I’m Sick of the Kind Protagonist, so I Might as Well Just Die - Chapter 40

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#40
The moment Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis distanced himself, Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike selected matching accessories and settled herself snugly beside me.
“Doesn’t this combination look absolutely adorable?”
“I’m not really sure….”
“I don’t care whether you understand or not. I simply want to dress you up, so all you need to do is nod along.”
With that impudent remark, she swiftly undressed me and began changing me into the garments she’d brought with practiced efficiency.
“Hey, Leonas. Next time, send some pale yellow or sky blue dresses too. You only ever send pink or white!”
Bilateia was the one who exploited the Grand Duke’s arrangement—that he provided her with rare treasures simply to see me smile—most effectively. It was like indulging in a game of dress-up that she could never have played in her previous life.
“Aurelia. You must grow accustomed to wearing such garments, to enjoying such chambers, if you are to adapt to the Worlds. Commit this to memory.”
I swept my gaze across the room, which thrummed with the sweet fragrance of dessert. From the bed cascading with pristine lace like a waterfall to the ornate hand mirror densely studded with glittering jewels, every corner was decorated with such meticulous extravagance that it fatigued the eyes.
“But my role is to live modestly and die at the opportune moment. Do I really need to adapt?”
“Yes. And stop spouting such nonsense now. Hmm, should I puff out the petticoat more?”
“Something this voluminous will get in the way when I’m fighting….”
“Fighting? Don’t you realize your body is so fragile right now that you can barely lift a holy sword?”
Bilateia struck at my weak point with precision. I stumbled under the weight of the layered garments enveloping my body and clicked my tongue.
“Enjoy it while you can. I spent a thousand years as a supporting character in a martial arts world, and I went through hell to get here—all for these glittering, flowing things!”
Through repeated deaths in this world and growing closer with each cycle, I’d learned that Bilateia absolutely adored the aesthetic beauty of this lavish world. According to her, the boundless extravagance of this realm was nothing less than a sweet reward earned after a thousand years of hardship.
“It’s like a dollhouse made of sugar candy. If I’m going to enjoy this false life anyway, it might as well be dazzlingly ornate to be worthwhile.”
“We were in the middle of a meeting, weren’t we…?”
“Is there a law against holding a meeting while changing clothes?”
“Wait. What else are you putting on me?”
“Of course.”
Though my own taste would never have chosen this, Bilateia’s preferences were unwavering. And among the three of us, only she possessed such clear taste and determination regarding clothing, so I had no way to resist.
Following her skilled hands, nameless ornaments filled every inch of me from crown to ankle. The figure in the mirror was no longer the rough-hewn warrior who’d severed a monster dragon’s neck, but rather a pitiful, beautiful doll trapped in a tyrant’s Imperial Chamber.
“Perfect!”
“Fine. As long as you’re satisfied….”
Bilateia circled my form with deliberate care, her chin resting thoughtfully, before nodding in approval.
“The Professor should return soon. Then he can ask how Aurelia became so breathtakingly beautiful.”
I scratched the back of my neck and laughed awkwardly. The excessive praise made my skin prickle with embarrassment. After all, Bilateia’s own beauty—which she repeated compliments about endlessly—was undeniably among the strongest in this world’s aesthetic hierarchy.
“Why don’t you believe me? You look like your original form with beauty stats maxed out. Truly.”
“Well… it does feel nice to be complimented by someone who’s already beautiful.”
“Girls sometimes play around like this, suddenly praising each other out of nowhere.”
Throughout the entire wardrobe change, Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis had stood in the corner with his forehead pressed against the wall, and now he walked toward the window with visible displeasure. His back suddenly tensed as he gazed expressionlessly out at the Garden.
“What? An attack?”
My eyes brightened as I shook my right hand, which held the holy sword. Matching the dress I wore, the holy sword manifested as a slender rapier. Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis glanced at me briefly, then shook his head with a frown.
“No, someone’s looking for me. Put the sword away.”
“….”
“The story seems to be progressing, so prepare yourself.”
Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis sighed and forcefully pushed aside the large clock hanging on the wall. A meticulously concealed Secret Passage revealed itself behind it.
