Chapter 52

“I’m drained…”

I’m not exactly the type to step forward and lead like that. Doing something so out of character made my body ache. But I didn’t have time to whine.

‘I have to prepare for the next chapter.’

Before that, I needed to check my status window for the first time in a while. A lot had changed after passing through two chapters.

The thing that caught my eye most was the solid number of 682 points. I wondered if I could stop worrying about points now, but…

‘The updated shop might demand high points.’

I shouldn’t spend them recklessly; let’s save them.

‘My job has changed correctly, too.’

The “Temporary” tag is likely because the formal appointment hasn’t happened yet. And then there’s Mental Power. Recently, my mental state hasn’t been great, but… what happens if that drops further? Will I just drop dead like that ominous emoticon? I don’t know. I’ll have to be as careful as possible with stress management.

Next, I opened the Affection Tab.

There were a whopping ten people registered. Although one person with negative affection was mixed in, most of them were favorable toward me. This is why I love being able to see affection levels. It shows clearly in numbers exactly what the other person thinks of me.

‘I wonder if complex human emotions can truly be decided by a single number, but…’

Liberation from uncertainty always brings emotional stability. It allows me to grasp at a glance whom to trust and whom to watch out for. It’s an incredibly convenient feature.

‘Maintenance is over. Now, shall I organize my future direction?’

And that direction would be dictated by the hidden item I obtained from the County.

‘I’m going to see the ending with this.’

There were two scenarios. Taking the ledger and approaching Jeffrey Rubel at the right timing and…

‘You did this, didn’t you? Hand over the position to the protagonist and get lost while I’m being nice. Or should I just spill everything?’

…threatening him like that. But this method had many problems.

‘Do you have proof that’s me?’

What if he just plays dumb like that? Since the ledger lists family names rather than individuals, it was a high possibility. And since I had no other solid evidence, I’d be left speechless. Another way was to go to the Emperor and tattle.

‘Those crazy House of Rubel bastards. How dare they mock our Empire? Execution for everyone for treason!’

In that case, Duke Rubel would die and the dukedom would become vacant, but the protagonist would die, too.

‘…’

Therefore, both of those scenarios were out. However, if I combined the first and second scenarios well, I might be able to create a different result. By using me.

‘I’m the Saintess.’

Using the position of Saintess, I could make the impossible possible. The final plan decided after much deliberation was as follows:

1. Visit the Emperor.
2. Show him the ledger.
3. The enraged Emperor tries to exterminate the Rubel family.
4. Claim that Ralphican named Jeffrey as the culprit, so kill only him and demand the dukedom be given to the protagonist.
5. If he doesn’t comply, threaten the Emperor that Ralphican will be furious!

It was a plan possible only because a Saintess has the status to strike a deal with the Emperor. And in order to make such a demand…

‘I can’t just be a weak, powerless Saintess.’

An Emperor who holds hegemony over the continent would be well-versed in the Church’s affairs; if he knew I was just a puppet Saintess in name only, he might not grant my request to save only the protagonist.

‘He might not even deal with me, or he might just snatch the ledger and be done with it.’

Besides my own standing, the protagonist’s might be important, too. If the protagonist’s reputation is trash, it might give the Emperor an excuse to refuse the demand to make him the Duke.

‘The only conclusion is that solidifying my position as the Saintess is the priority for now.’

Speaking of position, something came to mind. Reputation. Currently, my reputation is “Excellent.”

‘What happens if I raise this further?’

I might become a Saintess loved across the entire continent. Faith is power. Considering the influence I would gain from that, I should proceed in a way that maximizes my reputation.

‘I’ll have to look for things to raise my reputation from now on.’

Things to raise reputation…

‘Next was Chapter 3.’

Chapter 1 began with Mina visiting the protagonist after he was kicked out of the house. Chapter 2 involved going on an expedition with Arianne. Each chapter could be seen as a strengthening period for Mina and Arianne, respectively. Then, whose strengthening period would Chapter 3 be?

‘It’s the long-awaited True Heroine—no, Edelina, whom I thought was the True Heroine.’

The Edelina episode changes drastically depending on whether you take the Saintess route or not. Conveniently, in the Saintess route, Chapter 3 has quite a few events perfect for grinding reputation.

