Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Eve of the Storm
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For several days, I had been staying at the royal palace, fully immersed in research to create the vein.
The kingdom's mages were undoubtedly exceptional talents, producing results far faster than I had anticipated.
Due to the nature of mages, their intellectual curiosity toward the unknown was immense, so there was no need to urge them on—they were practically living in the lab, pulling all-nighters as if it were routine.
Separate from the satisfaction of pioneering the unknown, King Orpheus's promise of great rewards upon success had also fueled their enthusiasm.
I, too, was holed up in the lab as much as possible, working alongside them.
It was a precious opportunity to naturally absorb knowledge from these highly skilled mages.
"For now, how about we proceed with this concept?"
In the center of the lab floated a massive mana-formed image of the vein.
It had an elephant's trunk, a body thick and sturdy like a bear's.
Its claws were sharp like a tiger's, and its eyes seemed greedily searching for something.
"Good. Let's go with this."
It closely matched the concept of the vein I knew, so I nodded.
This research wasn't created solely through rational outcomes.
The entire team had to share the same concept and vision of the yokai to bring it to fruition.
At my response, several mages cheered and dove back into the work.
Now we had to enter discussions for detailed settings of the proper vein.
How its trunk moved when seeking nightmares, how it devoured dreams, what happened to the consumed dreams, and so on.
It was essentially an act of creation, so the mages were tense yet unable to hide their excitement.
"Deus!"
The lab door burst open, and Princess Elenoa entered. As she had done many times before, she strode in purposefully and looked at me with a slightly displeased expression.
The mages preparing for the meeting took it as their familiar break time, rubbing their tired eyes or sipping coffee.
"Reality, right?"
I'd heard this question from her so many times that I'd gained quite a few insights.
The strongest realization was about the subjects that piqued the princess's interest.
"Krong. The dinosaur friend of the penguin I mentioned last time, the one with the green body."
"Hmm? Isn't that Dooly, the one with the green body you told me about before?"
"It's similar, but different."
I'd shared all sorts of information with the princess.
From historical figures to knowledge of complex theories.
Even everyday tools that were commonplace on Earth, and internet memes.
But what ultimately captured her interest the most were characters from animations.
In fact, she had once demanded character details like ordering food, brushing off boring theories, which had annoyed me a bit.
"Similar but different? Come out for a sec! Explain it to me!"
Now it truly felt like she was seeking me out not because of nightmares, but pure curiosity for new knowledge.
As I stood silently, reluctant, she raised her voice slightly and called out to the other mages behind me.
"Everyone's working hard. Take a break."
"Yes, understood!"
They listened well.
Using her authority to force a break, the princess grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside.
She led me to the palace garden, sitting on a bench in front of the vast flowerbed, and handed me a notebook and pen.
"Draw it."
This was who-knows-how-many times now. The back pages of the notebook were filled with drawings: penguin-inspired characters, the eternally five-year-old troublemaker, the cat robot that pulled anything from its pouch, and more.
Familiarly moving the pen, I heard the black necromancer, who had been holding her breath beside me, whisper cautiously.
[The princess isn't looking at the drawing—she's just staring at you.]
I know.
So just shut up.
The princess, who had started with sneaky glances, was now openly staring right at me.
Honestly, asking me to draw characters might just be an excuse.
"How have the nightmares been lately?"
As I moved the pen, I naturally shifted the topic. Princess Elenoa snapped to attention and answered hurriedly.
"Oh? Uh, yeah. Thanks to you, Deus, I notice them easily now. Actually, there's one more difference between reality and dreams that I know? It helps me avoid getting caught."
"Hmm?"
Because of that, she no longer needed to distinguish reality from dreams through it, leaving the nightmare stalled, unable to find more discrepancies.
"Don't you mimic me?"
"Yeah, I do. But it repeats things I've heard before or jumbles them into nonsense. In my dream, that's naturally information I already know."
She smiled brightly, looking pleased.
"I can't say something fresh and new like you, Deus."
After roughly sketching Krong, I handed her the notebook.
Princess Elenoa beamed at Krong and lit up with joy.
"I like this one."
Toward the princess, who seemed happier than usual, I offered my hypothesis.
"It doesn't share everything about you, Your Highness."
If it heard all her thoughts and words, it wouldn't need to probe differences one by one through dreams in the first place.
"Also, it's ignorant. It hasn't grasped even the basic framework of the world."
For instance, it couldn't reproduce scents or mana in the dream.
It was oblivious to such fundamental yet invisible elements.
"And its creativity is sorely lacking. It can imitate, but it can't recreate or innovate on its own."
"Hmm."
Princess Elenoa looked somewhat displeased, but I continued.
"It's getting anxious now. So it'll easily reveal its desires. How about it? Have you noticed any specific goals or behavioral patterns?"
"Hmm."
Crossing her arms and pondering briefly, Elenoa racked her brain before tentatively offering,
"It likes mimicking me. Like etiquette, the way it speaks to people around, its gait, stuff like that."
"......"
[It's blatantly saying it wants to become Elenoa.]
I agreed with the black necromancer.
But.
Something felt off.
It wanted to become Elenoa, sure, but there seemed to be a crucial difference.
At any rate, it was now certain.
'The Elenoa I met in the game had already been possessed.'
The princess before me now and the one in the game were similar yet starkly different.
Sensing she didn't want to dwell on this topic, I smoothly changed the subject.
"Still having trouble sleeping lately?"
"I've gotten used to it. Thanks to you, I can study nonstop without rest, so it's not so bad."
Her eyes were slightly shadowed as she said that. But she glanced at me and smiled as if to say not to worry.
"Good, right? Even when I return to Robern Academy, I won't fall behind. With such thorough previewing, I might even take first place this time?"
"......"
"A princess can't embarrassingly lag in grades."
I didn't bother responding.
I thought it didn't matter, but it seemed her royal duties included academic performance.
"And Deus. You're not forgetting our promise, are you?"
"......"
Promise?
As I looked at her questioningly, Elenoa pouted.
"The code phrase, duh. You promised to say it first before I ask, if you see me first."
That must have been the reason for her displeasure earlier.
"Don't you always come find me first, Your Highness?"
So naturally, I never got the chance to say it first. At that, she crossed her arms again, grumbling with nothing to say.
"Tch, and I even prepared my response."
"......Hah."
Seeing her puff out her cheeks, I wondered if this was really the princess I knew.
The protagonist Aria Rias was too mature compared to her game self, while one of the bosses, Elenoa, was excessively childish.
I shared a story she would like.
"There's something called a magical girl. Ordinary girls living normal lives meet animals with mystical powers, don magical dresses, and defeat evil."
"......!"
Before she could ask, I volunteered the info first. Glancing as if to say, "This what you wanted?" Elenoa cleared her throat awkwardly.
Proudly delivering her prepared line,
"This is definitely reality!"
"......Was that all you wanted to say?"
"Yep! I wanted to declare it myself, not hear it from you, Deus."
In a great mood and smiling, Elenoa immediately shoved the notebook back at me.
"But magical girl? What's that? Looks super fun?"
It was exactly the kind of thing a princess would love, so I mentioned it. Having spent childhood summers glued to the TV at my grandma's, I knew about magical girls.
Not really my taste, but I liked that they defeated villains.
Magical girls often fought ghosts and spirits, giving me a sense of vicarious satisfaction.
"Explain!"
"......I can't go into detail."
It was a childhood memory.
I started describing what came to mind vaguely.
Elenoa jumped with excitement, saying it sounded amazing, then suddenly looked at me and asked,
"But Deus, do you like this stuff?"
"......"
I regretted mentioning it.