༺ S1.5. A 400 Kilometers Escape Journey: Emergency Response Committee ༻
In the simulation control room, I grumbled as I manipulated the magic. It was because the magic was stiff and unresponsive, as if it had rusted.
If it were a mere hinge, I might have prayed for the glorious blessings of WD-401protects metal from rust and corrosion, penetrates stuck parts, displaces moisture and lubricates almost anything. It even removes grease, grime and more from most surfaces., but there was no such thing as magical lubricant to spray on magic in this wor…… No, wait. Actually, there was one right next to me.
“Tower Master, please help. This magic isn’t responding well, you see?”
“Eung? Wherewhere?”
The Purple Magic Tower Master, who was watching the onee-shota2Onee: big sister in japanese. shota: explained before. u get the gist grand adventure of Elaine and Pero, waddled to me. Even among the numerous problems that had arisen, I specifically stroked the core magic circle that powered the narration as I spoke.
“It’s the narration. I could read the Second Prince’s mind exactly as it was, but…… In the case of the First Princess, the perspective keeps jumping to NPCs. It works properly when it briefly immerses in a NPC, though.”
“Aha…… It’s because the First Princess’s realm is higher than yours.”
The Purple Magic Tower Master kindly told me ‘It’s because you’re a noob’. Judging from the nuance of that Metamorphosis thingy, did she mean it wasn’t working because I didn’t achieve something similar to an awakening? Really?
If that was the case, it explained why the entire simulation seemed to be creaking, not just the narration. It felt like the CPU usage was deep in the red, furiously oscillating between 80%~90%.
No wonder it was so hard to maintain. It seemed I had to exert more strength to cast Illusion Magic on the First Princess.
“Mm, Ahem…… Ahemahem, should I help?”
The twintails of the Tower Master dangled in front of my face as I was crouching down and fiddling with the magic circle here and there. When I sneakily took a sniff, it pleasantly smelled clean and fresh. It kinda seemed like the fragrance of some flower.
It was truly a joy that she finally had both hygienic and clean living habits, but…… Sometimes, I missed the body odor of the Tower Master. Ahhh, I remember back when she bathed once a week. Those were the days.
While swatting away the twintails that were tickling my nose, I simultaneously refused her help.
“……Why?!”
“Because your basics are all-in on offense. You’d slightly shatter the First Princess’s mind to make casting Illusion Magic on her easier…… was what you were planning to do, wasn’t it?”
“That…… About that…..! That was…… the plan, but! Breaking it just a little is okay!”
The Tower Master made a statement that sounded a lot like a Black Wizard.
No wonder the poor seniors and juniors had the fruits of their research trampled on. Perhaps inside that small heart, an uncontrollable impulse for destruction laid dormant. The old Murim adage of being wary of children, women, and the elderly seemed to apply even in fantasy.
“It’s true! If breaking a bit of a person’s mind caused problems, wouldn’t everyone who feels sadness be dead?! A-And, in the first place….. You also mercilessly shattered the Second Prince’s mind!”
That was an unavoidable accident.
What did you even expect me to do when the story took such a turn? And according to the news I heard from time to time, the Second Prince had been very energetically active in recent times.
Somehow, he rooted out a criminal guild that had been hiding in the underworld and took them under his wing.
Though it might be a bit of an exaggeration, my session might have had quite…… an influence on the Second Prince.
When I thought of that, it made me kinda proud. After all, he gained the strength to live on from me, in one way or another. It was also fun in a way. Somehow, when moving people in the direction I wanted……
A weight settled on my neck and shoulders.
Right as I had been ignoring the nagging about how I was the one with a flaw in my personality for troubling so many people’s hearts, including the Second Prince, and that she had never been violent…
The grumpy Tower Master had mounted onto my neck while I was crouching. Her warm body temperature could be felt around my neck. Maybe it would be fine if she was wearing pants, but it didn’t really seem right for her to ride on my shoulder while wearing a skirt.
I forcibly held back some thoughts that were trying to charge ahead. Thoughts like I should have worn thinner clothes or about what was currently happening to the back of my head.
Just in case my feelings turned weird again, I turned the atmosphere into more of a comedy.
“Eugh, so heavy.”
“I’m light, okay?!”
