🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 42
After Waking from the Dream (3)
Cedric was now completely under my control.
From here on, he would desperately try to act like a “good adult” in front of me.
If he didn’t, then he’d have no conscience, right?
After all, who did he think was responsible for Justinas ending up in this sorry state?
If I looked irritable, that wasn’t the case at all.
I was in an incredibly good mood.
With the quest progressing this much, it was only natural.
Yes, I’m handling this step by step, and it’s going well.
I will definitely make it back home.
The episode where Cedric sacrifices himself happens in the hydrangea arc… At this rate, there’s no need to deal with him.
I had considered killing him in the worst-case scenario—but honestly, I wasn’t fond of doing something so cruel.
Murder is an outdated, barbaric solution. The methods I use are far more sophisticated.
It’s more profitable to make someone obey than to kill them, right? Especially a capable “resource” like this.
Alright, next is taking care of Lilliana and going on the expedition—no, before that, I should make her a new weapon.
This chapter had gone according to the scenario, so it had been easy. But there’s no guarantee it would be that way next time.
Always prepare for the worst, anytime and anywhere. That way, you’ll avoid the absolute worst.
That’s the iron rule of a grad student. I released my arm from around Cedric and asked:
“By the way, Cedric, what about the Hero and the Princess? They’re safe, right?”
Of course, there was no real need to ask. Izumi was ridiculously sturdy, and compared to the original story where Lilliana had joined the adventure, she was probably even more energetic now.
“…The princess might not be.”
“What?”
“She tried to protect the prince and forced herself to use magic, which probably wrecked her magic circuits. The palace mages are trying, but it doesn’t seem to be working.”
“W-what did you say?”
I shot up to my feet—
—Or rather, I tried to.
“Ugh!”
“Yus!”
Thanks to my useless right leg, I toppled over. Startled, Cedric quickly lifted me up and fussed over me.
“Are you alright? Did you hurt yourself?”
“I’m fine… More importantly, where is the princess? I need to see her right now.”
“Your recovery comes first.”
“No!”
I clenched my teeth and shouted.
“The princess comes first.”
The vision from clairvoyance is different from simply looking with your eyes. Whether it was due to setting the wrong direction or my paralyzed leg, I slipped up several times. Cold sweat ran down my body as I struggled to walk.
“…I’ll just carry you. You shouldn’t move right now.”
Eventually, Cedric couldn’t stand watching me anymore and lifted me into his arms. I allowed it for the sake of efficiency—
[Cedric feels awe and respect toward you.]
[Good Deed Points +10]
Huh?
It suddenly hit me.
Confessing in a clean, safe environment is one thing, but struggling desperately, battered and wounded, is far more noble.
And just now, I had definitely been the latter.
From my perspective, I was just more impatient than usual because I was worried Lilliana might actually die—but given my current condition (blind, leg injury), I must have looked both pitiful and admirable.
Still…
I bit my lip.
Who would be happy to have their sincerity reduced to a mere point value?
Hello. It’s me, Nuna.
I was so pleased I might have done three somersaults if my leg worked.
Well, after more than ten years of keeping up a persona, I suppose it had seeped into my soul.
“Saint?! You’re awake?!”
“She wishes to see the princess briefly. Step aside.”
“Y-yes, of course.”
But my lighthearted thoughts melted away the moment I met Lilliana.
When I pushed past those who were shocked to see me alive (or not), I found her condition was far worse than I had expected.
“Please!”
The moment he saw me, Diold dropped to his knees.
“This happened to Lil because of me. Her magic circuits are completely destroyed, and the palace mages have already given up… But Saint, aren’t you someone who performs miracles?”
His eyes were filled with desperate pleading. Before Cedric could intervene, Izumi spoke with a troubled expression.
“Your Highness, the Saint is still a patient in need of rest.”
“…Ah. Yes, of course. Forgive my rudeness, I was too impatient.”
Biting his lip, Diold stepped back.
Back when he was brainwashed, he would have lashed out at anyone who defied his orders—but now, he was sane enough to know he couldn’t treat the Saint rudely.
I wasn’t planning to call him out for his attitude anyway.
In fact, I needed Lilliana alive more than Diold did.
Without her, I’d be in all sorts of trouble.
“Hero, it’s fine. Let me check the princess’s condition.”
“But…”
He hesitated.
“Right now, the princess’s state is medically inexplicable. As far as I know, the Saint’s miracles only work on physical injuries…”
“Yes. That’s right.”
My complete healing only worked on illnesses and injuries that physically harmed the body. I couldn’t fix the flow of energy—her magic circuits.
“Then… Saint, are you saying you can’t heal our Lil either?”
Hearing our exchange, Diold asked with a look of despair.
True, with my current skill, I couldn’t wake Lilliana.
That is—
Not with skills.
There are plenty of other ways.
If you thought I was some typical otherworldly protagonist who relied solely on skills, you were sorely mistaken. A scholar has a scholar’s methods.
“Don’t worry. Lord Aether always grants miracles to those who are truly desperate.”
I smiled and placed my hand on Lilliana’s forehead.
Immediately, I could sense her shattered magic circuits. The magic that resisted my holy power was running wild, leaking out of her body.
This is serious.
In the original, Lilliana couldn’t use magic.
The anime explained it as “closed magic circuits.”
Most people have channels that allow magic to flow outward, but hers simply accumulated inside, unable to be released.
But I knew there was a deeper reason.
A body that accumulates magic.
Magic power—
In this world, it belongs solely to demons.
Demons are magic power itself, and no non-demonic life form can produce it.
So how do “human mages” exist?
The answer is simple:
They borrow it from demons.
Humans draw complex formulas in the air or on magic scrolls to gather magic and release it into reality.
Thus, a great mage is defined by how well they can borrow magic from demons and how quickly they can calculate the formulas to manifest it.
Unlike demons, who can realize magic purely through imagination, humans are inefficient. This is why humans can’t even come close to matching demons in battle.
One side fires ultimate attacks instantly, while the other has to input the formula every time—there’s no contest.
But Lilliana is special.
Though a pure human, she can produce magic power on her own. Even without borrowing from demons, her body naturally generates tiny amounts of magic over time.
In other words, she has a constitution similar to a demon’s.
But asking her to use formula-based magic like humans is pointless.
Could she use magic with pure imagination like demons, then?
No.
Despite having a demon-like constitution, she’s still human. Unlike demons, who are made entirely of magic, she has a physical body. Trying to manifest magic through imagination alone would cause her body to rupture under the strain.
In short, an incredibly complicated and frustrating constitution.
Even the genius protagonist of the original story only used her as a human calculator.
But—
What if you added a physicist to the equation? (Specialty: quick-thinking PhD)
I pulled out the magic scroll I’d used when infiltrating Cedric and Izumi’s dreams.
“Cedric, could you lend me some magic power for a moment?”
“Of course.”
Having experienced it once before when I used it on Izumi, he activated the scroll easily. Though he still looked worried, he didn’t stop me.
With his support, I entered Lilliana’s subconscious—
[Identity verification in progress.]
[Identity verified.]
[Age: 27, Lee Yuna. Vaccine program.]
[Entry authorized.]
“…?”
Shooong!
A self-driving car zipped past me at 200 km/h. Neon lights flashed all around.
A near-future city spread out before my eyes.
…And I had somehow dropped into the middle of a ridiculously cool sci-fi metropolis.
Holy sh*t. What the hell is this?
