You can read 505 episodes for $10. p.*atreon.com/Astrid02
༺ Hope ༻
"Here's the pen and the paper."
"Thank you!"
Ferloche eagerly began to sketch on the paper that Serena had given her.
"Firstly, I'll draw the first word from the riddle: the half moon!"
After scribbling on the paper for a short while, she showed her finished drawing to both Serena and Clana.
"…Ferloche, a half moon is traditionally drawn vertically, not horizontally."
"Ah…."
However, Clana pointed at the drawing of the moon with a sigh. Ferloche, who had been spacing out, frowned and said.
"Well, then should I draw it on the right side or the left side?"
"Do it on the right side. In the Sunrise Empire, the half-moon should always be drawn on the right."
"Oh, How come?"
Ferloche asked with a bewildered look, still holding on to her pen. Serena tapped the table with her fingers as she answered Ferloche's question.
"It's a legend associated with the Moon God. It'll take too much time to explain, so let's just move on for now."
"Sure, then I will draw it on the right side…"
Ferloche began to draw the moon following Serena's advice and with renewed confidence, she said.
"Mmm, right. Next, I should draw the crescent moon on the right side…"
"…The Sunrise empire is on the Southern continent, so you should draw the crescent moon on the left side."
"Thank you!"
Since she didn't know the direction of the crescent moon, Ferloche paused her drawing momentarily. But with Clana's guidance, she resumed without hesitation once again.
"Nice! With this, the riddle for the half-moon and the crescent moon is complete!"
"Good. What's next?"
Initially, Serena had been looking at Ferloche with a bored look. But she soon became curious and asked the excited Ferloche.
"Next, we should draw a boomerang passing between the half-moon and the crescent moon!"
Having said that, Ferloche cheerfully added a drawing of a boomerang.
"Did you consider the direction of the boomerang?"
"Ack!"
Upon hearing Clana's words, Ferloche's hand stopped again.
"Oh, oh… then let's draw it from all angles!"
"Lady Ferloche, wait."
With her success just around the corner, Ferloche turned anxious. Ferloche tried to reach for the paper but Serena calmly caught her hand.
"You don't have to draw it from all angles. Just draw it in all four directions."
"Huh?"
"Yes, because there's something I want to point out. If the letters appear here… that would be enough."
"Fi-First… I'll draw it first!"
As Serena said that, Ferloche eagerly began drawing the boomerang with her eyes wide open.
"First, to start…"
"This…"
"Serena?
Ferloche became puzzled because Serena had already reacted when she had only drawn the first boomerang but.
"…Even so, I need to go back to the Western continent."
"What?"
Ferloche and Clana were taken aback as Serena stood up with a determined look.
"Why the Western continent all of a sudden?
"You can't, Serena! You're still in a precarious situation."
Serena's face turned stiff, remembering the possibility of being attacked by the Secret Lord at any moment, causing her to slink back into her seat.
"That shape… I saw that pattern clearly at the historic site in the Western continent.…"
"Th-Then! Did we solve the riddle?"
"…Of course, Lady Ferloche. You solved it."
"Woah!"
Serena had a smile on her face, as she gently patted Ferloche's hair. But her expression soon turned solemn as she added,.
"However, there is still something suspicious about it."
"Something suspicious?"
"Yes. The first one is, why did the person who left this riddle leave no solution to it at all?"
"Would there be anyone in the world who would leave a riddle and also provide the solution?"
Clana spoke with her arms crossed. Shaking her head, Serena answered softly.
"No. In truth, a person who leaves a riddle with no solution makes no sense. In fact, they shouldn't have left it as a riddle at all."
She couldn't help but recall the First Hero, who was the one who had left the prophecy.
"But the fact that he left it as a riddle… he must have been in some kind of a predicament that left him no choice but to do it this way, right?"
"I don't know what you are talking about, but congratulations!"
"And the second reason is… Lady Ferloche you're the one who said it."
"…Yes?"
Serena stared at Ferloche, who had just congratulated her, with a subtle look. Tapping her fan with her hand, she continued.
"Ferloche, by any chance, was it not because of luck, but of your own volition…"
"Serena, don't you need to secretly go now?"
"…Ah."
Unbeknownst to them, Frey had returned from the restroom. He approached his seat, his expression firm, and gestured toward the clock.
"Um… I have to go now, I don't want to be late."
"Alright, Serena. Be careful."
Serena then stood up, walked over to Frey who had been looking at her sadly, and then whispered in his ear,
"I left a gift for you in your seat."
"A birthday gift? You already gave one to me, didn't y—"
"Maybe this gift will be something that can lead you down a new path."
Because Serena said those words more seriously than usual, Frey bewilderedly nodded his head in his confusion. Seeing that, Serena smiled and continued speaking.
"And, we need to catch that Secret Lord as soon as possible."
"Yes, of course."
"It seems like I need to go to the Western continent no matter what."
"The Western continent?"
Hearing those words, Frey frowned and said.
"If you're talking about the ruins, the Demon King…"
"No, I need to go there alone and in secret."
"…Why?"
"There is something I need to verify."
Saying that, Serena glanced at the clock. Then she turned her gaze back at Frey and whispered.
"Anyway, we have obtained a new hope… we absolutely cannot give up on it, Frey."
"…I see."
Frey hesitated, but ultimately he nodded in agreement to Serena's words. She smiled briefly before quickly exiting the room.
"Frey! What were you talking about with Serena?"
"You don't need to know."
Unlike how he was with Serena, Frey looked at Ferlochewith a faint gaze. Frey coldly answered her question and headed back to his seat.
"…Huh?"
Upon sitting down, Frey noticed a piece of paper lying on his seat, along with the cake that Clana had sliced. He picked up the paper and asked,
"What is this?"
"A riddle!"
"A riddle?"
