“They actually retreated…” Shuna glanced out the window.
Had Treya been “fooled”? Did she think they had already left this place, and thus withdrew her knights elsewhere?
“Is that the kind of personality she has… hmm… someone who gets tricked so easily?”
Shuna didn’t know Treya at all. Her impression of Treya came solely from Will’s accounts. And Will was mentioned more by others than Treya was.
“Probably.”
“Your uncertain tone… you don’t know either?”
“How should I put it…”
Will scratched his head and also looked out the window. Treya was no longer downstairs. He sighed.
“I used to think I understood her very well, but now it doesn’t seem that way. Perhaps I need to get to know her again.”
“She is very different from the ‘her’ in ‘fate’. No, this world is very different from ‘fate’ now. It makes it impossible for me to calculate her future—not calculate, but confirm her future.”
Will spoke euphemistically.
In reality, it meant… she was vastly different from the original work, and she was the only one Will had personally encountered who had changed the important event nodes and endings of the original work.
It was as if the character biographies he had read countless times before coming here were useless now?!
In the original work, Treya had always been rather “quirky.” She found it difficult to understand her own heart, her own emotions, and others as well. Like a transmitter constantly broadcasting to a non-existent channel, unable to even receive its own signal. Therefore, in terms of emotions, she lost and lost. In political struggles, she lost and lost.
But… this Treya was not that Treya. In this royal struggle, she won and won. Emotionally, she would rather be brainwashed than lose.
However… thinking that this was “growth” for Treya, and “growth” that he himself had facilitated, Will didn’t feel it was too awful. Perhaps it was also… a good thing?
“But you should know her better than anyone. After all, you were the one who taught her.”
Shuna quickly caught the implication in Will’s words.
“Yes. Therefore, I need to discard some impressions and get to know her again.”
How many sides did the current Treya show him? Treya the serious honor student, Treya the innocent little princess, Treya the dark empress now, Treya the sweet wife in dreams… They could completely merge, yet seemed completely incompatible. A “bonding agent” was needed to connect these multiple identities.
But Will knew very well. This bonding agent… was “desire”—something he had taught her. Although it seemed she had learned it a bit crookedly now. It was also him. At the most important moment of his life, he had unintentionally taken on the role of “savior,” thus becoming the most significant presence in her heart.
“Alright, stop thinking about it. Although this seems like a trap, it doesn’t hurt to step into it.”
Shuna patted his shoulder, pulling Will back from his thoughts.
“Don’t we often encounter things like this in dungeons? Hmm… For example, a trap that looks very obvious but has a possibility of being overcome. At times like this, the most important thing is to test it. Since there’s a possibility, there’s a chance to break through.”
“Indeed, it was mentioned in the twenty-third issue of ‘Classic BOSS Battle Reviews’.”
“Oh, you’ve read that book too?”
“Although it’s entertainment reading, many events did happen in reality. If one can discern the truth from falsehood, it’s entirely worth reading.”
Shuna nodded.
“So, the next step is to get out?” Will asked.
“That’s right. Let’s try to maintain stealth without alarming Treya. I have a feeling that everywhere in this royal palace… there are traces of her strange demonic mental magic. Or perhaps… the aura of a dungeon?”
“Hmm… is it serious?”
“I don’t know, but don’t worry, let’s get out first. Let’s check the situation from the entrance I came in.”
She was actually a little worried about Will. Will had finally stabilized his condition, and now was not the time to put more pressure on him. An adventuring team always had someone to bear the pressure… She might as well take on this pressure herself.
The two of them, hugging the shadows where the moonlight couldn’t reach, carefully moved downward. This former residence of Treya seemed safe. Closed-off buildings were easy to scout, and according to Shuna’s detection, there seemed to be no one around.
Will retrieved the dungeon equipment that Treya had taken from Shuna, which helped him recover some of his combat power. Will sensed that Shuna was not only constantly using detection magic but also, like when he encountered Lucifer before, had a buff protecting against mental attacks active the entire time.
But… she seemed to be trying hard to appear relaxed. Will also understood her intentions—or rather, her thoughtfulness. She didn’t want the pressure to be transferred to him. Although Will didn’t consider himself someone who “is already miserable, so can’t bear any more hardship.”
“By the way, how did you know I was under mental control?” He spoke, wanting to ease the atmosphere with casual conversation.
