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We return to the real world after checking the results of the second run of Ilias and Wolfe.

For Wolfe, they went for more trial and error, and lost after a half a year longer war.

The one that left more of an impression really was Ilias. She was set up by a certain someone.

“It is disappointing that she got betrayed even if it was in a simulated world.” (Gold)

The Gold Demon Lord finally got off from my lap, made a chair appear nearby, and sat there.

It bothers me that that chair is a bit fancier than the ones we have, but let’s leave that for later.

“That’s because of you, Gold Demon Lord.”

“This one’s fault?!” (Gold)

I turned my chair and we faced each other.

It is a distance where our knees just barely don’t reach each other. I feel like I am from a higher position because of our heights.

“I managed to give out orders for the internal affairs and the military through a special method in the simulated world. This has the advantage that you can process things in a simplified manner. It is bizarre when thinking about it realistically. When you do your political measures in the real world, you give the orders directly to Ludfein-san and the other cabinet ministers, right?”

“Umu, obviously. It is a pain to call them every time and wait in the simulated world after all. I have made it so that I can omit that part.” (Gold)

“That’s the issue. That omission looks weird for people from other countries.”

The omission system set by the Gold Demon Lord omits the process.

It may feel natural for her orders to go through since she is the king of Gahne, but there’s normally a lot of processes behind it.

The moment when it is acknowledged, when asked the reason, when an opinion is given, when there’s opposition; all of those are omitted and the order just passes. That’s the system of the simulated world.

It is a system that doesn’t fall apart because the king is shut inside the Gahne Castle and has interactions with limited individuals.

“If you were to actually declare war, Ludfein-san and the others would ask for a reason, would be against it, and would try to convince you to rethink. But the declaration of war is done forcefully, and Ludfein-san and the others perform this without any issues. For an outsider who has seen that state since before the declaration of war, they would even assume they are under mass hypnosis or something.”

I threw the pillow I had to the Gold Demon Lord.

The Gold Demon Lord caught this and threw it back at me.

“I see. Ilias Ratzel is the king and tried to make contact with an outsider like ya. And then, she suddenly declares war. That discrepancy is remarkable.” (Gold)

“That goes the same for the reason for the declaration of war to Taizu. It is because it is such an unreasonable declaration of war that Taizu accepted it. They judged Gahne as dangerous and fought back. But show that sight to someone from the sidelines. They might even notice the structure of the simulated world.”

Ludfein-san and the others change completely from being peaceful to a military country. But within all that, there’s the king Ilias who doesn’t change.

What would an otherworlder think when seeing this?

Of course they would think they are a mastermind.

“Hmm, I have asked for the cooperation of other countries in the simulated world, but I have never brought in someone from a foreign country as an ally after all. This one’s power unexpectedly has quite a good deal of pitfalls.” (Gold)

“It is originally not a power used for entertainment after all. Of course, I am not pinning all the blame on you. It is also in part because of my own special skill.”

“Special skill?” (Gold)

“I am good at gauging the distance, you see. I am sensitive to the appropriate distance. For example; if there’s someone who tells me about the situation beforehand, and tries to induce a good or bad impression on me, I would go ‘Hm?’. That goes the same for the changes in people close to me. Even if I don’t know the details, it is easier for me to notice something good or bad has happened.”

It is because I have this special skill that I managed to notice the existence of Raheight acting like the attendant of Pope Euparo.

Even though it was our first meeting, she was strangely close. I won’t get so conceited as to think I am popular.

It is a weapon that serves greatly even in modern society. It is one of the few skills I wouldn’t lose to others in.

“Why have ya learned a special skill like that…?” (Gold)

“Simple. When a complete stranger were to come to you and they are way more knowledgeable about you than necessary, what would you think?”

“—They have investigated me well.” (Gold)

“Then, what would you think the reason for them having investigated you?”

“It would be…either because they don’t want to sour this one’s mood…or are scheming something.” (Gold)

“That’s it. The reason for a stranger investigating you thoroughly is mostly because they are scheming something.”

Being wary of others is basic when conducting yourself; even more so when a stranger knows about yourself more than you do.

That’s why you shouldn’t pry too much carelessly. In order to form a trusting relationship, you have to build it from the ground up, from a relationship without obstacles, and getting each other’s agreement.

That said, the skilled ones will use that information while feigning coincidence.

There’s a lot of skilled people, and most of the bad natured ones would learn such skills.

“The otherworlders from the simulated world must have been wary at all times because of the weird distance Ilias had. If you add an unreasonable declaration of war and a request for help, of course he wouldn’t trust you.”

