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Translator: Tsukii

Editor: Geli

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 86:  And So the Story Goes

Propheter had been created by this world as its spokesperson around 1000 years ago.

It has been said that it was 1000 years ago, though to be exact, it was actually around 1004 to 1005 years ago. However, Propheter itself didn’t remember the exact amount, so it just rounded it off to 1000 to make it easier to remember.

As it had been born as the world’s spokesperson, it had been granted a level of intelligence similar to that of humans; because of this Propheter had been unable to mix well with other members of its species. And so, only a few years after its infancy, it left its homeland and went on a journey.

It had no clear goal. However, it knew where it was supposed to go. Propheter’s role as the Prophet enabled it to predict where the next Saint would be born.

But even with that, it was still just a turtle after all. Back then, Propheter was a lot smaller than its current size, so its speed was much slower, around the same pace as that of a snail’s.

When it finally noticed that it had ended up in a place where it wouldn’t be able to get any food, it was on the verge of starving to death.

The one who had picked up the pitiful Propheter then was Eve, who still had still held on to her sanity at the time.

Eve was somewhat aware that Propheter, who would eventually take on the role of the prophet, would be her enemy, but that was exactly the reason why Propheter was necessary to her.

Eve had been with child at the time, and since she had already been on the brink of insanity then, she hadn’t thought that she’d be able to take care of her child until the end; as such, she had decided to leave her child In Propheter’s hands.

And Propheter, who had ended up taking the role of a nanny for her daughter, Alfrea, had been raised together with Alfrea as if it was a sibling who just happened to be of a different species. (Although Alfrea had treated Propheter as a pet instead.)　

Then one day, Eve had finally reached her limit.

In order to prevent herself from harming her child with her own hands, she disappeared from Alfrea’s side and tried to get as far away as she could while she still had her sanity.

Alfrea had thought that she had been abandoned by her mother, but if Eve hadn’t used the last bit of her rationality to leave Alfrea at this time, then Eve, who had been consumed by negative emotions, would have laid her hands on the Saint (her own child) before she could fight back. She would’ve definitely killed her.

And while Alfrea was separated from her mother, she came to know of her mother’s true identity and all of the evil she had done; Alfrea came to the decision that she had to stop her mother.

Alfrea had assumed that she had come to this decision of her own volition, but…perhaps she had been driven by her duty as the Saint instead.

She had gone on a journey and had brought Propheter with her. Occasionally, she had used it as a shield as she had traveled on, meeting new comrades and growing stronger until she had finally reached the place where Eve had been at.

And she had managed to defeat her once, but… that had actually been an act all along, and Eve later ambushed and sealed Alfrea the moment she had lowered her guard.

From then on, Propheter had inhabited the lake within the forest, where it had watched over the world ever since.

Even if she had wanted to go on a journey then, its feet were too slow, and it had grown too big to be carried around by someone else.

In that forest, there lived a group of strange humanoid natives who seemed to have been crossed between humans and monkeys. They had first treated Propheter as a demon, but as it had used its intelligence to cure their wounds and illnesses in an effort to appear harmless, they had eventually come to care for Propheter.

Also, as time passed, the royalty of various countries also came to visit it.

It seemed that Alfrea had once drunkenly rambled about how there was an existence that could foresee where the next Saint would be born and this information spread. And so, they had come to seek the Prophet’s wisdom.

For a long time after that, Propheter had continued making prophecies on the Saint’s birth.

But as it had continued to do so, it had started to question the point of its existence.

Saints were the world’s designated sacrifices, who bore the heavy duty of being its savior.

Every time Propheter prophesied regarding a new Saint, the new Saint would soon be separated from their parents. As they were raised the duty of defeating the Witch would be forced upon them until they defeated the Witch, and soon after turned into the Witch themselves.

By its actions, Propheter had merely pushed all those Saint into hell.

There had been several times when it had thought that it might be better if it just stopped making such prophecies.

Even if the Saint had defeated the Witch, the duration of that peace would only ever last for five years, and nothing had been  solved in the end.

But if it didn’t make any prophecies, then the Saints who had become Witches couldn’t receive their rightful release.

And the only one who could give them this release was the next Saint.

Though the prophecies had perpetuated this vicious cycle, because it also wished for the previous Saints to be released, it had continued to foretell about the next Saint’s birth.

And it had continued to push different Saints into hell. This had been repeated over and over.

Even as Propheter pushed several Saints into a bleak future, it had made a great mistake about 17 years ago.

The people who would become the Saint’s parents had decided to name their soon to be born child “Elrise.”

That was why Propheter had stated that, “The Saint’s name would be Elrise” to King Aiz. At this point, nothing had gone wrong yet.

However, the problem occurred right after.

The future parents of the real Saint had a good relationship with their neighbors, who had also been expecting that time, and they both had a discussion about their children’s names.

