Heike, a target deemed impossible to conquer, had never willingly raised her favorability toward me.

So how?

“Hey.”

Come on, what’s this contradiction?

If she’s supposed to be unconquerable, why the hell is she giving me favorability?

[……]

The status window appeared before me, but no text was displayed.

Then, a memory of something I’d heard before flashed through my mind.

[I think you’re a great teammate… but that might just be my stubbornness wanting to get closer to you, not necessarily my true impression. Of course, even that desire to get closer might stem from some preference for you, or maybe it’s just my obsession with wanting to make a friend for once.]

Those were Heike Ainsidel’s words to me.

Back then, I thought to myself:

‘Whether her emotional detachment directly ties to not giving favorability, I don’t know, but if she’s the type who barely feels emotions, it could definitely have an effect. Some people are generous with favorability, others aren’t. So, doesn’t that mean there’s a chance it could rise? Though, that’s questionable in itself. Is it normal to track the favorability of an unconquerable target? If favorability can’t be raised, doesn’t that make them unconquerable? Or is it because there’s no ending that they’re unconquerable?’

Now I get it.

Heike’s favorability could rise of her own accord.

So, why should she be unconquerable?

First, this damn system isn’t omnipotent.

If she’s truly unconquerable, the system should’ve prevented her favorability from rising. So why didn’t it?

It can rewind time, it can boost others’ favorability by six points, so why?

‘Fuck. I can’t even ask Narce about this…’

Second, it gave me a warning but allowed me a high degree of freedom.

Then why not just slap a giant “villain” label on her?

Is it a lack of capability, or the result of granting me free will?

‘If I had to pick the rational option right now, it’s probably the system’s lack of capability.’

But more importantly, there’s something else I need to address.

“Wha—?!”

Narce, grabbed by the shoulders, let out a flustered laugh.

I dragged him to a secluded spot, cast a soundproofing spell, and muttered, “…What did you say to her? What’s this about?”

“I just said, ‘Lucas wants to get closer to you!’”

“That’s not all, is it…? Come on, what did you do to make her look like she’s at an amusement park for the first time?”

To others, Heike’s face might still seem stoic, but having spent the last month with her, we knew better.

That was a rare expression for Heike, whose eyes usually held no thoughts at all.

Even though it wasn’t a smile, just a blank face, there was this strange sense of anticipation in her eyes.

As I leaned closer, Narce backed away, waving his hands to block me.

“No, no, really~! I swear I only said one thing. I used a bit of Insight, you know? To figure out what would make Heike happiest. That way, we could have a smoother conversation~ Honestly, it’s not like we’re telling Heike pleasant stories.”

“…That’s the thing Heike likes most?”

“Yup. Well, I mean, out of things involving you.”

Oh, alright then. That’s a relief.

If her happiest goal in life was to get close to me above everything else, I’d be looking into exorcism rituals right now. But there’s no basis for that.

I let go of him and stepped back. Narce, as if to soothe me, explained, “It’s really just that she wants to be proper friends~ Like she said before, she’s always wanted to make a real friend. She has no intention of selling info or harming us.”

I stared at him, and he tilted his head, looking a bit drunk and playful.

“Your abilities seem to have grown a lot.”

“……”

Narce looked away silently, then, deciding it was fine to share, quietly answered, “They’ll shrink back on their own.”

“Shrink? Why?”

“If I want to keep living here, that’s what has to happen.”

Narce said something chilling and smiled.

I know it’s rude to pry when he doesn’t offer, but I have a ton of questions.

An asterisk on favorability means a trait is applied.

But what does an asterisk on a trait, like Foresight (Lv.2)*, mean?

Could it mean another trait is affecting Insight and Foresight?

I know he’s hiding a lot from me. There’s plenty to be suspicious about. But since he hasn’t told me, and he’s not harming me, I haven’t asked.

Yet today, he’s oddly kind to me.

“Narce. Are you drunk?”

“Nope~ I can’t drink till I’m wasted. Anyway… if you’ve got questions, ask now. It’s just a slight boost, but it might be more accurate than last time.”

“……”

The urge to ask about the status window surged.

Should I ask and rewind time?

