Episode 27

A lake that reflected a clear blue sky. In the familiar place behind Lagias Manor, like a natural mirror, Zeke (Hiroto) stood.

In the royal capital, he had kept doing requests as an adventurer as usual, advancing his under-the-table exchanges with Aktor, and spending his days getting dragged around by Aaron. …Aaron really did seem insane.

With some time left until the next operation, he had returned to the House of Lagias for the first time in a while.

(This lake looks impressive if you only judge by appearances. Just like the Lagias couple.)

Not long after he possessed Zeke, he had chosen this lake as a test site for magic. He couldn’t possibly have understood magical theory, but he had been shocked at how he could use magic without any real trouble.

“Thousand Swords.”

He launched cold swords shaped from ice into the sky. A thousand blades, bathed in sunlight, began to fall under gravity, and in the end all of them disappeared into the lake. The impact kicked up sprays of water, which froze in the cold. A fantastical scene spread out—impossible in the real world.

(So this is what five years of results look like…)

He kneaded mana, built the spell, chanted, and released it—executing every step at the shortest speed. Now he could do it as naturally as breathing, as if moving an arm.

A pure game fan would have been thrilled. Hiroto understood that wanting to take time to make a character stronger wasn’t strange. —But Hiroto wasn’t broken enough to treat trading lives like a game.

(If a boss character were this strong, players would complain.)

Hiroto had played Wish Soul over and over. He had raised the protagonist as a basic melee build, and he had also tried challenge runs centered on magic just to be contrary. Those had been fun in their own way, but he had still felt that the “proper build” for each character was the strongest. —The heroine’s brainless brawler build had felt wrong on every level.

(When you think about it, Zeke really is unfair. Swords, magic—anything goes.)

Zeke repeatedly clashed with the protagonists. The worst villain in the story had broken players’ spirits again and again in combat events.

If you approached carelessly, you got beaten into the ground by a demonic combo weaving swordplay and body techniques. If you kept distance, you got roasted by near-instant chained spells. Fans even joked it was a bug that made story progression impossible.

In the worst way, he was hated by both the game’s characters and the players.

(Honestly, the current Zeke is beyond the original. …But it’s still not enough.)

No route ended with Zeke surviving. The House of Lagias—including Fool and Noisy—always exited the stage in the end. It was an unavoidable story event, and the final battle with Zeke always occurred.

Because he knew that, Hiroto kept building power without complacency. Swordsmanship and magic—always at the top. He completely mastered body techniques, recovery magic, and healing magic too. He coughed up blood striving for the ultimate form of Unison Link. —All of it for one reason: to survive.

He even did things that would enrage original fans. He made contact with main characters and took parts of their power for himself—refined into forms stronger and easier to use. He used anything he could use. —So that he could be the one laughing at the end.

(If I can’t avoid becoming enemies with the main cast… then I’ll have to fight.)

His stance of surviving hadn’t changed, but he didn’t want to seek conflict first. If it wasn’t necessary, he didn’t want to fight, and he didn’t want anyone hurt. He could run far away instead. But then… other people would be hurt. And Hiroto already knew that now.

(Can I… kill them? The main characters?)

He had struggled to change the scenario, but the foundation still hadn’t changed. No matter how much he resisted, it felt like things were being slowly corrected back toward their original shape. Even if he looked away and pretended not to notice, the results spoke for themselves.

(If I accept everything… why do I have to suffer for a world I have nothing to do with?)

The main cast weren’t the only ones he might have to fight. He would likely become enemies with the country’s key figures too. Among them would be familiar faces. Could he be ruthless toward them?

(Fool and the others will make contact with the “Guide,” if the scenario stays the same.)

In the original, the clueless Zeke was tricked into abducting the heroine and bringing her to Lagias Domain. As a result, the Lagias couple were forced into the role of “Gatekeepers.” Bound by a pact with the royal family, they burned away their lives without even understanding why, to guard an interworld gate. In a sense, they too might have been victims—props on a stage.

(If, by some mistake, Zeke—me—ends up inheriting the role of “Gatekeeper”…)

The large lake spread before him. A lake the same beautiful blue as Zeke’s eyes would be stained red—by his own blood and the blood of the main characters.

(Will I… die here?)

A letter handed to Zeke after he returned to Lagias Manor. In his room, he checked the one marked as sent by the Adventurers Association. Its content appeared to concern a named request, but the reality was different.

