“……Home and workplace.”

“Don’t go, you belong here, Miss Kana.”

Kiriel pleaded while embracing her. He buried his face in the nape of her neck as she flinched.

Just when he thought they had finally made progress, he couldn’t let her slip away like a dream.

His intuition whispered that he shouldn’t let her go. They might never meet again.

Kana felt equally complicated and confused. She had just steeled her resolve when she unexpectedly faced him in this situation.

She gently patted his back while trying to speak calmly.

“That’s not something I can decide.”

“Are you under some kind of restriction?”

“Something like that. More importantly Lord Kiriel, don’t your memories of me feel hazy…… or my presence feel weaker?”

“Not at all. My memories of you are clear and your presence is strong within me.”

His raised head’s answer pierced her ears clearly. Just from his voice, she could tell it wasn’t empty words.

Kana stiffened, considerably shocked by this impossible situation.

‘Complete erasure of existence happens after exit…… but a supporting character’s presence should start fading from when the door appears.’

That was an absolute law of this world. Kiriel released the embrace but supported her waist with one hand while caressing her cheek with the other. His lips parted while emanating an intense atmosphere.

“Miss Kana, do you dislike me?”

“……How could I?”

“Then stay with me. We can research ways to break the restrictions somehow.”

His purple eyes sparked with fire. He looked ready to drop everything and devote himself to her matter immediately.

Kana squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip. His fingers gently stroked her lips.

“You’ll hurt your lips.”

“Aren’t you angry, Lord Kiriel?”

Her round green eyes looked straight at him. Though his outside demeanor was cool, it wasn’t enough to block his feelings. Kiriel smiled faintly.

“Far from angry, I’m just worried. I find myself understanding that you must have your reasons. Strange, isn’t it? I seem to become soft towards the person I love.”

“……Ah.”

Kana’s lips moved without being able to say anything.

While Alderaan and the spirits left behind watched the scene silently in awkward poses, a thin high voice broke the silence.

“My, what a touching scene.”

Everyone’s gazes turned toward the direction of the voice. A gray cloth doll that swayed gently had appeared in what was previously empty space.

With mismatched buttons for eyes and crooked stitching for the mouth, it created a crude and mischievous atmosphere.

Sensing an extraordinary aura, Celia and Gnome took defensive positions while sticking close to Kana’s side.

She took a protective stance in front of Kiriel while looking after the spirits and examining the doll.

“You are…… could you be the Head Librarian?”

“Correct. Sharp as always, Miss Round.”

The Head Librarian clapped while giggling. Though it was called clapping, only the sound of cloth fluttering could be heard.

In the suffocating silence while everyone’s expressions hardened, Alderaan blurted out.

“I heard the Head Librarian rarely comes outside.”

“Well, sometimes I come out for fresh air. As you can see, I’m out right now, aren’t I?”

The Head Librarian retorted smoothly while shrugging. Alderaan nodded awkwardly. Meanwhile, Kana composed herself and stepped forward to calmly begin.

“You appeared here because of the exit error, right? Though you’re not a regular librarian, this phenomenon seems like a kind of surprise appearance too.”

“That’s right.”

The Head Librarian affirmed readily. Kana’s gaze turned sharp as she threw out a pointed question.

“Why was only my text cut off?”

“You already suspect the reason, don’t you Miss Round?”

The Head Librarian’s gaze turned to Kiriel. His eyebrows lifted slightly as he focused on understanding the situation through the flowing conversation. Kana replied while pressing her hand to her forehead then removing it.

“Ah, because Kiriel gave his heart to me?”

“Correct. The sub male lead’s heart that should have gone to the female protagonist randomly went to a background supporting character instead, so it can be considered a major error.”

The Head Librarian’s voice was cheerful and fresh, mismatched with their appearance and atmosphere. Such disharmony made people more uncomfortable.

‘My suspicions turned out right. I thought it was strange how there were no issues despite so many variables…… Finally hitting me with a sucker punch at the end.’

Kana clenched her fist tightly then glanced sideways at her industry friend who was still standing by.

“So there’s no problem with Alderaan?”

