In My Second Life, I Rule from the Shadows-Chapter 117 : Suspicion

Chapter 117: Suspicion
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Yuria.
Yuria Euclid.
She received the surname Euclid when she became the adopted daughter of her teacher, the Gray Magic Tower Lord.
Yuria was the name she herself had chosen.
It did not mean she was an orphan.
It was not that kind of story.
Her name, the color and style of her hair, the pattern of her eyes, her features, her appearance, her height, her figure, the potential and talent she carried, even her birthplace and her future.
Just like her name, all of these were things Yuria had chosen for herself.
Creak.
Inside a room of the girls’ dormitory.
Yuria blocked out the surrounding sounds with magic and then let out a quiet voice.
"Status window."
It was a short starting word.
Something that was neither magic nor runes.
But at the same time, bluish windows shot up around her.
[Status Window]
Name: Yuria Euclid
Age: 20 years old
Title: Gray Lily
Talents: Mana Sensitivity (High), Mana Affinity (High), Mystic Eye (High)……
Inside it, very detailed information about the person called ‘Yuria Euclid’ was recorded.
"……."
Yuria’s gaze slowly shifted toward the title section.
「Gray Lily」
It was a title that appeared when one’s charm status went above a certain level.
Just a few months ago, another title had been alongside Gray Lily.
「Prodigy of Bayern」
The title of overall top student, 「Divine」, belonged to Nerian Hopenheim.
Though she was confident in theory, catching up to him in practice was difficult, so Yuria settled for being the top in theory.
After all, just the title of Prodigy was enough to gain the achievement rewards she wanted.
In high school division, she had successfully defended the position of top student.
If she could only maintain the top spot in the university division as well, she would earn the reward, but……
"Because of Carl, I failed."
How shocked she had been.
Years of effort had gone up in smoke in a single moment.
That was partly why she had treated Carl with such spite.
Though now she had apologized, and their relationship had become good.
Back then, however, she had been so furious that she could not sleep properly at night.
Tap.
Yuria raised her hand and lightly touched the air.
Records of notes she had taken until now surfaced, filling her view.
She moved her hand and gathered everything related to Carl in one place.
Biting her lips hard, she reviewed them one by one and finally let out a short breath as she reached a conclusion.
"……Yes, it was strange from the start."
Yuria furrowed her brows deeply.
From the very beginning, Carl had not existed in the ‘original work.’
"I should have considered the possibility of another player besides me."
Yuria Euclid.
No, Han Sehee.
She was a player who had possessed a character in the new game ‘Artenia Saga.’
Han Sehee, who enjoyed subculture genres, indulged in novels, comics, and games alike.
Hearing that a highly anticipated new game had been released, she immediately started playing Artenia Saga and completed the first playthrough in a month.
"This is fun."
Even for an RPG, the scale of the story was no joke.
The more playthroughs one did, the more choices there were, so for the second run, she prepared more carefully.
In the first playthrough, she had lived as a mercenary mage, so for the second, she wanted to walk the royal road and reach the peak.
That was why she chose the disciple route of the Gray Magic Tower Lord.
She picked the Gray Magic Tower, which had the highest potential, and created her character.
She prepared thoroughly for the strategy of the new route and the growth plan……
"And then possessed this body."
Yuria brushed her hair back with sharp eyes.
The kind of story she had only ever seen in novels or comics had happened to her.
No matter what, it had been impossible not to be flustered.
She had only been playing a game, and yet she ended up inside this body.
The fortunate part was that she had already cleared the first playthrough and had thoroughly prepared for the second.
But reality was different from the game.
Even after entering the Magic Tower, she had to endure many trials and errors before she could barely get on the track she had originally planned.
"……This is when the story began to differ from the original."
Tap.
Yuria’s index finger pointed at one part of the records.
「Entrance Exam」
In the original, Nerian would have died, caught in a terrorist attack during the entrance exam.
Yuria had wanted to save Nerian if possible.
Even in the original, though he was arrogant, he had been quite capable, and she had grown attached to him as a character.
Moreover, the Power of Ice he carried was also an important element in the story of Artenia Saga.
But in an unexpected way, the original story’s flow became twisted.
"A guy whose name couldn’t even be confirmed."
That meant he owned an artifact that hid his identity.
At the very least, it meant he was a powerhouse far beyond what she could dare to oppose at her current level.
"Was the second playthrough always a different story?"
That was what she thought at the time.
In the first playthrough, she had been active as a mercenary mage, so she had not experienced the academy side.
She had studied the academy storyline by looking at others’ playthroughs while preparing for the second.
But in none of the routes did that man in black appear.
……Or maybe, because it had turned into reality, things had changed.
In any case, she had saved Nerian, and that was enough.
After that, she had lived an ordinary academy life.
Honestly, it had been a little fun.
Yuria, Han Sehee, was awkward at human relationships.
Because of her blunt and straightforward nature, she had never had many friends in reality either.
