NOVEL NEXT Chapter 173
Chapter 173. Childhood Friend – Middle-aged Woman
[Deceased. 4/5]
[Achievement: Fourth Death – The player’s assimilation with Leo is slowed.]
[Thank you for playing Raising Lena.]
[Lena de Yeriel]
[Final Job: Theater Actress]
[Marriage Partner: Santian Rauno]
[Leo de Yeriel]
[Final Job: Guard Knight]
[Marriage Partner: Romantic relationship with Xenia]
[Beggars Ending: Dark Star]
– Lena, who was born in the Rutina castle… (omission) …left the Orange Theater. She wandered Orville all night looking for her brother, but was captured and taken back to the theater by gangsters from the Rauno family, mobilized by Ober. After reading the repeated persuasions of Xenia and the letter left by Leo later, she decided to wait for her brother’s return. Lena grew into a leading actress at the Orange Theater, but she always had a dark expression. She met almost no one and got married very late in life, giving birth to two sons. –
– Leo, who was born in Rutina castle… (omission) …was executed by the sword of Count Hermann Forte as the dubious guard knight ‘Noel’ who attempted to seduce the princess and assassinate the king. –
[Engagement scenario ending has changed.]
[Lena Einarr]
[Final Job: Knight of Avril Castle]
[Marriage Partner: Leo Dexter]
[Leo Dexter]
[Final Job: Knight of Avril Castle]
[Marriage Partner: Lena Einarr]
[Engagement Ending: Peace of Avril Castle]
+ Lena Einarr, born in Avril Castle, had a happy childhood… (omission) …Lena, who participated in the war between the Belita Kingdom and the Austin Kingdom, achieved remarkable feats and became a knight. She returned to Avril Castle, lived her whole life happily as a knight guarding the castle and the mother of three children. +
+ Leo Dexter, born in the capital Barnaul, had a happy childhood but lost his mother early… (omission) …Leo, who participated in the war, achieved remarkable feats and became a knight. He returned to Avril Castle, married Lena Einarr, and built a happy family often going hunting with Lena and their children. +
Minseo emerged from the darkness where Leo de Yeriel disappeared after his death.
He read the ending credits with mixed feelings, but the two photos that emerged, unlike Leo’s terrible ending, were beautiful.
One was a photo of his younger sister.
It depicted Lena on stage, reaching out to the audience under dazzling spotlights. Her face wasn’t visible because of the shadows, but the audience in the background was cheering.
Minseo, now a round sphere, felt relieved. He had been worried but it seemed Xenia had taken good care of his sister.
Well, as long as she hid her face well, there should’ve been no special problems. It’s hard to tell whether someone is pretty because of good makeup or something else with theatrical makeup.
Relieved, Minseo turned his eyes to the other photo. It was a picture of Lena Einarr and Leo Dexter, so beautiful that Minseo’s heart ached painfully.
In the picture, Lena had become the knight she had always dreamed of.
She was wearing a red uniform that suited her well, and Leo Dexter, wearing the same uniform, had his arm around her waist, lifting her up.
The photo on the Avril Castle wall, with a brilliant sunset behind them, showed Lena smiling brightly while looking down at Leo, her hair fluttering, and Leo Dexter’s joy was clearly depicted.
It was painful to look at.
The past where he trampled on the dreams of the two for the sake of clearing the game, and the reality that he had to do so, felt agonizing.
Minseo pulled himself together.
Sorry, but I must return to Chaeha. I will never let you fall into tragedy and run away…
Wait for me. Help me. He thought about why such an ending appeared.
Considering they participated in a war, it seemed there was no malignant influence around them. They must have repeated the actions from the previous round, but considering the outcome, it proved there was no malicious influence around.
As a result, it was a happy ending, which was good for now…
‘How did they come back alive?’
They participated in a war but came back unscathed. Leo, after pondering for a while, could only draw a somewhat doubtful conclusion.
Count Hermann Forte must not have participated in the war. Otherwise, they couldn’t have survived the battlefield event, which was tied to encountering the Swordmaster.
Did the fact that Leo de Yeriel cut his thigh affect it? But if treated by a priest, such a wound would have been healed quickly…
It was an unsolvable mystery. Leo put this question aside and turned his attention to another doubt, the speculation left by Leo de Yeriel.
– ‘…but Minseo. This time, you may be wrong.’
Leo de Yeriel doubted whether the true ending was really about making Lena a princess.
Catching the Asins.
He questioned whether this was a condition for the true ending, and it was quite a plausible speculation.
Asins, who secretly strengthened their power after ascending the thrones of various countries. It was indeed a plausible goal for the game.
However, Minseo, after pondering for a while, concluded that it couldn’t be.
There was too clear evidence to accept Leo’s doubt.
This game is ‘Raising Lena.’
It’s a game where you raise a heroine, not the kind of game where the protagonist grows stronger and goes on adventures to stop a crisis that has befallen the world like ‘Final Fantasy,’ ‘Angel Empire,’ or ‘Diablo.’
If the goal were to defeat Asin, why would it end when Lena got married or when her profession was decided? It doesn’t make sense.
And more than anything, the decisive factor was a picture Minseo saw just before purchasing the game from a certain team. The game was unmistakably the same as Princess Maker.
In the picture, the heroine Leah was smiling directly at the camera, and there were status and date windows, a work selection window, a column showing the heroine’s current mood, and the amount of money she had. What else could you call it but a copy of Princess Maker?
Moreover, the picture even showed a boy dressed as a butler or attendant, just like in Princess Maker, standing in the background. It was almost certainly Leo.
So, it was right to see an existence like Asin as a mere obstacle to clearing the game. Princess Maker also had a ‘Demon King,’ so it’s only natural to think they copied that too.
