Field Trip (4)
Phoebe stared blankly around her.
Yellowed walls scrawled over with the graffiti of countless children. Old, battered furniture not a single piece of which was intact. Whenever the wind blew in through the gaps, dust swirled in on a stale, musty smell, and from the kitchen as mealtime drew near, shouting and screaming rose far more often than laughter.
To the young Phoebe, this had been a place of memories she longed for and found beautiful. The orphanage.
A place where, by rights, countless children should have been running and playing with never a quiet moment to spare — yet today, it was unnaturally still. As though everyone who had ever lived here had departed and left Phoebe behind all on her own.
"Well? What do you think, Phoebe?"
Puzzled by the strangeness of it, Phoebe had been tilting her head this way and that when the kind, warm voice came from behind her, and she turned.
A man stood there.
His white robes were spotless, without a speck of dust; the hand extended toward her held a warmth that could be felt even from a distance, and a divine radiance gathered about his face, glowing so brilliantly that a humble soul like Phoebe hardly dared look upon it.
"Lord Armadi."
Lord Armadi? Phoebe felt a flicker of doubt at her own words, but soon shook her head. What am I even thinking? Of course that's Lord Armadi. The chief among all the many gods, the one who scatters His love impartially across this world.
The great god I have served all this time, and will serve hereafter. Phoebe, what would you do if you began doubting even that?
"As a place for the two of us to speak, I chose the scenery of the orphanage where you spent your childhood. Does it please you?"
"You recreated this place, Lord Armadi?"
"I did. Is it not the most precious place in the world to you?"
Armadi's words were true. The orphanage was the place Phoebe treasured most of all.
It was where she could laugh with pure, unguarded joy before she was burdened with the duty of being a Saintess — where she could play with her friends without a single care weighing on her mind.
Even now, she sometimes dreamed of those days spent running through the orphanage yard. If this place wasn't precious to her, what could possibly be?
"It has been a long while since you last saw it, I imagine. Shall we walk and talk as we go?"
"...Am I truly permitted to speak with you, Lord Armadi? You have surely heard every prayer I've offered — and I am not a good person."
She had hated others. Envied them. Wished for a certain someone's ruin. Unable to resist a wicked curiosity, she had even struck a bargain with the Apostle of an Evil God.
And beyond that, countless sins Phoebe had committed lay stacked upon stacked in her memory. What right did she have to converse with the great Chief God Himself?
When Phoebe clasped her hands together and bowed her head, Armadi stepped forward and gently lifted her chin with a warm hand.
"What are you saying? If the Saintess who has labored more devotedly than anyone lacks the right to speak with me, then who in this world could possess it?"
"But—"
"Did I not tell you before? To commit a wrong is forgivable. What matters is—"
"—whether, afterward, you repent of it and strive to mend your ways."
"Precisely. So do not call yourself unworthy. Do you not still have your chance ahead of you?"
O merciful Lord. That even this wretched, faithless creature should be forgiven and gathered into Your embrace — I am so overwhelmed with happiness that I know not what to do.
"Now then, let us walk slowly and talk as we go. You have much to say, do you not?"
When Armadi extended His hand, Phoebe hesitated for a moment — then took it.
Ah, Lord Armadi. So this is how You reward my faith. My faith was never in vain.
If this is a dream, then may I never wake. May I remain in this dream forever, at Armadi's side.
Lost in that thought, Phoebe suddenly felt a faint wrongness — but she shook her head and dismissed it. The being she had longed so desperately to meet was right there beside her. How could she think of anything else?
Phoebe is...
"So you're telling me the hapless Saintess got swallowed up by an illusion?"
"Precisely. She has no intention whatsoever of waking from it. She has grown so content in a fantasy that could never come true in reality that she now wishes for her illusion to last a lifetime."
Such a foolish, dull-witted child, the face-obsessed fox said with an amused laugh.
Phoebe, of all people, swallowed by an illusion. The situation was so far beyond anything I had anticipated that my thoughts tangled themselves into knots.
I knew Phoebe had been shaken far more here than she ever was in the game. But I hadn't thought it was this bad. She'd finally started rebuilding her self-esteem after succeeding at the Prayer of Purification last time — so why?
I pressed my palm hard against my forehead, my head throbbing.
It wasn't as though something like this had never existed in Soul Academy. Push a character with low mental stats through a trial, and they'd end up devoured by an illusion — that happened in the game all the time.
But there were a handful of characters who were completely immune to this particular trial.
Frey never collapsed no matter what she confronted inside her illusions, because she simply couldn't feel emotion toward the things she desired. And Phoebe always overcame them no matter how low her mental stats fell, so nothing should have gone wrong for her.
Heck, this time we even went in knowing the trial's contents in advance — it should have been easier to clear than it ever was in the game.
And what good does thinking about that do now? The fumble's already happened.
"Lady Alrn — Lady Rina says that if this goes on, Phoebe will sleep for the rest of her life. What do we do? What are we supposed to do?"
"Hold on a second."
"Scatterbrained Lady. Quiet down."
I cut off Joy, whose voice was on the verge of tears, and let out a sigh.
No way to fix it? There is one. If there weren't, I never would have agreed to take this trial in the first place.
It's a simple matter. The one who conjured this illusion is standing right in front of us. Naturally, the solution lies with that creature too.
