Probability Can't Explain It – In the End, I Couldn't Save Niobe
In the end, to put it simply in terms that probability can't explain, I failed to save Niobe. I was the only one who watched the death of the child everyone loved. I don't even remember how many days and nights I spent begging at Hiasen's feet. Each time, he comforted me, saying it wasn't my fault—but that was because he didn't know the truth. I had once "envied" Niobe, and the venomous snake that killed her was none other than me.
Terrified at the thought of her vanishing from the world in an instant due to my single mistake, I made a foolish choice. I robbed Niobe—even of the time to say goodbye to everyone. When I returned holding her corpse, not a single soul in the imperial family looked at me kindly.
[The 4th Princess Murdered the 3rd Princess.]
I loathed myself so much I could barely stand it. Back then, agonizing over which spell to use, the best rationale I could come up with was mere expected value. Niobe still had so many days ahead of her—surely the slim chance of saving her outweighed even a single month. Mathematically, it made sense. But what about reality? Success is 1, failure is 0. I hated myself for choosing 0.
I despised the me who judged a person's life with nothing but numbers. I hated the me who twisted all the happiness, comfort, and encouragement Niobe deserved into justifications for my own actions. That's probably why I clung so desperately to knowledge. Ignorance is sin, and envy was my original sin gnawing at me endlessly.
The only thing holding together my shattered self—like fragments of broken glass—was my obsession with magic. I never wanted to feel envy again. No, I was born into a fate where I couldn't afford to envy. I locked myself away in the one thing I could pride myself on, isolated myself, bound myself, and beat myself mercilessly.
When awe for those brilliant beings outweighs envy, you feel reverence instead. Looking back, by debasing myself endlessly—crawling on the ground until I could see the belly of an ant—it was only natural the jealousy faded. So I abandoned swordsmanship, high society, even tending to my appearance.
And around that time, new rumors began to circulate.
[The Demon King Lurks Behind the 4th Princess.]
Not knowing the right way to atone, I foolishly chose to plug my ears.
"Have you decided...?"
"Yeah, I think I've pretty much settled on it."
I couldn't open my eyes. In their shoes, what would they have chosen? Would they defend my judgment?
My eyelids lifted gently, the hazy world clearing like fog lifting, sharpening into focus.
"Ah... why is everyone..."
The five participants were huddled together on a massive magic circle. The spell I'd cast to save Niobe—but which had instead ended her life.
"What's the reason?"
The Hellspawn Uncle cleared his throat first and answered.
"Shouldn't I take responsibility for my own mistakes? Gotta do everything I can—that's what makes a man."
His utterly straightforward reply left me stunned.
"Feels like we're going around sharing reasons? Hmm... If there was a surefire way to fix it and I didn't, I'd regret it forever, right? Watching just one more month of life felt too cruel anyway."
I might have been hoping deep down that my choice back then wasn't wrong. One by one. Different reasons each time, but the conclusion was always the same.
"Ah, last one's me. So, like..."
'SaveTheGradStudent' stroked his chin, buying time for his answer. He'd been a viewer from the early days of my streams, one whose nickname I even recognized.
"Just wanted to see her longer, honestly. From our side, if NoName streamed for just one month and quit, who'd stick around? Everyone loves that you keep coming back to us now and then. Uh, bad analogy maybe."
BigFan scratched his head, spilling his honest thoughts.
"No... it's a good analogy."
"Then turn on streams more often. Quitting after one game of World of Arceria? Leaves us hanging."
"So what's the right answer, NoName? You're not planning to drop us all, are you?"
There is no right answer. No matter what I chose, Niobe wouldn't have come back. But hearing their responses, the unresolved lump in my heart melted away like cotton candy dropped in water.
What if it was Ignis Bellum, or Glakis Asta? It was meaningless ranking anyway. Magic has no absolute answers. We just do our best each moment to make our chosen spell the right one.
Estasha had done her utmost to save Niobe, and now I resolved to defend her decision.
"Yes, that's the right answer. Looking forward to working with you all, managers."
After the tumultuous stream, I stayed in the virtual space with the five new managers to brief them on future plans.
"Tomorrow I'm a bit busy, but I'll start a World of Arceria stream early Sunday afternoon."
"Whoa, finally!"
"Boss, you really not clearing Part 1 until you save Adella?"
"Wanna see 2nd Circle spells in Part 2 already."
"Gotta go as far as I can. That's what you all said."
A clue might appear. I'd already roughly planned the method. Whether a world line existed where Adella didn't die—that remained to be seen.
"Ban diligently. No mentioning other streamers, no chit-chat, no off-topic spam or flooding, obviously."
"We know that much! We've got years of Twitch experience—piece of cake!"
I scanned the five selected managers one by one. BigFan with his plain male avatar, Hellspawn Uncle, cyberpunk cosplay girl, Gaonashi, and the cat furry girl. The later ones overflowed with personality—bordering on excessive.
Since they were here, I figured I'd get recommendations for animal pajamas for the kids visiting my place tomorrow.
"Any favorite animals among you?"
"Pigs for me!" BigFan shouted first.
"...?"
"You like pigs?"
"Unique taste."
As the others murmured, BigFan shrugged in confusion.
"What, you all prefer beef? We're Korean—some of us like pork."
His off-target response made me clarify.
"Not meat... just favorite animals. Like dogs or cats..."
"Wait, you're not buying us meat?"
"Why would I buy you meat?"
"Felt like an afterparty vibe... since we made manager..."
Anyway, BigFan's question fizzled, so I asked the others.
"Cats for me!"
"Cats are my favorite too."
Cosplay Girl and Furry Girl answered. The latter was obvious.
"Honey bee."
"Bears for me."
Gaonashi and Hellspawn Guy followed. Honey bee... not sure, but bear pajamas probably existed.
"NoName, any plans for VTube? Hurts seeing clips get views on other channels."
Amid it all, BigFan pointed to edited highlight videos of my plays gaining traction. If I'd started my own channel, I'd be famous by now, he lamented. Point was, Twitch streams alone didn't drive traffic easily. People didn't explore other streamers much—like how rarely they install new apps.
If I planned consistent streaming, he recommended VTube on the side. Part of me didn't want the stream to blow up that big, but the unpaid debt nagged uncomfortably. Maybe I should upload videos. But finding an editor? Who? Ideally someone I knew. Unlike managers, editors would need frequent contact outside streams.
"Anyway, thanks everyone. I'll grant manager perms by end of day, so you're free to go."
"Yep, thanks!"
"Um, NoName...!"
The cat beastkin shyly raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"Could we maybe shake hands... just once?"
"Shake hands?"
"It's rare to be this close! We're connected by fate now... a handshake should be fine, right?"
What the hell, sure. I felt the squishy pink jelly texture hidden under her fluffy furball. Her eyes sparkled as she clung to my hand, unwilling to let go even a second sooner.
"If it's not rude, how much was this avatar?"
Quite the unique taste. From the cat pupils to the paw pads, claws, fur texture, and patterns—eerily detailed, beyond homemade limits.
"Ah... this one! Got it on discount at MetaCraft Avatar Shop! One... one point eight million won...?"
"...?"
Furries must really have money to burn, as the rumors said.