episode_0143

Watching the explosion unfold, I shouted.

“Summon.”

I summoned Serena once more.

“Gahk.”

Serena, having exhausted all her HP, reverted to her miniature puppy form.

“I lost.”

“Ugh…”

“Still, that was fun to watch. I’ll cook for you.”

“Really?!”

“From the beginning, I planned to cook whether I won or lost. Pick something you’d like to eat.”

“Something to eat?! Hmm!… What sounds good?… Ugh… I can’t decide…”

“If you can’t choose, take your time and let me know by tomorrow.”

“Okay! I’ll tell you tomorrow!”

Wagging her tail excitedly, Serena returned to her room.

“Dark.”

“Is Lady Serena alright?”

“You don’t have to worry about divine punishment falling on you.”

“Haah… That’s a relief…”

Dark exhaled with a reassured expression, but—

Though he hadn’t thought much during the fight, the moment the battle ended, he trembled slightly at the thought of having attacked the Goddess of Light, Serena.

And to make things worse, the name of his finishing move was “Divine Retribution Execution.”

Effectively declaring divine punishment on a goddess. It was such an outrageous blasphemy that even if divine wrath actually struck him, he’d have no right to complain.

So, it wouldn’t have been surprising if divine punishment had fallen from the sky.

…But, as things stood, Serena was too busy pondering what dish to request tomorrow to even care about divine retribution. There was no way punishment would come now.

“Let’s clean up the robots first. Leaving them out might cause problems.”

“Okay.”

Dark activated the magical bracelet controlling the robots.

Whiiiirrr!

A crimson glow enveloped the bracelet—

Clank! Clank! Clank!

The Black Destroyer split into five animal-themed robots and returned to their respective bases.

Clean-up completed.

‘Next is… Hmm…’

I pulled out a pen and quickly wrote a letter.

“What are you doing?”

“Keeping my promise to help you.”

“Promise?”

“You like Merlin, don’t you?”

“You’re helping me?!”

“A mage of your caliber would definitely be to Merlin’s liking.”

Merlin’s type was a competent mage who matched his intellectual level.

But, in Prophecy RPG, no such woman existed.

‘Honestly, among female mages, only Big Sister Phine is on Merlin’s level…’

But Big Sister Phine is a Spirit Summoner.

Rather than directly casting spells herself, she relies on spirits to perform magic on her behalf.

…Because of this trait, most Spirit Summoners barely study magic.

They just let their spirits handle things effortlessly— why bother studying when spirits do everything?

…As a result, despite belonging to the same magical lineage, there’s a massive knowledge gap between Spirit Summoners and traditional mages. Meaning they couldn’t converse meaningfully.

‘Big Sister Phine did know more magic than average for a Spirit Summoner, though…’

But that’s because, before the World Tree died, she didn’t even have spirits. Determined to become a full-fledged mage, she abandoned the spirit path and kept studying. Because of that, she had a decent magical foundation.

However, she wasn’t even close to the level of an A-rank mage. At best, a C-rank— far too lacking to be Merlin’s lover.

‘That’s why he had no one.’

A woman whose magical aptitude matched Merlin’s while also being around his age— no such woman existed.

‘The best option would’ve been…’

If Lia were raised as a mage, she could’ve romanced Merlin. Merlin’s Pure Loving End. Two-Timing Ending (Two Male Leads). Reverse Harem Ending (Romancing Every Guy in the Hero’s Party). And so on.

But in reality? No dice.

Why? Because Lia and I are practically engaged already. No room for Merlin to interfere.

Thus, in reality, Merlin was destined to remain single until death… until now!

But if I paired him with Dark, he could live happily ever after. That’s why I’m helping. Good for Dark, good for Merlin.

“This should do it.”

I handed Dark the carefully wrapped letter.

“Mail this, and Merlin will arrive here in two weeks.”

“Two weeks?!”

“I’d prefer him to come immediately, but… there’s something I left to him.”

The secondary hero party, formed from four male hero candidates. While we focused on the main quests, Merlin’s group tackled side quests. While we fought the Demon King’s army, his team rescued sub-characters.