‘…I’d have to tell Leo I rewound because I was bored.’

That’s a lame excuse.

And just in case, I should avoid asking Narce sensitive questions like this.

“Predict my future.”

“Nice! But Heike’s waiting. Wanna hear it later in my room?”

I nodded.

When we stepped outside, Heike, puzzled by our sudden disappearance, looked between us.

“Sorry! Lucas was just super shy—”

I covered his mouth with one hand, smiling as I explained, “It’s not like that. I just thought your reaction wasn’t like usual, Heike, so I wondered if Narce passed on something I said earlier. Turns out he did. Um… was it too much?”

“No.”

Heike answered in her robotic voice.

But her eyes were sparkling.

‘…Is she that desperate to make friends…?’

My conscience pricked at me.

The words I need to say to her aren’t exactly pleasant.

Narce pushed us toward the banquet hall’s upper floor.

“Come on, let’s go.”

The lounge for new guests was even larger and more elaborate than the room Elias used earlier.

For all the chaos Elias caused with his flamboyant personality, it didn’t seem like he secured much influence. Still, thanks to that, he avoided being purged and managed to turn everyone into Günter clones, which was a notable advantage. So, Elias probably accepted this level of unfairness.

‘Come to think of it, it’s about time for Elias to go independent.’

There’s no need for him to stay in the imperial palace, is there?

The emperor kept him there to monitor and control him, so in the novel, he left the palace as soon as he gained enough support.

Of course, unlike the novel, things have escalated before graduation, and he’s already entered the imperial family, so things might change.

Narce, surprised by the different vibe from the earlier room, was looking around like me.

“Hmm. The imperial family’s got a lot of money.”

“Yep.”

Heike replied curtly.

She was holding a glass of liquor like before, but thankfully, it didn’t seem enchanted with a refill spell.

After finishing her drink, she smacked her lips regretfully and set the glass on the table.

“Hey, guys. Is it okay for just us to be here? Shouldn’t we invite other friends?”

Heike spoke flatly, but the anticipation and flush on her face remained.

She clearly wanted to get closer to more friends.

Narce, who’d been silent, used Divine Power to speak to me privately.

—“My conscience hurts…”

—“Mine too.”

We’d already confirmed she genuinely wanted to get close to us, so today, we just needed to verify one thing.

But asking outright would feel like an interrogation, so I’d ease the mood first.

I shook the ice cream cup Adelbert gave me earlier.

“Where’d this ice cream come from? There’s no freezer here.”

“Remember the ice cream booth the administration department ran at the festival? The cooling mage who did that made it again.”

“Oh, got it. I’m surprised they got permission.”

“That first-year underclassman approved it~”

“Oh…”

Adelbert approved it, huh?

That’s kind of ridiculous. The first son’s over there scheming to scam Pleroma, while the second’s just thinking about eating ice cream.

Not that I have much reason to feel conflicted. They don’t have to be alike.

Over the past two weeks, digging through books and possibilities with Gregorio—Abraham—led me to conclude that the crown prince is no longer Adelbert’s family. To be precise…

“Nice.”

As I followed that thought, half-listening to Narce and Heike’s quiet conversation, an unexpected comment caught my ear.

Heike, now holding an empty glass again, stared at its bottom and muttered, “I wanted to be on the same team as you guys… but there was no sign of that happening. I never imagined the team size would increase.”

“Got it.”

“We’re thrilled to be on the same team as you, Heike~ Who knew an extra person would feel this reassuring?”

At Narce’s words, Heike, who’d only been blinking, belatedly realized she should smile and did so.

“It’s weird that my wish came true.”

“……”

She sure says a lot of cheesy stuff.

To say in front of us that being on our team was her wish? I could see Narce silently racking his brain.

I decided to steer toward the main question.

“You said making friends was a first for you, Heike.”

“Yeah.”

“Was it because you didn’t have the chance? I couldn’t make friends since I didn’t attend the Third Academy. I was wondering if your situation was similar.”

“……”

“Sorry if that was rude.”

“Me too.”

I waited, and she slowly continued, “I was always following my uncle around, so I didn’t have much time to get close to friends. And I’m not exactly sociable.”

