章節 5: Chapter 4: A Brand New Route

I immediately noticed something was off the second I opened my eyes.

Another dream?

Just like last time, I was looking down at my good old body, my previous incarnation—uh, that was how you were supposed to refer to your previous body, right?

My vision was all blurry, and I had a hard time moving. It felt like I was deep inside a pool.

I'd already spent twelve years as the shitty saint. Soon, I wouldn't be able to tell which was my real body anymore. Then again, maybe my life as Niito had always been a dream, and I'd been Ellize from the very start?

It didn't really matter. It's not like I had any way of knowing for sure, and there were more pressing things to worry about. Now that I was inside the same dream again, there were things I just had to check.

I needed to know what people were saying about Ellize online. I hadn't been able to read her whole wiki page last time.

All righties, time to get the old me moving!

I turned on my computer and typed "Kuon no Sanka" in the search bar. For some reason, only websites selling doujinshi popped up.

Oh jeez!

Because of the autocomplete, what I'd actually looked up was "Kuon no Sanka doujinshi tentacles."

Uh oh! The search engine just snitched on me, didn't it? Now everyone's gonna know what kind of porn I usually look for!

Well, now that the secret's out, lemme tell you about my favorite thing to read—it's Eterna having a little "fun" with tentacles. There's just something about prim and proper girls getting...you know...by tentacles. Especially if they have a holy or sacred air about them. Right?! Tentacles can just drag those kinda ladies down and sully 'em in a way humans couldn't even dream of. It just does it for me.

Since I'd looked it up anyway... I figured I might as well have a little fun. While my little Niito sadly hadn't followed me when I'd reincarnated, it was back in the dream. I figured shaking hands with the one-eyed milkman for a while wouldn't be a bad idea.

I opened my favorite website and was greeted by...

"Lady Ellize vs. Tentacles"

Huh?!

"Ellize: Tentacle Overdose."

Huuuh?

"That Time I Got Reincarnated as Tentacles and Had a Little Fun with Ellize."

HUUUH???!!!

An all-too-familiar golden-haired beauty was plastered on every cover, scantily clad and surrounded by tentacles.

What the... You know what? I'll just pretend this never happened.

I'd just seen something I never should have. I was so turned off that I immediately closed the tab.

Nope! I didn't see anything! I don't know anything about this! Got it, brain?

I'd made a little detour along the way, but now I was ready to check out Ellize's wiki page. When I opened the home page, though, the headline of an article immediately caught my eye instead.

"Four hidden routes discovered four years after the launch of the game!" the article declared, featuring an artwork of Ellize under it. However, she didn't look like her original self at all. It was Ellize 2.0, the one I was inside who'd stopped growing at fourteen years old.

What the heck is that? I thought as I clicked on the article.

I was met with the video of a player speedrunning Kuon no Sanka, titled "[LIVE]Kuon no Sanka RTA Let's Play Ep.2 [Comments welcome]." It had an insane number of views.

While it had "LIVE" in the title, the video itself had been uploaded a little over ten hours ago. I assumed someone had recorded a live stream and uploaded it after.

There're always some idiots that reupload live streams without permission, huh? Anyway, let's check it out.

It was a pretty typical RTA Let's Play.

As I'd mentioned before, the quickest way to clear this game was to pick independent training every single time and never even try to talk to any of the cast. If you did that, you'd only have to go through the compulsory events and fights...which you'd easily plow through thanks to all that training.

As expected, the player in the video had poor Verner train endlessly without letting him enjoy the company of the heroines. Most of the comments were talking about Verner turning into a mountain of muscle or laughing about the heroines' incredibly low affection level.

At the end of the seventeenth day, though, something completely unpredictable happened. Someone started knocking on Verner's door, and an event was triggered.

"What? Did I mess up? When, though?! Guys, did I fail somewhere? That's so weird! I was positive none of the girls cared about me in this run. Why would anyone come knock on my door? Aaargh, I'm gonna have to redo everything from the start, ain't I?" the streamer sighed.

The viewers were just as confused as him.

You failed?

What the heck?

Hang on, I've never seen this event before...

In the game, Verner finally opened the door. Ellize, a non-dateable character, greeted him.

"GUUUUUUUUYS?! WHAT? HOW?!Are you for reaaaaal?! Why's Ellize here?! What's going on?" the streamer started screaming while the viewers spammed question marks in the comments.

While everyone was busy losing their mind, Ellize and Verner had a little talk on the screen. She was worried about him and urged him to try to make some friends instead of working out alone all the time. Then the topic switched to Verner's pendant, and the streamer got to make a choice. He had the main character tell her, "It's very precious to me. It's the symbol of my resolve, in a way."

A bell rang, and a chibi version of Ellize's face suddenly appeared in the lower right corner along with a little +1. This animation meant that the character you were talking to had started liking you a bit more, but...it only ever appeared for dateable girls.

