The Ripelreus Siblings' Misunderstanding
“Cheering for me? Thanks. If… you ever need help, just call me anytime. I’ll help you too… Just so you know, I’m only doing this for you! There are plenty of people who worship me, but the things you say… they feel different somehow… special.”
“Thanks for the support. Thanks to you, I was able to show everyone who the true master of House Ripelreus really is. …If you have some time, could you spare me a little more? You seem different from the others. And I don’t mean that in a bad way.”
These were the lines that closed out Episode 1 of Endless Fantasia.
Ever since they were children, Alto and Fria had competed fiercely for the position of ducal heir. Whichever one received Eres’s encouragement would win the duel and become her friend and ally. No matter which one she chose, the overall story flow remained the same. But because their personalities were so different, the scenes they appeared in and the content of their sub-stories changed completely. That was why, on multiple playthroughs, players would inevitably end up helping the other sibling.
As a side note, the overall story impact was generally rated higher when players chose the older brother, Alto. The route where the unchosen sibling appeared as an enemy was also considered more difficult when Alto was the opponent. Perhaps because of that, statistics showed that a whopping 37% of players chose Alto.
Why was Alto considered the harder enemy? Because he was a male character.
“So you’re Alto Ripelreus?”
Bright sky-blue hair that bordered on white, paired with a robust build. Even from a distance, his facial features and coloring stood out from everyone else. If the other students walking home from class were 4-star characters, this guy was a 6-star. The sheer amount of design effort put into him rivaled that of a romantic fantasy extra versus the male lead.
“It is an honor to meet you, Count Luke Colwen. Yes, I am Alto Ripelreus, heir to House Ripelreus.”
“You’re surprisingly polite.”
“I could hardly be rude to a count. At least… not yet.”
He gave a small bow, the corner of his mouth curling into a sly smile. I could feel the typical noble smugness radiating from him. For now, since you’re a count, I’ll show you the proper respect. But once I become duke, let’s see if you can keep acting so arrogantly. So you’d better know your place.
Even a former commoner like me, after living in this world for ten years, had learned to decipher this kind of roundabout noble speech.
“I’ll be direct. I came here to test you.”
Most people wouldn’t need to accept such a challenge, but this romantic-fantasy-looking young noble apparently hadn’t expected my bold declaration. He unlocked a wide-eyed, blinking motion I’d never seen in the game.
“…Count Luke. When you say ‘test,’ are you referring to academic evaluation?”
“Of course not. Obviously, it’s this.”
I raised my fist. If he knew anything about me, that alone should have been enough.
Alto narrowed his eyes and glanced past me. He was probably looking at Melina. Unable to find a satisfactory answer there, he finally met my gaze again.
“May I ask why?”
“Someone told me they were curious which one of us was stronger—you siblings or me.”
I’d already come up with the reason yesterday. Whether it was actually convincing didn’t matter. He had no choice but to accept it anyway.
“Since I’ll be seeing your sister during tomorrow’s practical evaluation, testing only you separately makes sense.”
“…You really are as insane as the rumors say. Are you telling me a count is willing to cause a scandal for such a trivial reason?”
“You don’t want to?”
“Obviously not.”
“That’s too bad. While your sister is busy scoring a thrilling victory against Count Colwen, you’ll be stuck fighting some country girl.”
The meaning was simple. If he refused here, I would throw tomorrow’s match to his sister. If that happened, Fria Ripelreus’s position would rise beyond comparison. As for the rudeness I’d shown Alto? Who cared? At that point, he would be neither duke nor heir—just the duke’s son.
“……”
“This offer isn’t bad for you either. I plan to support whichever of you is stronger.”
But what if I acknowledged him instead? He would gain a powerful backer with monstrous strength. That would raise Alto’s standing considerably.
“…You would support me?”
“That’s right. For siblings fighting over succession, isn’t that a tempting offer?”
“Heh… Hahahahaha!”
Crack.
A clear, ice-like crystal grew from Alto’s hand and shattered, forming the shape of a sword. It was the unique magic of House Ripelreus—creating solid crystal that served as both offense and defense. The siblings’ weapons were swords made using this very magic. Why it was called “unique” when both siblings could use it had been a point of debate in the story, but that wasn’t important right now.
“Count Colwen. Have you lost your mind?”
“If anyone’s lost their mind, it’s you.”
He’d taken the bait. But the killing intent that made my hands and feet tingle slightly… In the game, he had been so sweet when Eres talked to him, but the moment it was a man—
“As expected of Master. You casually seize the enemy’s nerves and twist them without breaking a sweat. I should withdraw now. It seems I’ll need to write an apology letter to Lady Layla.”
“It’s just this much. What’s the big deal?”
“To think you said that without realizing… House Ripelreus belongs to the First Prince’s faction. Countess Emesh, our ally, supports the First Princess. We are political enemies, you know?”