“Ya must be at a complicated age—upu.” (Gold)

“Shut up.”

I put a bit of strength into the throw of the pillow. The Gold Demon Lord couldn’t catch it and got hit by the pillow straight on her face.

A fault of this simulated world is that it is way too real.

There’s clear will in the people living there.

They are created for the sake of verification and enquiry, and would be thrown away. The scale is just messed up.

The sense of worth between the simulated world and this world are clearly deviated. They should originally not be making contact.

“In that case, wouldn’t it be impossible to make ya an ally in the simulated world?” (Gold)

“It is not like I can see through lies perfectly, but I can notice inconsistencies. Discrepancies in the emotions too. If you lose my trust there, I won’t be cooperating. Also, I rarely change my evaluation towards people that I have tagged as enemies.”

It may be weird saying this myself, but I really am a pain in the butt. I maintain my policy of always doubting aside from my sincere human relationships.

There’s a lot of sincere people in this world, so I don’t have many clashes in my human relations, but it is still on the level where I would worry every now and then.

“Fumu, then how about explaining all of the situation to ya? Yer a goody two-shoes despite all ya say, right? Wouldn’t they be able to get yer trust if they act sincerely?” (Gold)

“—That would be the worst move. I would definitely become their enemy.”

“Why?” (Gold)

“You should be able to tell if you switch positions, right? If you were told ‘This world is a simulated world. There’s the need to bring down the neighboring country because of a match in the other world’, what would you think?”

“That’s—I obviously wouldn’t believe it…” (Gold)

“What would you do after believing it?”

“…Ooh.” (Gold)

We stopped the pillow fight and the Gold Demon Lord made a pitiful face.

It is because she is a Demon Lord that can create simulated worlds that she hasn’t thought herself what she would do if her own world was a simulated world.

But this reality permeates the match right now.

“‘This world exists for the sake of a side show, and if the need is not there anymore, you will disappear’. There’s no way you would raise both hands and cooperate if you were hit with that reality. Rather, I would get angry. I definitely wouldn’t forgive them.”

I should have assigned Rakura as the player. If it was Rakura who can see through lies, she would have an easier time noticing my fake cooperation.

This is my mistake for getting dependent on the strength of Ilias and deciding the pairings as such.

“…The 3rd iteration is done, huh.”

I confirm that the hourglass is empty now and turn it around.

There’s no one waking up. Looks like the 3rd iteration ended in failure.

“Fumu, let’s go check then. Let’s watch Ilias try to seduce ya from the front row seats.” (Gold)

The Gold Demon Lord stood up and a pillow flew at me.

It is the same position as before.

“You should be able to do this without touching me.”

“What. Are ya embarrassed?” (Gold)

“…”

Want me to put my weight on ya when I lose consciousness, hah? -My consciousness flew away while I was thinking about this.

We changed orders here and we began from the 3rd iteration results of Wolfe first.

It must have been the instructions of Mix, the iron defense had gotten even stronger and they concentrated on defense even more.

However, the future of the chivalric order getting through it didn’t change and, after half a year longer, Gahne fell.

“It is boring that there’s not much change.” (Gold)

The Gold Demon Lord moved through the memories as if bored. There really isn’t any highlight here.

Wolfe isn’t fighting at the frontlines, and she was mostly spending her time on the throne.

Even if Mix is loyal to Marito, it is not like she is throwing this match.

But there’s almost no visible signs of her doing trial and error to win.

She seems to just be thinking about ways to buy time.

“Let’s go to the place of Ilias next.” (Gold)

“No, before that, can you bring out the small Gold Demon Lord?”

“It is possible, but…if ya want to admire this one, she is right here. Go ahead, go ahead.” (Gold)

“Hurry up.”

The Gold Demon Lord booed displeased as she raised a hand, and a small Gold Demon Lord appeared in front of my eyes.

That information should be here within the functions. Hmm…aah, here it is.

You can’t return to the past in this simulated world, but you can confirm what commands you have done with the log.

When more than a year passes in this world, it is hard to remember what you did around the beginning after all.

I investigated the log for a while and the main body poked her head by the side.

“The command log? Ya could have known what they did by advancing through this space though.” (Gold)

“There’s things that you can’t tell with that. Here, you can see this and notice something, right?”

“…Fumu. Those commands are not really that strange.” (Gold)

“Really? They are really weird though.”

That’s right, these logs are way too strange.

Considering their intentions, they are not from Mix.

The commands to the domestic affairs and the military are without doubt from Mix. Wolfe can’t do stuff like that.

