Yes, love can save humanity.

The entire ice palace was suddenly windy.

Dark, cold, unpredictable wind.

"Is this... an enemy attack?!"

Before Skadi could understand the situation, a sudden storm took away her weapon and stripped her of consciousness.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Skadi, you have to be a hostage for once."

It was a voice she had never heard before and was extremely unfamiliar.

But she still wanted to cry.

Because, as she was about to fall asleep, she could feel her fallen body being picked up by someone.

The back that carried her was far more familiar than she had imagined.

......

When Skadi woke up again, it was already early morning.

At this moment, she had already been tied up with ropes and trapped in a prison.

"Are you awake? Ms. Skadi."

"Although it may be a little abrupt to say this, I must remind you that you have become my hostage, prisoner, and property."

In the only bright light, a strange figure wearing a scary yet funny black leopard mask and a luxurious white robe appeared in front of her. His gender could only be judged as male by his body shape. He spoke in a voice that was sometimes far away and sometimes near and difficult to distinguish.

"Now, your fate is entirely determined by my mood."

“Do you understand your current situation?”

Looking at the kidnapper's indescribable, even somewhat terrifying appearance, Skadi did not show any uncomfortable reaction.

She even felt a sense of relief.

"I know."

Yes, Skadi knew.

Even though the person in front of me had changed his appearance, disguised his voice, and put on a strange look that he had learned from somewhere, even his attitude had become frivolous and funny.

The intuition in her heart still made her understand the current situation.

Because the figure that was imprinted in her dream has appeared before her eyes.

"What do you want? My kingship, my power, my freedom... or my life?"

"I can give you whatever you want. As long as you want."

"What if I say, I want your heart?"

of course can.

It’s better to say that it has not been with me for a long time.

The moment I felt at ease, it was gone.

"I can give it to you."

The hostage was very cooperative, no, it should be said that she was too cooperative and said, "I can give you my heart."

"...Madam Hostage, are you awake?"

"I am not sleeply."

Skadi smiled and said each word sincerely and seriously, "As long as you want, my heart...even the divine core...you can take it."

"As long as... you don't mind."

what?

Am I the kidnapper or are you the kidnapper?

Could you please respect my identity as a kidnapper?

No, this is a serious kidnapping, not some sex game!

Even if my disguise is terrible and can be seen through in one go...what does "as long as you don't mind" mean?

Do you mean you're happy with it? And you think you're unworthy?

Is this a little... no, too wrong?

As far as I can remember, in the first three rounds, I didn't meet Skadi many times, nor did I choose Skadi's route option, let alone flirt with Skadi, right?

I clearly didn't do anything...why does she act like she's seen through everything...and been redeemed?

When was I attacked by a Stand?

Or did you accidentally cross the world line at some point?

After hearing Skadi's answer, Charles, who was disguised as a kidnapper, was confused.

Chapter 34: Take Skadi's Heart

No, why?

Even if it was Slud, Hilde, and Ortlinde who had this reaction, I could understand it. After all, I had flirted with them more than once or twice in the simulator, and even publicly confessed my feelings to them and declared myself a scumbag.

Why did Skadi become like this?

Charles was confused.

Completely confused, even to the point of numbness.

He simulated four rounds, and always deliberately stayed away from Skadi to avoid getting too close to the King of the Lostbelt, so as to avoid her discovering his plan to subvert the entire Nordic Lostbelt, and to avoid a situation like Hilde in the second round.

You know, in the first three rounds, he and Skadi spoke less than five sentences, no, it was less than three sentences!

In fact, if it weren't for the forced kidnapping operation carried out by the simulator, he would not have had any private communication with Skadi!

I am such a manly person, why does Skadi look like he has completed a strategy?

I am obviously not the Emperor of Chaldea, Abstract Wangzi, or the Succubus Commander!

What went wrong in my process that led to such a bizarre situation?

"Are you okay?" Skadi asked worriedly, "Are you injured somewhere? Do you need treatment?"

"I'm not hurt, thank you for your concern."

Faced with the sudden question, Charles, who was still thinking, gave an answer subconsciously.

Suddenly, he discovered a problem.

In this whole room, besides him, the kidnapper, there was another person.

That is Ms. Scathach Skadi, who is the hostage.

"It's great that I'm not injured..."

