An Encounter with the Fake Heroine
“From this point on, entry is forbidden.”
The girl looked down on me, only the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile. A distant memory… The moment I tried to take a step towards the girl, whose figure seemed familiar, as if I’d seen her somewhere before, those who appeared to be Temple Knights around her stepped forward protectively.
“Please wait.”
The girl stopped them, who for a moment had an almost menacing air, with a gentle smile.
“…Are you acquainted, Saintess-sama?”
“She’s a student from the academy. Hello, Layton-san.”
“…”
So this is the “Saintess”… It seemed she knew me, but I also knew more about her than just rumors.
At the Saintess’s words, the Temple Knights stepped back. However, they remained at a distance where they could immediately protect her if anything happened, and I sensed a loyalty that went beyond her being merely an ‘important figure of the Holy Church.’
With her, the Saintess, appearing here, the priests and ordinary believers who noticed her began to gather by her side.
The information we knew was only that she was one of the female students who had been clinging to the Crown Prince since entering the academy, and that she had somehow managed to ensnare him, causing chaos that involved the King’s younger brother and the Temple Head’s grandson.
Elena believed she was the starting point of it all and had decided to eliminate her along with the Crown Prince, and had begun to act.
…But I know one more thing.
The reason I became the “me” I am now… That Woman, who tried to take the place of the ‘Otome Game’s heroine,’ had said that I was the heroine.
If I wasn’t there… if I departed from the story, it shouldn’t have started. But she settled into that heroine’s position, and she, calling herself “Alicia” just like me, appeared.
There’s also the possibility that everything That Woman said was a delusion. Thinking rationally, I’d agree, but the current situation was far too similar to the game in That Woman’s memories.
Could it be that she is the “real one,” and That Woman simply mistook me for her? But the Margrave of Melrose, who seemed to be a relative of that heroine, appeared convinced I was the person he was searching for after seeing my hair color and face.
And the ring in the amulet pouch given to me by Mother had the same family crest as Mikhail’s house inscribed on it…
Circumstantially, it still means that the “real one” is me. That’s precisely why I don’t understand why she is in that position.
My impression upon actually meeting her was that she was truly just an ordinary girl. Her magic power level was so low it was hard to believe she was a noble, and I couldn’t understand why the Holy Church had recognized her as the ‘Saintess.’
That’s precisely why I thought she was troublesome. If she looked like nothing more than an ordinary girl, it meant her other aspects… her personality and appearance, were excellent.
I understood at a glance. Even though I’d heard Elena’s story and considered her an opponent to the point of contemplating assassination, the moment I saw her, I thought she might genuinely be a person of good character.
But—
“…Phew.”
Watching her, surrounded by people and responding with a smile, I took a deep breath and exhaled.
No… Chigau. No matter how favorably I might feel, I believe the words of Elena and Theo, who told me about her.
If that’s the case, then this feeling is also an illusion. Think rationally. If so, the cause of this is… the [Divine Protection (Gift)] she possesses.
It’s not a strong power. The moment I understood that this ‘goodwill’ I felt was an “attack,” the favorable feelings I had towards her dissipated like mist. At the same time, I understood.
Keeping this girl alive will be detrimental to Elena.
The moment killing intent towards the false Saintess welled up inside me, she turned as if to look back at me.
” “…” ”
Her eyes widened slightly, and my eyes narrowed slightly. Our gazes locked, and in the next instant, she twisted her lips in displeasure.
“—Grraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
A beast’s roar suddenly echoed—a Shadow fell for an instant, and from the sky, three grotesque Monsters descended upon the Holy Church, a place supposedly dedicated to worshipping God.
“…A-A demon, aaaaaah!”
Someone screamed. With that voice as a trigger, the ordinary believers shrieked and fled in confusion.
[Beast Demon] [Species: Lesser Demon] [Difficulty Rank 4]
[Magic Power: 848/850]
[Total Combat Power: 933/935]
“Three Lesser Demons!?”
As I thought, the Holy Church… no, the Temple Head Osthor’s family is involved in the demon summoning, huh.
“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
The three distorted, ape-like Lesser Demons roared, created countless rocks similar to [Stone Shot], and fired them towards me.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
There were still people around who hadn’t managed to escape. I exhaled with a kiai, spun the four Pendulums I had released, and deflected the rock bullets raining down around us.
I won’t let them cast the next spell. Simultaneously with knocking them down, I kicked off the ground, drew my Black Knife, and, imbuing the Blade with the will to ‘destroy,’ swung it back greatly.
“—[Critical Edge]—!”
“Gah—”
The single strike of the Battle Art, unleashed mid-air, decapitated the one directly in front of me.
However, after unleashing the Battle Art, I was immobilized. Seeing this, one of the demons swung its claws from its powerful arm. In that instant, my body was unnaturally pulled backward. Dodging the demon’s claws on my back, once the paralysis wore off, I slammed the Blade on my shoe tip into the demon’s left eye.
“Graaaaaaaah!?”
The demon, having received an unexpected counterattack, retreated. Anyone calling themselves a warrior knows about the immobilization after a Battle Art. That’s why, the moment I leaped out, I had thrust the blade of a Pendulum into a crack in the floor stones, securing my aerial movement with the Thread.
Not only the demon that received the counterattack in this momentary offense and defense, but the remaining one also flinched and drew back. In the very next moment—
“—[Cleanse]—”
A child-like voice was heard, and light showered down on the backs of the two demons.
“Now!”
“Ooooooooooooooh!!”
Aiming for that moment, the Temple Knights pierced the two demons with the spears in their hands, and the Lesser Demons turned into black dust and vanished.
At their all-too-anticlimactic end, those around the Saintess immediately raised their voices.
