Chapter 58: Aftermath – 3

Chapter 58: Aftermath – 3

“Ugh…”

My eyes struggled to open.

A strange ceiling… no, a familiar message window appeared first.

*Have you finally woken up? You’ve been unconscious for a full day.*

“…If I woke up in a day from injuries that severe, isn’t that even more amazing?”

*Well, I don’t know. I think the Duke’s family brooch and Christie’s will, which saved you from a near-death state, are more amazing, though?

I was prepared to save you with a system penalty, so it’s a relief that wasn’t necessary.*

“Eh? The brooch I know…?”

Now that I thought about it… my body felt unusually light.

Even though I had clearly suffered such severe injuries, my body shouldn’t be in such good condition.

…The system had said the ominous word ‘penalty’, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite register in my ears.

The story about the brooch mentioned in the novel was just too impactful.

*Yes, it’s that brooch from the novel. In the original work, it’s the brooch Christie used when confessing her feelings to the protagonist.*

“…So the function in it actually worked?”

*The conditions are a bit tricky, but it works. Not only does it require desperation for the wish, but also

a blindness to achieve the wish even by sacrificing oneself and one’s surroundings, the degree of which varies depending on the wish, and a sense of crisis that one would collapse if the wish isn’t granted.*

“……Christie met those conditions for me?”

*That’s right. Congratulations. You’ve thoroughly charmed someone.*

…Ria’s teasing words made me feel very strange.

Of course, it felt good to be treated as a precious person by my favorite character.

It felt good, but… suddenly, the part of my trait that explicitly called me a ‘fox’ came to mind, and I couldn’t just be happy.

Oh, if this keeps up, will the other main characters really fall for me too…?

*More importantly, a record-breaking reward is about to drop, so pay attention, okay?*

“Huh, huh?”

However, before my thoughts could finish, the system’s notification window popped up.

…Not just one window, but several windows simultaneously.

*Branch point complete!

-> Congratulations! You have successfully completed Branch Point – Christie!

-> We applaud your choice and success, which surpassed what the system had defined and predicted!

=> The survival of the Duke changes the flow of the world!

=> The fate of the world trembles! The Duke has confirmed the Imperial Family’s betrayal, and Christie will neither pledge loyalty to the Emperor nor be assassinated!

*

“…What?”

*Congratulations. You succeeded in saving your favorite character, didn’t you?*

From the very first notification window, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

And for good reason… it said grandly that the fate of the world had changed because of me.

…Of course, it’s a good thing that my favorite character will no longer be foolishly deceived and assassinated by the Imperial Family.

……Now, Christie is no longer just my favorite character; she has become my first friend in this world and a quite precious person to me, even more so now.

However, this wasn’t the end.

*

-> Due to your role, the Duke confessed some of his feelings to Christie! This will continuously have a positive impact on Christie!

-> You successfully thwarted the Duke’s assassination and became the benefactor of the Duke’s family! Rewards will be paid!

=> Wish Potion (Degraded), Wish Potion Recipe will be given!

*

“…Wish Potion?”

*Simply put, it’s the effect of the Duke’s family brooch made into a potion. Of course, it’ll be hellishly difficult to make, though.*

“No, it’s a family heirloom passed down through generations of a noble family, you know?”

*That means it’s an amazing achievement. It’s the first time I’ve seen those stingy bastards in the rewards team discuss giving more rewards with such admiration, you know?*

Indeed, just looking at the immediate results, I saved the Duke, and in the long term, I saved Christie too.

…If you think about it, I also saved the Duke’s family, which would have disappeared into history as it was,

……Oh, maybe I did something more incredible than I thought.

*

-> You used potions to neutralize and kill enemies of an unmatchable level!

=> You can now craft potions more skillfully, and multiple potions are generated when crafted once!

=> Furthermore, you no longer need to craft basic potions as a base when crafting potions!

*

“Am I finally free from this hellish grind…?”

*Now you can mass-produce potions in earnest.*

“Indeed, I felt it again this time, but there’s quite a severe difference in potency between potions made with mana in the ‘Alchemist’s Treasury’ and actual potions.”

The skill description clearly states that making potions using the Alchemist’s Treasury slightly reduces their potency…

But this time, it was definitely not a slight reduction.

It felt like the potency was reduced by about 30% compared to real potions. To exaggerate a little, real potions felt twice as strong.

……And I had momentarily forgotten, but these potions are my lifeline, and I have to earn money again.

I momentarily forgot about it at the Duke’s mansion, but the moment I return home, I’ll be broke, having spent all my money on potion ingredients.

*

-> Christie feels gratitude and apology towards you!

