Don't Let It Happen!
I unfolded the newspaper because there were two main reasons. The first was to check whether the big, chunky events were progressing smoothly as they should in the original game. The second was to gather information about Chaos.
"I hope this time it's a relatively normal existence that becomes Chaos."
Chaos is simply a systemic entity that injects variables into the game with each cycle. Each cycle brings forth an entity that awakens the power of Chaos. In some cycles it might be a professor at Luin Academy, in others a plain NPC farmer. The Chaos-wakened entities each receive a unique, flashy trait, and for those who face them it is no small task to identify them, gauge them, or predict their behavior.
And I still hadn't figured out who the Chaos of this cycle was.
I had hoped the newspaper might offer some hint, but unfortunately it contained no information about Chaos. What a waste.
What remained was simply checking whether the events that were supposed to unfold had indeed occurred.
Well, let's see... the big event happening around this time... ah, there it is.
- The king and queen of Trahan Kingdom were assassinated by an unidentified assassin...
The mention of the royal family of Trahan Kingdom being assassinated. This was the useful information obtainable from this week's newspaper.
Starting from this point, the era of peace would gradually collapse, and external threats would increase compared to before.
In short, the tutorial was over.
Well, of course I'd been hardcore from the moment I reincarnated.
"There doesn't seem to be anything particularly noteworthy left."
I folded the newspaper and closed my eyes for a moment, revisiting my memories.
I would recall the events of the coming week and jot them down in my notebook.
Scribbling away with my pencil, I noted the various large and small events that lay ahead.
"Hmm, this should be enough?"
I tapped my pencil against my lips and muttered. It looked like I had covered everything.
But there was still an oddly familiar unease lingering.
Something... as if I had overlooked one small thing...
"Ah, right. I missed one."
It came to me after some thought. But was there really any need to note it down?
It was something that would happen tomorrow morning at the first-year building complex of Luin Academy—a girl's corpse would be discovered.
"It was probably... suicide, right?"
The cause would be a fall. A completely sudden and unexpected event.
Moreover, nothing else would happen because of this incident.
"The girl had committed suicide at Luin Academy." That was all there was to it.
Even after having played Grand Fantasia until I was sick of it, I still couldn't understand why the game developers had included such an event.
"Ugh... since there's nothing left to do, I guess I can take a break?"
I stretched and muttered, then plopped down on my bed.
But soon a question surfaced again in my mind.
"Why, after all, was Ellice..."
Why was Ellice crying so sadly? Sitting on the bed and pondering, I unexpectedly found the answer surprisingly easy to guess.
"..."
Ellice was a princess of Trahan Kingdom.
And today's newspaper had informed the entire world that the king and queen of Trahan Kingdom—Ellice's parents—had been assassinated by an assassin.
I understood why she had been crying while holding the newspaper.
How could anyone not feel sorrow upon the death of their own parents.
If it wasn't despair and loss that drove her to suicide, then what was?
"Wait, suicide?"
At that moment my mind snapped awake and my breathing grew ragged.
The suicide of the girl to be discovered tomorrow suddenly resurfaced in my mind.
The first-year building complex. A first-year female student's suicide for no apparent reason.
Oh, I see. That was it.
Now all the puzzle pieces tangled in my head had clicked into place.
"...Annoying."
It was Ellice. The girl who would be found dead tomorrow was Ellice.
The shock of her parents' tragic assassination would drive her to an irreversible choice.
The reason I hadn't spotted Ellice in all these countless cycles was exactly this.
Because Ellice would take her own life today.
I hurriedly turned my head to check the clock.
9:21. Most students would be heading to the training grounds or dorms by now.
I bit my lip. Had I missed it?
No, I still didn't know.
Even now, if I ran straight to the building complex where her body would be discovered... I might still be able to stop Ellice's terrible choice.
I immediately stepped out of the dorm.
But then a new thought struck me and I stopped in my tracks.
- Do I really need to save Ellice? I only care about keeping those around me safe.
- And Ellice is a half-demon, half-human born between a demon and a human. Saving her from the Praon Kingdom, which opposes demons, is little more than a crime, isn't it?
- Besides, Ellice has no one to rely on anymore. If she's going to live in misery anyway... then...
Slap!
I slapped my own cheek and shook my head vigorously.
What on earth was I thinking?
It was an eerie sensation.
As if an unknown demon inside me had seized control of my thoughts.
My skin prickled from this unfamiliar experience.
"Regardless of the reason, I should at least save the person. Ah, of course, she's half-human."
I was overthinking it. Just saving Ellice was reason enough.