The Tower Master whacked my head like a drum. It didn’t really hurt. I kinda noticed that, lately, there seemed to be a lot more physical contact and playful banter.
Hold on.
If it was difficult to cast Illusion Magic on an expert that had a huge difference in realms, then…… thinking back to when I showed Earth to the Tower Master… Except for the early parts, it was definitely true that the narration didn’t work properly.
If the Tower Master, being much higher than me as an Archwizard, could show what she wanted and hide what she didn’t want in the session… Then a terrifying hypothesis came to mind. I’m talking about that time, at the department store.
The scene where the Tower Master was intensively browsing through lewd underwear.
What if that was…… shown to me intentionally……?
What if the Tower Master was actually a genius of seduction……?
“……What are you thinking, to make that kind of face?”
“No, it’s nothi……”
“I may not be able to create a simulation like you do, but I do know how to manipulate it, you know?
The Tower Master raised her hand. With that simple gesture, the control of the meticulously constructed magic was snatched away instantly. My thoughts about the Tower Master Seduction Genius Theory solidified as well. If she could snatch away control like this, then……?
I built a mental barrier and resisted as much as I could, but the narration that had its authority taken away swept through my mind like a storm.
It wasn’t a grave situation where I was getting hypnotized or brainwashed. The Tower Master just read through, avoiding the parts I had black-boxed. So ultimately, this was also just an extension of a joke.
The narration that finished searching proceeded to output the result.
Poof.
The Tower Master’s face instantly turned bright red. So much so that I was almost deluded into thinking such a sound effect was heard. Around the Tower Master, various panties of all shapes and colors appeared and spun around.
The startled Tower Master flapped her hands to erase the illusions of panties, but there was no sign of them disappearing. After a brief panic, the Tower Master seemed to make a rational decision; it was far easier and more convenient to eliminate the sole witness than to erase the illusion she created.
The Tower Master’s finger pointed at the top of my head.
……Even if I tried to escape, I was in a mounted position right now……! The Tower Master’s soft thighs were holding me tight, so there was no way to dodge the attack!
Before the Tower Master Death Beam could be fired, I urgently shouted.
“Y-Yuna, I love you! Yuna is my favorite in the whole world!”
“……That won’t work twice, you know?!”
Zing. The Death Beam flew at me.
I was continuously bombarded by it until the Tower Master’s embarrassment subsided.
While being hit by the tepid Tower Master Death Beam, I pondered deeply. In the case of the Second Prince, it was convenient to occasionally read his inner thoughts. However, it was different with the First Princess. Nothing was certain.
This was how it was supposed to be. What GM (Game Master) in the world could perfectly read a player’s thoughts? The normal flow was to scatter breadcrumbs, deduce reactions, and piece together the puzzle that was the story.
As such, my immediate goals were as follows.
One, to immerse the First Princess deeply and enhance the Illusion Magic. In doing so, understand the key preferences of the First Princess.
Two, having grasped the key preferences of the First Princess, prepare a custom ending scene that matched them.
Three, and ultimately──── ####.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯?”
Something was… How to put it? I felt an oddly uncomfortable feeling.
A feeling similar to when I built a tower with cards, but was missing the last piece before completion.
A feeling similar to when I was supposed to point at the moon, but was only looking at the tip of my finger.
After pondering for a while, I eventually couldn’t figure it out and gave up.
===============================================================
The part of A 400 Kilometers Escape Journey where the First Princess fed a naïve boy fishy, squishy slime had just passed. This was the sharp dagger I had planted. No, it was more like a sharp multi-purpose tool.
After all, it was good if the bait (or breadcrumbs) could be interpreted in many different directions.
“If you’re asking if it’s safe to drink…… Even after filtering, it would usually cause stomachaches. Some experience hallucinations or fevers.”
From a GM’s perspective, it could be interpreted as follows.
=> This slimy substance may cause stomach aches, hallucinations, or even aphrodisiac effects.
The part that it may or may not happen was important. I saw dozens of futures. If the First Princess continued the intimate onee-shota route with Pero as is, the side effect of the slime would have been a slight aphrodisiac effect.
If it felt like there was a lack of crisis, I would use hallucinations, or if the Princess didn’t seem to want a thrill, it would just end with a slight stomach ache. Or, in what I considered the worst-case scenario── I would have to use it as a goal for the progression of the story.
