MTLNOVEL chapter 26 - Ally
Seeing Ron, who was bowing his head and asking for my help, I sighed, feeling conflicted.
I understood his emotions completely, which made the situation even more difficult.
‘…It’s better than being alone.’
This thought came to me as I experienced it firsthand.
The events that would occur at the academy would be too much for me to handle on my own.
If Ron were to join me as an ally, it would be a huge help for the steps that lay ahead.
But I couldn't easily agree to his request.
It was a kind of obsession, a habit ingrained in me.
‘If I can do it on my own, I’ll do it alone. One person should bear the hardship.’
…It was a stubborn and foolish mindset, but I had lived my life this way, so it couldn’t be helped.
That’s why it was difficult for me to ask anyone for help.
I didn’t want to involve others in what I did, fearing that if things went wrong, the consequences would fall on them.
It was also a trauma from past experiences.
Most of all, Ron was a playable character, just like Ren.
He, too, was in the same situation as the others, where death could come at any moment.
I was even worried that if he helped me, it might put him in more danger.
After all, his arch-enemy was still alive.
I continued to look at Ron, still with his head lowered.
...Is he planning to stay like this until I accept?
I thought for a long time before finally deciding to speak.
"Hey."
"…?"
"Alright, just straighten up a bit."
"…Really?"
Ron lifted his bent back, visibly relieved.
It seemed my answer had surprised him.
"Ha… Well, honestly, I’m having trouble on my own, and if you help, I’d feel a little lighter."
"…Really, thank you, Ain."
"I won’t say much since you already understand, but always put your life first above all else."
It was hard to keep rejecting him, so I finally accepted his request.
"Yeah, got it. Ain."
"…By the way, seeing you come to find me like this, I guess Ren mentioned me."
"Yeah, right after we met yesterday, he brought up the duel with you."
"I knew it."
When I saw his expression when we parted, I knew he’d tell you right away.
I sighed again, recalling Ren from yesterday.
Ron, seeing my reaction, spoke with a bitter expression.
"After dueling with you, Ren was really happy. It was different from before."
"…Ron. You’ve always been by his side, so you must know better, right? That Ren is slowly losing his memories of the past."
"Yeah."
The side effects of the path of the hero she was walking.
Her emotions slowly wearing down and the memories of the past slipping away.
What must Ron have felt, only able to watch her change from the side?
It was something I could understand without words.
"But Ain. Since meeting you… it’s like Ren’s emotions have started to return to how they were before."
"…?"
"Why do you think that is?"
"I’m not sure."
I, too, didn’t have a clear idea.
In the game, when both side effects worsened, they never recovered; I had never seen a case where one side improved.
I thought it might be a bit of good luck amidst the misfortune.
"Well, anyway. It’s not something we can solve by worrying about it now. Since I’ve decided to accept your help, let’s get to the main point."
"Ah, right."
"Ren’s condition will get worse from here on out. Eventually, she might end up as a soulless machine, with no emotions and no one remembering her."
"…I really don’t want that."
Ron furrowed his brow as though imagining a bleak future.
As he said, once the side effects reached that point, there would be no turning back.
That’s why the solutions I had thought of for so long were twofold.
"The first option is to defeat the Demon King quickly, following the hero’s destiny."
"Is that even possible? There’s barely any information about it left in the Mage Tower’s library."
"…Honestly, I’m not too keen on this one."
No matter which route was taken in the game, the Demon King’s existence couldn’t be confirmed.
Before the Demon King even reappeared in the world, all the playable characters had died.
The Demon King’s return was also an unknown for me.
‘This method is too risky. Just because she’s the hero doesn’t guarantee she’ll defeat the Demon King.’
In fact, it was highly unlikely that Ren, the hero, would meet the Demon King in time.
We didn’t even know where the Demon King would be born, and it was impossible for us to go searching for him.
So, the second method seemed to be the only viable one.
"The second, more likely option is… for Ren to surpass the Master level."
The highest realm sought by those who control aura, the Master level.
In terms of magic, it was a level comparable to an 8th or 9th-circle grand mage.
