*Tick*—the light on the signboard Eve had made turned off.
The mana field activated. Meaning morning had come.
‘…’
The curse was completely silent.
It’s not dead—when night comes, it will absorb the darkness, and as the Yin Black Stone regains its energy, it will return.
For now, I wrapped it in blessings and tossed it into the warehouse.
I’ll take it out and play with it whenever I’m bored.
Well, anyway.
“It’s over safely.”
And so Act 2 came to a close.
I had to put in far more legwork than I’d anticipated to clear it,
but even so, I can confidently say it was a success—because I was able to achieve a “development different from the original.”
“This world really is reality after all.”
To be honest, when I went on the expedition with Eve, it was ambiguous.
I had Patrasche attack, and Eve’s Light Spear hit—but in the end, that boss escaped, didn’t it?
So I’d been wondering whether “patterns that exist in the game are sacred and inviolable” or not.
But I was able to subdue a boss that I’d always just had to take hits from, and as a result, I succeeded in seeing a pattern I’d never managed in 20,000 hours.
My body trembles.
I want to use even more tricks and play around with all sorts of things!
My stats are still meager, and I’d die in one hit—but I’m the duo of Lee Young-jin, who would’ve died getting hit by a delivery truck, and Wolfram, who would’ve died getting stabbed. Isn’t it okay to live a little more recklessly and enjoy myself?
“First, let’s sleep.”
I’m a bit tired from beating the curse all night.
I was so exhausted that by the end, I considered making an automatic fortune-cookie exchange machine with Handy Worker so it could keep hitting the curse while I got some sleep.
“Patrasche. Today’s regular shifts will start after I wake up. Also, don’t accept any customers except for the regulars who usually come.”
“Hmm. Will do.”
With that, I closed my eyes.
—
When I came to, it was already afternoon, and an unexpected person was sitting in the shop.
“Eve?”
“Yes. Is it this store’s policy to keep sleeping even when a customer arrives? And you weren’t even running the regular shifts, so I had to walk here.”
“Some days are like that. So, what brings you here?”
“No other customers right now, I see. Let’s have a serious talk.”
“Go ahead.”
“Where did you get the information about the curse?”
At her sudden question, I stared straight into Eve’s eyes.
It wasn’t a question—it was certainty.
Meaning the curse had visited Eve last night.
And Eve probably had to handle it alone.
…Honestly, if the fortune cookie hadn’t worked properly, Eve would be on a straight downhill slope from now on.
“So the curse visited you last night as well.”
“Yes. It came. In the form of you dying.”
“What did you do?”
“I fed it about five Light Spears to the head—and it went quiet.”
With that, Eve flashed a refreshing smile.
In the original, she couldn’t do anything without the protection of Light Hero Kelterus—but it seems the fortune cookie successfully played the role of Kelterus.
I’d tried that kind of play in the original too. Short sword. Naked. Clearing the ending at level 1 without investing in stats or skills.
Of course, there were countless guides and failures. And challenges. That’s why I saw Emily’s ending so many times.
In the midst of all that, the way to get past the curse in Act 2 was to equip a blessing item.
So, strictly speaking, my conclusion is: “Even if Kelterus can’t play any role in battle, D/Z SAGA can still be cleared.” If the items and specs support it, nothing is impossible.
“So. Does that mean you resolved it well?”
“Yes. I have one question—did the curse come to you too?”
“It came. And I dealt with it. I’m the one who made this talisman, after all.”
“I see. Ah, right. …Here. I’ll return this. It seems this talisman was effective.”
“No. Keep it.”
“Does that mean there will be more use for it in the future?”
“Hmm. That’s right.”
“Hooooo…”
When I nodded, Eve responded with a deep sigh.
“Why?”
“It means there’s a force in this Zefflin targeting us.”
“…Eh?”
Eve looked at me seriously and continued.
—
Eve von Lohengrin’s intuition is sharp.
First, she forms a preconception, clearly cuts it,
and then she has an exceptional ability to combine things within the information she possesses.
