Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Beneath the Verdant Tree ☆ (3)
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“…”
A street in the eastern district of Academy City.
The Prophet, cloaked in a black robe imbued with the power of the Abyss, read through the magazines and newspapers scattered across the quiet street.
“…”
Rumors were overflowing. Among them, the most prominent were stories about the Five Colors of Academy City… the game’s most powerful individuals.
*Flip—*
But the more he read, the more he felt lost in a labyrinth. Their stories were vastly different from what he knew.
Even considering that the game’s timeline was already past the midway point, the power inflation and growth paths were a complete mess.
Even Brynhildr… the character who, by design, possessed the greatest combat strength, seemed to have already achieved the ‘True Name Liberation of her weapon.’
‘That’ would certainly interfere with his plans.
His plans to change this world… into a world for those he had loved.
For that single goal,
he had endured all the backlash of his power and the passage of time.
“…”
The Prophet stared blankly at the magazine again.
All sorts of rumors abounded.
-[The Pink Spiral] actually used a forbidden power.
-[The Azure-White Lightning Spear] has been dating [The Pink Spiral] since their first year.
-It was her lover, [The Azure-White Lightning Spear], who taught her about the forbidden power.
-All forbidden powers are the result of experiments by in collusion with <ratatoskr>.
-In truth, it’s all a conspiracy by .
-The strongest right now might be [The Crimson Trajectory] or [The Violet Spindle].
-The Five Colors of Academy City are actually in a messy love affair.
-The potatoes handed out by [The Verdant Greatbow] contain tiny ether robots that brainwash people into believing in a cult.
-A mysterious energy emanates from the ears of beast-kin students.
“…This reads like some poorly written fanfiction.”
*Thump—*
The Prophet tossed the magazine, filled with all sorts of ‘I heard that’ claims, into a trash can. The more he read, the more he felt like his brain was taking damage.
“…”
He pruned away all the branches of the rumors. In the end, the story of begins with <central prism="" academy="">.
was currently completely empty.
He had sent Góinn, the male half of the [Twin Priests], to scout,
but all four of them had already fled to .
And the common thread in all the rumors was a connection to one person.
“The … [The Azure-White Lightning Spear] Brynhildr is looking after <central prism="" academy="">.”
Continuous support.
Continuous favoritism.
Why?
Why was Brynhildr helping the protagonist’s party?
She was a character he once liked, but in the game, she was relentlessly selfish and cold up to a certain point. She wasn’t the type of character to give things away like this.
‘Even before resolving the issues related to … she already had a connection with the <united student="" council="">.’
No, going back even further, the changes had started in her first year.
“[The Pink Spiral] Clara… changed after meeting [The Azure-White Lightning Spear].”
The weakest character momentarily became the strongest…
‘The forbidden power.’
That was knowledge that never appeared in the game.
Knowledge that only those at the highest echelons of this world would know… the knowledge of the ancient beast gods.
“Brynhildr.”
It was highly likely that she… was a reincarnator, just like him.
She probably took a liking to Clara for some reason and tried to nurture her.
“To think that the adversary I meet in the future is the strongest character, who became stronger earlier than in the original story…”
It was truly a troublesome situation.
Even so.
For ‘them,’ he would overcome it.
For that was the final promise he had made.
“…”
*Swoosh—*
The Prophet vanished into the darkness, along with his abyssal robe.
\*
After parting ways with my senior, I met up with Kara, who had been away on a trip, and we started walking.
Between the modest and elegant white buildings, in an alleyway covered with numerous wide awnings, countless students could be seen.
Colorful fruits and flowers were piled up like mountains among the market alleys, reminiscent of a traditional European market.
As we reached the market filled with white buildings,
I instinctively took a deep breath.
My sensitive senses detected the body odors of the many people enjoying the summer harvest festival and the thick air, but if I focused, I could… perceive only the scents I wanted to smell.
“*Inhale—☆ Exhale☆*”
Orange.
Yellow.
Green.
