—
Using a small fla spell, Will lit the tip of his finger and used it to ignite the old candle sitting on his desk.
After a day spent wandering the streets, Will had gathered a decent amount of information about the capital and the royal family.
By the flickering candlelight, he stared at the words written in his notebook—
[Quest 1000: Prepare Treya’s weapon, Shadow Wraith Sword.]
He marked a check next to the task.
Although the sword wasn’t finished yet, it was well on its way, and there shouldn’t be any major issues.
Then...
He flipped back a page in his notebook, which he had been writing in reverse order. The next task was—
[Quest 1001: Investigate the current state of the royal family.]
This page was mostly blank, left intentionally so he could record the results of his investigation.
“Hmm...”
Though the capital’s atmosphere was heavy and tense, Will had managed to gather so useful information.
For instance, through shady newspapers.
Or from street vendors who claid to sell “royal secrets that could make you rich.”
And even from old, long-established businesses in the capital whose owners were more willing to talk.
—
“First of all, history hasn’t ‘lied’ to ...”
Will sighed as he began jotting down notes about the remaining royal siblings vying for the throne. He carefully placed their nas in positions identical to the ones he had used when teaching Treya with her little portrait sketches.
“The Fourth Prince has indeed been hit with a massive scandal exposed by the Seventh Princess. However, the Seventh Princess, in an attempt to protect herself by handing over evidence, has also lost her chance at claiming the throne.”
His finger hovered between their nas as he pondered.
This was an event that had occurred in both “fate” and “history,” and in Will’s mind, Carver was likely involved.
Will even speculated that Carver had obtained the evidence from the Seventh Princess and used it to pressure her into gambling on her father’s supposed leniency. This led to her exposing both herself and the Fourth Prince.
Unfortunately...
At this point in ti, Emperor Edward was bedridden and no longer attended court. However, from within the palace, he was still keenly aware of the outside conflicts.
A Fourth Prince burdened with “treason” charges and a Seventh Princess accused of “covering up cris” would both be effectively eliminated from the power struggle.
If this were Will’s original world, this scandal would probably have been dubbed sothing like “Gate-gate.” Unfortunately, the capital didn’t seem to have any gates grand enough to warrant such a na.
“Hmm, so far, I’ve got two... no, maybe three key pieces of information.”
“First, the Fourth Prince and Seventh Princess have mutually destroyed each other.”
“Second, the Sixth Prince and Eighth Prince have engaged in a fierce duel—though it’s unclear who won, or if there was even a winner.”
“Third, scattered reports suggest that the Fifth Princess and Sixth Prince, as key figures managing comrce and administration, have also made so moves. Notably, they sold off military-related assets just before things went south...”
“Fourth... even Eugenie, whom Treya herself dismissed as harmless, along with her younger brother, has begun stirring up activity—promoting her early dungeon exploits.”
“And fifth...”
Will sighed deeply.
This fifth point wasn’t sothing he had directly heard—it was more of a conclusion he had drawn from piecing together all the information he’d gathered.
“With four individuals openly clashing and both the Fifth Princess and Sixth Prince making calculated moves—even Eugenie showing signs of action...”
“But...”
“In all this chaos, Treya has done nothing except post that missing person notice. Nothing else.”
After filling an entire page with notes, Will took a mont to review what he had written.
It had been a long ti since he’d written so much by hand. While his handwriting had beco ssier over ti, his logic remained clear.
Now to review the next task...
Will flipped forward another page in his notebook.
[Quest 1002: et her at the palace alone.]
“Alone... huh?”
Perhaps this wasn’t so much a “task.”
It felt more like...
A declaration of his resolve.
To be honest, after what happened with Leah, Will finally realized that he had truly earned the “love” of all three girls.
But...
He felt like he deserved it, didn’t he?
In his previous life, he had pored over their character profiles and backstories countless tis!
He had compiled all their appearances into separate volus just to identify key design elents!
And here, in this world, he had crafted personalized training plans to help them grow stronger!
“The original Quest System was twice as thick as this notebook...” Will muttered as he weighed the small notebook in his hand before sighing.
As he got to know them better through their interactions, he refined those plans even further—tailoring them specifically for each girl.
In the end, he didn’t just help them beco “not losers”; he helped them beco incredibly strong—inside and out.
This was a story he had initiated. This was a darkening process he had facilitated. These were consequences he had brought about. Of course it was up to him to face them alone.
And honestly? He believed—
Even if the original male protagonist were still around, there was no way he could handle these three yanderes that Will himself had forged.
Will wasn’t just soone outside the story who understood their weaknesses; he was also soone within it who had watched them grow step by step.
In other words, if even soone like him—who knew more about “fate” than anyone else—couldn’t change them...
Then no one could.
So it wasn’t just about “facing them alone.” It was about being the only one who could do it.
“Yes. Writing this down...”
“...ans I believe I can solve Treya’s problem on my own.”
“—Using the information I’ve gathered.”
After all, he knew more about “fate” than anyone else. And “fate,” even when twisted by coincidences like turning the protagonist into a woman, still stubbornly tried to realign itself with its original course.
In other words, Will ca from “the side of fate’s author.”
“For them... I’m soone from ‘the side of the gods.’ Even if this is a chess match with Treya, I won’t lose.”
Will slapped his notebook shut with a confident smile and glanced at the window in front of him.
Uh...
Seeing his reflection in the glass—a slightly smug smile that bordered on cringeworthy—he imdiately looked away in embarrassnt.
But...
He couldn’t shake a lingering sense of unease. Perhaps it was the strange feeling left by that morning’s dream.
“...Soone like couldn’t possibly end up being outmaneuvered by a yandere like in that dream,” he muttered to himself.
“Last ti was just an unexpected fluke—an accident where their affection points shifted toward .”
“Whatever. Let’s set that aside for now. More than external factors, what I really want to understand is...”
—Treya’s inner thoughts as a result of all this.
Naturally, this tied into his next task...
[Quest 1003: Sincerely win her heart.]
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