Each of the four men was precious in their own way. Xenon was always cheerful but became the most reliable person in crucial moments, and Iska was cunning yet endlessly gentle only in front of Rudis.

Noah always stayed by her side protecting her, and Kaires watched her with the deepest gaze even from the farthest distance.

Choosing just one of them would be a difficult problem. She didn’t want to lose any of them.

“Just set the date. I’m already making your dress. It’ll be the masterpiece of my life.”

Sandra continued speaking nonchalantly.

“The groom… I guess it doesn’t matter who it is… I think Iska would be good. I feel like I could make something really special.”

Her eyes burned with competitive spirit. Rudis let out a hollow laugh. So that was really her reason for choosing Iska as the groom.

“No wait. Isn’t Noah really handsome too? Silver hair is so fascinating. I think he could pull off any color… Plus, a prickly yet pure-looking handsome man is so rare.”

Sandra continued speaking with growing excitement.

“No, no. If you’re all going to live together anyway, wouldn’t the lord be best? Wedding ceremonies should be glamorous, so he’d suit it the most. I could make really gorgeous clothes with a bang! Put real effort into it. People who suit such clothes are surprisingly rare. I just happened to get some precious gold thread too…”

Sandra fingered the gold thread beside her. The sparkling golden thread glowed softly in the sunlight.

“Xenon brought it for me though… Actually, Xenon has the most ideal body type…”

Sandra’s face suddenly became gloomy. Then something seemed to occur to her and she jerked her head up.

“No wait. Just do it with all four of them!”

“…What?”

Rudis’s eyes widened.

“All four of them? Is that… possible?”

Sandra shrugged nonchalantly and said playfully,

“What’s wrong with that? If you say you’ll do it, no one will say anything, right? People like you and they like your men too, so what’s the problem?”

At those words, Rudis fell silent for a moment.

Since the system disappeared, people had been endlessly kind to Rudis. It was common to receive things even when it wasn’t her birthday, and people would bring various items saying they stopped by while passing.

It was consideration too warm to be called simple kindness.

After helping Martin, everyone had become much kinder to Iska too. Though he had once been an object of fear, now villagers often came directly to Iska asking for help.

Well, there was no need to mention Xenon, who had always been popular, or Kaires, who was a lord, or Noah, who had become an object of reverence by openly displaying his divine power.

It might actually be possible?

Everyone in Breilin was favorable. Even if she married four people at once, they would probably just accept it naturally. In the current atmosphere, a grand festival would more likely be held.

“Anyway, you’d better set the date quickly. From my experience, wedding preparations aren’t easy. There’s a lot to do.”

Sandra began enthusiastically sharing her experiences.

“Oh, that forest from before wasn’t great. There were more bugs than I expected. If you do it… Right! Let’s do it at the castle. It looks a bit scary now, but if we decorate the castle walls with blue daisies flowing down like a waterfall…”

Sandra was already planning the wedding in her head. Rudis looked out the window, lost in thought.

Really… would it be possible?

* * *

Beginning of Spring. The village festival.

Rudis came out early to look around the streets, just like every year. Time alone while the four men were busy. The shopping district on festival day was bustling with activity like always, and colorful decorations and lanterns sparkled throughout the streets.

Cheerful music could be heard from somewhere, and people gathered in small groups bursting into laughter. Rudis slowly walked, savoring the familiar scenery. In the festive atmosphere, she greeted everyone she met warmly.

“Rudis! What are you doing here on such an important day?!”

Having heard this greeting several times already, Rudis smiled awkwardly and quickened her pace.

This year too, she looked around the shopping district filled with festival excitement and bought various new items. She couldn’t miss the rare items that only appeared during festivals. Then suddenly, a familiar voice reached her ears.

“Get your fortune told! Only 10Z!”

It was the fortune teller’s call for customers. Rudis naturally turned her steps. This was a place she visited every year, a place she had to go to this year too without fail.

She had heard the same words last year, the year before, and the year before that, but strangely she could never pass by this place.

It’ll be the same words again.

With no particular expectations, she was about to enter the tent when Rudis hesitated. The voice coming from inside the tent was unfamiliar. And familiar.

“…Welcome.”

Rudis slowly entered. There, instead of the fortune teller in the purple hood, Shasha had taken her place.

“I’m running it starting this year. I’ll give Rudis a special price of 5Z.”

…Wait a minute. Shasha speaks so ambiguously that it’s hard to understand!

Rudis momentarily had an ominous feeling, but since she had already sat down, she couldn’t run away. When she handed over the money, Shasha smiled meaningfully and stroked the crystal ball.

“Just a moment… I see the future. The near future. Oh my, what is that?”

Shasha narrowed her eyes and stared into space. Her eyes gradually narrowed like she was examining something closely, and Rudis naturally tensed up too.

