A Changed Future (1)

-Crunch! Crack!

‘Kieeeek…!’

Seraphine cleared up the chaotic situation by defeating several Lake Serpents at once with a dazzling kick.

Her appearance, as if illuminated by the moonlight of a full moon, almost made me lose my mind for a moment, but I quickly came to my senses and began to grasp what was happening.

And for good reason, the Third Princess was one of two people who absolutely should not have been here right now.

The other one, of course, was Agnes.

Without the combined efforts of Agnes and Seraphine, the King Serpent could not be defeated. To be precise, this was limited to the key personnel present here.

Unlike the level 4 trash mobs, the King Serpent was a level 10 Boss Monster.

As with all Boss Monsters in games, the Boss Monsters in 『Luminor Academy』 possessed a strength on a different level from regular monsters.

One might scoff at the King Serpent being only level 10, but the mere title of ‘Boss Monster’ attached to it drastically changed its meaning.

To defeat a level 10 Boss Monster, it wasn’t a ‘level 10 character’ that was needed, but a ‘party composed of level 10 characters’-that’s how much its strength was amplified.

Simply comparing its health to monsters of similar levels showed it was almost 20 times greater. Considering its defense and skills, its danger naturally increased manyfold.

In fact, a monster of the King Serpent’s caliber was on par with level 40 monsters, with no sense of incongruity whatsoever.

‘That’s why I thought Agnes and Seraphine had to team up to barely defeat it.’

The moment even one of them dropped out of the plan, this Monster Wave would never end.

It was virtually impossible to defeat all the Lake Serpents, whose numbers were unknown, possibly thousands. Even if it were possible, there wouldn’t be enough energy left to face the King Serpent.

Furthermore, these monsters were still relentlessly targeting only people, seemingly moving under someone’s command, so defeating the Boss Monster and resolving this situation was the most urgent priority.

‘Shaaaek…!’

-Thud!

‘Kieeeuk….’

This was already the fourth Lake Serpent I had defeated that had charged at Lizzie and me.

But Seraphine, who should have gone to defeat the King Serpent, was here now.

She hadn’t come to deal with stragglers after defeating the King Serpent, so why had she come here to provide support?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand her actions, and my mind began to fill with various conjectures about what future Seraphine might have seen.

‘What on earth did she see in her future sight?’

Could it be that Seraphine’s future sight didn’t reflect the future where ‘I protect Lizzie’?

Or did something I did when I met Seraphine make her decide to save Lizzie instead of Agnes?

As I was lost in a swirl of questions and confusion, the blonde princess wearing a mask passed through the South Gate and began walking towards Lizzie and me.

Even then, I was still questioning Seraphine’s incomprehensible actions.

“Lilith Rosewood-yang.”

“…Didn’t we not introduce ourselves?”

“But we already know each other, so it doesn’t matter, does it?”

…Well, that’s true.

What on earth did she see in her future sight that made her come to rescue Lizzie, even after seeing a future where she defeated the King Serpent with Agnes?

The question rose to my throat, and I almost blurted out that rude question.

But before I could, Seraphine grabbed my hand and suddenly started running, pulling me along.

“Why are you here… huh, huh?!”

“Come, let’s go.”

“Go, go where? Where are we going?”

“Ah, Lilith-yang, this must be your first time wearing high heels today. It seems you’ll have trouble running fast.”

“What are you even… Uwaaah?!”

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

How can you say ‘excuse me’ after already being rude!

Seraphine suddenly tripped my feet, making me stumble backward, and then she scooped me up in her arms as I was about to fall to the ground.

Carried in a princess-carry, I was still bewildered, not understanding what was happening.

“I’ll explain as we go. We’re in a hurry right now.”

“W-what is it?! Why are you suddenly carrying me and running?!”

“Because I saw it.”

“Huh?”

“The future where Lilith-yang and I subjugate the King Serpent together.”

…Seriously, what on earth did she see?

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Seraphine, who had appeared at the shelter with a mysterious entrance, suddenly picked me up and started running towards the Imperial Palace West Gate.

I, bewildered, held the dagger Lizzie had given me and began heading towards the West Gate in her arms.

“Princess-nim, this isn’t the time! Right now, we need to defeat the Boss Monster, which is the center of the Monster Wave….”

“Yes. That’s why I came to get Lilith-yang. Of the two futures I saw, seeking Lilith-yang’s cooperation was easier.”

“Huh?!”

What on earth was this princess talking about?

If she saw the future, she should have immediately gone to the West Gate as soon as she grasped the situation and dealt with the King Serpent first, instead of the other mobs.

I couldn’t understand this situation where she suddenly picked me up and took me to the Imperial Palace West Gate.

It was reckless to even think that the King Serpent could be defeated by cooperating with me.

Because my current status was merely a commoner debt maid of a Ducal Family, and thanks to the letter Ethan had sent beforehand, Seraphine was one of the people who already knew that fact.

“Y-you know I’m just a commoner maid because Prince-nim told you!”

“…Yes. I almost fell for Lilith-yang’s clumsy act for a moment myself.”

“……Excuse me?”

“You’re keeping it a secret, aren’t you? The fact that you can use magic, despite being a commoner.”

“……!”

“It’s no use asking how I knew. I apologize, Lilith-yang, but my future sight has never been wrong.”

…Ah, damn it.

If it weren’t for the full moon, I wouldn’t have been caught.

Denying the future sight of the Princess Seraphine of the Moonlight Shadow, who becomes an overpowered character once a month, probably wouldn’t work on her at all.

I had no choice but to nod and agree with her words.

