The Rest Are All Landmines

What powered up wasn't just my stats.

My mood rose right along with them.

A power-up, and at the same time a tension-up. So this was the true identity of Lucia's unique trait... Wait a second.

Since when had she been sleeping right next to me?

First things first—I needed to get her off me.

I grabbed her slender waist, meaning to toss her aside onto the bed, but for some reason she held her ground stubbornly. Even when I put real strength into my arms she didn't budge an inch.

Ah. Right.

She was stronger now too.

"Let's go for a walk!"

With a sudden leap she clung to me completely, nuzzling her cheek against mine.

This was only favorability forty...? What the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hell happened when it hit ninety-nine?

I was starting to seriously doubt the performance of the Favorability Scouter. Looks like I really needed to upgrade it further.

"A walk... Why a walk?"

"Because the weather's nice! Because it smells like flowers!"

"Mm... Fine..."

I honestly didn't understand a word of it, but I gave up and lightly rested a hand on the back of her head. Right now, with Lucia in full hyper mode, the only ways to put her down that came to mind were knocking her out cold or putting her under anesthesia.

I stroked her hair this way and that.

Might as well just surrender.

What even was this...?

I knew that a well-rested Lucia got a boost to every stat, but was Intelligence actually going down instead? Even temporarily, maybe I ought to slap a buff on her. As a holy knight, that was the best prescription I could offer.

"Waking up in the morning feels so good! I finally feel like I'm living a proper human life!"

"Yeah, yeah. Then act like a proper human being and get off the bed."

"But it's already too late! I've been stuck to you all night long! Hehehe!"

"While I was completely unaware, you mean."

The door had definitely been locked.

"There's always a way!"

"...Fine, just move."

"We're going on a walk together, right? Lucia and you?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Thud—

Lucia lightly set her feet on the floor.

I pushed away Lucia's offer to help me wash up and finally finished getting ready. Our destination was the park near the Academy.

"Normally they hold a festival here every summer, but I heard they're taking a break this year."

"A festival?"

"Yeah! A summer festival! Night markets, performances, and even fireworks!"

She suddenly launched into something that reeked of Japanese aesthetics. Well, the original work was an otome academy game, so maybe it couldn't be helped...

No. This was still a fantasy world with actual magic, for crying out loud.

"It would've been nice if we could go together. Next year, let's go with Lucia!"

Digging through my memories, I vaguely recalled there had been an event like that. During Laward's second year? Or third? As always, I had skipped past it, so I didn't have any clear recollection.

When we arrived at the park, Lucia bounced ahead of me and behind me, scampering along the paths like a dog that had finally been taken out for a long-overdue walk. I hadn't expected her to stroll calmly at my side, but the stares from people around us were embarrassing. I felt like grabbing every passerby and explaining, She doesn't usually act like this, okay? Normally she's calm and sharp. She never says more than two words and her voice is quiet!

"Look at that flower! The color is so vivid!"

"Yeah. It's red."

"I can hear birdsong too! They look so cute—all round and fluffy! Do you know what kind of bird that is?"

"Yeah. It's noisy."

Maybe the bird's name was Lucia.

"My, so in Karma-nim's eyes, Lucia looks that cute?"

My replies didn't seem to reach her ears at all. Whatever I said, she took it as affirmation. Was fatigue really this terrifying? If stress was the root of all illness, then fatigue was the root of all evil. Which one was Lucia's true nature?

"Lucia, catch."

To snap her back to her senses, I pulled a red matchbox from my coat and tossed it.

Thwack.

She snatched it out of the air with sharp precision.

"What's this? Matches?"

"A communication magic tool. Something for Houndry to use."

While she turned the matchbox over in her hands, I stuck to the essentials.

"Black is me. Red is you lot. Light a red match and it connects to me."

"Why are you suddenly giving me this?"

"You'll distribute them to the Houndry guys and train them. Pick forty. Include the ones we recently absorbed from other guilds, and choose the most useful ones."

