episode_0120

KWAGWAGWAGWAGWANG!!!!!

The explosion from Big Sister Pine’s magic erupted with a deafening roar.

And then.

Caught in the blast, I was supposed to burn to death…

“…….?”

But I didn’t feel a thing.

No searing heat, no sensation of my body being torn apart.

It was more like a flashbang had gone off right in front of my eyes.

“What the…?”

Even after the explosion subsided, the mystery remained.

No—

It only grew bigger.

“Why am I completely unharmed?”

My body was perfectly fine. The grass, the trees—everything was completely untouched.

That was the puzzling part.

“Master! Don’t worry, I handled it!”

“?”

“I cut away the ‘damage,’ reducing it all to zero! So you, the trees—everything’s fine! Nothing burned at all!”

“‘Cut away the damage’?”

“Yeah!”

…Is that even possible?

‘Hmm…’

If she severed the damage portion of the opponent’s attack and triggered an instant-death effect, then yeah, it might work.

Because that’s just how magic is.

It sounded like nonsense, but in the world of magic, if the caster insists it’s true, people tend to let it slide—within reason.

The idea of cutting away the very concept of “damage” and erasing it didn’t seem entirely impossible either.

But.

Something being theoretically possible and practically executable are two entirely different things.

‘The Lia I knew—the crybaby Lia—could never have pulled this off.’

This was a catastrophic explosion, after all.

If it were the crybaby Lia, she’d be panicking and sobbing right now.

But.

This Lia remained perfectly composed.

‘This confirms it.’

I’d heard something about Lia during the Elven Forest’s Truth and Lies Pattern.

“All those tears were just an act.

She’d fake crying just to cling to me and get head pats.”

…Or so I was told.

At the time, I didn’t pay it much attention.

I was too focused on Marianne’s story.

Everyone else’s truths and lies barely registered—I didn’t even bother sorting them out properly.

Honestly, whether Lia was truly a crybaby or not didn’t matter to me.

Elise was stronger than in the original story. Sophia was stronger than in the original story.

And now, Marianne had joined the party.

The difficulty level? Baby mode.

At this point, the Hero could probably clear the game without lifting a finger.

If Lia really was a crybaby, we could just bench her. If she was faking, we could sit back with popcorn and watch the Demon King get wrecked.

(‘Well… I might not even get to watch,

considering the muscle-brain transmigrator is already on his way to “claim the Demon King’s ass.”

By now…

Yeah…

‘Thinking too hard about it feels gross. Let’s not.’)

Anyway.

What kind of Hero Lia was didn’t matter much.

Still.

If I had to choose, I’d prefer the fake crybaby version.

‘Even with just the current Hero Party, the Demon King’s army would get obliterated…’

But with Lia added to the mix? They’d be completely demolished, and my own safety would be even more secure.

So, while gently patting Lia’s head, I spoke.

“Lia.”

“Hmm?”

“All that crying—it was an act, wasn’t it?”

“U-uh?…”

“You were faking, right?”

“Ah… Hahaha… Master… You know I’m a crybaby…”

“You were a crybaby. When I first met you, that was true.”

Her starting personality was probably that of a crybaby.

But.

Prophecy RPG was the kind of game where character personalities could change mid-story through certain events.

If Lia underwent a personality shift at some point, it wouldn’t be strange.

So I continued.

“But you’re not a crybaby now.”

“Uuuh…”

“Look, I have a pretty good idea why you faked it, and I’m not going to scold you for it, so don’t look so down.”

“R…Really? No scolding?”

“None. And if you want head pats, you can just ask. No need to fake crying.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah. I’ll give you the gentlest, most doting head pats you want.”

“Waahhh! Then I won’t fake cry anymore! Hurry, pat me!”

“Sure.”

I smiled softly—the exact expression she loved—and stroked her hair.

“Hug me!”

“Okay.”

I wrapped my arms around her tightly.

“Kiss me!”

“Alright.”

A full kiss felt a bit much, so instead, I kissed her forehead and cheeks before ruffling her hair again.

At that,

Lia grinned, utterly satisfied.

“Hehe… Feels good…”

“From now on, no more fake crying, okay? If something happens, you handle it right away.”

“Mm?…”

“Hmm… I prefer a competent Hero who solves problems over one who just watches from the sidelines…”

“I’ll handle everything! I’m super competent!”

“Good—then get ready.”

“?”

“Those ‘forest-loving’ bastards wouldn’t just ignore an explosion this big.”

Even if Lia reduced the damage to zero,

the visuals and sound of the explosion remained.

Meaning—

This was enough to send the elves charging at us.

“Do I just take them all down?”

