The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

Chapter 115: Magic Sword Forte (17) - Encounter Play "A puppet?" At Fina's question, the eccentric wizard before her eyes momentarily froze in his actions. But that was only for a moment. "What nonsense are you talking? I don't know what country you're from, but get lost!" Saying so, the wizard tried to slam the door shut, but Forte was faster to speak. 《If you let it close, it'll go back again. Block it.》 Fina's reaction was immediate. With lightning-fast movement, she stretched out her leg and wedged her shoe between the door, causing the closing door to stop with a clatter. "What kind of behavior is this? Won't you move your foot?!" Forte momentarily considered responding through his own voice, but soon stopped. Assuming this situation was some kind of play, there would be nothing good about him revealing too much of his presence. At least not yet. 《Act as if my voice can't be heard as much as possible, so it looks like you're judging and thinking for yourself. If you fail anyway, it'll just reset, so feel free to go for it without pressure.》 Fina showed a reaction of being at a loss for what to say for a moment, but perhaps gaining courage from the words that retrying was possible, she soon opened her mouth. "Y-you are a puppet! I've already figured it out, so confess!" "What nonsense are you talking about! Do you have any evidence?" "Evidence or whatever, you just look like a puppet!" Of course, Fina didn't know the reason why the wizard before her was a puppet. But she had trust in Forte. If Forte had declared it was a puppet, there must be a good reason for it. At Fina's overly resolute attitude, the wizard's face became greatly distorted. "Ridiculous! Calling a perfectly normal person a puppet? On what grounds exactly?" "I-I said you look like a puppet because you look like a puppet, so it's troubling if you ask for the reason!" "Is there really such an unreasonable person...!" The wizard raised his head upward and lamented, then soon grumbled and spoke. "Ha, fine. Alright. I'll at least listen to your story, so come in. But tone down that puppet talk." At the wizard's proposal, Fina rolled her eyes around. Forte advised. 《You can accept it. It seems the Sky Sage wants to hide his identity.》 'I see. ...Huh? What? The Sky Sage?' 《Look at his face. Isn't it exactly the same as that statue?》 Toward the astonished Fina, Forte calmly continued his explanation. 《Of course, if that body is a puppet as I think, that wouldn't be his real appearance. But at least the 'Sky Sage' known to the world would be the being before your eyes.》 《And considering the earlier narration, your role, Fina, would be the hero Fernando Valestia. So the current situation means this is the scene where the hero first meets the Sky Sage.》 《Sky Academy's System wants something from you, the contractor. But since you don't seem likely to perform quests according to its will, it created this stage to persuade you. Do you understand up to this point?》 'Um, yes. Probably.' It was a not very confident answer, but Forte didn't mind. It was because he already knew that while Fina lacked skill in interpersonal relationships and confidence, her mind itself wasn't that bad. 《The experience you're about to go through is probably the journey of hero Fernando and his companions. The System thinks that after you experience this, you'll move according to its will.》 'Then, what should I do?' 《Even to oppose the System, information is necessary. For now, play along with it, but maintain the mindset that you'll overturn it when the time comes.》 Toward Fina who was frozen at the door, the wizard—no, the Sky Sage—shouted irritably. "What are you doing not coming in!" "Ah, yes!" Hurriedly. The sage, who had been looking disapprovingly at Fina as she entered the room with strangely small animal-like movements, soon snapped his fingers. Then tree roots extending from the ground instantly created a table and chairs. The sage, who had carelessly slumped into the makeshift chair, asked. "So, what's your business?" "Hmm." Fina fell into thought for a moment. As a descendant of Valestia, she knew the biography of hero Fernando quite well, down to the detailed parts. It was natural since she had consistently encountered related culture like plays and novels every day since childhood. 