episode_0036

“……”

Cecilia spoke decisively to me, who remained silent.

“Now you understand, don’t you? I clearly received a revelation, and that’s why I could consider you, Eric, a prophet.”

“But… why?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why would you, Cecilia, who is more devoted and faithful to the church than anyone, speak of its downfall? Frankly, it wouldn’t even be strange if you tried to detain me right here.”

“Because the Goddess told me to believe in you.”

“The… Goddess spoke to you?”

“Hmm, I suppose it’s hard to believe. Of course, it is—but I dare swear on my faith! The Goddess believes in you!”

“Ah, yes…”

I replied awkwardly.

That’s obviously a lie. Swear on her faith? She should at least say something plausible.

I’d have trusted her more if she’d sworn on plucking out a single strand of her hair rather than that oath just now.

Now, I’m starting to get a sense of what Cecilia is thinking.

First, among the things she said, the destruction of the church is a certainty—both for me and for her.

Not just for the sake of the hero’s party, but for the sake of this world, the current church must be overturned.

“But why me? There are surely others dissatisfied with the church. You don’t need the help of someone like me…”

“No! It has to be you! I mean… I can’t just tell anyone about this, can I? Even if they were trustworthy, who knows if they’d agree to join this plan? I can’t take that risk!”

Well, even for Cecilia, standing alone against the church would be like throwing an egg at a rock.

Given the gravity of the matter, confiding in someone is a huge risk for her.

But that doesn’t mean I’m the only one she can rely on.

“Won’t the student council help? I don’t know them well, but whether it’s Chris or the others, they’d surely go all out if it’s for you.”

“Out of the question.”

Cecilia cut me off sharply.

“Why?”

“Between the president and the others, they’re already swamped with their own responsibilities. I can’t ask them for help. And if, by any chance, we fail…”

“You’d have the least to lose. I understand.”

The other student council members each have their own struggles and duties.

Even Lucilla, the only commoner among them, is running around trying to bridge the gap between commoners and nobles.

In that sense, I—a prophet who’s even received direct revelations from the Goddess—am the perfect ally.

Cecilia doesn’t know I have memories from previous loops.

So she’s spun this elaborate lie about the Goddess and revelations to make it convincing.

Not like she can confess her sins to me now anyway.

So instead, she’s decided to secure me as a reliable ally from the start.

Once she abandoned her faith, those rigid preconceptions vanished, and she’s become surprisingly cunning. Or maybe this is her true self.

“Do you believe me now?”

“……”

For a moment, irritation flared at the thought of having to associate with a woman who never even bothered to see me properly. But I suppressed it.

Yeah, it’s not like we were ever close enough to begin with. What’s the point of getting angry over this?

No matter how furious I get, she’d only be delighted.

Besides, I’ve already grasped the upper hand in terms of information and the overall flow. And in terms of sheer power, there’s no one more reliable than her. It’s wiser to back down here.

“Very well. If you insist that much, I suppose I have no choice but to believe you. But…”

I decided to put a safety leash on Cecilia—just in case.

“You’re a coward, Cecilia.”

“A coward? Me?”

“That’s what I said. If you already know the future I’ve seen, you must know exactly how I’d act.”

“W-Well, I mean…”

“You thought, ‘He can’t possibly refuse. He’s perfect for my plans.’ Didn’t you?”

“No! I just knew you were a prophet—”

“Which means if I weren’t a prophet, you and I would never have crossed paths.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I’ve always been— Ah.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Cecilia hurriedly covered it with her hand.

“What did you just say?”

“Y-You misheard!”

“But you clearly—”

“You. Imagined. It!”

One more step, and I’d have had to put on an annoying act. Thankfully, Cecilia had enough self-control to stop there.

“Fine. But let me say this much. Consider it a request—though it might be presumptuous. Please don’t think about getting close to me.”

“Huh?”

“The power of prophecy isn’t that great. It’s just the pitiful ability to see ten people die and reduce it to eight or nine. Even if you stay by my side, it won’t do you much good.”

“Is that… a warning just for me? Or for everyone who approaches you?”

“Well, I’d like to get along with everyone, but you’ve already figured out my power. It’s something I’ve even hidden from Chris.”

“Even from Chris?”

“It’s not just about jealousy or anything. Please, don’t use this collaboration as an opportunity to try and extract something from me or change the ‘predetermined future.’ Don’t entertain such foolish thoughts.”

“Wait a minute. Listening to you, it sounds like you’re accusing me of being desperate to exploit your power.”

“Wasn’t that the case?”

“I understand why you wouldn’t trust me. Prophecy is an incredible power, after all. But if you treat everyone like this, you’ll wear yourself out first!”

“I don’t care. Ever since I awakened this power, human relationships have left a bad taste in my mouth.”

“A bad taste? But… you only awakened your power at the start of this semester, right?”

“Imagine seeing your family smiling at you one moment, only to find their corpses melted away the next.”

Of course, the current ‘me’ never saw such a vision.

But the original Eric, the protagonist of this world, undoubtedly experienced it. Channeling his resentment was child’s play.

“A peaceful street suddenly engulfed in flames, watching helplessly as everything ends. A semester? A single day is enough.”

“Prophecy is never absolute!”

“And yet, you’re the one who believes in it enough to team up with me. Do you really think I can build relationships with anyone like this?”

“Ugh…”

Sorry, Jim.

I silently apologized to my friend, who was probably somewhere in the academy, gleefully clutching his coin pouch.

Actually, on second thought, I don’t feel that sorry.

I strained my eyes to maintain the tragic atmosphere. Without this level of acting, Cecilia would never comply.

“It’s not like I never considered confiding in someone. But of course, no one believed me. So I decided to go mad instead. Acting like that made things easier.”

“Eric… Is that why you…?”

See? She’s already filling in my past on her own. Riding the momentum, I turned up the intensity.

“Well, looking at this situation, it seems like the right choice. If I hadn’t put up that smokescreen, I’d have been in worse trouble by now.”

I brought my index finger to my lips.

“So let me say this one last time. Don’t get close to me. Please don’t make me discard even this small goodwill I have left.”

“Eric…”

“And seeing the unfortunate future of someone close to me leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Especially if they don’t believe me.”

“That won’t happen! I’ll always believe you, no matter what!”

“That’s a relief. At least I won’t have to waste effort convincing skeptics.”

“Skeptics? How could I ever dare to doubt you?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t have the right to.”

The expression on Cecilia’s face was painfully bitter and wistful.

And of course, that was none of my concern.

Whatever regrets she has while facing me are her own to resolve. It’s not my place to interfere.

Though personally, I’d like to tell her it’s already too late.

I turned away from Cecilia and began walking slowly. We’d already said all there was to say.

The details can be discussed later when we meet again.

If it gets out that a saint candidate and a ducal heir are plotting to overthrow the church in broad daylight at the academy, it’s not just me—the hero’s party is finished too.

“Well then, I’ll be—Ah!”

Ah, I forgot one thing. I got so absorbed in acting that I almost let us part naturally.

I glanced back over my shoulder and asked Cecilia:

“Where’s the classroom?”

——

“This is the Magical Sociology classroom.”

“Thank you for guiding me. I’m still not familiar with the academy’s layout…”

“Hehe, it’s no trouble. I’m glad I could help.”

I’m so embarrassed I could die.