"AM I DREAMING?! Ellize's affection went uuuuup!!! Is this some kinda bug?! Since when was there an Ellize route?! I've never heard about this, what the heck?!"

The streamer seemed to have completely forgotten about his initial goal of speedrunning the game, and the comments flooding the screen were just as wild.

For reaaaaaal?! lmao

That's a mod, right?

What?! Seriously?????

The fuck?! It's my first time seeing Lady Ellize's affection go up!

So she was dateable after all...

Dang, the start of her route is so obscure! lol

I paused the video and opened Ellize's page. It had changed a little compared to the last time I'd seen it. Before, her profile had started with "A non-dateable character of the game Kuon no Sanka." However, now they'd changed it to "A character who was thought to be non-dateable until a speedrunner discovered her route four years after the game's launch."

The rest didn't seem to have changed much, so I quickly scrolled down to the part I hadn't been able to read last time.

Game events:

・In Ellize's route:

A mysterious route discovered four years after the game came out.

Conditions to start the route:

Complete the CG collection.

Start a new save.

On your first run, keep the item "Pendant of Memories" on you until the seventeenth day.

After you enter the academy, fill every free time slot with "independent training" until the end of the seventeenth day. (The other heroines' affection level must be at base value.)

If all the conditions are complete, there is a low chance Ellize will visit you on the night of the seventeenth day. She will tell you how worried she is that you haven't made any friends and you will get the chance to increase her affection level. (Unless you clear this event, Ellize will not become a dateable character and her affection level will not appear on the screen.)

The probability Ellize will visit you on the seventeenth day is around 0.3% according to the latest data.

According to some players, prioritizing muscle-building will increase the chance of Ellize visiting you, but this information has yet to be verified.

To ensure you can start the route, save before the last training session of the seventeenth day and reload as many times as needed.

This route has been discovered recently, so most events remain unknown. This guide will be updated in due time. (Please reach out if you have any information to share.)

What...the...hell?!

Did this whole thing about going to Verner's room start because I'd gone there earlier?!

Ellize's affection... I mean, I had thought it was sweet of him to have kept the pendant I'd given him, but...that didn't mean I was gonna date him!

No chance in hell!

I had no idea why everyone had suddenly conveniently forgotten that they were supposed to hate Ellize, the huge piece of shit! Anyway, this new version of Ellize was me—the shell of a saint with a dude inside!

Though I guess even the shell's a fake to begin with. There's nothing to save here. Why're you all so ready to jump on the "date Ellize" bandwagon? I need an explanation.

Well, it was too bad for them. As long as I was the one in control, there was absolutely no chance of Verner and I becoming an item.

It's just not happening. You can all give up, guys. Argh, just thinking about it gives me the chills.

Who'd want to unlock that hellish CG? Granted, I do like gender-bender stories—especially when the protagonist ends up becoming a total slut, but... Yeah, no. I'm so not going down that path myself.

Oops, my vision's becoming blurry again. Time to say bye-bye to my dream.

And so, I woke up as Ellize again.

Brrr! Now that was an awful dream. Why do I have to be a waifu? What a joke!

I got up and stretched a little. As expected, the world I was currently in felt much more real than the other one. I couldn't help but feel like I was actually alive here. On the other side, I always felt so light—like I was a ghost or something.

That being said, I wasn't over the whole becoming-a-dateable-character fiasco yet.

That's a big no-no. I'm never gonna let that happen!

Now, now. I didn't have the time to wallow in self-pity. I had some serious thinking to do.

I had succeeded in guiding Verner in the right direction. At the very least, he wouldn't end up with the gym rat ending.

And he did say he'd use "his life and soul" to "protect what's truly important." He'd totally meant Eterna, right?! Not that there were many possibilities to consider. He hadn't even talked to any of the other girls yet, so it had to be her. He'd even mentioned shielding the saint. I bet somehow, he must've had an inkling Eterna was the real deal all along!

Ha ha! The tender affections of a young heart! How nice. You go, Verner!

Hey, wait a sec... He couldn't have been talking about...me, right?

Nah, there's no way.

If he had been talking about me, he wouldn't have put it in such a roundabout way, riiight? He would've just said, "strong enough to shield you." Right?!

Verner's romantic interest in Eterna was all fine and dandy, but I hadn't accomplished my initial goal at all.

Since that musclehead hadn't even done anything yet, I had no way of gauging when Farah was going to attack Eterna. The story was stuck at the very beginning, which meant I couldn't predict when each event would be triggered.

It wasn't my fault for failing to predict that, right? How was I supposed to guess Verner would pull something like that?

Seriously, who the hell jumps head-first into the solo ending? Did a speedrun streamer take over his body or what? Alas! What a mess!

My biggest issue right now really was that I couldn't stay at the academy full-time. It was the main stage, and I was forced to stay backstage. I wouldn't even know when the events would finally start happening. The thing was, that knowledge was absolutely crucial if I were to give Eterna the happy ending she deserved.

On top of that, there were plenty of beauties—just like Farah—that were certain to die if nothing was done. It'd be such a pity. Seriously, Kuon no Sanka was way too brutal for a dating sim.

What do I do...? Argh! Damn it! There's no point in overthinking it, is there?

If I had no way of knowing when the events would get triggered without being a student of the academy, there was only one thing left for me to do—I'd enroll in the academy; simple as that.

If I was there, I'd have a much easier time stopping Farah's assassination attempt.

I did say it was unheard of for the mighty saint to study in the very place that was responsible for nurturing her guard...but then again, Eterna, the true saint, was already enrolled in the academy. That was already unheard of. One little extra unprecedented event wouldn't make such a big difference, now, would it?

Besides, I'd already become quite influential. I'd coax anyone who opposed my decision with sweet flattery or pull out the big guns if it came down to it.

And didn't Ellize do much worse in the original story? She'd had the whole academy under her thumb, so she'd done whatever she'd wanted to the students. About half of the issues that occurred while the characters were at school were her doing!

What should my excuse be, though?

I could say I longed for a normal school life; that'd make sense considering my current age. Or I could try to convince everyone that the academy was the safest place for me since the students were all technically guards in training.

Whatever! I'm sure some random bullshit will do.

Now that I'd made up my mind, I just needed to—

Hmm? Someone's knocking? Who's bothering me? I was finally getting to the good part!

"Please come in," I said nonetheless.

One of the beauties who served in my guard opened the door. "Please excuse me, Lady Ellize. May I have a bit of your precious time?"

She was a tall woman, around twenty years old, and her jet-black hair was tied in a high ponytail. She had graduated from the academy last year at the top of her class and had naturally been chosen to join my elite guard.

Image her:

Layla Scott, who wore her uniform complete with an insignia that marked her rank with grace, was actually another dateable heroine. She was a noble, and unlike Verner or me, was allowed to carry her family's name.

Verner, Eterna, and I weren't nobles and, as such, we didn't have family names. There were only a few other characters who, like Layla, hailed from such houses and carried their names.

In the original story, she'd also served in the saint's guard, but begrudgingly so. She'd held a strong resentment against Ellize for flaunting her authority and acting like a tyrant. Her dissatisfaction for having to use her hard-earned title for someone so messed up and trashy eventually came to a head, and there was an event where she betrayed Ellize and joined Verner's side. She had plenty of evidence of Ellize's evil deeds and publicized them, leading to the fake's downfall.

In other words, Layla would eventually betray me and be responsible for my downfall. I didn't act like the original Ellize, so I wasn't sure she hated me as much, but I was just as guilty as the original goods when it came to deceiving everyone and pretending to be the saint.

Even if I had done some good, once my treachery finally came to light, I'd be cast away or killed—not that I had any complaints about that.

It all went to show how important the saint was in this world. The sin of impersonating her was already a really heavy crime.

Well, I didn't really care either way. My goal hadn't changed; I'd give Eterna her rightful place back no matter the cost. I wouldn't mind if Layla ended up betraying me or whatever...just not yet.

"It's not worthy of your concern, but I would like to inform you that a professor of the academy, Farah Dremy, has taken several students hostage. She is confining herself and them in the academy's basement at this very moment."

The hell?! Was there an event like that?!

I had cleared every single route. How come I'd never heard about this event?

What are you doing, Farah?! You're supposed to stay put until you try to kill Eterna, not play some rogue wanna-be crime lord!

"Do you know who these students are?" I asked.

"Yes. Four of them are first-year students—Verner, Eterna, Fiora, and John. The other three—Abun, Chof, and Ekkstraz—are second-year students."

All total background characters besides Verner and Eterna. Doesn't look like there are any dateable girls with them.

I couldn't say I gave a rat's ass about the other random characters, but Verner and Eterna being trapped there was bad news.

Isn't Farah doing a muuuuch better job this time? Although this raises the question: why hasn't she killed them all yet and called it a day?

"I'm sure they will soon be rescued, so you need not worry, Lady Ellize."

Layla! What do you mean, "I need not worry"?! I don't even know what she wants yet!

"What are her demands?" I asked.

If Farah had gone through the trouble of taking hostages, she must've had some sort of demands. That was obviously the most important factor, so I wasn't sure why Layla hadn't started with that.

Nah, I actually knew exactly why—she'd always been like that, which had prompted her fans to affectionately nickname her Layla Scotterbrain.

How did that clumsy girl manage to graduate at the top of her grade?

"I... I do not believe you need to trouble yourself with that, Lady Ellize."

Come on, out with it! I'll decide for myself if I care or not, so spill the beans already!

"The thing is... Farah Dremy has asked that...you enter the basement alone. She said you could not bring any guards with you..."

So that's why you wouldn't say it, huh? How am I so lucky? The event kindly invited me to join all by itself! Yaaaay!!! Well, without further ado, then—LAYLA, DON'T STOP ME! I'LL DO WHATEVER I PLEASE!