Dolores hadn’t remembered incorrectly.
That was a side quest, and the Reward was indeed her favorability—only, it wasn’t a simple +1 or +5.
Rather, it was a Reward that could raise the specified person’s favorability to [Friendly].
Compared to the somewhat vague and elusive [System] and [Reward], what surprised Green even more was Dolores’ attitude.
Because what seemed “normal” to Dolores—a modern person—about the [System], in Green’s eyes as a native, was more like a temptation from a Demon.
Green knew nothing of “The Reborn Hero’s Revenge” nor of first or second playthroughs, settings, or storylines.
From his perspective, perhaps rebirth was a forgotten bargain struck with a Demon at death’s door, and the [System] was the power of a Demon.
But he could understand that he might have bartered his own Soul.
Even if he was reborn, with memory and experience, some people—without the help of outside power—could not accomplish their revenge on their own strength.
Even if he could become a hero—well, that was only an empty title, and wouldn’t grant him real status, wealth, or power.
For this, he would not hesitate to walk with Demons.
How long until the Demon came to claim his Soul? A year, two, or ten?
Green did not know the specifics, but if his life was already hanging on the hourglass, then before it ran out—
He must make everyone who had hurt him in his previous life pay the price in blood.
Perhaps Dolores could be granted a little leniency.
His feelings for her might not be limited to the love between husband and wife.
Because of her actions, the enduring gentleness and tolerance, she had in some way filled the emotional gaps left by having only a father and no mother as a child.
Long companionship, unforgettable pain.
But, this also made it hard for Green to bear only hatred for Dolores, unlike how he felt toward others.
It was a complicated feeling.
That being said, Dolores’ sudden behavior still surprised Green.
In all the years they had known each other, even the betrayal at the end was searing, but her gentle and tolerant nature had been unwavering from their first meeting.
Logically, there should have been no reason for Dolores to suddenly dislike him at that time.
So what caused her favorability to plummet?
Green followed his memories along the path home, then began to recall the major events to come.
That is, the “events that would affect him most.” He soon thought of one burned into his memory—the Dragon.
[The Dragon attacks the Royal Capital, and amid the devastated ruins, both Miracle and Wonder descend upon this place.]
After the Dragon attacked the Royal Capital, the Kingdom’s manpower was stretched even thinner, and disasters erupted from afar at the worst possible times.
Thus the King could only send Green to handle the distant calamities, and after Green returned victorious, he used the fame from resolving the disaster to publicly court Dolores, seeking a Marriage Contract.
Then, in the following year’s war between the Kingdom and the Empire, he led troops to victory, won the Marriage Contract with Dolores, and married her the next year. Altogether, it spanned five years.
For Green now, that was far too long and drawn out—five years? He couldn’t wait that long; who knew when the Demon might come to claim his Soul?
Green needed a quicker, lawful way to marry Dolores—after all, he didn’t have the power to oppose the entire Kingdom right now.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!”
A girl in a deep blue, knee-length robe with a pale white undershirt, an academy badge pinned to her chest, and turquoise-green eyes, was knocked to the ground by Green’s stumble during her startled cry.
Her eyes glistened with tears, her little face carrying an intentional hint Green couldn’t quite make out.
The startled girl quickly rubbed her golden hair, then her eyes sparkled as she stood up in surprise and moved close to Green.
“You’re…”
Green stepped back two paces. Although she was even shorter than Dolores, barely one and a half meters tall, he was sure he had never seen her in his previous life.
Not just because she was beautiful—instinct told Green that there was a special aura about her beauty.
If Dolores were to describe it, she would say she “had an air of artistry”—in-game terms, it was like a character with a unique model, different from ordinary NPCs.
In his previous life, all the beautiful girls he had met shared this aura, but without exception, each would someday do something to hurt or betray him.
But back then, Dolores was always at his side to comfort him. With Dolores—his wife, the “exception”—by his side, Green didn’t form any stereotypes about these women based on his experiences.
After all, it was a hard-to-describe feeling, something Green judged by sight and sixth sense.
Though Dolores wasn’t truly an “exception” either, Green still unconsciously reserved a special place for her.
“That’s the Dragon Contract Flute, isn’t it? Right? Right? I’ve only seen it in my teacher’s notes… I can’t be mistaken about the material, I… I’m so lucky!~”
Even as Green instinctively backed away, the girl—who hadn’t even dusted herself off—closed in by his side.
She didn’t need to bend down; her emerald eyes shone with energy as she eagerly reached out and touched the dark brown flute at Green’s waist.
“Legend says the Dragon Tamer who forms a contract with a Dragon soaks a long flute in the throat blood of the Dragon Vulcan, allowing the flutist to communicate with Dragons. It’s one of the rare items that can influence Dragons.”
Green was stunned. She seemed to know more about the flute he’d struggled to obtain than he did.
“Eh, I also know the Dragon Vulcan is the ‘Volcano Dragon,’ and it has an age-old arch-enemy—the ‘Snow Mountain Dragon’!”
Faced with the strange, chatty girl, Green blurted out, almost involuntarily, “Do you know how to kill a Dragon?”
Hearing this, the girl had to crane her neck to meet Green’s deep brown gaze.
“I think I’m hearing someone talk in their sleep in broad daylight… Do you really want me, a mere student at the Ulgrich University College of Arts, to discuss a topic fit only for higher academies?”
Green was speechless, but upon closer inspection, she did look like she was sixteen or seventeen, at most a freshman in college.
Deeper knowledge was outside the reach of someone still learning the basics—unless she came from a privileged background, it was normal not to know such things. Why had he asked such a ridiculous question?
But the girl suddenly gave a serious answer to Green’s absurd, out-of-place question:
“Dragons are mythical creatures. Just harming them requires a blessing, divine power, or strength beyond that of mortals… Speaking of which, isn’t there the Sword in the Stone left behind by the Kingdom’s First Hero at Golden Square? Maybe that could harm a Dragon.”
The First Hero of the Kingdom, before dying, surpassed mortal limits and forged the Sword in the Stone for the Kingdom—a blade no one could draw. The statue and the stone platform with the Sword in the Stone still stood in Golden Square in the Royal Capital, Ulgrich.
“Maybe, the Sword in the Stone isn’t actually the sword on the pedestal, but a sword truly inside the stone?”
After speaking, the girl stroked the long flute again, then muttered about her coursework, and disappeared from Green’s sight before he could react.
When she was truly gone, Green suddenly remembered he still had the Demon’s [System], which recorded the data of those “women who had hurt him.”
He was certain he’d never met this girl in his previous life, let alone that she’d ever been in the Royal Capital or set foot in the palace.
In his past life, he was at least the Prince Consort of the Kingdom.
But on the System’s interface, a new set of character data was clearly displayed for Green.
[Albekke]
[Favorability: 79 (Trust)]
“Demon, I remember you said every favorability level-up requires a promotion quest.”
Green addressed the System as Demon, but wasn’t foolish enough to say it aloud—he only thought it, waiting for a response.
「This is her initial favorability.」
“You skipped acquaintance, friendliness, and familiarity all at once?”
「Yes」
How did that happen