“We will not retreat!”
“Don’t let those bastards through, no matter what!”
“Even if this place becomes our grave, fight for our families!”
“Lady Saint Veronica will be with us until the very end!”
The black sky writhed.
The sounds of humans and monsters mingled together and resounded across the battlefield.
‘….’
Again.
Now accustomed to the dream that had repeated for days, Lisa did not panic as she had at first, and took in the sight of the fortress.
“I will fight with you as well. So please, do not be afraid.”
Before long, Veronica, whom the soldiers called the Saint, appeared with the hem of her white robes fluttering in the wind.
She cast magic with her crosier, supporting and encouraging them.
Just as Lisa had expected.
Then she should also be able to predict what would happen next.
‘She’ll suddenly turn to me and ask whether I can resist fate. And when I try to ask what she means, I’ll wake up from the dream.’
But as if to deny Lisa’s prediction, the world moved in an entirely different direction.
Veronica did not look back at her, and instead did her utmost in the role she had been given.
Then a ripple spread across the black sky.
‘….’
Within that ripple, a red eye opened.
The moment Lisa perceived the red eye looking down upon the world from the sky, her mind went blank and she could no longer think properly.
The people on the battlefield were the same.
‘What… on earth is that….’
A monster?
No, it was not a monster.
It was a distant being that could not be defined in words, nor described in any language.
It was no wonder that some people fainted, unable to withstand the aura of its existence.
If she, too, had possessed a physical body and had been standing on the battlefield, she felt she would have lost consciousness and collapsed just like them.
That was how much helplessness and terror Lisa felt as a human being when she met that red eye.
Flaaash!
It was then that Veronica emitted a platinum light in order to protect the people.
Looking at the light she spread, Lisa was able to shake off at least a little of her fear and feel relief.
Meanwhile, just as she had asked in the dream time and again, Veronica posed a question to Lisa.
“Can you resist fate? Are you prepared to shoulder the world?”
Now, Lisa felt she understood what Veronica and the soldiers were fighting against, and what fate she had spoken of.
It was that red eye, looking down on them as though they were mere insects, as though it were a transcendent being.
It was primal fear itself.
‘I….’
She did not know.
Unable to readily make up her mind, Lisa trailed off as if hesitating.
Veronica pleaded with her.
“Please answer me next time.”
With those words as the last she heard.
Lisa woke from the dream.
* * *
After Kang Hanbyeol and I made a bet with Lisa’s half-brother, Mikhail Grace, over the score in the Five-Color Match.
Our Blue Team had performed respectably, and by the day the Geumgang Festival was to close, we were in first place.
If we could maintain this trend in the remaining matches, it seemed like we might be able to win.
Of course, that did not mean we could relax and let our guard down.
Because the Red Team, which Mikhail belonged to, was hot on our heels in second place.
If we made a mistake, they could overtake us and pull off a comeback.
‘In the game, we were the ones chasing them, but in this world, it’s the opposite.’
Still, in the broader context, there was nothing that had changed from the game’s progression.
In the end, the conclusion of the Geumgang Festival episode would be decided by the dodgeball match in the afternoon, which had the greatest impact on the remaining score.
So in order for the Blue Team to win the Five-Color Match and firmly shake off the Red Team, we absolutely had to win.
With the match ahead of us, Kang Hanbyeol, the triplets, and I reaffirmed our resolve with one another.
Yeon Haneul and Cha Eunsol were also there, since the timing had worked out and they had ended up eating lunch with us.
The two, who belonged to the Black Team, had just defeated the Yellow Team in the previous match.
“Do your best later. You know you can’t lose, right? You have to beat that person.”
“I know. I’ll do my best.”
The bet over whether Lisa would drop out had already spread as a rumor not only among the students of the entire school, but also among the people who had come to watch the Geumgang Festival.
It was undoubtedly Mikhail’s doing.
It was obvious that he intended to use public opinion so that even if worst came to worst and we tried to overturn the board, we would not be able to back out carelessly.
Hearing Yeon Haneul’s request once more, I nodded.
‘Dodgeball, huh….’
In the game, the dodgeball match was only for show; in reality, it was nothing more than a battle between Kang Hanbyeol, Lisa, and Mikhail.
That was due to the limitations of the game’s presentation.
But in reality, where there was a high degree of freedom, the dodgeball match would proceed faithfully according to its purpose.
I had to keep in mind that it could potentially become an unexpected variable.