Of course, in that easy, family-friendly game, the Demon King wasn’t dangerous. On the contrary, he was a very convenient and useful presence.
The Demon King would take morality stats from the heroine and selectively give out stats like charm or elegance, which were much harder to raise than morality. So, exchanging them was always profitable.
Sure, you’d accumulate a negative stat called ‘Karma’ as a cost for the exchange, but it was nothing major.
You could easily get rid of it by donating small amounts of money to the church or doing part-time jobs, and people often accumulated the heroine’s karma on purpose to see various ‘bad endings.’
Minseo felt the need to convince Leo de Yeriel. And he planned to find him in the upcoming childhood friend scenario.
Now, only one way remained to clear ‘Raising Lena’…
Just as Minseo was organizing his thoughts, a message appeared. The ending credits and the two pictures had already disappeared.
[ You failed to clear Raising Lena. ]
[ Leo, you have wounded the continent’s strongest swordsman. For this achievement, you are granted the ability {Swordsmanship.5v: Forte Style}. ]
[ Restarting. ]
As the darkness cleared, Minseo’s viewpoint dropped from the sky.
He passed through the peaceful village of Deimos and headed towards the nearby mountain range, strengthening his resolve.
That resolve was…
“Lev! Are you listening to me?”
Grrr.
To meet Leah again. As Minseo, now Lev, swallowed his breath, overwhelmed with intense emotions that resonated deep within him.
He felt like his heart was about to collapse.
The image of Leah, smiling grotesquely after being eaten by Barbatos, flashed before his eyes, and her blood-red eyes gripped Lev’s heart.
“Lev? Why do you look like that? Are you kidding again?”
A girl in her mid-teens with clear-cut features. Her luscious lips and gentle eyebrows were tormenting. The faces overlapped with the one that had half-melted in the holy fire of the saint, making it hard to breathe.
But Leah approached nonetheless. She had an innocent expression that said she didn’t understand why Lev was acting this way.
“Lev? What’s wrong?”
“He… hehe. Ta-da~ Look at this!”
Minseo acted like a clown. He pushed his tears back and smiled to reassure his childhood friend.
“Wow! It’s a sword! When did you get this? Where did you find it?”
“I got it when I went to the market last time. How is it? Surprised? Look at this. I also have a bracelet.”
[ Achievement: ‘16th’ Leo – The speed at which the player assimilates with Leo is slightly increased. ]
[ 16/22 ]
[ Conditions not met. ]
While Leah fiddled with Lev’s sword with curiosity, Minseo read the messages that appeared.
As always, a limit of 16/22 rounds loomed ominously in the lower right corner of his sight.
Including this try, there were seven times left.
You could say he had some buffer or that he was almost backed into a corner. His death count was also precariously at 4/5.
‘But… what is this? Conditions not met?’
Something new had appeared. Minseo scratched his head.
He thought, truly, this game is beyond unfriendly. It’s too much.
As he shook his head, Leah was staring blankly at him.
“…Why?”
“Hmm… Lev, something’s strange about you.”
“What is?”
“Well… somehow, it feels like there’s something different about you. Turn around.”
[ Quest: Noble Slayer 50/50 – {Elegance} ability increases by one level. ]
[ Quest: Traitor 10/10 – {Blood of the King} ability increases by one level. ]
Leah looked Lev up and down.
Somehow he had changed. The once-clumsy Lev now moved with grace, and she felt like she couldn’t treat him carelessly anymore.
“Strange…” Leah murmured, almost sniffing around, when,
– Smack!
“Ouch! You!”
Minseo smacked her on the forehead.
“What are you doing? We don’t have time. Let’s hurry and pick some mountain berries and go back. I’m hungry. Give me the sword.”
“Huh? Hey! I haven’t finished looking at it… Seriously. If you’re going to take it away like that, why did you bring it out in the first place?”
Leah angrily stamped her feet.
Minseo, feeling considerably better, began swiftly gathering the mountain berries. Leah, who had been grumbling, soon switched to chatting about something else. Minseo glanced at her and sighed. He felt sorry for both Leah and Lev, but he was planning to leave this place as soon as possible.
He needed to reach Orville before Leo de Yeriel died. Ideally, he’d like to arrive before Leo kissed the princess, but it was an incredibly long distance from here to Orville. Even on horseback, the journey took two months – and that was assuming there were no delays at the border gates, so Minseo was in a hurry.
However,
‘…I can’t just leave Leah behind. Although my father likely hasn’t returned from the mountains yet, I should at least say goodbye to Leah before I go.’
Leah had been a good friend to Minseo. Although indirectly, through Lev, they had known each other for years, and she often popped into his mind and gave him strength whenever he was feeling down and exhausted.
He couldn’t just leave without a word. Moreover, a priest heading towards the capital church would soon be visiting the village, and he needed to encourage her as well…
Eventually, the two came down from the mountain with leather pouches full of mountain berries. For now, Lev ushered the chattering Lea into the house. “Enjoy your meal. By the way, Leah, I have something to tell you later.” he said, setting up a time to talk.
He planned to get everything ready to leave first. It might make him soft-hearted, so he intended to bid farewell fully armed right before departing. He also needed to eat.
What should he say? he pondered while opening the door. As he stepped into his house, which he hadn’t entered in who knows how long, he kicked off his shoes…
Lev froze solid.
There was someone in the house, and it wasn’t his father. Just after the start of the childhood friend scenario, the house had always been empty, but for the first time, someone he didn’t recognize was there to greet him.
“Son. You’re home early? Did you pick a lot of mountain berries?”
Her hair, white and neatly groomed despite not being combed, and her forehead smooth, the woman was a middle-aged lady.
She was Lev’s mother.