Chapter 317

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“Hey, Regina.”

“What?”

“What are we doing right now?”

“Can’t you tell? We’re tailing someone.”

“I mean, why are we tailing them?”

“That’s something you should ask Mom—ugh, you keep calling her Mom, and now it’s rubbing off on me. Ask Lucia.”

I could hear the whispering voices. They were trying to keep it down, but to me, who had awakened as ‘someone close to God’, their voices weren’t quiet at all. I could hear them clearly even with minimal focus. Of course, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. It was just that my senses had become so heightened that I could hear every little sound.

I had devised a perfect plan to help Eugene grow and resolve Anastasia’s trauma. I can be quite the planner when I put my mind to it. Yes, it was a rational, efficient, logical, and sensible operation. My genius was almost frightening. I would love to write down the entire plan and leave it for posterity, but there isn’t enough space, so I’ll skip the details.

However, if we didn’t know whether Anastasia would visit her parents’ grave, the plan would lose its direction.

If she had come to terms with reality to some extent through her experiences and decided to visit the grave to honor her deceased parents, that would be fortunate. She would meet Eugene and have an open and honest conversation. Neither of them would normally do that, but the shared past, the occasion of the visit, and the atmosphere of the cemetery would lead them to reveal their true feelings.

But what if she didn’t go to the grave?

Eugene and Anastasia would have no chance to meet.

Without a meeting, the reason for Anastasia to develop feelings for Eugene would disappear.

If the reason disappeared, Anastasia wouldn’t open her heart to Eugene and wouldn’t be able to overcome her past trauma.

Eugene wouldn’t be able to copy Anastasia’s supernatural ability, making him significantly weaker than in the ‘novel’.

I had to prevent that at all costs.

With Agares’s Labyrinth of Time shattered, the Devil Gods had no fallback.

I didn’t know what the other Devil Gods might do, but I couldn’t fathom what Agares might be planning.

He, the Noble Prince of the Devil Gods, was ruthless and would do anything to win.

This was the last chance. He would surely do something that he hadn’t attempted in any of the previous iterations. Agares was that kind of man. The more I delved into Lucille’s memories, the more convinced I became. He was a man who used even the current iteration as a stepping stone for the next. If he had known from the beginning that the Four Seasons remembered the regressions, he would have definitely concealed his true power. Only for the final iteration.

Therefore, I had to be fully prepared.

Anastasia’s awakening was an essential element.

The only one among the clone supernaturals who could reach the Captain level.

A member of the Golden Generation who, in some iterations, even transcended the Captain level.

Whenever Anastasia succeeded in awakening, the number of victims of monsters decreased dramatically. Because Anastasia was everywhere. In rivers, mountains, seas, cities, and villages… Anastasia was seen everywhere. She was singular but also plural. A legion composed of one.

What do you think is humanity’s greatest weakness? It’s the lack of soldiers. There are many things to protect, but few people to protect them.

Lucille’s sacrifice greatly increased the number of supernaturals, but it was still not enough. That’s why humanity had their territory taken away by monsters and ended up confined in a cage. The United Nations were the only human nation. Even then, humanity had not yet perished because of the unparalleled hero named Yoo-seong.

Yoo-seong’s asymmetrical power barely compensated for the lack of soldiers.

In other words, if it weren’t for Yoo-seong, humanity would have long been overrun by the monsters’ onslaught.

Anastasia could compensate for that situation to some extent. Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands… or more clones would cover the world. Even if the firepower of each individual was inferior to other Captains, the numerical superiority reversed every situation. She was the girl closest to being the strongest supernatural, excluding Yoo-seong and Eugene.

Eugene was in a similar situation to Anastasia. Even if he wasn’t compatible with ‘clones’, if he succeeded in copying the ability, there would be endless uses for it.

I was already worried about him being weaker than ‘The Novel’ even if he became stronger, but now he was about to become weaker.

I wondered what to do, and I finally decided to take special measures.

The solution was surprisingly simple.

Why not just check if Anastasia was going to visit the grave?

If she went, I wouldn’t have to do anything. If she didn’t, then I could start executing the plans I had prepared. I put my hands on my hips and straightened my shoulders. Ahem. I cleared my throat self-importantly. Even I thought it was a good plan.

But, you know what?

Something that has never happened before may never happen again.

But something that has happened even once can happen again.

