334. Childhood Friends Ep – Reversal

[ Thank you for playing Lena’s nurturing game. You’ve achieved all scenario true endings! ]

[ Lady Leriana de Monarch ]

[ Final Job: Duke of Monarch ]

[ Marriage Partner: Santian Rauno ]

[ Lean de Yeriel ]

[ Final Job: Count Peter ]

[ Marriage Partner: Ksenia Peter ]

[ Beggar Siblings Ending: Independence ]

[ True Ending ]

– Born in Rutina Castle, Leriana struggled to reclaim the throne… (omit) …However, she failed to achieve her goals due to bloody clashes with Baron Reb Bijan of the Holy Kingdom of Grania. Leriana involved Marquis Arne in power battles, but Baron Bijan garnered support from Duke Tertan’s House and the House of Marquis Gaidan of Orun Kingdom. Despite dozens of assassination and poisoning attempts, for some reason, it always ended in failure. Not only Baron Bijan but even his wife did not fall. Ultimately, Leriana retired from politics after ascending to the dukedom and passed it on to her eldest son. She spent most of her time at Count Peter’s domain, where her brother resided, before living her life to the age of ninety-two. –

– Born in Rutina Castle, Lean took on a role as a son-in-law to the Count Peter family, living what seemed to be a peaceful life. He supported his wife, Ksenia Peter, inheriting the title while frequently visiting the Aisel Kingdom, Conrad Kingdom, and Orun Kingdom, maintaining a busy lifestyle. He formed a deep friendship with Marquis Tatian of the Belita Kingdom, a great noble. Lean lived a long life during a time when the Asran Kingdom was explosively growing and stirring fear among the nations, known as the ‘Northern Imperial Period.’ Future historians would evaluate Lean de Yeriel as a significant figure influencing the competition between central/southern nations against the North. As he had no children, the title of Count Peter was passed down to Leriana’s second son. –

[ The Childhood Friends scenario ending has been changed. ]

[ Leah Bijan ]

[ Final Job: Baroness Bijan ]

[ Marriage Partner: Reb ]

[ Reb Bijan ]

[ Final Job: Baron Bijan, Holy Knight and Commander of the Cross Church ]

[ Marriage Partner: Leah ]

[ Childhood Friends Ending: Reverse Mourning ]

[ True Ending ]

+ Born in the village of Demos, Leah enjoyed a happy childhood… (omit) …afterward, she was offered the position of High Priest of the Grania Church by Cardinal Berg. However, Leah declined this offer and chose a life as a noblewoman, marrying Reb instead. Cardinal Berg, although regretful, personally officiated Leah and Reb’s wedding. Leah was a wise wife and a benevolent ruler. She saved her husband’s life countless times from Duchess Leriana de Monarch’s threats, and with her unique diligence and frugality, she developed her unremarkable domain into a small town. Baroness Leah Bijan lived receiving praise from many. However, her children met with mysterious accidents that claimed their lives, and the Bijan couple spent their twilight years in silence. +

+ Born in the village of Demos, Reb… (omit) …afterward, he was recognized for his achievements and granted a surname, title, and territory. A sudden commoner who became a noble. Yet, he did not settle for merely becoming a noble but engaged in vigorous activities. He joined the new sect formed by the Grania Church, separating from the Cross Church, gaining fame as the first ‘Holy Knight’ (similar to the Holy Knights of the Cross Church), while serving as godfather to the grandson of the retired Swordmaster, Sir Bart. He maintained close relations with Duke Tertan and Hirie Gaidan, greatly influencing the relationship between the Grania Holy Kingdom and Orun Kingdom. Thus transformed into a symbol of peace on the southern continent, Baron Bijan made the mistake of directly clashing with the returned princess, Leriana de Monarch. They repeatedly engaged in bloody territorial wars, and on one occasion, he could have ended the conflict by capturing the princess but released her upon receiving a ransom. After that, she was never captured again. After decades of fighting, the tide of victory slowly began to swing towards Princess Leriana. While Princess Leriana ascended to the dukedom, Reb Bijan remained a baron. Having lost his children in an unforeseen accident, his fame also faded. Fortunately, Duchess Leriana retired, likely exhausted by the endless conflicts. Baron Reb Bijan spent his quiet old age with his wife, leaving behind hundreds of exchanged letters with Count Lean Peter, which threw future historians into a frenzy. They argued for half a century over the authenticity of the letters. +

[ The Engagement Scenario ending has been changed. ]

…

Leaning in a round ball, Lean let out a sigh he couldn’t express.

The first sight of his elderly younger sister.

The photo emerged without fail, and the grandmotherly Leriana sat in a rocking chair. The duke and count. Her two sons stood by, accompanied by a lovely daughter-in-law and grandchildren, filling the background completely.

It seemed like a harmonious and warm photograph, but there was no reason to rejoice that ‘Leriana lived well.’

The sacrifices of the childhood friends segment were excessive. This was evident in Leah’s photo, dressed in mourning clothes by the flowing river. Reb and Leah, a middle-aged noble couple, wore blank expressions.

Reverse Mourning. The children left first.

A woman who loses her husband is called a widow, and a man who loses his wife is called a widower. A person who loses their parents is called an orphan.

However, there is no term that describes parents who have lost their children. Perhaps that is because it would be audacious to label them as such, and it shouldn’t even be the case.