As if painting on a white canvas, the scents of summer fruits and flowers seeped into my lungs. It was a fragrance like a subtle fruit juice.
“*Inhale—☆ Exhale☆*”
Watching me, Kara nodded in understanding.
“The scent here is indeed quite pleasant.”
“Yup♪ All sorts of fruits gather here every day… Because of the particularly strong power of the World Tree in this land, the harvests never fail☆”
“If you lived here, you’d probably always smell of fruits and flowers, so you wouldn’t need perfume.”
The white-eared folk did have a particularly fragrant scent.
Was it because they were cultists who needed to make a good impression on others?
‘…Oops, I should stop with the racist remarks.’
I keep trying not to make racist remarks,
but when they act exactly as they look, I can’t help it.
“But Kara, you don’t usually wear perfume, do you? Since you’re here, why not take in a lungful of this air~☆”
“Heh heh…! The scent of a craftswoman’s body is sufficient with the smell of oil. Besides, the artisan village where I was adopted was full of dwarves who all smelled of oil… I’m used to it.”
Kara smiled refreshingly.
“…”
I felt like I understood the source of Kara’s reckless lifestyle. She had been following the life patterns of those she had seen since childhood… the machine-lifeform dwarves.
And so, I learned another piece of her backstory not mentioned in the game.
‘No, still, when you live with people, you should wash… I’ve seen you go to bed without washing sometimes.’
But I didn’t voice my nagging.
I was just a flimsy pink-hair, and if I acted up, I could end up on the bottom.
That day I told Hilde that overly intense displays of affection were not okay.
-Without getting caught…? Lara, you are quite bold.
Didn’t I hear those words as I was about to be pinned under the desk?
‘If Astrid hadn’t shown up right before the fourth joint conference, I would have become a plucked flower in a public place…’
I wasn’t mentally prepared to become a plucked flower for Hilde alone just yet. …I would someday, but not now.
‘Thanks, you role-playing addict. I’ll give you a big reaction one of these days.’
Thus, a pink-hair gets into big trouble if she acts up.
“Phew…☆”
“…?”
Anyway, my flimsy pink-haired nature aside.
Just as Kara analogized, living here would probably make one smell nice. The predominantly vegetarian diet and the school itself, which felt like a temple stay, contributed to that.
If I lived in this cultish rural temple for another year, I felt like I would turn into a pink-haired doll with a natural fruit scent.
‘Since I’m Clara herself now, does that make me a life-sized, moving 1/1 scale figure?’
I would become `[ 1/1 Scale Clara - [The Saintess of Sacrifice] (Strawberry Scented)]`. A very soft and well-made doll. Even what’s under the clothes would be fully rendered.
If that happened…
I would probably be displayed in a dark room in Hilde’s mansion. When the darkness deepened, I might become not a fragrant doll, but a damp and smelly one.
‘…Because that is the fate of a pink-hair.’
Having naturally pink hair is a terrifying thing.
It’s a slow corruption in the dim light of desire.
Someday, I might wear a risqué leotard swimsuit and sway my hips to seduce Hilde.
Or maybe I’d do whatever challenge dance is trending at the time.
“…”
No… perhaps it would be a bunny girl outfit. Isn’t that a cheat code that can be used in any Western-style fantasy game?
It would be a white bunny girl costume, perfect for emphasizing the scars from the story’s progression and her figure. Her shoulders would be completely bare.
And of course, white stockings.
No one dislikes the combination of white and pink, so it would definitely be a white bunny and white stockings combo. I’d bet on it.
I’d bet my otaku career, the figures in my now-relic of an apartment, and my entire collector’s edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
I predict…
The alternate theme color for ‘Clara’ will definitely be [White].
‘Those cruel and heartless developers would absolutely do it.’
To drain the premium currency of their monthly subscribers,
they would pour their souls into emphasizing the butt and chest in the illustration.
Then they’d add some text in the description about it being a penalty outfit. She’d be raising both hands with her armpits exposed, on the verge of tears.