When Zeke infused it with a specific mana signature, the letter changed. The sender was Aktor of the Astera Ducal House.

“Regarding the target you previously instructed us to monitor—Sword Saint Masfelt Freak—his condition has not improved, and he remains bedridden.”

From the scenario’s progress and Van’s actions, Hiroto had predicted Masfelt suffered from “mana sclerosis” just like in the original. He gave the heroine a clue to recovery and had Aktor monitor him. If Masfelt’s death could be prevented, it would at least avoid a negative outcome.

In the original story, Zeke tried to kill Masfelt. But in this world, there was no need to play along with that scenario.

“His grandson and the Sage appear to be searching for a basilisk, the key component for the specific cure for mana sclerosis. …I will not mention here who discovered the treatment confirmed five years ago, or where. —In any case, their search seems to be struggling. Basilisks are a rare species, after all.”

The attack incident targeting the entrance exam. Back then, Zeke had exterminated a large number of basilisks—thinking about it now, he should have secured materials. He might have driven them toward extinction.

“Per your ‘threat’… no, your advice, we are sending Ciel and her guard, Selen, to them. …Only you would have the wicked idea of ‘sell the Sword Saint a debt, then use him as a pawn later.’”

If securing the cure was difficult, then heal Masfelt using Ciel’s sacred arts. In the original, Masfelt never survived because Zeke killed him, but the greatest obstacle—Zeke (Hiroto)—had no intention of doing so here.

Gathering the main characters together earlier wasn’t necessarily bad. If he could track their movements, he could maneuver more flexibly.

In the story, Aktor connected Van’s group and Ciel, but this time Zeke indirectly filled that role. The problem was how to merge Fonsell (Luke) with them.

In the original, Fonsell had known Van and the heroine as childhood friends, but in this world there was no such fact. Because of Hiroto’s actions, their relationships had changed.

“That is all. I appreciate your continued cooperation.”

After reading, Zeke disposed of the letter immediately.

He left the room and headed for the Lagias couple. If he was late, he would get nagged—so he quickened his steps.

Across the table sat Zeke’s father, Fool, and mother, Noisy. Both should have been just before middle age, yet they still looked youthful. By appearances alone, Fool was a handsome man and Noisy a beauty. Of course, their insides were the worst.

“Zeke. I’ve heard plenty about your exploits. As expected of a Lagias.”

“As your mother, I’m proud.”

They looked like parents who cherished their son, but in truth they were corrupt nobles hated across the country. Behind their words, they only thought of their own wealth and honor. Even their son was just part of their status.

“When I spoke your name to those troublesome nobles, they started trembling. They must be astonished by your power.”

“You’re so outstanding that choosing a bride for you has become difficult. What a problem.”

The two got excited over Zeke. Zeke hadn’t realized they were using his name freely or searching for him a bride.

In the first place, what idiot would marry into Lagias? Not only would they inherit infamy, they’d be burdened with Lagias’s role as well. It sounded like a suicide wish—what had Noisy been thinking back then? She looked like she enjoyed every day.

While the protagonists were desperately searching for a poison dragon, these two were carefree—Hiroto sighed internally.

“A partner worthy of Zeke might be royalty at this point…”

“Or perhaps someone from another country could be good as well.”

“…I see. Perhaps this country’s royal family lacks sincerity.”

A territorial noble saying the royal family lacked sincerity was nothing but insolence. Considering the relationship between the royal family and Lagias, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible, but Fool and Noisy didn’t know the truth. In the past, the royal family and Lagias had shared a pact and secrets. Even now, after so many years, they continued to uphold that role unconsciously.

“The House of Lagias isn’t invited to royal-family social events. It’s infuriating.”

“With Zeke’s achievements, they should invite you. Poor people…”

Hiroto nodded inwardly that the royal family was making a sane judgment. If Lagias showed up at a royal event, it would ruin everything. …Or at least, it should.

“Fine. Zeke—keep swinging your sword and casting your magic for Lagias. You are special.”

“That’s right. Your existence supports the House of Lagias.”

He understood well that a powerful Lagias was special just by existing. To the royal family, it was convenient—yet also dangerous. In a sense, the royals and Lagias were bound together by fate.

Zeke gave measured acknowledgments so as not to draw their displeasure. Their words did not reach Hiroto’s heart.