Chapter 70
Chapter 70
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: The Changed Future (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-Crunch! Squish!
‘Kieeeek…!’
Seraphin was swiftly cleaning up the chaotic situation, taking out multiple lake serpents in a single flashy kick.
Her figure, shining as if illuminated by the full moon's light, nearly mesmerized me for a moment, but I snapped out of it and began assessing what was happening.
And rightly so, because that Third Imperial Princess was one of two people who absolutely should not be here right now.
The other one was, of course, Agnes.
Without the combo between Agnes and Seraphin, the King Serpent couldn't be defeated. Well, at least not by the key people here.
Unlike these level 4 mob monsters, the King Serpent was a level 10 boss monster.
As with all games, the boss monsters in Luminor Academy possessed strength on a completely different level from regular monsters.
One might scoff at the King Serpent being just level 10, but the mere title of "boss monster" changed everything entirely.
To take down a level 10 boss monster, you didn't need a "level 10 character"—you needed a "party of level 10 characters." Its power was amplified to that extent.
Even comparing raw health to a similar-level regular monster, it was nearly 20 times greater. Factor in defense and skills, and the danger multiplied several times over.
A monster on the level of the King Serpent could stand toe-to-toe with level 40 monsters without any sense of mismatch.
That's why I thought it would take both Agnes and Seraphin charging in together just to barely bring it down.
The moment even one of them dropped out of the plan, this monster wave would never end.
It was practically impossible to take out the entire horde of lake serpents numbering who-knows-how-many thousands. And even if it were possible, there wouldn't be any strength left to face the King Serpent.
Moreover, these monsters were still relentlessly targeting only humans, as if under someone's command. The most urgent priority was somehow defeating the boss monster and resolving this mess.
‘Shaaak…!’
-Thwack!
‘Kkiiiik…’
This was already the fourth lake serpent I'd slain lunging at me and Ridge.
Yet Seraphin, who should have gone to take out the King Serpent, was here right now.
She hadn't come to finish off the King Serpent and then clean up stragglers—so why had she come to support us here?
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't understand her actions. My mind began filling with guesses about what future Seraphin had seen.
What the hell did she see in her future vision?
Did her future sight not reflect the future where I protect Ridge?
Or had something I did when I met Seraphin led her to decide to save Ridge instead of Agnes?
As all sorts of questions swirled in my head, leaving me confused, the masked blonde princess passed through the south gate and walked toward me and Ridge.
Up until then, I was still questioning Seraphin's incomprehensible behavior.
“Lilith Rosewood.”
“...Haven't we already established we wouldn't use real names?”
“But we already know each other, so it doesn't matter, right?”
...Well, that's true.
What on earth had she seen in her future vision that even after seeing a future where she defeats the King Serpent with Agnes, she came to rescue Ridge?
The question rose in my throat, nearly spilling out as a rude demand.
But before that, Seraphin grabbed my hand and suddenly started running, dragging me along.
“What are you doing here... Wha—hey?!”
“Come on, let's go.”
“G-Go? Go where?!”
“Ah, these are your first high heels, aren't they, Miss Lilith? Running fast must be tough.”
“What are you even... Whoa?!”
“Excuse me for a moment.”
You're already doing it—where's the "excuse" in that!
Seraphin suddenly hooked her foot behind mine, tripping me backward. She caught my falling body in her arms.
I ended up in a princess carry in her arms, utterly bewildered and clueless about what was happening.
“I'll explain on the way. Time is of the essence right now.”
“What is it?! Why are you suddenly carrying me and running?!”
“Because I saw it.”
“Pardon?”
“A future where you and I subjugate the King Serpent together, Miss Lilith.”
...Seriously, what the hell did she see?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Seraphin appeared at the shelter full of questions, then suddenly scooped me up and dashed toward the imperial palace's west gate.
I clutched the short sword Ridge had given me, cradled in her arms as we headed to the west gate.
“Your Highness, this isn't the time! We need to take down the boss monster at the center of the wave first...”
“Yes. That's why I came to get you, Miss Lilith. Of the two futures I saw, cooperating with you was the smoother path.”
“What?!”
What the hell was this princess talking about?
If she'd seen the future, she should have flown straight to the west gate upon grasping the situation and prioritized the King Serpent over the mob monsters.
I couldn't comprehend why she was suddenly carrying me to the west gate.
The very idea that cooperating with me could take down the King Serpent was reckless.
After all, I was just a commoner debt maid from a duke's family, and thanks to the letter Ethan had sent beforehand, Seraphin was one of the few who already knew that.
“Y-You know I'm just a commoner maid, Your Highness!”
“...Yes. I nearly fell for that ditzy act of yours myself for a moment.”
“......Pardon?”
“You're hiding it, right? The fact that you're a commoner who can use magic.”
“......!”
“No point asking how I know. Sorry, Miss Lilith, but my future sight has never been wrong.”
...Ah, damn it.
If it weren't for the full moon, this never would have slipped.