I looked up at the face-obsessed fox, who was smiling away as if she had absolutely no intention of reading the room. The moment my gaze landed on her, the corners of her mouth curled up even further.
"If you're about to ask for my help, I refuse. A trial is a trial, after all. If it goes wrong, that is that child's burden to bear."
This face-obsessed fox grows friendlier toward a person the higher their Charm is.
Push someone's Charm stat to the absolute limit, and she'll hand over everything she possesses — in extreme cases, she'll even offer herself up as their slave outright.
So when this fox tells you no, take it to mean: your Charm simply isn't high enough.
The solution, then, is simple. Raise my Charm even further — high enough that I can charm the charmer herself.
And as it happens, my inventory was stocked with all sorts of items that boost the Charm stat.
"Lady Rina... There's something the two of us need to discuss."
"Oh? You wish to be alone with me? A confession, is it? I do admire boldness, though I fear my poor heart may not survive the—"
"It's not that."
"Don't talk nonsense. Sharing a room and breathing the same air as a revolting pervert like you makes me sick to my stomach — but I'll endure it."
"Hahh... Ahh. How lovely — the sharp glares, the insults. A tingling sensation, from head to toe."
Even on the other side of a monitor, talking to her felt like picking at a scab, but now that she was real, it was so much worse. Disgusting enough to raise gooseflesh. I was genuinely repulsed.
But she was the only solution I had, so what could I do?
After telling Joy and Frey that I'd handle it myself and sending them outside, I pulled items out of my inventory one by one and put them to use.
First, Lano's Sweet Perfume — a consumable that instantly raised the Charm stat the moment it was applied to the body.
"Mmm, what a lovely scent. A flower given fragrance — the bees shan't know what to do with themselves."
"Now... will you hear me out now?"
"No. You are beautiful, but beauty alone shall not suffice."
The face-obsessed fox drew out her words, oozing flirtation, but this still wasn't enough to bring her around. What I took out next was a whole array of cosmetics — the very best of the consumables available to me, meticulously hand-picked.
Erin had taught me how to apply them before I enrolled at the Academy, so my hands moved without a moment's hesitation.
"Oho. How remarkable. So beauty can indeed be layered atop beauty. And yet — not enough to sway me."
Still not enough? What I pulled out after that was a collection of accessories. Items that boosted Charm the instant they were worn.
"And now? How do I look now, you perverted face-obsessed fox? Does it hit that twisted streak of yours? Hm?"
Wearing every single item I'd prepared left the fox utterly speechless.
"Hahk...!"
She stared at my face in a daze, and when I rewarded those wide eyes with a smile, the fox flushed crimson and stumbled backward.
Seconds ago she'd been spouting lecherous filth like some shameless dirty old man, but this time was different. This was the reaction of someone truly, genuinely spellbound by something.
Satisfied now? Ready to wake Phoebe up?
After a long silence, she wiped the trail of drool from the corner of her mouth, forced her eyes away from me, and stammered out her answer.
"Th-that is... as you are now, you radiate a foxlike allure that rivals even mine, but still. Still, ah—"
You're telling me THIS isn't enough?! Why?! You were practically over the line just now! Can't you just decide you've crossed it?! Can't you do me the kindness of rounding up and nodding your head?!
There was still one method left. One item holding down the fort in the far reaches of my inventory — the thing I'd been quietly avoiding.
An item that would raise my Charm far more dramatically than anything I'd used so far.
Ugh. Of all things, I didn't want to use THIS one!
"Um. Lady Rina? Could you step out for a—"
"Face-obsessed fox. Stop leering at me like a pervert and get out. And come back when I call for you."
"Ohh? There is yet more to come? May I hope for something that shall steal what remains of my heart?"
"Would you kindly get OUT?"
"Are you too much of a beast to understand human speech? I said get out, you perverted livestock."
"Mmph. Hah. Very well. I shall withdraw for a time."
Once the fox — utterly incapable of reining in her widening grin — had left the room, I pulled the bunny girl outfit from my inventory and laid it out on the bed.
I'd planned to burn it the moment I got home, and now this. Dammit.
Are you really going to put that on?
"HYAH?!"
I shrieked and hunched my shoulders at the voice that came out of nowhere — then, realizing Grandfather was right there beside me, let out a long sigh.
"It's the fastest and easiest way."
It wasn't as though there were no other options. Give me a few days, and I could dig up dozens of ways to wake Phoebe from her illusion.
But when an instant solution existed, there was no reason to drag things out. I was the one who proposed taking this trial in the first place, so the responsibility for seeing it through falls on me.
You've been through a great deal, child.
"Thank you for the sympathy. But on that note, Grandfather — into the inventory for a while."
Wha—?! Girl! Now hold on just a—
I'm sorry, but I have no intention of etching my black history into the eyes of someone who hovers beside me twenty-four hours a day. He'd never let me live it down later — I know it for a fact.
With Grandfather safely stowed in my inventory, I stared at the bunny girl outfit on the bed and heaved a long, long sigh.
It's fine. It's just for that depraved fox. As long as I can stomach one crazy face-obsessed fox fawning all over me, everything will be fine.
Having concluded my little exercise in self-justification, I reached my hands toward the clasps of my armor.