[– I will crush that flag! –]
Jin, who exudes a wild atmosphere, is affectionately called ‘Whitey’ in my heart.
His original form is a white wolf, and even in his human form, his hair is a silvery white, making him resemble a white puppy, which makes him endearing to me.
Regardless of my fondness for Whitey, my top priority is the life of my most beloved character. So, I’m sorry, but I have no choice but to stop any progress in the relationship with Velkina.
If I think back to the early game flow since yesterday’s event…….
In the game, Velkina gets slapped by Senephin, and Lumins, who witnesses the scene, protects her. Confronted with a greater malice than she anticipated, Velkina can’t hold back her tears, and Luminis gently comforts her…….
“……Wait, did I just block an event that raises Lumins’s affection for Velkina?”
A cold sweat runs down my neck.
Luminis, don’t misunderstand. I didn’t mean to do that……! I thought it was a dream! You trust me, right? With your charm, Lumins, it will be fine even if yesterday’s event didn’t happen!
Even though I try to explain it away in my mind, I realize that I have messed up an important event for Lumins. I have to make up for it somehow. I’ll set up the love♡ event for Velkina and Lumins later, but first, I need to focus on another strategy.
Given the situation, I have no choice but to thoroughly crush the flags of other male characters.
After folding my remaining conscience neatly and setting it aside, I hurried to the place where Velkina and Jin were scheduled to meet.
If you go deep into the forest behind the Magic Research Institute, you’ll find the ‘Lake of Silence’ which, as the name suggests, is a calm lake throughout the year. It doesn’t freeze in winter, nor does it stir even when the wind blows.
A young lady with golden hair is walking slowly along the lakeside, which adheres faithfully to this fantastical setting.
“Phew, thank goodness.”
Wiping off the sweat from running with the edge of my cape, I’m relieved to see that Velkina is still alone.
Beyond her, the mountains encircle the lake, with thick clouds resting halfway up their slopes. These clouds descend, spreading the morning mist across the entire lake. At the edge of the lake, ‘forget me not’ flowers bloom in clusters.
Against this fantastical backdrop, the beautiful Velkina truly stands out as the perfect heroine of the game. As I shower her with compliments in my mind, I can’t help but hope she treats our Lumins well.
Even with these frivolous thoughts, I maintained a certain distance from Velkina, carefully timing my approach. I needed to block the imminent meeting event between Velkina and Jin.
In the game, Velkina wants to take a closer look at the ‘forget me not’ on the shore of the lake, so she leaves the trail and walks closer to the lake.
However, the ‘Lake of Silence’ is merciless to creatures that disturb its tranquility. If one leaves the protected path set by the Magic Research Institute and gets too close to the lake, traps are triggered that collapse the ground where you step.
Velkina, a newcomer to the Institute, is unaware of the lake’s secrets, and the trap causes her to lose her footing and severely sprained her ankle.
……Knowing the danger, shouldn’t the Magic Research Institute at least put up a big no-entry sign? It feels like a significant administrative oversight, but let’s move on.
Back to the game, Velkina unable to move due to her painful ankle, sits there for a long time. Then, Whitey……no, Jin, the wolf beastman, appears and rescues her. She asks his name, but he leaves mysteriously without answering.
Even if I think about it, if a handsome silver-haired guy appears and carries me to safety, it would be memorable and heart-fluttering……. No, Lumins, you know you’re the only one for me, right?
Anyway, the important thing is this.
Whitey, I’m sorry! I will crush that flag!
Yesterday, after suddenly crying and parting ways, it’s awkward to grab someone on a walk and forcibly drag them to the Magic Research Institute. But knowing Velkina is going to get hurt, it would be cruel to just watch until she sprains her ankle before showing up. I can’t carry her princess-style either.
So I decide to wait for her to go off the trail to look at the forget-me-not flowers. At that point, I’d appear, grab her wrist, and warn her, “Velkina! It’s dangerous to leave the path!” and then pull her to safety. Perfect plan, as far as I’m concerned.
As I recalled the plan one more time, Velkina finally started to move.
Oh no, why is she walking so fast? At this rate, she’ll get hurt before I can catch up!
My initial plan to grab her wrist got messed up, so I had to start by urgently shouting while running towards her.
“Vel-Velkina! It’s dangerous if you keep going that way!”
“Huh?”
Velkina stopped and turned to look at me. Great, this big sister is going to save you from danger!
“I mean, there are traps in that lake……”
“Kyahhhh!”
At that moment, Velkina falls backwards. Wait, what? The description didn’t mention her just tripping and falling like this!
Panicking, I reached out and grabbed her shoulder frantically. But unable to handle the weight, I lost my balance too, and we both ended up rolling down to the lakeside.
– Splash!
With a loud splash, Velkina and I fell into the lake.
“Gah, ugh, ah, gasp……”
“Haah, haah……. Ugh, gasp.”
I somehow managed to deal with the water that had gone up my nose. Thankfully, the water level was shallow enough for my feet to touch the bottom.
I looked over at Velkina, who also seemed disoriented from getting water up her nose. Phew, as expected, the heroine looks beautiful even after falling into the water.
“I-I’m sorry, Senephin-nim……. you were trying to warn me about the traps here, right? I must have lost my balance because of that.”
Even though I told her not to use honorifics yesterday, it seems it doesn’t come off easily. Understandably so, I thought as I kindly replied.
“That’s okay. More importantly, let’s get out of here quickly.”
As I said this and tried to move my legs to walk back to the shore, I felt something entangle my arms and legs.
“Huh?”
“…… This, what is this?”