Since Lacis was an important character, she had opened up to her early on, but to no one else had she dared to approach so easily.
Because she was a stranger, not a native of this world.
However, thanks to Carl, she had blended in with other cadets and had grown fairly close with them.
"Carlos Leipzig."
It was a name that had certainly never existed in the original.
Carlos, Carlos……
Yuria rolled the name around in her mouth.
She already knew well of Carius Leipzig and Darius Leipzig, who had graduated.
They were famous even in Bayern, and they had been active even well into the later stages.
But among them, the name Carl had never existed.
"……He said he almost died from a plague as a child."
But Carl did not die and survived intact.
No, more than surviving, he became someone who exerted considerable influence in Bayern.
He had even overturned her own achievements and twisted the flow of the academy storyline to some degree.
‘Still, that itself was not bad.’
Though she failed in achievements, she had received much help from Carl.
Even aside from academy life, he had helped her establish her personal secret technique, 「Four Seasons」, through magic study.
But.
"……Boundless Azure Sword Technique."
Yuria brushed her lips and muttered the name of the sword technique.
Though Artenia Saga claimed the form of a medieval fantasy, it contained multiple genres within.
Especially as the story moved into the mid and late stages, descendants of heroes appeared, and their secret arts began to be revealed one by one.
The martial arts of the Central Plains were one of them.
After all, one of the heroes had been a master from the Central Plains.
‘But not now.’
No matter how she thought about it, martial arts appearing at this timing was unnatural.
And teaching it to others?
Yuria narrowed her eyes.
‘It can only be explained as him knowing Lacis was an important character and trying to build affection with her.’
And it wasn’t only Lacis.
Nerian, Lewis, Maximilian, Gale, Pozers, Amy……
Not only classmates, but even prominent figures of Bayern.
All of them had at some point passed through Carl, establishing ties.
"Boundless Azure Sword Technique must be a hidden piece."
Carl must have known it in advance, obtained it, and used it to build favor with Lacis.
Not all routes of Artenia Saga had been discovered yet.
He must be following some route unknown to her, drawing a bigger picture.
"……As I thought."
Yuria once again reached a conclusion.
Carlos Leipzig was a player of Artenia Saga, just like her.
Clench.
She balled her fist tightly.
She did not know whether to feel glad about this or not.
The funny thing was, the two of them were already in the process of forming a close bond.
"Could it be."
Had he already noticed that she was a player and approached her on purpose?
After all, the name Yuria of the Gray Magic Tower had never existed in the original routes either.
‘I want to ask.’
Yuria was seized by the urge to spring up from her seat.
She wanted to dash out of the dormitory and meet Carl right away, to lay everything out honestly.
……But she was afraid.
If things turned out well, there could be no better ally.
They might become the only ones in this world who could share their secrets and clasp hands.
They would become companions striving to return to their original world.
Lacis? Amy?
No matter how much they meddled, they would never come between her and Carl.
Because between them, there was a far deeper secret.
But if it was the opposite?
‘If Carl tried to…… kill me?’
She already knew that Carl was hiding his true strength.
She had seen it with her own eyes, and had heard about it from Lacis as well.
And unless he was a fool, by now he must have realized that his strength was extraordinary.
……Though it seemed the other cadets in their class had not noticed yet.
‘The odds are fifty-fifty.’
Yuria bit her lips.
She too had powers she was hiding.
The problem was, Carl was the same.
‘If he gave away a martial art as strong as Boundless Azure Sword Technique to Lacis, it must mean he has mastered something even stronger.’
Plum-Blossom Sword Technique? Or perhaps something like Heavenly Demon Divine Art?
In any case, it was not a simple matter.
All the more so because she was a mage.
If such a situation arose, she would have to perfectly set the stage and plan everything in advance to prepare for the worst.
‘It might be needless worrying, but……’
The last novel she had read before coming into Artenia had been about possessed players who entered another world together, hunting each other down.
There was no guarantee that she and Carl would not become like that.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Yuria squirmed in her chair, overwhelmed by her increasingly tangled thoughts.
She was scared.
Of their relationship breaking.
Of Carl’s gaze toward her changing.
Thump.
She slumped down limply in her chair and looked at her status window.
"……First, let’s complete the Four Seasons."
A deep sigh escaped her.
Having lost the title of Prodigy of Bayern, she now had to take a different route to gain new achievements.
No matter which route, her top priority was completing the Four Seasons.
Without that, the direction of every route became meaningless.
"……."
Yuria’s gaze slid sideways.
From the very beginning of her possession until now.
And likely until this story came to an end, it would follow her as Artenia’s tag.
[To Calamity…… 1.7%]
Because only by completing the Four Seasons could she prevent the calamity that would one day engulf this world.
"……Carl must know too, right?"
If he was a player, he would know about ‘Calamity.’
Perhaps he was already preparing for it faster than she was.
"Sigh, I don’t know."
Yuria threw herself weakly onto her bed.
When her head was complicated, sleep was the best cure.