"Aww, you're talking about work even when we're outside? You have no sense of the mood!"

"I can't just stand around making empty chatter either. And why would I have to read your mood?"

"Hmm, I wonder! Even though you came all the way out here with me, reading my mood? You can pretend all you want, but Lucia knows Karma-nim's true nature."

I still had no idea what Lucia's true nature was, but apparently the reverse wasn't true.

"How long have you even known me?"

"Time isn't everything! The reason I suddenly asked for a walk wasn't just because I wanted to go out—it was because I hoped Karma-nim could rest a little too... Ah, a butterfly!"

Whoosh—!

The instant the words left her mouth her form blurred. The sound of air being sliced hit my eardrums a beat too late. I blinked, and Lucia was already crouching ten paces away in front of a flower bed.

"I caught it! Look at this!"

She beamed as she held out her cupped hands. At that speed I had assumed the thing would be crushed to paste—

Sssrrk.

She opened her palms, and a blue butterfly fluttered up completely unharmed, wings intact.

She had moved at superhuman speed yet sealed it inside her hands without so much as grazing it. This wasn't a simple power-up. Speed and precision as well. Movements that had already left the realm of the human.

Lucia stared blankly after the departing butterfly, then suddenly spoke.

"Are those forty going to include Lucia too?"

She had looked completely distracted by the butterfly, but apparently her mind had never left the earlier topic.

"No."

I cut it off coldly.

"I have no intention of using you that way."

To me, Lucia was a piece of far greater value than that. She was a heroine, after all.

"...See? I told you."

Apparently pleased with the answer, Lucia grinned bashfully and carefully tucked the matchbox into her pocket.

Before I knew it we had reached the area near the Academy. Just over the wall was the dormitory building.

"Karma-nim, why are you staring so hard at the girls' dormitory?"

"I was just thinking. I didn't realize it was the girls' dorm..."

"The girls' dorm is nice because it's close to the park. Of course, that also means a lot more bugs get in!"

"You're not even a dorm student. How do you know that?"

"Lucia is an Academy student too, you know. Of course I know that much. Did you think I just sleep all day?"

"You do just sleep. If that was the plan, why even come to the Academy in the first place?"

Lucia answered with the most ordinary expression she had worn all day.

"Because everyone else does."

She had already hopped up onto the wall and was walking lightly along it as she continued.

"Kids my age all go to school. Waking up in the morning, putting on a uniform, going to class... It's just a brief moment, but it's special and precious. Mmm... How do I put it? Anyway, just being in that space."

She spun around and looked down at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me. Her sky-blue eyes caught the sunlight and shone translucent.

What was ordinary for everyone else was special to Lucia. In this case the reverse was also true, of course.

"In that case, sorry. I have no intention of letting you leave Houndry. Not yet, anyway."

"That was when I was a first-year. The Lucia of now is living with different thoughts of her own. People change."

Then she pointed at the dormitory with her chin.

"So I'm thinking of spending my last semester in the dorms!"

"How did the conversation jump there?"

"Graduation's getting closer, and I feel like I never really got to enjoy Academy life?"

"What about your little siblings?"

"I have the scholarship money Karma-nim gave me, don't I? Couldn't I hire a nanny with that?"

"How you spend it is up to you, but..."

"And I'll sneak out of the dorm about five nights a week."

"Then there's no point in moving in."

"Escaping is part of the dorm romance! You'll give permission, right?"

"As long as it doesn't interfere with night work."

"Ehehe, now even Karma-nim is talking like that."

"Looks like I've caught it from someone. Then today's going to be the last full night of sleep for you."

"Yeah, I guess so. In the end I'll still be active day and night. The only thing that's changed in Lucia's life is right here—one person."

Lucia met my eyes and smiled sweetly.

"...Suddenly I'm getting embarrassed, so I'm going to go check out the dorm!"

Whoosh!

The girl who had been walking lightly along the top of the wall leapt down toward the dormitory. Today's Lucia had almost no gap between thought and action.

...Was she gone?

