Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Am I Rushing?
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Am I rushing?
Image is incredibly important.
Cecilia's changes were well within acceptable limits.
Aren's appearance had changed, but his personality remained the same.
The rest of the playable characters were also within the bounds of what I'd imagined.
Mine, however, was the exception.
She was the first true case of character derailment I'd encountered since entering this world.
Over the past month, Mine had become able to enter dungeons.
No, more precisely, it was the fictional character Logia that she created who could.
Logia was a mercenary who handled both damage dealing and healing.
There was a saying that a true supporter wasn't someone who healed damage, but someone who found and eliminated its source.
Logia fit that description perfectly.
Thanks to her, we'd been able to tackle the Spider Dungeon and the four lower dungeons, followed by the four upper ones.
Mine's standing in the academy had risen sharply as well.
Word of her overcoming her dungeon phobia had spread far and wide.
"What are your plans for today? Another dungeon run?"
"No, I've got something to take care of."
"Then no need to call on Logia."
But Logia wasn't some split personality.
Mine was acutely aware, in a strangely lucid way, that Logia was a fictional character she'd created—and that she was the one role-playing as her.
She knew it was all just an act to deceive herself.
But there were problems.
First off, Logia was ultimately just a character Mine was portraying.
She wasn't someone who could instantly jump into action in a crisis.
Moreover, to summon Logia, Mine had to take Jauncho right before entering a dungeon.
The biggest issue, though, came after the dungeon clears, when she reverted back to Mine.
All the sensations from slashing monsters as the mercenary Logia and venturing into the dungeon flooded back into Mine intact.
And to forget those sensations, she dove back into being Logia.
Jauncho itself wasn't addictive.
But she was getting hooked on the role-playing.
Every time I saw her like that, she felt like a rubber band stretched taut, on the verge of snapping.
And one day, after a dungeon run, I saw her smiling while her hand trembled around the mace—and I realized.
Once that rubber band snapped, there'd be no going back.
'What have I done?'
In the original story, Mine overcame her trauma on her own.
She was that kind of resilient person.
Of course, it came at the cost of sacrifices from those dear to her, so I'd sought a way to help her grow without any losses.
Yet the very suggestion I'd made to accelerate her overcoming the trauma was the thing eating away at her instead.
"Go ahead and rest today."
"Yes. If there's no dungeon to go into, I should rest too."
"And no Jauncho."
"Hehe. I'm all out anyway. No classes until herbology tomorrow, so no chance."
'No dungeon to go into, huh.'
Even those words stabbed at my chest.
I'd erased the line between playable characters and extras in this world.
I'd decided to treat them all as living, breathing humans.
But at some point, it felt like I'd inverted priorities.
Was I, in trying to save the others, burdening the playable characters I cared about and immersed in with unbearable loads?
"But Halibal having business? That's new. You usually don't bother with other stuff."
"I've got someone to meet."
"Ooh, a date?!"
"Not quite."
So I'd resolved to pull myself together.
The person I was meeting today was none other than Adelin.
I'd never imagined asking her for counseling, but there were things I wanted to hear.
About Mine's current state and the Jauncho, and what I should do going forward.
⁎⁎⁎
"Excuse me."
After classes, I knocked on Adelin's instructor office door.
A lively voice came from beyond.
"You, asking for counseling first? Is the sky about to fall?"
It was Adelin.
In her instructor office, she exuded a refined air compared to her rough-and-tumble military days.
She just screamed "instructor."
"Anything different about me?"
Wait, what kind of question was that?
Stay calm.
I calmly scanned her surroundings.
Her limb movements felt subtly off.
"...Changed your training routine?"
"Whoa, figured it out in one? My student's got the eye. Another one?"
"......"
"Ugh! Knew it. I'm the fool for expecting more."
While I hunted for changes, she brought out tea and sliced cake.
"The academy's great for stuff like this. Snacks are so good, I'm packing on the pounds."
"Doesn't look like you've gained any."
"What a rude thing to say. But don't worry—it's all going to the right places."
Adelin proudly thrust out her chest.
I didn't ask where exactly.
"Anyway, what's up? Spill it all to your big sis."
I laid out the current situation and everything about Mine.
Surprisingly, Adelin stayed quiet throughout.
Arms crossed, listening intently—it was a side of her I'd never seen in the unit.
"So I don't know what to do."
"What do you mean, what to do? Drop it."
"......Pardon?"
Adelin's conclusion was simple and clear-cut.
Of course, I couldn't accept it.
"If she wants to go to dungeons that bad, take the princess. Or Cecilia and Aren. Oh, Eugene and Senia. Luna's fine too."
"......That's."
"There are tons of kids dying to hit dungeons. Why push the one who hates it? No need."
Adelin was saying that because she didn't know how much Mine could shine in the Undead Dungeon.
She was on a whole other level compared to the others.
When I made a dissatisfied face, Adelin added seriously.
"You know what? I've thought this since you first joined Stormstrike Squad. Your perspective's a bit different from everyone else's."
"......Perspective?"
"Not like goals. Literal field of view. You aware you've always acted detached from the group in the unit?"
Her words hit home; my voice faltered.
It was natural she'd notice something off.
Even Cecilia, after just a month together, had sensed unease in my combat moves.
Adelin, with more experience and far more time with me, couldn't possibly miss it.
As if she knew I was racking my brain, she continued without pressing.
