「 I've done everything to make sure they're happy.」
「 My blood, my sweat, my tears—they don't mean a thing to me. All that matters is them.」
「 Seven tiny lives in that lonely house. My soul aches with the need to protect them.」
「 As long as I draw breath, I'll do anything, endure anything, to keep them safe.」
I recalled Rakon's words from the game as the carriage crossed the outskirts of Armana kingdom, and into the lushful pastures of the neighboring kingdom, Leohr.
Unlike Armana, where frost and gloom reigned endlessly, Leohr felt like stepping into a different world entirely.
Leohr was alive and vibrant in ways that Armana had never been.
But I wasn't here to admire the scenery.
I leaned back in the carriage seat, my hands tightening over the edges of my bag as Rakon's words echoed in my mind again.
He had been a man of conviction, though it had ultimately meant nothing in the game.
His death had been swift and unceremonious.
His sacrifices were drowned beneath layers of betrayal and bloodshed.
But now, those words weren't just fragments of a story anymore.
They were a reminder.
A reminder of what I couldn't afford to let happen.
Once I stepped into the Empire, the chances of everything falling into place like broken puzzle pieces merging together was endless.
My current plan was simple.
I have to survive.
And to survive, I needed the protagonist on my side.
The Hero.
In Genesis, the Hero was stuck in an infinite regression loop, which played with his sanity for endless timelines.
He wasn't the easiest person to befriend and he surely knew everything that happened in the Empire and all of its people, making it almost impossible for me to approach him.
He wasn't the kind of person who trusted easily, and that made him the hardest person to approach.
He knew each and everything that transpired in the Empire, and all of its people. It was almost impossible for me to approach him.
But.
Even then, "almost impossible" wasn't the same as "impossible."
Given that I have initialized as Rokan, the current timeline is aligned with the main story.
My chances of encountering him at the academy wouldn't be far too long.
Currently, Rakon wasn't affiliated with the Evil Order Circle.
That gave me a window to rewrite his destiny.
If I could align myself with the Hero, I might stand a chance.
Of course…that's only if…
"The game flowed like the story I knew…"
One thing about Genesis was that—it was unpredictable where it striked.
This was followed among the different modes the game had as well.
Every mode in Genesis was different from the others.
There were five different modes, and
Which brings me back to my point…
'If the
"Hah…"
I exhaled slowly, trying to calm my racing thoughts.
Let's think about it later.
Regardless of whether the new mode has tweaked any details, it didn't matter.
As long as the main story hadn't changed, I could adapt.
I turned my attention to the rolling pastures outside, hoping the scenery might settle my nerves.
It's been less than a day since I departed, but I was already feeling a little lonely.
The lively atmosphere in the orphanage had affected me. I'd only been with them for a week, but they'd grown on me.
I could understand now why Rakon had done everything for them.
Rakon was abandoned at the orphanage when he was still a newborn.
For him, Little Haven was everything.
Even though I now inhabited his body, it felt like his presence still lingered somewhere, quietly watching.
'I'll take good care of them.'
I thought, hoping he heard it.
Even if I couldn't be the Rakon they had known, I could at least honor his love for them.
Once the "Waves" started, it was going to get messy in Armana.
I'll have to sort things out on my side, and return as soon as possible.
If I was going to survive as Rakon, I'd have to make his life worthwhile.
That was the bare minimum I could do.