But it should be safe to assume these commands are from Wolfe.

The reason is… Wolfe really is a diligent one.

“Mumuh? I don’t get it.” (Gold)

“I see. The 4th one will most likely be something similar to this, so if you can keep a record, you should.”

“What, ya won’t tell me?” (Gold)

“We are going to be talking for close to two hours. I am thinking of using it as a conversation topic at that time.”

“Fumu, that sounds like a plan.” (Gold)

We leave the record of Wolfe and enter the recording of the 3rd iteration of Ilias.

It seems like Ilias tried to take me in as an ally again.

The saving of Wolfe and obtaining the possession spell also went smoothly this time around too with this being her second time.

And then she saved the otherworlder and they communicated at Gahne.

Looks like she plans on forming our relationship slowly.

Honestly speaking, I don’t see this going well.

I have gotten awfully close to Wolfe compared to the real world, but my distance with Ilias seems to have grown further away.

And then, a few days before the declaration of war, Ilias went and did it.

“She has told him everything.” (Gold)

“Yeah, she messed up.”

A certain someone made her spill every single detail as the price to cooperate and shut himself in his room.

Two days later, he told the details of his plan to Ilias.

The action Ilias took after hearing that was…

“She ended Gahne with her own hands…?” (Gold)

“So it seems.”

After making commands to the internal affairs, Ilias declared the end of Gahne’s ruling; basically, she resigned from this round.

The world ended naturally at that point and the simulated world ended its duty before the war even began.

After that, we returned to the real world.

“…Haah, I really took a cruel method if I say so myself.”

“Explain already.” (Gold)

Her tail smacked my face and demanded to me.

“There’s nothing to explain. You heard it yourself, right? -The talk of the me from the simulated world.”

Ilias agreed to the proposal of the me from the simulated world.

And then, noticing that she wouldn’t be able to achieve it in the 3rd iteration, she ended it and moved to the next one.

This was a proposal with insurance.

The logic is not wrong. Even if she were to act right before the declaration of war, there’s not enough time. That’s why the me made it so that she would have to move to the 4th iteration.”

I don’t care at all about my self that’s from a simulated world -that dry otherworlder is right here.

That said, I should stop thinking of him as being the same person as me, yup.

It is the 3rd iteration, so I will call him Third.

Third was thrown into the isekai and was saved by Ilias while he was flustered.

And then, he got close to Wolfe even if it was for a short time.

Learning about the environment of Wolfe, he of course would feel something as a modern Japanese person.

The people around were not bad people either. I must have been able to get along with them.

But that’s where the confession of Ilias comes in.

The world that he was thrown into from Earth was a simulated world, and it will disappear if the war ends.

And then, he was told to copy what the one from the real world did.

‘You are a fake. Cooperate in ending the world for the sake of the real you’ -that’s what Ilias basically said to someone who was opening his heart a bit to her.

Ending things immediately must have been Third’s way to get back at her.

“‘I definitely won’t cooperate. If this world is a simulated world and once the world ends you are moving to a different world, use the me from that world. I will tell you the method, so get out from this world at once’ -so he said.”

“So yer not thinking at all about the trouble ya will be causing to yerself in the other world.” (Gold)

“Obviously. I am me. Even if it is a simulated world, a parallel world, or a different world, if there’s another me, that’s just a stranger.”

The one in trouble in this case is Ilias.

Third knew that Ilias was close to me in the real world.

That means it wouldn’t be strange for him to have cooked up something that would make sparks fly my way.

At the very least, if there was another me, I would definitely hate that me and I would see him as an enemy.

“—Well, the thoughts of Third are not that complicated. He is myself after all.”

“Third? Yer name in that simulated world?” (Gold)

“It is nauseating to have the same name. Narcissism of small differences.”

In the eyes of Third, he hates me for occupying the spot with Ilias he thought he had gotten close with, and I hate Third for the method he is about to make Ilias take.

Isn’t this a wonderful relationship?

“But to leave information in that way is impressive. Even though ya can’t bring complicated memories.” (Gold)

At the time she moves to the next world, she brings her memories in a condensed state as only results.

In other words, even if Third were to tell her a way to make Taizu fall -basically the method a certain someone used to make Taizu fall in his first run- the memories to perform that plan would not remain in her mind.

Even if a fascinating scenery were to remain in your mind, there’s barely any of the small details remaining as a whole.

The system is made as such.

If not, you would be able to move to the next world while still having mastered the possession spell, or use your battle experience in the next world after all.

