Chapter 22: Interlude

“Whoa, whoa. Alicia’s going crazy down there. Is she seriously going to steal a horse and chase after her father to the capital?” Repeara said as she peered at the map. “I thought she’d stick around and act like the NEET she is!”

Using her goddess power, she zoomed in on the map, focusing on the two reincarnators—Alicia and Elidranthia. Sistielle let out a quiet sigh.

“Humans really are fascinating, aren’t they?” Sistielle mused. “I thought she’d abandon her father. Nathan was never exactly the family type. I was sure I’d wiped out Alicia’s original personality and replaced it completely with Nathan’s. There shouldn’t be any reason for her to risk her life for her father.”

“Family bonds are stronger than you think, Sistielle,” Repeara replied. “Even if Nathan didn’t show it, he was abandoned too. John gave her the parental love she never had. That sticks.”

“Yeah, I knew that part,” Sistielle said, frowning. “But I didn’t think she’d actually do something like this. I expected her to hole up in her cabin like a useless NEET and wait it out. Reading her thoughts... she didn’t even think about her father directly. She just wanted to be a hero.” She paused. “I didn’t expect her to be so vain. And now we have to decide—does John die or not?”

“That was all subconscious,” Repeara muttered, her expression darkening at the memory of the previous Elidranthia. “Same as the last game.”

“I see… So even a supposedly ordinary, unremarkable human like Nathan has this… hidden layer,” Sistielle said, genuinely intrigued. “I never would have guessed.”

“So what now?” Repeara asked. “Surround her with bandits?”

“Besides her magic, Alicia’s still weaker than a boy in a fistfight,” Sistielle noted.

“She could win, right?” Repeara said optimistically. Depending on how far the bandits were, Alicia could bombard them with spells. Even if the bandits had mages on their side, she might still overpower them.

Normally, bandits weren’t supposed to have mages. However, these bandits were sponsored by Duke Luca in the original novel. In that version, Duke Luca, aware of a level 6 mage peasant girl, had tried to recruit Alicia into his faction—but he failed.

“She could lose too,” Sistielle remarked. In the original story, Alicia had been helpless against the bandits. It was only thanks to Elidranthia that she’d survived the attack.

“That’s great! More challenge!” Repeara grinned. “Since she’s already level 8, we should ramp up the difficulty. Instead of ten bandits, how about thirty?”

“What if she loses?” Sistielle frowned. She didn’t like the idea of Alicia and Elidranthia being too far apart. They were a pair—even in the original timeline.

“Well, if Alicia loses, then she’ll have to work as Duke Luca’s slave. Then, once they’ve grown older, she and Eli will meet again. This time, as true enemies. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm…”

“Well, if she dies, then that’s that. There’s always the next game,” Repeara sighed. Nathan had always been a loser in life. Now that he’d become Alicia, he was overreaching—just because Sistielle had given him power. Repeara didn’t like him one bit.

As Nathan, he was apathetic and lazy. As for Alicia, she’d become vain. Typical traits of a loser—flaunting power he hadn’t earned. Repeara still couldn’t understand why Sistielle had chosen him over someone better.

She could’ve picked someone rich and generous, like Mr. Beast. Or someone humble, like a nun or a priest. Yet she picked this loser—neither truly kind nor truly wicked. If Sistielle had wanted someone evil, she could’ve gone with a politician, a lawyer, a rapist—or an ex-soldier like Eli.

“Well, alright. That’s your portion. I’ll delay John’s travel by one day. That way, Alicia will barely make it in time to see her father—just before he left the crossing and get captured by the bandits,” Sistielle said.

“Whoa. You’re changing the original? So the ambush won’t happen in Shadowstep anymore, but in some random village? You will not throw Eli into it? Alicia could die, you know,” Reapeara said.

“If Eli gets involved, she might get her first kill. It won’t be anything major—just some shadow tentacles and basic necromancy. But from there, she’ll start gaining more and more power. I think I’ll take that risk.”

“If Alicia dies, that means I win, understand?”

“Well, that’s how the game goes.” Sistielle smirked.

“I agree. You sure are a gambler. Whew, this is getting interesting. Eli won’t sit still once she realizes Alicia is gone. She’ll rally whatever troops she has and march out. Let’s get Jadenbale and his team in the mix.”