=> Christie now cherishes you like her own younger sister!

=> If you wish, you can actually become family, and if you propose strongly, you could even become lovers!

*

“……The family part is fine, but why is there talk of lovers?!”

*…Is it because the person who wrote this knows your body changed, but doesn’t know your gender changed?*

“……Anyway, dating with this body is impossible. I’ll just be content with a sisterly relationship…”

If I were in my original body, I would gladly accept this offer…

But since my mental gender and physical gender are different, it was truly ambiguous.

Therefore, I decided to just remain as a cute younger sister and a strong older sister.

…I don’t really feel romantic emotions for either men or women anyway.

*

-> You successfully saved the Duke’s life, and the Duke’s family considers you their benefactor!

=> The Duke’s family will consider you their benefactor for life and treat you accordingly!

=> The Duke’s family officially proposes to become your sponsor!

+> Confirmation of forming a deep relationship with Christie, additional reward ‘Christie-style Swordsmanship’ is unlocked!

+> If you ask Christie to teach you swordsmanship, you can acquire and strengthen the skill!

*

“…Swordsmanship? Can I fight with a sword now?”

*Hmm, uh… it seems the rewards department really values your achievements highly, doesn’t it? I didn’t expect them to let you learn a swordsmanship skill.*

“I’ll definitely have to ask Christie to teach me swordsmanship sometime.”

Well, Christie might be reluctant to teach me, saying it’s dangerous and difficult, but…

Would she really refuse if her cute younger sister sincerely asked?

Besides, I’m not as fragile as I look.

Even if she refuses, I plan to keep asking until she agrees.

Swordsmanship is… a romance, after all.

*

-> This concludes the notifications!

=> You have successfully completed the main branch for the key character, Christie!

=> The next key character with a branch point is the Saintess!

*

“……Isn’t this just a declaration that I’ll be involved with the main characters from now on?”

*Not necessarily, right? Not reaching a branch point is also one of the choices.*

“…I don’t think that’s possible.”

Of course, even if I could avoid it, I wouldn’t.

Before, I avoided the main characters because of the various hardships each of them faced and the ultimate war.

I thought that no matter what I did, I wouldn’t be able to change the fate of the main characters and the world.

Honestly, how could I have thought that the world would change because of just me?

But… not now.

I just saw Christie’s fate change with my own eyes, and I saw the Duke, who should have died, survive.

……So, if I make the right choices at all the main characters’ branch points,

If I make the right choices at the Hero and Demon King’s branch points… couldn’t I prevent the war?

Since I’m already entangled with Christie like this and openly prevented the Duke’s assassination, living a peaceful life is out of the question anyway, so if that’s the case, shouldn’t I at least prevent the war?

*Oh? Do you have a goal now?*

“Well, something like that. …Of course, to do that, these flimsy potions won’t be enough.”

*You’ll be able to make various potions in the future, so don’t worry. Oh, and there’s one more notification window left.*

*Achievement Reward

-> As you have achieved a sufficient number of achievements, rewards will be paid.

=> Confirmed achievement of obtaining the recipe for a miracle-grade potion, rewards are enhanced!

=> Acquired Alchemist skill, ‘Combination’.

*

“Miracle-grade potion? Did I ever acquire a potion recipe that looks so high-level?”

*If a potion that grants a person’s wish without any cost, just by meeting a few conditions, isn’t a miracle, then what is it?*

…Actually, I had forgotten.

There were so many other notification windows that popped up besides that, but… the fact that I could learn swordsmanship from Christie was so impressive.

Fantasy, and swordsmanship! They sound like words full of romance.

Honestly, it’s about time I moved beyond throwing glass bottles and punching.

*By the way, that ‘Combination’ skill is a skill that gathers useless low-grade ingredients and turns them into useful high-grade ingredients.

And of course, it’s an ‘Alchemist Skill’ just for you.*

“…So, you’re telling me to seriously open a potion shop now?”

*That’s part of the intention, isn’t it? We’ve made it possible to mass-produce potions, made potion crafting easier, and even made ingredients relatively easy to obtain.*

Well, I somewhat understood the system’s intention.

Now that the urgent matter with Christie was resolved, it was the perfect timing to seriously start a business.

……Of course, the problem was that the system had drained all my money for setting up a shop and initial capital for various reasons.

*Well, it seems our reliable sponsor, who will solve that problem, is coming now?*

“What’s that supposed to…”

However, before I could finish my sentence, a light knock on the door was heard.

Along with a familiar voice.

“Lucia? Are you awake?”

…It was Christie, the only daughter of the Duke’s family, possessing immense financial power.