Chapter 132: Childhood Friend – The Real Story
In the darkness where the hole vanished, numerous messages surfaced.
[Childhood Friend Ending: The End of Corruption]
– (Omitted) …swallowed by Barbatos and became Asin. Shortly after, Leahh fought with Saintess Maryl for two days and ultimately died. –
– Born in Demos Village, Lev had a happy childhood. Despite losing his mother early, he lived with his excellent hunter father… (Omitted) …Lev, who became an apostle, had his mind consumed by Barbatos. After killing all humans and his father in Nevis, he headed to the Holy Kingdom of Jerome to fetch Leahh. When Barbatos transferred to Leah at the capital church, Lev regained his senses, but cursed and turned into a thornbush, he was burned by Saint Mariel. –
[Engagement Scenario Ending has changed.]
[Lena Einarr]
[Final Occupation: Great Warrior of the Einarr Tribe, Semi-Knight]
[Fiancé: Engaged to Leo]
[Leo Dexter]
[Final Occupation: Semi-Knight]
[Fiancé: Engaged to Lena]
[Engagement Ending: Annihilation]
+ Born in the Aebril Castle, Lena Einarr had a happy childhood. With her father, the great warrior of the Einarr tribe… (Omitted) …Lena, who succeeded in capturing the demonic beast ‘Seolgaksa’ along with them, became a great warrior. Later, she went to the Holy Kingdom of Jerome for training at Leo’s request. Staying at the Vidorn Castle, she learned swordsmanship from Lord Bryan. Upon Baron Berger Agatha’s recommendation, she joined the punitive force to capture an evil god, but was killed by Lev on the Anatolean plains. +
+ Born in the capital Bernoulli, Leo Dexter had a happy childhood but lost his mother early. With his father, a knight of the 1st Knight’s Order of the Astin Kingdom… (Omitted) …was killed by Lev on the plains. +
[Beggar Siblings Scenario Ending has changed.]
[Lena de Yeriel]
[Final Occupation: Shoemaker]
[Fiancé: Santian Launo]
[Leo de Yeriel]
[Final Occupation: Unemployed]
[Fiancé: Unmarried]
[Beggar Siblings Ending: Failed Rebellion]
+ Born in the capital Rutina, Lena had an unfortunate childhood. Dragged by people, she was hidden with Leo in a vast field, and when she woke, the field was full of corpses. After that, Lena followed Leo… (Omitted) …Lena, at Leo’s recommendation, headed to the Conrad Kingdom with Cassia. At Noyar harbor, she discovered her royal identity but was of little help to her brother, who was preparing for a rebellion in Rutina. The rebellion failed. Leo de Yeriel, who had gone to capture Prince Eric, never returned. Lena, with the help of her escort knight, Xenia Zachary, fled to the Bellita Kingdom. Back in Orville, Lena searched for Cassia. Giving up revenge on her brother at Xenia’s dissuasion, Lena de Yeriel spent her remaining years quietly making shoes with Cassia. Meanwhile, she married Santian Launo and had two sons. +
+ Born in the capital Rutina, Leo had an unfortunate childhood. Dragged by people, he was hidden with Lena in a vast field… (Omitted) …At Noyar harbor, Leo de Yeriel met Lord Bart and led five knights to Rutina, the capital of the Conrad Kingdom, to prepare for a rebellion. However, with the 2nd and 3rd Knight Orders dispatched to subdue the evil god’s apostles under Bishop Berg’s command, and Prince Eric de Yeriel hastened his cOrunation, a desperate Leo, with only the 1st Knight Order’s scarce knights, stormed the secret passageway into the cOrunation hall of Rutina Palace. Although he briefly seized the palace, Prince Eric escaped. Battling to break through the encircle of noble knights and Rutina guards called by the contracted wizard ‘Ristad Jegan Dorof,’ Leo was struck down by a stray arrow in the fray and perished. +
Three photos came to mind.
The first photo. Against the backdrop of the white flaming capital church covered in thorns, it showed Lena, no, Leah, rushing at the saint in a half-naked state.
Leah, with her red, unfocused, glaring eyes, her bare body densely tattooed with red trumpet designs, was also burning white.
The second was a photo of Lena Einarr abandoned in a thorn forest. Her face, pierced and clawed by thorns, was a mess, and Leo Dexter lay collapsed in a corner of the photo.
The last was a photo of his sister, Lena de Yeriel.
Sitting on a round wooden stool, she was pondering which of the various kinds of leather spread on the table to use for an ‘upper.’
The place appeared to be a small workshop where Lena made shoes. Behind an older Lena, her two sons played around playfully.
The cheerful children with brown curls both seemed to inherit their mother’s bright golden eyes.
And though easily missed, a slightly open window revealed a complicated web of nearby mansions.
The three photos and the long texts slowly disappeared upward. As always, soon, a message heralding the next scenario would appear…
Min-seo was not thinking about anything.
In his head, the pleas and desperate screams of the civilians he had mercilessly killed echoed endlessly.
An old man, bleeding from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, held his dead granddaughter and cried, begging to save his grandson. With a venomous look, he uttered curses and was promptly silenced with a decapitation upon being told, “Shut up.”
Two young sisters, trembling in a small shop, wiped each other’s blood while sobbing.
“Please, sir, s-save me,” they said, making him turn away generously. It didn’t matter anyway, as the bleeding would not stop.
Having been freed from enchantment, Harriet Guidan, covered in blood, questioned his return to the mansion.
“What have you done? And did you kill Pallas?” she demanded, seemingly unafraid for her life.
Confused after killing his father, he wordlessly pierced her chest.
And,
And…
And……
Minseo’s mind shattered into pieces.