She knows, huh…

Unlike me, Narce focused on her earlier words, leaning in.

“It didn’t seem like you and your uncle got along, but you followed him? That must’ve been tough. I get it, since I don’t get along with my family elders either.”

“The Farnese elders?”

“Yeah, exactly. Was there a reason you followed your uncle?”

It felt like a natural interrogation. As expected, Heike hesitated.

“Oh, was that too personal? This’ll be over by 6 a.m., so how about a board game at the dorm then?”

“Sounds good. You coming, Lucas?”

“Sorry, I’m too tired. I’ll sleep a bit.”

“Got it.”

Heike nodded as if to say, do what you want.

I chatted with them until the atmosphere relaxed.

But I couldn’t keep stalling.

‘I’ll ask once more… and if she doesn’t answer, I’ll use cognitive distortion magic.’

Then I’ll rewind time.

Other spells are one thing, but cognitive distortion magic is too much to use on a friend. I can’t leave any trace of it, no matter what.

Even if she won’t remember, making it as if it never happened is the least I can do.

I waited for a lull in the conversation and abruptly asked, “Heike. This might be sudden, but about your unique ability.”

Her blank expression subtly stiffened.

“Have you used it on people often?”

“……”

Heike just stared at the table.

As Narce and I shared the feeling of sitting on pins and needles, she nodded.

“…Often?”

“Yeah.”

“It didn’t seem like you enjoyed using it on people.”

“You’re right. So you don’t have to worry. Because of… that incident before, you might not trust me, but…”

I shook my head, giving my most innocent smile.

“No, that’s already settled. I trust you. But why do you have so much experience using it if you don’t like it?”

Prying like this feels overwhelming.

Heike, too, was rolling her eyes like she’d done something wrong.

After a long pause, she said in a small voice, “My uncle made money with my ability.”

“……”

I immediately understood why she didn’t want to be around her uncle.

It’s a similar case to Narce.

Narce gave me a look. It seemed true.

“Before doing any business, he’d take me along and make me touch the land and people. So when I was young, a lot of innocent people got hurt because of the ones tied to my uncle.”

“…You told him exactly what you read.”

At Narce’s concerned tone, Heike nodded.

“You said you didn’t get along. Once I realized my ability was causing problems, I stopped telling him everything I read. …He’s not an idiot, so he probably knew I was lying. He’s my uncle, but I won’t sugarcoat it. He’s not a good person.”

“……”

Lost in thought, Heike looked at me and said, “I’m sorry about last time. I guess I was influenced by my uncle. So… what I mean is… I won’t use my ability to get close to people anymore. No matter what, I don’t want to. Especially not on our team.”

She seemed to interpret my question as, “Are you going to use your ability on me this time?”

Anyway, I got a clear answer on this topic.

No need to resort to cognitive distortion magic to verify it.

Narce nodded at me, signaling Heike’s resolve was genuine.

Plenty of people say one thing and act in their own interest, but Heike, scarred by bad childhood memories, seemed to have no such intentions.

This is why dialogue matters.

Looking into her honest eyes, I said with concern, “Come to think of it, you used your ability a lot in this exam. It must’ve been tough, given you don’t have good memories of it.”

“It was okay since I only had to touch the ground. There was no one like my uncle, and it was during an exam.”

Heike gave a faint smile, fidgeting with her ear.

Several artifacts were pierced there.

“After the exam, my ability felt a bit looser, so I got these artifacts fitted. So don’t worry.”

“Oh, really.”

Narce looked at Heike with a sympathetic expression.

“I said earlier my family elders and I don’t get along, right? It’s actually for the same reason as you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. They always made me work to extract Divine Power… and they tend to do whatever suits their tastes.”

Heike didn’t respond, lost in thought, then slowly nodded.

“…It must be common in our society, regardless of country. I’m not the only one.”

“Yep, it’s common~ Defiance is common, kin-slaying is common, and using kids not even ten to fatten up the family is common.”

“……”

I gave a meaningless smile, listening to Narce.

Yeah, it’s common. Didn’t Marco Schreiber say New Humans usually only have one child? There’s a reason for that.

‘So many people with family issues.’

That’s unfortunate.

