Chapter 34

EP.34 Lucie (2)

"Velo, come back."

I watched as Lucie dismissed her whale familiar, Velo, and tried to piece together the situation in my head.

I had lost consciousness and collapsed while experimenting with the elemental bracelet. Although I was quite exhausted, losing consciousness was unexpected.

It seemed that Lucie, who was passing by, had accidentally found me and helped me.

'Lucie?'

On the surface, there was nothing unusual about the situation. The problem was that Lucie was the one in charge.

Unless I was on the Lucie main route, she spent the entire first semester living as a complete loner, showing her true colors as an outsider. She wasn't the type to be moved by someone like me lying there.

She would have just thought I was sleeping and walked past. She was the kind of person who would leave someone to die if they weren't to her liking.

For that reason, I felt a sense of unease. I opened Lucie's status window.

[Lucie Eltania]

Lv: 115

Race: Human

Attributes: Water, Lightning

Danger Level: X

Psychology: [I'm relieved to see you're okay.]

The fact that her level had increased by 5 since the first time I saw her wasn't important right now.

Her psychology was strange.

'Why are you worried about me?'

She might have saved me today because she felt like it, but to be relieved?

That was impossible. The only thing I had done with Lucie as Isaac was to give a performance worthy of Best Actor of the Year during the class assignment evaluation.

So, the conclusion was...

'Could she have figured it out?'

My face turned pale.

─ "What's your name?"

─ "Grr. (Grr)"

I recalled the memory from the class assignment evaluation.

Did Lucie realize that I was the one who saved her as Grr?

If that was the case, everything would fit together perfectly.

I rubbed my forehead with my right hand. Oh, my God.

"Does your head hurt?"

"What's going on?"

"I just happened to see you faint while passing by, so I brought you here with magic."

Lucie emphasized the word 'happened' in her gentle, moonlight-like tone.

Ah, this is awkward. How did she know...?

During the class assignment evaluation, I had taken precautions because of Lucie's sharp eyes. If she had figured out my true identity, she would have reported it to the academy administration in detail.

There was another reason. I wanted to hide the fact that 'Isaac saved Lucie.'

In "The Magic Knight of Merchen," the condition for increasing Lucie's affection is to protect or save her during the class assignment evaluation. If that happens, the player has to be more careful.

'Lucie's affection is also a bad ending factor.'

Lucie is the type who, once she opens her heart, opens it completely. Her affection increases at an alarming rate, like a runaway train. Even if the player doesn't do anything special.

If you don't adjust her affection by being appropriately cold, it will eventually exceed the gauge.

Then the player will face 'Extra Bad Ending N.13.'

An extra bad ending is a bad ending that is unrelated to the main storyline. It's similar to dying in a traffic accident while walking down a normal street.

Among them, N.13, the "Cage" ending.

The protagonist, Ian Fairytale, is kidnapped and imprisoned by Lucie, who has become a love-crazed stalker.

He meets his powerless end in her loving care.

Therefore, Lucie's affection is one of the things I need to be cautious about.

"…Is this your room?"

"Yeah."

Anyway, there's no other way to explain this except that she figured out my true identity...

The bruises on my body had all healed. When I noticed the injuries on my body, Lucie explained.

"I healed the minor wounds. I know how to use healing magic. You must have pushed yourself too hard... Lie down a bit more. I'll wet the towel and give it to you."

Don't be so nice. You're not that kind of character.

「Water Creation (Water Attribute, ★1)」

While Lucie used water magic to wet the towel that had fallen on my leg, I pondered.

I didn't expect this variable to appear. When and how did she figure it out?

"Alright, lie down a bit more."

The rose-gold-haired variable for a bad ending squeezed the wet towel in a bowl and approached me.

Startled, I reached out to stop her.

"Wait, hold on."

"…?"

Lucie looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"Thanks for saving me, but why did you bring me to your room?"

"Where else would I bring you?"

"There's the academy hospital. Or the infirmary is close by…."

"…I never thought of that. I've never been to those places."

For Lucie, who was both physically and magically strong, the hospital was an unlikely choice.

"How did you get here without being seen?"

"I just didn't run into anyone on the way. Why?"

Just good timing, I guess.

"Never mind, it's nothing…."

I couldn't think of anything else to say, so I just took the towel. It was cold.

I felt my forehead and confirmed that I had a fever. I placed the cold towel on my warm forehead like a hand warmer.

"Stay in bed. I'll bring you some warm soup."

