Chapter 155: Ryugu, the Boy from the Future
“Should we start with the definition of betrayal, I wonder? I never intended to become young Idiot’s ally, you know. I’m a Knight who swore loyalty to Prince Lucas, after all.”
“Prince Lucas, you say…?!”
“Everything is for Prince Lucas’s sake. So, for now, why don’t we put down our swords and talk?”
As Alissa spoke as if to admonish him, Idiot didn’t let down his guard and readjusted his grip on his sword. Glancing behind him, he saw Tina emerge from the Tent, smiling and waving with a “Yoohoo~”. Did this mean she had no intention of attacking, or was this, too, one of Ryugu’s Phantoms?
Towards the increasingly wary Idiot, Alissa shrugged with a “good grief” expression and sheathed her sword.
“For now, we have no intention of attacking, you know. If we’d wanted to, we could have killed young Idiot at any time.”
“…”
Idiot couldn’t deny Alissa’s words. It was a fact that he hadn’t perceived Alissa’s presence at all until the moment he tried to slash at Ryugu. If he had been cut down then, Idiot would have lost his life without even understanding what had happened to him.
Idiot shifted his gaze from Alissa to Ryugu and asked again.
“Why did you kidnap Lady Lecty?”
“It was necessary to do so.”
“Necessary, you say!? To harm Lady Lecty!?”
“…The matter of Malicious harming Lecty-san was unexpected. I apologize for that. I don’t know if you’ll believe me, but if he had tried to take her life, I would have stopped him.”
“Hmph, I wonder about that. You were Malicious’s collaborator, weren’t you?”
“No, I only pretended to be a collaborator. It was necessary to take Lecty-san to the Grand Cathedral’s underground, so I used Phantoms to infiltrate Malicious’s private soldiers. Helping Cicely-san escape from the underground passage and feeding Malicious false information that he was targeting the Holy Maiden Skill was also for that purpose.”
The truth of Ryugu’s calmly spoken words was unknown. However, if it were true, it would mean Ryugu had escorted Cicely from the Grand Cathedral’s underground all the way to the Forest where the Inter-Class Tournament was held.
Cicely’s injuries, as Idiot remembered them, were severe. Thinking about it carefully, it was unnatural. It was hard to believe she could have kept walking with those injuries for a distance that took nearly thirty minutes by carriage.
Infiltrating Malicious’s private soldiers, helping Cicely, conveying false information, and on top of that, kidnapping Lecty. What could possibly be gained by taking such an elaborate, roundabout method?
“…What is that purpose?”
To Idiot, who asked with bewilderment, Ryugu answered plainly.
“It was to have Hugh-san and Lecty-san rescue Holy Maiden Rosalie.”
“Lady Rosalie, you say…?”
“Please, think about it. If, at that time, Cicely-san hadn’t been able to reach the Inter-Class Tournament venue. If Lecty-san hadn’t been taken to the Grand Cathedral’s underground. What would have happened to Holy Maiden Rosalie?”
“—!”
If Cicely hadn’t reached the Inter-Class Tournament venue, they wouldn’t have known about Rosalie’s crisis. If Lecty hadn’t been taken away, they wouldn’t have stormed the Grand Cathedral’s underground.
Rosalie, imprisoned in the Grand Cathedral’s underground, was forced to drink the Monsterization Drug by Malicious. She, having undergone Monsterization, was saved by Hugh and Lecty, but if those two hadn’t been there at that moment…
“Lady Rosalie would have died without us knowing… huh.”
The bond they now had with Rosalie was entirely born from Rosalie surviving at that time. If Rosalie had died back then, Idiot, at least, would have only recognized her existence as something like ‘the missing former Holy Maiden’.
Feeling a faint chill run down his spine, Idiot voiced a question that suddenly came to mind.
“With your Skill, you should have been able to save Lady Rosalie much more easily. Why didn’t you do that?”
“…Certainly, with my Skill, I could have rescued Rosalie-san. In fact, I intended to do so if Hugh-san didn’t make it in time. However, to sever Malicious’s madness and place Rosalie-san under Prince Lucas’s protection, it was necessary for Hugh-san to save Rosalie-san.”
“…So the current situation is the ideal outcome, is that it?”
Rosalie is under the protection of the second prince, Lucas, under the pretext of being a hostage. This is largely due to Hugh’s efforts. His actions created an opportunity for Prince Lucas to intervene in the internal problems of the Divine Blessing Church.
If Ryugu, not Hugh, had saved Rosalie, they certainly wouldn’t be interacting with Rosalie as fellow students like they are now.
“So that’s why, at that time, Alissa-joshi unnaturally stopped Hugh…?”
“Well, young Hugh just tries to dash off immediately, you see. If he did that, he’d run into young Ryugu and things would get complicated, wouldn’t they? That time really gave me a fright, I tell ya.”
Alissa shrugged with a “good grief” expression, acting playfully, and then said,
“Isn’t it about time you sheathed your sword? At the very least, they aren’t enemies. My eyes guarantee they aren’t lying.”
Alissa’s eyes emitted a faint glow in the dark night. It was likely a manifestation of a Skill she possessed.
“…Ryugu, I still have something I want to ask you.”
“What would that be?”
“Who exactly are you, and why do you know Hugh’s secret?”
Ryugu’s actions, as he described them, couldn’t be explained unless he knew about Hugh’s Brainwashing Skill. Moreover, he seemed to be acting with foresight, as if he knew events that would happen in the future.
Ryugu said as he approached Idiot.
“There is only one answer to that question. It is none other than because I am Ryugu Pnosis.”
“Ryugu… Pnosis, you say?”
The tip of the sword Idiot held ready. Ryugu, approaching without even a hint of fear, stopped at the very last moment, where the sword tip was barely touching, or not quite touching, the skin of his neck.
“Idiot-san. Please, become our ally.”
He said this with a serious gaze, as if pleading.
“To change this damn future, we need Master’s power…!”
Illustrations from Volume 1, releasing on June 25th, are being previewed on my activity report!
A sample reading has also been released on the official website, so please be sure to check it out!
You can see the subtitles for each chapter in the table of contents for the sample reading, and I dare say I think I’ve managed to meet your expectations (lol).