Chapter 3 – A Midsummer Night’s Nightmare III

Re​äd& ;o‌n Kat̀Ｒ​ea​dıng​​Cａｆ&e;

This time, I had prepared four weapons:

A double-barreled, break-action shotgun with a custom-made silencer,

A .22 caliber, four-shot derringer hidden in my sleeve,ri

A combat knife for close-quarters fighting, just in case,

And finally, a magic wand.

The Crown Prince led the charge, with the sword in the hand.

Though it was a ceremonial sword he carried as the Crown Prince, it was still a viable weapon.

Behind him, three burly male students rushed toward me, armed with whatever they could find.

At the rear, three students were chanting spells.

Seeing the students charging at me for close combat, I assumed they were preparing reinforcement or protection spells.

Considering the skill level of first-year students fresh into the academy, it was a decent tactic.

Offensive spells could certainly deal direct damage, but given the students’ inexperience, they likely judged that reinforcement or protection spells would be more effective.

The plan was to use numerical superiority to overwhelm me in close combat.

Truly, the Crown Prince had a remarkable tactical mind for his age.

His situational judgment was excellent, and he had quickly devised the most effective strategy.

His bravery in leading the charge personally was also commendable.

By setting an example, he inspired courage in the terrified students.

It wasn’t mere recklessness for him to take the lead.

Given his status as the Crown Prince, it was highly likely he carried a defensive magical tool, just like Günter.

He probably thought he could withstand two shotgun blasts head-on.

So, I decided to play my next move.

 

I abandoned reloading the shotgun and quickly reached for my waist.

What I grabbed was a short wooden rod.

A 30-centimeter magic wand, carved from ash wood and adorned with silver.

The Crown Prince flinched when he saw me draw the wand but didn’t stop his charge.

He must have assumed that, as a fellow first-year student, I couldn’t possibly have advanced magical skills.

 

“Bind them, Gleipnir!”

I aimed the wand at the Crown Prince and chanted the spell.

My shadow writhed like a snake, surging toward the Crown Prince and the students.

“What…?!”

The Crown Prince and the students following him were caught off guard by the speed of the spell’s activation.

In an instant, my shadow bound the charging Crown Prince and his companions.

 

With the Crown Prince and his group restrained, the students at the rear began to move.

Though they seemed momentarily stunned, they quickly regained their composure and started chanting spells.

“Gather, mana! Small words overlapping to form a great spell…!”

“O arrow that pierces the heavens! The archer’s seat that never misses, targeting all things in creation…!”

But I had no intention of letting them finish. I immediately chanted my next spell.

“Triple Cast: Magic Bullet!”

Mana gathered, forming dark bullets that shot forth from my wand.

The rapidly fired bullets struck the chanting students without missing.

Though the power was slightly diminished due to the quick casting, it was more than enough to subdue them.

No one died, but they were all writhing in pain on the ground.

 

“Lieselotte…!!”

The Crown Prince screamed in rage as he saw the students fall.

He glared at me, still bound by the shadows.

He struggled to break free, but the bindings held firm.

It was almost comical to see him flailing helplessly.

Feeling a bit mischievous, I approached him.

“Good evening, Your Highness.”

I curtsied, holding the hem of my skirt and bowing slightly.

It was an exaggerated, theatrical gesture, but I thought it was quite elegant.

The Crown Prince, however, reacted harshly.

His face was filled with unrestrained anger, as if he were about to hurl curses at me.

“Good evening, you say…? How dare you say this to me now?!”

Fair point.

That was a bit out of place, wasn’t it?

It was just a meaningless action born of my mischievous mood, but to the Crown Prince, it must have felt like a provocation.

I considered clearing up the misunderstanding, but upon reflection, it didn’t really matter.

There was no need to improve our relationship, so it was fine to leave him with his misconceptions.

More importantly, there were still things I needed to finish.

Without a word, I turned and began reloading my shotgun.

“Lieselotte! Stop! Stop this at once!!”

The Crown Prince screamed as if in agony, realizing what I was about to do.

I ignored him and approached one of the bound students.

As I drew near, the student thrashed wildly, begging for his life.

Tears and snot streaked his face as he struggled pathetically.

I silently raised the barrel of the shotgun.

“P-Please! Spare me! I don’t want to die!!! Ugh…!!”

“Stop! Stop this! Aaaah!! I said stop…!!!”

Ignoring the Crown Prince’s screams, I pulled the trigger.

The student died instantly from the close-range shotgun blast.

With the target dead, the shadow bindings released, and his lifeless body slumped to the floor.

 

“You witch! I’ll tear you apart!! Aaaah!!”

The Crown Prince howled like a madman, watching his comrade die.