“Sigh.” Shuna actually sighed. “You really don’t know? Treya collected hundreds of novels with male protagonists very similar to you, and marked all the passages that could be incorporated into your memories.”
“…There’s such a thing?” Will could guess a little. After all, in the “original work,” she had done something similar. It was actually being recreated here. No, no, it wasn’t being recreated. The male protagonist of the original work—Will glanced at Shuna beside him—a black-haired, black-eyed, mysterious orphan with great power. It was understandable that she would collect a bunch of novels similar to the protagonist’s. How did someone with his cannon fodder setting find so many novels?
“Oh, and there are royal fanfics too.”
“…Ah?”
“Don’t you know? Actually, there are quite a few cheap royal fanfics about you being sold on street stalls. It’s probably a unique treatment for the Young Master of the Hysterm Family.”
“Ah?!” Will felt that his past self, who bought Carver’s romantic history from a street stall a few years ago, never imagined he would be sold on a street stall in the future.
“Pfft. Your expression is hilarious, you look much more relaxed now?”
“…Seriously, I was the one who brought up this topic to help you relax.”
“Then…” Shuna walked to the second floor, peeked out, confirmed there were no issues, and pulled Will’s hand as they descended. “Shall we talk about something serious?”
“What?”
“You… why do you want to escape?”
“Ah, so serious.”
“The first time I saw you again, I really thought you would like that feeling. After all…” Shuna paused, her cheerful and relaxed expression faltering slightly at this moment. “After all, when you left, you seemed to like her quite a bit.”
“…Because a yandere shouldn’t be allowed to succeed so easily. It’s fine if she plays around a little, but if she wins now, wouldn’t that be letting her off too easy.”
“???”
Shuna had expected Will to be a little conflicted, but he answered very decisively and directly instead. And again… it was a mix of elements that were hard to understand, and yet more like… an indifferent reply. He still, as before, treated things happening to him as “observing from the sidelines”…
Just as Shuna was thinking this, Will suddenly dropped two steps and stood in the spacious hall on the first floor, just a step away from the moonlight shining into the hall, and looked up.
“Oh, this sounds a bit ‘outsider-like,’ like something from a story—I don’t just think that way anymore.”
He clasped his hands behind his back and looked at the cold moonlight before him. The door leading outside was open, and there wasn’t even a breeze outside, making it exceptionally desolate.
Hearing these words, Shuna let out a sigh of relief. Alright, he was indeed “changing.” Although the change wasn’t solely brought about by her, at least he wasn’t like he used to be.
Will felt dragged into the water by Treya. Although he had suffered “mental attacks,” “threats to his life,” and “terrible affection,” it was precisely these intense things that could pull him, who had been watching from the shore, standing on the sidelines, and remaining detached, into the fray. Especially when he discovered that he was no longer the omniscient one relying on his knowledge of the story, and his own “fate” could sway in this world… he was actually quite happy.
“Now I truly feel that she likes me—and I also really like this yandere honor student who handed in a perfect score to her teacher.”
“However, a perfect score on the answer sheet doesn’t necessarily lead to a correct result.”
“For her to admit that she likes me through such a method shows extreme insecurity. I would give that process zero points.”
Will, having calmed down a bit, had figured it out. In fact, he always figured things out quickly, which was why he always escaped when he woke up. He always knew what he wanted Treya to understand—the person she considered important in her heart… the person she considered most important… the person she believed she liked the most… the person she treated as her “desire”… should be Will, who could be by her side as a “teacher,” as an equal, not a canary that could only be manipulated by her.
“So… uh… okay. Because I’ve fallen into her trap, I have to escape for now. After all, she’s not listening to anything right now.”
“As expected of you.”
Shuna didn’t show much of a happy expression. She sighed, pushed him forward from behind, and propelled him toward the moonlight.
“Let’s go. We’ve come this far, just walk outside.”
“Don’t you think what I just said was super cool?”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
Shuna’s tone seemed to carry a hint of inexplicable jealousy. Will seemed to recall something… the feelings he had vaguely sensed that day, which Shuna hadn’t “voiced.”
Despite being the “protagonist,” at this moment, she seemed more like a sulky underdog who couldn’t express herself.
“Oh right, didn’t you say you wouldn’t save me next time?”
“You still think I’m an ‘obstacle to your fate’?”
“So…” Will reached out and patted her back. “Are we even?”
“After we get out, let’s go have a Chaos Alpha?”
