My Friend’s Harem Is Obsessed With Me – Chapter 180

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Kyaaa!”

As the deafening roar of the explosion and a fierce gust of wind swept over her, Hayun was lifted off her feet and thrown backwards. The Grand Witch extended her staff towards her.

“Grab it!”

Hayun managed to grab the staff just in time. The impact of the shockwave lessened, and her feet landed back on the ground.

“Haa… This is what it means to be the Grand Witch.”

A transparent barrier seemed to surround her, shielding her from the blast. Of course, it wasn’t as easy as she made it seem. The Grand Witch’s legs were trembling, her body straining to maintain the barrier.

“Let me help you.”

“Thank you.”

“I should be thanking you.”

If it weren’t for the Grand Witch, Hayun would have been swept away, lost and alone in the dangerous heart of the Demon Realm Forest.

The thought sent shivers down her spine.

Hayun moved behind the Grand Witch and supported her.

Her body ached from the exertion of the Dual Draw, but everyone was exhausted.

They had only known each other for a short time, but their shared experience of facing a powerful enemy had created a bond between them.

They leaned on each other, finding strength in their shared struggle.

The Priestess of Time was nowhere to be seen. She seemed to have vanished in the explosion.

‘She didn’t run away. She was caught in the blast.’

Even though she had been some distance from the epicenter, the sheer power of the explosion… it was hard to imagine even the Priestess of Time surviving that.

Yet, the memory of her playful smile lingered in Hayun’s mind, giving her a strange sense of certainty that the Priestess was still alive.

But Hayun couldn’t worry about her right now.

She asked, her voice tight with anxiety,

“Daniel. Where’s Daniel…?”

He was nowhere to be seen. He had been fighting the ancient magical beasts, but what had happened?

“It seems…”

The Grand Witch’s voice was heavy with dread.

Hayun already knew what she was about to say, and she wanted to stop her, to tell her not to say it, but…

“It’s going to be difficult.”

The Grand Witch spoke, her voice laced with sadness.

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“……What is this?”

Sharcal had self-destructed. The last time I witnessed it, the explosion had engulfed a third of the Demon Realm Forest. This time, it was smaller.

Was it because he had been prepared to die when he faced the Earliest Apocalypse, while this time, it was unplanned?

But it didn’t matter to me.

Big or small…

I had no chance of surviving a mage’s self-destruction.

I thought I was dead.

But when I opened my eyes, the world around me was frozen.

I wondered what was happening. Had the Priestess of Time interfered? But I couldn’t sense her presence.

What was going on?

As I looked around, a woman’s voice echoed in my head.

– ­Can you hear me?

“Huh?”

– What the…?

It felt like my brain was tingling. I looked around, but there was still no one there. I had heard that mages could communicate without speaking, using a spell called telepathy. Was this it?

-­ Can you hear me?

“Who are you?”

-­ Please just say something if you can hear me.

She sounded a bit sulky.

I clenched my fist, urging her to explain, and she cleared her throat, her voice suddenly shifting to a gentler tone.

– ­Greetings. I am the Goddess of Time.

“……”

Sometimes, hearing something utterly absurd could make your brain freeze. I had experienced this once before, when Elise first called me “Master.”

– ­You know I chose you, right?

“You chose the Priestess. What are you talking about?”

I thought it was absurd, but she sighed, as if I was the one being unreasonable.

If she had been standing before me, she would probably be shaking her head in disappointment.

– ­I ‘chose’ her. In the previous world.

“The previous world? What about now?”

– ­I abandoned her. You know that, right? You killed her.

What…?

Her tone was starting to bother me. I had met all kinds of people in my life, but this was my first time talking to a god.

– ­But the Goddess of Death picked her up. The Priestess thinks we’re working together, but that’s ridiculous.

“How would I know that?”

– ­Is that so? Sorry. It’s been a while since I talked to a human, I’m a bit excited.