When Charles came to his senses, he found that the hostage lady tied to the chair was relieved, with relief written all over her pretty face.

"If anything happens to you... then I... really don't know what to do..."

"No, you don't care about yourself, why do you care about me?!" Seeing Skadi's relieved look, Charles couldn't help but ask, "Do you understand your current situation?"

"You are a hostage, hostage, do you understand?!"

"I'm sorry..." Skadi apologized decisively, explaining, "Because you haven't replied...I was a little worried about you..."

what?

Am I really a kidnapper?

How come I kidnap someone and in return the hostage cares about me and even asks me to apologize?

Listening to Skadi's words, Xia suddenly felt his whole face burning, and even his ten toes began to move in this agitation.

The first time I played a kidnapper, I was discovered by the hostage on the spot, and I had to use very poor acting skills to cooperate... What kind of hell is this? !

What a shame! What a shame!

Since you knew from the beginning that I was the kidnapper in disguise, could you just speak up and expose me?

Even if you don't expose it, at least act more realistically!

Damn it, why don’t you just stab me to death with a knife!

"...Huh..." After a long silence, Charles sighed, forced himself to adjust his mentality, and took off the black panther mask he had made. "Now that things have come to this, there is no point in pretending anymore."

"Ciel...it's you..."

Seeing the face she had longed for again, the surging emotions buried in Skadi's heart instantly turned into crystal mist, swirling around her eye sockets, dyeing her ruby-like eyes with a bright color.

"You...really have always been here...and never left...I...no...I didn't leave those children..."

"That's... great."

Even though Charles didn't have fairy eyes at this moment, he could still see what kind of feelings this hostage goddess he kidnapped had for him.

This is no longer something that can be described as completed strategy.

This is basically... being trained... Bah, bah, bah, it's the level of being finished off by the CPU!

No, when did I ever beat Skadi with my CPU?

Why don’t I have any impression of this?

I couldn't have done it unconsciously, right?

Charles couldn't understand.

However, he didn't need to figure this out on his own.

"You don't seem surprised at all by my appearance." Charles looked at Skadi and asked, "Is my acting so bad?"

"That's not true. When I was tied up, I didn't realize it was you." Skadi shook her head repeatedly and denied it. "It was before I passed out, when you were carrying me on your back, that I felt it..."

Feel it? What's the answer?

Charles couldn't help but say, "Before this kidnapping, I've never carried you on my back."

"That's right... This is the first time you carried me on your back." Skadi's eyes dimmed when he heard that, and he sighed, "Before this, you never touched me..."

No, what you said is indeed true, but this taste...why does it always feel like something is wrong?

There is no special relationship between you and me, why should I touch you?

"...Then how did you feel it..." Ciel couldn't help but complain, "Isn't it some kind of woman's intuition?"

"...Women's intuition? What is that?" Skadi confessed, "I just saw your back...after you challenged "Dusk" that time...I wrote it down."

What?

Just by remembering my back, you can tell that it was me who did it from the time I carried him on my back before I fell into a coma?

Is this something a human can do?

Why do I feel more and more that...I am the vulnerable group being targeted by dangerous elements?

Listening to Skadi's speech, which was so explosive even for a young man of the 21st century, Charles couldn't help but take two steps back, not knowing how to comment.

Seeing that Charles suddenly stepped back, Skadi couldn't help but ask: "Charles...what's wrong with you?"

"...Do you know...that what you just said was horrible?"

"...fear?"

Skadi recalled her previous speech and successfully discovered the problem with Charles' reminder.

"I, I, I, I...I didn't mean that..." The beautiful and dignified face of the ice and snow goddess instantly turned red, and she stammered, not knowing what to do, "I just kind of...kind of missed you...so when I met you...I noticed it was you!"

Listening to Skadi's extremely nervous words, which clearly showed concern for his feelings, Xia, who had originally felt nervous, suddenly relaxed a little.

He really didn't expect that Skadi, who had not yet been freed from the burden of maintaining the Lostbelt, would reveal such a panicked and sentimental side in front of him.

Compared to himself, who had only lived for a few decades, the goddess in front of him who had experienced thousands of years of baptism seemed more like a child.

A gentle and obedient child who has experienced too many setbacks and finally found someone to rely on.

It’s a pity that this child cares more about the will of the “parents” he relies on than his own will.