“…Weren’t we part of the First Prince’s faction?”
Melina clicked her tongue loudly enough for me to hear and deliberately looked away. Then, in a voice even quieter than the tongue-click, she added,
“Everyone except us, yes.”
Except us. The public identities of nearly all the Nine’s Piece executives were aligned with the First Prince’s faction. It wasn’t because they truly supported him—they were simply camouflaged, waiting for the right moment to stab him in the back. I had been dealing with those people behind the scenes too, but my own public identity was as an ally of Rin Emesh. And Rin was a supporter of the First Princess. That was why the First Prince wouldn’t accept me.
Aha! So what I just said…
“Do you truly believe the authority of House Ripelreus would waver over the recognition of someone like you?!”
It had become a taunt implying that my help—from an opposing faction—was more valuable than the combined support of all the factions currently backing the siblings. Wow. I really struck a nerve, huh?
“A savage with no sense of restraint. If you thought you could run wild forever just because you have power, I will correct that delusion today.”
W-wait, I worked so hard on my justification? Th-this isn’t how it was supposed to go…?
“Anyone can make their words sound plausible.”
I-I don’t know anymore. Layla and Rin can clean up the mess later. I’ve made plenty of mistakes before, but there’s one rule I’ve always followed.
Once I’ve gone this far, there’s no turning back!
“Then I’ll correct your delusion too! The delusion that your strength is greater than mine!”
The moment I finished speaking, Alto gripped a sword in each hand and charged. It had become a cliché for a sturdy man to wield light weapons while a delicate woman carried a heavy greatsword. This guy took it a step further by dual-wielding and using two-sword style. His individual strikes lacked power, but he made up for it with fast, technical consecutive attacks. That was why, if you didn’t know how to counter him, he was considered harder than his sister.
‘But he’s still weaker than Rin!’
His attack power was less than half that of the violent greatswordswoman. Since I could now comfortably withstand Rin’s attacks, these light strikes were nothing. I could just ignore them and beat him—
‘Wait. Can I really do that?’
These two were supposed to be Eres’s allies. What if I crushed him too overwhelmingly and he fell into despair? Fria was still around, but their skills were roughly equal. If one suffered a complete defeat, the other would likely follow. And if the gap became too enormous, wouldn’t the role the Ripelreus siblings originally played in the story fall onto me instead?
Their original purpose in the early game was to help the commoner Eres complete difficult but rewarding quests. I couldn’t do that for her now.
‘I’ll have to job to about… 1.5… no, 1.2 Ripelreus level.’
In that case, I couldn’t overwhelm him. I had to dodge instead of tanking the hits!
“Huh?”
“Mel? What are you—”
Why is she still behind me? Didn’t she say she was withdrawing? What the hell?! Alto’s coming right at us!
“Excuse me? Why are you dodging?!”
“He’s trying to cut me with a sword, so of course I’m dodging!! And why are you standing behind me when we’re supposed to be fighting?!”
“I never expected you to dodge! You usually just take the hits and counter!”
“J-just move aside!!”
‘How long should I train today?’
The ducal lady Fria Ripelreus was deep in thought about tomorrow’s practical evaluation. Her opponent was none other than the notoriously cruel Luke Colwen. Fria was confident she wouldn’t lose to anyone, but that didn’t mean she could afford to let her guard down.
‘I’ll just do some light warm-ups today and focus on adjusting my condition.’
Overdoing training at a time like this was a bad idea. She judged that maintaining her body without letting it grow dull was the best approach.
Even though classes had ended, the campus was still bustling. As she walked down the hallway toward the training grounds, she spotted something.
“That’s…”
A female student silently staring out the window caught Fria’s eye. It was Eres—the commoner girl who would be facing her brother Alto in the practical evaluation.
‘I heard they were supposed to pair students of similar skill levels…’
Fria had assumed the evaluation would be the stage where she and Alto settled their rivalry. It made sense that a genius like herself would be matched against Count Luke, but pairing her brother with a girl whose name she’d never even heard before was completely incomprehensible no matter how she thought about it.
“Are you Miss Eres?”
“…Yeah.”
Not even glancing over when called? What an incredibly rude girl. Anger flared inside her, but she decided to be generous and give her another chance.
“What are you looking at so intently?”
“Mm. They said Alto Ripelreus is my opponent, so I was watching.”
“My brother?”
It wasn’t even stalking—just watching. What could she possibly learn from that? Thinking so, Fria turned her gaze out the window, only to immediately admit her assumption had been wrong.
“…What exactly are those two doing?”
“It’s a difficult question. I’ve been watching for a while, but I still have no idea what they’re doing.”
“They’re…! No, I misspoke. I know what they’re doing. I just don’t understand why they’re doing it.”
“What are they doing?”
“They’re fighting. In a very barbaric manner.”