“…What is this, really?”

I muttered to myself, suppressing my voice.

I had left out the most important point when formulating the plan.

I decided to secretly follow Anastasia to compensate for the flaws in the plan caused by that omission…

And in the process, I discovered another flaw.

It definitely started smoothly.

I waited near the dormitory entrance for Anastasia to come out.

I had already confirmed that she was in her room.

If she didn’t come out by the end of the morning, I was going to take further action.

I was going to ask her directly if she had any plans to go out today, if the girl in front of me was the real body, or if she had sent a clone somewhere else… I was going to ask vague questions so as not to arouse suspicion and try to find out little by little.

Then, I saw Anastasia leaving the dormitory.

Silver ponytail and an expression as indifferent as a doll.

She stopped in front of the dormitory’s main gate and touched her face for a moment.

She lowered her hand after rubbing her face as if kneading dough, and a mischievous smile was there.

The doll became a person.

It was her daily ‘masking act.’

She usually did it in her room, but she was doing it outside.

She must have realized belatedly that she hadn’t put on her mask.

She must have been quite shaken.

There was an obvious reason for Anastasia, whose heart had dried up, to be so shaken.

She had mustered her courage.

She must have resolved to face her parents.

She had finally decided to face reality.

I let out a sigh of relief.

All the worries I had been having disappeared like bubbles.

Yeah, it was an unnecessary worry. But maybe I should follow her a little longer, just in case?

With a lighter heart, I followed Anastasia closely. Once I was sure that Anastasia was going to visit the grave, I would go back immediately. I didn’t want to disturb the time that only Eugene and Anastasia should have. And I didn’t want to show Alice that Eugene was flirting with another girl.

And then.

A variable occurred.

A very critical variable.

“?”

In front of the academy’s gate.

Anastasia was waiting for someone.

At first, she was just standing there, so I wondered what she was doing.

Had she found out that I was following her? My stealth should have been perfect.

Alice, who came with me, couldn’t have been detected, but maybe Seri and Regina?

Just as my head was getting a little confused with various thoughts, I saw Anastasia waving her hand at someone, and I realized that she was waiting for someone.

“Sorry, am I late? Did you wait long?”

It was a man with a tall stature.

He strode towards the gate with his long legs.

Golden hair and a coppery complexion tanned nicely by the sun.

He was handsome, but not pretty like Eugene, with a masculine and rugged appearance.

“Yeah, late.”

“Well, what I mean is, that was just for show. I actually came much earlier than the agreed time.”

“I was faster. You, slow. Even your only advantage is useless.”

The two of them chatted and started walking side by side.

I stared blankly at the scene. I felt speechless for a moment. It was such an unexpected situation that I didn’t know how to react.

“…Leo?”

A member of the Golden Generation.

The boy who was Eugene’s rival in ‘The Novel’.

The original owner of ‘Acceleration’ that Eugene was using so effectively.

What? What is this? Why are the two of them together? They even made an appointment to meet separately. No, they’re friends, so they can meet. That’s not strange. But today is the 5th anniversary of the Great Catastrophe. It’s the anniversary of Anastasia’s parents’ death. On such a day, she’s meeting Leo instead of Eugene?

‘Hieeek?!’

I had a bad feeling ever since he dyed his hair blonde?!

Blonde-haired, tanned delinquent! A stereotypical golden boy straight out of an erotic doujinshi! You’ve finally extended your claws to the heroine! This is NTR! Ugh, Lucia can enjoy everything else, but she hates NTR. It’s the worst. Only demons without human hearts would like that!

No, well.

Anastasia and Eugene aren’t in that kind of relationship yet.

Currently, they’re just close school friends.

There’s no chance that the two of them will end up together in the future.

Still, no, but… she’s the heroine… she was the heroineee…!

It’s pointless to talk about heroines in reality, not in a novel… but still…!

“Ms. Lucia?”

“Mom?”

As I squatted on the ground and grabbed my head, people around me looked at me strangely.

Regardless, I couldn’t shake off the shock.

…What should I do now?

The plan has gone awry again.

Moreover, this time it was an irreparable problem.

What should I do, really?

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Anastasia and Leo, who finally appeared after a long long time.

When was the last time that they appeared?

I think it was even before chapter 100…

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Don’t worry, it wasn’t that long.

That aside, NTR man strikes again.

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