He thrashed as if he wanted to tear me apart with his bare hands, but the shadow bindings held him firmly.

I ignored him and turned my attention to the next student.

The boy I faced trembled like a leaf.

He offered no resistance, his face frozen in terror.

Having just watched his friend die beside him, his reaction was understandable.

I silently aimed the shotgun at him.

“Stop!!! Stop this!!! Aaaah!!!”

The Crown Prince screamed again, but I ignored him and pulled the trigger.

Another one died.

 

“Please, Please… stop this…!!”

The Crown Prince pleaded weakly, his energy drained.

But I ignored him and moved on to the next student.

I broke the shotgun’s barrel, ejected the spent shell, and loaded a new one.

As I stepped forward, the bound student trembled and opened his mouth.

“P-Please, spare m…”

I didn’t let him finish and pulled the trigger.

 

After dealing with all the students bound by the shadows, I turned my gaze to the end of the hallway.

The students who had been chanting spells and were struck by my magic bullets were still sprawled on the floor.

Leaving the Crown Prince bound, I approached them.

 

“Ugh…”

As I drew near, one of the female students groaned and opened her eyes.

She had been unconscious until now, just regaining her senses.

Still dazed, she looked around with half-closed eyes.

I stepped on her abdomen before she could fully come to her senses.

“Guh…?!”

Startled by the sudden pain, she opened her eyes wide and looked at me.

Realizing the situation, she began to struggle desperately to survive.

Not wanting to deal with her any longer, I quickly aimed and pulled the trigger.

She reached out to me, trying to say something, but her breath was cut short before she could speak.

I reloaded the shotgun and turned my attention to the next student.

“Ugh…! Aah…!!”

One of the female students, now conscious, was crawling away, letting out pitiful groans.

Her legs seemed to have given out, and she was dragging herself across the floor.

I silently aimed the shotgun at her.

As I pulled the trigger, she happened to look back, and our eyes met.

Her eyes were filled with fear, confusion, and resentment.

 

I turned my gaze.

The last one lying unconscious on the floor was Angelica Pollin of the Straubitz-Schlesien Count family, the Crown Prince’s fiancée.

Her beautiful silver hair, like moonlight, and the long ears characteristic of the elf race.

Her unconscious form resembled a sleeping princess from a fairy tale.

 

“Angelica! No!!”

The Crown Prince screamed as he saw me approach his fiancée.

The Crown Prince, bound, and his unconscious fiancée—it was like a scene from a storybook.

So, did that make me the evil witch?

The thought made me chuckle involuntarily.

 

I turned my attention back to Angelica, who was still unconscious.

Without a word, I grabbed her hair and pulled her up.

“Angelica…!!”

“Ugh… ugh…?!”

The pain seemed to rouse her, and Angelica opened her eyes.

She flinched upon seeing me and tried to back away, but I still had a firm grip on her hair.

Angelica glared at me, her expression filled with hatred.

She fumbled around, likely searching for her dropped wand.

“Eek…!!”

I pressed the barrel of the derringer against her chin, and her eyes filled with terror.

 

“Good evening.”

“Fräulein Lieselotte… why are you doing this…?!”

Angelica glared at me as I greeted her.

It was inevitable.

She wouldn’t understand.

How could she comprehend that her friend, who had been living a normal life just moments ago, had suddenly turned into a murderous maniac?

It would be easier to believe that I was a monster mimicking Lieselotte or possessed by a demon.

But unfortunately, I was Lieselotte herself.

Nothing had changed.

I had merely been acting the part of a normal noble lady until this day.

Explaining wouldn’t make her understand, and I had no desire to be understood.

After all, this was all just a fleeting nightmare.

 

“Well…”

Why was I doing this?

I wasn’t entirely sure myself.

Just a momentary whim.

But for some reason, I felt like talking to her.

It was a meaningless action, but I still wanted to have a conversation with her.

I had worn a mask for so long, pretending to be the ordinary Lieselotte.

I had gotten close to many people, but it was all a lie.

Was that why?

Now that I had thrown off the mask, I wanted to face her as the real Lieselotte.

So, at the very end, I decided to be a little honest.

 

“To be honest, there’s no grand reason.”

“Huh…?”

Angelica looked at me in shock.

She probably hadn’t expected me to answer her question.

“Have you ever played a card game? Chess or dice would work too.”

I wanted to use a PC game as an example, but no one in this world would understand, so I had no choice.

Angelica gave me a look of utter confusion.

She couldn’t understand why I was asking such a question.

But whether she understood or not, I continued.

“Sometimes, the game just doesn’t go your way. Maybe the opponent is too good, or maybe you’re just unlucky.”