“No. I’ll assess the situation first—everyone, stand by.”

“Got it!”

The Hero Party stood down.

“Hayang, stay over there for a bit.”

“Okay!”

I passed Serena, who was clinging to Big Sister Pine’s back, over to Sophia.

“Big Sis.”

“Y-yes?…”

“Calm down first. No one’s hurt, the forest is fine, and there’s no collateral damage.”

“B-but…”

“It’s fine. Honestly, this is a great opportunity.”

“Opportunity?…”

“The elves ignored and mocked you because they thought you were useless, right? But look at you now. Are you still useless?”

“……”

Big Sister Pine fell silent, deep in thought.

She had learned magic,

but as an elf with zero contracted spirits,

she was still considered worthless by their standards—since elves relied entirely on spirits.

But.

By my standards, Big Sister Pine was genuinely skilled.

If she ever gained spirits, she could become an A-rank Spirit Mage—

but even without them, she was already B-rank Mage material.

Considering that the so-called “strongest elf” back then was only B-rank, her growth was insane.

‘With the right equipment, she could reach A- rank.’

She might not match a true A-rank,

but she’d be powerful enough to silence those arrogant elves.

So, I handed her a full set of gear.

“T-this is?…”

“Equipment I gathered just for you—specialized for mages.”

“Y-you’re… giving this… to me?…”

“Don’t overthink it. Just leftover gear from hunting.”

Since Big Sister Pine was the only mage in the Hero Party,

all mage gear naturally went to her.

No sense feeling guilty—there was literally no one else to give it to.

“But… if you sold these…”

“Well… Yeah, they’d fetch a ridiculous price.”

These weren’t Mythic- or Legendary-tier endgame gear,

but they were close—Hero-tier, the next best thing.

Even A-rankers might only own one or two.

They were valuable enough that naming your price wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Selling just one would set someone up for life.

Even Pine, who’d spent her whole life in the forest, could tell how insanely rare they were.

But.

By Hero Party standards, these were just budget gear—stuff to use and toss later.

They were disposable,

meant to be replaced by better loot later, so we could abuse them without care.

And with money to spare, selling them was pointless.

(…Or so I explained.)

“Telling me to use such precious gear so carelessly… How could I…”

“It’s fine.”

“Ugh…”

“They’re meant to break, so equip them now and get ready. That’s how you help us.”

“…Okay.”

She quickly changed into the gear I gave her.

Rustle—

Stripping swiftly, she dressed in the new outfit—

“Eep?!”

I instantly looked away.

“Big Sis! You can’t just strip in front of a guy!”

“O-oh… I thought… since we’re engaged… being naked wouldn’t be a big deal… Was it… unsightly?”

“Ah… N-no, it’s just… You’re exactly my type, but… that’s better saved for when we’re closer…”

“A-ah!… Right!…”

“Sigh…”

“Th…thank you…”

“?”

“Everyone always said my chest was too big… disgusting… a disgrace to elves… But you liked it… That made me happy…”

“Ah…”

Elves, as a race, leaned toward the flat side,

so they must have mocked Pine’s ample bust with outright disgust.

As a result,

Big Sister Pine was branded the Ugliest Elf.

(“Pretty face, but a body like a pig.”)

Since all elves were conventionally attractive, her face didn’t mean anything—

she was just the fat one.

So.

Hearing even one compliment meant everything.

A lifetime of being called ugly,

and now, someone thought she was beautiful.

‘Looking back, Prophecy RPG’s Pine really loved being called pretty.’

So I reassured her.

“You’re really beautiful—easily in my top five. Have some confidence.”

“Thank you…”

“I’m almost worried—other humans might start chasing after you.”

“Giggle… No need to worry. Elves never forget their first love.”

Briefly, Big Sister Pine showed the same composed elegance she had in Prophecy RPG.

Was it because learning magic had given her confidence?

Or—

because being called beautiful had lifted her spirits?

‘Maybe both.’

Either way, it was good.

Her regained confidence was what mattered.

Still.

This much wasn’t enough.

So I continued.

“Elise.”

“What?”

“When I signal, freeze something for me.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to trick those elves.”

The biggest reason the elves looked down on Pine

was her lack of spirits.

So—

If she had spirits, the problem would disappear.

But.

Pine wouldn’t gain spirits until after burning the World Tree Zombie.

For now, she was spiritless.

But—

A fake spirit?

No problem.

‘Hehehe… My magic’s greatest strength? Extreme stealth. Tricking these elves will be child’s play!’

“Over there! An explosion happened over there!”

“Is that the Hero Party?!”

“Did you bastards burn our forest?!!!”

The elves came roaring in, furious.

Perfect.

Time for the grand scam.