episode_0168

The possibility that the person I thought was the transmigrator or the reincarnator was not actually Ethan, but someone else around Ethan.

In theory, it was a story that could very well be possible.

With Ethan’s appearance changed so drastically, and most of the changed story revolving around the Blackwood family that Ethan belonged to, it was a hypothesis that I didn’t even consider at first.

But after seeing Ethan’s behavior by the lake, I began to give some weight to the second hypothesis.

That there was a transmigrator who had taken over someone other than Ethan and was interfering in the story in various ways, including the character of Ethan.

Two days ago, the modern tone that casually reached my ears was something that I couldn’t overlook.

“This is it.”

A familiar tone that I had heard quite a lot in my past life, presumed to be that of a man in his 10s to 20s.

If it had been a normal academy male student who had casually said it, I might not have thought much of it and just moved on. But the fact that it was brought up by the person who had the tone made me suspicious.

It was hard to believe that someone with an appearance and position that clearly didn’t match would casually mutter as if they had transmigrated into someone else.

Lilith Rosewood.

No, for some reason, she was now Lilith Blackwood Rosewood, a noble lady who seemed to be the most likely candidate for the second possibility.

“Come to think of it, the situation itself seems the most plausible.”

The fact that Lady Aeria, who had been taken to the Silverwood territory, was the villain who had tormented Lilith in the original story.

The fact that Lizzie, who should have exited the original plot, was alive, and her occasional behavior that seemed to oddly follow Lilith.

And even the fact that Lilith, a mere maid, confidently took on a prominent position in the student council announced today.

She wasn’t like Ethan, but Lilith was also showing a completely different path from the original game in many ways.

…But there was still one reason why it was hard to think of her as the transmigrator.

“If Lilith is the transmigrator, how on earth did she tame that pig-headed Ethan?”

How did she, as a mere maid, avoid Harold’s surveillance and turn Ethan into a human?

That part was something that I couldn’t understand from the hero Gethmyoshaky’s perspective.

If Lilith had even slightly raised her hand against Ethan or uttered a curse, she would have been punished by Harold.

Perhaps if the relationship between Lilith and Ethan had been slightly different, she wouldn’t have been able to stand side by side with Aeria in the Silverwood territory as a chambermaid.

However, it was even more unbelievable to think that she had reformed Ethan’s troublesome personality without violence or verbal abuse.

I could be sure that Lilith’s method was futile, as I could see from the future Lilith experienced in the original game.

The result of Lilith accepting Ethan’s stubborn behavior without resistance was the ‘foolish maid’ Lilith who was insulted by Ethan in the original game.

“If I can figure out how she handled that part, I might be able to understand that Lilith is the transmigrator…”

I wanted to talk to her directly if possible, but Ethan was wary of approaching Lilith, pointing out his complicated relationship with women.

It seemed that I would need more time to be convinced of the truth.

“…There’s still plenty of time.”

The event where Ethan loses his life, which is the end of Part 2, is at the end of the second semester of the second year.

If I could be sure that the story changed only up to that point, that would be enough.

“Once I figure out what happened back then, I can make the rest of the decisions afterwards.”

For the proper gameplay in the original game, should I recruit Release, or consider a slightly different way to clear it?

There is still plenty of time to make a decision.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The dormitory of the Swordsmanship Department. Ethan and Release’s room.

Returning to the dormitory after three days with Ethan, I was welcomed back enthusiastically by one person waiting in the dormitory and two spirits.

“Release~!!!”

Isabel rushed towards me with a loud reaction as soon as she saw my face after three days.

“Release, are you okay?! Are you completely fine now? You’re really better, right?”

“…Release, you’re not going to die, right…?”

And surprisingly, I received an enthusiastic welcome from Sally and Say, who sincerely hoped for my safe return.

“Release~!! You almost died again this time~!! Why do you keep doing dangerous things, Release~!!!”

“Sorry, Isabel. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“It’s not for no reason~!!!”

Isabel clung to me, burying her tearful face in my chest.

If I had been in any trouble, Isabel would have been deeply hurt in many ways as well.

Especially in her case, as the maid’s maid who followed all the way to the Luminoir Academy, if I, the intermediary between her and Ethan, had disappeared, she would have been in a very difficult situation.

Of course, thanks to my safe return, all the tragedies that could have happened to me and her were canceled.

“…I’ll go wash up first. You guys can take your time and talk.”

“Oh, Master Ethan. The clothes to change into…”

“I’ll take care of it, so don’t worry. Just rest well today, Release.”

