Chapter 77: Goddess Of Chaos And Destruction

Her behavior didn’t seem normal.

For starters, her voice sounded layered, as if two different people were speaking at the same time.

"And it’s so well hidden that I wouldn’t even have noticed it if it weren’t for..." (Mashiro)

She looked around, and finally her gaze fell on the table that was now part of the decor.

She walked over to it—even though there was nothing there—and stared at it for a while until she spoke again.

"Yes, definitely. Although there are a few others, here’s part of my authority. Someone made a hole and increased the odds that were..." (Mashiro)

She began to mutter to herself as she looked at the table.

At some point, I could no longer hear her, but suddenly her voice rose again.

"Huh? What was that reminder... to speak out loud?... Wait, it was you after all... Oh! I see. So I am, was, or will be involved. Haha! That’s why they didn’t erase the evidence. Ah! I get it now. That fills in that blank spot. So if it was me back then, and if I did end up seeing this, it means I was meant to see it, so they took a shortcut like this to bring things full circle. Hahaha! This changes everything!" (Mashiro)

"..."

’Honey, I think she hit her head a little. Do you think our massages can help her? You know, technically she’s like our daughter. We have to help her.’(Iris)

’..hmmm.’

Even Iris thinks the girl is acting a little off.

I couldn’t make sense of most of what she said, but there were words that made me think she wasn’t just spouting nonsense.

And what bothers me the most is the fact that she’s staring at that table, since she was looking right where that letter from the future had appeared.

"...haaah~Though it’s a shame. It seems this isn’t the time for me to understand the big picture." (Mashiro)

She finally stopped staring at the table, and this time, her attention shifted to us—or, more specifically, to me—and she began to approach. Now that she was close, I realized she was almost as tall as Amarillys.

I went on high alert. I didn’t know what that girl wanted or what she was capable of.

"Well, I see that guy’s modus operandi is still intact: deceiving and toying with everyone, ’without a single exception’. Though I have to admit, it’s funny how he managed to get that lazybones to play an active role in all this. Hahaha!." (Mashiro)

"You. 눈_눈. What’s all this about?"

"Well, I don’t like going around looking like a crazy person either, but I guess this is part of the script... Fine!, whatever. If it’s you, you’ll be able to free me from this helplessness that I thought I’d have to suffer through until the end... Huh!?... Two? And who are you?" (Mashiro)

As she spoke to me, her eyes seemed to catch sight of Iris, and when they did, Iris seemed to capture her full attention.

Her eyes were barely visible behind her long bangs; even so, I could see them widen in surprise. She was looking Iris up and down, as if searching for a clue to understand something.

"Oh! Me? I’m Iris Rothwell." (Iris)

She approached Iris just as she had approached me. I wanted to step in, but I have to admit that Iris would react better than I would if that girl tried to do something—and stepping in would only get in the way.

"Hmm... this is strange. I’m already confused. I thought I knew what was going on... Hmm, this doesn’t seem so simple. Ugh... trying to think like that guy is impossible. It’s better not to interfere." (Mashiro)

"Hey, Shiro. What’s going on? What’s all this supposed to be?" (Akane)

Finally, the middle sister, Akane, decided to step in and asked for an explanation for her younger sister’s behavior.

"Oh! Sister? Yeah, big sister. Wait a second. Let me do one last thing—a small contribution... Okay...muah!chups!."

I was keeping a close eye on this strange younger sister’s actions, but what she did next really took me by surprise.

""Huh?!!!""

It wasn’t just me; her sisters also gasped, just as bewildered as I was.

None of us seemed to have anticipated that she would suddenly start kissing Iris.

It was so unexpected that even Iris’s eyes widened in surprise—which I think says a lot about what happened.

"Hey! What do you think you’re...?"

But I didn’t just stand there watching.

I stepped forward with the intention of pulling them apart and demanding an explanation, but as soon as I put my hand on the girl’s shoulder, I saw her pull away from Iris and, in one fluid motion, grab my hand.

She was stronger than me. I couldn’t break free, and when I opened my mouth to speak up and complain, I realized how close her face was and...

Much, mmm, chupss.

Now the girl started kissing me.

I think right now I have the same expression Iris had a moment ago: my eyes wide open because I didn’t expect a turn of events like this.

And just when everything was confusing, my beloved goddess of chaos and destruction—who didn’t seem to want to be outdone when it came to being unpredictable—didn’t hesitate to make everything even more chaotic

"Oh! Heuheu! Let’s go for a three-way kiss!" (Iris)

"!!!"

And, instead of helping me pull away from the girl, Iris did the exact opposite.

Who am I? What’s going on? Why did this happen?

My mind went blank.

I didn’t understand a thing. Sometimes I felt my lips being bitten or pressed lightly; then, a tongue would slip in.

I don’t know which of the two it was, but one seemed to have a long tongue that almost reached my throat.

They were cornering me, and it even seemed as if two tongues were working together to attack me and, at the same time, invade me.

