"It seems everyone has gathered. Now, let us begin. To those of you assembled here, I have a top-secret mission to assign—"
A short while after Yui and the Warrior Shrine Maidens had been led away by Koumaru, Lamy stood before her hand-picked selection of students to deliver her briefing.
The group numbered around twenty, each one a student of notable prowess.
Recently, at the request of Koumaru, the Yamato diplomat, Lamy had been appointed as the officer in charge of security for the priestesses' transfer. Acting on his further instructions, she had selected the accompanying students and was now outlining the details of the operation.
She had not been informed that Raiha was a half-dragon; the explanation she had received was merely that the Warrior Shrine Maidens needed to be moved for their own safety due to the city's deteriorating public order. Nevertheless, since the request came from a foreign diplomat, Lamy was fired up and determined to carry out the task with clinical precision.
Naturally, the faces of the Hero Candidates—the Reincarnators—were prominent among those she had summoned. Aside from Egos, who had been expelled, the entire cohort was present.
While their eyes were fixed on Lamy, her words never reached their ears. Having cleared Luminous History multiple times, they had heard this speech in-game more times than they could count. Furthermore, they already knew exactly what was going to happen from this point forward.
However, despite their meta-knowledge, they lacked any sense of composure. They huddled together, whispering urgently while trying to avoid Lamy's notice.
"Hey, what the hell is going on? This event is triggering way too early."
"Our stats aren't even close to where they should be, and we're already at the climax?"
After witnessing the terrifying power of the strengthened enemies at the Insect Museum, they had intended to focus entirely on grinding levels for themselves and their party members. However, because they had attended the Society of Friends of the Night meeting in a clumsy attempt to recruit the Warrior Shrine Maidens, they had been slapped with school probation.
Worse yet, during their forced idleness, Sakura had somehow joined Yugo's party. Unable to make a move, they had been forced into this event without having honed their skills at all.
Everything was happening too fast. They were supposed to have plenty of time for leveling and optimization, but before they knew it, they were facing an ordeal that far exceeded their current capabilities.
Cyan, having personally faced a Level 2 Magic Armor Beast, felt the disparity in power more acutely than the rest. His anxiety was reaching a fever pitch.
This is a disaster. At this rate, we’re going to run into an unbeatable boss and hit a Game Over.
They had reached a point where the high-tier stats they had received as a Reincarnation Bonus were no longer enough to carry them. Yet, while the speed of the story progression terrified them, they still held one trump card.
"Well, we can still salvage this. The event structure saves us."
"As long as we let Ryuga die, we can skip the boss battle entirely..."
The storyline involving the Yamato exchange students branched into three distinct endings. As long as they avoided the path where both Ryuga and the Warrior Shrine Maidens survived, the upcoming boss fight would be bypassed.
Cyan’s circle had committed to this route long ago, and that cold-blooded pragmatism was finally paying off. Avoiding a high-difficulty boss while their training was lagging was a godsend.
The conditions for this route are simple, so there’s no need to panic. Besides, if that bastard Ryuga dies, it’s a win for us anyway.
If Ryuga survived, his romance flags with Raiha were basically guaranteed to lock in. While he was undoubtedly a powerful combat asset, his presence was an eyesore for Cyan and the others. Their ultimate goal was to become the undisputed heroes of this world, and they had no interest in being overshadowed by a man stronger than themselves.
They envisioned a future as celebrated icons, worshipped by the masses and surrounded by harems of beautiful women. To them, Ryuga was nothing but a nuisance.
"You all understand, right? Under no circumstances do we help Ryuga. If he makes it through this, it ruins everything for us."
The Reincarnators reaffirmed their commitment to the Ryuga Death Route. With the core strategy settled, they began daydreaming about the aftermath. The Warrior Shrine Maidens currently with Yugo might distance themselves from him once the incident concluded. When that happened, Cyan and the others intended to swoop in and claim those girls for their own harems.
Amidst the scheming, Zenon was the only one who looked troubled. Though his status as a fellow "protagonist" had earned him a seat at the table, he listened to the heartless calculations of his peers with a heavy, unsettled heart.