Denying the Moonshadow Princess's once-a-month cheat-code future sight wouldn't work on her anyway.
I had no choice but to nod and accept her words.
“...Yes, you're right.”
“Normally, the empire itself would have protected you the moment a magic-using commoner was confirmed.”
“Ah...”
“Luckily, I'm the only one who knows right now.”
“......”
“I'll keep your secret, Lilith Rosewood.”
......Huh?
She's going to keep it hidden?
“What did you just...?”
“For whatever reason, you're hiding that you can use magic and living as a commoner.”
“...Of course. It'd be dangerous if it got out.”
“I'll keep quiet about what I saw in my future sight, so in return, you help make that future a reality, Miss Lilith.”
“...You mean the future where I take down the King Serpent with my magic?”
“For now, yes.”
...‘For now’? Just how far into the future did she see to come find me?
She'd seen me using magic to slay the King Serpent.
I didn't need her to explain further—I could already piece together the situation.
Among the magic I could use, there was only one spell capable of properly damaging the King Serpent.
Mana Blast.
I'd suspected as much the moment I heard I'd taken it down.
If her vision truly showed me defeating the King Serpent, then the only attack I could use against it was that one.
Confusion lingered, but from what Seraphin had told me, I could grasp the gist of how the story had changed.
...In the end, my intervention in the story had altered Seraphin's future sight, and she'd chosen this new path.
I didn't know why she insisted on dragging me to the west gate instead of quickly teaming up with Agnes to slay the King Serpent, but this was clearly the diverged storyline.
Agnes was probably cornered fighting the King Serpent at the west gate even now.
I still couldn't fathom why Seraphin—who always chose the path of minimal sacrifice in every story—would put Agnes in danger.
If she'd seen a future where Agnes was at the west gate defenses, she would have obviously prioritized aiding Agnes there first. After all, Seraphin would have confirmed through her future sight that the two of them could handle the King Serpent sufficiently.
But by choosing to come get me instead, Agnes was surely falling into greater peril by the second.
...Wait. If the switch in Seraphin's future sight targets—from Ridge to me—was what led to this odd decision,
then had the other target's future sight switched from Agnes to someone else too?
“Your Highness.”
“Yes, Miss Lilith?”
“...You said one of the futures you saw was you and I teaming up to defeat the King Serpent.”
“That's right, Miss Lilith.”
“If it's not too rude, could you tell me what the other future sight showed?”
Seraphin nodded with a slight smile, as if she'd anticipated the question.
Her answer was more than enough to leave me stunned.
“I saw two futures. One was, as I said, going to the south gate shelter, bringing you to the west gate, and then you and I cooperating to defeat the King Serpent there.”
“And the other...”
“The other was going to the east gate defenses to bring Miss Agnes to the west gate, then cooperating with her to defeat the King Serpent.”
“Wouldn't that have been far easier? Instead of going back and forth between south and west gates, just get Agnes from the east...”
...Hold on.
Did I hear that wrong?
“W-Wait a second, Your Highness. Could you repeat the second future?”
“The second future was defeating the King Serpent with Miss Agnes...”
“N-No, not that. Where did you say Agnes is right now?”
“...Miss Agnes is blocking the monsters at the imperial palace's east gate defenses.”
“......”
Then... who was defending the west gate?
I didn't know exactly how Orion defended the palace in the original history, but there was one clear fact.
The west gate—where the boss monster appeared—was entrusted to Agnes.
Yet the woman who should have been facing the boss was now blocking monsters at the east gate defenses.
It had to be accurate since it came from Seraphin's future sight; she could even see me, who wasn't supposed to be here originally.
Agnes was definitely holding the east gate.
...So then, who the hell was defending the west gate where the King Serpent was rampaging?
‘I may be weak, but I promise I won't get in the way.’
“...No way.”
A familiar face flashed through my mind, and I realized I'd overlooked one crucial fact all along.
...In the original story, I wasn't the only character who hadn't attended Seraphin's masked ball.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Argentia Empire Imperial Palace, West Gate Defenses.
“Haa... haa... haa...”
Ethan Richard Blackwood, eldest son of the Blackwood family.
He was now facing the greatest life-threatening crisis since birth, with his entire body.
‘Shaaaaaaaak!!!’
A massive monster lunged at him, its house-sized maw wide open, shrieking a bone-chilling scream that shook his soul.
Its overwhelming size—impossible to compare to other lake serpents—and movements far too swift and powerful for its bulk.
Facing a "boss monster" for the first time in his life, Ethan felt considerable pressure.
Gazing at the King Serpent, still unscratched on its scales, he thought quietly to himself.
This... is definitely more grueling than Father's training.
His body was already exhausted from battling dozens of lake serpents, yet he still stood guarding the palace west gate on his own two legs.
His trembling arms gripped the sword tightly, forcing his focus.
Ethan Richard Blackwood, heir to the Blackwood family, remained at the imperial palace west gate, holding the final line of defense.
With no one left to rely on, standing alone on the front lines.