Ding!

“Now! Everyone~ Survive today as well! I’m going to proceed. Where did we leave off?”

-LOL

-We’re going to see Edelina now

-Gasp

-Gasp x2

-Not a spoiler! He’s been this far before

-The problem is that he only went this far LOL

-Hahaha

“Hmm~ Chapter 3? Ah! I think I got a Game Over at the beginning of Chapter 3, right?”

-He remembers this LOL

-You went out gloriously

–

…Scared me. It’s the sound of the stream after a long time. It was nice while it was quiet, but it’s going to get noisy again. Mo Je-won pressed the start button, vowing to go further this time. The screen floating in the air turned black, and white text began to be engraved.

At long last, it was the start of Chapter 3.

-I thought it would be different since it’s the Saintess route, but it’s the same.

-It’ll probably change from here on.

Next, an illustration appeared showing Mina hugging the protagonist.

‘It’s different now.’

‘I’m just grateful.’

Ah, that was my notification window. It seems I’ve officially entered the “safety zone” now. Affection points are practically on auto-farm.

“Screee! Screee! Screeeee!”

Tap, tap! Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

‘That bird…’

“Aren’t you Piers?”

-LOL, he’s like “I gotta get to the next delivery ASAP.”

“No, why are these even options? Of course I have to look!”

-Could it be a chain letter?

-LOL, no way.

Dear Sir Hereis,

I am sending this letter through Sir Ilian as there is urgent news to convey. I have had another horrific dream. Before long, an abnormal number of magic beasts will run rampant across the continent. The place where those rampaging magic beasts are heading is the Marquisate of Peyers. I saw the tragic end of a purple-haired man, who appeared to be the Marquis, and a young woman who seemed to be his daughter.
I have not yet been formally appointed. Even as the Saintess, there is still much debate within the Church, so I cannot easily make my voice heard.

Please, go to the Marquisate and save the people.

The only person who can save them now is you, Sir Hereis. I know it is a difficult request, but I beg of you.

ps. Ah, and I get the feeling this will happen after the medal ceremony. Also, unless it is an unavoidable situation, please do not speak of this letter. It could put me in a difficult position.

“This is an event that was in other routes too. Looks like we can actually save the Marquis this time?”

-As expected, the Saintess route makes a difference.

-I wonder how it’ll turn out.

‘A young woman with purple hair. That’s Edelina. But Edelina should be at the Academy right now? Ah, is it already vacation? So she went back to her family home!’

‘And an abnormal number? That’s strange. Could it be… from the Dark Forest?’

‘In the past few hundred years, magic beasts have never once breached the boundaries of the Dark Forest…’

“Ack! So that’s why those choices were there?!”

-Didn’t see that coming lol.

Oops. Even I didn’t expect this. I didn’t think the letter would tank the protagonist’s mental power that much. That’s right. I was the one who sent that letter. It’s true that a magic beast attack is coming soon. But it’s a lie that Edelina dies. Losing her father and barely escaping to find the protagonist is the main plot of Chapter 3, after all. I had a reason for lying.

‘I had no choice if I wanted to make the protagonist move.’

Things like this are what you encounter tiresomely often in the game’s monologues:

“Someone else will do it.”

“It’s probably not my job.”

That’s why if you pick defensive, ordinary choices without thinking, you’ll see a Bad Ending in the blink of an eye. There is only one way to move a person who won’t step up because it violates the rules or because they think someone else can do it.

‘Put them in an extreme situation that only they can handle.’

It’s easy because his personality is so righteous that he can’t ignore a plea for help.

‘You’re the only one I can rely on. You must save the Marquis’s family. He’s the type that responds well to that kind of coaxing.’

Plus, if the life of his friend Edelina is on the line, he won’t be able to refuse. If the protagonist saves the Marquis’s family and stops the magic beasts using this event, he can become a national hero in an instant. If I add that it was all thanks to the Saintess’s guidance, my reputation will skyrocket too. Really. It’s a perfect plan. Of course, that’s assuming Mo Je-won can recover the protagonist’s mental power properly…

-What’s his mental power at right now?

“Hmm, let’s take a look.”