Something Is Strange (3)
Something Is Strange (3)
"Then I shall take my leave for today. I will visit once a week from now on."
"Good. Don't forget what I told you."
Seth grinned.
'If this is real, the First Prince's faction is going to see our standing rise dramatically.'
His deal with Olivia had been extremely satisfactory. If he had his way, he would have met her every single day to trade information, not just once a week.
It was only a shame that security made that impossible.
"I am grateful for your goodwill. I will put what you've told me to good use."
After Seth left, Olivia scratched her head furiously.
"Haaaah... My head hurts like a bitch."
Damn regression.
If it were just one or two, maybe it'd be manageable, but with fifteen of them, the things she had to keep track of were maddeningly numerous.
'Melina, you hag! Why the hell is she doing that? Why!'
Melina's rampage was something Olivia had never predicted.
Why?
Because before accumulating any Favorability, Melina was practically a sociopath. Melina was an insufferable old crone who listened to everyone like their words were garbage and never held back her venomous tongue.
That Melina had regressed, so Olivia naturally assumed she would become even colder...
But what had she done? She sang songs about bringing her apprentice back, clawed at the walls with her fingernails, collapsed in tears?
It was like she was doing a publicity campaign announcing her own regression.
'I'm seriously going to lose my mind.'
In truth, Olivia had something she had been relying on to an extent.
The so-called regressor classification.
Based on her thousands of runs of experience, Olivia had divided regressors broadly into two categories.
The first were those for whom not changing the future was the advantage.
They already possessed such extensive prior knowledge and information that they could extract maximum profit without needing to alter the future.
Changing the future would actually put them at a disadvantage, because it would create variables they could not predict.
The prime example in this category was Princess Aria.
And the second category were those for whom changing the future was the advantage.
The Southern Conflict Zone, the Eastern Port City, the Free City of Michelangelo...
The guardians of each city.
These were people who carried the lives of hundreds of thousands on their shoulders.
For them, eliminating the immediate threats in front of their eyes took priority over searching for an Olivia whose location they didn't even know.
They knew how to protect their homelands and their families more effectively. They had no reason not to alter the future.
Though they were all regressors, the two groups approached their regression in such completely different ways.
This difference was what Olivia had been counting on.
Unless the regressors were idiots, they would at least realize that the world was unfolding differently from what they remembered.
Once they did, they'd make the very rational deduction that there might be other regressors besides themselves.
So then, from here, how would the regressors act?
Would they reveal their regression to the whole world and try to draw the attention of the other regressors?
Or...
Would they quietly hide and feel things out?
Naturally, it was the latter.
Why?
'Because they don't know I exist.'
The precondition for the regressors to form an alliance was the existence of a common enemy named Olivia.
Which meant that if Olivia did not exist, they had no reason to ally with one another.
Why?
A serial killer, a Dragon Lord with misanthropy as a passive trait.
An Imperial Princess of the most noble bloodline, and a Revolutionary who loathed the class system.
She had only listed four out of fourteen, and it was already this much of a mess.
Without Olivia, an alliance between the regressors could never be formed.
'There's a reason Lactea isn't called a newbie-killing game for nothing. The continent is already hell before the Demon God even Descends.'
The continent had already been at war even without the regression. She couldn't even begin to imagine the disaster that would unfold once regression was added to the mix.
Of course, whether it became a disaster or not was not Olivia's concern.
There was only one thing Olivia had to be careful about.
'As long as they don't discover the fact that I exist in this world, that's all that matters.'
The only person on the continent who definitively knew of Olivia's existence was Kiel.
No one else knew this. All they could know was that "Olivia was not in the City of Beginnings" and that "Olivia did not enroll in the Imperial Academy."
The regressors probably felt as though Olivia had simply vanished into thin air.
Because a person who should have been there was gone.
The greatest threat had disappeared, so their gazes would naturally turn to their surroundings.
Of course, there would be some who wouldn't stop there and remained suspicious to the end...
'But I'm not planning on leaving the North, so what are they gonna do about it?'
They would ultimately have no choice but to change their minds.
Anyway, returning to the main point, there was only one reason Melina's rampage was a problem.
Suppose someone had run wild for days, screaming her disciple’s name, only to return completely to normal one week later.
How would the other regressors interpret that?
Would they think, "Wow, that's Melina for you. She overcame it with sheer mental fortitude!"
'Of course they're going to think I came and went!'
That was why she had ordered the information to be blocked. At the very least, to stop it from crossing the border.
To summarize.