“One person… two people… three people… four people? You’re n*ked among four men. Oh my! The red-haired one has his head between your legs…!”

…What?!

This isn’t ambiguous, it’s too expl*cit! Is it different because it’s paid?!

“Th-that’s enough! Thanks!”

Shocked by Shasha’s suddenly specific words, Rudis’s face burned red as she rushed out of the tent.

“What the. She really is good though…”

With both cheeks burning, Rudis walked quickly down the street. To collect herself, she took another lap around the shopping district and bought a few more rare items.

After wandering around for quite a while, Rudis headed toward a narrow alley. This destination was a bit more secretive.

A small voice from the entrance of the alley.

“Please spare just a coin.”

An old man in shabby clothes was crouched on the ground. It was a familiar face that was always in the same spot during every festival. Like part of the festival itself, his appearance never changed.

Rudis quietly approached and stopped in front of the old man. Then she took out a small object from her pocket.

“Please take this.”

“Hmm…”

The old man sighed heavily and reached out to receive the object. His wrinkled fingers caressed it while slowly looking around.

“This doesn’t look valuable…”

Frowning, the old man looked at Rudis with suspicious eyes.

“It’s very precious. It’s called the Token of Pathos. It grants wishes.”

The old man’s face still showed no sign of clearing up.

“I’m returning it. I don’t need it.”

Along with Rudis’s firm voice, the old man looked down at the token. The square-shaped golden ornament embedded with four gems held a faint light in the old man’s hands. Suddenly, the air trembled strangely. It felt like something was awakening.

The old man slowly raised his head. His eyes had changed. They weren’t the cloudy eyes of a simple old man. A gaze that seemed to see through everything, pupils with a depth different from human ones.

“Yes, I thought you would…”

The wrinkled face began to change slowly. His back straightened, his spine became increasingly upright. The appearance of the old, shabby man disappeared without a trace, and standing there was the lord’s representative and divine messenger.

Patrick.

No, Pathos, the god who was the beginning of all this.

“How did you know?”

“I didn’t know at first. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed that way.”

The one who first called her ‘Rudis’ when she first came to this place. The one who invited her on that last night when everything began. It was all Patrick.

“The choice is yours.”

Looking back, Patrick’s words seemed to test her. That laughter when Kaires asked if she used black magic. Even just remembering it still gave her chills.

Patrick called himself a divine messenger or divine power, but there was an overwhelming presence that couldn’t be explained by that alone.

The countless questions Patrick had thrown at her, his gaze, his attitude. The more she mulled over those moments, the more something came to mind. Strangely.

“I don’t know if that will be your misfortune or your fortune.”

The fact that he resembled the old man who had given her the seed of the fruit that would restore memories. And so she had waited for today. Of course, Noah had given her the biggest hint…

Pathos looked at Rudis with proud eyes.

“That’s right. My child. But why are you giving this to me? You must have a wish. You wanted to complete your guidebook. I can grant that.”

Rudis smiled quietly.

“I suppose the guidebook only has meaning if I fill it myself.”

It wasn’t simply a record. It was the trajectory of her life. No one else could fill it for her. It only had meaning if she filled it herself.

“And who knows what might happen again this time.”

At Rudis’s words tinged with reproach, Pathos burst into loud laughter.

“Aren’t you curious? Whether this place is your world or inside a game?”

At that question, Rudis’s eyes trembled. There was a time when she had wanted to know that answer. But now,

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

But Rudis’s answer was firm.

“Really? I came all this way for nothing. I thought you’d be curious.”

Pathos shrugged and showed off a book he opened. It was a booklet similar to the strategy guide Rudis had seen at the lord’s castle.

“What is this?”

“Things I painstakingly organized. I don’t know how many times I rewrote it, but this is the final version. Look. There are many things I don’t understand. Why do they find this fun? What’s the point of animals changing colors? Well, everyone else included such things so I put them in too…”

“No, the moment you know other colored ones exist, you want them. Oh, actually I was curious about something too. The conditions for quest windows to appear…”

For this moment, Rudis was serious too. After a heated discussion, Pathos finally asked,

“Anyway, I made it really well, right? Just like a real game.”

Rudis didn’t miss the meaning contained in those words. Rudis silently pondered that meaning for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“Yes. Really.”

It was a short but deeply meaningful answer. Pathos seemed satisfied with that reaction and raised the corners of his mouth.

“Your final test is over. My child. Now live happily. Forever.”

Pathos reached out to gently pat Rudis’s head and winked at her.

“I was merciful enough, wasn’t I?”

Rudis narrowed her eyes and looked at him, then slowly nodded with a smile. Then she quietly turned around. Toward the place where four men who would be looking forward to tonight’s wedding were waiting.

fin.

Thank you so much for reading and supporting this novel!