No matter how you looked at it, they were fighting. She didn’t know why Alto was battling Count Luke—the man he was supposed to face tomorrow—but from what she could see, the victor was obvious.
“So the skills of Count Luke are only at that level. He can’t even counter and is reduced to running away.”
Alto’s specialty was overwhelming speed and flashy technique. If you couldn’t shake him off, you would be torn apart by his unpredictable dual-sword attacks. Luke couldn’t shake Alto off at all and was barely dodging by a hair’s breadth.
“Even the immortal Count Colwen cannot withstand the sharpness of the crystal sword.”
It was only natural. After all, he was the only opponent her genius self had never been able to defeat.
“Is that so?”
“What do you mean?”
“From what I see, they aren’t fighting.”
“…You’re saying that isn’t a fight? He’s using his unique magic. One more step and he’ll be cut and bleeding.”
“How many more steps?”
“Pardon?”
This girl was talking nonsense. Was she just bluffing by claiming it wasn’t even a fight? Even back-alley thugs wouldn’t play around like this.
“…Huh?”
It wasn’t something a mere thug could do.
“How… You, don’t tell me…”
“Mm… I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but from the start, no matter what attack he uses, he’s dodging by the exact same margin. Why is that? Training?”
It wasn’t barely. It was deliberate. Whether the attacks sped up or slowed down, if he was dodging every single one with the exact same distance—
‘He’s toying with him…!’
In a sense, it was exactly as Eres had said. That wasn’t a fight. It was mockery. Toward Alto, who prided himself on speed and technique, Luke wasn’t even showing the physical toughness that was his own specialty. He was mocking him by completely overwhelming him with the very speed that was supposed to be Alto’s domain.
“As expected of Alto Ripelreus! So fast!”
‘Heh. At this rate, anyone watching would think we’re evenly matched, right?’
The person in question had no idea! He thought he was barely dodging, but whether the attacks were faster or slower, to Luke’s eyes they were all the same!
“How flashy! I can’t take my eyes off it!”
‘Maybe I should try getting behind him and attacking now?’
Winning by taking the back of an opponent whose specialty was speed. He was about to do something even more demoralizing than simply taking hits and countering!
“Excellent techni—”
“That’s enough!”
Thud!
An intruder suddenly dropped down from behind. Both men recognized who it was from her voice alone.
“Who are you?”
Still, they asked out of courtesy.
“Pardon the interruption. I am Fria Ripelreus.”
Fria gave an elegant bow and pulled her sword from the ground. It was a crystal greatsword as tall as she was—the symbol of overwhelming single-strike power that contrasted with her brother’s style.
“Fria… Why are you…?”
“What do you think you’re doing? How dare you interfere in a one-on-one duel…”
‘Why the hell are you suddenly jumping in?! I’m in the middle of jobbing at 1.2 Ripelreus level! You can’t both attack me at once!!!’
“Duel? The one who has sullied the honor of a duel is you, Count Colwen.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
‘I-I was doing so well at holding back… Have I been found out…?’
“I have no desire to help that man, but if I leave him be, the dignity of House Ripelreus will be dragged through the mud.”
Fria leveled her massive greatsword at Luke. Alto seemed to agree with her opinion; he caught his breath and assumed a stance.
‘Oh shit, this isn’t good.’
Beating both of them and leaving was possible. But I needed to leave at least one of them intact to keep the story on track…?
‘I need to run. But I have to do something about Alto first. What should I do?’
At that moment.
“How pathetic. You don’t have the confidence to win alone, so you join hands with your sister?”
The concept Luke Colwen had cultivated over ten years in this world—
“It doesn’t matter. After tomorrow’s practical evaluation ends, you won’t even be able to protect your sister.”
“Luke Colwen…! You bastard!!”
“What a despicable man…!”
‘Again.’ I had run my mouth in the worst possible way!
‘At this rate, they’ll have to preserve their strength and won’t be able to fight at full power tomorrow. Or they might even forfeit. As expected, I’m a genius.’
‘Wow. I already knew it, but my master really is trash.’
Luke casually slipped his hands into his pockets and strode away with dignity. For some reason, he seemed to think putting his hands in his pockets looked cool.
“See you tomorrow, you weaklings of a ducal house.”
“I apologize for today’s rudeness. Please rest well tonight.”
“Meeeeeel?”
“Stop causing more trouble and leave.”
The wicked count and his comparatively well-mannered maid departed. The onlookers who had been watching from afar also slowly began to disperse. The two siblings remained frozen in place.
“Fria.”
“What.”
“It seems this isn’t the time for us to be fighting each other.”
“You’re right. Shall we call a truce for a while?”
Once again, a massive ripple had been thrown into the original flow of events. And so, the incident of that day finally came to an end.
And the mastermind behind the whole mess? Eres, who had been watching from a distance, was—
“Mm… Mr. Alto, your balance is leaning toward the right side. Are you left-handed?”
—once again throwing another question at herself.