Overwhelmed with guilt and fear, his thoughts were bleached into a stupor. These were scenes no modern person living a comfortable life could endure.
Too stunned to consider reading any texts, Minseo stared blankly into space as the ending credits slowly faded.
If Minseo’s mind had been clear, he would have noticed, but the message signaling the start of the next scenario arrived quite late. After some moments in the silent darkness, it eventually appeared and pushed the dazed Minseo into the next scenario.
[You have not cleared Raising Lena.]
[Leo, you diligently served as Barbatos’s apostle. For this, you are awarded with {Barbatos’s Bracelet}.]
[Restarting.]
A snowy mountain range was displayed. The viewpoint moved over jagged grey rocks, past the thick walls of Castle Avril, and through a small town.
Then it arrived at the home of Lena Einarr and Leo Dexter. In the clearing behind the house, Lena, who had been swinging her sword, abruptly turned her head.
“Leo! Are you listening to me?”
– Clang
“What, what’s going on? Why are you like this?”
Leo Dexter dropped his sword. Striding up to Lena, he suddenly hugged her tightly.
[Achievement: 14th Leo – The player’s synchronization with Leo slightly increases.]
[14/22]
[True name unknown.]
Lena blushed deeply at Leo’s sudden action, unsure of what to do.
What’s gotten into him all of a sudden?
But then, close to her ear, she heard him sobbing. Startled, she pulled away to see Leo crying.
“Leo? Why are you crying? Did something bad happen?”
Leo shook his head.
But he didn’t let go, leaving Lena unsure whether to hug him back or tell him to let go.
She scratched the ground with her foot in embarrassment, while Leo Dexter repeatedly apologized in his heart.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”
Even though it wasn’t his fault, the memory of how he had tried to break off their engagement in the previous scenario filled him with guilt. Unable to bear it, he hugged Lena tightly and cried for a long time.
After what felt like enough time, Lena awkwardly coughed and wriggled out, asking him to let go.
Feeling slightly calmer, Leo released her without a word. Clearing her throat nervously, Lena led him to a chair behind the house.
“Hey, something happened, right? Tell me about it. I’ll listen to everything. Do you want something to drink?”
“…Yes.”
Lena returned shortly with a water jug, filled with steaming hot ‘Odre’ tea, which her mother had steeped in large quantities during this season. Of course, Leo didn’t remember.
“Here, tell me.”
Lena perched on the chair, poured the tea, and leaned forward, ready to listen.
How should he explain this? Leo hesitated for a moment before starting.
“Actually, I had a really bad dream last night…”
But he faltered, not knowing what to say.
With the war coming in spring, should he tell her about the times she died alone on the battlefield, or the time they both went to war and returned with missing limbs, or the time they were both killed by a Swordmaster? There was no need. Nor about how he had tried to break off their engagement.
Leo hesitated, unable to continue, prompting Lena to interject, thinking he was done.
“I see. Hmm… Ah! I, I’ve had that happen too. You know, uh… hmm…”
But she stumbled, seemingly embarrassed, and started fidgeting.
Despite his seriousness, Leo couldn’t help but chuckle.
Just like her, nothing has changed.
Though she said she had bad dreams, Lena likely never experienced a nightmare in her life. She would fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow and, being quite simple, was far from the kind of person who had nightmares. According to his ‘experience,’ Lena always slept soundly and woke up refreshed.
“Humph. If it’s just a dream, there’s nothing to worry about. Why are you crying over something like that? I thought something big had happened… Oh? Wait, what’s that?”
Lena, who had been awkwardly avoiding eye contact, pointed at something and asked (giving up her role as a counselor).
For a moment, I thought she was asking about the item (sword) in my ear, but she wasn’t.
Lena was pointing at the bracelet on my wrist.
But this was also something I didn’t… no, something I now knew about.
‘It must be an item earned as a scenario reward.’
It was a simple bracelet made of leather.
Three dark red beads hung from the bracelet. The moment I recognized the bracelet, its use came to mind, confirming it was a reward from the previous childhood friend scenario.
Of course, I didn’t care.
Lena opened her mouth with a sullen expression. She had probably forgotten all about counseling.
“Hey! You bought this from the guild leader yesterday, didn’t you? How sneaky of you to buy it alone! So mean!”
“Guild leader?”
“Yeah! Gosh. You said you had no money… so where’s mine?”
“…Sorry. I was a bit short on money yesterday, so I only bought mine. Want to go together later? I’ll get you one.”
Leo had no choice but to lie. I don’t even have the memory of this morning.
But a guild leader? If his memory serves right, there shouldn’t have been a guild visiting this City of Averil in any previous rounds.
It was an unmistakable memory, and when the scenario started, “Leo! Are you listening to me?” Lena had asked and chatted away, saying, “When will the merchant come? I have something I want to buy.” Something had changed.
However, Leo didn’t pay much attention to this either. He would find out when he went there today…
“Really? Hmm~ You must have had some hidden money stashed away. Hehe, I’ll clean you out today. Be prepared!”
Lena smiled broadly. “Let’s go now! I’ll go change clothes, so you get ready too!” she exclaimed and went into her house.
Leo sat still for a while. Finally alone, he gulped down the now cold Odra tea. The moment Lena disappeared, unable to contain his boiling rage, he muttered.
“Damn it… twisting someone else’s life so damn easily.”
He was not Min-seo.
As Min-seo was left in shock and lost his spirit, his original personality came out without synchronization.
Lena Einarr, who he loved with all his heart, who overflowed with self-love, and who resolved that ‘I will not step even a foot outside this City of Averil!’
He was the ‘real Leo.’
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