Rumors that "the Gold Tower Lord lost her mind while searching for her missing apprentice!" could spread.
Since the existence of other regressors was bound to become known eventually.
But.
The rumor that "the crazed Gold Tower Lord regained her sanity!" must not cross the border.
Because it would expose Olivia's presence.
That was the conclusion.
Was it fine for this rumor to spread within the Empire?
It was fine.
Because aside from Melina and Kiel, the only regressor affiliated with the Empire was Aria.
And even if Aria in her current state heard the rumor that Melina had recovered her senses, there was nothing she could do about it.
She would realize Olivia existed, but she wouldn't be able to relay that fact to anyone else.
'Because the Night Crows are absolutely intent on placing the First Prince on the throne. Whatever Aria tries to send to anyone else, they'll censor it no matter what.'
This was why you couldn't afford to make an enemy of the intelligence division.
Of course, Aria would find a way eventually. She would somehow extract pledges of loyalty from every noble and ascend to the throne.
Maybe not for anyone else, but for Princess Aria, it was possible.
When that time came, she'd be able to inform the regressors of other nations about Olivia's existence.
But...
By then, at least half of them would have already been swayed to her side.
"To make that happen, I'll need to deal with Melina first."
A message window appeared before Olivia's eyes.
[Main Quest]
- Clue # 1 - Acquired
- Clue # 2 - Not Acquired
.
.
.
- Clue # 15 - Not Acquired
She had to go. She needed to clear this to find out whether the Ending’s prerequisite was No-Kill, Genocide, or whatever the hell else it might be.
If she had her way, she wanted to leave Melina in that state for now and start with the other regressors...
[Clues can only be acquired in sequential order!]
But that was no longer an option.
"Hoo... Fine. Let's go. I have to go."
Olivia lifted her head. The sun was just setting.
[Skill 'Teleport' activated.]
It was time to go get the second Clue.
*****
It was a little awkward to mention it now that everything was over, but Kiel had been quite easy to subdue.
Because there hadn't been a single witness around, and no one would have suspected a thing even if he disappeared for an entire week.
But Melina was different.
The Gold Tower was located in the imperial capital. And not in the outskirts, but in the very center.
If she fought Melina in a place like that, she wouldn't just be worrying about information control—she'd have to start worrying about when Aria and her expeditionary force of thirteen would be assembled.
Olivia walked through the mountain, thinking.
'Wait, does Melina have some kind of regressor bonus or whatever, too?'
She could generously make an exception and understand it for Kiel. Because compared to his prime, his Level was a full ten levels lower.
But Melina was different. For her, this very moment was her prime.
So for the sake of fairness, some damn special bonus shouldn't even exist.
'...But I just know it probably does.'
A sigh escaped her automatically.
But what could she do? Melina wasn't going to be the last one like this.
She'd just have to think of it as practice.
"Ehh, that's just my luck, I guess."
Olivia stopped where the mountain ended. Far in the distance, she could see the capital.
The night view of the capital from the mountainside was quite beautiful. To her left, she could see the Imperial Palace, and to her right, the Gold Tower.
'At this distance, it's roughly...'
Olivia stretched her hand toward the Gold Tower and roughly gauged the distance.
"Just about perfect."
It narrowly fell within an Archmage's perception range.
Shhk.
Olivia pulled out her staff and began to draw a Magic Circle on the ground.
[Skill 'Ice Orb' activated.]
A freezing sphere materialized from the circle. The area around it began to freeze slowly.
Crackle.
The ground, unable to withstand the cold, split apart. The sphere paid it no mind and continued to swell in size.
'It's about time she noticed.'
Olivia kept her eyes fixed on the Gold Tower.
Flash!
The next moment, a familiar golden mana erupted from the Gold Tower.
Olivia closed her eyes and counted the seconds in her head.
One.
Two.
Three.
"..."
Melina was standing before her.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and droplets of blood dripped from fingers where the nails had been torn away.
Looking at that figure, who would call her the Gold Tower Lord?
'She's turned into a complete wreck.'
Olivia clicked her tongue inwardly. It seemed the story about her locking herself in her room for a month was true after all.
"My apprentice..."
Melina couldn't continue her sentence.
Flash!
Because Olivia had vanished before her eyes.
"Hah... ahahaha..."
Melina let out a maniacal laugh as she walked toward the spot where Olivia had been. The lingering chill of her mana was still clearly there.
Melina's head snapped toward the direction where the trail of mana continued.
"...Hide and seek. How wonderful."
The next instant, Melina's form disappeared as well.