Like when you’re trying to do a no-kill run, but someone keeps dying, or the NPC allies are too stupid to follow orders.

“What does that have to do with anything…?”

Angelica looked at me, completely baffled.

“So, I decided to just smash everything.”

I decided to flip the board.

In short, it was just a stress-relieving rampage.

“What are you talking about…?!”

Angelica looked at me with a face full of disbelief.

It was a natural reaction.

A normal person wouldn’t reach such a conclusion.

Even if they were angry, they’d endure it, and even if they couldn’t, they wouldn’t go around killing people.

But that was only in normal circumstances.

For me, this was a game.

If I died, I could go back. If I failed, I could start over.

So, it was fine to do something like this once.

Any gamer would understand.

Venting by killing NPCs, then reloading the save file.

That was all there was to it.

There was no way she could ever understand me.

From the beginning, we stood in completely different places.

It wasn’t just a matter of social status or relationships—things that could be empathized with.

It was literally a difference in how we viewed the world.

That was all.

 

“Pretty petty reason, huh?”

“Just… just for that…?!”

Angelica screamed in rage at my words.

Has she ever been this genuinely angry before?

This was the first time I had seen her express such raw emotion.

 

“Ugh…?!”

Having said what I wanted, I decided to finish things.

I yanked Angelica’s hair, pulling her along.

I could have been a little gentler, but I didn’t feel the need.

Honestly, I was getting tired and wanted to wrap this up quickly.

 

“Ugh…!”

“Angela! Angela..!! Damn it, you bastard…!!!”

The Crown Prince screamed in rage as I dragged Angelica roughly by her hair.

Seeing he still had the energy to be angry made me chuckle.

 

“Kyaaah?!”

“Angelica!!”

I threw Angelica down in front of the Crown Prince and stood before them.

The Crown Prince struggled against his bindings, trying to reach her, but it was futile.

Angelica crawled toward him but froze upon seeing him bound.

Leaving Angelica on the floor, I aimed the shotgun at the Crown Prince.

 

“No…!”

“Angela?!”

Angelica stepped in front of the Crown Prince as I aimed the gun at him.

She spread her arms, standing between me and the Crown Prince, her trembling eyes locked on mine.

As I silently stared at her, Angelica swallowed nervously, her eyes filled with fear.

Yes, she had stepped forward for her lover in a moment of bravery, but she was still scared.

Yet, she seemed resolved.

Even if she did this, it wouldn’t change the fact that both of them would die.

She must have understood that I had no intention of sparing anyone.

It didn’t seem like she would back down.

 

“Haah…”

I sighed involuntarily.

What a troublesome girl.

I lowered the barrel and adjusted my grip on the shotgun.

Then, I struck Angelica with the stock.

 

“Kyaaah?!”

“Damn it! Lieselotte!!”

The Crown Prince roared in anger as Angelica fell.

He looked like he wanted to charge at me, but the bindings held him back.

Not wanting any more interruptions, I quickly aimed the shotgun at the Crown Prince.

Angelica, regaining her senses too late, tried to stop me, but it was futile.

The Crown Prince glared at me, screaming like a wild beast.

 

“Ugh! Lieselotte! You devil…!!”

I silently pulled the trigger.

 

“Aah…!”

Angelica, drenched in the Crown Prince’s blood, slumped down in despair.

“Aah… Aaaah!! No!! Your Highness! Aaaah!!”

She clung to the Crown Prince’s lifeless body, wailing in agony.

It was pitiful, but there was nothing to be done.

I felt bad keeping her in this nightmare any longer, so I decided to finish things quickly.

 

“Huh… huh… why… why is this…?!”

I approached Angelica, who was still clutching the Crown Prince’s body and sobbing.

She glared at me, but there was nothing she could do.

Her eyes were filled with terror, as was natural when facing death.

 

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll make it as painless as possible.”

Yes, at the very least, I should send her off comfortably.

There was no need to make her suffer unnecessarily.

In this long life, we had never been on bad terms.

So, I’ll make it as painless as possible.

I aimed the shotgun at Angelica and placed my finger on the trigger.

Sensing her impending death, she tightly shut her eyes.

Her shoulders trembled slightly, and tears streamed down her face.

 

“Angelica, don’t be too sad.”

These words wouldn’t bring her any comfort, but…

“It’s all just a bad dream…”

Still, I should at least say goodbye.

“See you in the next loop.”

Like parting with a friend after school,

I bid her farewell,

“Goodbye…”

and pulled the trigger.

A red flower bloomed.

 

[Protagonist ‘Angelica Pollin’ has died. Returning to the last saved checkpoint.]

(tl: mc stick )