Today Belongs to the Golden Boy
The saint approached me with more than half of what should have been golden hair now dyed a deep red. My mind raced with frantic thoughts. Should I run away right this second?
I wasn't a succubus, so she probably wouldn't swing her mace straight at my skull without warning. Even so, my arms and legs trembled uncontrollably as I watched the saint draw closer. Did I wrong a blonde in my past life or something? Whether it was Lucia or Eden, I had no idea why they all had to make my blood run cold like this.
"Ah, you're not a succubus! How embarrassing—I showed you such an unsightly side."
As expected, once Eden confirmed I wasn't a monster, she dropped the mace she'd been holding high with a bright, sunny smile. At the same moment, the murderous intent and crushing pressure that had filled the entire space vanished in an instant.
That was a relief, but please, for the love of everything, stop smiling at me while covered head to toe in someone else's blood. I was scared to death.
"...Have you been well, Eden?"
Still, I swallowed my fear and greeted the saint standing before me. Naturally, she tilted her head in confusion, but if she recognized me at all, the conversation would flow smoothly from there.
In the original story, Eden barely ever crossed paths with Jack...
Jack had been in B-class, while the saint and Heidi were both in A-class. So naturally, the only person who could have listened to Eden's long, exhausting tales would have been Heidi. That was why I'd theorized that her obsession with Heidi might have stemmed from having no one else to confide in.
Therefore, the plan was for Heidi and me to both take care of Eden's mental state together, gradually shifting some of that trust and dependence away from Heidi and toward me as well. If this worked, Eden's emotions would have multiple outlets instead of just one, which should be enough to turn her into a relatively normal person.
In other words, the Sacred Golden Child Socialization Operation.
"It's me, Jack! Heidi and I were childhood friends back in our hometown!"
With that friendly intent, I called out to Eden as I moved closer. But the moment she heard my name, her expression began to rot away.
"...?"
In that instant, I felt the killing intent she'd withdrawn after confirming I wasn't a succubus surge back into the space once more. Wait, why was she reacting like this?
Was she like this in the original story too?
I thought about it for a moment, but quickly concluded that wasn't the case. My memories were a little fuzzy, but at the very least, she should have welcomed me the same way she had Heidi. She wouldn't have poured this kind of murderous aura onto a childhood friend she hadn't seen in over seven years.
Did something happen to make Eden act this way...?
From the moment I'd possessed this body, I'd done everything possible during those six months before Eden became a saint and left for the Holy Empire. I'd struggled to match the mindset of a thirteen-year-old—basically an elementary schooler by Korean standards—and managed to build an even stronger friendship with her than in the original story. I'd even obtained the Arcana of Radiance, which could rapidly accelerate holy power growth in a short period, and given it to her before the divine mark appeared on her arm, just in case she might suffer in the Holy Empire.
Of course, as a result, she ended up with terrifying strength capable of solo-clearing the fifth episode already.
It had turned out stronger than I'd intended, but I'd thought that if my plan succeeded and she became an ally, it would actually be a good thing. She should have been feeling grateful toward me, even missing me while she was away in the Holy Empire. So why was she looking at me with such open hostility?
This is going to ruin everything.
The saint, who had been resting her mace on the ground, now slung it over her shoulder in a stance that suggested she might charge at me any second. Not a single thing was going according to prediction. The saint entering a succubus den alone, wiping them all out single-handedly, and now trying to attack me the moment she saw me—it was all completely off-script.
"Damn it, everything's twisted to hell."
Whether she knew how complicated my feelings were or not, Eden quietly muttered to herself as she began forming a golden domain around her. It was a technique based on her overwhelming holy power, known as the Holy Domain.
A high-tier holy magic that floods a designated space with divine power, healing everyone within while preventing death. The regeneration is so extreme that even a severed arm would regrow in five seconds.
"Eden, are you seriously trying to fight me?"
I clutched my head and shouted, but she ignored me and continued expanding the domain. The reason she didn't focus the regeneration solely on herself despite possessing such overwhelming holy power—and instead deliberately spread this wide area so everyone around her received the healing effect—was both simple and cruel.
She was going to beat her opponent to a pulp inside a space where they literally couldn't die, until their mind finally broke.
The saint herself wasn't particularly strong in direct combat, so most opponents would overwhelm her at first. But the saint wouldn't fall. She wouldn't die. The same applied to whoever fought her, but the psychological terror of facing an unyielding enemy, combined with the mental exhaustion, would eventually bring them to their knees. And from that point on, Eden would mercilessly crush her broken opponent.
