Chapter 42 “The Perfect” Plan
Alice slowly regained consciousness.
She opened her heavy eyelids and saw the pale face of Kanade.
The latter smiled with relief upon seeing Alice awake.
“Great! Alice, are you okay?”
“What happened to me…”
Alice slowly propped herself up.
She immediately noticed the bloodstains on her pure white shirt.
Her memories suddenly flooded back.
“Blood imbalance! I—”
At this moment, Alice finally noticed the makeshift bandage wrapped around Kanade’s right arm.
The bandage was stained with blood.
Kanade’s pale complexion was a reaction to excessive blood loss.
“Tsukimi, you—”
Even Alice understood what had happened to her.
“—Thank you.”
She candidly expressed her gratitude.
This was an empty classroom.
From the shattered glass on one side of the classroom corridor, it was evident that this was the place where they had just battled a fantasy monster.
Since very few students passed through the west side of the teaching building, no major commotion had arisen yet.
Although Alice couldn’t tell how long she had been unconscious from the overcast sky outside the window, her intuition told her it must have been less than ten minutes.
“Tsukimi, give me your hand…”
As Alice spoke, she unceremoniously grabbed Kanade’s bandaged right hand.
Then she skillfully unwrapped the makeshift bandage and took out a roll of medical gauze from her pocket.
She re-bandaged Kanade.
“Tsukimi, which faction are you part of?”
Alice asked as she bandaged him.
“…..What do you mean?”
Hearing this, Alice raised her eyelids slightly and met Kanade’s gaze, realizing that he wasn’t deliberately pretending to be clueless.
“I see, are you wild?”
Then Alice’s golden eyes turned to the side of Kanade.
“You are this child’s guide?”
“…..Impressive.”
DD-chan’s figure slowly emerged and took form.
“Thank you for the compliment, and thank you for stopping me earlier.”
“Then, can you please tell me what this is all about?”
“And why the magical power of that fantasy monster reacts so similarly to yours—”
Alice’s last words pointed to DD-chan, who hovered in midair.
Also a progeny of the “Pseudo-God Hakurei.”
Its magical response was hardly distinguishable from that of its doppelgänger.
That was why Alice’s eyes of true vision saw through it instantly.
“……Can I trust you?”
Kanade hesitantly looked up at Alice.
She showed a determined expression.
“I just hope I can help you, and repay you for saving my life.”
After Kanade exchanged glances with DD-chan, he finally decided to trust this blonde girl before him.
…
“I see, so this creature known as ‘Doppelgänger’ is targeting you?”
After a rapid exchange of information between the two minds, Alice learned the name and abilities of that fantasy monster, as well as the background of Kanade and DD-chan’s meeting.
Kanade deliberately omitted any mention of Nagi.
And DD-chan also concealed references to “mother.”
DD-chan claimed to be just a wild fantasy monster.
Kanade said that after joining the advanced self-development program, he unfortunately fell under the curse of the evil spirit DD-chan, but because he wore an amulet obtained from the Hakurei Shrine, the evil spirit DD-chan could not harm him, leading to their contract.
At the same time, DD-chan explained to Alice about the capabilities and motivations of the Doppelgänger.
The Doppelgänger has the ability to absorb the magical power of other “progenies.”
That was why it was so persistently chasing Kanade, who was bound by contract to DD-chan.
“Although I can’t fully believe what you say right now, I appreciate you being willing to tell me all of this.”
After listening, Alice formally bowed to Kanade and DD-chan.
This made Kanade flustered.
“Speaking of which, my compatibility with that guy is just too poor…”
Alice resumed analyzing the situation before her.
Her extremely high clairvoyance and ability to see through all disguises had instead become a significant weakness in the face of the Doppelgänger’s capabilities.
As long as it was seen with her right eye, it could make her “very unfortunate” and trigger blood imbalance.
Although she had been saved this time thanks to DD-chan and Kanade, who knew about blood imbalance properties, she couldn’t count on such luck again next time.
If only she could lure it to a more open area.
However, considering rationally, Alice could only give up on that for now.
“Let’s get out of here first. I will think of a way to deal with the Doppelgänger later—”
Unexpectedly, Kanade interrupted Alice’s intention to retreat.
“I think we can’t let it go any longer.”
“Tsukimi?”
“That thing has the ability to mimic the appearance of others. If we leave it alone now, it will be very difficult to find it next time.”
“But right now, it’s focused on DD-chan’s magical power; we can use that as bait to lure it in.”
As Kanade spoke, he looked at DD-chan, who could only nod, indicating he was right.
“No, this is too dangerous; I can’t let you get involved.”
“But if we let it leave here, others will be in danger—”
Kanade’s mind flashed to the image of his childhood friend and how the Doppelgänger looked when it transformed into her.
A surge of anger rose in his heart.
