‘System window… it really is completely gone.’
It felt oddly empty.
Lately, I’d barely been using the system window—I had almost forgotten about it.
And yet, now that it had vanished entirely, it left behind a strange sense of loss.
Of course, I could confidently say I no longer had any use for it.
The final boss, the Ancient One, had been eradicated.
All threats to my life were now gone.
I had internalized all my skills and could use them without the skill window.
The kids’ affection levels had all maxed out.
And now that Kali had descended into the present world, there was no longer any need to monitor her reactions through the system.
In every sense, the system window had lost its meaning.
It was now useless.
And so, I felt no lingering attachment to it.
‘Does this mean I’ve fully become a resident of this world?’
All the benefits I had as a transmigrator were effectively gone.
I had become no different from any other resident of this world.
It didn’t feel all that bad.
No—if anything, I felt relieved.
The greatest and worst fear that had haunted me since arriving here stemmed from the anxiety that I might someday be expelled.
What if the real Aslan Vermont regained consciousness one day and I was cast out of this body?
What if I closed my eyes and woke up in my old bedroom back in the real world?
What if, after defeating the final boss, a congratulatory message from the system appeared and I was forcibly returned?
‘Good thing this body doesn’t need sleep. If it did, I’d have been tormented by insomnia.’
I tried to consciously suppress and forget those fears.
But whenever the busy work ended and peace returned, the anxiety would creep back in.
That’s probably why I kept trying to stay busy, launching projects, never taking a break.
But now I was completely freed from that fear.
Even the doubt—what if this world isn’t real?—was gone.
The world continued to turn without the system.
Even without a divine being, this game world existed on its own.
And I had become part of it.
Not the protagonist.
Not even the villain anymore—just an ordinary count, nothing more.
“Mister! Mister! Misteeer! I finally made up my mind and entrusted the Super Super Strong Sword to the museum! They said it’ll be displayed all over the place as the hero’s blade that sliced through the super tough Ancient One’s barrier!”
Clatter, clatter.
Charlotte came rushing in with an elated expression.
She had been agonizing over it for a while.
Looks like she’d finally decided to let it go.
Of course, she wasn’t giving up ownership—just loaning it temporarily.
But for someone like Charlotte, who treasured her bond with the Super Super Strong Sword, it must have been a pretty tough decision.
“How long is it going to be on display?”
“A whole… whole two years! We’ll be apart for two years!
“Oof. By the time it returns, it might be a little different.”
“Exactly! What if the Super Super Strong Sword doesn’t recognize me anymore!?”
Charlotte looked like she was on the verge of tears, genuinely worried.
And it wasn’t entirely unwarranted—whether it was the Super Super Strong Sword or the dagger, whenever it left Charlotte’s side, it reverted from its bizarre, monstrous form to something ordinary.
But it probably wasn’t anything to be seriously concerned about.
Once Charlotte touched it again, the sword would immediately return to its strange, chaotic form.
“Hah… Lately, some weird rumors have been spreading, and it’s driving me crazy… um.”
“What kind of rumors!?”
“They’re calling me the Guardian Angel of the North…”
Julia trailed off and hid her face, seemingly embarrassed to say it aloud.
Well, if it weren’t for Julia, the fortress city would’ve been trampled into dust by now.
If Ester had fallen during that crucial moment, there would have been casualties not just in Ester but across the entire Empire.
The nickname “Guardian Angel” wasn’t unearned.
“Might as well enjoy it. You can’t really stop that kind of rumor anyway.”
“That may be true… but… The Lady seems a bit jealous…”
“Ah. Yeah, that would be a problem.”
Now that I think about it, Merilda had started studying barrier magic out of a sense of duty to protect the fortress city.
But then one day, she woke up to find Julia had been the one to protect Ester in a major battle.
The Demon Realm was no longer the Demon Realm, and the fortress city was no longer threatened by monsters.
Even though she put on a smile and said she was happy Ester was safe…
It must have been hard to swallow, deep down.
“That’s why she’s been looking kind of gloomy lately… um.”
“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that, Julia. That’s not your fault.”
“Huh?”
Just then, Yuri showed up carrying her school bag.
Julia, who had been venting her frustrations, quickly turned to her.
“The reason Lady Merilda’s been down lately is because of me.”