However, if there’s a branch like having someone else research the possession spell and how you made them research it, the result of what choice was the most effective will remain, so you can apply it to a certain degree.

Third took advantage of that system.

He made the names of the national holidays as information.

He readied events with ridiculous names like ‘The festival where the possession spell can be completed with the theory of XXXXX by XXXXXX’ and had it recorded.

“To think ya would use the Gold Demon Lord’s system as a memo. I certainly might have thought up that idea after a few iterations.”

I didn’t have issues with passing on my memories since I finished in the 1st run.

More like, isn’t this close to cheating?

Anyways, Ilias managed to bring the memories she wanted to bring of her 3rd iteration by marking them as national holidays and festivals, and moved to the 4th iteration.

However, Third didn’t give any specific ideas.

The only thing he told her was the method to use Fourth.

It is as if saying the evils that Ilias is going to be performing will be done by Fourth and not himself.

I am really good at pushing responsibility. It is more nauseating from the fact that a close friend of mine is being caught up in this.

“Gold Demon Lord, tell me what you can from what I will be asking you from here on.”

“Fumu?” (Gold)

I have already seen through the trap Third set up a long time ago, but I have absolutely no intention to forgive him.

The weak point of Third is that he could only get information from Ilias. There’s no way an information weakling would be able to win against the original. The story would be different if Third were here though.

“It is not like I can’t do it… But this one has no obligation to do that though.” (Gold)

“You will become our ally if we get 2 wins. Please do it for me as  proof of friendship or something like that.”

“But there’s the possibility ya will have 2 defeats. What do ya plan to do at that time? I myself would want to see yer sincerity.” (Gold)

“At that time, I will personally try to not hate you, and I will personally remain in a friendly relationship with you.”

“That’s a mighty high horse yer riding there!” (Gold)

———

With the knowledge of the 3rd him, we had a favorable start in the 4th iteration.

We finished the possession spell a few days after beginning. This is because we recorded the name of the specialist and the parts we had troubles with.

And so, I am currently in Taizu.

I have arrived as an adventurer and am currently taking the exam to become a knight.

This is what the 3rd iteration of him said: The reason why the him from the original world managed to make Taizu fall in his 1st iteration was because of the time he spent living in Taizu. That’s why try to trace those actions as much as possible with my 4th self’.

Get to war just like that and, when you see the opportunity, use that knowledge for your next iteration.

Now that he mentions it, he has been interacting with His Majesty for a long time, and he knows this country well.

He was acquainted with the other Knight Captains and also the members of the Ragudo Division.

The Gold Demon Lord said in the beginning: ‘We know Taizu well, so we are at an advantage’.

But the 3rd him has only lived in Gahne. That’s why he doesn’t know the details.

When I was registering, I registered with the name of my parents which is not known, and made my reason for wanting to become a knight almost the same as the real me.

The reason why I chose my setting to be that of a Mejis knight was because I have Rakura with me, so it is easier to avoid inconsistencies.

And so, I managed to safely join the same Ragudo Division as a knight.

(I just thought about this. You may not be present in this world, but will I be present?) (Rakura)

“I wonder…” (Ilias)

Fortunately, my original house is still open, so I am living there as my base.

I am fast forwarding it moderately, so the passing of time is extremely fast.

I would fast forward night and when it is morning my stamina will recover immediately.

The mental fatigue remains, but my nerves have been trained as a knight, so I should be fine with just resting every now and then.

I requested patrolling work and managed to set an environment as close to that of before meeting him.

However, there’s small differences showing up.

The first one is that my surroundings are treating me kindly.

There are people who direct scornful eyes at me for being a woman, but there’s more people who take gentle attitudes towards me.

I have been told the reasons why I was hated. I was made aware that I didn’t put enough effort in directing my attention at others when training.

Of course, it is not like I have consciously tried to improve this, but the leeway in my heart must be different from before.

In the first place, the problems I caused in the past are now gone.

To think the relationships I have in their initial state are this peaceful. I would like to scold my past self.

If I had been like this with everyone from the start, I would have been more—

“Not good. This is not the time to be leaving lingering regrets in this world.” (Ilias)

(But it is true that the eyes around you has changed. You are apart from Maya-sama now though…) (Rakura)

It really is hard to make contact with Maya.

There’s the possibility I will mess up somewhere if I were to meet Maya who can see through lies while I am faking my identity.

Also, I might end up mistaking the distance between us because of our long relationship.

I wanted to meet with Saira too, but I should endure for now. I would like to leave the things that were possible because of him to him.

