Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: 40-1. No Lovey-Dovey in the Library.
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The next day when I woke up, my Love Meter with Pine had gone up.
Yesterday, Kainel had listened to my excuses with a pleased smile on his face. Now that I'd been on the receiving end, it pissed me off. He could act like that because he'd instinctively figured out Pine's true identity, the little rascal.
If I helped the hero couple a bit more, their Love Meter would probably reach confession levels.
I'd also gone up north and resolved the issues with Nex and Sharutineth. By taking down Head, I'd even restored Dennis and White Magnolia's relationship to normal.
So what else did I need to do moving forward?
What I need right now is...
I'd thought my schedule toward the Grand Route was going smoothly, but seeing someone named Blanc had turned my thinking upside down.
At the very least, I wouldn't be taking the flower of both hands route.
I knew that going harem would leave my Pine out in the cold, and I didn't think it counted as true love unless you fell for someone's heart first.
The other couples would probably feel the same way.
Ah, right—the Sage.
Then it hit me.
I needed to prepare for possible futures. Considering the presence or absence of status windows and the prequel game's content.
Becoming the Nameless Saintess might still be a valid path.
"Licht, what are you thinking about?"
I froze. Pine had noticed my quickened pace and asked, her glass armor gleaming in the sunlight.
Ever since I'd solved her problems, the white knight in heavy plate had been moving around the academy even more freely.
It was after class, during a free period.
"I need to use the restroom for a bit."
I lied to Pine.
Half-true, since I was heading to the library after the restroom. If I didn't shake her off like this, she'd definitely follow.
The last Sage to survive the magic tower. Azmodeus.
I rushed to the academy library to meet her.
When I entered the library, as always, a woman with demon horns was perched atop a pile of books.
"...You've come."
Her purple hair and demonic eyes revealed her as a demon. She turned a page in her book and nodded toward me as I entered.
"Hello, Sage."
Well, demons weren't discriminated against just because they weren't Demon Kings or anything related. They were just specialized in dark magic a bit more.
Servi had been the odd one out. Apostles of Wrath or Gluttony weren't demons, after all.
Come to think of it, why were they called Demon Kings when they weren't even the kings of demons? The creators' chuunibyou naming sense was starting to grate on me.
"I found the Nameless Saintess."
The Sage closed her book and said it indifferently. My heart sank like a lump of lead at those words.
"Sage, what do you mean by that...?"
Found her? Hadn't I changed Pine Granasia's grim future, just like I'd been agonizing over?
This was the prequel, after all. Twisting the characters from the original and sequel on my own seemed to lack something.
In the case of the northern archduchess, there had been an Easter egg the creators planted.
I was painfully realizing that without the Grand Route, there was no hope.
"The one captured by all the Demon Kings and experimented on, right?"
The Sage looked at me with sad eyes. She had suffered at a Demon King's hands too, so it was sympathy.
My guess was right. Not one Demon King, but the powers of several.
"It's a shame I can't pinpoint who it is."
But Head's 'ignorance' should have been erased. Why wasn't Pine Granasia's name coming up?
"Wait a minute. Why can't you identify who?"
"...I don't know. The more I try to access the info, the more it bounces me out."
If Head had regressed and revived, the information should be completely sealed. Why could she see Pine as the Saintess in the future but not her identity?
...Because of Magic Hat?
For some reason, the current Magic Hat had an obsessive fixation on me. If he'd done something to Pine, it was entirely possible.
"The Nameless Saintess dies in almost every future I see. Licht."
A magic circle appeared in the Sage's hand, and she held it up to my helmet.
"Ah, you might not get it even if I call you a hero? The futures I see are like this."
The chirping birds and rustling leaves in the wind felt vividly real, and the sudden environmental shift looked just like teleportation magic.
"For example, if I saw a future where 'you encounter monsters while walking a forest path'."
No sooner had she spoken than several goblins armed with small spears or branches appeared before my eyes.
"It could be goblins, or..."
With a flick of her hand, like a scene transition in a movie, the monster pack shifted to another type.
"...orcs or trolls might show up."
The enemies were now a mix of orcs and trolls—advanced monsters. With my current skills, I figured I could handle them, so I drew my sword and swung down, but there was no sensation of cutting.
"Even a low-probability dragon encounter is possible."
As if mocking me, the Sage continued.
A dragon boasting crimson-black scales charged at me as if to devour me whole. It felt like she was sharing the future she saw.
"...I was trying to scare you a little, but why isn't the hallucination magic working on you?"
"Probably because my magic circuits are all tangled up."
She seemed surprised at my calm demeanor even as the dragon gaped its jaws wide.
