Ch.83Understanding. (4)

“I can help you.”

‘This feels a bit strange.’

Olivia’s eyebrows wriggled like worms. As I had felt during the [Skip] before, the feeling of observing ‘Olivia’ was truly peculiar.

It definitely wasn’t a good feeling.

‘So, what are you going to do?’

Once I figure out ‘Olivia’s’ approach strategy, there’s no reason to keep watching this.

There are two ways to approach Esthie.

First is to protect Icail in Esthie’s place, and second is to eliminate the ‘voice’ that made Esthie like this.

And in the annihilation playthrough, Olivia chose the second method.

Normally, I would have believed that ‘Olivia’ would also choose the second method, but I wondered if she would still use that method now that Livga was present.

Because the second method is quite cruel.

Cruel enough that Livga’s affection would plummet the moment she found out.

‘Olivia’ must know this.

“Do you understand what you just said?”

“I do. I even know why that ‘voice’ appeared.”

“…You know?”

But from what I could see, ‘Olivia’ seemed to be attempting the second method. If she had intended to approach with the first method, she wouldn’t have mentioned the ‘voice’ in the first place.

Of course, looking at efficiency alone, the second method is overwhelmingly better. It’s much more time-efficient to eliminate the voice that disturbs the mind than to defeat ‘enemies’ that might keep coming indefinitely.

But then Livga’s affection would inevitably plummet. The process of eliminating the ‘voice’ isn’t something that can be hidden.

‘…What is she thinking?’

For a moment, one possibility crossed my mind. What if ‘Olivia’ was simply following the gameplay record regardless of the circumstances?

That would make the current situation make sense.

Anyway, now that I roughly knew how ‘Olivia’ planned to approach Esthie, there was no reason to keep watching.

Olivia closed her eyes gently. A moment later, she was in front of Esthie.

[Observation mode terminated.]

Once again, my view returned to first-person.

“…What’s the reason?”

“You must have a vague idea, Lady Esthie.”

“Stop evading and tell me. What’s the reason the voice appeared?”

‘Olivia’ would have immediately stated the cause here. Because time was short.

But Olivia had no intention of doing so.

‘I have plenty of time. Rather, it’s important not to create variables.’

That’s why I terminated the observation mode.

I needed to establish some framework now to prevent ‘Olivia’ from creating unpredictable variables.

Of course, if I obtain clue #4 later and the timing overlaps, everything I’m doing now would be in vain, but that’s a concern for when it happens. I can think about it then.

“The Magical Realm of Water, Aquar. You know it, right?”

“Do you think there’s anyone in Icail who doesn’t know about Aquar?”

That statement is true. Even the conch shell relic that Esthie gave to Livga actually came from Aquar.

Olivia smirked.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You know.”

“No, I don’t.”

“150 years ago. Should I say more?”

Esthie’s eyes wavered.

“And you’ve been talking as if Icail is your homeland, but it’s not, is it?”

“…”

“Your homeland is…”

[‘Wavemaster Esthie’ uses ‘Tidal Wave’!]

Everything went dark in an instant. When I looked up, a wave towering as if reaching the sky filled my vision.

‘Completely unreasonable.’

Tsutsutsutsu…

It was so large that it felt more like a wall than a wave.

Normally, I would have blocked it with a shield, but Olivia chose to dodge instead.

I had no choice despite the high mana consumption. Touching that wave would be dangerous.

[Your mana is disrupted!]

[Your mana is disrupted!]

[Your mana is disrupted!]

‘Indeed, a mage counter.’

Countless alert windows obscured my vision just from touching mere water droplets.

But this was within the expected range.

Olivia calmly chanted a spell.

[Skill, ‘Teleport’ is used.]

Esthie turned her head back and glared at Olivia.

She seemed to be gauging exactly how much I knew.

“…Who told you about that?”

“About what?”

“About my homeland. Did your master tell you?”

Instead of answering, Olivia responded with a smile. Displeased with the evasive response, Esthie growled.

