Chapter 8 - Semi-Final Boss Saintess (2)
Semi-Final Boss Saintess (2)
Translator : Elizabeth
—The endings for the women of this world are already predetermined.
The original work of this world, 『Saint Royal Academy』.
Like a female-oriented Romance Fantasy game,
—Except for the Main Heroine, they’re all thieving cats and foxes! Foxes! They’re just treated as villains!
All female characters appearing here, excluding the Main Heroine, were mostly treated as villains.
—The Duke’s daughter of the Rosencrantz family, set as the Crown Prince’s fiancée, 『Anastasia』.
“If I had known she was the fiancée, even I would have avoided that spot, but I got hooked by the Crown Prince’s oh-so-perfect Fleming’s Right Hand, you see~”
It was only a difference in timing depending on the route,
But in the end, she was in a position to have her engagement broken by the Crown Prince and have the Main Male Lead stolen by the Main Heroine.
—The granddaughter of Archmage Aldoras, and 『Nia Rune Aldoras』, who is set as the strongest mage currently limited to the Academy.
“Granddaughter of the Archmage? You said that, so if I ask where Aldoras is, she’ll know, right? Ah, should I try an IQ test on the granddaughter first?”
No matter that she was the step-granddaughter of the Archmage,
Eventually, from the Main Heroine’s perspective, she was nothing more or less than a thieving cat interfering with the capture (romance).
—The successor of the Hosan Merchant Guild dominating the Southern Continent, and a Bourgeois who bought a Baron title, the Haraguro (black-hearted) attribute Heroine character 『Rakia Hosan』.
“Money is essential for research, so as someone who only receives about pocket money from the Church separately, I do want to get recommendations for something like making money~”
She, too, was nothing more than a Villainess Heroine who merely treated the Main Heroine as a girl who knew nothing of hardship and was just lucky, and disparaged her.
—Besides them, the third-year upperclassman and the Academy’s only High-Ranking Spirit Contractor,
The Marquess’s daughter called the girl cherished by spirits, 『Lilliet Rune Floran』 of the Floran family,
“The existence called Spirits is worth researching fully just as much as mana or magic. I don’t know if it will be helpful~ for laser research though?”
To the eyes of women, she was just an unlucky girl pretending to be kind whom they hated seeing the most.
And the daughter of 『Erancia de Valmonde』, a Marquess family representing the Court Nobles and that faction, and her retainer acting as a maid, 『Clarice de Holland』.
Both merely took on the roles of third-rate Villainess Heroines,
Consumed to block the smooth romance of the Main Heroine and create tension.
And,
The most important one,
Saintess 『Louise』.
She is,
—It’s fortunate for me since I’m an extra, but you, the Saintess, are…….
The final Final Boss that the Main Heroine Iris and the Main Male Lead, Crown Prince Lucerius, must defeat: the Fallen Angel 『Lucifer』.
—……And from the opening point of the original work, Saintess Louise was already in a fallen state, long ago…… That’s how it’s described in the game logs.
Louise was the medium for Lucifer to descend to the present world,
And at the end of a death match with the protagonist’s party, she summons Lucifer to the present world right before dying and dies herself.
She was in charge of such a position as the Semi-Final Boss.
—So, answer me honestly. Please. It’s practically the same as the ending of this world depending on you.
—……Those nonsensical Light Magics you showed in the campus…….
—……As expected, you contracted, right? Just like the story, you…… have fallen, right? With Lucifer?
—Click-clack, click-clack.
Louise walked down the Academy hallway, recalling the conversation she had with Clara in the backyard of the campus today.
The place she was heading to was the lecture room where Professor 『Snake』’s 『Introduction to Dark Magic』 class was being held.
But since there was still time left to think.
Also, because something called Dark Magic strangely seemed related to the story.
Muttering alone along with her recollection,
“It was definitely Elnas? Elliot? Anyway, the time when I received the purification baptism with mop water exactly about 21 times from those girls~? Yep.”
That’s right.
As Clara said, Louise, as the Semi-Final Boss Saintess of the original work.
Had seen the Final Boss, the Fallen Angel 『Lucifer』.
This time, Louise recalled a past more distant than the conversation in the campus.
The time was, as already mentioned,
During her convent days,
The day she received the mop water baptism exactly about 21 times from Alice’s gang.
At that time, suddenly, a strange voice she had never heard before came from inside her head,
And in front of her eyes, something like a black-winged fairy began to be seen fluttering about.
Back then, clearly,
That black fairy, whom she now knew to be Lucifer,
Had proposed to her like this:
—Asking how long she was going to live just suffering like that.
—Saying it was clear she was inevitably a chosen existence, so why was she always just suffering?
—That if she wanted to escape from the current situation that was like a gutter,
—She only needed to make a contract with this body, Lucifer, who used to be an angel.