Even regarding Wolfe, the him from the 3rd iteration told me clearly to not move, so I have no choice but to endure even if it is painful.

The one other issue would be the bandit alliance.

If I make contact with him in my patrols, I might be able to bring about the same developments from there, but I have not been left the job by Lord Ragudo this time around.

I am a knight that has not been in Taizu for long. He might not even remember my name yet.

His Majesty was curious after I made the achievements, and smelled the existence of my helper.

I need to do something so that he can get closer to His Majesty.

But there’s the possibility that the plans of someone like me will be read.

“How should I act…?” (Ilias)

(Your position in the knights wasn’t good to begin with because you are a woman after all. How about telling Counselor-sama your current standing after saving him?) (Rakura)

“…Right.” (Ilias)

The him in the 3rd iteration said that I shouldn’t tell him immediately about how I am ruling in place of the Gahne king.

That if I did so, I wouldn’t be able to imitate the same actions.

I myself would want him to interact with His Majesty sincerely. If I were to make him carry a plot behind him, there’s the possibility of something bad happening.

I shouldn’t think too deeply about it and just live straight as a knight.

And then, the days pass, and I finally managed to make contact with him.

I haven’t shown my appearance to the specialist of Gahne that obtained the possession spell, and I ordered them to head to Taizu with the command of the domestic affairs.

I asked their identity when I was in the middle of my patrol, and after I made contact with the man, I brought him to the place of the specialist.

The developments after that were almost the same.

We seized the bandit lair with the Ragudo Division with his testimony.

The Ragudo Division had a hard time interrogating the prisoners, but he volunteered himself and showed the same method.

He got close to Cara-jii in a short time and Cara-jii performed what he proposed.

Since he couldn’t make contact with Maya who knows about necromancy, we somehow managed by using the Mejis perspective of Rakura to tell him.

Regarding the documents of Dokora, I had Gahne bring in the wanted posters of him in Gahne, and gave them to him.

And then, the day before the positioning of the units was decided for the subjugation of Dokora, he moved.

He led the situation to the same position where the Ragudo Division would be at the back like before with their small numbers.

He said later that he wanted to repay me for looking after him.

(Counselor-sama is a person who  feels indebted easily.) (Rakura)

“Right, even in the real world, he…for my sake…” (Ilias)

Let’s leave the emotional stuff for later. I should do what I can right now.

Our battle against Dokora finished safely.

I didn’t want him to have a conversation with Dokora if possible, but he wouldn’t be able to obtain the book without this conversation.

I endured a bit and sliced his head off.

I invited him to my house after that just the same and gave him a room.

We missed each other countless times at that time. I ended up having to stay on standby for one day.

I could meet up with him if I wanted, but I had no choice but to endure.

He brought me to Dog’s Bone and we drank in a friendly manner.

The need to get drunk here was hard, but I did so for the sake of replication.

I managed to get him to tell me that he was having a walk together with Cara-jii. He must have retrieved the book.

And then, time passed almost the same way. The difference would be that he is moving more actively this time around.

If I remember correctly, Maya messed up before and there were side effects because of it. It must be that.

But the effects of this didn’t create changes and he safely saved Wolfe.

The Wolfe in this world got attached to me. She never opened her heart to me in the 3rd iteration, but him saving her really must have held a lot of meaning.

I felt sad about it, but I was also happy.

And then, the conferral of honors for the subjugation of Dokora was held.

It seems like talk of him was transmitted to Lord Ragudo through Cara-jii, was called in the same way to the banquet, and  faced His Majesty.

“We somehow managed to get this far without issues.” (Ilias)

(Uuh. Not being able to drink alcohol for this long is painful…) (Rakura)

We have already gone through 4 repeats. Even if there’s no burden because the memories have been compressed, Rakura must be having it rough too.

“…Right, you are coming next, Rakura.” (Ilias)

Rakura was ordered to retrieve the book by Archbishop Ukka who was being controlled by the hypnosis magic of Raheight, and the Anbus of Mejis followed after her.

The work from here on will be pretty rough too, but I have to work hard.

A few days after that, Lord Ragudo told me that a cleric from the Yugura Church will be coming from Mejis in order to check the status of the churches in the villages.

And then, it was set that he will be going around the villages together with that cleric as a Counselor Candidate.

Seems Rakura is fine. Looks like I am the only one with the limitation of the body since I am the substitute of the king.

It really does feel a bit lonely.

(It is finally my turn!) (Rakura)

And then, I was shocked when I saw the cleric that I met at Maya’s church.

“My name’s Raheight. I will be under your care.”

(Why?!) (Rakura)

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