[Game over.
Calculating results…]
[In the original Worldline, under the worst possible circumstances, Herta would willingly become Iron Tomb’s head, crown herself, and transform into Emperor Rubert III.
Fortunately, due to your intervention, the worst outcome did not occur.]
[Iron Tomb was still born in accordance with Nous’s Moment, but it likewise failed to escape its fate of being corrected by Demiurge.
Amphoreus’s destiny ultimately returned to its proper course.]
[Mission successful.
Drawing mission rewards…]
[Detected that the current game’s Path inclination is Erudition.
The reward pool has been changed to include all of Xian Ling’s abilities.]
[Draw complete.]
[Ability obtained: Memory Invasion.]
[Ability obtained: Memetic Resistance.]
[Random selection of an individual to retain their memories is underway…]
[The individual retaining their memories is: Lycurgus.]
“What?!”
Upon seeing the name that popped up on the results screen, Xian Ling felt her vision go dark.
Everything before this had been more or less as she expected.
Her luck with the reward draw had even been quite good, as it had drawn the ability that Xian Ling from that Worldline had used most proficiently.
Of course, in a sense, this was also the most dangerous ability.
On that point, Black Swan had plenty to say.
But…
What did it mean that the person retaining their memories was Lycurgus?!
It had really gone and given her a Romantic Lygus!
And the key problem wasn’t even the Romantic Lygus.
The key problem was that Xian Ling had no idea which memories Lygus had awakened.
If he awakened memories related to Demiurge, then…
Amphoreus would be gathering eighty thousand pellets’ worth of medicinal power.
What a tragedy.
[Don’t worry.
The possibility you’re imagining probably won’t happen.]
Just as Xian Ling was burning with anxiety, the System Sprite suddenly opened a dialogue box.
[The reasoning is simple.
The Path inclination selected for this game was Erudition.
Therefore, even when distributing rewards, the system itself would not guide events in a direction that undermines the stability of the future.]
[If Lygus learned about Demiurge’s circumstances, there would basically be no need to visit Amphoreus anymore.
Therefore, the memories he obtained absolutely cannot be the sort that would alter the future on a large scale.
Otherwise, wouldn’t that contradict the future Nous itself Anchored?]
“Phew…
That’s good.” Xian Ling immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
“No, wait.
By that logic…
if this game’s Path inclination had been Enigmata, then it would have distributed memories that interfered with the future as much as possible?”
[Fun fact: I told you before that the reward and punishment options for an Enigmata inclination do not include causing the person involved to awaken memories.]
For some reason, Xian Ling felt that the System Sprite’s tone carried a hint of schadenfreude.
[Because the reward and punishment mechanism for an Enigmata inclination is already sufficiently “enigmatic.”]
[All right.
Since you’ve already claimed your rewards, turn your attention back to the present.
Have you forgotten that although you experienced so many things, less than a second may have passed in the real world?
Polka Kakamond is still waiting for you outside.]
[As an additional reward for completing the game, you may randomly teleport to the side of someone who has traveled sufficiently far along the corresponding inclined Path.
Considering that this game’s Path inclination was Erudition, you will most likely be sent to the side of a living Genius Society member.]
“Wait…” Xian Ling suddenly realized something.
“There aren’t many living Genius Society members in total, are there?
Don’t tell me it’ll teleport me directly to Polka’s side?!”
[Fun fact: Zandar actually occupies nine of those slots.]
“Gwah!”
[An even hotter fact: now there are only eight.]
[Because the Zandar who walks the Path of Enigmata—your creator—seems to have gone to openly and honestly meet himself.]
[Also, if you don’t teleport soon…
Polka’s attack is about to strike you.]
…
Meanwhile, at the other end of the world, in Amphoreus.
“…I had a dream?”
Lygus opened his eyes, a trace of bewilderment flashing through them.
There was no helping it.
Anyone would feel numb in this situation.
An Intelligentsia having a dream sounded like some Memokeeper of the Path of Remembrance playing a prank on an ordinary Intelligentsia.
The problem was that he was neither an ordinary Intelligentsia, nor was there any Memokeeper of the Path of Remembrance here.
Even the contents of the dream had been utterly absurd.
And that person seemed to be…
his own daughter?
Lygus gently patted his head as though physically repairing an old television.
Even a Genius like him was momentarily unable to comprehend this dream.
“Most of the details in the dream have already become indistinct.
Were they directly erased by some grander power?
No, probably not.
The more likely possibility is that my dream only contained this many information factors to begin with.”
“Based on the known information, the one who interfered with my plan seemed to be Zandar’s daughter…
This daughter probably wasn’t created while I was still alive.
She was most likely the work of another Zandar attempting to resist Nous.”
“What is this supposed to be?
My classmate’s graduation project ate my graduation project?
What sort of goat school am I living in?”
Lygus looked toward the sky with a headache.
He somewhat wanted to send a message to the other Zandars and ask what exactly was going on, but the threat posed by Polka made him abandon the idea.
Rashly making contact might implicate more than just one person.
“No.
Perhaps I should think of it this way.
Since this daughter was able to deal with Iron Tomb successfully, she must have traveled farther than I have on the path of resisting Nous…
As long as she truly is walking the path of resistance against Nous.”
“So…
I need to find her, whether out of concern for this identity or out of responsibility toward the plan.”
“After all, with Nous as precedent, every Zandar possesses an almost obsessive desire to control their own creations.
If the Zandar who created Xian Ling is still alive, he could never allow his creation to run around freely like this.”
“However…”
“I truly can’t leave the Scepter unattended either.”
“Forget it.” Lygus began synchronizing with his clone that existed Beyond Myth.
“I’ll first have the clone outside pay attention to recent news throughout the Cosmos.
If that girl called Xian Ling has been active recently, it should be impossible for someone with her abilities to remain unknown.”
“First, I’ll find a way to locate her.
Then I’ll consider what form I should use to make contact with her…”
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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Shilling time!