-Click.

With those words, Ethan went into the dressing room with his underwear and nightclothes.

Thanks to him, I had to listen to Isabel’s worried nagging for almost 10 minutes.

“…So don’t do dangerous things, Release. Why does Release, who is the same as me, the maid’s maid, keep going somewhere and getting into danger?”

“Sorry, I have no excuses.”

“…If you do something dangerous again and almost die next time, I’ll really cut ties with you…”

“….”

“Oh, no…. cutting ties would be a bit harsh. I won’t talk to you for a week, Release….”

Whether she couldn’t bring herself to cut ties due to her weak heart, or she quickly lowered the intensity of the punishment because she thought I would do something dangerous again, I had no choice but to bow my head and apologize to Isabel.

Even though she was the only connection that had continued since before I regained the memories of my past life, a strained relationship with her was a future I didn’t want, even if I didn’t want it.

“Release, Release.”

“Oh, Sally. What’s wrong?”

“Can I eat your magic power now, Release? Or do I need to recover a bit more…?”

“I want to eat your magic power too, Release….”

“Oh.”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t been able to provide them with meals for three days.

Of course, just because of the contract relationship, they didn’t necessarily have to absorb only my magic power. They could maintain enough magic power for life support with the magic power available in standby.

However, if they didn’t eat enough of the contractor’s magic power, the intimacy level or growth rate of the spirit entity would decrease, so consistent supply was important.

Since I had completely overcome the crisis of almost dying and had already fully recovered my body yesterday, there was no problem in providing magic power to the two spirits.

“You can have as much as you want, Sally, Say. I couldn’t take care of you properly for three days, so feel free to eat as much as you want.”

“Yay~!!”

“Okay, I’ll eat well….”

With a bright expression on their face, the two spirits attached to my right and left hands began absorbing my mana.

As both high-level and intermediate-level spirits simultaneously sucked up my mana, I could feel the sensation of mana draining from my body. However, having leveled up from level 12 to 16 in one go and surpassing a mana maximum of over 3,000, I had a sufficiently comfortable level of consumption.

“Rilis! It feels like your mana concentration has gotten stronger than mine for some reason?”

“And, it tastes better, ugh….”

“Well, maybe it’s because I got stronger while defeating the Kraken?”

“At this rate, we might be able to form a formal contract soon, right? Hurry up and get stronger quickly!”

“It’s not as easy as it sounds. It was only because the conditions were right for me to defeat the Kraken this time that I could win. And I almost… didn’t make it.”

“Ugh….”

“…But I didn’t, but anyway, it was a close victory. I don’t really want to engage in life-threatening battles anymore.”

“…Phew.”

To be honest, Isabel’s worried gaze felt subtly painful to say the least. It wasn’t just a matter of getting angry out of spite, but genuinely worrying about me and showing such a reaction, especially from someone as loyal and kind-hearted as Isabel, it was mostly my fault.

If I had caused so much worry to my closest friend, I had no choice but to accept the consequences.

“By the way, now that I think about it, Sally and Saydo were quiet, weren’t they? I thought they would immediately come looking for me if I left the house for a few days.”

“Rilis told them to wait quietly. I was a little worried, but I just waited. I overheard the conversation of the other humans in this room and it seems like they survived at least.”

“If there’s a contract, you can know if they died or not. …Wait, when the connection was cut off, I was a little anxious.”

Still, it seemed that the contract spirits listened well to what the contractor said.

Anyway, I was relieved that these two spirits didn’t wander around aimlessly looking for me.

It was fortunate that they didn’t get lost in a dangerous place, or worse, have to face Sally and Saydo at the Academy Church, which could have delayed my recovery due to fatigue.

…Still, considering the Kraken subjugation this time, I should definitely take one of them with me no matter what.

“Rilis, you can use the bathroom now.”

“Oh, thank you, Master Ethan.”

While answering Ethan, who had just come out of the bathroom, I also picked up my nightwear and underwear and headed to the dormitory dressing room.

After taking a shower in the well-equipped dormitory bathroom for the first time in a while, as soon as I returned, I was immediately faced with a new problem.

“Rilis, how about lying down on the bed soon? Tomorrow is a day with morning classes for both you and me.”

“….”

“…Rilis?”

“…Uh, yes. Th-that’s right…. As Master Ethan said, I should start getting ready for bed. Yes….”

A two-person bed where Ethan and I slept under the same blanket.

The bed where I had been falling asleep comfortably every day felt strangely unfamiliar today for some reason.