ALL NOVEL Chapter 32
After finishing the student council work, I moved to return to the dormitory.
As I was heading to the dorm, I caught sight of a familiar figure in the distance.
Fluffy hair like a broomstick.
A first-year, the contractor of the Spirit Sovereign, Poara.
It seemed she was just getting out of school.
“Poara.”
When I called, Poara turned her head towards me.
She then bowed her head to me with a bright smile.
It’s nice to have such a polite junior.
“Hanon-senpai, hello!”
“Hey, are you on your way to the dorm?”
“Ah, no, I’m actually heading to the Spirit Great Forest.”
Still going to the Spirit Great Forest after school, huh? She is really dedicated to the spirits.
“You’re diligent.”
“Ahaha, well, I’m not going there to study. I heard something strange from the Spirit Sovereign.”
Something strange from the Spirit Sovereign, huh. Now I was starting to get curious.
“Is it something you can tell me about?”
“Oh, yes, actually I wanted to consult you about it.”
“What’s it about?”
“It’s a story about a mystery that once covered the Spirit Great Forest.”
The Steel Empress.
The mystery that granted me the most important ability, my steel skin.
“Why is that?”
“The Spirit Sovereign said they felt the presence of the mystery again.”
My eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Mysteries are beings filled with danger.
They are twisted entities that couldn’t become gods for some reason.
Having the presence of a mystery felt once again meant that some dangerous event could occur.
“But this is a bit strange.”
“Tell me more.”
“Ah, yes, I can clearly feel the energy of the mystery. It’s faint, as if something is covered.”
“Faint?”
Mysteries are creatures that go on a rampage since they could not become gods.
They are beings that spill their power uncontrollably.
The very idea of sensing a mystery simply didn’t make sense.
“Yes, I’m not sure of the details, but that’s what the Spirit Sovereign said.”
Poara also knew about the mysteries.
It wouldn’t be strange if she sensed something was wrong.
“The reason you asked me is that I’ve defeated mysteries before.”
“Yes, you handle the power of mysteries, right?”
Poara, who has a contract with the Spirit Sovereign.
Surely she heard all about what I did in the Spirit Great Forest through the Spirit Sovereign.
I nodded without denying it.
“It was all thanks to that that I fought barehanded in the previous battle.”
“I thought you might know a bit more, so I wanted to ask for your opinion. The Spirit Sovereign seems anxious.”
The Spirit Sovereign, who once had the forest dominated by the Steel Empress.
It was understandable for her to feel anxious having sensed the presence of a mystery.
“Alright. I’ll also look into it personally.”
“Wow, thank you! You’re the best, senpai.”
With sparkling eyes, Poara sincerely thanked me.
Maybe it was because I only showed her a good side.
It felt like I had become a very trusted senior to her.
“Well, I’ll be off now.”
“Okay, take care.”
As I waved Poara goodbye, I fell into thought.
The sudden appearance of mysteries.
Was there an event related to mysteries happening at this time?
“At least there’s nothing in my memory.”
If that’s the case, what is overlapping with the emergence of the mystery now?
Just one thing.
There has been a change that wasn’t here before at Jerion Academy.
“Nia Cynthia.”
My eyes glimmered ominously.
At the same time, I recalled Iris mentioning Nia’s assassination to me.
Why did Iris tell me about Nia’s assassination?
Iris knew that I had dealt with the Steel Empress.
One of the student council members is Iris’s confidant.
So it’s likely that to consider me, they whispered the news about the Steel Empress that was hidden from the council.
In other words, Iris was aware that I was involved with the mysteries.
The conclusion formed in my mind.
“No matter how it happened, Nia’s assassination is connected to the mysteries.”
Mysteries are unpredictable beings.
If it’s a mystery, then an assassination of Nia is possible as well.
An accident in the neatest and cleanest way possible.
My face hardened.
“Damn it.”
I immediately chased after Poara.
It didn’t take long to spot Poara heading toward the great forest.
“Poara, I learned something about mysteries. Can I see the Spirit Sovereign?”
