Chapter 52
A ridiculous late-night uproar.
As I stood speechless at Hafen Village’s latest disaster, Iris beside me gave a soft chuckle and pointed toward the village.
“This must be your doing, too, Genesis.”
“……”
But I couldn’t answer.
Sure, I was the one who’d sent Enrique on an errand, but Genesis wasn’t stupid enough to throw a party this oblivious to the mood.
Masked characters in fiction generally don’t drink like this.
At the very least, if they were going to do it, it’d be something more like… sitting alone at a bar and nursing a glass after the case was closed.
“…Please tell me this isn’t true.”
I muttered under my breath.
I couldn’t believe it.
Of course, after this incident, I planned to sever all ties with Genesis for good, but that didn’t make this any less awful.
I was starting to lose sight of why the person I’d created—Genesis—did the things he did.
Wait, he wears a mask to hide his identity, but throws a huge party like this???
“O-oh, speaking of which, changing the subject—”
Honestly, I was so confused that I decided to change the subject.
I tore my gaze away from the village, where the carnage was still unfolding, and looked at her.
At the same time, I remembered my original plan.
I’d saved her so she could somehow get over her negative feelings toward Ultos.
I couldn’t let the one heroine among the original story’s main cast hate me.
“……”
I stole a glance at her expression.
“…W-what is it? Why so suddenly…?”
Iris was completely different from how she’d been when we’d met that evening; now she was demure. Without her usual bravado, she seemed like a genuine, beautiful girl.
I see.
Now that I thought about it, she was the strong-willed, somewhat tsundere type of heroine, but once she let someone into her heart, a very girlish side came out.
In other words, the fact that she looked so gentle meant she’d opened up to me at least a little.
Now, what should I talk about—
That was what I was thinking when it happened.
“…Genesis!” she called out loudly.
“Hm?”
“Um… I’m still so far from where I want to be. My position at home is weak, I’m not strong, and I have no influence in society. I have nothing. Even someone like me…”
She paused to catch her breath.
“—Can I become like you?”
The words were forced from her lips.
She wore a pained expression.
She must have been rejected over and over until now.
—But.
“You can.”
I answered without hesitation.
“Actually, you’ll become far stronger than I am.”
“…Huh?”
◆
Because I knew it—without a doubt.
Iris Vevern wasn’t the illegitimate daughter of some backwater baron… Her true identity was that of a descendant of the royal family, thought to have died out.
In other words, she was a person of astonishingly noble blood—a member of the royal line.
In Iris’s route, she would gradually reveal her true potential and bring down the current royal family, mired in corruption.
Incidentally, our beloved Kuzutos-sensei looked down on her as a baron’s daughter and tormented her relentlessly. Even after her true origins came to light, he refused to believe it, and ultimately she had him disinherited.
Kuzutos-sensei… I know I’m hardly one to talk, but maybe try looking at the person you’re dealing with…
“Really? Why can you say that with such certainty—?”
Iris’s eyes clouded over.
I told her firmly.
“Because I’m certain of it.”
I couldn’t very well say, “Because I know the original story,” so I vaguely dodged the question.
“There’ll be hard times, but—no night lasts forever.”
The sky had just begun to grow faintly light.
“But…”
A moment of silence.
“Hahaha… What’s that supposed to mean? I asked you so desperately, and you give me that…”
She laughed brightly.
As if she couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“It’s strange. We met for the first time today, and I don’t even know your face, yet… your words always seem to look straight toward the future.”
“I’m just saying whatever comes to mind.”
“No,” Iris said, shaking her head.
“You even moved the heart of the very person you’d just been fighting for your life against. That man, Baldo, looked almost happy in the end.”
That wasn’t really the case, though…
“Well, anyway. What I mean is—I have high hopes for you.”
Actually, since I’m going to save the world, I’d be worried if someone like me were enough to satisfy you.
◆
Then, just as I was about to leave for Hafen Village…
I suddenly remembered my original goal.
I asked her what she thought of the heir to the Randall dukedom.
“Ah, so you know about that scene, too. Actually, it wouldn’t be surprising if you knew everything.”
she said.
I’d braced myself for her to hate me at least a little.
—But.
“It’s all right. If anything, I’m feeling more motivated. Just watch me.”
…Motivated???
But before I could ask what she meant by that “motivated” remark, she left with a smile.
“First, I need to find the carriage and driver who were attacked. I hope they’re safe.”
—Well then. Until we meet again… someday, I’m sure.
Man…
Left alone, I didn’t know what to make of it.
Because the smile I’d seen on her face at the end was so beautiful that even I, who was devoting my entire life to being a mob character, couldn’t help but be captivated by it.
“The main heroine really is something.”
I murmured to myself, then headed toward Hafen Village to make sure everyone was safe—
or rather, to interrogate Enrique, the ringleader behind this party.
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
Protagonist
→ He had what it took to eventually take over an entire country, so he wanted to make amends for his “concubine” comment somehow. She forgave him… right???
Iris
→ Thanks to the masked man’s confident advice, her motivation soared. She rekindled her fighting spirit and vowed to meet the masked man—Genesis—again.