Fuck...
In short, this girl was planning to do exactly that to me.
At this point, I had no choice. I needed to find some way to escape this situation and deal with the saint—
"Jack! What are you doing here!"
At that moment, a bright and cheerful voice shattered my desperate thoughts from behind.
"...No way."
A look of utter despair crossed my face as those stupid words slipped from my mouth. The reason was simple: Lucia, who should have been waiting outside, was waving her hand wildly as she ran straight toward us.
For a split second I wondered why I was even worried about her, but my mouth moved faster than my brain.
"Get out of here right now! Don't come any closer!"
I quickly pushed that question out of my mind. The situation was too urgent to waste time on pointless doubts. All I felt was a pure, instinctive urge to get her away from this place.
"...What's that thing?"
Maybe my feelings got through to her, because Lucia seemed to hesitate after spotting Eden. But then—
"Hiyaaap!"
-BAM!
She charged forward at a speed almost impossible to track with the naked eye and brought her club crashing down hard onto the saint's head.
"You have got to be kidding me."
As expected, nothing in my life ever went according to plan. Worried that Eden might do something to Lucia, I rushed over to where she stood. But—
"...So you're the young lady of the marquis family."
Whether it was because of that absurd method or not, Eden withdrew the golden domain she'd been spreading outward and let out a quiet sigh.
"Haa..."
Then she glared at me like she wanted to kill me. Wait, what the hell did I do wrong? I only ever tried to help her!
"Saint? Are you really the saint?"
Only then did Lucia seem to properly register Eden's face and ask the question. So she really had smashed a mace into someone's head without even confirming who they were? If a normal person had taken that hit Lucia just delivered, they would've died instantly...
"..."
As I stared at her with an expression of pure disbelief at her twisted sense of common sense, Lucia looked back at me, winked playfully, and gripped her club again. Then, radiating a terrifying aura, she spoke to Eden.
"Hey, did you just try to mess with Jack?"
Lucia stood ready to bring her club down at any moment. Eden let out a short, dry laugh as she looked at her.
"Are you his girlfriend or something?"
I was about to lightly deny it, but Lucia beat me to it.
"What if I am? Got a problem with that?"
Wait, no, that's not—why would you say something that causes misunderstandings like that? I was just about to correct her when Eden stared at me with eyes full of pure hatred and said,
"You'd be better off keeping your distance. That guy drags people down into the abyss."
"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?"
I was momentarily stunned by Eden's words, but Lucia immediately jumped in to argue on my behalf. It actually made me feel a little better. Even facing a saint, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind...!
"For now, I'll take my leave. So could you please lower that club?"
Eden waved her hands in surrender as she looked at Lucia, who had already raised her club high into the air again. Then he began walking past Lucia toward the entrance we'd come through.
"You'd better watch yourself on the dark roads tonight."
He made sure to pass right by me as he delivered that sharp warning. It seemed that even a saint found dealing with the daughter of a powerful marquis family troublesome, so she had no choice but to retreat.
"Why the hell is she acting like this toward me..."
Setting aside the fact that Jack was only a viscount's son, I was going crazy from not understanding why Eden was treating me this way.
"If I ever see you again, you're dead!"
I quietly turned toward the loud voice beside me. Lucia was screaming at the saint's retreating back.
Come to think of it, I probably survived thanks to her.
"Lucia."
"Uh... yeah? Why are you calling me?"
When I called her name out of gratitude, she whipped her head toward me but avoided my eyes. I placed my hand on her head and gently stroked her hair as I said,
"Thank you. I survived because of you."
No matter how much of a villain she might be, she'd saved my life this time. The least I could do was show some gratitude. I wasn't an animal—I couldn't just ignore the fact that I owed her my life.
"H-huh...?"
She stared blankly at the hand stroking her head and made a dazed little sound. For some reason, I found her reaction just a tiny bit cute. I took her hand and began walking outside as I spoke.
"Let's head out. We're done here."
"W-wait... my hand...!"
I looked at Lucia, whose face had turned bright red as she mumbled something under her breath. While thinking about what kind of repayment would properly express my gratitude, something appropriate came to mind.
"From now on, for the rest of today, I'm completely yours, right?"
The one day of my life that Lucia had claimed in exchange for money. I decided that, for the remainder of it, I would truly and sincerely become hers.