It was the peak that a mortal body could reach.
But in order to completely erase her side effects, she would need to reach an even higher level.
"Grand Master."
"…Ain, are you serious? I’ve only heard rumors, but is there really such a level?"
"They say it’s theoretically possible to reach a 10th circle in magic. It’s not impossible."
"That sounds too far-fetched…"
"It means Ren’s situation is serious enough that we need to cling to even such an unlikely hope."
We both looked at each other and sighed at the same time.
The situation was far from easy.
"So… what should I do? We can’t exactly make Ren a Grand Master."
"It’s hard to give direct help. But there is something you can do."
I handed Ron a note.
These were materials I had planned to get myself, but as a disciple of the tower master, Ron could likely obtain them much more easily.
There were magic tools I needed to make for Ren and the others, in preparation for upcoming episodes.
"…Only rare materials."
"Can you get them?"
"Well, it’s not impossible. I’ll try to get them as soon as possible."
"Thanks."
"…No, I should be the one thanking you. You’ve worked so hard for us."
I couldn’t help but smile at Ron’s gratitude.
I lightly tapped his shoulder and acted nonchalant.
"I did it because I wanted to, so don’t feel guilty."
I said it with sincerity.
***
After parting with Ron, I had lunch with Kiana and then smoothly transitioned through the afternoon classes.
It was the last class before the weekend at the academy.
In the afternoon, there were classes on alchemy and basic mana manipulation.
And, as expected, playable characters were attending every class.
Apart from Ron there were only two other male characters out of ten.
‘…They’ve really changed their impressions, haven’t they?’
This was the thought I had after both classes ended.
The memories of them from the past were still in the past, and now, whenever I saw them, who had matured and looked exactly like the illustrations from the game, I felt a mix of familiarity and strangeness.
Of course, they hadn’t noticed me throughout the classes, and I hadn’t tried to catch # Nоvеlight # their attention either.
At least those two, being playable characters, still had some leeway compared to the others.
There was no need for me to reveal myself right now.
Tap.
With those thoughts, I arrived at my destination.
After all the classes ended, I stopped in front of a facility as planned.
‘This should be fine.’
Vroom―!
I drew up my mana.
Erasing both my appearance and presence with magic, I walked through the facility, checking the location of my target.
‘The Mage Tool Research Lab... this is it.’
Inside the massive building were various research facilities for different departments.
Among them, my target was the private room of a certain mage tool researcher.
This was where the mage tool that would become the source of the first main episode, the kidnapping of the princess, was located.
‘Luckily, the door’s open.’
Unlike the more closed-off facilities, I passed through an open corridor and found myself in a massive laboratory.
As I looked around in admiration, there were many mage tools scattered around, just like the ones I’d seen in mage tool classes.
It seemed the researcher who used this place wasn’t particularly fond of cleaning.
‘I found it.’
Fortunately, finding my target in the messy space was easy.
The spatial magic tool itself was enormous, after all.
I approached the massive portal located at the center of the lab.
It looked quite different from the gates I used when I went to school.
The round-shaped portal emitted a dark glow.
The portal hadn’t been activated yet.
‘Let’s see…’
I examined the magic circle on the side of the portal.
In the game, the Four Princes had modified this magic circle to kidnap the princess.
Since I was now taking on their role, I planned to use it as well.
Of course, I was planning to make a few modifications.
‘First, I’ll need to fix the runes here—’
...
It was then.
"…H-Hello? Is anyone here…?"
At the sudden voice from behind, I quickly turned around in surprise.
There, standing in front of me, was a familiar-looking girl.
‘…Hella? What’s she doing here at this hour…!’
Startled by her unexpected appearance, I quickly stopped what I was doing and returned the mage tool to its original state.
Luckily, she didn’t seem to notice anything unusual and tilted her head in confusion.
"Th-That’s strange… I definitely heard something. Did I mishear it?"
She looked around again, checking if anyone was there.
Thankfully, with the invisibility magic, I was able to avoid her gaze.
‘Why is the princess here at this hour…?’
This wasn’t something that happened in the game.