Chapter 471: More Than Like

He ate the midnight snack slowly, dragging out the time until 3:45 a.m.

“Alright, let’s keep going! One try to finish the game!”

Mr. Himekoji crushed the empty coffee can and threw it in the trash. After that, he went to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water to make sure he was in his best shape.

“Okay, okay.”

The Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye answered helplessly.

She lazily yawned.

The day before yesterday, she had stayed up all night without sleeping because she was worried about Mr. Himekoji while he was unconscious. She had only dozed off a little in the early morning.

Yesterday, she had kept herself awake until now with coffee and willpower alone.

Counting today, the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye had not had a good sleep for almost three full days.

Dark circles under her eyes, thick like smoky makeup, hung on her young face, creating a strange contrast.

Even so, Himekoji would not let the sleepy Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye go to sleep.

Not sleeping for three days would not kill her, but if she slept today, maybe…

That feeling was so strong that Himekoji had to use every trick he had.

“Don’t fall asleep now!”

Himekoji smiled and flicked the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s forehead with his finger as it bobbed like a nodding chicken from drowsiness.

“If we fail because of your mistake, I’ll make us do it all over again.”

“Huh!? How can Mr. Himekoji say that? Come on, who kept leading us to lose every time before?”

Himekoji’s teasing seemed to work a little. The Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye patted her cheeks with both hands to wake herself up.

“How about we make a bet, Mr. Himekoji?”

“Sure.”

Himekoji agreed without thinking.

“If we fail again because of Mr. Himekoji’s fault, Mr. Himekoji has to promise me any wish I want, no conditions.”

The Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye said this as Himekoji listened.

Himekoji saw a smile blooming slowly on her tired face. It was a gentle and mature smile that did not match her young looks.

But that was the last smile he wanted to see right now.

He could easily guess what the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye was thinking with this bet.

She always thought of others, only of others.

She lived for others, and would die for others too.

This kindness, this maturity, this goodness—it made it impossible to even get angry!

“Okay.”

Himekoji took a deep breath to calm down. Then, with a smile, he said,

“Then, in return, if we finish the game achievement, the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye has to promise me any wish too, anything!”

“Huh?”

The smile on the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s face froze for a long moment before returning to normal. When she spoke again, she sounded hesitant.

“B-but… I can’t promise I’ll be able to do Mr. Himekoji’s wish.”

“What? Are you pulling out already? If you say that, then even if you win, I won’t care about your wish.”

“…”

“So, do we still have a bet or not? Once made, no backing out. Or are you afraid, Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye?”

Himekoji raised his eyebrows to challenge her.

The Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye bit her lip doubtfully for a long time, then finally made up her mind—

“Well… let’s do it then!”

…

Himekoji swore he had never taken a game as seriously as he did right now.

For a while, he had been like a walking corpse in the real world, almost nothing but a total game addict.

But even then, games were just tools for him to hide from life.

He did not take them seriously.

After all, since becoming the Pervert, he had never taken life seriously at all.

But now, he meant it.

Every word from the guide he had read earlier was stuck in his mind. Not a single thing was wrong or forgotten.

He went over everything carefully and then started making up an even better plan.

The first six levels had been beaten already. They just copied their last playstyle and did it step-by-step without any mistakes.

Starting from the seventh level, Himekoji began his solo show.

With the main DPS, the Lady of the Wicked Lord, purposely holding back or not helping much, Himekoji dragged monsters, took hits, and fought them all by himself.

Just one person!

True, some things could not be done alone.

But that was rare.

For Himekoji, most things, he could do them and do them well all by himself.

Apart from the one thing he asked Yukinoshita for yesterday, since becoming a Pervert, he had always done everything on his own.

Not relying on others made him his strongest!

So, for this two-person hell mode dungeon, even with a teammate holding him back on purpose, beating it alone was no big deal!

Level seven!

Level eight!

Level nine!

Level ten!

Fastest speed! Shortest time! Highest score!

The role Himekoji controlled, with amazing and skillful moves, swept through everything like nothing.

If this kept up, levels eleven, twelve, and all the way to the end would be sure wins.

The Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye started to panic.

She knew his bad playing from before was because he wasn’t trying hard, but still, the difference was too big!

Playing weak to win easily?

Cheating! Such a cheat!

She wished she hadn’t made that bet!

Himekoji could guess the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye’s wish, and she could guess his too.

But she knew she could not make his come true.

The “Rikka” inside my body started reacting from the moment Mr. Himekoji appeared.

Perhaps “Rikka” really wanted to see Mr. Himekoji too?

The feeling that “Rikka” was about to wake up grew stronger with each passing moment.

And now, the time had come when I had to return this body to its original owner.

I was born for “Rikka”, existed for “Rikka”, so naturally, I should also disappear for “Rikka”.

Touka-nee treated me as a replacement for Rikka.

The Brave treated me like daily experience points to be earned.

So, I felt no resistance towards disappearing.

I held no attachment to this world that didn’t need me.

Until Mr. Himekoji appeared.

Even though he was also looking for “Rikka”, he protested emotionally when I tried to return “Rikka” to him.

Despite knowing that “Rikka” and I couldn’t coexist, he kept illogically insisting that “both are important” — such irresponsible words.

Mr. Himekoji was always smiling, whether he was happy or sad.

Lately, memories belonging to “Rikka” had started flashing through my mind occasionally. This was probably a sign that “Rikka” was about to wake up.

In “Rikka”‘s memories, though, Mr. Himekoji hadn’t always been so fond of smiling.

