Chapter 63

In a situation where he had to face a massive swarm of magic beasts, how had the protagonist overcome it before?

When thinking of magic beasts, the first thing that came to mind was naturally…

‘Edelina.’

“Hereis! I need a Turul horn! Go get me one of those!”

“Why do we need that?”

“Arrowheads mixed with Turul horn slow down a magic beast’s regeneration!”

And when the protagonist mentioned it might be hard to aim for a beast’s small horn…

“No! The horns are structurally weak and break easily! The problem is they try to hide them, but you can do it! Aim carefully!”

“Hereis! Catasarlas are weak to acid! Their flesh burns even from the organic acid found in lemons! Here, I made something you can apply to your blade! Coat it and go hunt that thing down!”

“Hereis! Reblum’s regeneration has a limit! I’ve stabbed its eye about fifteen thousand seven hundred and eighty-three times, and its recovery speed is finally slowing down!”

…Why did every episode I recall seem to be tinged with madness?

At any rate, Anti-Monster Engineering, which Edelina majored in, was a field of study that specialized in military technology to counter magic beasts.

‘That knowledge was incredibly useful in Edelina’s route as well.’

She provided excellent advice and strategies on how to exploit the habits of magic beasts and how to craft weapons that could land effective hits. All of those contributions had led the protagonist to victory.

‘The point is, if we can secure Edelina’s cooperation, it would be a huge help in our current situation.’

If we could supplement the lack of skill in the soldiers with weapons made by Edelina, and combine that with the protagonist’s command, wouldn’t we be able to turn the situation in our favor?

The idea itself wasn’t bad.

I carefully opened my mouth.

“I have a feeling the key to this matter lies with Lady Edelina. I wonder if she might be of some help…”

“Edelina?”

“Yes, it’s just a hunch.”

“Hmm, if so, perhaps the Saintess feels that way because Professor Edelina’s knowledge of Anti-Monster Engineering would be helpful.”

Thanks to the Marquis preaching to us about Edelina earlier, the party understood my crappy advice perfectly. Arianne nodded repeatedly, saying it made sense.

“Actually, I was thinking that was the only way. If she’s skilled enough to be appointed as a professor at that age, she’ll definitely be a huge help in this messy… I mean, in this poor situation.”

Ilian agreed immediately.

“Exactly. Now that the rampart repairs have begun, things are going to get noisy both inside and out. Professor Edelina is bound to notice our plans anyway.”

-True, since things have gotten this big, it’s going to be incredibly conspicuous.

“Since it’s come to this, why don’t we just request her cooperation head-on? And technically, this is Professor Edelina’s territory. She should do something herself.”

-LOL, true. Her own home is about to get trashed; it’s not like she’s going to do nothing, right?

-Let’s get to work, Edelina.

“But how do we persuade Lady Edelina…?”

At Arianne’s fundamental question, the party fell silent.

As if they had rehearsed it, everyone’s gaze naturally drifted toward the protagonist.

-Ah, do we have to do it?

-Well, who else is gonna do it? LOL.

-It really is just us.

-But we just got rejected earlier.

-Earlier, he didn’t have a plan. If he goes in with good talking points, it’ll work out somehow.

The protagonist agonized over it. And that conflict was reflected directly in the choices.

Ding!

“Uhewhew. It has to be option one. Morally speaking, the person who knows Edelina should be the one to do it.”

Upon picking the choice, his Mental Strength dropped by about 3 points, and the protagonist spoke with a long, gloomy face.

“I… will go.”

“Will you be alright? Shall we come along?”

“No. Thank you for the consideration, but I’m going to try and persuade her calmly.”

Ilian didn’t press further, as if he had only asked out of politeness. Dripping with lingering regret, the protagonist left the room. As his lonely-looking back disappeared through the doorway, I quietly activated the Omniscient Viewer Perspective.

The protagonist stood alone in front of Edelina’s door. His fingertips trembled slightly as he knocked.

-Why do I feel like I’d rather have the door stay shut?

-This has the same kind of pressure as a boss room.

“Is entering a heroine’s room supposed to be this scary? Shouldn’t it normally be exciting?” Mo Je-won asked.

-Ah, I can already see the ending where we fail to block the beasts and get annihilated.

-Stop with the jinxes.

Creak!

Edelina’s voice drifted through the slightly open gap in the door.

“…Come in.”

-At least she didn’t turn him away at the door.

-Entry successful.

Though he succeeded in entering the room, what the protagonist faced immediately was Edelina glaring at him with her arms crossed. Edelina asked coldly, her attitude suggesting she’d at least listen.

“What did you come here to say?”

“That is…”

Ding!

-11! Stick to your guns!

-There’s no way option 1 will work, lol.

-Isn’t it better to smooth things over by saying it was a lie?

“Umm. ‘Sincere Life,’ thank you for the 10,000 won donation~.”

-Seriously, if he says the same thing again, he’s getting kicked out of the room, lol.

-Affection isn’t high enough yet, so any nonsense is guaranteed to be ignored.

-222.

“Hmm… let’s try saying it was a lie. The protagonist’s Mental Strength will probably take a hit, but if I say the same thing as before, I feel like I’ll just end up in another circular argument with Edelina.”

