When I kissed Rem, I felt an indescribable euphoria. To have someone's unconditional love is a precious and rare gift, one I never thought I'd receive in this world.
I found it hard to believe that she had accepted me after everything I confessed.
In the past, I had a great fear of rejection: I would become overly anxious and paranoid around a girl, fearing she would reject my personality. I wasn't desperate for a partner or approval, but I hated the idea of my ego being hurt.
Because of that fear, I held back whenever I was with someone I liked. I always assumed that the girls in my world wouldn't like the real me.
Ah, I wouldn't blame them if that were the case. I knew perfectly well that I didn't fit the mold of what a woman expected from a man... But that didn't matter anymore. Now I had everything I could ever want, and it was right there in my arms.
"Hmm..."
As expected of first-timers, Rem and I shared an awkward, yet very passionate, kiss. Our hands clung to each other's bodies, unsure where or when to stop.
This wasn't just a simple kiss: we were both giving in to the longing to feel each other against our skin. A lot of stress was being released with this gesture...
After so much suffering, this was all I wanted. I had waited my whole life for a moment like this, and it came when I needed it most.
"Haa..."
We had to separate to breathe. Rem sighed listlessly, as if she never wanted to let go of me. In fact, she was still hanging onto my neck.
"I love you so much." She whispered.
With my heart racing, I grabbed Rem by the waist and sat her down on the table to make her more comfortable, since she had spent all this time standing on her tiptoes.
She wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me as close as possible. I could tell her desire was just as intense as mine, which excited me even more.
I lowered my head to her neck, planting kisses on her exposed skin. Rem moaned softly and turned her head away to give me better access. With her unspoken permission, I became more intense, filling her neck with red marks.
"It tickles a little." She murmured, smiling.
Little by little, we leaned further and further over the table until Rem was lying on her back, with me on top of her. Her body felt light and fragile in my arms. Part of me wanted to treat her gently, but lust won out.
I moved my hands to her cleavage and gently squeezed her breasts. She gasped and blushed even more, surprised by the sudden turn of events.
Her uniform was in my way, so I started to take it off, but she stopped me.
"Wait, someone might see us if we stay here..."
That snapped me out of my trance. I realized I hadn't been very careful about this.
"True."
I prepared to take her to a room to continue our cuddles in a private place, however...
"Leandro, what's taking you so long?" Otto entered the house, sighing in annoyance.
I should have thought of that before. This is the second time we've been caught because of my stupidity.
"Ah!" Rem hid beneath me.
I looked at Otto, who froze as if he'd seen Medusa herself. I don't know what kind of expression I made, but it must have been quite terrifying, because he quickly thawed and ran away.
"I'M SO SORRY! I'M GOING TO GO BANG MY HEAD TO FORGET I SAW THIS!"
"..."
We remained silent for half a minute.
"I suppose that ruined the atmosphere." I said with a wry smile. "What a shame."
After that, we got off the table and tidied ourselves up. Rem helped me smooth out my clothes while I was still grumbling about the interruption.
"You're ready." She said, checking my appearance with satisfaction.
"Thank you..."
Rem smiled happily and hugged me, which cheered me up quite a bit.
"Stay alive, okay?"
"You too." I said, returning the hug tightly. "But let's not make it seem like a goodbye."
Suddenly, she came closer and whispered in my ear, giving me goosebumps.
"Next time, we're going to finish what we started."
"Oh. Then I should hurry and put the plan into action." My motivation returned, multiplied a billion times over.
We left the house holding hands. The carriage was already ready, with Mr. Inopportune sitting in the front.
"Don't be hard on him." Rem asked me.
"I won't be!" I quickly denied.
"I know you're lying."
"Okay, I just want to get my revenge a little."
That damned Escrotto had interrupted my big moment. And it was no small matter.
Reluctantly, I promised Rem that I wouldn't torture Otto for being such a buzzkill (I know he did it unintentionally, but still).
Just before I left, she grabbed my arm to stop me.
"Hey, Leandro..."
"What's up?"
"Maybe I shouldn't ask this, but... what was my role in that story? I mean, what would have happened if you hadn't come into my life?"