Even so….
‘I’m here, so it should be fine.’
The point of dodgeball was to survive without getting hit by the ball.
In that sense, it was actually a match that was quite favorable to me.
Because my Gift was Evasion Instinct.
I might not be able to hit people well, but at the very least, I was confident I would not get hit by the ball.
Even Yeon Haneul, who had known me since elementary school, acknowledged as much.
“Still, it’s a relief that you’re good at dodging. You’ve never lost at dodgeball until now.”
“Right. Just trust me.”
Yeon Haneul’s tense face relaxed.
Letting out a small laugh, I decided to lightly warm up as soon as I finished eating my lunchbox.
It was then that Cha Eunsol, for some reason, placed a piece of fried shrimp on top of my lunch.
“Here, you can have this. Eat up.”
“…Are you sick or something?”
Cha Eunsol sharing food with me? That was impossible.
It was the kind of thing that could herald the end of the world.
I could not help being startled by her uncharacteristic behavior.
Then she said.
“I’m giving it to you to cheer you on so you don’t let Lisa drop out. Yum yum.”
“So you do worry about Lisa….”
“Of course. She’s my friend.”
Cha Eunsol picked a grain of rice off the corner of her lips and ate it.
Feeling that she seemed especially admirable today, I did not hold back my praise.
Then I tried to eat the fried shrimp, but….
“Oh, I’ll eat the head and tail. That’s okay, right?”
“…Yeah, you eat them.”
I had been planning to leave out the head and tail and eat only the body from the start, but somehow it felt like she had given it to me only to take it back.
I supposed I should be grateful that she handed over the body, but the admiration I had felt quickly cooled.
Cha Eunsol was Cha Eunsol after all.
With a bitter smile, I handed the remains of the fried shrimp over to her as requested.
At that moment, Kang Hanbyeol spoke up.
“But why isn’t Lisa coming back? It feels like she’s taking quite a while for someone who just went to buy drinks….”
As Kang Hanbyeol said, a fair amount of time had passed since Lisa left.
Naturally, we could not help worrying about her since she had not returned.
On the other hand, I could more or less guess her situation.
According to the game’s progression….
‘There was a story where Lisa disappeared before the battle with Mikhail, and we had to go looking for her.’
Right about now, she was probably worrying about all sorts of things, like whether she could really defeat Mikhail and whether she could live on as a hunter.
And the one who comforted and supported her was the protagonist, Kang Hanbyeol.
Therefore, I decided to give him a push so he could fulfill that role.
“I think we’d better go look for her. Hanbyeol, come with me. You guys watch our seats.”
I had an idea of where Lisa might be hiding.
She was probably squatting between vending machines in a deserted place.
Taking Kang Hanbyeol with me, I rose from my seat and immediately started walking.
[You have completed mastery of the “Void-Treading Art Stone.”]
[You have obtained a skill.]
[Void-Treading Steps Lv 1]
It was right after that when the message I had been waiting for appeared in my field of vision.
At long last, I had acquired Void-Treading Steps.
The corners of my mouth lifted.
* * *
The Twenty-Third Imperial Princess, Lisa Grace.
In the imperial palace of the Empire, her existence was nothing more than one among the emperor’s many, many children.
Low in the line of succession, and with a palace maid who had merely been the emperor’s partner for a single night as her mother, she had no value beyond the fact that she had been born into the imperial family.
At best, she could be used as a tool for a political marriage.
Or perhaps dispatched to the provinces in an honorary position to help stabilize the people’s hearts.
That was all she amounted to.
And so, while the people who worked in the imperial palace did not look down on her, neither did they revere and exalt her.
—I greet the Twenty-Third Imperial Princess.
—Yes, hello to you too.
Lisa, who had been born and raised in the imperial palace, was also aware of her own position.
For that reason, she lived quietly, trying not to draw the palace people’s ire by throwing around her status.
It was also what her mother had taught her.
—I’m happy as long as I have you, Mother. I want to keep living with you.
In the imperial palace, where court intrigues lurked in the shadows, her mother had been the only one she could trust, rely on, and act spoiled with.
As long as her mother was by her side, Lisa did not feel lonely living in the palace.
When that mother passed away one day from illness, Lisa was terribly sad.
—….
At the time, Lisa cried for days on end, feeling as though the world had come to an end.
A dreadful loneliness came to her.
The one who reached out a hand to her was none other than….