Among those sub-characters, some ended up marrying the main male heroes. So interrupting their journey wasn’t an option. Calling Merlin back now might doom one of the guys to a single ending.

‘Not acceptable.’

My goal is to ensure every character I love gets a happy ending. I saved the male characters too, so technically, I’ve met the conditions. But for them, a girlfriend-less single ending can’t be called “happy,” right? Hence, two weeks.

In two weeks, three of the guys will be married.

…Or so I explained.

“Final touch: If you and Merlin marry, it’ll complete the full marriage ending for all main Prophecy RPG characters.”

“M-me… marry Merlin?…”

“Don’t want to?”

“No! I love it! Absolutely! But… two weeks?! Gahh… Cain! What do I prepare first?!”

“Magic studies?”

“Magic studies?”

“Merlin’s ideal type is a smart, capable mage girlfriend who can discuss magic with him.”

“Besides that?”

“Being around his age helps… though realistically, just being fertile would suffice.”

In this world, there are elder women who maintain youth. Chronologically 60–80 but biologically 20–30— still capable of pregnancy. Merlin would be fine with that.

“That’s really what matters?”

“Of course.”

Having children means passing down his magical legacy. But even so, he wouldn’t force a relationship with someone beneath his level just for offspring. Finding a magically gifted child to mentor would suffice.

“Hmm…”

Wait, if adoption were an option, his wife not being fertile wouldn’t matter… right?

No sooner had I thought that than a terrifying possibility crossed my mind.

Only magical aptitude matters. Age doesn’t. Then… Could that mean… Magical grandma?!

“Ugh…”

I stopped myself mid-thought. Further contemplation risked internal bleeding.

“Anyway! Looks aren’t important—it’s magical knowledge.”

“Then…”

“Let’s call it a night. Tomorrow… Hmm—Big Sister Phine!”

I called for Big Sister Phine.

“Yes?”

“Can you summon the World Tree for a sec?”

“If it’s the World Tree you seek…”

“Might I be of service?”

A tiny green spirit wriggled onto Big Sister Phine’s shoulder.

“Can you teach magic to her?”

“I could, but… what’s her current level?”

“Good question. How much do you know?”

“I’ve mastered every standard grimoire, all of Merlin’s research, and even ancient tomes… By Prophecy RPG standards, I surpass Merlin?”

“You studied and comprehended all that?!”

“Yes.”

“Is that even possible?”

Mastering one attribute alone takes ages. But all magic? Bullshit.

“Still more plausible than a game-addicted forum lurker acing the national exam.”

“Now that you mention it…”

That addict did ace the exam. But here? No games. No forums. Only study. The more she studied, the closer she got to her goal of becoming a dark powerhouse.

Given that, would Dark have slacked off?

‘No way.’

She probably studied obsessively, achieving the insane feat of mastering all magic in record time.

…That explanation does make sense.

“Then we should proceed straight to advanced studies… Hmm… Here, take this first.”

“A book?”

“I prepared this for the day I’d find someone worthy of inheriting my knowledge.”

The World Tree retrieved a thick tome from subspace while explaining.

“Skim through this tonight to get a feel for it. I’ll explain properly tomorrow.”

“You’re giving this to me?”

“If you grasp even a fraction when I teach tomorrow, I’ll gift it to you.”

“If I don’t understand?”

“If you comprehend nothing, I’ll take it back. It’d only bring despair.”

“Despair?”

“Teaching a tree without legs how to jump is no different than teaching despair.”

Meaning—she’d gift the book if potential existed, but withhold it if prospects were zero.

“If I copy the contents?”

“Impossible. The text is enchanted—you can’t read ahead without understanding prior sections.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“Then… Finishing the entire book means…”

“…You’ve fully comprehended my knowledge… Wait, what?!…”

“I’m done.”

Dark closed the book and unleashed the final spell inscribed on the last page.

The moment the World Tree witnessed this,

her face twisted in disbelief.

“Is she even human?”

“I don’t know either.”

One thing’s clear: That psycho’s intelligence is on another level.