“Anyone will do, really. It’s not like he’s important,” Sistielle said. “Besides, Eli won’t get there in time. By the time she reaches Alicia, several hours will have passed since the ambush.”

“Well, Alicia’s just a random weeb. Has she even killed anyone before? The original Eli killed the bandits because the psychopath inside her compelled her and because of Laura’s death.”

“She’ll kill them,” Sistielle said with absolute confidence. “Her life will be at stake. People will kill to protect themselves or when they feel truly threatened. That’s a fact—no matter how cowardly or kind they were before. Survival always comes first.”

“Of course. I just wonder if she’ll kill all of them. The bandits might retreat once they lose a few men. Then Eli and her retinue could swoop in and clean up—chasing them down on horseback.”

“Will Eli even kill those bandits?”

“Attacking a knight is an instant death sentence. If the bandits can’t escape, they’ll fight to the death. That’s when Eli will sweep in. Unlike Alicia, Eli doesn’t need a cheat power from the goddess to fight. She was a bona fide child soldier, after all.”

“That’s…”

“Oh well, even if she doesn’t kill anyone, that’s fine. There’ll still be plenty of opportunities.” Repeara shrugged.

Repeara didn’t expect Eli to wipe out all the remaining bandits. All she hoped was that Eli would kill at least one during this event.

There would be many chances after this. At the academy, there’d be corrupt noble sons and daughters who bullied and oppressed the child mages enrolled there. They had barely covered the first 15 chapters out of over a hundred in the original book.

“Hm… John is currently near Shadowstep Crossing—a border town between Shadowstep territory and the only road to the capital. We should make Alicia meet John there. Either at the cheapest inn or at the gate,” Sistielle said.

“Wow, Alicia really is suicidal. She went with no money or food. Even with a horse, the journey takes two days, right?” Repeara said. She loved to win, but not like this. Letting Alicia die of hunger or monster attacks felt unsatisfying.

“She’ll make it. Alicia can conjure water with magic. Humans can survive a week or two without food. Maybe we can add a random strawberry bush or apple tree nearby?” Sistielle offered.

Despite her claims that humans could last weeks without food, even she winced at Alicia’s reckless behavior. Even these heartless gods couldn’t help but pity her. Alicia would not be a hero anytime soon.

“Oh well. Could this dunce even see those trees?”

“Well… if she’s hungry?” Sistielle shrugged.

“Anyway, let’s continue. So, John ends up stuck in Shadowstep Crossing for a day. Then Alicia arrives, they reunite, and head for the capital—only to be ambushed by thirty or more bandits. That’s the scenario. Agree?”

“Yes,” Sistielle nodded. “After this, either Alicia will live as a mage employed by Luca for a while, or she’ll survive and follow John’s trial to free herself from the debt.”

“Oh yeah, the trial never happened in the original novel, did it?”

“John died when Shadowstep raided the bandits’ hideout. There was no trial to conduct once all the perpetrators were dead. The debt was no longer a concern after that.”

“That’s what made Duke Luca’s involvement in the original novel practically nonexistent, huh?” Sistielle said, and Repeara nodded.

“Anyway, things will be different this time. Unless Alicia dies, there will be a court case for Duke Luca—either because of John or because of Alicia,” Repeara said with a smirk. “If I’m lucky, Eli might have to assassinate Duke Luca as well.”

“Assassinate a duke? How? She doesn’t even have poison…”

“Well, in the original novel, she did have poison. She just never used it outside of combat. I wonder if we should hasten her recruitment into the Reaper Guild.”

“That’s part of the school arc. Let’s hold off on involving the Reaper Guild for now.”

“I agree. The game’s still a long way from over. We shouldn’t rush—lest we spoil the fun,” Repeara smirked.

Gods could shape scenarios, but they couldn’t force anyone interacting with Eli and Alicia to follow them perfectly. If Alicia and Elidranthia were mere puppets, there would be no joy in these games.

Even for the gods, only the forces of unpredictable fate could determine what the two girls would do in the face of the trials prepared by Sistielle and Repeara.

The gears of fate turned. The flow of destiny shifted.

How will Alicia survive the goddess-forged scenario?
And how far will Elidranthia go to chase after her new friend?