As Lucie got off the bed, I decided to probe her.

"You know me? Why are you taking such good care of me?"

Lucie's shoulders twitched, and she stopped.

[Lucie Eltania]

Psychology: [I'm at a loss for words and don't know what to say to you.]

Ah, not that. I'm curious about what kind of feelings Lucie has for me….

"…I'm not sure myself."

Lucie blushed and left a meaningful statement.

'What the…'

That innocent reaction. It was the kind of reaction you'd see in a青春romance.

"Issac."

Lucie turned to face me, even calling my name. I never taught her my name.

She was hesitating, blushing, and trying to say something.

"Actually, I've known you for a while…."

'This is bad.'

That opening line, no, stop…!

This awkward atmosphere. The pinkish air. It felt like she was about to confess out of context.

Lucie starts to become a stalker the moment she confesses. Confessing makes her feelings grow even more.

But… it's too early, right?

Could my face be more to Lucie's liking than Ian's? Could that be why her affection is increasing faster than in the original scenario?

"I saw you by chance once. After that, I kept watching you. And I became curious. Why are you so dedicated to your training…."

Lucie spoke in a soft, intimate tone.

I can see why she'd be curious. When I was Grr, I displayed immense power. It was contradictory for someone like that to be practicing such basic magic.

"Everyone else is dedicated to their training too."

"You're the only one who always pushes yourself to the point of nosebleeds."

'Always' watching me?

"Because of that, I had a lot of thoughts while watching you. So, so what I want to say is…."

"Ooh, what's that?!"

A very unnatural change of topic.

I had no choice. I wasn't prepared to hear 'those words.'

My head already hurt from the final boss of Act 6, Chapter 3 appearing so early.

I didn't want to add another bad ending factor to worry about.

"Oh, that's…."

Lucie explained the name and purpose of the object I pointed to in detail.

Each time, I pointed to some random item and exclaimed, "Ooh, amazing! What's that?"

"What's this? It looks fancy."

"Chessboard. I got it as a gift."

"What's this? The design is cool."

"Family ceremonial sword. I brought it with me to the academy and just left it here."

"What's this? It's pretty."

"A grimoire from someone important. It's made of human skin."

"What's this? It's cute."

"A cursed doll used in black magic. You insert someone's hair and stab it with a needle to cause them pain. It's probably just a superstition, but do you want to try it?"

Before long, Lucie was showing me around her room, introducing various ordinary items.

"Ooh, there are a lot of books here."

"That's not allowed."

When I mentioned the bookshelf, Lucie's usually gentle, moonlight-like voice turned sharp.

I could feel a sudden hostility. I quickly turned away from the bookshelf. Yeah, I was scared.

It seemed that the bookshelf contained things she was embarrassed to show. Nothing special, just books with titles like 'How to Make Friends,' 'What is Friendship,' and 'How to Open Someone's Heart.'

…She really is determined to open her heart.

"Is it okay to walk around?"

"Sure, thanks to you."

I had been looking around the room with the towel on my forehead.

My head was a bit dizzy, but it wasn't severe enough to show.

"What's this…?"

I almost asked, "What's this?" reflexively.

What caught my eye was a small cylindrical container. It was emitting a lustrous black pearl glow under the soft light of the glowing lamp on the desk.

Lucie stood beside me, narrowing her eyes. It was as if she was telling me not to ask what it was.

After a moment of silence, just as I was about to pretend I hadn't seen the container,

"Issac."

Lucie spoke in a soft, almost hypnotic voice.

"Do you think the 'Witch of Catastrophe' is all bad?"

…Why are you asking that out of the blue?

"Why do you ask?"

"Just… I suddenly felt like asking."

Lucie looked at the small, black cylindrical container and then lowered her head slightly.

Witch of Catastrophe.

These are the worst witches in history, who possessed innate magical talent but committed inhumane crimes against humanity.

Due to their unspeakably cruel acts, it's natural for anyone to think they are 'bad.'

But I quickly understood why Lucie was asking.

Inside that black container was Lucie's eye. A certain Witch of Catastrophe had plucked out Lucie's eyes and preserved them, then handed them to her. Lucie kept the container on her desk to remember that witch.

The eyes Lucie has now were given to her by that witch. The seemingly cruel act was to save Lucie's life.

Incidentally, this is why her vision is not at a human level.

"…No."

I shook my head and answered indifferently.

