NOVEL NEXT Chapter 104 - Chapter 104: Meanwhile
Chapter 104: Meanwhile
November 1st, Saturday. During the day, I went around investigating the capture targets and their surroundings. Being in Akart for two years while supporting Vivi-chan on the 4th loop, I know a bit about them.
First, Quentin Quigley, who Vivi-chan was targeting. He’s the third son of the Knight Baron family, your typical muscle-brained character you always find. He has a low and lively voice that sounds familiar. It makes sense that Vivi-chan decided to capture him with her voice actress skills and the beauty of still images.
Regarding him, Vivi-chan’s notes describe him as a “wimpy large dog”. He’s the type attracted to physically strong girls, so the plan is to raise his level before pursuing him. What a hobby. Also, his route’s rival character, the so-called villainess, is a childhood friend from the territory of his hometown, making her the least conscience-pricking character.
Next, Wesley Wardington, currently targeted by Vivi-chan. He’s the second son of the Marchioness family, an ice swordsman. According to Vivi-chan, he’s tsundere-like. The villainess is, needless to say, Lizette Laquell, the daughter of the Earl. Both are water attributes and seem to be expected to play a central role in the military power of the Marchioness family.
Then, there’s the son of the Prime Minister, the son of the Court Magician, and the assassin. Each one corresponds to a different element: Quentin with fire, Wesley with water, the Prime Minister’s son with wind, the Court Magician’s son with earth, and the assassin with darkness. And after capturing one, Prince Ulysses, who is released, represents light. This is a hidden element, only revealed in his true ending.
Man, Vivi-chan. She’s captured all of them before, huh. No, no, no, wait, does that mean, without us noticing, both Luca-sama and I could have been ensnared? I don’t like that. No, then there’s no need to play this game anymore, is there? Go home, to the real world.
What I observed about them all is that, if Vivi-chan doesn’t make a move, they lead peaceful lives at the academy. Quentin is training his body every day aiming to join the knight order in the capital. Prince Ulysses, while active in the student council, occasionally attends tea parties with Lady Ursula, busy with her princess education. Both the Prime Minister’s son and the Court Magician’s son have similar vibes. The so-called “darkness” student, who represents the royal family, casually blends into the school as a slightly mischievous student and plays the role of watching over the protagonist. In fact, he’s subtly monitoring and guarding the protagonist of light.
Including him, none of them seem to be particularly high level. For the sake of the game, there seem to be events where we delve into dungeons together to increase intimacy, so starting off too high wouldn’t be good game design.
So, it all comes down to waiting for Wesley-sama. Depending on his attitude, Vivi-chan’s actions will change, and if Vivi-chan doesn’t get involved, the other capture targets will be calm. With a cloud of uncertainty hanging over me, I returned to Lachine.
I’ve submitted a permission form for overnight stay in Marol’s dormitory. Today, I planned to build a fortress near some dungeon and then tackle it tomorrow. That was the plan, but I can’t help but be worried about Luca-sama. Last week, we parted with a “next time,” but when should I invite him next?
I was planning to teleport to the capital, take a quick look around, and return. But he was standing by the window in his usual clothes without even wearing pajamas. And when he spotted me, his face lit up with joy.
“Alex, you came!”
No good. I have no choice but to take him out. I’m completely weak to Luca-sama. No, how many people in the world can resist those puppy-like, round eyes?
Tonight, we’re going to the Advanced Reptile Dungeon in Charlois. Although it’s been cleared, it’s not a maze that’s been fully explored. We boarded a piloted golem and carefully proceeded with our investigation.
“Hmm. So, this is how mapping works, huh?”
Luca-sama is peering curiously at my hands.
The piloted golem’s uncomfortable ride was its only flaw, but it reminded me of robot anime from my previous life. Just because it’s a golem doesn’t mean it needs to walk. It doesn’t matter if it has wheels for legs or if it flies with rocket boosters. There’s even a famous line that says “legs are just for show.”
If we can freely modify buildings made of rock walls, then we should be able to modify golems as well. In most intermediate and higher dungeons, there are usually traps underfoot, so I removed the golem’s legs and equipped it with flying abilities. It’s nothing more than a drone with arms now. And maintaining a posture control without getting dizzy while mapping inside. Dexterity is important.
The arms and fingers of the golem move according to my commands. It’s not as precise as using bare hands, but it allows for quite detailed manipulation. While handling trap disarming and unlocking with scouting techniques, I steadily filled in the map. Despite the large reptiles swarming around, they couldn’t make a dent on the smooth metal body of the golem. Nonetheless, they boldly attacked the golem, only to be occasionally knocked down by Luca-sama, who used them as target practice for stone bullets. It’s like playing a 3D shooting game. I hope you enjoy it to the fullest.
November 2nd, Sunday. After seeing off Luca-sama, I resumed dungeon conquests. It’s fun solo as well, but having someone along like that makes it even more enjoyable. It’s nice that Luca-sama waits for me, but perhaps I’m the one who can’t let go of Luca-sama. After this loop ends, I plan to meet Urrica again and ask her for help as a friend, but I hope to maintain some form of friendship with Luca-sama as well.
And then, November 3rd, Monday. Things started to move. In a slightly unfavorable direction.