This world was a mirror image of that otome game, but even its most nonsensical settings had been ironed out with a logic that made them feel inevitable—as if things had turned out this way because they simply had to.
Take House Brave, for example.
Despite being Margraves with unnecessarily high titles and ranks, we were treated like absolute trash. Even as we fought a war every single year, the Royal Capital remained blissfully ignorant.
It was a preposterous situation, but when you actually looked into the history, it turned out our lineage had been through quite a lot.
The Royal Capital was warped, too.
In order to provide locations for the game's various events, the population density was roughly equivalent to a modern city.
The only reason the people of this nation could live packed together in such cramped quarters was the absolute security provided by the Guardian Barrier.
The same logic applied to the Academy and its bloated noble student body. Since there were no wars, the only way to recognize achievements was to hand out status and titles.
That was how this world maintained its consistency.
If, as Patricia said, the Guardian Barrier could be managed by anyone in possession of the Saint’s Relic—the Holy Artifact—even if they weren't the Saint themselves, then why did Mariana Ocean even exist?
The answer that immediately sprang to mind was grim: she was a human pillar.
"Does that mean the Saint's magic power is required to maintain the barrier?" I asked.
"Who knows? I won't know for sure until I see it with my own eyes, right?"
At my words, Patricia tilted her head and gave a mocking giggle.
"Give me a straight answer."
"Ah, but... the moment they find out someone is the Saint, everyone's attitude flips, doesn't it?"
Keeping her head tilted, she began to speak as if reminiscing.
"It was like that in the game, too, wasn't it? All the surrounding nobles were enemies, but the moment she became the Saint, they suddenly started acknowledging her."
"Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"
She was creepy.
"Those disgusting, bloated, warped pigs... I hope they all sink to the bottom of the deep sea."
"Hey. Besides, that would be a contradiction."
I delivered a swift kick to Patricia’s backside as she started to spiral, dragging her back to reality.
"In the Edward Route, Alicia was the one who destroyed the barrier."
The one who restored the vanished barrier was Mariana, who had awakened through a Holy Artifact. In the subsequent happy ending, there was even a scene where she laughed beside Edward, looking perfectly healthy.
"What are you doing, you pervert? It’s the same method as mine, anyway."
"So instead of destroying it, she used a different Holy Artifact to temporarily suspend the barrier's deployment?"
Reconstructing a barrier using someone else's magic power was a difficult feat unless one was exceptionally skilled.
"Ah, so that's why Mariana was able to..."
I reached my own conclusion.
If the barrier utilized the Saint's magic power, then Mariana—as her reincarnation—could manipulate it however she pleased.
Furthermore, the Holy Artifact she held at that time belonged to the Edward Route.
Since the current barrier was entrusted to the Etherdam Royal Family, the Holy Artifact from that route would be able to restore it to its exact original state.
"In that case, if the required number of Holy Artifacts and their locations change depending on the Capture Target Character..."
"Then the game's happy endings were essentially just shifts in power," Patricia added, interjecting into my internal monologue.
"It’s a pathetically stupid conclusion, but if that massive barrier is powered by the Saint as a human pillar, then no matter how the game played out, that girl’s death was a certainty."
It was exactly as she said.
If authority could be transferred using nothing but Holy Artifacts, then the only reason Mariana Ocean had been born into this world was to serve as a battery to replenish the barrier's magic power once it ran dry.
"Oh no, the magic power is running low and the barrier is failing! Oh, look, what a coincidence—here’s the Reincarnated Saint! Okay, time to become a human pillar. Pffft."
"It's not a laughing matter."
"But isn't it fine if she's enjoying herself right now while she’s still ignorant? That girl looks like she’d quietly agree to become a barrier if someone told her it was for the sake of the country. She’s been like that for a long time, hee-hee-hee."
I looked at Patricia, who was stifling her laughter with her hand, and asked, "Then why are you pretending to be the Saint?"
By posing as the Saint, Patricia was essentially volunteering to become one of those human pillars herself.
In reality, she couldn't actually provide the magic power to maintain the barrier, so I couldn't understand why she would go that far when there was no benefit to it.
Even if she sought power, according to her own logic, the barrier's magic would eventually run out, and her deception would be exposed.
"It makes even less sense now."
"—Because I want to tear this country down."
Her smile vanished instantly.
Of all times, Edward had disappeared with the delinquents, claiming he was going to "teach them magic."
"When things have been decided for you from the very beginning, don't you just want to break them?"
"No, I don't," I muttered in my heart.
The constitution has existed since the day I was born, and we humans are fragile creatures who can only survive within the framework of society.
"When the barrier reaches the end of its life, a new successor is born, and things proceed exactly like a preordained scenario—just like a game. Then, they bond with someone of the Sage's bloodline and meet a fleeting end."
Patricia spoke with fluid intensity.
"This world is just a forced ideal that the Ancient Sage thought 'would be nice.' I refuse to allow my life to end with my fate held in someone else's hands, trapped in a place that isn't even behind the scenes of that stage."
Patricia looked down at the weeds growing in the shadows outside the window, shrouded in darkness.
"You feel it too, don't you? You must know that behind the glamorous, sunlit stages, the shadowed parts are bearing a hideous burden."
Staring at the barrier beyond the glass, Patricia said one last thing.
"I don't think this is a bad deal for you, either. Right, my peace-addled Monkey of the Abandoned Land? I'll destroy this country for you."
She smiled and added, "So don't get in my way."
"Hey! B-Brave! Patricia! I am sorry to have kept you waiting!"
Just as I was about to retort, Edward came sprinting down the hallway.
I really wish he’d stop sounding so bashful whenever he says my name.
"Saint! I was shocked when the men I sent with you returned alone! Please, do not go off by yourself!"
A few Duchy Instructors came running up behind Edward.
These guys weren't even trying to hide the "Saint" title here in the Royal Capital.
"While I was giving those delinquent students some pointers, they went pale and demanded to know where the Saint was. I’m afraid I got a bit too enthusiastic with my instruction. My apologies."
Looking at Edward as he bowed sincerely, Patricia whispered, "You've really changed."
The darkness that had filled her eyes just moments ago had vanished.
"And you never change."
"Tch, you just became a bald idiot! You Hot Spring Egg!"
At the term "Hot Spring Egg," the Duchy Instructors couldn't help but snicker.
Edward, on the other hand, replied with a perfectly straight face that it was only natural, given his diligent skincare routine.
The man was invincible.
"Well then, I'm going to rest in my room. Don't worry, I promise not to leave my room for the rest of the day."
Patricia, looking exhausted by Edward's antics, made her announcement and left the area with her escort of Duchy Instructors.
"Is it all right, Brave? To let her do as she pleases?"
"...Well, she won't be able to do anything anyway."
Edward asked me that, but I could do nothing but watch her go in silence.