Having seen all the stories in "The Magic Knight of Merchen,"

I knew very well who the Witch of Catastrophe that Lucie missed was.

Unlike her infamous reputation for luring many children to a candy shop and brutally murdering them,

she was actually someone who sacrificed everything for the sake of children.

While I should avoid increasing Lucie's affection, I didn't want to deny the person she missed.

"I don't think so."

Lucie flinched.

"It could just be a story people made up. I've never actually seen the Witch of Catastrophe. How can you be sure?"

Lucie looked at me with wide, surprised eyes.

I pretended not to notice and continued looking at other items.

"Yeah, that's true."

Lucie's voice, slightly choked with tears, carried a deep sense of loss.

The Witch of Catastrophe was a very important person to Lucie, along with her older brother.

However, the witch was unjustly accused of sacrificing many children to a mythic-level monster and had to sacrifice herself in front of Lucie.

People and the nation had blamed the Witch of Catastrophe for everything.

Lucie collapsed that day. She closed her heart to others. The world, which she had tried to see beautifully even after being abandoned by her parents, showed its cruel side to a 10-year-old girl.

"……"

"……"

An awkward silence filled the room. Did I set the mood too much…?

No, what should I say to her sniffing? How do I handle her trying to hold back tears?

"Ah, I suddenly have a headache…."

I had no choice. In situations like this, faking an illness is the way to go. I was actually in pain, but I needed to act even more so.

I swayed and gracefully, naturally fell back onto the bed. I thought it was a great move.

Sitting on the bed, I tilted my head back and pressed the towel on my forehead.

"Are you okay?"

"My head is spinning… I must have pushed myself too hard."

"Stay in bed. I'll bring you some warm soup."

I nodded, not feeling hungry but wanting to buy some time to think.

Lucie looked at me with a worried expression for a moment before heading to the kitchen.

After a while, she suddenly poked her head around the corner and stared at me.

"Issac."

"Yeah."

"I want to be friends with you."

"…What?"

What?

Hearing her slightly amused tone, I looked at her again.

Lucie's face was filled with a pure smile. She blushed and scratched her cheek, embarrassed.

'Friends…?'

I was taken aback.

In "The Magic Knight of Merchen," there was no option to become friends with Lucie. Her affection gauge always represented romantic love.

"I've been thinking I want to be friends with you ever since I saw you training so hard."

"Huh?"

Come to think of it, she did say she had been watching me train. If I consider this separately, it could mean she had realized I was Grr. She didn't mention Grr at all.

That's right. It was a separate issue.

Lucie had just found me by chance, was impressed by my dedication to training, and felt a sense of goodwill towards me….

I don't know how she went through this psychological change, but I should take her words at face value.

I should have suspected it when I saw the many books about friendship on her bookshelf….

So, she was…

'She didn't realize I was Grr and just wanted to be friends with me?'

I felt as if I had been hit on the back of the head. It was a feeling of betrayal.

I had been putting on all sorts of shows in my head… I felt embarrassed.

I still can't let my guard down, but being friends is fine.

'It should be okay.'

At first, I was hesitant to be friends with someone like Kaya Astraean.

But after making friends with Amy Holloway and Matteo's group, I realized that a certain level of caution in friendships was acceptable.

Meeting Kaya would draw attention? We can meet in places where we won't be seen. I hardly run into her these days anyway.

In any case, I welcomed this relationship.

I got off the bed and approached Lucie, who was the second character I had the most affection for in "The Magic Knight of Merchen."

I smiled brightly and extended my right hand to her.

"Sure."

Lucie's eyes sparkled.

Her rose-gold hair seemed to rise slightly, as if charged with static electricity.

She tried to maintain her composure, holding back her smile, and took my hand.

Being friends. To me, it was nothing special, just a simple matter of accepting a friend request.

But for Lucie, it must have been a very difficult thing.

Having isolated herself from others for so long, she must have had a vague fear of the concept of friendship.

She must have tried to understand the concept of friendship by reading the many books on the subject.

Her words just now must have been filled with countless worries and concerns.

In "The Magic Knight of Merchen," when you talk to Lucie, the only response is '…….' She always walked alone, ate alone, and studied alone. She spent the first semester of her first year in complete solitude.

She had moments of laughing and interacting with others. Even if she felt disillusioned with humanity and had emotional scars, her true feelings were different from her outward actions.

The crackling sound of the fireplace lingered like an aftertaste. After a while, I managed to break the awkward silence.

"But you're so noticeable. It