It was madness, and to make matters worse, even when I regained a bit of my wits, they both held me so firmly in place that I didn’t even have the slightest chance to stop this madness.

"Hey! What the hell is this? Hey, you two, are you crazy or what?!" (Akane)

"Grrr!Grrr! Get apart, now!" (Momoka)

Luckily, someone with common sense finally stepped in.

The two sisters arrived and pulled both Iris and me away from that girl.

"ughh..."

"Haha!... That was intense." (Iris)

"It’s been a long time since I did something like that. I’d like to keep going, but I don’t think that’s possible. Anyway, Astan, Iris, I’d like to say it was fate that brought us together, but I’d be lying. Still, it was a great and fruitful encounter." (Mashiro)

"Yeah, it was awesome. That was my first three-way kiss." (Mashiro)

"Oh! I like your personality, haha! Which is good, since there are no restrictions on this anymore....Oh!, and I don’t know if you already know this, but you shouldn’t be so afraid of corruption. Haha... If it’s the two of you, you might even be able to use it to your advantage. Haha... See you soon..." (Mashiro)

"Huh? Where are you going?" (Iris)

I was still pretty confused by how things had unfolded and hadn’t quite processed that woman’s words when...

[Mission Complete.]

[Mission Complete.]

[Mission Failed.]

"Huh?"

The system telling me I’d failed a mission snapped me back to reality, and when I saw that one of those three was the mission that threatened Iris’s life or mine, my heart raced.

["Chains of Lethargy" completed.]

But it was only for a brief moment, because, luckily, that was one of the completed missions and not the failed .

Even so, this was completely beyond my expectations.

I couldn’t help but ignore what was happening around me and check the information that appeared.

____________________

Stigma of Lethargy: After meeting the requirements, it allows you to place a special mark on targets.

[3/6: (Iris Rothwell)(Amarillys Kibershade)(Mashiro Kibershade)]

Connection: Creates a mental connection with those who possess the stigma. (+70%)

Transfer: Transfers compatible aspects between stigma bearers. (+75%)

Synchronization: Partial fusion of skills and personality with a stigma holder. (+80%)

Fusion: Temporarily unites the user’s ’Totality’ with a stigma bearer. (+90%)

_______________________

Yes, she had received a Stigma, and just as the reward indicated, the "Stigma of Lethargy" skill had improved. It now had greater capacity and a new function.

"I-I... what did I do? I didn’t..." (Mashiro)

I turned my attention back to the situation and saw that the girl who had previously seemed to have everything under control was now crouched on the floor, with her hands over her head, trying to make herself as small as possible.

"Hahaha, honey, look at you. You remind me of myself when I go into ’ball mode.’" (Iris)

"..."

"Hey, Shiro, seriously, what’s going on with you? Why are you acting even stranger than usual? What was that earlier?" (Akane)

"I-I don’t know. I... don’t... hmm, I can’t say." (Mashiro)

"Here we go again. You really are just like our mom... Wait, is this like the other times?" (Akane)

"I-I think so... I couldn’t control myself." (Mashiro)

"It really is weird. This time you actually spoke up and made quite a scene. Could it be getting worse over time?" (Akane)

"I-I don’t know, I don’t think so..." (Mashiro)

"Haaah... so, in the end, those two didn’t do anything, right?" (Akane)

"N-no." (Mashiro)

I listened to the conversation and realized that things were, somehow, starting to work themselves out—especially the misunderstanding caused by that strange behavior.

But what really mattered to me was checking her percentages.

____________________

Emotional: 15%

Carnal: 20%

Rational: 18%

____________________

Yes, with those percentages, it’s obvious that I wasn’t the reason she was labeled with the stigma of lethargy.

’Love, what are that girl’s percentages toward you?’

"Huh? Oh, wait... she’s at 8% emotional, 15% carnal, and 18% rational. Why are they so low? I thought we’d had something special /_ \’

And Iris’s percentages were even worse than mine.

The only thing I could think of, considering the situation, her overlapping voice, and the things she said, was that she probably had a split personality or some similar disorder.

That part of her seemed to have reached high porcentage for a moment, which allowed the stigma to be placed.

Furthermore, from what she said, it seemed to be deliberate, as if she understood what was happening.

Her little gift seemed to have been precisely that.

I can’t deny that it’s a huge help not to have that life-threatening mission, but...

____________

Corruption: 3

___________

Both Iris and I now had three on the corruption stat. It may not seem like much, but, based on what I was able to deduce from the system, Charisma, Perception, and Corruption are measured differently from the rest.

They don’t affect rank or power, but considering that reaching ten was already well above average, every point of Corruption could be dangerous.

It bothers me, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now. I just have to find a way to lower it or hope another mission pops up that offers a reduction as a reward, like the first one.

On the other hand, considering what she had said, I don’t think it’s a coincidence. She knew exactly what she was doing.

I needed to ask a few questions to better understand the situation.