I know the Protagonist was destined to intervene with the most unexpected and threatening scenarios in the world.
Afterall he was the main protagonist of this world ant to save it from its dood end.
Every encounter every situation was designed by fate itself to help him grow and get stronger.
But....
That was only for scenarios that affected his main scenarios at a certain point.
"What did you do?"
Lucas, in all his white knightly glory, was glaring at with such intensity that it was almost laughable.
Granted, we weren't exactly on the best terms, but did he really jump straight to the conclusion that I had sohow wronged Janica?
Sure, the scene might have looked questionable, but was I really that villainous in his eyes?
Smack!
"O-Ow! Janica?" Lucas's face twisted in shock as Janica's hand, glowing faintly with mana, made direct contact with the back of his head.
"What the hell are you doing, glaring at Riley like that?" she scolded, her tone sharp. "But he "
"Don't just jump to weird conclusions without knowing the situation!" She sighed, shaking her head in exasperation. "This is why you..."
Watching Janica lay into him was oddly satisfying.
For soone so taken with knightly valor, Lucas looked completely out of his depth when it ca to dealing with Janica.
Though, to be fair, she had probably infused a bit too much mana into that slap.
Lucas might be strong, but the slight tear forming in his right eye suggested it hurt a lot more than he was letting on.
After her quiet but firm scolding, Janica turned back to , her expression softening. "I'm sorry about that, Riley. Lucas can be... a bit impulsive sotis."
I shrugged, half-amused by the whole thing. "It's fine. I get it. He's just looking out for you, I guess."
Lucas, rubbing the back of his head with a sour look, muttered sothing under his breath, clearly still stinging from both the slap and Janica's reprimand.
Despite the theatrics, I could sense his frustration subsiding, if only slightly. He finally glanced away, seeming a little embarrassed for overreacting.
Janica shifted uncomfortably, still avoiding my gaze a little. "Anyway... I'll get out of your way. Thanks for... um, helping with the books," she murmured, clearly trying to distance herself from the awkwardness.
I shrugged casually. "It's fine... But here's a bit of advice: instead of relying on those books, maybe try being a bit more direct with him. Sotis being a little more... assertive can get the ssage across."
Janica's face turned an even deeper shade of red. "W-What are you talking about?" she stamred, her flustered expression betraying that she'd halfway understood what I was hinting at.
"Who knows..."
Honestly, with how openly she acts around Lucas-despite her best tsundere attempts-it should be obvious to him.
But I guess Lucas fits the dense protagonist trope for a reason.
I wanted to cheer her on a bit more, maybe give her more advice on breaking through that dense wall of his, but for now, this little push would have to be enough.
"L-Let's go now, Lucas..." Janica muttered hurriedly, reaching for his arm and clearly eager to make an exit from the increasingly embarrassing situation. But before they could take off, Lucas, with a surprising steadiness, held her back.
"Wait," he said, looking at with a new expression-serious, but without the hostility he'd shown monts before. "Riley... do you happen to have a younger sibling attending the academy this year?"
"Yes,"
"I... I see..." Lucas's eyes widened slightly with surprise, and a look of uncertainty crossed his face.
For a mont, he seed to be working through sothing in his mind, the sharp edges of his earlier distrust lting into an odd mix of hesitation and intrigue.
Did sothing happen between Lucas and Reina beyond the typical rumors?
Even last ti back on our little tour with the other freshn main heroines; she'd acted
oddly when the girls drifted the conversation towards him.
Don't tell ... did this guy actually charm her? Or, knowing Lucas, maybe it's the other way around?
No, that couldn't be it.
This was Lucas, after all-the densest black hole protagonist who sohow managed to overlook the feelings of his childhood friend despite their closeness all these years.
There's no way...
"Why are you suddenly asking him that, Luca—"
Janica's words were abruptly cut off as an imnse, suffocating presence of mana descended on us, filling the library like a crushing wave.
It wasn't just aid at us-it spread to everyone in the vicinity.
Instantly, the atmosphere shifted as alarms echoed through the building, and panicked voices erupted in the once-quiet aisles.
The sheer density of it... I knew exactly where this was coming from, and more importantly, whose mana it was.
Damn it! I'd gotten so caught up with these two that I'd montarily forgotten why I was
even here in the first place.
The bishop dungeon... don't tell it's starting to break now!?
My gaze snapped around as I tried to pinpoint where the oppressive mana was coming from,
and without a second thought, my body moved on instinct.