“I don’t know how much more you’re hiding, but combining the information I have so far—this is my deduction.”
The curse visited both Eve and Wolfram.
And she was told to keep the talisman with her.
The conclusion drawn from this is…
“In other words, an enemy targeting our Lohengrin bloodline is hiding in Zefflin. Correct?”
“…”
“And it doesn’t end here.”
Looking at Wolfram’s actions so far, it becomes even clearer.
Wolfram already knew the curse would come.
Then where on earth did he get that information?
The conclusion drawn from this is…
“There were such movements since your term in office. Correct?”
“…”
“And it doesn’t end here.”
The curse moved only a few months after she began her term.
And Wolfram von Lohengrin was stopping it from the shadows.
The conclusion drawn from this is…
“You’re still fighting a lonely battle without telling anyone around you. Correct?”
“…”
“And it doesn’t end here. What comes after this isn’t reasoning or deduction—it’s just a hypothesis, though.”
She doesn’t know what happened during Wolfram’s term.
But Wolfram is in a situation where he can’t speak of it. He has “circumstances” that must be hidden from those around him.
Of course, Eve von Lohengrin—as the ruler of the academy—must make him confess that point.
“You’re fighting alone. In the darkness—against the darkness that seeks to devour the Lohengrin bloodline.”
“…”
However—look at those tired eyes of Wolfram. The mouth that opens as if to say something, then closes again.
Look at the hand that sweeps through the air before clenching back into a fist.
That’s either completely wrong, or completely right but unable to speak the truth.
But since Eve von Lohengrin’s deduction has no flaws, she realized that Wolfram—despite it being the truth—carries an even heavier burden he cannot speak of.
In other words—Wolfram von Lohengrin, arrogantly, is trying to protect her—the one with Mana 22.
What’s even more infuriating is that he succeeded.
The fact that if it weren’t for Wolfram, Eve might have been devoured by that curse—weighed heavily on her chest.
That is, she received help. She, with Mana 22, was protected.
She clenched her fist in humiliation and shame—but even so, she doesn’t deny reality.
If Wolfram wanted to oppose her or reclaim the student council presidency, he could have used this curse. But he didn’t.
That means he’s not an immediate enemy.
Rather, he carries a great secret that even the student council president doesn’t know, and is about to throw himself into even deeper darkness.
Eve cannot guess what that darkness is, but there’s one thing she can know.
“You wouldn’t have tried to protect just me. What you tried to protect is the very name of Lohengrin itself.”
“…”
If she had been devoured by the curse, who knows what kind of disgraceful state she might have shown. Even that alone would have dealt a serious blow to the Imperial Family’s authority.
“I realized that you share the same bloodline as me. And that you take pride in that bloodline. Yes—at first I was going to tie you up upside down and make you spit out everything you know.”
Eve let out a deep sigh.
She doesn’t really understand what darkness that man carries. He probably won’t tell her either.
She really doesn’t want to admit it—but still, that man believes in his own convictions and walks his path.
Right now, covering his mouth with his right hand while clenching and unclenching his left fist—that’s either because his blind spot was pointed out, or because he’s cringing so hard he’s suppressing a scream while clenching and unclenching his hand to endure it—but since Eve von Lohengrin’s deduction has no flaws, it’s definitely the former.
“Hoo. Fine. From now on, I’ll allow your free actions a little more.”
“…”
“I will grant you a pass to Zefflin’s restricted areas from this point forward. It’s an enormous privilege. You know that, right?”
“…”
“I’ll leave the darkness of Zefflin that threatens the Imperial Bloodline to you, to a certain extent.”
“…”
“I will become the student council president of light.”
“…”
“Then I’ll be going.”
Eve von Lohengrin.
Her analysis and deduction within the limits of available information are second to none.
It’s self-evident that the moment she shatters her fixed ideas, she’ll soar high into the sky.
However—if she can’t shatter them at all, or shatters them halfway—she has the clear weakness of creating her own dark history.
—
Eve left.