This,
Was said to be like a cliché common to villains,
Where they gain strong power undeserving of their station.
Anyway, in the original work, Louise ends up contracting with the Fallen Angel Lucifer like that,
And although fallen, by the power of Lucifer who used to be an angel, she becomes able to wield Light Magic,
And thus gets acknowledged as a Saintess and attends the Academy.
This is exactly the basic story background of the Saintess 『Louise』 in the original work.
—And after that, not something like the Fallen Angel Lucifer, but the Main Heroine 『Iris』 chosen by the real Goddess uses holy relics and…… with love and friendship…….
—……A-Anyway, somehow or other, awakening as a real Saintess!
—The story is that Louise, the fake Saintess, is roughly driven into a corner and eventually subjugated!
More precisely, right before being subjugated,
The Louise of the original work comes to crave power even more from the contracted Lucifer.
But in the end, her body is taken as the price,
And eventually, it’s a Medium Ending where she summons the real Final Boss, Lucifer.
—……Anyway, you know what I’m trying to say, right?
After finishing all this explanation.
Clara had asked Louise one more time.
With a face much more serious than the first time.
—……So, that…… What happened? As expected…… Did you contract……?
Fortunately, the answer was No.
But it was a slightly very peculiar No.
“Mmm~ So that wasn't schizophrenia but was real? I didn't know that~”
Louise made a gesture of hitting her own head bonk~!, saying Oops~ I overlooked it.
—Rattle.
At the same time, she took out something like a transparent medicine bottle from her bosom.
This was the medicine she had personally manufactured since that time.
—Hm? Contract? I just judged it as early-to-mid stage symptoms of schizophrenia and treated it myself?
—W-What……?
—I mean, if it’s a phenomenon only visible to me, ultimately it’s just an error in the processing of my visual and auditory information~ Or the brain governing that is just sending out false signals, so that means it’s schizophrenia, right?
—W-W-W-Wait a minute……! Schizo-Schizophrenia…… A disease……?
—Schizophrenia, don’t you know? What schizophrenia is, is that an imbalance occurs in neurotransmitters in the brain including dopamine~
—I, I know! At least what schizophrenia is! S-So just what did you do, huh?! Did you contract or not……?!!
—Really? Anyway, so I made a personal prescription drug to regulate the dopamine and serotonin receptors in the brain and I’m taking it like this even now~! Tada~♬
Louise thought Clara’s appearance back then, which went beyond dumbfounded to outright horrified, really resembled Mary, her roommate from the convent days,
—Rattle, rattle.
—Plop.
And lightly shook the medicine bottle she took out from her bosom to look good, taking out one pill.
“Mmm~ It’s about time~”
Usually, she would have put it in her mouth and swallowed it right away.
But this time, Louise decided to wait a little longer.
The time for the effect of the medicine she took yesterday to completely wear off.
Just how long did she circle the Academy hallway alone like that?
—Flap flap.
Something like a black wing flap began to be seen blurrily.
At the same time,
【Kuh……! You psycho Saintess bitch……!! To dare treat this body, a Fallen Angel, as a mere disease!!】
Voices began to be heard increasingly clearly,
【I want to snatch that impudent body right this instant! Snatch and snatch and corrupt it so that again!! So that you can never ignore this Fallen Angel Lucifer-sama again, densely all over your body……!!】
A sharp man’s voice that could never be Louise’s own.
【……Phew, that aside, 『Original Work』 huh…… Kuhuh, Goddess, that bitch…… Realizing that she cannot avoid destruction in the end no matter how much she throws a fit and repeats it, she finally laid her hands even beyond the dimension, is that it?】
【This alone is a great harvest…… Information that can sufficiently whet the appetite even of high-ranking demons once I cross over to the Demon Realm right away…… Kuhahaha…….】
【……So I need to quickly somehow contract with this psycho Saintess bitch and cut off the soul connection……! Why, why, why on earth! Is that bitch openly ignoring me as if she can’t see this body at all……!!】
“Hi? So you’re the Final Boss Fallen Whatever Lucifer?”
【……Right!! If you react refreshingly like this, would it kill you or something?! Huh? Huuuh? Woaahhhhh?!!】
Lucifer, who had been flashing his middle finger right in front of Louise and making gestures of spitting ptui ptui!.
He was startled by the Saintess’s too sudden reaction and flap flap!Zing~! Circled largely once above her head.
【W-What! You, you……! You can see me right now?! You can see me, right?!! Ang?!!】
“Yep. I see you well. Since the medicine effect wore off about now.”
【Medicine effect, what medicine effect! How dare a crazy bitch dare, dare!! Treat this body as a mental illness?! I’ll personally [censored] you right now……!!】
【……I’ll specially let you off the hook for [censored] you! Anyway, the contract I mentioned to you bitch before!】
【You came to give an answer about that contract, right?! Ang?!!】
Lucifer chattered noisily right in front of Louise’s nose, spitting as he spoke.