“Ooooh!”
“They defeated the demons!”
“As expected of the Saintess-sama!”
“The Saintess-sama and the Knights-sama defeated the demons!”
The believers praised the Saintess and the Temple Knights, enveloped in cheers.
I stood up, watching them rejoice. Some of the believers turned their faces towards me, but before they could speak, the Saintess raised her voice and drew their attention.
“Everyone! It’s alright now! Because the “real” me is here!”
At her words, the Saintess, cheers erupted once more.
“…”
I see… so that’s how it is.
She said the word ‘real,’ and the believers took it to mean ‘the real Saintess recognized by the Holy Church.’ But when she said it, perhaps unconsciously, she glanced at me for just a moment.
As if to say that she was the “real one”…
I turned my back and left the Holy Church’s temple. I now understood about that girl. And what I must do as well…
I glanced back once at the distant temple, then headed towards a deserted district. In an empty back alley, I took out paper from my [Shadow Storage (Storage)], wrote a report for Elena, and tied it to the perception-inhibiting pendant I had received as a reward from the royal family.
It was something I needed to act as Elena’s decoy, but the me from now on couldn’t very well possess a royal treasure.
“—Wait.”
Hearing a voice from behind in the back alley, I slowly turned around. There stood three men clad in identical white cloaks.
“We cannot let you leave like this. I apologize, but—”
“Temple Knights, is it?”
When I interrupted the man’s words with my own, they trembled slightly, and the man in the middle who had spoken, as if resigned, lowered the hood that concealed his face.
I’ve seen that face before. He was one of the knights who had been beside that girl.
“What do you want?”
When I asked quietly, he twisted his lips but opened his mouth.
“The Layton family… if I recall, you’re aligned with the royalist faction, aren’t you? We are grateful for your cooperation in defeating the demons. However… if that power of yours becomes an obstacle to Saintess-sama, then we must use all our strength.”
“…Is that by your own will?”
“…It is.”
Is he under that strange mental interference…? He tightly gripped the hilt of the weapon beneath his cloak and let out a voice filled with anguish.
“We too do not believe this is right. Nor do we think all of Saintess-sama’s actions are correct. Nevertheless, for the sake of the Holy Church’s true teachings, we have condemned the innocent. There is such a thing as necessary evil for a righteous world.”
“You believe that’s necessary…?”
“That’s right. …No, perhaps it isn’t. But Saintess Licia-sama forgave us, who were tormented by guilt. We have decided to fight for her, who granted us peace.”
As those words ended, the remaining two knights also drew their swords.
They weren’t being manipulated. The gaps that already existed in their hearts were pried open by the Saintess’s 【Divine Protection】, and they were corrupted by being affirmed with sweet words.
“Let’s go!!”
The three knights kicked off the ground simultaneously and swung their swords. All three were high Rank 3, but I sensed a brilliance in their well-honed skills that couldn’t be expressed by combat power alone. But…
If that is your will, then I will no longer hold back.
“――【Iron Rose】… 【Real Breaker】――”
My pinkish hair turned a burnt, iron-gray color, and as I was enveloped in light emanating from my entire body, the three knights’ swords passed right through me. As we passed each other, I shattered their necks with my bare hands.
“…”
Glancing at the three, who had no external injuries other than their broken necks, I used 【Real Breaker】 to send the pendant to the castle where Elena-san was.
Even though Karla-san was also mad, there were parts of her I could sympathize with. That’s why I wanted to grant Karla-san’s wish.
But, that one is different. That Saintess is the same as “That Woman.” Just like That Woman, she knows about the otome game and is trying to repaint the world into one she prefers.
So that she herself can become the “true heroine”…
The current me isn’t like “me.”
I thought that by protecting Elena-san, I could change our destiny. That’s precisely why I, who was in the darkness, stepped onto the main stage and became a shield for Elena-san, who had been fighting a lonely battle.
No, that’s not quite right… Just like with Master, it was because being by her side felt comfortable.
By standing next to Elena-san, I found peace, but entanglements were also born.
But now, Roakwell-san and Mikhail-san are by Elena-san’s side. The Dandole Family and the Melrose Family will also protect her.
From the fact that the demon targeted me, that one recognized me as an enemy. As such, it’s even more important that I’m not by Elena-san’s side.
I absolutely cannot let that one live. If that one, who knows the game (game) just like That Woman, acts on her own, Elena-san will also be in danger. Still, as long as she has her reputation as a Saintess, if I make a clumsy move, I don’t know how the Crown Prince or her followers will react.
Therefore, I will return to the darkness once more and eliminate everyone around that one before the Crown Prince’s graduation. I told Elena-san what I felt and asked her to make it seem as though I had died.
Because if the unnecessary people are gone, Elena-san will absolutely not lose.
“I will eliminate that girl… the woman calling herself Alicia… in my own way.”
“…That pink-haired woman.”
Saintess Licia gazed from the window at the townscape where the pink-haired girl who had appeared had vanished, and tightly clenched the “Magic Stone” in her hand.
That one is probably the “real one.” Precisely because she knew the otome game’s scenario, she understood that she was the real one.
She was already the protagonist (heroine) of this story. She couldn’t afford to have an outsider stir things up now and lose everything.
Elena, Karla, Clara… She had thought these three villainesses were her greatest obstacles, but after encountering her today, she recognized that she (Alicia) was her greatest “enemy.”
“I will kill that pink-haired woman. Even if I have to use everything I have.”
Aria temporarily withdrew and chose the path of returning to being an assassin.
Precisely because Elena-san understood this, she felt anger towards herself for making Aria make such a decision.
Next time, Aria’s battle.
The climax is gradually approaching.