She was asking about her future in the original story...
"Do you really want to know?" I had mixed feelings about it, especially now.
Rem pondered it for a moment, as if she wanted to confirm her choice with herself. Finally, she nodded.
"Well, you... You fell in love with the protagonist. You were his pillar, you helped him become a hero when he didn't believe in himself."
Rem's eyes lit up.
"I see, it was something similar. I'm glad that version of me is happy too."
I nodded, thinking it was best to leave it at that. She didn't need to know the truth.
As always, I underestimated Rem's sharpness.
"But that's not all, is it?" She asked intuitively.
I sighed deeply and she persisted.
"What happened next?"
"The world forgot you." I finally said. "It was because of Gluttony. He devoured your name and your memories, leaving you permanently asleep and forgotten by everyone except the protagonist. They couldn't wake you up until a long time later, and when you returned, you weren't the same as before. Besides, everyone still didn't remember you."
Rem's pupils expanded and contracted rapidly. Her pretty face went through several expressions as she began to understand things.
"When did that happen?"
"After the battle against the White Whale, many carriages returned to the royal capital. Most were filled with wounded who needed treatment; the rest were too exhausted to fight, so they took the whale's carcass to be displayed. You were in one of those carriages, along with Crush Karsten."
I shook my head, remembering those days, which now seemed so far away.
"The witch's cult ambushed them. Gluttony and Greed led the attack. There was nothing they could do. Not even the protagonist could save you, but I don't blame him."
"I understand..."
Rem took my hand and gave me another beautiful smile.
"I'm glad it's you, Leandro."
I couldn't hold back. I pulled Rem towards me and kissed her again.
"I won't let something like that happen again." I said, holding her head against my chest. "I'll keep you safe, no matter what."
"I know." She said, stroking my cheek. "I just remembered how you did everything you could to make sure no one got hurt that day. You didn't want to leave anyone behind either. You were always looking out for me, even more than I realized. I'm so lucky..."
"No, I'm the lucky one." I countered, kissing her hand.
She became a little serious.
"When you get back, I want you to tell me everything. About you, about your life, your real life."
I let out a groan. I'd rather avoid that subject if possible.
"You're going to get really bored. You might even fall asleep."
"I won't." She shook his head. "I'll listen to every word."
"Haa... Okay. When I get back, I'll tell you everything, even the most embarrassing things."
"It's a promise!" She extended her pinkie. I quickly intertwined it with mine to seal the deal.
Suddenly, Patrasche shrieked, sounding annoyed. Even without Otto's divine protection, I was able to understand the message.
I turned to Rem.
"Well, I can't delay any longer. I guess I should let you go." I said dramatically.
We didn't say anything else. Words were unnecessary when our eyes already said it all. I wanted to hold her like that all day, but I had to go to the mansion or I'd lose everything again, and I definitely didn't want to give up on this cycle.
Patrasche shot me a death glare when I jumped into the carriage and settled down next to Otto.
"Hey, you can't reproach me for anything now."
This time, I looked back as I left the Sanctuary, and I didn't stop until Rem's figure disappeared over the horizon.
Even when she disappeared from my sight, I kept seeing her in my mind, as a reminder of how precious this loop was.
"I have to win. For Rem, for Emilia, for the others... and for myself too."
***
"Very well, Otto... If you promise to behave and not interrupt me this time, I'll forget what happened, understood?"
"Yes sir..."
I patted him on the back.
"Excellent. Now, you'd better drive and try to get to the mansion as soon as possible, no matter what happens around you."
I got into the cabin to get comfortable. I would need to, considering what I was about to do.
According to the hunter's memories, there was a curse that could help me keep up with the swordsman. This was one of the many curses my other self had inscribed on his body to become stronger. It already seemed strange to me that the hunter had knocked Rem out so easily.
"Very well, let's see if I remember how the ritual was performed..."
I needed a little blood to draw the runes. I cut my finger and began rubbing it over different parts of my body, continuing until I had created all the required patterns.
The moment I closed the final stroke, the blood patterns ignited and the curse began to spread throughout my body: penetrating the layers of my skin, seeping between the muscle fibers, entering my bloodstream, and permeating my bones.
