270. Engagement – Restart

Alright, let’s rethink this.

Minseo was disregarding the text that prompted him to choose the True Ending reward and continued his chain of thought. Fortunately, that seemed to be okay to leave alone. Minseo recalled the quest given by the deity.

[Quest: Guardian, 1/4 – Barbatos]

They want us to catch your deity. Then there were Oriax, Malhas, and Astroth left.

It wasn’t just those guys in this world; there were actually quite a few if you looked for them, but the ones Leo had encountered were likely due to the ‘game scenario.’

The fact that the now-missing Barbatos was included there was proof of that.

However, I couldn’t understand why Barbatos was included. He wasn’t the one controlling the Orun Kingdom, and he was on the brink of extinction with hardly any followers left. Most importantly, in comparison to the others, his level as a deity was far too low.

You could gauge their level just from the divine power they wield. Of course, to discern that, you would need the {Divine Power Insight} skill.

Barbatos’s divine power resembled an inverted triangle. A very shabby form that barely met even the minimum requirements to be called divine power.

This clearly demonstrated how much of a low-tier rural deity Barbatos was. Had it not been for Reb’s outrageous offering efficiency, Barbatos would have taken hundreds of years to seize the Orun Kingdom.

That was only when he met an apostle with good offering efficiency, so when considering the various variables and the Cross Church’s interference, even thousands of years wouldn’t be enough. Just call it impossible.

In contrast, in ancient times, the god birthed by the Minotaurs who dominated a region of the continent, Oriax, exhibited a distorted 17-sided polygon of divine power.

The distortion was severe, nearing a three-dimensional form, and the Malpas I saw at the fortress Toridom last time displayed a sharp 8-sided divine power like a blade.

According to Ray Dexter’s testimony from the 14th session that I do not remember, Halpas, who was the other half of Malhas, also possessed 8-sided divine power, so Malhas likely did too.

Indeed, they were ancient deities.

But Astroth was far more impressive than them. The divine power he wielded was a regular tetrahedron.

Not only did it have height, but it was also intricately refined divine power. It couldn’t dare to be compared to the form of the twenty-sided polyhedron wielded by the main deity, but just a mere deity…

The Duke Astroth had a special aspect. Minseo recalled words he had shouted in anger during the previous engagement session.

– Damn it! I am not bound by restrictions! But to bind the world in such a way!

Not bound by restrictions, huh… Hmm, pondering for a moment, Minseo concluded,

‘I don’t understand what that means at all.’

The only restrictions he knew were the ‘Restriction Quests’ that Kasia, Katrina, and Dop Bijan encountered.

Once freed from the restrictions, that individual becomes immune to {Tracking Skill}. They displayed different appearances and behaviors compared to the last session.

However, Sir Corin, who seemed to be free from restrictions, and the sisters Ran and Anne Abiker, who did not show up at Abrival Castle this time, were still subject to {Tracking Skill}.

So the difference in being subject to {Tracking Skill} must be attributed to the completion of the Restriction Quest. It’s not about the restrictions themselves. Then the remaining question is why the behavior changes…

‘The Restriction Quest was resolved when it fulfilled what that person desired.’

Minseo thought of Kasia.

What she wished for was very clear. He had seen it right in front of him. Kasia wanted to be held by the man she loved just once, and when Lean embraced her on the vast prairie, she was freed from the restrictions. She was released.

Then she appeared brilliantly bright in the next Beggar Siblings session. The unshakable gloom of a courtesan disappeared, and she emerged with a positive outlook on her life, stirring Lean’s… no, our hearts.

She is a beautiful woman. Kasia is.

Minseo reflected on her, with the mixed feelings he had for her, but returned to the main topic. He stole a glance at the silently hovering text telling him to choose the scenario reward.

What Dop Bijan, Reb’s father, sought was revenge… it seemed.

However, it wasn’t certain.

He thought that killing Sir Corin, who had slaughtered the Bijan Tribe, would be his desire, but upon discovering Sir Corin had also been freed from restrictions, his thoughts changed.

Exactly what transpired is unknown. However, during the 16th session, before Barbatos disappeared, it overheard the childhood friend session where the Bijan Tribe was in a state of ‘annihilation.’ The freed Dop Bijan said while toasting with Priest Leslie that the Holy Knight named Sir Corin hidden in the jar had been protecting him and his friends.

He was both the enemy who killed his hometown villagers and parents while also being the savior of life. It hardly seems like he would solely want revenge, yet Sir Corin also left behind significant words.

– “Oh God. Please do not forgive my sins. I… do not regret!”

It was what he yelled at Reb, who had been the apostle of Barbatos. Immediately after, Sir Corin burned white with martyrdom, and Dop Bijan’s restriction quest was completed.

Afterward, Sir Corin appeared as a different person. No, to be precise, he did not reveal himself.

Through someone named Brian, whose life had changed due to his influence, it became known that Sir Corin had resigned from his position as a Holy Knight, refusing the church’s policy of expelling barbarians who served other deities. Just like how Kasia, having been freed from restrictions, swiftly quit being a courtesan.

