Chapter 214
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 214
Chapter Title: Liana Lumenhark (4)
[Two days later. Noon. That's when the riot will break out.]
Liana's noble voice, recorded in the pen, echoed through the room.
'...Her Highness the Princess moved faster than I'd expected.'
I'd assumed the riot would be delayed since she'd lost so much commoner support to me...
But it seemed Liana's plan hadn't hit any major snags.
'Well, she wouldn't draw up anything so easily thwarted. ...And since this recording's from about five hours ago, that leaves roughly thirty-four hours until the riot kicks off.'
Liana had moved quicker than anticipated, but now that I had the exact start time, I could handle it.
I switched off playback and breathed a sigh of relief.
Without this recorder, I'd have been totally blindsided and swept up in the chaos.
Just like with Vivian, Tristia's gadgets always came through in a big way.
'Once this is wrapped up, I should pay Tristia a visit.'
Busy or not, I'd left her hanging too long.
Truth be told, it wasn't just Tristia—Lucia, Bianca, Vivian, Lilith, Iris...
All the women I'd neglected were no doubt sharpening their teeth for me.
'...She'll drain me dry.'
I let out a wry chuckle at the stray thought.
Those worries could wait until everything shook out fine.
Right now, stopping the riot barreling down on us was priority one.
I shook my head to clear it and thanked Melphisa.
"You've done great, Melphisa. This was huge."
"Ah... N-no, Young Master. It's an honor to help you."
She blushed faintly at my genuine gratitude.
Melphisa's face still struggled with full expressions, but blushing like this was a massive leap from our first meeting.
"No, really. Without you... I can't even imagine."
I'd asked her to plant the recorder if Liana ever ordered her out of the room.
A live bug would've been ideal, but against Liana? No shot.
Recorders held magic dormant inside; bugs transmitted sound, stirring mana flow.
Sure, it was faint—like phone signals—but undetectable only to the insensitive...
'Liana would've clocked it instantly.'
I tamped down the sly temptation to glance up.
Not getting busted on the recorder was victory enough.
"Melphisa, sorry, one more favor."
"No apologies to the likes of me, Young Master. Just command me."
Hand over her heart, not a hint of hesitation—rock solid.
"First, brief Lucia on the situation and get her input on deployments. If she issues orders, follow them straight—no need to loop me in."
"Understood."
She bowed sharply and bolted from the room.
From here on, Melphisa would function as Lucia's limb, like Marjan, aiding deployments.
I was handing Lucia full reins, but what choice did I have?
I'd only kept pace with the Princess thanks to ample time to deliberate.
In a tick-tock crisis like this, only Lucia could rival Liana's foresight.
That said, dumping it all on her didn't mean I'd twiddle thumbs till riot time.
With everything locked in, I finally had breathing room for a key mystery.
Liana's reason for suicide.
I had to uncover it.
Zzzzt—
"Not this one either."
I crumpled the torn paper and chucked it over my shoulder.
The floor was already buried under hundreds of wads, but no dice on answers.
Frustrated, I checked my shadow—no pull from the 'sword' like before.
'Guess it showed me everything it wanted.'
Infuriatingly arbitrary, but from my first-run self? I was stuck swallowing it.
"...Haa."
A long sigh escaped me.
No matter how I twisted my brain, nothing clicked.
In the dream realm, Liana had sworn she didn't want to die.
So her suicide had to be coercion.
But...
'Someone who could force Liana to her death...'
I wondered if such a thing even existed.
In Academy's Tamer, Liana Lumenhark was a straight-up cheat code.
Stronger beings in this world? Count 'em on one hand.
Had she fought for me, apostles would've been pushovers.
'Creeping Terror'? Smashed easy. 'Revived Corruption'? Down quick.
Ah, this run's version, reborn through my first-run corpse? Tougher nut...
Still, she'd win ninety-nine out of a hundred. Last one's a draw, tops.
'...So what could make that Liana quit and choose death...'
A few suspects popped up, but absurd.
'Final Boss has no will...'
Final Bosses were phenomena, not agents.
Like rain falling, wind blowing, lightning striking.
No intent.
Just world-ending calamity.
'...But.'
The world's greatest detective said it: Eliminate the impossible, whatever remains—no matter how improbable—is truth.
As I clutched my forehead, mulling a hypothesis—
Bang—!
"...Y-Yo-Young Master... disaster!"
Melphisa burst in, hollering.
'...'
Interrupted right on the cusp—pissed me off.
But her panicked face screamed true emergency.
And her words? Nightmare fuel.
"The riot's started!"
"...What?"
Before I could process, roars and shouts boomed from outside.
"Take back our rights from the nobles!"
"All equal before the Goddess!"
Peering out the window, commoner mobs hurled spells wildly while chanting slogans.
I balled my fists tight.
'Nearly twelve hours till noon—why now?!'
Had she spotted the recorder and salted the intel to bait us?
'...Nah.'
The Princess's room had an ironclad barrier—no entry sans her say-so.
Only Melphisa got clearance besides her.
Suspecting a recorder equaled suspecting Melphisa's treason.
If Liana'd sniffed that out, Melphisa wouldn't be roaming free.
'So how'd she know I knew the timing?'
Lip-biting anxiety gnawed me—then it hit. I muttered low.
"...She didn't know."
Liana never thought her plan leaked.
"...She trusted me."
Just trusted I'd move on her schedule.
So she pulled it forward out of nowhere.
Commoners wouldn't execute flawlessly on short notice, sure...
'...But neither can we.'
Lucia's genius or not, deployment time was physically impossible now.
They had to be mid-setup.
"Melphisa, status on Lucia's deployments?"
"W-Well... Young Master... only about half done."
Better than nothing.
Half deployed, but commoners only thirty percent of noble numbers—manpower evens out.
'...All I can do is pray Lucia wraps it fast...'
Fists clenched, I ordered Melphisa.
"Got it. I'll head out and stall the riot best I can—you loop back to Lucia."
No need to ping Lucia separately.
She'd have clocked the situation and mobilized already.
My job: buy time till deployments locked in.
"Th-That's... impossible, Young Master. I can't reach Lucia."
Dread crashed over me.
I snapped, voice pitching up.
"Impossible? What the hell does that mean?!"
"Lucia's dorm is sealed by a barrier from Her Highness. ...No one in or out without her permission right now."
Checkmate, out of nowhere.