New Humans are more calculating than Old Humans. Even in the Old Human era, there were all sorts of wild political schemes and assassinations, but New Humans are, if anything, worse.

Old Human succession was mostly based on love, but New Human succession stems from a desire to gain power through Magic Power enhancement. Birth is solely about securing the highest quality Magic Power and optimizing ratios, with a drop of blood and a standard model stripped of most elements deemed inferior by New Human society.

That’s why Lucas only has Georg Askanian as a parent, and if you had to name a second, it’d be the one contributing the second-largest Magic Power share in Georg’s contract.

Raised on a different path from Old Humans, New Humans have different values. I hadn’t noticed much difference since I was mostly at a school for kids, focused on studying, but in New Human society, the older the age group, the stronger the every-man-for-himself vibe, and meaningful human emotions fade.

A society that sees humans as tools for achieving goals can’t function normally. Naturally, Heike couldn’t feel attached to a family that treated her as a tool.

Though, if we’re talking normality, could I really call the world I lived in fully normal?

Narce looked at Heike, sitting across from him, and said, “Still, most people don’t live like us. I guess we just got unlucky. It’s nice to meet someone like you, Heike, who’s in a similar situation.”

“Me too.”

“Ugh, the mood’s too heavy! We should talk about something fun. Heike, what do you want to do after graduation?”

Narce chuckled, playing it off.

Maybe it’s his experience confidently playing Mephisto, but he’s good at acting.

“I want to live with my mom.”

“Oh?”

“I don’t know if she’ll treat me like my uncle, but I’m curious.”

“Got it.”

Narce listened with a piercing expression, as if seeing through her.

‘Worth remembering.’

It’s not exactly a fun topic, asking what she wants to do after graduation.

As we all fell silent, Heike, who’d been quiet too, opened and closed her mouth before mustering the courage to speak.

“…This is kinda random, but, um, I should’ve said earlier. If it’s a mission or a situation where my ability’s needed, let me know. I’m part of the team now.”

“Not ‘you guys.’ Us.”

At my words, Heike nodded.

“Right.”

Her excited smile made me smile back.

Narce clapped and pulled out his wand.

“Alright~ One last thing, Heike!”

“Eh?”

—“In Him who gives me strength, I can do all things.”

In that moment, Heike clutched her chest, eyes wide.

I didn’t cast it.

I’d only shared the improved formula with Narce.

Narce laughed and apologized, “Sorry.”

“Huh? What?”

Heike whipped her head between me and Narce, as if checking who’d explain.

Though he cast it casually, Narce, perhaps not entirely guilt-free, let his eyes wander before smiling.

“I… tend to cast this spell on all my new friends.”

“……”

What a way to spin it.

Heike, with some common sense, raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Why?”

“It’s my way of marking my friends. Honestly, I’m only satisfied when all my friends are tied to me~”

“You’re really weird.”

“……”

Heike replied in her usual flat tone.

Who’s the weird one here? I’ve never seen someone react so calmly to this.

“Then I’m not the only one you cast it on. You did it to all our teammates?”

“Huh? Gotta collect them all. I already cast it on Lucas right next to you.”

When?

But the effect was clear.

Heike’s eyes suddenly lit up.

She really sees it as a badge of close friendship.

‘I can *never* tell her the spell’s called Subjugation.’

I also can’t say I only cast it on people with something off about them, except for Leo, who was a special case.

“Oh, and it’s a secret. Don’t tell the other friends!”

At that, Heike asked in a more forceful voice, “Why? I’ll convince Kleist. You said you need to collect them.”

“No, no, no! It’s only fun if I collect them myself~”

“You’re really weird.”

I’ll say it again, she’s the weird one.

The vibe felt like we were all going crazy, so I was about to change the topic to regain some sanity when a surge of Divine Power hit from behind.

—Se il Signore non custodisce la città, invano veglia chi la custodisce.

“…!”

Heike passed out instantly.

I jumped up and caught her.

‘Unless Yahweh keeps the city, the watchman’s wakefulness is in vain.’

That’s the spell she used.

‘Italian…’

I let out a hollow laugh. Casting it in her native tongue so I wouldn’t understand.

Narce, smiling as usual, supported Heike’s back.

