LS2RW 02

CHAPTER 02

A sequel for a failed novel? Seriously?

“Wow… this author’s mental fortitude is off the charts.”

Does this mean I have to stay here until Part 2 ends? And how long will that even take? What if a Part 3 starts after that? Then what?

If the author were in front of me right now, I’d strangle them.

“Why won’t you let me go? WHY?!”

My fury surged uncontrollably. Undine, who was always sensitive to my emotional changes, clung to me in alarm.

— A-Adel? Are you upset? Why are you suddenly so mad? Did I do something wrong?

“No, it’s not that…”

My mind felt like it was about to snap, and I couldn’t even form proper words. I shut my eyes tightly.

And then, like someone was typing into the darkness behind my eyelids, letters began to appear one by one.

[Chapter 1: Three Men and a Woman’s Misaligned Dreams]

[Stage 3: As usual, Adrienne, perfectly groomed, headed to the dining room for breakfast.]

Stage 3. A directive I must obey.

I twisted my lips in frustration.

“I’m not being your puppet anymore. Just kill me instead.”

“Guh!”

The moment I rejected the prompt, blood gushed up from deep within me. Undine screamed as she clung to my shoulder.

— Kyaaa! Adel! Y-Your mouth! You’re bleeding!

“Heh… hehehe—”

Blood dyed my teeth crimson as I grinned.

Undine backed away, horror-struck. I must’ve looked like a demon.

— A-Adel… W-Why are you laughing like that? It’s scary…

[Stage 3: As usual, Adrienne, perfectly groomed, headed to the dining room for breakfast.]

The prompt flashed again.

I glared at it and spat out my words like venom.

“I. SAID. NO!”

— Who are you even talking to?! Stop! You’re scaring me…

Undine’s sobs began to fade. And once again—WHAM!—a wave of unbearable pain crashed over me.

“Hah… Haah… You think… this pathetic pain… Hah… is enough to break me? Don’t make me laugh… This is nothing—!”

Wait, what?

My body tipped backward against my will.

THUD!

— KYAAAA!! ADEL!!!

Undine’s scream was the last thing I heard before I lost consciousness.

A familiar ceiling. A familiar bed.

“I’ve seen this before—gah!”

I bolted upright the moment I opened my eyes.

“Ugh!”

Pain flared through my chest. The aftereffects of the penalty still lingered.

“It hurts…”

Clutching my chest, I slowly got up.

Back when I was the Hero, taking two or three penalties in a day was no big deal.

Even if I coughed up a bowl of blood or felt my heart being torn apart, I could push through it with sheer willpower.

But now? One penalty and I’m knocked out cold?

“This body… is ridiculously weak, isn’t it?”

And worse—I seem to feel pain more acutely than I did as the Hero. If I try to grit my teeth like I did in Part 1, I might actually die of shock this time.

But come on—who am I?

Didn’t I survive four years in architecture school, infamous for drowning students in assignments?

I’m stubborn as hell. If this is how it’s going to be, then I’ll make it through on spite alone.

[Ding!]

**[ Event!
For surviving Part 1, you receive amazing benefits!

1. You’ve become the most beautiful woman in the entire world!
2. You retain the spirit magic abilities of the Hero from Part 1!
3. A hidden power has been unlocked within you!]**

“Shut up! How many times do I have to say I don’t want any of this?! I just want to go back to my old life! I begged on my hands and knees for you to let me go!”

My tiny apartment… the desk covered in architectural models… quiet music… a single bed… a table stained with glue, half-finished beer, and a bag of potato chips…

And my parents, running a fruit orchard in the countryside.

Mom and Dad, wrapping fruits until their fingers cracked, just to support their daughter through college.

I just want to go back to that simple, ordinary life. Is that really so much to ask?

“You think I’ll keep dancing to your tune forever? At least promise me something. Swear you’ll send me back once Part 2 is over!”

[Stage 3: As usual, Adrienne, perfectly groomed, headed to the dining room for breakfast.]

So that’s your answer? Just shut up and obey?

Fine. Let’s see who wins this time.

“Go to hell.”

Throb!

The pain that had finally subsided came roaring back. My lips trembled, but I forced myself to smile.

“If someone says no… take the hint and piss off…”

My vision quickly blurred. My body had reached its limit.

Just then, the unyielding prompt before me vanished like mist… and a new message appeared in its place.

**[Finish Part 2!
Whatever you desire—your dreams★ will come true!

※ Caution: If your identity is exposed, all rewards are void.
Excludes non-human entities.]**

So… as long as I complete Part 2 without revealing that I’m actually Adela to anyone but non-human beings… I’ll be sent home?

“How am I supposed to trust that?”

[
Subtitle: The Real Ending, The Final Final Chapter. Part 3? Never happening.
Now then, let’s really get started! Let’s Girit!!!]

They even put “No Part 3” in the damn subtitle?

“…Fine. Just this once, I’ll pretend to believe you.”

Alright. This time, I won’t get caught off guard.

I closed my eyes in resignation.

This was the second time I’d passed out today.

I used to be an ordinary college student.

Just one of many, struggling to get by in the city on money my parents sent me.

There wasn’t even any warning on that day.

I went to class, came home, worked on some assignments, drank a can of beer, and fell asleep.

And when I woke up, I was inside a book.

At first, I didn’t even realize it was a novel world.

Obviously. Who wakes up and immediately thinks, “Oh my! I must’ve transmigrated into a book!”?

Of course I thought I was just drunk.

I mean, getting tipsy from a single beer? Had I really gotten that weak? That’s what I was thinking as I tried to go back to sleep.

Right before a long block of text suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.

[Ding!]

**[Welcome to !

You are the main character and Hero, Adela Helsing!
You may act freely in your daily life, but at key story points, please follow the provided prompts!
Prompts are divided into stages by importance:
Stage 1 – 100% freedom,
Stage 2 – 50% freedom,
Stage 3 – 5% freedom.
Rejecting lower-freedom prompts will incur penalties.
Now then, until the glorious end of … Let’s go, Fighting!!!]**

was a fantasy novel I had just finished reading.

A cliché adventure story about gathering allies to defeat the Demon King. The writing was so bad it flopped.

The one who pulled me into that world was the so-called “author.” I just called them the “fail-thor.”

That bastard left me alone most of the time, but whenever I strayed too far from the plot, they’d force commands on me.

Depending on the stage, I either ignored, modified, or obeyed them like a puppet.

For a year, I lived as the Hero, suffered like a dog, saved the world from the Demon King… and died.

I thought I’d wake up back in my own world.

“But now there’s a Part 2…”

I barely managed to slog through Part 1. I don’t even know what happens in Part 2.

This was the third time today I’d woken up. I sighed and extended my hand.

“Undine. I promise I won’t yell. Come out.”

Undine peeked her face out from within my hair.

— …Really? You won’t talk to yourself and laugh creepily and act scary like before?

“Yeah. I’m sorry.”

I patted her gently and took a moment to collect my thoughts.

“How long has it been since I died?”

— Hmm… I went straight back to the Spirit Realm after you died, so I’m not totally sure, but… by human time, maybe around five years?

So not too much time has passed.

That means… maybe I can still meet my old companions.