Chapter 17

“Is Sir Hereis that famous?”

“Oh my. You don’t know? The man who’s been the immovable number one on the Orbis ‘Most Popular Man of the Year’ list?”

The protagonist certainly lived up to his name. Once again, it hit me that he was the center of this entire world.

“Even though he lost his title as the heir to the Duchy, he’s still a candidate for Swordmaster! He’s also the one who performed great feats during the subjugation of that Grade 9 magic beast last year.”

There had been something like that in the protagonist’s introduction. Thanks to that setting, it served as the catalyst for him being hailed as a hero.

“I know. I was just asking.”

“Aw, what? Is that all? Anyway, I hope we run into some magic beasts soon! I want to see him fight!”

“I see. I’m looking forward to it, too.”

“You like Sir Hereis as well, don’t you?”

…In a dating sim, the male protagonist is just a supporting prop to me. I had never deeply considered whether I liked or disliked him.

“I like him. He’s cool, after all.”

“Right? Sir Frederick is great too, but I prefer Sir Hereis… Ah, though that’s just a matter of taste!”

After that, she poured out a never-ending stream of words.

“But is there a reason you keep your bangs down like that? It looks like it would be hard to see…”

“Oh, do you know about this? They say there’s a Sir Hereis fan club at the Imperial Academy!”

“This is a soap that’s popular lately, want to try it? The gloss on your hair will be totally different~ I highly recommend it!”

“Do you have siblings? I only have three younger sisters, but the age gap is so big I basically raised them…”

‘This isn’t easy.’

It was nice to have an unexpected friend to stave off the loneliness, but her energy was overwhelming. Even when I tried to sneak away, she somehow noticed and followed me. I had to endure being trapped throughout the journey, listening to information I didn’t even want to know.

Perhaps the heavens took pity on me. Just as I thought my ears might go numb, the dense trees thinned out and buildings began to appear. Emily raised her arms and cheered.

“Whoa, we finally reached somewhere that actually looks like a village!”

Emily wasn’t the only one cheering. Most of the expedition members looked pleased to encounter civilization after so long.

“I can’t remember the last time I slept in a real bed!”

“Which inn should we head to?”

“Don’t get your hopes up. There’s no way there’s room for the likes of us.”

This village we had arrived at was too small to have accommodations for the entire expedition. The right to use the comfortable facilities first belonged only to the high-ranking officials.
Everyone else was told they had to set up tents for camping at the base of the hill in front of the village.

‘So, it doesn’t apply to us.’

Emily grumbled quietly.

“Hmph, I got excited for nothing. Still, they said we have free time after the tents are up. Should we ask one of the houses then? Just to let us wash up.”

“That’s a good idea.”

The bathrooms in this world weren’t much different from modern ones. It seemed the developers had thrown historical accuracy to the dogs in favor of convenience.

‘It’s not a history game, so there’s no need to be strict about it.’

As someone who had possessed a character here, it was a truly wonderful setting.
I was nodding along to Emily’s words with a light heart when I suddenly froze.

‘Wait. That’s not what’s important right now.’

The reason I had followed this expedition was to come to this village. The protagonist arriving in this specific village at this exact time was the prerequisite for the Hidden Route. In other words, the Hidden Heroine was here.

‘To become the Hidden Heroine myself, I first need to make sure that spot is empty.’

“Give me a second.”

“Sure~ go ahead~.”

I slipped away while helping with the camp preparations and headed toward the village. Then, I used a Character Location Tracker. Following the guidance, a shabby house came into view.

‘Hmm. I’m here, but…’

Its appearance was even more tragically tilted than what I had seen in the illustrations, causing me to hesitate for a moment. After a couple of deep breaths, I knocked on the door. A woman’s voice drifted faintly from the other side.

“Wh-Who is it?”

It was a weak, trembling voice full of anxiety.

‘Ah. I found the right place.’

I let out a small sigh of relief, quiet enough that the person behind the door wouldn’t notice.

“I asked who y-you are!”

Whether she was impatient or just scared, the woman pressed for an answer in a stuttering yet threatening tone. I thought for a moment, then spoke with a serious, lowered voice.

“Haven’t you been dreaming about the village being attacked? I’d like to talk to you about that.”

“What? How… how do you know that…?”

“I’ll tell you if you open the door. It’s not really a topic to discuss like this.”

“Th-The door. No, how on earth… how?”

The woman repeated herself several times as if she couldn’t believe it. I waited patiently until I heard a clack. It sounded like she had placed her hand on the doorknob. However, it didn’t open. Without rushing her, I added one more thing.

“Um… I’d like to speak with you face-to-face.”

After hesitating for a long time, the woman finally turned the knob. The old wooden door creaked open, and a pair of blue eyes peeked through a small crack. The tiny gap in the door felt like the distance between our hearts, which made me feel stifled.

“H-How do you know? I opened it, so… please tell me…”

…How should I persuade and win over someone who’s this terrified?

First, I should appeal to the fact that we share the same experience. I’ll aim for a sense of kinship. I chose my words carefully for a moment, then began to speak, acting as if the words were difficult to utter.

“I had a dream, too. The same as yours.”

The woman’s eyes widened in surprise as if she had heard something unimaginable.

“A d-dream. The s-same as mine…? Please, tell me more d-details.”

“Late at night. A magic beast resembling a wolf raided the village, and while you were trying to convince people to run away, you died.”

The woman bit her nails. Her fingertips were covered in blood; she looked like she was completely out of her mind.

“No one believed the prophecy you saw in your dream. Everyone thinks you’re a lunatic.”

All of this was what would have happened if I hadn’t come—or if the protagonist failed to discover the Hidden Route. And it likely matched exactly what happened in the dream the woman saw.