Velkina’s face hardened, seemingly feeling the same sensation. I looked down at the water. Despite the water lapping up to my chest, there was nothing visibly holding my arms and legs. It felt like invisible strings were binding my limbs.
“My arms and legs won’t move……. This is……. This is because of me, isn’t it? I’m sorry…….”
“Stay, stay calm, Velkina.”
I tried to calm Velkina down, but my own voice betrayed my lack of composure. Oh no, I can’t stay calm either……. I’m having flashbacks to the middle of the game…….
This ‘Lake of Silence’ is actually a giant monster in itself. That’s why traps are triggered when you approach the lake. Early in the game, a brief misstep is all that happens, but entering the lake brings a different level of danger.
The lake does not forgive those who disturb its tranquility.
This scenario unfolds during Lumins route. Velkina, seeking alchemical materials, tries to collect water from the lake and ends up fighting a mid-boss at the lake’s edge.
Unaware of the lake’s true nature, she falls into the water, just like us now, getting completely restrained and held captive by the lake. In this event, Lumins heroically rescues her from this perilous situation.
“Velkina, do you have any magic you can use?”
“I-I’m sorry. I’m just an apprentice magician and haven’t learned many proper spells yet…….”
……Of course. It’s still the early part of the game, so what was I expecting?
What do I do now? Is this some kind of forced event where the character we’re trying to avoid shows up? Do we just shiver in the water until Jin appears and rescues us?
Wouldn’t this be even more impactful than just rescuing her with a sprained ankle?
And it’s supposed to be Lumins mid-game event that I’d be stealing!
“This can’t happen!”
When I shouted, Velkina looked at me with wide eyes.
Anyway, it can’t happen! I already messed up Luminis’s event yesterday, so I can’t let Whitey gain points here. We have to get out of this situation.
Senephin Cromwell is still a mage, even if she’s not at her best. Can’t she use magic to somehow get out of this?
How did Lumins save her from this……? Something with ice…… Using ice somehow…….
He froze the entire lake except for Velkina, and then shattered the ice to defeat it…… or something like that.
…… Freezing the entire lake is impossible for me. Besides, my character isn’t even close to Luminis, who’s supposed to be a genius mage, while I’m just a minor villain who exits early in the story.
“Senephin-nim…….”
Velkina looked like she was about to cry, filled with guilt. No, it would’ve just been a sprained ankle if I hadn’t interfered. I’m sorry for making things worse because of my incompetence…….
I bit my lip. This is it. All or nothing.
“Velkina.”
“Y-Yes?”
“I’ll use magic to freeze the area around you, then immediately shatter the ice with another spell. When that happens, don’t hesitate and move your arms and legs to crawl to the shore.”
“Oh, so there’s a way! You truly are a senior mage!”
Though it’s a cheap imitation of our Luminis’s method.
“But, what about you, Senephin-nim?”
That’s the problem. With my current magical abilities, I can only freeze and shatter the area around one person.
One person has to escape to get help, while the other stays behind in the lake.
“I…… I’ve been feeling really sorry towards you, Velkina. I’ve said harsh things because I was jealous of your talent.”
“N-No. I put myself in situations where I could be misunderstood…….”
“That doesn’t justify the personal attacks. I realized that yesterday and reflected on my actions with regret.”
“Ah………….”
Velkina sounded a little touched. Phew, seems like my heartfelt performance worked.
“So……I want to apologize for my behavior. If you can forgive me, please escape first and get help……?”
“O-Of course……! You’re not bad at all, Senephin-nim! I’ll run as fast as I can to get help!”
Great success! Velkina will escape first!
With the biggest risk eliminated, I breathed a sigh of relief. Leaving Velkina behind to meet Whitey? I’d rather freeze to death in this lake than let that happen.
“Then I’ll start. As soon as the ice breaks, head to the shore!”
“Okay!”
“O cold trial of water, I command you…….”
I concentrated as I recited an embarrassing spell that reminded me of a secondary bottle in this world. Luckily, the spell went in cleanly and froze immediately.
Taking that as the signal, I immediately generated a shockwave to shatter the ice around Velkina.
– Crack!
Though sounds aren’t supposed to travel underwater, the magic made it sound like glass shattering. Without hesitation, Velkina scrambled to the shore, half-running. In the blink of an eye, she reached the safe path.
She looked back at me briefly, nodded firmly, and then started running at an incredible speed.
“Haa… now what.”
It’s good that I sent Velkina away, but did the Lake of Silence get angrier? Using a spell in the lake probably didn’t help.
It wasn’t just my imagination, the invisible force gripping my arms and legs now felt like it was pressing down on my entire body.
Will I even survive until Velkina brings help? Whitey, or anyone, just come quickly…
Very slowly, the force pulling me down into the lake increased. The water, which had been up to my chest, was now reaching my shoulders.
“It was a loving death, drowning while trying to save my favorite character…….”
I muttered this jokingly, but my whole body was shaking. The icy remnants from the spell I used to save Velkina floated around, making the water unbearably cold.
The water reached my chin, and just as I was about to give up and close my eyes—
– Boom!
A sharp, loud noise like metal clashing reverberated through the ground.
“Huh……?”
The feeling of being engulfed by liquid disappeared. When I opened my eyes, everything around me was white ice.
The moment I realized this—
– Rumble!
An overwhelming noise far louder than the previous one pierced my ears.
The shattered ice dust scattered in all directions, like a storm of powdered snow settling on the delicate forget-me-not petals.
In front of this surreal and overwhelming scene, I was speechless as I looked up at the young man standing on the path.
“Lady Senefin, are you alright?”
…….. Our Lumins is absolutely amazing, magnificent, super ultra awesome—no words in my limited vocabulary can describe how cool he is.