【Kuhuh…… Even without this, I heard a lot of interesting stories around you bitch, you know?】
【You bitch, didn't you say that if things go on like this, you’re an existence destined to be [censored] anyway according to the world’s 『Deterrence Force』?】
【Of course, that might be because you contracted with an existence called me.】
The Final Boss Lucifer, who had no choice but to be dragged around while soul-bound near Louise because they were in the middle of a contract.
Although Louise didn't sign the contract, contact or a mark or something had been created.
Should we say Lucifer stuck to her unilaterally?
So,
【Indeed, surely it must have been so. Because I like the ruin and despair of the contractor more than anything else.】
Lucifer had heard all of Louise and Clara’s conversation nearby.
【But! Since things have turned out like this, I could change the contract conditions for you, you know?】
【That…… I don’t know what on earth it is, but your magic operation method that looks similar to the 『Demon Tribe’s』 method no matter how I look at it…… Kuhuh.】
【I rate that very highly, so for you bitch specially, I will allow you to make a contract much superior to the one proposed before!】
【Right! For example, not a condition where your soul is completely subordinated to this body, but equal…… ly……! Your rank is still lacking!】
【Still, specially, with a subordination condition of 7:3, me being 7 and you bitch being 3……】
Just as Lucifer was extending a devil’s hand,
And trying to propose a fallen offer to Louise.
“Aww~ So noisy! As expected, I’d better not quit the medicine.”
【……With that condition, along with the contract, I could grant you my fallen blessing……, W-W-W-Wait!! D-Don’t eat it!! Don’t eat that medicine—!!】
“Nom. Gulp~”
The medicine effect began to kick in gradually.
【—N-Noooooooo!!!】
Then, Lucifer, who had been acting noisily in front of Louise’s eyes, hid his form as if seeping into the air and disappearing.
To be precise, he was forcibly hidden.
Like that, the Fallen Angel,
No…….
“Phew, done~”
The schizophrenia symptom Lucifer completely disappeared from Louise’s vision.
Of course, even now, he was still being dragged around near her, unable to go this way or that way with his soul bound because they were in the middle of a contract.
But he was not being 『Observed』 at all by Louise, who had currently taken her medicine.
“Yep! That’s right~ An existence that cannot be 『Observed』 physically is effectively treated as non-existent, so theoretically there’s no problem~! Superstring theory is a very excellent idea that neatly eliminated quantum fluctuations smaller than Planck space!♬”
Like that,
Louise, who had resolved(?) the Final Boss problem once again, moved her steps cheerfully lulu-lala~ to where she originally intended to go.
While doing so, instead of the contract with Lucifer,
She recalled today’s promise with 『Clara』, a reincarnator like herself.
—Ugh……! Seriously, really, where in the world is there a Saintess like this?! Good grief, I’m seriously dumbfounded……!!
—……A.Ny.Way! From now on, you and I are in a cooperative relationship, okay? Okay?!
—I’ll tell you the future plot so…… Okay, okay! I’ll help you somehow with my game knowledge so you can research that laser or whatever……!!
—……So Louise, you! Help me reach the Romance Fantasy ending properly! Understand?!
“Ahaha~ My first friend made in my past life and current life, hmm, after Mary?”
She didn't know well.
But making a friend from the first day of the entrance ceremony is a good thing.
Moreover, since she said she would even help with laser research with that game knowledge, it couldn't be better.
So, as a newly made friend,
—So that I can overtake the original work’s Main Heroine 『Iris』, and although I’m an extra……!
—So that I can become the real Main Heroine of this story!
Helping with that proper Romance Fantasy ending or whatever.
Would be the duty of one who became a friend.
“Ahaha~ Ahahaha♬”
Thinking that it seemed like it would be an interesting Academy life,
Saintess Louise headed to the location of the first class she chose.
Presided over by Professor 『Snake』,
Located at the extreme opposite of light,
To the lecture room of 『Introduction to Dark Magic』.
“…….”
—Twinkle! Twinkle!
“…….”
—Twinkle! Twinkle!
『Snake』, the professor in charge of 『Introduction to Dark Magic』.
He had no choice but to be incredibly flustered by the composition of the student in front of his eyes.
In the first place, Dark Magic was an unpopular class, so he accepted that the number of students would be small but…….
“That…… Saintess…… What brings you to my class……?”
……It was strange that the Saintess was there.
When Professor Snake asked so, Saintess Louise answered impressively without a shred of hesitation.
“Because I want to learn Dark Magic!!”
“…….”
Words that a Saintess should absolutely never say came out of the Saintess’s mouth.