I navigated through the towering shelves and intricate corridors of the vast library, disregarding the clear signs prohibiting mana use inside.
The gravity of the situation overshadowed any thought of academy rules, derits, or consequences.
Finally reaching the source, I stopped, and my eyes widened at the unexpected sight.
"Rose?"
She stood there, a faint, proud smile lighting up her face as she faced a gigantic circular
portal, stark white and rippling with energy.
When she noticed , her expression softened just a little.
"I found what you were looking for,"
"Huh...?"
Rose extended a hand, gesturing toward the portal behind her.
"This dungeon was the thing you were after, right?" she asked, tilting her head slightly with a
knowing look.
As the initial panic settled, I finally noticed the intense golden aura surrounding her.
Mana radiated off her in waves, creating a soft glow that wrapped around her form.
Her hands were crackling with golden energy, and along her fingers, delicate yet potent runes appeared to be disintegrating, scattering into the air like specks of dust.
"It took a bit of ti," she admitted, flexing her fingers slightly, "but I finally managed to break the runes and sigils hiding this thing."
I blinked, barely suppressing my surprise.
This girl... did she just casually undone the protective camouflage spell-one placed by none
other than the White Queen herself?
"I want to ask you a few questions but.... We should probably clear this dungeon quickly, Riley..." she said, her tone growing serious as she eyed the portal. "It's about to break."
.....
In a surreal, otherworldly realm bathed entirely in white, the White Queen sat regally on her throne, dressed head-to-toe in pure, unblemished white.
Her face, as still and impassive as marble, betrayed nothing as she sipped delicately from a white porcelain cup, savoring the quiet and the peace that enveloped her world like a pristine
veil.
This rare tranquility filled the very air, a mont of serenity that seldom visited her domain. But as her pale eyes flickered, widening just slightly, the fleeting peace shattered. Her gaze returned to its usual, cool detachnt before the tea cup even left her hand.
With a snap of her fingers, a figure appeared at her side in a flash of white light, bowing
deeply on one knee.
Clad in armor that glinted like polished snow, he waited, reverent and vigilant.
"My Liege..." "Lancelot," she said, her voice as composed as the still air around them, "one of my spells has
just been destroyed."
Lancelot's face tightened in shock. "D-Destroyed?" he stamred, his disbelief palpable.
He had served his queen for centuries, witnessing her unparalleled magic.
To imagine anyone capable of dismantling her spell was inconceivable. "Is it the Red Queen?"
A faint shadow of curiosity flickered in her gaze, though her expression remained composed.
"No... it is soone else," she replied, her voice laced with an unmistakable undertone of intrigue.
Despite his long service, Lancelot had rarely glimpsed any hint of his queen's inner thoughts
or feelings.
Yet now, in the stillness of her expression, he sensed it-a deep, unmistakable fascination.
With a silent command, she traced a few cryptic lines in the air, and as her finger finished the
last stroke, a portal appeared behind Lancelot, glowing with an unearthly light. "Lancelot. bring the one who dared unravel my spell."
He straightened, determination igniting in his eyes. "As you wish, Your Majesty!" Without hesitation, he stepped toward the portal, disappearing into its depths, his singular
mission clear.
As the portal she created faded, sealing the path into her realm, the serene quiet of the White Queen's world returned.
The immaculate whiteness surrounded her once again, the flawless silence restored-but her gaze drifted to the one imperfection, the sole dark anomaly that marred her world.
A formless being cloaked in pure darkness lood there, defying shape yet possessing it, both silent and sohow eternally vigilant.
It was an anomaly, sothing that simply did not belong within her unblemished domain. And yet, there it remained, like a stain that could never be erased.
Despite her reluctance from interacting with it, she had no choice but to address the obvious...
"When are you leaving?"
The creature's eyes, draconic and ancient, shifted toward her, glowing with a predatory
intensity that seed to swallow light itself.
It held her gaze, but offered no answer.
||
||
The silence that followed was deeper than any she had known, pressing against her in a way
that the tranquil stillness of her world never did.
For the first ti in her endless, fantastical life, the White Queen felt sothing foreign-a
bone-deep weariness, an exhaustion that pressed against her very essence.
'Children....'
The fragnted image of a child resurfaced on her mind as she recalled the similar
exhaustion she felt with the darkness intruding on her world. Her eyes in deep wonder trying to rember the child's face.
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