‘A wise choice.’

-Oof.

It was only right to trade some Mental Strength for progress. Edelina, who had been pointedly ignoring the protagonist, finally showed interest.

“It was a lie? Why would you tell such a lie?”

It seemed her willingness to listen was increasing. A good start.

Ding!

-Hmm, is it option 1?

-Probably 2. She’d like it if he said he was worried.

-Me too, 222.

…My gut, which had helped me hit the True Ending of Edelina’s route on my very first try, screamed at me. It had to be option 1. Unlike her father, the Marquis, Edelina was someone with a high sense of vigilance toward magic beasts.

‘Hereis, magic beasts are lifeforms that haven’t been scientifically proven. Doesn’t it make your skin crawl just knowing that such bizarre things are deeply involved in our lives? Even when facing such creatures, we respond with non-scientific beliefs and complacency…’

…I remembered seeing her say something like that during one of her events. Would someone like that stay quiet if she knew the Marquis had maintained the defense line so poorly?

‘No way.’

-Ah, lol. That’s true.

-I mean, if he suddenly blurted out “I’m worried about you” out of nowhere, would she even believe him?

“I think convincing her is more important right now. Besides, a lie is always more plausible when you mix in some truth!”

Mo Je-won, seemingly getting a feel for how to handle Edelina, pressed option 1.

“What? What’s wrong with the rampart?”

Edelina asked back, looking genuinely startled.

“Do you know about the recent incident at Lanta Village?”

“Of course I do. You received a medal for it.”

“Do you also know that the movements of the magic beasts have been strange lately?”

“I heard things were getting a bit odd. But what does that have to do with our rampart?”

As expected, it was clear Edelina was unaware of the rampart’s condition.

“You… don’t know?”

Edelina narrowed her eyes.

“Know what?”

-That face says she definitely doesn’t know, lol.

The protagonist was flustered but explained calmly so as not to startle her too much.

“I didn’t realize you weren’t aware that the budget for your rampart was drastically cut. I went there earlier, and the situation looked pretty bad.”

Sure enough, Edelina was horrified.

“What? C-cut? Since when!”

“I don’t know. But looking at the state of it, it looks like it’s been neglected for at least several years.”

“That man, seriously!”

Edelina slammed her fist against a perfectly innocent wall before trying to storm out of the room. Just before leaving, as if something was bothering her, she stopped and turned back to the protagonist.

“But how did you find out about the state of our rampart?”

“I didn’t know at first, obviously.”

“Then why did you come all the way here to check the rampart in the first place?”

“Because I was worried about you.”

-That did it.

As if in response, an Affection notification popped up.

“…You came all this way just for that? How foolish.”

-Lol, classic tsundere.

-So cute. That’s Edelina for you.

…I expected as much, but it still felt a bit bittersweet. Still, we managed to secure her cooperation, so let’s call it a win…

Edelina immediately sprinted toward the Marquis.

“Fatheeeeer!”

“E-Edel?”

“The budget cuts! What is the meaning of this!”

“What budget…?”

-Old man, we can see your eyes darting around.

“The budget for magic beast defense! I already know everything, so don’t even think about making excuses!”

“Gasp! No way… Hereis. Did you tell her?”

The Marquis looked at the protagonist with a face full of betrayal, but it was no use. After a heated argument with the Marquis, Edelina was put in full charge of the rampart repairs.

“I think your attempt to persuade my father with that revelation talk was a decent enough approach. But Hereis, next time, tell me the truth.”

“O-okay…”

After giving the protagonist a piece of her mind, Edelina headed toward the rampart like a wildfire to confirm the facts. When the protagonist returned to his room looking completely drained, the party gave him a round of applause.

“You managed to persuade her well, didn’t you?”

“Somehow…”

-For real, lol.

-How did he do it again?

-Who cares, he pulled it off.

“You want to set up my traps all across the rampart?”

When Edelina returned huffing and puffing after her inspection, the protagonist requested her to create weapons just in case an incident occurred where magic beasts swarmed in before the repairs were finished.

“Hmm. I don’t exactly think magic beasts will invade while the rampart is being repaired…”

“Edelina. It’s what you always say, isn’t it? ‘Always assume the worst-case scenario.’”

…!

Edelina looked embarrassed and said she would take back her complacent remark.

“Sorry, you’re right. Nothing in this world is absolute. You never know when an unexpected accident might happen. Every small possibility must be taken into account.”

“Right. Because the lives of the three million citizens of the Marquisate are at stake.”

“Three million… Right, that was the number I’m responsible for. I must have forgotten for a moment. I need to work hard.”

Had the protagonist figured out how to handle Edelina?

From then on, we were able to get exactly what we wanted from her without any further hitches.

The next morning.

I woke up to a noisy sound, and that sound was coming from the Omniscient Viewer Perspective.

‘What on earth is the protagonist doing this early in the morning?’

Looking at the screen, the party was standing on top of the rampart. Each of their expressions was set firm… The sudden serious atmosphere made me feel tense in spite of myself.

“So, Hereis. Is it me? Or is it Sir Arianne?”