Or is there some other problem?”  

 

As the silence dragged on, I grew inexplicably anxious and repeatedly asked him again, almost pressing.  

 

It wasn’t out of impatience, but rather because I was worried that something troubling might have happened to him.  

 

Fidgeting uneasily, I could only roll my eyes left and right—until suddenly, Yves Leblanc’s face appeared in my line of sight.  

 

“It’s nothing serious.”  

 

Looking down at me, he spoke with a faint smile.  

 

“I just hesitated for a moment, thinking how nice it would be if we could keep lying side by side like this.”  

 

His expression was so forlorn and lonely that one might have thought he had lost his country.  

 

Yet, the words that actually came out were so embarrassingly awkward that I almost doubted they had really come from Yves’ mouth.  

 

“Time… hasn’t passed much, just as Fenrir said earlier.”  

 

Staring blankly at the nonsensical words that clashed so badly it was almost dissonant and his desolate smile, I responded a beat too late.  

 

“Ah… W-well, that’s good…”  

 

“I’ll move you to the bed.”  

 

Along with the sensation of my body floating, my vision suddenly rose.  

 

Only then did I realize that Yves had picked me up and lifted me. But since the apprentice priest’s private room wasn’t very large, it took only a few steps before we reached the bed.

 

Absently thinking it was a shame, Yves Leblanc gently laid me down on the bed, neatly tucked me in, and then headed toward the door.  

 

“I’ll take my leave for today. You look tired, so get some rest.”  

 

“Sleep…”  

 

There was something I wanted to ask, but before I could stop him, Yves had already left the room.  

 

Even considerately turning off the lights on his way out.  

 

‘Ugh. I’ll sleep first and ask the rest tomorrow.’

  

Staring blankly at the dark ceiling, I tried to sort through my tangled thoughts when suddenly, a forgotten task came to mind.  

 

‘Ah, I still have to write <The Heart of a Priestess>… I’m screwed.’  

 

💫  

 

“Just…”  

 

A voice reached me through my drowsy consciousness.  

 

“Why have you come back? Was that not the end?”  

 

The delicate, trembling voice of a woman sounded like it could be either laughing or crying.  

 

But as Yves had said, I was too exhausted, so I deliberately ignored it and tried to go back to sleep.  

 

Cruelly, however, the voice only grew louder.  

 

“What do you want from me? What am I supposed to do…”  

 

At the same time, my mind grew clearer.  

 

‘It sounds familiar, but I can’t remember who it is.’

  

Eventually, with sleep completely gone, I gave up on resting and tried to find the source of the voice.  

 

Had I not realized something was wrong with my body, I would have gone straight there.  

 

‘What’s this? Why are my hands like this?’

  

As I stared at my own semi-transparent, ghostly hands—unable to touch anything—the sorrowful voice spoke again.  

 

“At least tell me what I should do. Please… Just end this terrible nightmare.”  

 

When I turned my gaze toward the sound, a large screen came into view. Inside, it was someone I knew all too well.