He often had an expressionless face, his eyes empty as he stared blankly into space.

“Rikka” first saw him smile while waiting for the train.

“Rikka” stood in front of the train door chanting a childish, chuunibyou spell. The moment she finished the chant, the train doors opened. Mr. Himekoji inside the train car first looked startled, and then… that perpetually ashen, lifeless face suddenly broke into laughter.

It wasn’t the mocking laughter “Rikka” had gotten used to for her chuunibyou antics, nor did it hold any malice. It was a pure, genuine smile of real amusement.

Mr. Himekoji had laughed, truly happy, because of “Rikka”.

That was the first time “Rikka” realized—

Someone could look so incredibly handsome when they smiled!

The little girl’s small heart pounded “thump-thump-thump” like a startled deer. For the first time, the chuunibyou-minded girl became aware of the opposite sex.

This person! Yes, it’s this person!

He understands my spells! He understands my destiny!

He’s the one fated to form a contract with me!

Her heart screamed those words loudly inside her.

Later, she found out Mr. Himekoji lived right downstairs.

She engineered a few “coincidental” meetings: “ambushes” in the stairwell, “fateful encounters” in the elevator, “happening to sit next to him” on the same train…

But Mr. Himekoji didn’t seem to remember “Rikka”.

Several times when their eyes “coincidentally” met, Mr. Himekoji’s gaze remained utterly empty.

His ash-gray eyes held nothing. Just vacant space, as if…

As if he could vanish at any moment.

This wasn’t the Mr. Himekoji “Rikka” wanted to see, not the Mr. Himekoji she longed for. What “Rikka” truly wanted to see, truly anticipated, was the smile that had so naturally appeared on Mr. Himekoji’s face that day, the second the train doors opened.

So, after that, “Rikka” intentionally and unintentionally did many, many more chuunibyou things, all of which just happened to be witnessed by Mr. Himekoji.

Sometimes Mr. Himekoji would laugh; sometimes he wouldn’t.

When he didn’t, “Rikka” would feel dejected.

But speaking of dejection, the thing that made “Rikka” feel the absolute worst was—

Acting out constantly in front of him, desperately trying to make herself noticed, didn’t seem to leave any strong impression on Mr. Himekoji.

It wasn’t because “Rikka” wasn’t trying hard enough. It was just that the Mr. Himekoji of those days seemed uninterested in anything.

Not a single thing.

The Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye often felt she wasn’t needed in this world.

But the Mr. Himekoji she saw in “Rikka”‘s memories gave her the feeling—

He didn’t need this world at all.

Nevertheless, “Rikka” never gave up. Not once.

After learning Mr. Himekoji attended Toyosaki High School, she—who disliked studying—suddenly repented in her third year of junior high and began studying intensely.

Later, with excellent grades that stunned both teachers and classmates, she was accepted into Toyosaki. She became a first-year student at Toyosaki, while Mr. Himekoji was a second-year—her Senpai.

Besides being neighbors, “Rikka” gained a new attribute: that of a “junior”.

Her efforts in academics paid off, but her efforts directed at Mr. Himekoji yielded absolutely no visible reward.

“Rikka” continued trying as always.

Finally, after the first practice exams, “Rikka” saw hope.

Being severely unbalanced in her subjects earned her a chance for tutoring by seniors.

Without a second thought, “Rikka” specifically requested Mr. Himekoji by name.

“Rikka” told the Sensei that Mr. Himekoji was a “child chosen by destiny,” born specifically to tutor her.

Walking home from school that night, “Rikka” was excited, thrilled, overflowing with joy. Caught up in the fervor, she decided to make her move that very night.

She slid down a rope from her balcony.

And delivered her line to Mr. Himekoji—

“Want to see?”

Then…

Well… the memories after that made the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye blush bright red.

……

Level 16.

The final level.

“Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye, I’m about to win, you know! Remember what you promised.”

Mr. Himekoji looked up as he spoke, letting his hands relax slightly—they had grown sore from the intense button-mashing.

However, the response he got was this completely out-of-context line—

“Even so… even so… Mr. Himekoji, my feelings… I absolutely won’t lose to her.”

“Huh?”

Seeing Mr. Himekoji’s bewildered expression, the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye gave a small smile.

She added quietly and slowly in her heart—

So, sorry… I just…

I really can’t let you win.

Mr. Himekoji’s controlled minions were cutting through the enemies ahead, but the Wicked Lord controlled by the Lady of the Wicked Lord’s Eye stayed rooted in place.

……

In “Rikka”‘s memories, Mr. Himekoji, who used to rarely smile, never stopped smiling in front of her. Whether happy or sad, whether the smile came naturally or seemed forced.

Even that day in the chapel, tears streaming down his face, he still desperately tried to maintain his smile.

Mr. Himekoji smiled for her. He smiled to show her. He smiled trying to make her smile.

He tried so desperately… so very hard…

When he placed himself before her, time and again, shielding her from the Brave’s attacks.

When he showed her that gentle kindness, unfailingly considerate, sometimes flirty, sometimes serious.

When he encouraged her, told her she mattered, urged her to live on, ruffled her hair, and said she was cute.

He did.

Then.

All those times!

He tried hard enough, he’s tried plenty!

So…

Mr. Himekoji.

Stop!

After tonight, I’ll give “Rikka” back to you.

Because… “Rikka” liked you so much, didn’t she?

Of course.

I love him more than “Rikka” ever could.

……