'The first meeting between the hero and the sage was surely...' The wise sage revealed himself at the hero's call. The sage asked. "What business brings you to seek me?" The hero answered. "I wish to gain your help in defeating the Demon King." The sage shook his head. "What help could a lowly wizard in the forest provide?" The hero said. "All the people in the vicinity know of your wisdom. Please don't be modest and help us." The sage asked. "Why do you seek to defeat the Demon King?" The hero answered. "Simply to help people." The sage was moved. "Ah! Having seen such noble intentions, how could I refuse? Though I am lacking, I shall join your journey." Thus, the hero and the sage set out on their journey together. Fina cleared her throat and spoke. "Ahem, I want to defeat the Demon King for the sake of suffering people. I need your help for that." The sage answered. "Why should I?" "?" "Whether stupid bastards die or not, what does that have to do with me?" Fina's mouth fell wide open. Where had the prudent and calm sage gone, who worried about the world's troubles and strived to correct them? Wasn't this just a cranky, eccentric old man? The sage's words—no, complaints—continued. "The idiot who started a war because he couldn't marry the woman he wanted. The idiot who suddenly summoned the Demon King when it looked like he'd lose the war. The idiots who secretly schemed behind the scenes hoping both countries would destroy each other. The world became this mess because of idiots who only cared about their own greed. Why should I clean up after those bastards?" The Sky Sage stared at Fina with eyes like he was looking at a fool who was struggling with stupid things. "Anyway, all the countries suffering now are getting what they deserve. They're just paying for what they did. Even solving it should be their job. So don't act up alone for no reason and just flee to somewhere else." "I don't want to." "What?" Fina shot back with a slightly choked up expression. "Is it wrong to try to solve problems if you're not directly involved? Is it okay for those who made mistakes to suffer whatever happens to them? No, can we even call it a mistake in the first place?" There would be those who started the war. There would be those who summoned beings they shouldn't have for victory. There would be those who instigated the war to deepen for profit and greed. But are all the people harmed by the Demon King's hand such people? "Just farmers who plowed day by day, innkeepers who diligently baked bread, children who played in the alleys. Do such children bear responsibility for this situation? Is it also their just deserts when such people suffer at the Demon King's hands?" "Yeah, maybe it's not. But does that become a reason to help them?" "Then don't help. I will help them." "...?" Fina glared at the sage. "It's not my business. It's not my responsibility. It's not my fault. Why should I do it when there's no benefit for me? But probably, the 'people who only cared about their greed' that you mentioned acted the same way." "How dare you compare me to those bastards!?" The sage kicked his chair and stood up. At the same time, the surrounding scenery began to shake unstably. This was proof that the current development was flowing differently from what the System had prepared. Probably the way hero Fernando had persuaded the sage wasn't like this. Detecting the System preparing to 'reset' again, Forte exerted his power and resisted it. If they had called a living actor to a puppet show, they should naturally be prepared for the development to go somewhat awry. Unaware of the power struggle happening behind the stage, Fina and the sage on stage glared at each other. And then, Fina spun her body around. The sage, who had been watching Fina's retreating figure with complicated eyes as she turned her back and left, soon clicked his tongue and spoke. "You, why did you say I was a puppet earlier?" "That's just because you looked like one..." "Hmph, so you won't give me a proper explanation. Then if I cooperate in defeating the Demon King, will you tell me?" Fina hesitated for a moment. In the first place, she had only believed Forte's words, and still didn't know what Forte's statement that the sage was a 'puppet' meant. "It's like intuition, so it's hard to put into words." "Fine. Then I can just observe from the side." Suddenly, the view distorted. The System seemed displeased with the changed detailed development and creaked, but perhaps thinking it was still within the margin of error, it eventually opened the curtain for the next page. The hero who welcomed the sage as a companion traveled around the continent and confronted the Demon King's army's invasion. He slashed down monsters with the power to turn people who looked at them into stone, protected the people abandoned by feudal lords, and stormed into the Demon King's army strongholds to kill their officers. Then one day. A wondrous story reached the ears of the two. It was rumors of a saintess who wandered the continent, which had become a wasteland due to the ravages of war, healing people. Judging that she might be helpful in the journey to defeat the Demon King, the hero went to find the saintess. The woman with beautiful silver hair and blue eyes was healing people using divine blessings. The hero's party, moved by her devoted appearance, asked her to become their companion. "Huh, really. Hey. Hero. That woman is no good. Absolutely not." "What? Why?" "You said you were from Volt Kingdom, right? The country that was first destroyed by the Demon King." "That's... right? At least." "The one who summoned that Demon King was that woman's father." At the sage's sarcastic remark, the beautiful woman's face turned pale. That's right. The saintess's true identity was the princess of the country that summoned the Demon King.