Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: S2. Lament to the Stars -6
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"Sweet and nice."
I grinned like a proud dad watching them get along so warmly. There was even a fresh whiff of romance in the air. And I love love.
Besides, the players seemed to have grasped the general direction of the goal, even if not the specifics. How they could make use of this linked past and future.
What I needed to reinforce here was providing hints on exactly how to do it, and patching up the party's shattered morale.
This scene's weight falls on Niore. She's the one among the three feeling her failure the most keenly, still drowning in regrets of "If only I hadn't done that."
Not noticing Isaac's scheme.
Losing Abraham while trying to save reporter Sally.
Spending time destroying the magic circle instead of completing Abraham's research.
Failing to properly finish off the cult leader.
Let's give all those regrets proper meaning. Show them what changes Isaac's survival, Sally's survival, the magic circle's destruction, and killing the cult leader brought to this world. How they made a world suffering under the evil god a little better.
And these "thank you for saving the world, hero" plots hit twice as hard when expressed directly through a character's gratitude. I needed an unscheduled extra character.
"Abraham, Isaac, and a descendant a few generations down, Joseph. 17-year-old virgin. Similar looks to Isaac but with a bright, innocent vibe—no evil aura. Owner of the wool panties Bennett picked up..."
"There was an NPC like that?"
"...Create her, Magic Tower Master!"
"Eek..."
Truth be told, it was just mixing and matching existing assets, so I didn't really need the Magic Tower Master for it. But people who mess up need punishment. For their own mental health, too.
Think about it: you commit some huge screw-up, and no one calls you out on it?
Some might get a thrill out of crime-spreeing, but anyone with a standard conscience would feel like they were sitting on a bed of nails. No way to resolve the guilt.
That's why I'm making her roll with it. To shake off some of that guilt in the process.
Sure enough, the Magic Tower Master's expression had brightened a bit. Earlier, she looked like she'd have to write 500 pages of reflection essays after the session; now it was down to about 420.
Running the session and caring for the sub-GM's mental state? Am I a genius or what...?
Injecting myself with some confidence dope, I felt my shoulders square up and my efficiency spike noticeably. A healthy dose of self-confidence is a solid buff. Exactly what the three players needed most.
Have confidence, guys. You really did great.
Ventilate the mood, pump them with assurance that their actions weren't wrong. Not hard. Let's get started.
Tara finally pieced together the situation. Bennett and Niore had flown to the future, and the present and future were linked. Her head throbbed—it was a complicated concept, but...
This might actually be useful.
"...Something we can work with, right?"
[We think so too. We'll need to learn more about this place, though.]
-Planning to investigate, but can you help?
"Yeah, just move along your path, right?"
Tara puffed out her chest. Part confidence signal—"trust me"—part desperate bid to one-up Niore. Pushing it out made them look bigger, after all.
Bennett gestured from beyond the mirror.
-Don't lag behind. Grabbing a mirror shard.
"Who're you calling a lost kid? You guys watch out too—who knows what's here."
Crack.
Tara smashed the vanity, snatching a suitably sized shard. Tilting it let her peek at the future from various angles: vibrant skies, ant-like processions crawling the ground.
She strolled after Bennett and Niore's future selves.
"......"
A spark of inspiration flashed in Tara's mind. I can choose where and how to look, freely.
She fine-tuned her pace and position, angling the shard just so—Bennett's face filled the view, up close. Perfect.
Tara smirked, smug as a full belly.
-...Huh? Okay. Niore says keep distance, cover each other's blind spots.
"...Damn it."
Tara grumbled like a starving kid.
She'd felt it earlier, but... was Niore subtly cockblocking her? If she was scheming something shady and keep-sniping...
Nah, no way. Niore's too nice for that.
Tara shook her head, dismissing the nonsense. Jealously resenting a friend over emotions? Ugly as sin.
Still, unintentional or not, the irritation lingered. She vented by drawing her demon sword blind and slamming it into a building wall. Flesh pierced.
Kyahaaaah—!! A scream echoed from beyond. Tara siphoned the familiar zealot power through the thorny vines entangling her blade.
-Something up?
"Nah, nothing. Anything change over there?"
-Wall scarred, one more flower.
"Dies and blooms a flower—kinda poetic. Too good for a zealot."
Tara sheathed her sword.
Swinging for pointless revenge now had purpose and visible rewards. Felt different. Each crazy zealot downed did improve the future.
Being useful to her comrades thrilled her too. Thinking back to lonely days killing time without holy power still ached.
Maybe she was even more helpful now than when wielding it. Her curse was mighty, after all.
-Mirror check: two tails behind you.
"Got it."
The party moved, watching each other's backs.
Short trek, but they learned ways to exploit the time link. When a massive barricade blocked Bennett and Niore:
"Mess up the ground here in the past—they won't even think to build it."
-Too time-consuming to backtrack.
"Got a spell yanked from a zealot. Space sphere should flatten it."
Vmmm—!
Altering past terrain cleared future obstacles.
[Tara, any chance... you could send food this way?]
"Canned stuff last a century?"
-Abraham said theoretically a century, yeah.
"Burying some here."
Time capsules from past to future discovery. Bennett figured if they got comfy with this interplay, combat applications too. A century apart? Still cooperating fine.
Cans were bloated—tossed uneaten.
Bennett and Niore tracked human traces toward the Silver Twilight Cult's main temple. Clear signs of people emerged.