—Hello? Lisa, you came out for a walk too. Well, with the weather this nice, of course you should come outside and get some fresh air. Have you been doing well lately?
Her half-brother Mikhail’s mother, the Third Imperial Consort, Elena.
She often asked after Lisa and looked after her with thoughtful care.
—Ah… I greet the Third Imperial Consort. I have… been well. Thank you for your concern….
—Hmm… Looking at your face, I don’t think that’s true.
—No, that isn’t….
—Do you perhaps have any plans after this?
—…No.
—Then would you like to take a walk with me and enjoy a tea party? My son is terribly shy and so busy studying that he won’t play with me, you see.
—Yes, if you don’t mind me….
In that way.
Elena gradually made her way into Lisa’s heart, which had been full of wariness at the time.
At some point, she became an existence no different from a mother to Lisa.
—Lady Elena! Hello!
—There is the title of Third Imperial Consort, and yet who told you that you could casually call Mother by her name? How rude. At the very least, attach “Imperial Consort” after it.
—Ah, Brother Mikhail, you were here too. Hello. And Lady Elena gave me permission to call her that.
—…Mother, is that true?
Naturally, Lisa also grew close to Mikhail.
The two, who both loved Elena, would bicker whenever they had the chance, fighting to monopolize her.
Each time, Elena watched their squabbling with a pleased smile.
—That’s right, I gave her permission. What’s wrong with us addressing each other comfortably?
—But what if the palace people take you lightly because of it….
—In that case, I suppose I’ll have to dance with my sword again.
—….
Before becoming the Third Imperial Consort, Elena had been an imperial noble and a hunter.
Because of that, her conduct was exceedingly bold.
When monsters appeared in the imperial palace, she even personally took up a sword and commanded the soldiers in a suppression operation.
Aside from that, whenever she saw injustice, she could not stand by and would leap in without hesitation.
That was why opinions of her were sharply divided between favorable and unfavorable.
Of course, to Lisa, she was someone to feel favor toward.
—I’d love to see your sword dance, Lady Elena! I’d be happy! If you ever dance, please make sure to tell me! Lady Elena, you can do anything you want to do!
—Really? Right? Thank you. Somehow, you care about me more than the son I suffered to give birth to. Mikhail, watch and learn.
—There is nothing for me to learn from Lisa. Mother, that is an insult.
After becoming close with Elena and Mikhail, Lisa found life in the imperial palace nothing but enjoyable.
And so she wished that time would last forever.
Unfortunately, her wish was not granted.
Five years before Lisa entered the academy, rifts occurred simultaneously throughout the imperial capital.
On that very day, the three of them had happened to be out on an excursion, and they could not help being swept up in the chaos caused by the monsters.
—You two must run without looking back. Mikhail, you know where the carriage we rode in is, don’t you? You’re the older brother, so you have to take good care of Lisa, all right? If you’re not in a situation where you can get to the carriage, reveal your imperial status to the soldiers who should be nearby and ask for help.
—Then what about you, Lady Elena!?
—I have to protect the people as an imperial consort of the Empire, don’t I? Don’t worry about me. You know how strong I am.
—But even so, this is…!
—It’s all right. I’ll see you later. Mikhail, hurry and go. If you delay any longer, the road will be blocked again.
—I will go on ahead and wait for you. Please come back alive, Imperial Mother.
—I will.
Monsters swarmed across the entire imperial capital.
Having lured them away to protect Lisa and Mikhail, Elena did not spare her own life as she went on to save those in danger.
And in the end, by taking the legion commander down with her, she prevented hell from unfolding in the mortal world.
The people of the empire revered her as a hero and mourned her death.
—How could you do this… You liar…
—Rest in peace, Imperial Mother. Thank you… for everything.
Having lost Elena, Lisa and Mikhail could not help but fall into grief.
After some time had passed, the two of them gathered themselves and made a vow.
—I will grow strong enough to protect this country.
Mikhail, who had only vaguely been aiming to become the next emperor, firmly made up his mind.
To that end, he put even more effort into the competition for the throne than before, and headed to Academy City to become a hunter.
After the empire took root in this world, its emperor was required to have the experience to see the world broadly, as well as the strength to protect the people of the empire in times of crisis.
—I want to become someone like Lady Elena, too.
Meanwhile, Lisa, who had admired Elena, decided to become a hunter like her, fighting to protect people.
And so, as the two of them found their respective goals, their points of contact diminished from then on, and they could not help but grow awkward around each other.