Tilting his head, Frey observed the paper in his hand.
"It's Serena's gift for you."
With her arms crossed, Clana replied to his question. Hearing that, Frey picked up the paper and said
DLC
"So what is this?"
"Perhaps it represents a hope that can change everything?"
Behind Clana, who shrugged as she answered Frey's question, the morning sun was slowly rising.
.
.
.
.
.
At the same time
"Hoam…"
The Demon King lazily yawned as she gazed upon the rising morning sun. She was strolling down a bustling street packed with people.
– Whoosh…
In a split second, her armor and camouflage magic vanished.
It took less than a second.
The Demon King, who was poised to set the world on fire, had transformed into the small saint of the orphanage. As morning came, she started to walk along the street.
"Sister Ruby!"
"Sister Ruby!"
"Hello~!"
As if something good had happened, she was humming happily while walking on the streets. Soon after, a little girl and boy in ragged clothes from the vegetable shop greeted her. She returned their greeting with a smile.
"Is your business doing well?"
When she passed the children, she paused and asked a question to the girl.
"Yes! It is going well!"
The girl answered with a bright look on her face.
"Th-That…"
However, the skinny boy who had been coughing beside the girl, couldn't tell the same lie, as he looked at the flies hovering over the counter.
"Give me one carrot."
"Ah, Yes!"
Ruby glanced at that boy and asked for a carrot with a bright smile plastered on her face.
"It's 3 coppers!"
"Here, take it."
"…Huh!"
Soon after she received the carrot, Ruby gave one gold coin to the girl and said.
"Then, work hard!"
"Th-The change…!"
"You don't have the money to give me the change anyway. Just take it."
She then gently stroked the girl's hair, as the people around them looked on in admiration.
"Then, I'm going."
"Good-Goodbye…."
Ruby indifferently accepted such gazes. Bidding her farewell, Ruby started to walk down the street again, leaving behind the boy, whose face had now turned red.
"…Hooo."
Ruby abruptly stopped walking and looked up to the sky. Placing her hand in front of her eyes, she instinctively pushed aside something in her vision.
Her dynamic visual ability had been developed to match the speed of light, allowing her to instantly read all the information in front of her.Then, with a motion as natural as the flow of water, she pushed something aside again.
This behavior, that had formed out of habit, was now a part of the evil woman's physical skill.
– Thud!
After walking for a long time, Ruby arrived at a worn-out inn. She tossed the carrot into her sub-space and began knocking on the door.
"Oh my, Ruby! You came today as well?"
"Yes! I want to eat my breakfast here!"
"Oh my… you're so kind. But you really don't need to come here every day."
"No! Of course, I do it because I like it."
When Ruby said those words, the innkeeper's eyes reddened with gratitude.
"One bowl of leek potato soup and a wholemeal bread please!"
"…Right away."
Ruby cheerfully ordered her food. She then leaned back on her chair and closed her eyes for a moment.
"…So what was the penalty again?"
Soon after, Ruby muttered in a low voice, and an information window floated in front of her.
『Penalty: All of your stats will be drastically reduced for a month』
"Even so, I can still shred them all apart."
『It will take effect starting from now』
Indifferent to Ruby's uninterested reply, the System started to apply the punishment. With an inquisitive gaze, Ruby said.
"I clearly feel weakened. As expected, it really is novel."
Having said that, Ruby tapped the system window in front of her. Shortly after, she voiced absurdly,
"But… is that all you got? In the end, a loser like you can only interfere with me this much."
Ruby shoved the system window forward, and she continued to talk with a condescending gaze as the system window slowly approached her.
"I know you can hear me even in that state. So why don't you answer me? Huh?"
Ruby kept on knocking on the system window in front of her as she tried to talk to the system. Soon, with a displeased look, she yawned and muttered.
"What a petty fellow."
She looked around with a bored expression, but seeing the innkeeper bringing her food made her cry out with a smile.
"Thank you for the food!"
Ruby took a big spoonful of the soup, but her expression soon changed to one of confusion.
"…What's this?"
The potato soup was red.
By any chance, did the innkeeper make a mistake while preparing it?
"Excuse me, why is this soup re… heugh!"
As she pondered this, Ruby took another bite, but suddenly bent over as she experienced some unknown sensation completely foreign to her.
"Ru, Ruby? What happened?"
"Ah… Hhh… Ugh…. Heugh!"
Is this blood?
The thing that is continuously coming out of my mouth, is it really blood?
With her mind filled with such thoughts, Ruby felt pain in her body… it was something that she had never experienced before.
『Permanent debuff activated. (you need to follow your fate as a Pretender)』
『Your lifespan and life force have are sharply decreased permanently』
『Stack: 1』
"…What?"
In such an incomprehensible situation, Ruby tried hard to keep her consciousness from fading away. Looking at the system window floating in front of her eyes, she gritted her teeth and muttered
"Who… who the fuck… huh?"
She was soon covered in blood. She crazily looked around and caught a glimpse of a suspicious figure outside the window. She hurriedly used her Search Magic.
"Ruby!! Are you alright? Ruby!!"
"Quickly call a doctor! Quick!!"
"Is that a chronic disease? Ruby is usually healthy…"
"Mo-Move…"
At that moment, because the people who came to help her flocked together, she lost sight of that suspicious person.
"He-Heugh…."
In order to get a better look of that suspicious person, Ruby tried to push those people away. But she soon reached her limit and passed out.
"I don't know what suddenly happened but…"
From outside the window, Glare watched everything unfold.
"…This makes it clear."
She concluded her observation by adding some notes to her already packed journal..
"You are the Hero's enemy."
In front of Glare's eyes, there was a floating quest window with the phrase [Fallen Hero] etched on it.
You can read 505 episodes for $10. p.*atreon.com/Astrid02