“Ugh… I really don’t want to go.”
“Hang in there, Chief.”
“‘Dear Leo’, fighting spirit.”
Bilateia’s encouragement and my teasing seemed to weigh on Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis, his broad shoulders sagging with exhaustion. The tall man shuffled away like a clam being dragged to the slaughterhouse, disappearing into the darkness.
And mere minutes later, the door to the Imperial Chamber burst open.
“Who dared to gaze upon my plaything without permission.”
“Th-that is…!”
Along with the flustered Aide’s voice, Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis appeared, his crimson cloak billowing dramatically. His gaze, which had been so reluctant and weary moments before, now blazed with terrifying intensity directed at me. All traces of the sighs he’d exhaled before the Secret Passage had vanished without a trace.
“It seems everyone has forgotten my order to admit no one but myself.”
The massive man strode into the center of the Imperial Chamber with overwhelming presence. In that brief span, the scent of earth and blood clung to his every step—evidence of where he’d been.
“You’re considerably later than expected, sir.”
Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike transformed her expression in an instant to greet him. She bore no resemblance to the woman sprawled lazily on the sofa moments before, prattling on about some martial arts world concept.
“Princess. Haven’t we already discussed this? Seek love and affection from each other’s paramours, not from me.”
“My. Do I appear to be seeking love or affection at this moment?”
“Perhaps not.”
“Precisely. I’ve merely come to verify whether this plaything is worthy of my husband’s station.”
The woman, standing with arrogant poise and fanning herself, and the man, irritably flicking his cloak, began to growl at one another.
“That is not a judgment for you to make.”
“How amusing. Surely such determinations fall squarely within my rights as a spouse.”
And there I sat between them, vacant and dazed, treated as though I were a lifeless doll or mere possession. That was my role.
‘So this is what it takes to be Chief. They’re truly remarkable.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly. They had become part of this solid stage that Perenustus had carefully constructed, performing their roles with flawless precision.
To be honest, my initial argument had been to abandon the story progression and find solutions instead. With Perenustus, the administrator, kidnapped, I saw no reason to maintain this tedious world system or the predetermined settings the gods imposed.
‘I even thought that if I caused enough chaos, those old geezers—the Old Gods or whatever—would be so exasperated they’d end this world.’
But these Chiefs, now delivering their brilliant performances, refused to budge on the assertion that such methods were ‘improper.’ For them, the maintenance of the system seemed an absolute truth.
‘If the kids are that stubborn, I suppose I have no choice but to follow.’
As a result, we now operated an emergency contingency system in this form. During important story progressions, we remained faithful to our roles. Outside those times, we gathered for strategy meetings.
“I despise my possessions falling into hands other than my own.”
Before I could react, Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis closed the distance and swept me into his arms, settling me upon his lap. The lace-laden dress Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike had dressed me in slid smoothly across his muscular frame. Apparently finding the sensation ticklish, he buried his face in my neck and chuckled softly.
‘Watching him, I truly understand that aptitude and talent are different things.’
Struck anew with admiration, I let my head droop like a puppet, turning away from Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis. That was my role—to be a mere prop in this perfect theatrical production.
‘Bilateia said for this character type, I should completely resign myself and move like a stringless wooden puppet, devoid of will or desire… Damn it!’
Only as I reflected on my role did I belatedly understand. The Old Gods, or whatever they were, were forcing precisely this upon me. A puppet’s existence—stripped of all agency, preserved within predetermined constraints, living each day in helpless servitude.
‘Is this their condition for returning Perenustus? Or are they torturing Perenustus by showing him what I’ve become—someone he apparently expects something from?’
Either way, it mattered little.
‘They mean to tame me in this beautiful paradise.’
But I had no intention of submitting meekly to their coercion.
‘I’ll show them exactly what “all the world’s affirmation” means. Without fail.’
Steeling my resolve, I surveyed the room. My vision filled with a prison masquerading as a doll’s house—sweet-scented and draped in lace. Not a bad battlefield. More honestly? Quite a satisfactory one.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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