“Oh, really sorry… But there’s no sense of a connection being cut~ You felt it too, right, Lucas?”

“Yeah.”

There’s no link between Heike and anyone else.

If there was, her Magic Power would’ve moved differently when she lost consciousness.

“It’s clean. But she must’ve unconsciously picked up some info. That’s why she got the artifacts.”

“Did she touch our stuff?”

“Hmm, probably read something without realizing. With the Subjugation spell on, we’d know instantly if someone attacked her… Anyway, this should be fine.”

Narce smiled at me.

“No regrets, no matter the outcome. Let’s do our best.”

“……”

I stared into his yellow eyes and nodded.

“Yeah.”

The air felt like something was about to explode, so I forced a playful grin and changed the topic.

“Oh, almost forgot. How’s my future? Since you’re using your ability, do it for me too.”

“Sure…”

Narce, looking down at me, trailed off.

As the silence grew unsettling, he smiled and said, “We’ll do our best with that too.”

* * *

Heike thought she’d passed out from drinking too much.

As we descended the stairs, she muttered in a sullen voice, “Should I quit drinking?”

‘Don’t people usually stop on their own after something like that?’

“Drink more~”

Narce, despite being a cleric, laughed like he didn’t care if people drank themselves silly.

By the way…

I cast a soundproofing spell and pressed Narce for the answer I hadn’t heard earlier.

“Narce. What the hell was that about?”

“Later, seriously, come to my room and we’ll talk. It’s gonna be a long one. It’s not just about you…”

Narce gave an awkward smile, caught between laughing and discomfort.

I know Level 2 is still a flawed ability, but hearing such an ominous prophecy from a boosted ability?

‘Ugh… I shouldn’t have asked about my future.’

No.

I need to know to stay sharp.

“But we’ve had some breathing room lately, right? Right?!”

“That’s how it’s supposed to be, isn’t it?”

“…Yeah…”

Narce laughed sheepishly.

Just then, Ulrike, who’d been waiting, came running over.

“Guys!”

She looked oddly cheerful.

Before I could ask what happened, she shoved a crumpled piece of paper at us.

[Year 1, Team 1 – Grade 9 Berserker Handling]

[Year 1, Team 2 – Grade 9 Berserker Handling]

[Year 1, Team 3 – Grade 9 Berserker Handling]

[Year 2, Team 1 (Eszett) – Pentalon Main Stadium Checkpoint]

[Year 2, Team 2 – Grade 9 Berserker Handling]

[Year 2, Team 3 – Grade 9 Berserker Handling]

[Year 3, Team 1 – Grade 9 Berserker Handling]

[Year 3, Team 2 – Grade 9 Berserker Handling]

[Year 3, Team 3 – Grade 9 Berserker Handling]

“We’re the only ones doing *that*!”

* * *

At the same time, in Lower Saxony.

On the third floor of a house in Lower Saxony, in a space practically a darkroom, someone ran their hand over countless photos and pushpins on the wall. Their gaze shifted to a map of Berlin.

The mage stood still for a while before moving a red string from one pushpin to another.

He began humming a song in Low German.

“Knock on my door and turn the handle… Father thinks, it’s just the wind. Mother thinks, it’s just the wind. Father…”

Beep—

The mage tapped an artifact by his ear.

A voice came through immediately.

[Schedule’s out.]

“…thinks, it’s just the wind. Mother thinks, it’s just the wind.”

[You sing that cheerful song like a damn criminal. It’s uncanny.]

“The schedule.”

[Pentalon Main Stadium Checkpoint.]

“Hahahahaha!”

The mage scribbled something on the paper and stabbed a pushpin through it.

“The first mission’s *this*? They must want to parade us as the empire’s poster boys.”

[Don’t kid yourself. Every mage would kill for a high-profile first mission like this. Especially since it’s basically a month of slacking off.]

“Nice. Starting tomorrow?”

[Tomorrow. Now… Oh!]

The other person, about to hang up, shouted urgently.

[You hearing me?]

“What.”

[Don’t bring that Askanian photo. You’re done if you do.]

“……”

The mage, silently staring at the photos and map on the wall, shrugged.

“Fine.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep