My Friend’s Harem Is Obsessed With Me – Chapter 209

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Crunch, crunch.

The sound of footsteps on fresh snow echoed in the air. Looking at the pristine white landscape, Rin remembered returning to this world during the academy’s entrance ceremony in March.

Now, it was February, a year later.

She hadn’t quite reached the full year mark, but it didn’t matter.

Watching the snow accumulate on the lush evergreen trees, she pulled the hood of Daniel’s robe over his head, shielding him from the falling snow.

Daniel remained silent, his gaze unfocused, not even acknowledging her presence, but it was okay.

“I never heard your voice again. And I’ll probably never see your eyes looking at me again.”

Rin whispered, gently placing her hand on Daniel’s cheek, a faint smile gracing her lips.

“But it’s okay. I saved you.”

A snowflake landed on Rin’s nose.

She looked up at the sky, the white flakes falling through the gaps in the evergreen branches.

“It’s snowing…”

Glad she had put his hood up, Rin turned and walked away, leaving Daniel behind. She had to walk this path alone.

Her steps were heavy.

The time had come to write the final chapter of this world, a chapter she had never thought she would finish.

In the distance, a single village remained.

A village built by refugees who had lost their homes and families, a place without a proper name.

The people there, ready to face death, awaited her, the last defenders of humanity.

Her legs, weary and protesting, carried her forward, against the biting winter wind.

It was time to destroy the world.

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The village’s defenses were flimsy.

She could have easily destroyed it with a single attack from Sharcal or Kurika, a straw hut against a typhoon, but…

Rin walked towards the village alone, her army hidden in the shadows.

“The apocalypse is coming!”

“For revenge for my loved ones!”

“For my friends!”

“For my country!”

“For my kind!”

The villagers, shouting their pre-arranged battle cries, fired arrows at Rin.

The arrows whizzed through the air.

One grazed her shoulder, tearing her robe.

Despite the near miss, Rin didn’t react, didn’t flinch.

Thud! Thud!

Arrows pierced her shoulder and thigh. She felt the pain, but it was dull, insignificant compared to the agony she had endured.

“The apocalypse isn’t summoning her army?”

“This is our chance! Fire! We can’t miss!”

“The darkness has abandoned her!”

“Damn you! I’ll kill you! Today, I avenge the souls you’ve taken!”

The arrows continued to strike her.

She should have been dead, but Rin, having lived as the apocalypse for so long, was no longer entirely human.

The initial barrage slowed, then stopped. The makeshift village, understandably, lacked supplies.

The villagers charged forward, swords and spears in hand.

“Kill her! Kill her!”

“We can do this! We’re protecting the continent!”

“Please die! Please! Please! Please!”

“My parents are dead! My pregnant wife is dead! My daughter is dead! You bitch! I’m the only one left because of you!”

She understood their pain.

Until now, she had avoided injury, focused on her mission, but…

Her mission was complete.

She offered no resistance, accepting their fury.

Thud! Thud!

Swords pierced her chest.

Rin didn’t fight back, and the villagers, surrounding her, continued to stab her.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

‘My robe…’

The robe she had chosen with Daniel, the couple’s robe, was torn and stained with her blood.

Rin closed her eyes, a pang of regret in her heart.

She wanted to apologize.

She had become a cruel calamity for these people who had simply been living their lives.

She wanted to explain, to offer excuses, but…

‘I don’t deserve to.’

Any words of comfort would be meaningless, and any explanation would only be a cruel excuse, a claim that she too was a victim.

Rin accepted their attacks, hoping to bring them some semblance of peace.

And finally…

“May your next lives be filled with endless blessings.”

With a prayer-like wish…

The darkness rising from beneath her feet consumed them all.

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“Daniel…”

The darkness wouldn’t obey her.

She had used it to remove the weapons embedded in her body, but it seemed to have reached its limit.

It no longer responded to her commands.

She had thought she was numb to pain, but the villagers’ attacks had taken a toll on her.

Her power was fading. She couldn’t remove the remaining swords and spears from her back.

She had come to find Daniel.

She had intended to end this world alone, but at the very end… she wanted to see him one last time. She had dragged her broken body back here, just for this.

Seeing the snow dusting Daniel’s hood, Rin smiled faintly.

What should she say?

She had imagined this moment countless times, but now that it was here, words failed her.

She opened her mouth to speak, but a mouthful of blood threatened to spill out. She swallowed it and tried again. She didn’t know what to say, but the words poured out, a jumbled mess.

“When you return, you’ll go back to a different time, not when you were expelled. The Sun God’s curse will be lifted. That’s… the promise the Goddess of Time made with me.”

“I might have been a little selfish with the timing. I’m sorry. But I hope you can forgive me.”

“……”

“Hey, Daniel.”

“Did I do the right thing?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if what I did was the best choice.”

“Even if this world was destined for destruction, I still killed everyone. Their families, their loved ones, their friends… everyone on this continent suffered loss because of me.”

“I was so sorry. So, so sorry. But I guess this is my punishment.”

Her vision blurred.

Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“I don’t want to leave you. Daniel, I… I want to go with you. Back to that time, when we had another chance. I want to laugh with you again, to hold you, to talk to you. I…”

“I…!”

Unable to stop her tears, Rin reached out to Daniel.

He remained silent, unresponsive.

She wanted to touch him one last time.

To feel his skin against hers, but…

Her hand, stained crimson with blood, stopped short. She couldn’t touch him, not with her hands, tainted by the blood of an entire continent.

Daniel McLean, in contrast to her blood-soaked form, looked pristine, almost holy.

But there was one part of her…

Ironically, the only part of her untainted by the blood of the continent…

“Daniel, I have one last request.”

The darkness, barely responding to her command, enveloped her body, carefully avoiding contact with Daniel.

It gave her just enough strength to lean forward, to stand on her tiptoes.

Their lips met.

The only part of her untouched, unstained by the destruction she had wrought.

Rin, the girl who had destroyed a continent, shared her first kiss with her first love, then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

“You can give me this much, right?”

There was no answer.

She worried he might be disgusted.

In the biting wind, she spoke, her voice barely a whisper.

“Forget me.”

You can hear me, right?

“Please, forget me and be happy.”

You’ll grant my last wish, won’t you?

“Forget me… the ghost, the nonexistent being, that I’ll become…”

Her vision faded.

As her consciousness slipped away, Rin forced a smile onto her trembling lips.

She couldn’t say the words.

If she did, he would never forget her.

‘But…’

I’m glad…

I could see you…

One last time.

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Moonlight bathed the snow-covered rooftop.

Rin, huddled beneath a blanket, felt as though time had stopped.

Was it because she was sharing a blanket and watching the moon with the boy she loved?

She wished this moment could last forever. Despite the strange sensation, it wasn’t unpleasant.

‘Did time actually stop?’

She wondered if Daniel, who possessed the ability to stop time, had done it.

‘We’re being a bit too cozy with Diana’s blanket.’

She suddenly felt guilty towards Diana, who was probably waiting inside for her blanket. And Kurika was waiting at Daniel’s house, hungry.

‘It’s a shame.’

Rin smiled, about to suggest they go back inside, but…

“Ah… ah…”

Daniel was crying.

It was a strange time.

The dawn after they had returned from the Demon Realm Forest, after killing the Priestess of Time and freeing Kurika from the Goddess of Death’s control.

The Goddess of Death could no longer interfere, but Rin had already absorbed the Priestess’s mark.

Rin had wondered why she had chosen this specific point in time to return to, but…

Seeing the girl beside him, leaning against him, the answer became clear.

‘She wanted to return to this moment.’

Rin…

The Rin of the second iteration had wanted to relive this moment, this peaceful night spent watching the moon together.

It was a simple wish, a humble desire for a girl who had experienced and caused so much tragedy.

“Ah… ah…”

Imagining Rin, huddled alone in the darkness, reliving this memory every night, brought tears to Daniel’s eyes.

“D-Daniel? What’s wrong? Are you hurt? Did you get injured fighting the Priestess?”

Rin’s voice, filled with concern, brought a surge of emotion within him.

He reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“D-Daniel?!”

Rin trembled in surprise, but he held her closer, as if afraid she would disappear.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you saying that, Daniel?”

You’ll never remember.

You’ve forgotten all the tragedies you endured.

But I’m still sorry.

And…

“Thank you… Rin.”

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