Gentle hill with lush grass, scattered flowers. Hilltop: taut lines between ground-stuck branches held laundry.
The cult building, worn but intact. Future temple radiated reverence, serenity—like a proper place of worship.
Women's underwear on the line suggested a female resident.
Tara pulled her gaze from the future-reflecting shard.
Past temple still oozed menace; inside, zealots groaned in ecstasy and agony. All potential foes. Tara loosened up, gripping her demon sword.
"Still tons of surviving zealots in the temple. Things'll get busy from here... catch you later."
-Don't push, stay safe.
"Don't wanna hear that from a one-armed guy. You too, Bennett. Niore."
[You too, Tara!]
They stepped into the temple.
Creeeak.
Bennett eased the door open. Inside: tidy, lived-in. No evil magic circles or blades. Notable was...
"...That?"
[Is that... Tara?]
Statues.
Where religious icons like crosses should be: three statues. Center: Tara in ornate saintess garb, demon sword raised triumphantly.
Flanking her protectively: familiar faces, though features blurred and smudged.
"Niore, looks like yours."
[That's super like Bennett.]
Statues of themselves, found in the future a century hence. Not mockery. Well-maintained, dust-free to the touch.
What was going on?
"Hee hee... Those are statues of the world-saving heroes."
"......"
Bennett and Niore whipped around, instantly alert. A girl stood there—face eerily like Isaac's.
Had the Isaac who'd eked out a century via vile arts drawn his revenge blade?
No. Her face resembled Isaac's and Abraham's. Especially those sparkling, gentle eyes—evoking Abraham stargazing.
The girl wasn't startled by strangers, speaking softly.
"Legend says the three heroes sacrificed their lives to seal the evil god. Thanks to them, the world got one more chance."
"...You?"
"Call me Joseph?"
The girl with the somewhat masculine name seemed Abraham's bloodline. Sparing Isaac let his line continue too, apparently.
Bennett eyed Joseph warily yet reassuringly.
"Living alone?"
"Yes. So rare guests make me happy. Need food? A place to rest?"
Niore tugged Bennett's hem, scribbling secretly.
[Can we trust?]
"...Probably. Risk-reward favors it. No future intel—local help changes that..."
Bennett and Niore shared a déjà vu glance. Like with Abraham. Realizing that eased tension.
They'd opened to the old man; likely same with the girl.
Instead of instant nod, Bennett fired questions. Those lookalike statues nagged him.
He gripped the mirror shard: Tara, blood-soaked, slumped against a wall, eyeing them. Wink on eye contact—blood was all zealots', then.
Bennett gestured Tara to look at Joseph, then spoke.
"That story... more details? The sealing."
"Rare guests into old tales. Lucky day. All from Prophet Sally's accounts."
[......]
Reporter Sally. She'd remembered their tale, passed it on.
Joseph bobbed her head side to side, chanting the legend like song. Of the three heroes who faced the evil god.
"First, heroes destroyed the corrupted magic circle on the land. Without it, no life could spawn when the evil god descended—but thanks to them, we can plant and grow now."
[...Really?]
"Evil god directly tainted some soil—still uncultivable. Without their effort... we'd all have starved."
What they'd seen as fatal failure became humanity's foundation.
"Next, they beheaded the cult leader summoning the god. Two heroes died in the process... but their sacrifice stopped the evil god's full descent."
Slaying the leader opened survival chances for future humanity.
And.
"Finally, Saintess Tara... fought three days, sacrificing her life to seal the evil god. Gifted us the world."
"......"
What was unfolding, Tara's ongoing struggle, held meaning too.
Bennett clenched his fist.
Clench, unclench. Repeat. Then rested hand on Niore's head.
"See? What we did... wasn't meaningless."
[......]
-......
Tara bowed her head slightly, wiping her eyes.
Niore collapsed to her knees, hands over face, sobbing soundlessly.
Regret upon regret.
If only they could rewind time, rewrite the story right. How much regret? How much self-flagellation for failures?
But now, seeing what their desperate resistance clutched from agony's jaws...
"If all that pain we endured... had meaning. Niore."
No need to hurt more, right?
Niore recalled the evil god's sly words. Razor blades slicing her heart. But if their actions bloomed flowers step by step... those taunts meant something else.
The evil god was afraid.
Those interferences? Signs of fear.
Desperate pleas: break already, stop resisting. Then.
"...One last step. It's cornered. We're its threat. Tara, Niore."
[...Yes.]
-Yeah.
Let's end it. Shed all these wounds.
Niore explained through puffy red eyes.
[Outer god unbound by past-present-future. Spans all spacetime. Past Tara faces same entity as our sealed one.]
-What’s that mean?
"Damage in past or future applies together."
-...Simpler?
Tara struggled grasping shared HP concept. But understanding wasn't key—Bennett hit the plan's core.
"Means you and us fight together. Joseph's tale says your sealing future's set. But it's mutual destruction. Can't watch you sacrifice."
[Two-front war: past and future.]
"Exactly. We assist via changed futures. Positive feedback loop supporting past. Primary goal: seal without your sacrifice. Ultimate aim..."
Tara's actions shifted futures instantly. Future Bennett/Niore aided Tara. Infinite virtuous cycle. Repeat to stack gains.
Maybe—not just seal the evil god—
[Kill the outer god.]
—they could slay it. So judged the party.