“Rumors really can’t be trusted.”

I could guess what rumors she was referring to without hearing them.

Kind, gentle… something along those lines.

But it can’t be helped.

To converse with a madwoman, one must pretend to be somewhat mad as well.

“Didn’t you ask me to tell you? I was just doing as you asked.”

“Hah…”

At the mocking tone, Esthie let out a scornful laugh.

Kugugugugugu!

The sea churned with an ominous sound. It seemed as if all the sea within Esthie’s sight was under her control.

And it probably was.

The reason why the Kingdom of Canis, with its defense capabilities at half the level of neighboring kingdoms, could proudly stand as a pillar of the Eastern Alliance was all thanks to Esthie.

Anti-mage weapon. That’s what they called Esthie in the Eastern Alliance.

That’s what it meant to protect the sea single-handedly.

“Do you think I can’t kill you?”

The oppressive pressure made my mouth go dry.

That’s how powerful Esthie was.

“You can, but you won’t.”

Olivia continued without giving any opening.

“If you had intended to kill me, I would have been swept away by the waves already.”

The wave Esthie just summoned was incredibly high, but not particularly fast. It was probably meant to intimidate rather than kill.

While Esthie might be extreme, she’s an extreme who can still think minimally.

You can tell by how she destroys merchant ships but lets the merchants themselves live.

“I apologize for my rudeness. But if I hadn’t acted this way, you wouldn’t have paid close attention to what I had to say.”

As Olivia bowed her head, Esthie’s intensity subsided momentarily.

“So that’s why you uttered those empty words about helping me?”

“Ah, that was sincere.”

If it were a lie that would be immediately exposed, I wouldn’t have attempted it in the first place.

“Give me a hundred days, and I’ll resolve that voice for you.”

Even Esthie couldn’t easily dismiss this statement.

“…What do you mean by asking for a hundred days? Are you saying I should stay by your side for a hundred days?”

“I can’t tell you yet. But I promise. There won’t be any harm to you, Lady Esthie.”

Not stopping there, Olivia took something out from her inventory.

[Emperor’s Token]

– A token of respect granted to those I acknowledge.

– Can be used once to request any reward from the Emperor.

Olivia earned this token as a reward for becoming the youngest Grandmaster in imperial history.

Shock flashed across Esthie’s face. She seemed to know the value of this token.

“If I can’t resolve it within a hundred days, I’ll give you this.”

“Material wealth means nothing to me…”

“Not wealth, but military power. I’ll request it for you. While it might not completely replace your role, it can at least protect against foreign invasions. No one would be crazy enough to attack the imperial army.”

*****

[Time remaining: 3 minutes 22 seconds]

Esthie was still unable to make a decision.

‘…No matter how I think about it, this offer has no downsides.’

That’s why she hesitated more.

Because no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t see what Olivia would gain from this.

After contemplating for a while sitting on the wave, Esthie spoke.

“…I have a condition.”

“Yes, please tell me.”

“Swear by your mana that you will not harm me or Icail in any form for a hundred days. Here, ‘form’ encompasses all direct and indirect actions. If you don’t agree to this, I won’t accept your proposal.”

“Is that all?”

“…Yes.”

She apparently didn’t expect such ready acceptance.

“Then, I’ll swear right now.”

As Olivia placed her hand on her heart, blue mana flickered throughout her body. Watching this, Esthie’s brow momentarily contorted.

Not because she was playing tricks with the oath.

‘…So many.’

Because there were too many oaths engraved on her heart. At a glance, one might mistake it for a blue heart.

Countless chains of mana were binding Olivia’s heart.

“Is that sufficient now?”

“…Yes. Does the hundred days start now, or tomorrow?”

“Let’s start from tomorrow.”

The next memory is three months later.

Whether ‘Olivia’ will succeed in removing Esthie’s voice or make a fool of herself, I’ll be able to find out ‘tomorrow’.