Thanks to that, he roughly guessed.

What Dop Bijan and Sir Corin had desired… Minseo’s thoughts now turned to the final target of the Restriction Quest.

Katrina.

Minseo felt a bit relieved.

It’s not that he looked down on her (she had hit him too much for that), but thinking of Katrina always brought a bit of joy.

She hadn’t just experienced good times with her. Katrina had killed Lera, severed arms, and hurled verbal abuse, often clashing in the Engagement scenario.

However, since all those incidents occurred on the battlefield as enemies, Minseo, not tied to a specific scenario, could consider that. He felt a little of his frustrating heart wash away as he thought of Katrina.

Katrina was the type to be easily misunderstood. She had a fiery temper and said things without thinking, stubborn about trivial matters, causing it to take a long time to grasp her true character.

Surprisingly, Katrina had a kind heart.

She was the type to regret after causing trouble due to her inability to control her temper, and during the session when Lean had become a Royal Knight, she helped certify his identity and even lent him a place to stay. The cause was that when Lean played around pretending to be noble, she had beaten him up badly, but she was a person who made it fun to play around with at the risk of life.

But the problem is… how did this woman get freed from her restrictions?

Katrina was released from the restrictions in the last Beggar Sibling session. Upon realizing Lean was a Swordmaster, she suddenly shouted,

– “Master!”

And knelt down. Her complete change in attitude was quite impressive.

He thought at that time that what Katrina desired was to learn swordsmanship from the Swordmaster. But she…

– “I didn’t leave the Knights Order. Why would I? I’ve already learned everything.”

She completely brushed him off with a dismissive attitude. Compared to the overwhelming joy Kasia showed when she was freed from the restrictions, that could not be considered what she wished for.

Yet, she was indeed freed from the restrictions. Right in that session.

Oh dear— I really don’t know what anything is. I also can’t figure out what exactly the restrictions mean, so Minseo decided to drop his pondering about Astroth. There’s no need to give extra meaning to a very strong enemy we need to defeat.

Anyway… what we need to do going forward has become clear. We’ll take down Oriax, Malhas, and Astroth. In doing so, we must achieve a happy ending for Lena and the others, but for that to happen…

With fingers missing, Minseo mentally calculated the remaining sessions and lives. Sessions: [20/23]. He had used 20 out of 23 available, so 21, 22, and 23 were left. Lives: [5/6]. Dying once would corner him to the brink, and dying twice would mean the end.

After much contemplation, Minseo reached a conclusion.

‘I should restart the Engagement scenario first.’

He’s planning to take out Malpas and Halpas first.

Since Leah had gained the {Holy} ability, starting with the childhood friend session seemed like a good idea, but he needed to quickly ‘cover up’ the Engagement session that had led to the catastrophe of killing Count Hermann Forte. Otherwise, Astroth would descend and kill us all.

Starting with the childhood friend session and contacting Ray Dexter via the mirror also seemed like a consideration.

However, Minseo rejected that.

It’s because Ray Dexter’s condition isn’t good right now. He had just found out that the True Ending condition was to fulfill Lena’s dream, which made him extremely angry, and there was a chance that he wouldn’t listen when contacted through the mirror.

So he needed to start the Engagement first, to help Ray recognize how the last session ended and what our goals should be.

Additionally, compared to Astroth or Oriax, Marhas, possessing 8-sided divine power, seemed the weakest, so it might be best to deal with that first.

Anyway, if it weren’t for the last Engagement session, the childhood friend and beggar sibling scenarios would have flowed smoothly, so for now, let’s patch it up this way.

‘Guardian Quest. It doesn’t seem that impossible, right? I learned about the purpose of the pretty necklace, and I’ve caught Oriax before. While I couldn’t eliminate him… I think I have a rough idea. I just need to break Hirie Gaidan’s necklace.’

There was too much information piled up. Minseo soon established his future plans, proving that all the hardships he endured weren’t in vain. Alright, then…

[ Please select a scenario reward. ]

Minseo pleaded to lift the session limit. He contemplated whether to ask for the life limit to be removed, but since the Swordmaster Leo wouldn’t easily die, and the necklace that withstood Astroth’s attacks was there, he took a longer-term perspective to prepare for unforeseen circumstances.

Even if things didn’t go smoothly, if he could continue repeating the sessions, it would eventually come to an end. That was… his thought.

However, it didn’t take long for him to realize that it was a major illusion and excessive hope.

[ You have cleared the Raising Lena session. You can choose a scenario you’d like to play. ]

[ Childhood Friend – True Ending ]

[ Engagement – True Ending ]

[ Beggar Siblings – Clear ]

The message popped up, and without hesitation, Minseo selected the Engagement scenario. With the blizzard footage from the Northern Mountains, he dropped into Abrival Castle and became Ray Dexter,

[ Achievement: ‘21’th Leo – The speed at which the player merges with Leo slightly increases. ]

[ 21/24 ]

The session limit increased only by one. Furthermore, the necklace he had placed his faith in was

“Ray! Are you listening to me… Huh? What’s that in your hand?”

“……”

It was shattered into pieces.