When Lisa stubbornly applied for the Academy entrance exam despite Mikhail’s opposition, their relationship became deeply strained.
* * *
The match would begin soon.
Using the excuse that she was going to buy drinks, Lisa had made time to be alone so she could sort out her complicated feelings, and she let out a deep sigh.
“Phew…”
Crouched between the vending machines with her knees hugged to her chest, Lisa’s face was cast in shadow.
Somehow, she had ended up making a bet with Mikhail with her withdrawal from school on the line, and she could not bring herself to feel encouraged.
Most of all, she had begun to doubt herself.
‘Can I really do well…?’
She had followed her admiration for Elena and harbored a desire to become a hunter, but reality was not so easy.
The process of becoming a hunter was harsher and more difficult than she had expected.
On days when exhaustion piled up to its limit, it was so hard and painful that she wanted to give everything up, return to the empire, and live comfortably as a princess.
Even so, every time she gritted her teeth and endured, she could only feel amazed, wondering how Elena had managed to withstand it all.
At the same time, she found herself realizing something.
That she was not as strong as Elena.
‘Maybe, just as Brother said, I’m not suited to being a hunter after all.’
Was she perhaps clinging to a dream she could never achieve?
Unable to firmly deny it, Lisa was suddenly seized by fear.
She was simply afraid of facing Mikhail in the upcoming match and proving her abilities to him.
Because she had no confidence she could win.
“…”
Her opponent was the Fifth Prince, Mikhail Grace.
He was currently regarded as having been born with the greatest talent among the emperor’s children.
He could not be compared to her, who had nothing exceptional about her aside from her status as a member of the imperial family.
Burying her face in her knees, Lisa closed her eyes.
If she could, she wished time would stop forever just like this.
She wanted to keep deluding herself by gazing at the unrealized possibility that she might be able to become a hunter.
It was then that she heard a voice above her head.
“I knew this would happen… Found you.”
“You really were here, just like you said. What were you doing in a place like this?”
“…Gyeonu, Hanbyeol.”
How had they known she was hiding here?
When she raised her head, Do Gyeonu and Kang Hanbyeol were looking down at her with smiles on their faces.
Lisa blinked.
Then, Do Gyeonu held out his hand.
“I get that you’re worried, but are you going to keep digging a rabbit hole in there? The match is starting soon, so let’s hurry and go before we’re late.”
“That’s right. If we win this match, our victory in the Five-Colored Tournament is guaranteed, so where’s the time to dawdle? And don’t even think about losing when Gyeonu and I are here. We’ll make sure we win.”
“And who was it that proposed the bet without my consent…?”
She was worrying herself sick, yet the two of them were giggling so brightly.
Feeling pointlessly annoyed, Lisa pouted.
Then, pulled by Do Gyeonu’s hand, she walked out from between the vending machines.
“If we lose, even by chance, I’m not going to let you and Hanbyeol off either. When that happens, I’ll become a vengeful water ghost if I have to and drag you down with me, so keep that in mind.”
“Hanbyeol, what is she saying?”
“Beats me. If we lose, that’s your fault, not ours.”
“Wow, seriously… You’re really going to be like that? How can people do that?”
“Those who can live should live.”
“Right, I agree.”
“I’m disappointed in both of you.”
“You can be disappointed later. We just have to win anyway, don’t we?”
“Right? As long as we win, that’s that. Why worry about something that hasn’t even happened?”
“Nooo… Ugh, fine. You’re right, we just have to win. But if we lose, even by one-in-a-million chance…”
Talking with Do Gyeonu and Kang Hanbyeol made her worries feel pointless.
While Lisa was dumbfounded, seeing the two of them so certain of victory, unlike her, made her feel relieved without realizing it.
“You really will make sure we win, right?”
At Lisa’s question, her expression now composed, Do Gyeonu and Kang Hanbyeol answered cheerfully without hesitation.
“Of course. You bet.”
“Isn’t that obvious? We don’t fight battles we’re going to lose.”
“Okay. I’ll trust you.”
It was a boast with no basis whatsoever.
Even so, feeling lighter at heart, Lisa let out a soft chuckle.
Meanwhile, the Witch’s Crystal attached to her pendant had, at some point, shrunk to the size of a fingernail.
[You are assimilating the ‘Witch’s Crystal.’ Current progress: 99%….]
I Became the Childhood Friend of the Mid-Boss