In the end, we did not go beyond kisses despite Rose's clear sign to advance our relationship to the next step.
No matter how much I wanted to love her, I know my priorities.
Right now, my priority is to discover Ysnay's fifth plan. As long as I do not discover it, I can't afford to indulge myself in my lovers.
Of course, with my experience, I'm not foolish enough to reject Rose's advances directly. Instead, I distracted her with honey-filled words of love.
"Come with me, I will take you to a nice place." I held her hand and smiled. Then, I teleported with her to a mountain a few hundreds of kilometers away.
"Where is this?" Rose asked curiously.
I raise the corner of my lips slightly and pointed in the direction of the capital.
"Can you see the capital?"
Rose was startled and looked at the place where I was pointing. Instantly, her eyes opened wide in amazement.
"So beautiful…" She murmured.
From this place, she could see the entire capital. It looked incredibly small, but at the same time, it was very beautiful.
The green landscape surrounding the walls, the white clouds floating over it, and the nearby river glistening with the warm sunlight created a picturesque scene that brought a smile to Rose's lips.
From here, the destruction in the capital could not be seen, only its beauty.
I then hugged Rose from behind and brought her to the edge of the mountain, sitting down with her on my lap as we gazed at the capital.
"It's a nice sight, right?"
"It is," Rose admitted with a cute smile. "Is this what you wanted to show me?"
"Yes, this is what we protected when we fought these monsters. The place where our loved ones live. I wanted to show you this."
Rose fell silent and nodded.
"… I see. Yes, this is what I want to protect." She said with a determined face.
"It looks like you like the sight," I said and kissed her hair, making Rose blush.
"… By the way, Claus… Is anything wrong?"
"Mm?" I was startled. "Why the question?"
"It's nothing. Just… I got the feeling that you are a bit tense recently, as though you are worried about something."
I was slightly surprised. This girl sure is perceptive.
Is this another of the perks of being a hero?
I'm sure that I did not show my anxiousness about not knowing Ysnay's fifth plan on my face. In fact, my behavior has been the same as usual. I don't want to worry my lovers after all.
But even so, this girl managed to notice something.
Frightening.
I smiled wryly and hugged Rose tightly.
"Don't worry about it. I will take care of it soon."
"You sure?" Rose asked, and I nodded, putting my chin on her head.
I could not help but check Rose's soul at that moment, trying to see if I could find any trace of Ysnay in it.
I had already done it before, but I searched again just in case I overlooked something. I was being paranoid, I know, but I could not help it.
}But as expected, I found nothing.
'What in the hell is her plan…' I sighed inwardly.
Just then, I heard Rose speak.
"You did something just now, right?" Rose asked curiously "I felt it before as well. It's as though my soul is being touched by something powerful. It's a bit strange. Claus, what is that?"
"Just something to check that everything is alright," I replied in a soft tone. "Don't worry, it's nothing serious."
"Really?" Rose nodded. "However, it feels slightly similar to the feeling I got when that voice talked to me. The Will of the World was it? I felt as though a powerful soul was touching my own soul."
I was about to nod, but then, my expression stiffened.
Wait a moment.
"Rose, can you explain to me what happened back then exactly? I want all the details!"
Rose was slightly startled, but she nodded.
"O-Of course. I-It was a voice asking me if I wanted strength… I then replied yes, and I suddenly became much stronger."
She then explained in detail what she felt at that moment.
I listened to her silently, and slowly, my expression became strange.
Then, I chuckled.
"What a surprise. To think that I searched for it everywhere, but it was here."
"Claus?" Rose asked surprised, but I just chuckled.
"Well played, Ysnay. Amazing. How did you think about replacing the Will of the World? It's a crazy idea." I spoke to the wind.
Nobody replied for a while, but then, I heard a sigh.
"… So you discovered it, huh."
A woman suddenly appeared in front of us. She was a black-haired and black-eyed woman so beautiful that her beauty seemed a lie.
She was literally the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
Ysnay Fate, my ex-lover, and an Immortal.
"I can't believe it. A powerful user of fate as me lost due to 'luck'." Ysnay smiled bitterly.
I could not help but chuckle as well. Right, it's unbelievable. After all, it was pure luck that I discovered Ysnay's plot.
Ysnay had used her powers over fate to replace the Will of the World and become the new Will of the World. Moreover, she did it silently, without anyone noticing anything.
She then contacted Rose as the Will of the World and created a pseudo contract with her, using it to plant a sliver of her will in her soul.
However, as her will was the Will of the World, I did not find it strange. Rose is the hero, so it's normal if she has a sliver of the Will of the World in her soul.
If Rose did not mention that her contact with the Will of the World felt similar to when I used my soul to scan her, then I would have never noticed Ysnay's trick.
Eventually, I would have ended sleeping with Rose and forming a contract with her, and Ysnay could use that contract as a bridge to form her own contract with me.
It was a great plan. Its only flaw was that Ysnay could not interfere directly with Rose's fate, otherwise, I would have noticed that something was wrong.
But it left open the very small chance of Rose mentioning the strangeness of her interaction with the Will of the World.
I was really lucky this time. I can't help but feel chills imagining what would have happened if Rose does not mention the similarities between her contact with the Will of the World, and her contact with my soul. Ysnay would have won.
Now that I know about her plan, the story is completely different.
"Checkmate, Ysnay." I smiled and touched Rose's forehead to eliminate the sliver of the Will of the World in her soul.
But Ysnay suddenly chuckled
"Not so easy, my love."
Immediately, I felt the Will of the World descend.
At the same time, I felt a powerful force rejecting me as Rose looked at me with a dazed look.
I frowned and glared at Ysnay coldly.
"What did you do?"
Ysnay smiled mischievously and extended her hand, pulling a straight out of thin air.
"Just a final struggle, my love. I can't give up so easily."
Then, she broke the string.
And Rose's stared at me with eyes full of hostility.
"It's the hero's destiny to face the demon king." Ysnay chuckled maliciously.
With these words, my final battle against Ysnay started.