I seriously thought I was going to die. Honestly, fighting the curse without blessings would’ve done less mental damage.
What’s even more infuriating is that I couldn’t refute Eve’s deduction.
The other party came to their own conclusions and was satisfied—but I can’t exactly say, “Actually, this world is based on a game, and what you just deduced was the攻略 I knew, so thank you for your hard work,” can I?
Anyway—that serious side of Eve… actually appears in the original too.
When Kelterus saves her in Act 2 and takes her happy ending route—
[“To dare challenge the Imperial Family—walking the darkness of this Zefflin is the mission of Eve von Lohengrin.”]
[“I will become the student council president of light from now on.”]
[“Kelterus. Please help me too.”]
She actually says those words.
Is that a sixteen-year-old’s fearless, fiery over-acceleration?
“It’s summer.”
Yeah.
It was summer.
—
The next day was unusually hot.
Once Act 2 passes and Act 3 is resolved, summer vacation begins immediately.
Depending on the heroine’s route, that summer vacation either leads into Act 4—or doesn’t.
You might ask what that means—
Depending on the heroine, the episodes have slight time differences.
Act 4 is where the heroine route truly begins in earnest.
So for Isolde, Act 4 starts next year when she enters graduate school. For Eve, Act 4 starts from summer vacation.
Well, anyway—that’s not what’s important. What matters is that summer is coming soon.
“Summer really is coming, isn’t it? Right, chirpy?”
“Yes, Senior. It’s a bit hot.”
Today’s customers were Ayla and Mille-feuille.
Fanned by their hands from the heat of the walk, they drank ice smoothies.
Of course, I was feeling the heat a little too.
The advantage of a convenience store is that you can blast the air conditioning and heating to always maintain a comfortable temperature—but like this, it’s a disqualification.
“Still, the smoothie is cold, so I think it’ll be fine.”
“Yes. Thanks to that, I feel a bit better.”
“Me too…”
Thank goodness. The customers aren’t stressed yet.
“When it gets really hot, I’ll have to add cooling functions to the convenience store. Though it’s a bit extravagant.”
“Extravagant?”
It was Ayla who responded to my self-deprecation.
Huh.
Was I wrong?
“Considering the unit price of mana stones, cooling and heating devices aren’t really cost-effective, are they?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Ayla nodded.
“Then wouldn’t installing cooling devices be a rather extravagant thing?”
“What are you saying!?”
“Is that really something to be so surprised about?”
“Of course! For Wolfram, it’s a matter of life and death!”
“…”
What?
If there’s no air conditioner in the summer, Wolfram will die?
It’s not like I’m some idiot who takes tick damage just from being a little hot and loses health by the percentage…
“Ah.”
I am an idiot, aren’t I.
“That’s why during your term, you never left the dormitory in the summer. Have you forgotten that you only gave orders to your subordinates with your fingers?”
“…I see.”
So he really did that kind of trashy thing.
“So I was thinking of asking what you plan to do this summer.”
“…”
For Wolfram, summer vacation isn’t about leisure—it’s a matter directly connected to survival.
“I’ll have to go on an expedition. To make accessories… I need materials.”
Yes. There’s a way.
If I use the ice from the northern snowy mountains, I can make accessories.
If I go with Nephti and Rudika again this time, we’ll manage somehow.
“You’re going to the restricted snowy mountains!?”
“Hmm?”
“I, I want to go too! Wolfram!”
But suddenly, Ayla showed a great deal of interest.
Hmm. Ayla would be helpful. Alright.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
“Wow! Making a snowman has always been my dream!”
“…Your dream?”
“My hometown is in the west. Especially the Triesta family territory—it’s far from snow!”
Ah, I see.
Hmm. Well, I suppose I should help fulfill Ayla’s childlike dream.
I’m a bit uneasy about the lack of front-line strength.
Should I add Nephti to the party?
As I was pondering that—
“Um, Senior.”
The chick that had broken out of its shell spoke to me.
“That expedition—I’d like to go too.”