"Thanks to that view, we've pulled off things others wouldn't even dream of trying, and you developed your swordsmanship."
"......"
"You've said it yourself a bunch: genius. Dunno about that, but don't force your view on others."
'Don't force it.'
"Can you really see people properly from that far away?"
"Pardon?"
"Don't just stand there—come here and look."
Adelin patted the spot next to her on the sofa.
The moment I sat, she yanked my shoulder, pulling my head onto her lap.
My head hit her thigh in an instant.
I flailed to escape, but against Adelin, it only made her arms clamp tighter around my upper body.
"What the—"
"Shh. Hold still!"
Through her lap, I felt the softness of her thigh.
Softer than expected.
Guess she wasn't lying about it going to the right places.
"How's this?"
"......How's what."
"What do you see right now?"
Adelin looked down at me.
'What do I see?'
The same golden hair and golden eyes as always.
Faintly flushed pink cheeks and ears.
Between them, lips tinged with a subtle red hue.
"Did you... put on makeup?"
"Right. You spot the training change instantly, but miss the makeup."
"Sorry."
"See? You gotta get this close to notice some things."
Adelin grinned mischievously.
"I don't know how you're seeing Mine, but I've known her a while too. The Mine I see can overcome her trauma on her own. No need to shove her."
"......"
"And same for you. No one's shoving you. No one's forcing you to tackle the Demon God's Abyss or fight the church."
This was the first time I'd had such a serious talk with Adelin.
Back in the unit, I'd seen her more as a training dummy than a mentor.
After shifting my view of her, one-on-ones were rare.
Thinking back, what was it?
'Why was I rushing to clear the third abyss before break?'
Busy with other stuff during break?
That "stuff" was just farming.
After farming, the fourth abyss.
Second semester, fifth...
Second year, sixth...
Beat the Demon God before graduation...
'Am I the one rushing?'
I was rushing.
But why?
The reason was missing.
No catastrophe if I didn't hit the Undead Dungeon right now.
So why was I pushing Cecilia, Aren, and Mine so hard?
From the start.
'What happens if I clear all seven dungeons?'
There was definitely something.
The trigger that made me think I had to rush the Demon God's dungeons.
But for some reason, fog clouded my mind; I couldn't recall it.
'Was I on the rubber band too?'
Before I knew it, Adelin's hand pressing me down was gently stroking my hair.
"Dirgeblade this, empire's hero that—to me, you're just my student."
Even in the unit, she'd ruffle my hair sometimes.
"I want you to be happy. Ever since I pulled your wrecked self from that dungeon."
Back then, it was rough.
But then, and now,
I let her hand rest on my head obediently.
'Replan... maybe?'
The tea on the table was cooling.
⁎⁎⁎
The counseling with Adelin took longer than expected.
Not just lying around, either.
I'd asked for swordsmanship guidance after ages, and she'd happily obliged, rules be damned.
"I'll talk to the herbology instructor and block Jauncho harvesting for a bit. Sounds risky from what you said."
She told me as I headed for the door.
"I gave you an earful, but Mine's got issues too. Looks like she needs counseling. I'll call her in tomorrow."
Thanks in every way.
"Thanks for today."
"No biggie. Swing by whenever you need your big sis. Or even if you don't."
She laughed and patted her thigh.
I didn't react.
When I stepped out of the instructor office, sunset glowed through the windows.
I'd turned down Adelin's dinner invite.
Planned to eat with Mine.
To tell her not to overdo the dungeons and ease her mental load.
When I picked up my core to contact her, several messages were already waiting.
[Contact - Raphael]
[Contact - Raphael]
[Contact - Raphael]
'What the?'
Raphael was Mine's Abyss Core.
Why so many missed calls?
I called right back, but no connection.
Weird.
After the Doll Dungeon, the empire's comms network had been bolstered.
Unless the distance was extreme, connections always went through.
Just a few hours after classes—no way she'd gone far.
Only one reason for no contact.
'......Did she enter a dungeon?'
Over the past month, she'd gone solo as Logia sometimes.
But.
'She said she was out of Jauncho...'
No Jauncho, no dungeon for her.
She couldn't.
Yet no contact meant only one thing: dungeon.
I rushed to the tram stop and asked Renee, who was tending the sheep.
To hit a dungeon from the academy, you needed trams or trains.
Renee, with eyes everywhere at stops, might know Mine's whereabouts.
『The saintess headed to Angel Plains.』
Angel Plains.
Site of the Centipede Dungeon.
A high-difficulty upper dungeon, impossible for Mine solo.
『Looked bad. Muttering 'please... please...'』
Something had gone down.
Something so urgent she ran to the dungeon without even donning the Logia mask.
I checked the Angel Plains tram schedule.
Problem: those trams ran infuriatingly infrequently.
'2 hours 42 minutes? Damn it.'
As I paced frantically, Renee chuckled.
『Need a hand?』
She extended her translucent hand.
Over the past month, I'd confirmed my hypothesis.
Once-visited stations let you enter Halibal Dungeon, and inside, teleport between saved spots.
Renee's offer: enter dungeon here, exit at Angel Plains stop.
I took her hand.
『Quick on the uptake. Nice.』
Familiar floatiness hit, vision shifting to the crystal shrine.
『Alright then. Where to, sir?』
No hesitation—I pointed to the Angel Plains door.