When you set her on the home screen.
A punishment where she trembles and writhes in embarrassment.
They’d even implement the trembling of her skin with meticulous 2D graphic techniques.
And…
‘T-This is just what the status window told me to do! I’m not seriously trying to seduce you…☆’
…she would spout such ridiculous nonsense.
Just imagining it sent a cold sweat down my back.
“Phew…☆”
I let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness.
Bunny girl outfits don’t exist in this world.
And status windows don’t exist either.
For the past three years, I haven’t received any tragic revelations that would strip me of my agency, like 【You must seduce your opponent in a bunny girl outfit (Failure results in death)】.
I am safe from the clutches of the status window.
“…”
Status window.
‘Status window…?’
Oh.
A sudden chill ran down my spine.
‘Come to think of it, did I ever try shouting ‘status window’ on my first day of reincarnation?’
No.
I hadn’t.
From the start, Frida had found me abandoned and without a place to go, clutching my red bicycle—Red Hare.
There was never a chance to shout ‘status window.’
“…”
What if the ‘Prophet’s’ ability was a status window?
What if that’s how he monopolized the opportunities of the original characters,
and built a harem with the girls…?
What if he was cooperating with in exchange for an eternity of debauchery?
“…!”
I got my pretty ‘Clara’ face beaten to a pulp to get strong on my own… but if that guy got a free ride with the click of a button, I don’t think I could sleep from the sheer frustration.
Status window.
What a dreadful existence.
If a status window suddenly appeared one day and gave me a mission like 【Seduce 4 men until their affection reaches 100% (Failure results in death)】… could I handle it?
‘No…! I can’t handle a future like that!’
I have to check right now.
With a trembling heart, I shouted.
“S-Status Window—☆ Status Open—☆”
…
…
…
Nothing happened.
Thank goodness.
The status window did not exist.
It seemed I wouldn’t receive an unreasonable mission to seduce men without Hilde finding out.
Besides, I’m a pink-hair. It’s hard to even imagine what a creepy and dark outlet for desire I would become.
Just thinking about it gives me the shivers.
“Thank goodness…☆”
“…?”
Beside me, Kara tilted her head.
Unaware of the tragic fate of a pink-hair, she was smiling faintly as she watched me take deep breaths over and over.
“Comrade Senior, is the scent really that good? You’ve been inhaling like that for a while.”
“But I love that it smells like fruit every time I walk through here—☆ Look, the fruit is piled up like a mountain over there!”
Kara looked over and gave me a baffled expression.
“Hmm, I don’t find it proper to display food so ostentatiously, piled up like a mountain, but—”
Oh, is it starting? The ‘revolution’ of the revolutionary warrior… against the bourgeoisie who waste food!
‘I mean, she stayed quiet even after seeing the military-style operations of , which I guess is because she confirmed its leader, Hilde, runs things fairly. But there’s no way a revolutionary warrior would stand by and watch the misdeeds of another school…’
To my disappointment, Kara just shrugged and said.
“ is the agricultural zone of Academy City, and this is left out for passersby to eat… so, it’s not really my place to say anything, is it?”
“…”
I had noticed something during the half-year I’d spent with Kara. She had bad habits like not washing, chewing loudly, and wandering around in her underwear… but strangely, she was very good at not crossing the line.
‘Honestly, I thought she’d be the one causing the most trouble with her strong gag-character image, but she’s never actually put me in a truly difficult situation.’
Where in the world did that outstanding troublemaking potential from the game get sucked into? Her sweaty armpits? The panties she just leaves on the floor?
I spoke to the problem child who only wreaks havoc at home.
“Kara, you’re always going on about revolution, revolution, but you’re surprisingly good at understanding each school’s rules—☆”
“Comrade Senior is already causing a ruckus all over Academy City. If I did too, I wouldn’t be able to face Comrades Alvitt and Lotha, would I?”
“…Ahaha—☆”
Oops.
So my troublemaking tendencies absorbed hers