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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Daphne (2)
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"I'm going out for a bit, so rest here. Don't even *think* about trying to escape."
"Thank you."
"..."
Despite my polite bow with hands clasped together, Daphne merely left the room with a peculiar expression, not bothering to reply.
"..."
Feeling her footsteps gradually fade, I lay down on the bed in a corner of the room.
As the soft sensation enveloped me from head to toe, the tension that had bound my body slowly began to unravel.
"Hah..."
But despite my relaxed body, my mind was in utter turmoil.
"How did things end up like this...?"
I had experienced too much in just one day.
My sudden transmigration, the horrific scenery, the killing intent from the magic beasts directed at me, and Daphne, the unknown figure who appeared like a comet and saved my life.
She had brought me to this log cabin via teleportation.
'What kind of person is she, anyway?'
My questions only grew.
Teleportation was a 9th Circle magic, existing only in lore, which no player had ever been able to manifest.
'And she's skilled in swordsmanship too?'
That fact alone was astonishing, but Daphne also possessed sword skills powerful enough to dispatch high-ranking magic beasts in an instant.
This indicated that she was at least a Sword Master, if not higher.
"Insane."
A Sword Master and a 9th Circle Mage.
She was the very definition of a munchkin.
Thanks to this munchkin woman, I had been saved and had followed her all the way here.
'The problem is...'
Could I truly be taken in by her, and learn even a little bit of swordsmanship and magic?
– "I don't trust you."
– "Remember this. If you do anything suspicious, I won't hesitate to kill you."
– "Even if you don't do anything suspicious, I'll kill you if I don't like it, all the same."
Far from trusting me, she had declared that she could kill me at any time.
'She sounds like a psychopath.'
To kill me just because she doesn't like it.
"Hah..."
A sigh escaped me as I contemplated my unpredictable predicament.
Why had I suddenly transmigrated, anyway?
How was I supposed to survive here from now on?
*Slap, slap.*
I slapped my cheeks, trying to clear my head.
"Think. Just think."
No matter how hard I slapped my cheeks, one fact remained unchanged.
I had transmigrated into a game. And into the body of a child with absolutely nothing.
'I need to come up with a plan for the future.'
Like it or not, I now had to adapt and survive in this unfamiliar world.
If I didn't want to die a meaningless death before the main episode of a game I'd loved enough to sink ten thousand hours into even began.
'She said it was seven years before the main story started, right?'
This was a fact I'd learned by asking Daphne.
I had transmigrated seven years before the main story of the game officially began.
'I'll have to get into the academy, then. A bad ending would be troublesome.'
This game was a crappy game where the world would face ruin if the protagonist, Fran, gained the affection of two or more heroines.
What did that mean?
It meant that if Fran, the protagonist of this current world, happened to have harem tendencies, this world could foolishly be destroyed because of him.
'Who decided that?'
If it were just a game, fine. But this was the world I had to live in now.
So, I had to stop it. Fran's harem in [Harem Academy].
'Conveniently, this body is 10 years old.'
In seven years, I'd be just the right age to enter the academy with the protagonist.
'I just need to keep a close eye on Fran.'
In truth, Fran was strong. Strong enough to clear the main episodes without a hitch, as long as he pursued 'pure love.'
So, all I had to do was stop Fran's harem. Then this world would continue without major problems.
'In that case...'
I should do everything I could to prepare before entering the academy, right?
Like gaining strength to prevent Fran's harem corruption.
Or recording all the useful information my ten thousand hours of playtime had given me before I forgot it.
"Haha."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
It was absurd, now that I thought about it.
It was only yesterday I was ranting in reviews about the protagonist *not* building a harem, and now I'm in the absurd position of having to *support* his pure love!
"Anyway..."
I'd decided on my path for seven years from now, so perhaps surviving until then should be my priority.
To do that, I first needed to gain Daphne's approval.
Well, it was a situation where I might be killed by her as early as tomorrow, but...
In a way, it was also a rather good situation.
Presumably, Daphne was at least a 9th Circle mage and a Sword Master.
If I could gain recognition from such a munchkin among munchkins, become her disciple, and be taught swordsmanship and magic?