And because of this discussion, the future parents of the real Saint changed their minds, and named their own child “Eterna” instead.

On top of that, their friendly neighbors thought, “Then we will use Elrise as the name for our child.” As such, the supposed name of the next Saint was given to a child who wasn’t really the Saint¹.

That could be considered as Propheter’s greatest failure as it caused the wrong person to be appointed as the Saint.

Even as it had hurriedly tried to fix its mistake, Propheter couldn’t reach the capital on its own feet, and it had grown too big to ride the locomotive.

Though it had tried to communicate this issue to the Guardians, they couldn’t comprehend what it had tried to tell them, making it a pointless endeavor.

So all it could do was to wait for people  to come visit it. However,  it was then decreed that only royalty may meet with it, and even then, they hadn’t visited that often.

…It had already predicted what the future would be. Propheter had despaired because of that.

As Propheter had this amazing predictive ability, it had already foreseen the future that would be.

On the surface, the Saint was praised and cared for as the world’s savior, but in truth, they’re actual role was that of a sacrifice.

Because of that, whatever selfish impulses they gave into would be forgiven, and any abuse of power they did would be allowed. Everyone would give in to their wishes.

Anyone who grew up in such an environment would definitely grow up with a twisted personality. There was no way they wouldn’t become corrupted.

The reason the previous generations of Saints hadn’t turned into scum despite this was because the Saints had been hardwired to possess a stronger sense of goodwill compared to normal people.

Or perhaps, they instinctively understood their own duty.

But Elrise was different. She was a normal human who was beholden to no such duty.

For a person without that hardwired skill to hold such a position, they would definitely become conceited and proud.

It had been terrifying to imagine the kind of damage a fake Saint with a twisted personality could do.

On top of that, Elrise possessed the very same illness that Eve had.

Her mana circulation was much faster than that of common people’s; all of those negative feelings wouldn’t be properly expelled and soon she’d be corrupted by the darkness… It was a condition that could be thought of as a hyper circulatory disease.

Throughout history, there had never been a single person with this condition who had ended up being remembered as a good person.

All the historically notable villains of this world all had this illness.

The worst possible person had been granted a role that they should’ve never gotten².

That had been why Propheter had thought that nothing good would come from such a future… and since it had erred with its prediction, it had been sure that it would be executed in the near future.

However, its predictions had completely missed the mark.

Elrise, the fake Saint who had been taken by mistake, ended up becoming more “Saint-like” than anyone else in this world’s history.

For some reason, regardless of how much mana circulation she had done, there had been no sign of her getting corrupted by darkness; and as her use of mana continued to improve beyond conceivable levels, she kept exterminating demons one after another.

She had healed the wounded and the sick, had revived the barren earth and nature, and had also reduced the number of people who died from starvation.

By the time it had noticed that mistakenly appointed fake Saint had somehow become the Greatest Saint of all time, the world had already settled into a period of peace, despite the fact that Alexia had still been alive then.

What was up with that? How did things end up that way?

Propheter had been surprised as things had developed in such an unexpected way… However, it had also started to become more hopeful than ever before.

If it was her… if it was this fake Saint who had managed to outdo all the real ones, then perhaps she might be able to change fate.

The Saints were sacrifices who had been bound by their duty as saviors. As such, even if they had become saviors at some point in time, they wouldn’t be able to do anything else beyond that.

All of this had been part of a systematic cycle that had been well established.

But Elrise was different. She existed outside this cycle.

That was why Propheter decided to come out to the forefront of this conflict for the first time since 1000 years ago, when it had been the First Saint’s era.

Something will change with this generation… It had all been due to that expectation.

And that expectation had been correct.

The source of all suffering in this world had just been eliminated by Elrise’s own hand.

The Witch wouldn’t be reborn anymore. The Saint was no longer needed.

The very thing that had plunged the world into darkness and had corrupted the Witch was the accumulation of people’s dark emotions.

Therefore, what they had needed to break the cycle had not been the Saint, but light of the heart from everyone in this world instead.

After that, all they had to do was to turn it into what Elrise had called “the happy END that brought smiles to everyone.”

Elrise had exhausted all her power, and her life was about to meet its end; if that really happened then nobody could be joyful.

That was why Propheter… appointed her as the next Prophet.

The difference between the Prophet and Saint was the fact that Propheter itself would be the one who’d choose its successor.

The reason for this was because the moment Propheter did this, its life force and the duration of its remaining lifespan would transfer to its successor, which was probably a fail-safe against several Prophets existing within the same generation.

But in doing so, Propheter’s own life would be forfeit.

The moment Propheter had declared Elrise to be its successor, it distinctly felt its vitality flow out, but despite that it laughed in satisfaction.

“Propheter… Why?”

