Dream. I was dreaming.

  I felt as if my soul had left my body, watching the scene from above.

  "Hey... once this battle is over, I'm getting married."

  He said it with a completely serious expression. His eyes held unwavering resolve, yet there was also a hint of bashfulness in his face.

  Upon hearing those words, his comrades erupted in cheers, and he didn’t seem entirely displeased by their reaction. The air around them was truly filled with happiness.

  But—those words were a cursed phrase, one that inevitably sealed his fate.

  Once spoken, the only thing waiting for him was... death.

  And yet, he fought through the war. It was precisely because the person he loved most was waiting for him that he could keep fighting.

  But—in the end, he shielded the protagonist of this story and fell.

  Blood spttered through the air as he could only stare bnkly at the pitch-bck sky above.

  And then, he realized—his time was running out.

  "Hey! Why...!? Why did you take that hit for me...!?""Hahaha... Why, I wonder..."

  He gazed up at the heavens.

  The war was already nearing its end. The protagonist's side had achieved a dramatic victory—but it was far from an unscathed one.

  It was a hard-fought triumph, bought with countless sacrifices. And he had become one of them.

  "Yuri! Why... why...!?""Theo. You're needed in the era to come... But me? I've sacrificed too much already. This is divine retribution.""That’s...! That’s not...!"

  Tears poured endlessly from the young man named Theo. Drop by drop, they fell onto Yuri’s body.

  "I’ll save you... no matter what! Yuri! You can’t die here...!!"

  He desperately cast healing magic, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop.

  Theo was the Hero, the greatest adventurer in history. A man who would ter be hailed as a legend—yet even he couldn’t save everything.

  Yuri’s vision had already faded, his breathing ragged. His injuries were beyond the reach of healing magic, and the fme of his life was flickering out.

  Nothing remained in Yuri’s sight anymore. Yet, until the very end, his eyes were filled with hope.

  Then, with a bloodstained hand, he gently touched Theo’s cheek.

  "Theo... I’m counting on you... to take care of her.""Yuri! Wait...! She’s waiting for you to come back, isn’t she!?"

  Theo gripped Yuri’s hand so tightly it hurt.

  Both of them had promised each other a future.

  But that future—would never come.

  "See ya... It was short, but... I had fun. Fighting alongside you again... made me happy..."

  Yuri’s hand went limp.

  His pupils dited, his pulse stopped. It was unmistakable—the signs of death.

  "Yuri? Hey. You’re kidding, right? Wait. Just wait. I still have so much to... Yuri! Hey! Yuri!! Agh... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

  Theo colpsed over Yuri’s body, his tears unending.

  Over the remains of his now-deceased best friend.

  A world dyed crimson as far as the eye could see. The earth burned like an inferno, the sky choked with bck smoke.

  All that remained here now... was the sound of one man’s anguished cries.

  ?

  "Hah...!?"

  I woke up. For a dream, the scene had been far too vivid.

  My back was drenched in sweat, the images still lingering in my mind.

  My name is Yuri, and my best friend’s name is Theo.

  That much was indisputable in my fifteen years of life so far... but in that dream, both of us had clearly aged.

  "No mistake. This face is..."

  I stared intently at my reflection in the mirror.

  Slightly disheveled bangs cast a shadow over my forehead, beneath which cold, sharp eyes gleamed.

  The corners of my eyes were slightly upturned, not quite gring, but carrying a gaze that seemed to test those who met it.

  "Could it be... I’ve been reincarnated?"

  I touched my cheek softly.

  At the same time, I remembered. In my past life, I was a saryman in Japan. Fresh out of college, I had been worked to the bone from day one, trapped in an endless cycle of bor.

  The only thing that kept me going was a single game.

  That game was called Astrea of the Frost, a masterpiece RPG renowned far and wide.

  I had devoted every spare moment to it, cutting into my sleep until I eventually died... and the next thing I knew, I had been reincarnated into this world. Was that what happened?

  "But... is this really that world?"

  It still didn’t feel real, but when I traced Yuri’s memories, they matched the game’s story perfectly.

  Yuri was engaged to someone, shielded Theo in the final battle, and died.

  That much, at least, I could clearly recall now.

  The only problem was—

  "Who the hell am I supposed to be engaged to?"

  This story had multiple heroines, but the narrative mostly revolved around Theo, the protagonist.

  There wasn’t much information about Yuri. The original story mentioned his engagement, but never specified to whom.

  Originally, Yuri was Theo’s best friend, but he fell to darkness and joined the enemy side. However, near the end, he reconciled with Theo and fought alongside him in the final battle.

  Since the story was told from the protagonist’s perspective, I didn’t have much knowledge about Yuri’s side of things.

  There was supposed to be an additional side story from Yuri’s perspective released ter, but I died before I could py it.

  "First, I should sort out the information."

  I got out of bed, sat at my desk, and began writing down key points.

  "First, I’m fated to die after saying that cursedphrase , a death fg. Who I’m engaged to is unknown... That’s the gist of it."

  "Once this battle is over, I’m getting married."

  Those words were an infamous death fg—a curse that guaranteed doom once spoken. Not that it was absolutely certain, but it was best to avoid uncertain factors.

  Well, all I had to do was avoid getting involved with anyone. Simple enough.

  On top of that, if the final battle pyed out like in the original, I needed enough strength to survive. Fortunately, I understood Yuri’s abilities inside and out.

  "The real problem... is what comes next."

  I muttered to myself.

  In the original story, Yuri was an arrogant, cold-hearted man.

  He had formed a party with Theo and the heroine, Sophia, but grew jealous of Theo’s talent and kicked him out.

  Theo cwed his way back, awakening as the Hero, while Yuri was abandoned by Sophia, left alone, and fell into darkness.

  He briefly became an enemy, fighting against Theo—but after losing, he repented. He rejoined Theo’s side and fought in the final battle... That was the general flow.

  "Yeah. That’s how it goes. So, how about this?"

  I circled one of my ideas with the pen.

  I decided to boldly change the course of events based on what I knew.

  I didn’t find Theo troublesome now, so skipping that event entirely wouldn’t hurt.

  Avoid death fgs = Don’t get involved with any specific woman.Gain enough strength to survive the war—or better yet, prevent the war altogether.

  I settled on these two goals. The first one should be easy. If I just avoided unnecessary interactions with women, I’d be fine. Besides, I was hopeless with women in my past life.

  The idea of suddenly being popur here was hard to believe... especially since Yuri was originally a character who fell into darkness.

  ...Yeah, thinking about it made me a little sad.

  The real challenge was gaining enough power, but I already had a pn for that.

  "Alright. Let’s go."

  With that, I left my house—knowing I’d likely never return.

  After packing my belongings, I headed out. My destination? The Adventurer’s Guild.

  When I arrived as usual, Theo and Sophia were already there.

  Originally, this would be where Yuri kicked Theo out of the party, but—

  "Yuri! Morning!""Yeah."

  Theo greeted me with his usual blindingly bright smile.

  A golden-haired, golden-eyed super-handsome guy. He radiated the aura of a true protagonist.

  "Good morning, Yuri."

  Sophia also greeted me. She carried herself like a noble dy, fitting for the main heroine.

  The three of us had been childhood friends and adventured together as a party for years. But I steeled myself and spoke up.

  "Theo, Sophia. I’m... leaving the party.""......Huh?"

  Their voices overpped in stunned unison.