I didn’t know what mystery Nia was going to be assassinated by.
That meant I needed to fill the gaps in my information.
Fortunately, Poara readily accepted my request.
The Spirit Great Forest.
As we entered, Poara prepared himself.
Soon after, a faint form began to appear above the forest in response to his spirit sensitivity.
And the one that appeared was a huge turquoise bird.
As the bird appeared, the wind began to sway as if it was dancing.
It felt as if the blessing of the wind enveloped this place.
However, in that wind,
my instincts etched into me alone made my body shrink involuntarily.
My hands and feet trembled.
Chills ran down my steel skin.
I struggled to suppress it.
I realized once again just how high the Spirit Sovereign’s majesty is.
【 It’s been a while, my child. Thank you for helping our forest back then.】
A long-awaited thank you.
【 Without the spirit sensitivity, I couldn’t even reveal my face to you. You couldn’t see me at the time.】
So that’s why not a single spirit appeared that day.
It seems that because of a hopeless spirit sensitivity, I couldn’t even see the spirits themselves.
‘Still, did I linger nearby for a moment after defeating it?’
It’s hard to remember clearly now.
In any case, thanks to this, the Spirit Sovereign was quite kind to me.
Even though I couldn’t even communicate without Poara’s help due to lacking spirit sensitivity,
the Spirit Sovereign was well aware that I rescued the Spirit Great Forest.
Thanks to that, I could ask the Spirit Sovereign several questions without issue.
【 The mystery is felt within Jerion Academy.】
According to the Spirit Sovereign, the mystery was already within Jerion Academy.
But as stated before, mysteries are rampages of uncontrollable forces.
If they were inside Jerion Academy, then surely someone would have noticed it by now.
“Does that mean it’s possibly in a similar form as mine?”
I possess a mystery in the form of my steel skin.
The consciousness of the Steel Empress is gone, but
the power of the mystery she had definitely lingered within me.
【 I see. There are indeed some similarities.】
The Spirit Sovereign agreed with my question.
It seems more like something contained the power of the mystery rather than it being the mystery itself.
‘Is the assassin who will kill Nia carrying a mystery?’
But there hasn’t been a new figure added to the student council’s information.
With the risk of Nia being assassinated,
I had meticulously gone through the documents in the student council so far.
But in the documents, there was only Nia as the new individual entered this year at the academy.
‘That said, if I say one of the existing individuals could be capable of assassinating Nia, then.’
Honestly, there wasn’t anyone.
Having played the Flame Butterfly route countless times,
I know every character’s personality, traits, and past inside out.
‘Of course, there could be an extra I know nothing about.’
Nia is an active magic knight.
No matter how much of a mystery they hold, being assassinated by an extra-type individual is hard to accept.
‘Then.’
My head lifted.
“Spirit Sovereign, I apologize, but can I ask one last question? When did the presence of the mystery start to be felt?”
【 It was a week ago.】
A week ago.
That coincides with when Nia arrived at Jerion Academy.
“Thank you.”
As soon as I realized this, I turned my body around and started running out of the Spirit Great Forest.
Just as I inscribed my steel skin onto my body,
there exist objects in this world that hold the power of mysteries.
It’s just a guess, but
Nia herself likely holds such an object.
And one thing immediately popped into my head when thinking about such objects.
‘That staff.’
The staff that Nia reportedly acquired through an acquaintance.
Even Nikita reacted to it, it was a staff she took considerable care with.
Is it a coincidence that she suddenly got a new staff at this point?
Nia’s original staff was destroyed.
At that moment, the staff craftsman got into an accident and got hurt.
An acquaintance recommended a new craftsman.
I felt a hint of unease.
Nia’s assassination is inevitable.
Then, there must be something that acted to create that inevitability.
The result is a conjunction of coincidences that even Nia might not notice.
Realizing this, my legs began to move faster.
Before I knew it, the building of Jerion Academy’s Magic Arts came into view.
I don’t know when Nia will be assassinated.
Moreover, even if I stop the assassination this time, there’s no guarantee he won’t die.