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“Normally, the Empire itself would have initiated protective measures as soon as it confirmed the appearance of a commoner who could use magic.”

“Ah….”

“Fortunately, I’m the only one who knows that fact right now.”

“…….”

“I’ll keep it a secret for you, Lilith Rosewood-yang.”

……Huh?

She’ll keep this a secret?

“What did you just….”

“For whatever reason, you’re hiding the fact that you can use magic and living like a commoner.”

“…Well, of course, because it’s dangerous if I get caught.”

“I’ll keep the scene I saw through future sight a secret, but in return, Lilith-yang must cooperate in making the future I saw a reality.”

“…Is that the future where I defeat the King Serpent with my magic?”

“For now, yes.”

…’For now’? Just how far into the future did she see to come looking for me?

She saw a future where I used magic and defeated the King Serpent.

Even without further explanation from Seraphine, I could already grasp the situation.

Among the magic I could use, there was only one way to land a proper attack on the King Serpent.

Mana Blast.

I could have guessed it from the moment I heard that I had defeated the King Serpent.

If this woman truly saw a future where I defeated the King Serpent, then that was the only attack method I could use against that monster.

Although confusion still lingered, I was able to grasp the changed story to some extent through the information I received from Seraphine.

…Ultimately, the conclusion was that my intervention in the story had changed Seraphine’s future sight, and in the process, Seraphine had chosen the changed future.

I wasn’t sure why she was so determined to take me to the West Gate instead of quickly getting Agnes’s cooperation to defeat the King Serpent, but this was certainly a changed part of the story compared to the original.

Meanwhile, Agnes at the West Gate was probably being cornered by the King Serpent.

I still couldn’t understand why Seraphine, who had always chosen options that minimized casualties in every story, would put Agnes in danger.

‘If she had seen a future where Agnes was at the West Gate defense line, she would have naturally decided to support Agnes there first. After all, Seraphine would have confirmed through her future sight that the two of them were enough to defeat the King Serpent.’

However, now that she had made the decision to come for me, Agnes was probably falling into danger moment by moment.

…Wait, if the change in one of the two targets of Seraphine’s future sight from Lizzie to me was the cause of Seraphine’s strange decision.

Could it be that the other target of her future sight also changed from Agnes to someone else?

“Princess-nim.”

“Yes, Lilith-yang.”

“…You said one of the contents of the future sight you saw was a future where you and I cooperate to defeat the King Serpent.”

“That’s right, Lilith-yang.”

“If it’s not too rude, could you tell me what you saw in the other future sight?”

Seraphine smiled slightly and nodded, answering as if she had expected me to ask this question.

The answer that came from her lips was quite enough to make me flustered.

“I saw two futures. One was, as I mentioned earlier, taking Lilith-yang from the Imperial Palace South Gate shelter to the West Gate, and then Lilith-yang and I cooperating to defeat the King Serpent at the West Gate.”

“And the other one….”

“The other one was taking Agnes-yang from the East Gate defense line to the West Gate, and likewise, Agnes-yang and I cooperating to defeat the King Serpent.”

“Wouldn’t that have been much easier? Instead of the troublesome back and forth between the South Gate and West Gate, taking Agnes-yang from the East Gate… huh?”

…Wait.

Did I just mishear?

“J-just a moment, Princess-nim. Could you please tell me about the second future again?”

“The second future is defeating the King Serpent with Agnes-yang….”

“N-no. Not that, but where did you say Agnes-yang is right now?”

“…Agnes-yang is currently blocking the monsters’ entry at the Imperial Palace East Gate defense line.”

“…….”

Then, what about the West Gate?

I wasn’t sure how Orion defended the Imperial Palace in the original history, but one thing was certain amidst all that.

That he entrusted the defense of the West Gate, where the Boss Monster appeared, to Agnes.

However, she, who should have been facing the Boss Monster, was now blocking monsters at the Imperial Palace East Gate defense line.

It must be correct, as it was something Princess Seraphine saw in her future sight; she could even see me, who ‘originally wouldn’t be at this scene,’ through her future sight.

For now, it was confirmed that Agnes was defending the East Gate defense line.

…Then, who was defending the West Gate, where the King Serpent would burst through?

‘My power is weak, but I promise not to interfere.’

“…No way.”

As a familiar face flashed through my mind, I realized that I had been overlooking one of the most important facts all along.

…That I wasn’t the only character who hadn’t participated in Seraphine’s Masquerade Ball in the original story.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Imperial Palace of the Argentia Empire, West Gate Defense Line.

“Haa, haa, haa….”

The eldest son of the Blackwood Family, Ethan Richard Blackwood.

He was currently experiencing the greatest life-threatening crisis he had ever faced since birth.

‘Shaaaaaak!!!’

A colossal monster, opening its house-sized mouth wide towards him, letting out a chilling scream that stole his wits.

Its overwhelming size, incomparable to other Lake Serpents, and its movements, surprisingly swift and powerful for its bulk.

Ethan felt considerable pressure from the might of this ‘Boss Monster,’ which he encountered for the first time in his life.

Looking at the King Serpent, still perfectly fine without a single scratch on its scales, he quietly thought to himself.

‘This… is definitely tougher than the training I received from Father.’

His body was already exhausted from fighting dozens of Lake Serpents, but he still stood his ground, defending the Imperial Palace West Gate with his own two feet.

He forced his trembling arms to focus, re-gripping the sword he held.

Ethan Richard Blackwood, the next successor of the Blackwood Family, remained at the Imperial Palace West Gate, defending the final line of defense.

Unable to hope for anyone else’s help, utterly alone on the front line.