“How on earth…? Is it… r-real…?”

“It’s the truth. And you know that dream wasn’t just a simple nightmare. You’ve had experiences before where your dreams became reality.”

The woman’s shoulders jolted in surprise.

“P-Please… for now, come i-inside…”

The door finally swung wide open. I gave a polite bow of thanks and stepped into the house.

Creak—!

The wooden floorboards groaned precariously the moment I stepped on them. The place looked like it wouldn’t be surprising if a hole opened up right under my feet; it was almost terrifying to walk on. Moving carefully, I looked at the woman with a sense of pity.

‘Did she stop getting help like this because of the rumors that she’s a crazy woman?’

If they were fellow residents of such a small village, you’d think someone would have helped her before things got this bad. It seemed she had been completely abandoned.

“Um, b-but who are you…?”

Ah, I hadn’t introduced myself yet. I gave her a quick answer.

“My name is Belita. I’m a member of the expedition dispatched from the Imperial Capital.”

“The e-expedition?”

The woman reacted as if this was the first she’d heard of it, even though it was something happening right in her own village.

“Yes. We stopped by this village to rest while passing through.”

“So th-that was happening outside…”

Does she really know nothing about what goes on outside her house? I guess those things don’t appear in her dreams. I took another look at the woman before me. Her white hair was a tangled mess, her eyes were bloodshot, and her lips were chapped.

Who could have guessed? That this woman is the Hidden Heroine of this game—the Saintess chosen by the one and only god, Ralphican.

‘I’m here to usurp—no, seize—that position…’

Wait, isn’t there a nicer-sounding word I could use instead? At any rate, the reason I came here was to block the encounter event between the Saintess and the protagonist, as well as her future awakening event. At this point, my most urgent goal was to persuade the Saintess and send her somewhere far away where she would never cross paths with the protagonist.

I felt a sharp gaze and looked over; the startled Saintess immediately cast her eyes downward, as if she didn’t even want to make eye contact.

‘She’s completely on guard.’

It seemed she hadn’t lowered her defenses even after opening the door. In that case, putting her at ease should be the priority.

“You can rest easy; the events of your dream will never happen. I guided the expedition to this village specifically to prepare for the raid that will occur tonight.”

“…Ah, it was t-tonight. I had a f-feeling, but…”

“The expedition is led by the Imperial Knights. There are many experts among them, including the Swordmaster, Sir Frederick. So there is no need to worry.”

At my words, the Saintess’s expression—which had been stiff with tension—relaxed slightly. Then it turned serious again. She kept repeating the word “Why,” as if hesitating to ask.

“W-Why… are you t-telling me this…?”

The question she finally spat out wasn’t something I had calculated for. I made a face that asked what she meant, and the Saintess immediately added an explanation as if realizing her mistake.

“I mean… you could have just i-ignored me… If the expedition is going to k-kill the magic beasts anyway, there’s n-no reason to actually m-meet me…”

Is she asking why I sought her out when I’ve already changed the future where the village is annihilated? It was a sharp observation that seemed to pierce through my ulterior motives, but I felt more puzzled than surprised.

‘Usually, in a situation like this, wouldn’t you think it’s because I wanted to meet someone who went through the same thing?’

She must have lived alone for so long that her social skills had been eradicated to the point where she couldn’t even think that far. My head started to hurt.

‘First, I need to give a plausible answer…’

Another set of options at a time like this.

‘But these are a bit out of context.’

Suddenly asking if death is terrifying? Who isn’t afraid of death? Even I’m doing all this because I don’t want to die.

…I’ll pick even if you don’t rush me. I pressed option number one, which seemed the most normal.

“It seems you are afraid of death. Enough to make you want to run away.”

“…!”

The Saintess looked shocked and began to fidget restlessly.

“H-How… how did you k-know?”

…? Know what?

“I’m sorry, I’m s-sorry! Because you’re here, I had the w-wicked thought that maybe I could r-run away!”

What?

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t think like that…”

I wondered what she was talking about, but after turning it over in my mind for a moment, I realized the truth. That’s right. Ivanke was saying she wanted to escape the shackles of a heavy responsibility she couldn’t avoid.

Even if you see a future where people die and get hurt, what can a powerless person—who only sees the future—actually do? If you fail to stop it and the disaster happens just like in the dream, you’re left with crushing guilt.

Now that there was another person who knew the future, I understood her desire to trust that person to solve it and pretend she didn’t know anything. But you can’t really do that, can you?

‘Not when you’re the Saintess.’

A Saintess is supposed to have a noble heart…

‘No, wait.’

Actually, this is a good thing. Thinking back, the Saintess’s avoidant personality had peeked through occasionally even when she was building affection with the protagonist. Now I understood the psychology behind that strange question from earlier.

And the key point to focus on here was this: The Saintess wanted to run away quite desperately.

‘She’s exhausted by the situation, but she’s bound by guilt and can’t escape. Let’s aim for that gap.’

I’ll tempt her with sweet words, telling her it’s okay to run away. And if that place she runs to is very, very far from the protagonist, it’ll be the icing on the cake.

“Haven’t you wondered why such a power was given to you?”

The Saintess nodded slowly but clearly, her interest piqued.

“Things seen in a dream becoming reality… It feels like a prophecy or a warning, doesn’t it? It is a power far too great for a mere human to possess.”

This time, her pupils wavered as if caught in a storm. Not missing the moment she faltered, I shouted like someone who had attained the ultimate truth.

“This is what I think. This prophecy is a blessing bestowed by the Lord Ralphican!”

“Th-That’s…!”

“It’s not just a coincidence or a delusion.”

To be precise, it’s your ability, not “ours,” but whatever.