Of course, it wasn't a pleasant feeling at all, quite the opposite.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I let out such a scream that it almost tore my throat.
I felt like I was burning in the flames of hell while simultaneously freezing in the coldest ice. Still, I preferred this to eating pineapple pizza or mint ice cream.
The whole process lasted only a few seconds, but the agony involved made it feel like hours. I thought about what I was trying to protect and the fact that if I died, I'd have to go through this all over again to have a chance against the swordsman.
When the effects had fully taken hold, my body had transformed significantly. It wasn't just that my muscles were more defined and my physique improved: the real change was internal.
My door's capacity, my reflexes... There wasn't a single thing that wasn't improved. The world seemed to slow down, and my body felt incredibly light.
"How terrifying." I said, clenching my hands, feeling the strength contained within them. "I wonder if I'd get the same results training with Reinhard."
I leaned out of the front of the carriage. Otto and Patrasche seemed intent on the road, but when they saw me appear, they both started firing questions at me simultaneously. Well, in Patrasche's case, they were unintelligible shrieks.
"What the hell did you do?! I thought you were dying and I couldn't do anything!"
In fact, Otto was right. I was dying, but very slowly, as this curse shortened my lifespan. In return, I gained the best physical condition I could naturally achieve.
"Let's just say I took a risky gamble. Speaking of which, I want to see how well it worked out."
I jumped out of the carriage and started running, injecting mana into my legs to match Patrasche's pace.
"Kuh!?" Patrasche made a noise of surprise.
"Absolutely not!" Otto grabbed his head, letting go of the reins for a moment. "Since when can you do that?!"
I winked at them and started jumping, increasing my speed until I left them behind.
Everything in my peripheral vision turned into a blurry, changing color as I strided up to fifty meters.
"Shooting Star ... It makes sense that it's called that."
I arrived at the mansion shortly after. Because of my early arrival, Elsa and Meili were still preparing for the attack when I showed up. That made things easier, because I spared myself the whole awkward scene and Frederica's injuries.
Once again, I offered the two women jobs and as always, they both rejected me, but then they implied that they would accept if I showed them that I was capable of protecting them from Capella.
Having said that, I took them inside the mansion as my guests and Frederica made tea for everyone while I analyzed the situation, thinking about how to proceed next.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Elsa raised an eyebrow.
I came to the conclusion that there was no subtle way to do what I was about to do. I picked up my cup and drank all the tea in one gulp (Echidna's was tastier).
"The guy who's coming to kill me." I barely managed to explain.
"Someone wants to kill you?!" Petra gasped. "And they're coming here?!"
"Why didn't you say so before, Master Leandro?" Frederica looked at me sternly.
I just shrugged.
"It wouldn't make any difference. It's my fight, and the outcome depends on me. However, there's something I need to do to maximize my chances of success, and for that, I need the cooperation of one of you."
"What do you mean?" Elsa looked at me suspiciously when I sat down next to her.
"I apologize in advance." I moved abruptly, holding her tightly.
She tried to reach for her knives to stab me, but I easily stopped her.
"Did you deceive us?!" Meili jumped out of her seat and I noticed she was trying to call Guiltylowe.
"Not really. By the way, your chimera friend isn't coming. I put him to sleep, and the hippopotamus too."
"Huh?! That's not fair! You're a cheater!" Meili complained.
But I couldn't hear her. All my attention was focused on the mark of Elsa's curse. Now I could feel her magic much more clearly. The spell's reach extended throughout her entire body.
Elsa resisted with a strength that would have far surpassed mine before I enhanced my body, but which at this moment felt like a trifle. I didn't like forcing her to do something she didn't want to do; however, this was necessary.
"Let me go...!" She struggled and tried to kick me, but it was useless.
I began to draw magic from the curse, slowly transferring it into my body.
"I'm sorry. I'll borrow this."
The tattoo crawled across Elsa's skin, carrying the curse with it. Once it was off her, I carefully manipulated the magic so it wouldn't accidentally attach itself to someone else.
With a swift and precise movement, I absorbed the curse and became a Cursed Doll.