Elrise, who had come back from the brink of death due Propheter’s sacrifice, had a bewildered expression.

With this, it had managed to prevent the end where Elrise died.

Elrise staying alive was the most necessary factor in order to create the “Happy END” she had spoken of.

“It’s not a big deal. If you die, everyone around the world will be filled with sorrow. It is the long awaited true end to this cycle, so I don’t wish to see such a sad ending after all this. Since we can choose who’ll have to die, then I’d be the better choice… I’ve already lived long enough. On top of that… on top of that, I have already witnessed something that had seemed impossible; The moment when all this tragedy finally ended…so I can give this needlessly long life to you and meet my end without any regrets… there aren’t a lot of people who could have such a satisfying end.”

It had no regrets.

It wasn’t just for  show. From the bottom of it’s heart, it truly thought that this very moment was the best moment for it “to die”; it was filled with happiness.

Rather, if it let this chance escape, then it would merely continue its needlessly long human life… or rather, turtle life and before eventually meeting its end later on.

“Also, the end of my life is drawing nearer as well… Even if I live on, I may live for only a few more hundred years before I’d die.”

“That is still a long life.”

Elrise couldn’t help but retort as she heard the length of time Propheter had left.

Even though it was merely a few hundred from Propheter’s point of view, it was still way an amount of time that completely surpassed that of humans.

Since all that lifespan had transferred into Elrise, it meant that not only did Elrise’s life get extended, but also that she could live on for at least a few hundred years as well.　

“Elrise, you have to live on. You have always helped other people, and you also have managed to save the hearts of the Saints throughout history, including Eve’s. From now on… you can live on for your own sake. You may choose to be tied to someone or not. Whatever path you choose, I hope you will lead a life that you think will make you happy… there’s no need for you to remain as the Saint anymore after all.”

The times when Saints were necessary have already ended.

Just as Elrise had said, a new age begins from now on.

But Elrise must be included in it.

The one who ought to disappear… is the remnant of an older time, who has continued to exist for 1000 years. This was what Propheter sincerely thought and felt then.

“From now on, it is your generation.”

That’s why— it entrusted its hopes to a new generation, and then the eyes of the Prophet who had watched over the world over 1000 silently closed forever more.

---

— I had a nostalgic dream.

As she opened her eyes, the ever familiar ceiling of her room filled her vision.

It seemed she had taken a nap, and had a dream about her past… nay, her past life.

As she slowly became more awake, she pushed back her dishevelled black hair a bit with her hand and reactivated her laptop, which had gone into sleep mode.

On the screen, there was a certain image set as the wallpaper.

It was a still from the game, “Kuon no Sanka,” based on a scenario she had written about.

Everyone within the illustration was laughing and  Elrise at the center of it; just looking at it made her feel happy.　

“I wonder what Elrise is doing right now… no, according to Fudou-san, there is time difference between the 2 worlds, so it’s probably around the time when my past self died over on that side.”

As she said that, she —Yamoto Tamaki, let out a soft laugh.

For some reason, Propheter, whose role had ended on that side, didn’t go on to the afterlife but had been reborn as human instead in this world.

The lifespan of a human was considerably shorter compared to the 1000 years she had lived in her past life, but after thinking about what she could do in this life, Tamaki had ended up turning the events of that other world into a story.

It was alright even if it was simply treated as a piece of fiction that only existed on the screen. She had wanted more people to come learn about it.

The fact that there were Saints who had perished over the course of history.

As well as the fact that a fake Saint had put an end to it all. 

She had written that tale with that in mind; on a whim, she had submitted it to a novel writing contest where it had won some sort of game category award and had gotten turned into a game.

The company had ordered Tamaki to stop publicizing her half-written novel on the public website she’d been using, so she had no choice but to stop posting it there.

Well, people would be more likely to look at the games anyway, so more people would know of deeds that Elrise had accomplished.

As for the game they’d ended up making… if it had been adapted as it was, then it would just have a straightforward plot. The company complained about it, so she ended up adding more things to it. Additionally, the company insisted on having Vernell as the protagonist instead of Elrise, and turned the game into a galge.

According to them, “there’s no way a straightforward story with an invincible female protagonist could sell ”. Goddammit. The moment she had won the prize, it seemed that the company had already decided to change her story into a galge.

Also, because of how overpowered Elrise had been compared to the other characters, she wasn’t given the role of a romanceable heroine but that of a supporting character instead.

However, Tamaki had been greatly against this. After all, she had written this to tell Elrise’s story. If Elrise herself had simply been reduced to that role, it would defeat the purpose of why she’d written it to begin with.

After a furious debate, Tamaki successfully turned the story she had experienced into the Elrise route. However, if it was implemented normally, then Elrise would become too popular, so it ended up becoming a hidden route. Damn you, Ijuuin.