The First Princess harbored suspicions while also having affection for Pero. If the narration was reading her correctly, in a real crisis, she was prepared to abandon Pero.
If she actually abandoned Pero, it would complicate the plot.
That was the problem with scenarios that featured a crucial NPC as the main character.
What if the Second Prince didn’t harbor affection for Centra? What if he went ‘How presumptuous for lowly Resistance scum to dine with me!’? That would ruin everything; 『Beer and Song』 and all. I would have kept deploying noblewomen who liked blonde hair to a suspicious degree.
So, this was….. Plan B.
If the First Princess suspected the innocent boy, I would change the genre from an onee-shota tale filled with romance to one where she had to discover the impostor. The slimy substance from before would help me in this.
You see, in that worldline, the slime contained wriggling eggs of a Variant.
Due to swallowing the slime, Variant larvae would hatch inside Pero’s body. The larvae would parasitize the boy’s brain…… And what happened next varied with the situation. It made me laugh with delight.
“What are you thinking?”
Right then, the Tower Master hugged me abruptly. I was slightly startled but accepted it for the time being.
The Tower Master’s expression…… was crystal clear. About 75% embarrassment and 25% concern. I didn’t know why she was throwing herself at me even while being so bashful. Did she think I liked physical contact? I mean, I do, but…
The concern…… Was it because she worried I would overdo it? There was no need to worry, though. TRPG was…… just a hobby, after all. Just a pastime. There was no reason to worry. So I replied.
“Nothing much.”
I guess my head did feel a bit dizzy, though.
===============================================================
I introduced a crisis called a Giant Variant.
The First Princess did not abandon Pero.
He treated her to some salad.
I thought she would suspect that poison was mixed in, but she didn’t.
I introduced the young man with narrow eyes, Learo.
It was a device to provoke suspicion.
I quietly dropped the fishing line. As for the choice? That was for the First Princess to make……
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From their very first meeting, Purple Magic Tower Master, Yuna Yurensto Violetiris, had recognized his strangeness. On that day, at that time… When all the Tower Masters gathered in a small village for just one boy── And not a single one of them could find out the boy’s name.
Ever since then, Purple Magic Tower Master, Yuna, had been watching him.
It was undoubtedly fortunate for him to be drawn to the peculiar hobby of TRPG for two reasons. Thanks to that, he chose the Purple Magic Tower and it also delayed the progress of 『That』.
From then on, it was just days of surveillance and observation.
He had the talent of an Archwizard. Had he been in the Red Magic Tower, he would have the magic to burn half the continent. Had he been in the Blue Tower, he would have the talent to sink half the continent into the sea.
Having such great talent, he must have been chosen by 『That』.
He lost his mind, little by little. It started subtly; only to the point of becoming somewhat shameless. Then, his interest in others lessened and he lost his ability to empathize. After forgetting his past and even the parents who bore him… He focused blindly on a single goal.
One day, he brought something interesting. It was a world. In this never-before-seen unusual world, Yuna saw, before he was completely stained by 『That』, the sincerity buried deep in his heart.
It was a heart-pounding dream. Venturing out in search of a story, that is. So they made a pinky promise, on the railing of a hillside slum with a clear view of the moon.
From then on, he became something akin to a madman. He deceived his heart by making various excuses, but on closer examination, they were all nothing but lies.
He was the master of the simulation world. Whether the Second Prince avoided events or not, he could always push them onto him, just like how he did with Centra. But he didn’t. He went out of his way to sufficiently dry out the Second Prince’s heart.
He gave affection that was as sweet as honey, before snatching it away.
Without paying mind to anything, whether it was the Prince’s status or the fact that an Archwizard and a Sword Saint were clashing behind him, he was busy making sport of the Second Prince. All while deceiving himself.
Those swallowed by 『That』 became so; madmen living solely for fun and intrigue.
Seeing the session of the First Princess unfold, the Purple Magic Tower Master sensed the time had come. He would soon be completely swallowed…… And that moment would be the last chance given to Yuna.
In the end, there would be a time when one must confront oneself.
Yuna earnestly hoped that he, whose name had been swallowed, could look back on himself.