“Correct. In that sense, Mr. Alderaan may exit now. The two here need to have a discussion with me for a smooth resolution of the situation.”

The gray cloth doll’s arms waved halfheartedly. It meant the supporting character without issues should leave quickly.

Alderaan stepped toward the exit door then paused to look at his industry friend.

“Round, will you be okay?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“I wish you luck.”

Alderaan disappeared through the door while sincerely hoping his industry friend’s matter would be resolved well. She tactfully dismissed Gnome’s summon.

Though Celia was contracted when she had the core setting of being a spirit summoner, Gnome was a spirit contracted after arbitrarily creating an auxiliary setting.

She was being careful since it could potentially be erased during the error resolution process. Fortunately, the Head Librarian paid no mind to her action and continued speaking while clapping.

“Now, finally only the relevant parties remain. Shall we have an intimate conversation?”

“Wait, are you the one who put restrictions on Miss Kana?”

Kiriel asked directly while emanating a fierce atmosphere. The Head Librarian answered honestly.

“Though I’m not the main agent, I could say I’m indirectly involved.”

“How do we remove the restrictions?”

His eyes shone sharply as he grasped the general situation from their conversation. The Head Librarian responded slickly.

“My, Lord Kiriel should calm down a bit. Miss Round, do you have nothing to say?”

“Everything’s in your hands anyway. Stop dragging this out and tell us the solution.”

Kana retorted stiffly. The Head Librarian spun around in place before stopping to speak languidly.

“It’s simple. If you can’t exit due to an error, remove the cause. Though finding a replacement resource would be tricky, it’s not impossible. However, there would be some loss to Miss Round’s star rating.”

Though Kiriel roughly understood the conversation’s context, he remained calm. He worried more about her than himself. Meanwhile, Kana’s face contorted.

‘Remove the error’s cause and replace it with different resources? In other words, they’re saying they’ll eliminate Kiriel and fill his position with another character.’

More than the star rating loss, the part about his existence being erased bothered her more. Even though he would forget her after she exits, she wanted him to live happily. Kana gritted her teeth and asked.

“Is there no other way?”

“Ah, of course there is. We could deduct 10,000 of Miss Round’s star points, adjust Kiriel’s memories and feelings with his consent, then let you leave once the settings are coordinated.”

10,000 points. That was the maximum star rating one could receive from a high-difficulty novel.

Though normally she wouldn’t even consider such a painful loss, it was better than Kiriel’s existence disappearing.

Just as Kana was about to choose that method with tears in her eyes, Kiriel spoke sarcastically.

“I don’t like that. You’re saying to erase Miss Kana from within me and just let her leave while I know nothing.”

“Lord Kiriel, this might be better. Erasure can’t be reversed but deducted star points can be earned back through work.”

Kana grabbed both his hands and earnestly persuaded him. But Kiriel firmly shook his head in refusal.

“No. I’d rather die than let Miss Kana go in such a way.”

“……Why are you trying to take such a heavy loss? This is unlike you!”

Kana’s usually calm voice trembled slightly. Kiriel was taken aback and leaned in to examine her face closely, only to startle upon noticing her green eyes glistening with tears.

“……Miss Kana?”

“Is life that light to you? Value your own existence more!”

Kana shouted sharply while tightly clenching both fists. It had been a very long time since intense emotions rose purely rather than through acting.

‘……What’s mere love worth.’

She hadn’t planned to risk losing star points for his sake.

Kiriel took out a handkerchief from his chest and wiped the tears slightly gathered at the corners of her eyes while speaking.

“I’m sorry, Miss Kana. I was wrong.”

“No. Don’t apologize since it’s not your fault. Instead, that method……”

“Though I don’t really understand about star points or whatever, I can’t accept that.”

Kiriel gently patted her back but wouldn’t bend his will. As the situation remained at an impasse, the Head Librarian brought up another proposal.

“So I’d like to recommend a method. A direction where Miss Round settles in this world and Lord Kiriel avoids erasure so you two can live together.”

“Tell us quickly.”

Kiriel’s eyes shone as he urged the gray cloth doll. The Head Librarian’s grinning mouth opened slowly.