Children who die before their parents are rarely buried. Whether it’s a sky burial or cremation, it’s common to make them disappear from sight. In emphasizing the loss behind the photo, he held his breath.

‘…’

In the meantime, the photo of the engagement scenario surfaced, oblivious to its happiness. Lean suppressed his feelings as best as he could.

What about leaving behind the beloved wife and younger sister? It was me who turned Leah and Reb into that, so how can I dare compare it to the sorrow of losing a child?

With no apology to offer, he kept his mouth shut, and the round ball shed its shell. Lean’s consciousness awakened, and Minseo emerged.

‘…’

But what can he comment on? While he had viewed the true ending, achieving the purpose of choosing the Beggar Siblings scenario, he refrained from speaking his thoughts and simply passed to the next turn.

To the parties involved.

[ Please choose a scenario reward. ]

[ You cleared Lena’s nurturing game. You can select the scenario you wish to play. ]

[ Childhood Friends – True Ending ]

[ Engagement – True Ending ]

[ Beggar Siblings – True Ending ]

He asked to fix the broken necklace and passed the turn. Then, his sight dove down towards the vast green skies and the spreading land. This familiar village swept by… was the Childhood Friends scenario.

[ Achievement: ’23rd Leo’ – The player’s speed of integrating with Leo subtly increases. ]

[ 23/24 ]

‘…I’ve returned.’

However, Reb didn’t think too deeply about it. Since the 19th circle, where he had aimed to ascend the throne and crown Leah as a princess, it was the first time he received Minseo’s memories, and right now, the person in front of him felt more urgent than the child he had never met.

“Reb! Are you listening… Huh?! What, what is this??”

It was Leah, picking mountain fruits. Just as she turned toward Reb, something that hadn’t been in her hand appeared.

A wooden staff.

It popped into existence. The startled Leah threw it away, and Reb bitterly grimaced.

“What, what is that? Reb, did you just see that? A stick just… Ah! Re-Reb! It’s on your waist too!”

“…”

It wasn’t new or surprising, but there was no sign of consideration whatsoever. Reb drew the sword that hung at his waist and swung it like a sword master.

“Huh?”

– Squeak!

A Koko-ren that was hanging on a branch fell onto Leah’s head. Leah looked up at Reb with wide eyes. For some reason, the shoulder of the childhood friend who took a step closer seemed very broad.

“Leah.”

“Uh, uh?! W-why, why this…”

Reb suddenly pulled her into an embrace.

They hadn’t held hands in ages, and whenever their hands brushed, both would blush and avert their eyes. Leah’s face turned crimson as she stepped back, and Reb followed closely behind.

With a strong determination.

“I told you I’d chase after you next, right? Now is that time. Leah, I like you.”

“W-wha? All of a sudden?”

“It’s not sudden. I like you. Always… have liked you.”

– Squeak!!

Leah was at a loss over her childhood friend’s confession. I-I like you too? Stumbling over her words, the Koko-ren that had fallen on her head felt like a stroke of luck.

“Ow! Re-Reb. Let me just get this thing off my head!”

Leah fled, using the Koko-ren tangled in her hair as an excuse.

Abandoning her on the mountain’s slope, Reb remained.

If he were an ordinary boy, he would have taken it as a gentle rejection and mourned.

But he didn’t care.

He knew Leah was in a state of wanting to become a priest, and that’s why she was not being honest. He also knew she would soon learn everything through her dreams.

Reb picked up the wooden staff Leah had abandoned. After a moment of hesitation, he settled down and organized his thoughts…

“Damn it. I need to speak up to understand.”

He grumbled. In the previous ending, Minseo hadn’t provided any guidance.

Sharing thoughts allows one to guess what another person is thinking, even without leaving a message, but that wasn’t always easy.

Thoughts are like fingerprints.

Everyone thinks differently, merely inferring the context from what they see and remember. Oftentimes, it’s hard to keep up with what someone is thinking. It feels like there are baseless leaps in logic happening repeatedly.

Thus, it’s important to occasionally organize thoughts. It has always been that way.

But a problem arose. The last turn was the Beggar Siblings turn, where Lean had thought and left memories behind. Yet, it was impossible to decipher what he had thought.

Lean’s mind was too brilliant; even the fact that he sometimes organized them left an impression of leaps in thoughts.

‘Astaroth is likely to fall for my schemes… how the hell did that deduction come about?’

The war between the Belita Kingdom and the Aisel Kingdom, Count Hermann Forte, Marquis Benard Tatian, {The History of Ashin}, and Raindrops… Damn. Only the keywords he had combined lingered as images.

Still, Minseo, as a ‘modern gamer,’ must have her unique way of interpreting problems, so perhaps she understood Lean’s thoughts. However, Minseo chose to restrain her thoughts out of consideration for Reb’s feelings of loss and skipped the turn, leaving Reb in deep trouble.

After a moment of contemplation, Reb concluded…

‘I could just ask.’

A simple conclusion. If he didn’t know something, he could just ask. There was no need for him to struggle when he had a smart person around.

Reb pulled out a mirror and contacted Lean immediately. With Oriax’s disappearance, history had changed.

Lean de Yeriel was a prince of the Conrad Kingdom. He hadn’t been exiled, and Leriana must have grown up in the palace. In other words, the Beggar Siblings no longer existed.

“Lean. It’s me.”

However… Lean turned the mirror around, arrogantly asking.

“What is this, and who are you?”

What the hell?