'Stopping the destruction ending wouldn't be difficult, I suppose.'
And that wasn't all. Afterward, I might even enjoy a life sweeter and more thrilling than my reality.
Perhaps I could even find a way back to my original world.
'Alright. Let's do it.'
As I vaguely set my goal, a flicker of motivation began to surge.
****
Deep within a dense, verdant forest lay a lake, its water clear and transparent, exuding a subtle, mysterious aura.
Daphne, naked, stood half-submerged in the lake, lost in thought as she recalled the day's events.
"..."
It had been a long time. A long time since she had swung her sword to cleave the flesh of magic beasts and unleashed magic to annihilate beings imbued with demonic energy.
It hadn't been difficult. The magic beasts she had faced earlier were nothing more than insignificant creatures to her.
"The contract is still active, yet..."
Her hands were still trembling, and her mana, which had been raging for a long time, was only now calming down.
These two things confirmed it. The contract made long ago and the restriction placed on her body were still in effect.
Thus, due to the restriction, her body and mana should have been unable to contend with demonic energy.
But...
"It had loosened, then."
A moment ago, the restriction that had plagued her for a very long time had momentarily loosened.
"Why?"
It wasn't that she had no inkling as to the reason. It was simply difficult to comprehend.
The restriction had loosened the moment she saw the boy, whose appearance was so familiar and longed for.
Hair as black as pitch.
Eyes a burning red.
Fair skin, still retaining a childlike innocence.
Features as sharp and distinct as if sculpted from porcelain.
And even the harsh shackles placed upon a body and soul forged to contain sin.
Daphne's body had reacted reflexively to the boy's appearance, which uncannily resembled someone's childhood self.
Her mana, which had been furiously surging in response to the demonic energy, had cooled instantly, permeating her sword and cleaving the magic beast's flesh.
In truth, this should have been impossible.
Her restriction was that the moment she harbored killing intent towards a magic beast, she would either go berserk or lose consciousness.
"..."
But today, or to be precise, in the moments she decided to protect the boy, it had not been so.
"Camel, huh..."
Daphne murmured the boy's name, closing her eyes gently.
He was an interesting child in many ways.
The boy's familiar appearance evoked a nostalgic longing in Daphne.
The boy's familiar yet alien aura had momentarily loosened her restriction.
And that wasn't all.
It was a situation where fear should have been the natural response.
But the boy hadn't been afraid. Instead, he had boldly demanded that she save him, giving specific reasons.
His logic wasn't entirely flawless, but the truly surprising part was that the boy was only 10 years old.
– "If there's no choice, it's human nature to create one. But what if there's a choice to retrieve something you've painstakingly created?"
– "Yes, exactly. If that happens, Lady Daphne will continue to prevent disasters."
The words the boy had prattled on about surfaced in Daphne's mind.
A chuckle naturally escaped her.
The more she thought about it, the more absurd it was. To think a mere ten-year-old kid had managed to convince her.
"Is this a coincidence?"
No, Daphne, having muttered that, fell into thought again.
The fact that she had suddenly woken from her long slumber.
The Chaos Cultists she had encountered, drawn by an inexplicable pull, and the boy, whose fate was forged as a vessel.
And even the momentary loosening of her own restriction.
As her thoughts intertwined, her conviction deepened.
It was no coincidence.
Her meeting with the boy was destiny.
"Perhaps..."
The boy might be an 'Opener of Fate,' like the one she yearned for so deeply.
"..."
Daphne still remembered.
A man who, long ago, had given his life to open the fate of the world.
"Haha..."
Daphne closed her eyes gently and let out a soft laugh.
The conviction of a man who had ultimately failed, who no longer existed in this world, now felt so foolish.
"There's no emotion as foolish as lingering regret."
Daphne, who had been lost in reminiscence for a moment, soon shook her head, casting off old memories and emotions.
If the boy truly was an 'Opener of Fate,' she had to.
Because it was the first time an 'Opener of Fate' had appeared in the world since *he* had died 1,000 years ago.
"I hope so."
Muttering this, Daphne, her naked body pristine white, rose and began to leave the lake.