I was confused.

Why did it feel like I was talking to a child? Now that I thought about it, her voice did sound rather young.

– ­Anyway, the Goddess of Death is using the Priestess I discarded.

Well, good for her.

I had so many questions.

“Why did the Goddess of Death resurrect the Priestess of Time?”

– ­Huh? Ah… you wouldn’t know. Well, simply put…

The Goddess of Time sounded impatient, as if explaining things was a chore.

– ­The Priestess was the one who awakened the Earliest Apocalypse in the previous world. I tried to stop her, but she found Rin and killed her.

“……!”

The Priestess of Time had killed Rin in my past life.

This revelation gave me a lot to think about. It meant that as long as I stopped the Priestess, Rin wouldn’t become the apocalypse, even after 10 years.

And it confirmed my theory that Rin would only awaken as the apocalypse if she died.

– ­So the Goddess of Death is using the Priestess to do something in this world, but it won’t work. Because you’re here.

“I haven’t received anything from you, though.”

– ­Huh? I brought you back to life. Do you think reincarnation with memories is easy? It was my first time, and it was quite challenging.

Something wasn’t right.

“The Priestess of Time called my reincarnation heresy. She said it was a flaw in God’s perfect plan, that it couldn’t possibly fail.”

– ­Isn’t that ridiculous? She thinks gods are omnipotent. She gave me so much trouble. She built up my image in her mind, and now she blindly believes in it.

“……”

– ­I reincarnated you myself, and when she tried to kill you, claiming I couldn’t possibly fail… I gave up on her completely.

The Goddess kept emphasizing that she had nothing to do with the Priestess of Time.

“Why did you choose me?”

– ­Are you going to keep asking questions? Stopping time is quite tiring, you know.

“Just answer this last one.”

I was curious why she had chosen me, a mere Sherpa living in the Demon Realm Forest. But the Goddess of Time answered without hesitation.

– ­I didn’t specifically choose ‘Daniel McLean.’ I chose the ‘survivor’ who lived the longest when the world ended, and that happened to be you.

I wasn’t surprised.

It was one of the answers I had expected.

‘If I had died first, would Eris have been…’

I pushed aside the pointless thought. It was in the past.

– ­I came here for one reason. You can’t die here.

“……”

– ­I planned to reincarnate the last survivor again after this world ended. But seeing you… I changed my mind. You can do it. You can stop the apocalypse. Let’s finish this in one go!

“Why do the gods bring about the end of the continent?”

– ­Sigh, you said that was the last question.

The Goddess grumbled.

I could picture her shrugging. If she had been here, I would have smacked her upside the head.

– ­It’s recreation. It’s obvious, isn’t it? Haven’t you seen the state of the world? It’s so evil, so filthy. They decided to move instead of cleaning up.

She spoke of the deaths of countless people so casually.

– ­If the Goddess of Death succeeds in cleansing this world, then death will become the foundation for the next one.

“What about you?”

-­ Huh?

“Are you trying to destroy us too?”

I felt the Goddess of Time smile at my question.

­- If that was the case, do you think I would have reincarnated you?

She had a point.

If she wanted the world to end, she wouldn’t have bothered turning back time.

– ­I like this world. There are things I don’t like, but I don’t think a world built on the foundation of other gods would be better.

I see.

That was a relief.

At least one of the absolute beings wanted us to survive. Her methods might be questionable, but the result was in our favor.

– ­Well, I’ve used up all my time answering your questions. This is the last time I can save you. The Goddess of Death is cheating with the Priestess, so this was a one-time intervention.

“Alright, I understand. But don’t I get a mark or something?”

Rin and Ares had received marks that granted them power. Why didn’t I get one, even though I was chosen?

– ­You’ve been reincarnated, what more do you want?

“……Huh?”

– ­You’re so shameless. I saved your life, and now you’re asking for more? Humph!

She sounded like a pouting child as she bid me farewell.

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