—How dare you insult little Nagi like this! I can’t let you go unpunished.
“My ability lets me see the true form of the Doppelgänger without being affected.”
“I can become Alice’s eyes, and once I confirm its location, she can launch the attack.”
But Alice shook her head.
“If that’s the case, I can do it myself.”
Alice insisted on not involving Kanade in the fight.
“No, as this kid says, it’s a good opportunity…”
DD-chan pondered for a moment before continuing.
DD-chan loathed the Doppelgänger for betraying its mother and slaughtering countless brothers and sisters.
Given this golden opportunity to strike this bastard down, it certainly didn’t want to miss out.
“Just as it can sense me nearby, I can vaguely feel it still around.”
“The Doppelgänger should have absorbed quite a few other fantasy monsters; it dodged all your attacks in the last battle.”
“It wasn’t this agile before. If I’m not mistaken, that thing now has the capability to evade all direct attacks.”
“Unless there is widespread firepower coverage, only an unexpected ambush can harm it—”
“Kanade can produce a magical response that catches its attention, effectively luring it in.”
“Then I can provide Kanade with vision in a spiritual form, and finally, with Kanade directing her, Alice can deliver the fatal blow.”
…
…
“What a perfect plan~”
The gentle breeze carried their conspiratorial voices to Nagi’s ears.
Nagi’s slender figure was floating in mid-air at this moment.
The high winds whipped her hair and skirt as she looked down at the teaching building below.
Garuda approached, flapping its snow-white wings.
“That unlucky fellow has been confirmed safe,” Garuda reported.
The object it referred to was the unlucky senior who had coincidentally chosen today to confess to Nagi.
His confession was not part of Nagi’s plan.
However, since they happened to cross paths, she would simultaneously lure the Doppelgänger and Kanade—
Not missing any opportunity and taking the initiative for dramatic effect is what it means to be a top-tier protagonist.
So she didn’t intend to waste this opportunity with the “Doppelgänger.”
After Kanade had close contact with so many supernatural events and abilities in a short time, as a bloodthirsty youth, he would definitely become passionate about that world.
Having painstakingly nurtured him into a gentle and kind child, she couldn’t let him become a bully who abused his strength later on.
Nagi had seen far too many people who suddenly gained power and became arrogant.
So she planned to use this opportunity to give Kanade a lesson in advance.
It was crucial for Kanade to experience firsthand that merely pursuing power and acting impulsively would lead to undesirable consequences.
If possible, Nagi still hoped Kanade could grow into someone who yearned for a stable and peaceful everyday life.
Not a selfish tyrant thirsting for battle.
As Nagi thought this, down in the teaching building, Alice and Kanade had already made their preparations.
Through DD-chan’s emitted magical power, they successfully lured the Doppelgänger closer.
The Doppelgänger, possessing a certain level of intelligence compared to the Hakurei Shrine priestess, understood to transform into the appearance of “Hoshimi Nagi,” the one Alice and Kanade would let their guard down around the most.
But evidently, its intelligence had not completely escaped the ranks of beasts, failing to see through the fact that this was merely bait.
As expected, the subordinates of the “Pseudo-God Hakurei,” with very few exceptions, were all creatures of low intelligence.
From Nagi’s aerial perspective, she spotted Alice hidden in ambush.
Using her abilities ahead of time, Alice condensed a blood blade while suppressing her magic power, ensuring the Doppelgänger wouldn’t sense her.
Kanade also activated his abilities near Alice.
Through the viewpoint provided by DD-chan, he clearly captured the slowly approaching figure of the Doppelgänger in his sight.
Once the Doppelgänger got closer, all he needed to do was direct Alice to launch a surprise attack—
From Nagi’s standpoint as an observer, this would be a successful plan.
Alice’s blood blade would be sufficient to inflict severe damage on the Doppelgänger.
But—
“Master, are you really sure about this?”
Garuda’s worried voice came from the side.
“Are you concerned about me?”
“Actually, I’m worried about myself. If the contractor dies, then I won’t survive either.”
This was not a 100% guaranteed plan.
However, if it failed here, it would also count as a success in a certain sense.
Moreover, she had left herself a safety net in case of failure.
Nagi touched the amulet in her pocket.
The Pseudo-God Hakurei would not allow its priestess to die outside its domain.
Nagi revealed a subtle smile.
“Everything will be fine~”
The fantasy monster— “Doppelgänger.”
In the original “Hoshiyuki 2,” it was an enemy that only appeared in the later stages.
Its true appearance was that of a pitch-black stick figure with a pixelated face.
That’s right.
Its classification is—
“Humanoid.”
High above.
Star Eyes twinkled.
At the same time.
Inside the western teaching building.
Kanade, through DD-chan’s viewpoint, caught sight of the “Doppelgänger” arriving at the designated location as expected.
He gave Alice the signal to attack—
—Blood splattered.