I kicked my inner demon away and began running toward the first-year building complex once more.
* * *
I activated the Nature Realm and quickened my steps.
As I leaped between rooftops, scanning the buildings around me, I could barely tell whether the thing in front of me was real or just the rooftop structure. My head throbbed as if it would split.
New information flooded my mind, making my temples throb painfully.
But there was no choice.
If I didn't do this, spotting Ellice on the rooftop in this pitch-black evening would be nearly impossible...
"Whoa?"
At that moment, my Nature Realm suddenly detected the presence of a person as if lying.
Someone was climbing the stairs toward the rooftop a little distance away.
I realized in an instant that the figure was Ellice.
Thank goodness. She hadn't died yet.
Normally I would have cracked a joke like, "Haha, looks like I win the hide-and-seek this time!" but now I didn't have the energy for such petty games.
I whipped my racing heart again and raced toward the building where Ellice was located.
I ran with all my strength. A metallic taste began to fill my mouth, but I paid it no mind.
Even while I was running like this, Ellice would be steadily walking toward the threshold of death. There was no time for exaggeration.
I reached the building where Ellice was located, panting hotly.
I read her location and movements through the Nature Realm.
".........."
She was just about to fall.
The situation was far worse than I had anticipated.
Climbing the stairs eight floors to reach the rooftop would run out of time.
Or shouting loudly here to stop her... it wasn't worth considering.
If I was going to stop her, she wouldn't have chosen this path in the first place.
"Using Tao Power to catch her midway would be too dangerous."
Even intercepting with Tao Power was out of the question.
If Ellice fell toward her head or upper body, I couldn't catch her safely.
Even if I managed to save her, she would be crippled.
If she fell in a safe posture, I could try, but... would it turn out the way I wanted?
No matter how hard I thought, no method appeared...
"...No. There's one."
A method came to mind. A way to safely land Ellice.
I would catch her midway in the air with my hand, then absorb the impact as much as possible with Tao Power.
Of course, imagining it vaguely felt impossible.
I couldn't leap high enough in the air to catch her.
But if I used my trait, Parkour, and climbed the outer wall of the building, catching the falling Ellice would be more than possible.
Of course it would be terrifyingly dangerous.
Climbing the outer wall was incomparably harder than climbing a tree, and if I fell midway I could be seriously injured.
- No matter how I think, it's too dangerous.
- Is it right to risk my life just to save someone I've seen once?
- What do I get out of doing this...
"...Here we go again. Is the demon whispering something?"
The strange thoughts kept coming. I ignored the dark whisper rising from somewhere inside me.
If I could save her, I should save her. What was there to hesitate about?
"Even imagining it makes my heart race... but there's no choice."
I had no regrets about my choice.
"Hup!"
With a shout, I grabbed a small protrusion on the outer wall and pulled my arm.
At the same time I twisted my eyes to quickly locate a handhold.
This was the first time climbing the outer wall of a building, but seeing my body react instinctively like a Parkour expert gave me confidence.
I could do it...
"....!"
There was nowhere to reach.
An instant of panic spread through my entire body.
My body, which hadn't secured a handhold due to a momentary mistake, gradually slowed and drew closer to the ground.
Was I going to fall like this?
"Hah... hah... coming this far and then falling is pretty pitiful, isn't it?"
I muttered with a face full of joy.
My hand was now grasping empty air.
More precisely, it was gripping my own hard-constructed Tao Power.
It was a surprisingly useful force.
I exhaled a sigh of relief and pulled my arm again, raising my body upward.
By now I had reached nearly the fifth floor.
- Thud, thud.
At that moment, I heard a weak footstep from above.
She was probably about to jump.
I could faintly sense Ellice's feelings.
The agony that made her want to end her own life.
Being swayed by violence without reason, and having lost her only pillar—her parents—had ultimately left the world. I could understand.
But I was Ellice's demon.
So I would not simply watch as the events she desired unfolded.
I would save her with all my power.
Some might say it was wrong. Saving Ellice, a half-demon born between a demon father and human mother, was it right? Saving a being with mixed demon blood was nothing but a crime.
You are betraying humanity now.
To those people, I answered.
"Like I'd care about that..."
No matter what they said, I wanted to save her.
Your standards are none of my concern.
".....I'm sorry."
Her voice, having already given up on her life.
And soon her body stepped one step forward and plummeted into empty air. I read every movement through the Nature Realm.
I had to be careful.
I was aiming for the exact timing.
Exactly, the instant Ellice reached the space between the seventh and sixth floors.
"Hup...!"
With a kick against the outer wall, I hurled my body toward her...!
"I defy my innate nature."