On top of that, since the requirements to access it were so difficult, it took a very long time for it to be discovered. Damn you, Ijuuin.

“Well then… It seems there’s a request to write a DLC of an Elrise route after-story for the PC version. They really shamelessly ask for whatever they want, huh. I also want to know what happened after that. Rather, he had been the one who was so against adding Elrise’s route in the first place, but since it became so popular he’s got no choice but to ask me for this…”

As Tamaki complained, she thought about the scenario that Ijuuin was currently rushing her to finish.

She recalled that day when she had met up with Ijuuin and Fudou Niito and they had an interesting discussion, but… for some reason, even Ijuuin himself had forgotten about it.

Even when she had tried to talk to him about it, he had just replied with, “What are you talking about? It has always been this kind of scenario, right?” And when she had asked him about Fudou Niito, he would only reply, “Who is that?”

The Fudou Niito who had actually met the Elrise from the other side had also become unreachable; it sure was puzzling.

…Since he looked like he was dying the last time I saw him, maybe he is already dead, was what she had thought.

Even if she assumed that he’d told the truth, it was still a mystery to her how he’d been the only person who could interact with Elrise… In the end, this remained as an unsolvable mystery.

Then there was the other possible scenario that Yamoto Tamaki had observed during her period as Propheter… The helpless scenario where Elrise had been an antagonist and nothing got saved in the end.

While Tamaki had tentatively called it “Scenario A,” she still didn’t understand how she could observe it to begin with.

Perhaps at that point, there was a filter in her memories that prevented her from observing the future… or maybe, it was a hint that the World gave as an attempt to prevent this repeating tragedy.

Fiori, too, wished to end the continuous cycle of tragedy.

And for that, it had placed its hope in Elrise… though perhaps this was just wishful thinking on her part.

Though Tamaki really did hope that was the case.

Since she wouldn’t be able to get any answers regardless of how much she thought about it anyway, it was better to find the most likely answer and settle for that.

“As for Elrise… I wonder how she is doing now. I guess she would really step down from Saint’s seat. There were hints that she’d try to give it back to Eterna after it all ended. In that case… she’d build herself a small hut in the forest, and lead a retired life there. Yup, that feels right. Then Verboy and Leila girl will come along… Since it is still a Galge, we need to add some romance. Honestly, I doubt that Elrise ever felt such things, but I guess the user will be satisfied if I just show her interacting with Verboy with a good atmosphere… Though Verboy often does some really unexpected things… Maybe he’d say something like “I wish to become a man who could protect Elrise” and go off on a journey to further train…”

As she began to type out words, she imagined how Fiori would be now that she was gone.

It might go as she predicted, or it might go in a completely different direction.

But whichever the case… a happy tomorrow would definitely be waiting for them.

Because in that other world, there existed a fake Saint who surpassed the real ones… nay.

— The Saint who had moved for “the sake of the people”… not for the world’s sake; one who had ended 1000 years of tragedy.

As she thought that, Tamaki quietly smiled.

---

A/N:

People seemed to be misunderstanding it, but this is not the end yet.
Or rather, it will be properly written as the Epilogue on the Chapter Title…

Q: Why did Ijuuin-san use Vernell as protagonist instead?
A: He was conveniently there as Eterna’s childhood friend. His attitude was also similar to a protagonist. Elrise didn’t have any flaws, thus, it was judged she wasn’t valid to be the protagonist.

“Things that weren’t written within the story, and since it had no effect in story it totally got retconned; the things that happened in World A”

– World A Ending
The World’s real end was the Eterna Route.
Eterna suicide finally stopped the cycle — which did not actually happen.
The “Witch” that had lost its vessel appeared, and trampled upon World and Humanity.

– Propheter
It lamented its mistake, and died as it witnessed the world being trampled over by the “Witch.”
By the way, this version of Propheter could also observe Kuon no Sanka, but the difference was it truly happened as depicted there.
The reason the world’s destruction wasn’t depicted was simply because she hesitated to write it out;thus, she only left hints of it.

– Yamoto Tamaki
She wrote “Kuon no Sanka” based on what she’d experienced in her past life.
By the way, this “Kuon no Sanka” treated the Eterna Route as the True End, with no Grand Route available.
The reason she wrote this scenario was because she wished for people to know that such a world had been destroyed, even if it was treated as fiction.
The reason it had developed into a plot with multiple endings was due to speculations about what-if scenarios. “Perhaps there was a way where the world could survive” and indulging in escapism with such scenarios.

– World (Fiori)
Since it ended up destroyed, it honestly reflected on what it did and thought “I’m sorry for all this.”

Want early access to Fake Saint and Executed Sage? Support the translator on Patreon! Also, check out their latest project, Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer. It’s a Rance fanfic, sort of like a prequel to the main story.