"Haaah..."

All the energy drained out of me at once; I nearly collapsed on the spot.

Flick, flick.

A brief, sweet taste of freedom. After confirming for certain that Lucia was nowhere in sight, I opened the shop window.

I had already seen the notice that only one ending remained until the Stage 2 special exhibition, and I had hit my goal of five hundred coins. Only now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had the moment finally arrived.

Alright then.

Time to spend those five hundred coins as planned.

Click—

Click—

Yeah. My entire fortune. All-in.

A new book icon appeared next to the [Shop] icon in the system window.

I immediately pressed it, and the [Ending Collection] screen appeared first. So this was the re-check function. For a test I pressed Ending 7, the most recent one I had locked in.

Ending 7: Sun and Moon.

Below it, the clear conditions appeared in full detail. Until now, even when an ending cleared I often had no idea why. Now it was kindly spelling everything out.

Conditions for Ending 7.

First: Lucia sleeps soundly (favorability 40 or higher).

Second: Visit Veronica at least (1) time.

...The clear conditions for the ending did not include Laward at all.

I found that strange even as I was shocked by the ruthless conditions. Ending 7 had been cleared by the thinnest of margins. Lucia's favorability had been exactly forty, and the fact that I had coincidentally stopped by the magic tool shop while looking for Veronica had satisfied the second condition.

To run things this tightly...

I was glad I had chosen this item. If I hadn't bought the preview, I would have missed a whole pile of endings going forward. It already felt like it was easily worth the five hundred coins.

Swoosh—

I left the re-watch screen and moved to the preview section. This was the real value and meaning of the function. I could preview the conditions for endings that had not yet been opened or closed.

I could already roughly guess endings from their titles alone, but now it was showing scripts and conditions as well. Perfect. Excellent hints. I could use them as milestones for making more certain plans.

I scrolled through the translucent window, scanning the endings from 1 all the way to 31. Then my finger stopped dead at a certain point.

"...Huh?"

Endings 26 through 30. The section where the harem routes were gathered. I froze there.

The titles of the harem routes looked ominous.

"...Oh."

There were some truly spine-chilling titles mixed in. Especially number 28. Why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was that one alone written in bold like that? Anyone could see it was the ending where Rebecca turned yandere.

In the first place, it was strange that there were five harem routes. The original Laward had cleared Ending 30, Paradise—an ending where he married all five heroines—yet there were still four more.

But now I was starting to understand.

The rest were all landmines.

Traps.

Of the five harem routes, four were traps. Routes existed in which the heroines' minds collapsed. They looked like endings that triggered when you got involved with only two or three heroines instead of all five. Max favorability with the chosen ones, minimum with the rest. Or maybe you chose everyone except one. In other words:

Endings where a blackened heroine took revenge.

Either capture only one cleanly, or capture every single one thoroughly. If a heroine was left out or betrayed, a destruction ending would trigger.

"This is it."

Bad endings.

I still hadn't checked the conditions, but the titles alone let me roughly imagine the scenarios. Right when you were happily riding a multi-heroine harem route, the unchosen heroine would intervene and slaughter everyone. I could already picture those gruesome endings.

...Or maybe routes where they joined hands with the mastermind.

For example, number 29.

The Esther Hellfire ending conjured an image of her ignoring everything around her and unleashing full-power flame magic in a reckless barrage. Hell itself.

"Ha... ha..."

A hollow laugh escaped on its own. I had thought everything was going according to plan, and then a new variable popped up.

How the hell had the previous Laward cleared the harem route? On the first try, no less?

Ahh. So he hadn't simply been a woman-crazy bastard—he had been a careful, meticulous crazy bastard.

In a way, was it lucky that I had learned about these endings early? Looking at it positively, it wasn't entirely bad. It also meant the heroines would grow strong enough to take revenge on Laward. My plan—to raise not only the protagonist but the heroines as well—wasn't wrong.

As long as I never stepped on those routes.

I swallowed dryly and pressed Ending 29.