Chapter 20: A Tangled Fate and a Defiant Resolve

My head was pounding.

No matter how unfair things got, could it really be this bad?

Forgetting the puzzled looks from my party, I let out another exasperated curse.

“Fuck.”

I couldn’t help it—the situation demanded it.

It’s only been three or four days since we left the Great Forest for the western continent.

We’re still far from leaving the south.

Worried about elf pursuit, we sped up our march, but reaching the west would take at least a month.

What does this mean?

The southern arc hasn’t even properly ended, and now the western arc has kicked off.

Truth be told, I had my suspicions when the bandit leader pulled out that vial.

A drug that burns life force to temporarily enhance the body.

The one fans called “steroids,” meant to appear only in the west—how could it end up in a southern bandit’s hands? It made no sense.

But it was that drug, and watching Veldum take down the roided-up bandit forced me to think hard.

Why was a piece of the western arc showing up before we even left the south?

Was it, like in the Great Forest, an incident seeking me out?

Still, I held onto hope.

If I could ditch the vial and play dumb before the main villain marked me as an enemy, I could live quietly in the west.

I made a perfect plan: secretly dispose of the vial, cut ties with the party once we reached the west, and enjoy a peaceful, carefree life.

But—

“I met a scrawny guy in dark priestly robes. Said he looks forward to our next meeting.”

Veldum, the buff elf’s casual words, shattered my hopes.

Why the hell was the western arc’s main villain organization showing up here?

As the saying goes, “one mountain after another”?

I climbed one massive peak, only to find another waiting.

Clink!

I pulled the vial from my pocket and crushed it, grinding my teeth.

Was this the author’s ploy to force me into the arc?

Or the world’s will to screw over the witch?

Staring at my bleeding hand, the dazed priestess snapped out of it and rushed to heal me.

“Are you insane? Why’d you crush a glass vial with your bare hand?!”

“I got too emotional. Sorry.”

“Who crushes glass because they’re emotional?!”

Right in front of you, obviously.

Muttering a snarky reply in my head, I ignored the flustered priestess and gazed at the sky.

It’s disgustingly clear.

In stark contrast to my murky, clouded heart.

…Is it truly impossible to escape fate? Can’t I cut the threads of Beatrice’s destiny and live quietly?

Staring at the sky for a while, I shook my head.

In the Great Forest, I tried to escape, but the protagonist showed up a day early and caused chaos.

I escaped, thinking I could finally live quietly, only for the main villain—who I assumed would stay put—to come to me.

The first time is coincidence.

From the second, it’s inevitability.

This must mean no matter what I do, I’ll be dragged into the arc.

Looking at my now fully healed hand, thanks to the priestess, I made a decision.

Fine, I’ll follow where fate leads—for now.

But I’ll find a way to break free from this damn destiny.

If the world wants to screw me over, I’ll outdo it with my own chaos.

“I’ll need strength for that.”

Glancing west, I curled the corners of my lips into a faint smile.

A new goal had formed.

Crackle, crackle!

At the bandit stronghold, shrouded in darkness.

Staring into the fire, lost in thought, I turned slowly toward the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Why aren’t you sleeping? You’re not even on watch.”

“What’s it to you if I sleep or not?”

“It matters. Who wouldn’t worry when a precious comrade is staying up?”

Carl strode over and sat beside me.

His cheerful grin irritated me, and I moved to leave, but he gently held me back.

“Where’re you going? Gotta take a leak? I’ll let go then.”

“I’m leaving because of you.”

“Hm, have I done anything to make you hate me that much?”

“…”

“Not really, right? Sit down. If you feel bad about messing with someone’s junk in the Great Forest, at least hear me out.”

He had a point—that was a serious offense.

I felt guilty about it too, so I reluctantly sat back down with a scowl.

An awkward silence followed.

Staring at the ground, fighting the creeping cringe, Carl finally spoke.

“You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

“Mind your business.”

“You look too troubled for me to ignore. Something happen?”

“I just told you to mind your business.”

Growling softly, Carl sighed and shook his head.

“What is this, taming a stray cat? Why so prickly?”

“…Hmph.”

“That’s charming in its own way, though.”

“You’re such a lunatic.”

Snorting in disbelief, I laughed, and he grinned back.

“See? You’re prettier when you smile.”

“Shut up.”

“Doesn’t smiling make the stress fade a bit? Keep it up.”

“Stop talking nonsense. Who smiles when they’re stressed? Unless they’re crazy.”

“Right here—a guy who smiles through stress.”

“You are crazy.”

“I’ve never once thought I’m crazy.”

“That’s because crazy people don’t know they’re crazy.”

After some pointless banter, we both burst out laughing.

Staying up late for such a silly conversation was absurd.

Yet, it stirred a ticklish feeling.

I’d never had such a friendly chat with anyone.

Not before possession, nor after.

Guess it’s no surprise, since I was always the loner weirdo wherever I went.

Gazing at the crackling fire, chuckling, I fixed my eyes on Carl’s face—devoid of any negativity—and spoke quietly.

“I’ve got a question.”

“Oh, finally interested in me?”

“Nope, never mind. Why would I ask you anything?”

“Alright, my bad. Just ask.”

“Fine.”

Glancing at the sleeping party, I tossed out my question.

“How’d you end up in the Great Forest? There were plenty of other places to go.”

The thing I was most curious about.

The protagonist was supposed to head north first—so why the south?

Unable to ask before due to the chaos, I finally had the chance.

Carl thought for a moment before answering calmly.

“Hm, you may not know, but before you and the priestess joined, the four of us formed a party to achieve our goals.”

“Yeah.”

“So we took turns picking destinations. This time, it was Kotath—over there drooling in his sleep—who chose.”

“…To find new cuisine in the Great Forest?”

“Exactly. We thought it’d be dangerous since it’s the worst forbidden zone, so we planned to hit the north first. But lately, the church’s been super active up there.”

“Stroheim’s presence must’ve made moving tricky.”

“How do you know all this? Is Veldum right—do you have a dimensional library in your head?”

“No way. You saw how that nameless priestess keeps glaring at me with near-hatred, right?”

“Oh.”

Giving a plausible response, I mulled it over.

A lot has changed.

But a lot hasn’t.

So maybe it’s not the world forcing Beatrice into arcs through unfair twists, but the story itself shifting with refined details?

…That’s a plausible theory. A “remake” is meant to fix flaws, after all.

“Sigh.”

My head grew more tangled with this new hypothesis, and I let out a sigh. Suddenly, Carl started patting my head.

Pat, pat—

Rough, calloused hands, yet so gentle and delicate.

For a moment, I felt calm and drowsy.

“Rawr?”

Then I realized this was very wrong.

What did I just feel? And what did I just allow?

No way, screw that.

There’s no way I’d feel that from this lunatic’s touch.

Snapping back to reality, goosebumps covered my body.

Clenching my fist, I drove it hard into Carl’s solar plexus.

WHAM—!

“Guh…!”

Gasping for air, the pervert who’d been patting my head writhed on the ground in pain.

Yet, that infuriatingly bright smile remained on his face.

“So soft… cough! The texture…!!! Cough, cough…”

“You damn pervert.”

“Those hateful eyes and scolding… cough… Best reward ever…!”

“Ugh… fuck.”

Overwhelmed by disgust, I bolted from the spot, stopping far from the stronghold to catch my breath.

“Huff… huff…”

Gazing at the cold moonlight piercing the pitch-black sky, I reaffirmed my resolve.

“I… am not* a female…!”

No matter what, I’d break free from this damn fate.