"A precognitive ability to visually see possible futures. Anyway, that's how it works."
A character who revealed all uncertain possible routes.
The Sage could brush off wrong routes with something like 'low probability, leading to another future.'
"The Nameless Saintess dies in every future I've seen."
The Sage delivered the shocking news. My hands trembled, my breathing grew ragged.
"Her pure white Saintess robes were soaked in blood. I couldn't confirm her face, but she seemed different from Sharutineth..."
No way—was there truly no possibility at all? I'd even helped create Pine's clone just yesterday. Had even her survival flag been crushed?
"...How does she die?"
"Killed by Magic Hat. With hundreds of cards, one by one..."
"Stop."
Damn it. As expected, no happy ending without taking down Magic Hat. Those vicious creators. Killing her off twice when once was enough.
With the Love Meter maxed out on top of that, it was a pretty tough challenge.
Stress throbbed in my head like a woodpecker hammering away.
Wait, if she still can't identify who...
The Sage hadn't recognized Pine's features—white hair, wolf ears.
The future was patchy?
Her ability showed all possible routes. This didn't add up.
Why wasn't the princess Pine mentioned? It kept nagging at me.
If Magic Hat's power was cloaking it in lies, making it invisible, then there was still hope.
"Is there a future where I kill that bastard?"
"...Possible? Licht?"
Of course. I'd already done it once.
Even if my gear was worse and my level lower than when I powered up Licht in the game, I had time—no reason I couldn't.
"Naturally."
"Impossible. You get captured by Magic Hat too. Want me to describe the torture?"
"...."
Think. Was there really no counter? The gear or tactics from Black Heart when I beat Magic Hat might work.
"What if I use Demon King Slayer or the magic sword Horizon? Does that show possibility, Sage?"
The item I'd impulse-bought at the auction house and used as a holy sword substitute.
A massive dark purple greatsword. An artifact that served as both armor and blade.
Thanks to it, in the game, I could ignore defense and just burst down Demon Kings.
It deflected most physical attacks—a total cheat item.
"Wait, you have a Demon King?!"
"No way. I'd just steal someone else's. Focus on that and check the future again."
The Sage jolted up from her seat in shock when I mentioned the magic sword. It was a corrupted holy sword of the hero.
I'd corrupted the Light Holy Sword to spew darkness when fighting Magic Hat. There were even guards who'd touched Head's revolver.
"...Not clear. This one's blurry. Let me check from your perspective again, Licht."
As expected, my game gear showed potential. The Sage's ability wasn't omniscience; she couldn't know everything at once.
Blurry meant salvageable. Magic Hat's lies might be obscuring parts too.
"Ah, but this..."
I was calming my pounding heart with relief when the Sage dropped another bombshell.
"Licht, why are you imprisoned by that black-haired beastkin woman?"
"....Pardon?"
Her demonic eyes narrowed as she interrogated me. Her cheeks flushed like she'd seen something unsightly. What was this?
No mention of this when asking about the Saintess earlier.
Had averting the Nameless Saintess future worked? Like spotting the wolf ears and tail, the Sage continued.
"Iron chains on the bed... black rose petals? Who did this to... Kyaa!"
Gazing into my future, the Sage yelped and toppled backward. The sudden scream drew stares from nearby students.
No soundproofing spell—big trouble.
"The woman over there noticed and cut off the precog. What the hell did you do?!"
The black-haired beastkin woman was probably Pine. She'd even sensed the Sage's future sight.
I swallowed hard. The terror of imprisonment in the imperial underground was real.
Imprisonment true love, proclaimed by a future-seer.
If not becoming the Nameless Saintess, she'd get obsessive?
Pine with black hair instead of white—my wild imaginings were becoming reality.
"Nothing else?"
"Sorry, it was pitch black around you."
Maybe she'd turned black-haired practicing attribute changes. That lesson with the Heavenly Demon had been a flag.
The in-game system was getting scary.
"...Thank you."
"You will tell Drake, right? I helped, yeah!"
"Of course."
I bid hurried goodbyes to escape. Our shared magic circuits let us sense each other's locations vaguely.
Last time with her clone, her position had felt too close too.
"I'll definitely pass it on."
Any more delay, and Pine would show up at the library. If she got jealous hearing this and chained me up for real, what then?
Asking Laplace about the magic sword would do—he knew the past.
The moment I burst through the library's front doors.
"Ah, Licht. Where were you..."
I ran smack into the culprit from that future.
Images of Pine chaining me to the bed flooded my mind.
Like a mouse facing its predator, I bolted straight for the headmaster's office.