“What? Why?”
“It was right after I told her that I got engaged to Asl… I mean, to Mr. Black.”
“Ah.”
“Ah…”
“…”
The mood suddenly grew solemn.
So the reason Merilda had been in such a bad state… was because of a broken heart?
What must it feel like to one day discover that the person you’d been chasing around with starry eyes is suddenly wearing an engagement ring placed by someone else?
I had, unintentionally, become a villain who stole Merilda’s first love.
‘Is this what it feels like to be the villain who barges into a yuri couple’s story? I feel a weird mix of guilt… and superiority…’
Well, first loves rarely work out anyway.
Especially when the target is the same gender.
So let’s just consider it a reality check for Merilda and move on.
“I didn’t mean to hurt her. But when I showed her the engagement ring, she ran away crying.”
“…”
“…”
Yuri extended her hand with a flourish, making sure the engagement ring was fully visible.
Charlotte and Julia’s eyes were immediately drawn to it.
So that’s what this was about—she just wanted to show off the ring.
I figured it out instantly.
“I want a ring too…”
“Heh. Just wait one more year, Julia.”
“A whole year!?”
“Then I’m moving my birthday up! To January 1st! That way we can get engaged on New Year’s Day!”
“You can’t just go changing your birthday like that…”
As expected, Charlotte and Julia both protested in voices full of injustice.
Julia had one year left, and Charlotte two, before reaching the legal age for engagement.
“Oh, right. I got a new student ID. Lost the old one.”
“Wait, what!? Yuri Vermont!?”
“Hehehe~”
Yuri flashed her new student ID and sneakily glanced at Charlotte and Julia’s reactions.
As soon as the two girls saw the name “Yuri Vermont” printed on it, they gasped.
Only then did Yuri finally crack a satisfied smile.
There was no obligation to change one’s surname just because you’re engaged.
But she went out of her way to change it anyway.
Just to show off to Charlotte and Julia…
She really went all out with this.
The look Yuri gave me from the corner of her eye was just a little bit creepy.
“What is this!? I want to be a Vermont too, Aslan!”
“If you take the name now, you’ll be entering the family as my child. Still okay with that?”
“Ugh… That’s a bit…”
“Why not!? Just join as his kid and then marry him later!”
“…If that happens, I’ll be stoned by every citizen in the Empire and beheaded in the town square.”
Charlotte’s very dangerous comment sent a chill down my spine.
Adopting someone as a daughter and then marrying them…
Not completely unheard of, but…
It was definitely the kind of thing people would curse me for forever. I’d rather not.
“By the way, aren’t you girls going to the Academy today?”
“Huh? Ah!?”
“Oh no! I totally forgot…!”
Charlotte and Julia both panicked when Yuri casually reminded them.
Right—it was already Monday.
Since the final battle with the Ancient One had happened over the weekend, they must’ve forgotten they needed to return to everyday life.
“W-We’re off now, Aslan!”
“We’ll study hard, Mister!”
Off they went, running out of the mansion with Yuri, waving back at me as they left.
“We’re off,” they said…
These girls, once freed from slavery and now living as free citizens, had chosen to remain under the Vermont name.
It was the moment I truly felt that.
They were my future wives—without a single hint of envy for anything else in the world, and by far the cutest in existence.
With the final boss gone, life had grown even more relaxed.
Now I could focus on making more memories with my future wives—and I couldn’t help but smile at the thought.
“We’re finally alone.”
“…!”
Ssshhh—
And then, stepping out from the shadows, came someone whose curves clearly marked her as being in a very different league from the kids.
The sheer presence of that enormous mass of flesh was so overwhelming, it felt comparable to witnessing the descent of an evil god.
While I sat frozen stiff, Sylvia slowly approached—then climbed onto my lap.
“It may not be as grand an achievement as the girls’, but… I too fulfilled my duty of protecting the head of the house in battle. Therefore, I demand a reward.”
“I can give you a rew—”
“No. I’ll be making a specific demand. Just for today, I request to be treated not as a knight, but as your future bride.”
“···.”
Was this still about that time I didn’t treat her like a proper lady?
The look in Sylvia’s eyes, now smoldering with something far more dangerous than usual, was absolutely terrifying.