And considering the overarching story’s narrative, it’s right that his assassination should be allowed.
Nonetheless, my legs did not stop.
A person is about to die.
Knowing this, I couldn’t just stand by and let it happen.
‘They say they’ll do anything for the greater good.’
Yet when faced with the situation, my body moved instinctively.
I, the fool,
should be growing cold for the ending, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
If the narrative doesn’t progress, the world will likely face ruin.
And I might die too.
If I don’t want to die, I must somehow align the scenario with the flow of the narrative.
However,
Someone will undoubtedly be grieving Nia’s death.
During the playthrough of the Flame Butterfly route,
Nia’s assassination couldn’t be stopped no matter what I did.
And the subsequent dark route of Nikita followed along.
The next act and the next act called for these previous events to be necessary.
Nikita is destined to die as the boss of Act 3.
Her descent into darkness became an unavoidable route once Nia’s assassination was confirmed.
My fists clenched tightly.
Having played the Flame Butterfly route countless times,
I am certainly the ultimate expert in it.
‘Already, at the point where Lucas is dead.’
The direction of the narrative was diverging at twilight, and I was just cobbling it together to force it back to the right track.
Even so, I find myself struggling to avoid a bad ending where the world collapses.
Trying to see a happy ending for the Flame Butterfly route even without the main character.
‘If Nia isn’t assassinated, can I still lead this world towards the narrative?’
No.
I can do it.
Because I definitely can.
Having seen so many endings in the Flame Butterfly route, I can do it.
I’ve already patched it countless times, and if something is lacking, I can patch it again.
‘Since it’s a happy ending I’ve aimed for.’
My eyes filled with determination gleamed fiercely.
‘Even for the Flame Butterfly route, there should be at least one.’
A happy ending where every character ends with a smile is definitely feasible.
I’ve adjusted my goal today.
If I am going to see it through without the main character,
I will create the most ideal happy ending.
My legs tightened once again.
With my resolution firmed, my legs sped up even more.
Stepping on the stairs of the Magic Arts building, I quickly arrived at the office.
In a hurry to find Nia, at that moment,
Creek—
A familiar face walked out with the opened door.
With hair colored like the Milky Way, she tilted her head as she saw me.
“Hanon, why are you running like that?”
She asked with a languid expression, revealing herself to be Sharine Sazarith.
She was a second-year, the top of the Magic Arts.
“Hah, ah, Sharine.”
Gasping for breath with my hands on my knees, I looked up at her.
Words couldn’t come out properly as I was out of breath.
“It’s troubling when you look at me with such fiery eyes.”
“Ugh, stop talking. Is Vice-Professor Nia inside?”
Sharine shook her head.
“No, she’s gone out.”
Damn, did I miss her?
After catching my breath, I straightened up.
“Do you know where she went?”
“She should have gone to the Magung. She said she finished preparing for the magic exam.”
As soon as I heard that, I turned my body around immediately.
Nia’s assassination was already in progress.
What terrible timing, it could be no worse than this.
At that moment, I began to feel a weightlessness.
As I was flailing my legs in mid-air, Sharine flew up to follow me.
“What’s going on? Is it urgent?”
Urgent, of course.
It’s about someone’s life.
“I’ll help you.”
With those words, Sharine immediately changed her direction.
The path she took was towards the window.
Whoosh!
Thanks to Sharine’s wind magic, the window opened.
Then Sharine lifted me and immediately flew out of the window.
In an instant, the scenery below began to rush by.
It was a speed that couldn’t even be compared to my running.
I re-realized just how useful magic is.
“Should we go to the Magung?”
“Yes, thanks for the help.”
“Next time, make it curry bread.”
Was she thinking to make me a bread courier by helping me?
“I’ll buy you cream bread and red bean bread when this is over.”
“Wow, then I must work harder!”
Sharine’s face lit up with excitement as she increased her speed.
As we flew, the Magung, previously at the horizon, quickly grew closer.
The enormous gates of the Magung opened wide as if they were going to swallow the sky.
Seeing that, I hoped that I wouldn’t be too late.