*Splash, splash.*
Her slender nakedness created gentle ripples in the lake.
"I'll have to confirm it, though."
Daphne thought, shaking her wet hair.
Her meeting with the boy was destiny, not coincidence, and he might be the 'Opener of Fate' she had sought for so long.
But this was still merely an unverified hypothesis.
Perhaps it was a delusion created by a mind and body broken by long ages.
So, she needed to confirm it herself.
Whether the boy she had brought, Camel, possessed the potential to become an 'Opener of Fate.'
"Though the possibility is low."
In truth, the possibility was infinitesimally small.
Nevertheless, three reasons had subtly made Daphne harbor expectations for the boy:
His appearance, identical to that of the man who had died 1,000 years ago.
His unoffending audacity, like *his* when he was young, not intimidated even in extreme situations and talking back with words unbefitting his age.
And the fact that he was an artificially created being, designed to contain sin.
"Even if he isn't, well..."
Daphne, who had by now draped a coat over her now dry, naked body, murmured softly.
"I just hope he doesn't die."
Even if Camel wasn't an 'Opener of Fate.'
If he survived tomorrow, she would extend him a little 'favor.' So she thought.
*****
One, two, three...
After carefully counting the numbers in my head, I opened my eyes.
"A familiar ceiling..."
No, it wasn't. Damn it.
Unfortunately, what I saw was not a familiar ceiling, but a strange one made of logs.
"Damn it."
It was a truly unfortunate turn of events.
I had secretly—no, desperately—hoped that everything I'd experienced yesterday was a dream, and that I would wake up in the real world, but it wasn't to be.
"Damn it."
To think I was a two-day transmigrator. A thick curse naturally escaped my frail voice.
"...Hah."
Another deep sigh escaped me, but I calmed myself and decided to accept it.
I had transmigrated into the game I used to play, and from now on, I had to live here.
This was a fact that wouldn't change, no matter how much I denied it.
So, I decided to think positively. Since things had come to this, I would try to truly survive, just as I'd resolved yesterday.
"Damn it."
Once I decided to think positively, my body began to move reflexively.
I neatly folded the blanket and opened the window for ventilation. A cool breeze blew in, and the lush forest scenery unfolded before my eyes.
A peculiar feeling lingered for a moment, but I quickly snapped out of it and moved again.
This time, I tidied the room, which had been strewn with all sorts of junk. I straightened things and dusted.
After moving about for a while, the room was spotless, and I could smile, basking in a sense of satisfaction.
"Damn it."
By the way, the reason I was so busy this morning wasn't because I suffered from an incurable case of mysophobia.
'Because nothing is as important as a first impression.'
It was because I was in a position where I needed to impress Daphne.
– "I'll kill you if I don't like it."
And also because I could die an unfair, sudden death if I didn't.
'Because I have to learn something.'
Most importantly, for the future I would face in this unfamiliar world, I absolutely had to.
My current state, the body I had transmigrated into, was beyond miserable—it was despair-inducing.
Not only were all my stats a measly 1, but this pathetic body didn't even have any usable traits.
The only trait I possessed, [Vessel of Sin], was one that the Chaos Cultists would drool over more than I would.
Therefore, there was only one best choice I could make.
To impress Daphne and learn something, be it swordsmanship or magic.
'Fortunately, she didn't seem like a bad person.'
Though she occasionally showed psychopathic tendencies and was a character I'd never encountered in the game, that was a minor drawback.
Considering she saved me, who might become one of the Seven Deadly Sins, and brought me here, she couldn't be a bad person.
So, if I put in my utmost effort, she, being human, would have no choice but to accept me.
"..."
Come to think of it, it seemed perfectly doable, didn't it?
"If you're awake, come out."
Just as I was thinking that, a knock on the door came, followed by the voice I had been anticipating.
[Hidden Quest 'Daphne's Test (1)' is now in progress.]
A quest notification window popped up.
[Upon success, you can choose a reward.]
Oh, I can choose a reward? That's good news, then.
[Upon failure, you will die permanently.]
Right. Failure naturally means death...
What did it say?