How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game

Chapter 343: Party 2

Okay... now that was easier than I expected.

I had assumed Kagami would jump at the chance the moment he heard about the Heavenly Divine Pills, but I suppose a family man like him wouldnʼt trade that familial bond for anything. ...Well, anything besides love, that is.

Iʼm glad I paid attention to his character in the game...

The fact that he has a secret crush on Senior Lorraine was a huge plus. It was the perfect leverage to get him on board. With this, I now had the first member of my party locked in.

Since the minimum required party size for hunting dungeons outside the academy was six, that meant I needed four more members.

Lucas and Janica were absolute musts.

Lucas, in particular, was someone I needed to assess.

After all, the goddess herself had personally bestowed a blessing upon his holy sword.

If my assumptions were correct, the synergy between his divine prowess and his weapon should be at an all-time high right now.

All he needed was to level up.

Knowing him, I highly doubted he had slacked off in training. Lucas and laziness didnʼt belong in the same sentence.

But just in case... I needed to make sure he was as sharp as he was at this point in the game.

Now, all I need to figure out are the last two members...

Easier said than done.

Rose, Seo, and Snow were the most probable candidates, and any of the three would likely accept an invitation without hesitation.

Normally, that would be a good thing, but in this case, it was a problem.

If I asked one of them and not the others, there was a high chance of jealousy or disappointment.

The last thing I needed was unnecessary tension between the three of them right now.

But considering Snowʼs role as the Student Council President, I highly doubted sheʼd even have the time to participate in the practicals.

She was already strong enough, and I couldnʼt imagine the academy taking the risk of putting someone like her in danger.

If I were to bet on it, sheʼd probably be exempted from the entire exam.

That left me with Seo and Rose as my best options.

Still, Iʼd have to wait until she returned before informing her about it.

I rotated my right arm in a slow stretch, casually glancing around.

Thatʼs when I noticed a group of first-years staring-their gazes locked onto me with an intensity that was hard to ignore.

I sighed.

I knew this lot had a lot of free time now that their practicals were mostly over, but could they at least be a little more subtle about their gossiping?

I understood that this kind of thing was normal in noble society, but no matter how long Iʼd been here, it was impossible to get used to it.

I wonder what kind of absurd rumors they were cooking up about me this time...

If I had to guess, the rumors were probably about the stunt I pulled with the S-Class first- years during their practicals.

As long as it wasnʼt anything debaucherous, I could live with it.

I ignored the stares around me. I was in a pretty good mood right now, and honestly? I couldnʼt bring myself to care about anything else at the moment.

A part of me still couldnʼt believe I was actually official with Senior Alice now. It felt surreal.

But this situation was very much real. ʼSenior was quite the hugger as well....ʼ

Although it was our first time sleeping together she hugged me up like a Koala... although it made it a bit hard to sleep, that can be ignored due to how cute she was...

Of course my relationship with Alice, came with its own set of problems, but I knew-without a doubt that this was the best way to handle everything.

Liyana probably already knew exactly what I was doing at this point.

Or maybe not.

But considering the sheer number of eyes that had been on me when I ascended yesterday, the chances of her being one of them werenʼt zero...

After all, it was Lucasʼs divine nature that made her fall madly in love with him.

Just thinking about eventually fighting Liyana in the future was already giving me a headache.

But once I was done with the White Queen, all the necessary preparations would be in place. It wouldnʼt be a problem.

All I needed to do now was gather all the people I needed, make sure they were at their absolute best, and ensure they were ready.

Because if I wanted a successful happy ending for everyone in this world...

I couldnʼt afford to fail. ʼJust like in the game Harem routes really are grueling....ʼ

Stretching my body for a bit I let loose some of the remnant excess divine energy within my veins as I inhaled and exhaled it out of my body, feeling refreshed I turned around as I looked at Killian hall in the distance.

Around this time, Lucas should be training in the public training grounds inside the dormitory.

It was going to be a hassle trying to invite him personally, especially considering his personality and the way he treated me.

But I didnʼt really have a choice-not when I was the one planning to test him out anyway.

Sigh...

I could already see it.

That golden retriever-like sparkle in his eyes the moment he spotted me-the sheer excitement radiating off him like a damn sun.

That battle junkie would probably try to challenge me to a fight the second I showed up.

Not that Iʼd decline, though.

Still, I had other matters to take care of today as well. I should probably visit the Saintess, Emilia, before the day ended.

The rings I had in my possession-and the task I needed to complete with the goddess-had to be dealt with before the semester wrapped up.

With that in mind, I turned on my heel and made my way toward Killian Hall. ...

Sigh- ”Enna, are you alright?” ”H-Hm? Ah-oh! I-Iʼm completely fine, Vanessa! Ehehe~ Iʼm just a little tired, thatʼs all~”

Inside the grand, towering halls of Killian Hall, two girls walked side by side.

Emilia, under the alias of Enna, and her close friend Vanessa had decided to spend the day together.

However, their outing wasnʼt exactly the kind of casual hangout one would expect from normal students. ”Was the General Departmentʼs practical exam that hard, Enna?” Vanessa asked, casting a glance at her friend.

She wanted to call her by her real name-Emilia-but due to the strict restrictions surrounding her identity as a Saintess, she couldnʼt afford to be too familiar in public.

Enna shook her head with a light smile. ”No, not at all. In fact, unlike the Specialized Courses, we General Department students only did the absolute basics of what you guys were learning. We didnʼt have to fight enchanted war golems like you guys did-hehe...” She chuckled, though her expression dimmed slightly. ”The only hard part was probably the written exam...”

Her voice trailed off, and a small sigh escaped her lips. ”Haha... Even though I studied hard, none of the things I actually reviewed even came up...”

Vanessa forced a calm, reassuring smile, though a part of her couldnʼt help but feel bad for her friend. ”Donʼt worry too much about it, Enna. I know just how hardworking you are, so Iʼm sure you did great,” Vanessa said reassuringly.

Although her words might have sounded like mere encouragement, Enna appreciated the sentiment.

She took a deep breath, pushing aside her worries.

There were far more pressing matters at hand.

She had already been dealing with the suspected infiltration of demonic cultists within the academy, and now, on top of that, there was the overwhelming surge of divine energy from the previous night. ”The reason youʼre so exhausted... is it because of that light yesterday?” Vanessa asked, her voice lowering slightly. ”...Yes.” ”I see...” Vanessa nodded, her emerald-green eyes glinting with understanding.

Now it made sense why Emilia looked as though she hadnʼt slept a wink.

Even Vanessa, with her high elven heritage, could barely comprehend what had happened.

Although she wasnʼt well-versed in divine energy, her lineage granted her the ability to perceive the essence of various energies in the world.

And what she sensed last night was something beyond comprehension. ”Even though Iʼm no expert in divine energy, my instincts told me one thing... that power was far beyond anything a mortal could handle,” Vanessa admitted, her expression serious. ”Did the Goddess say anything to you? Perhaps some kind of premonition or warning?” ”Uh... thatʼs what worries me,” Emilia said, her voice growing quiet. She clutched her hands together, as though trying to suppress the unease bubbling inside her. ”The Goddess has been completely silent... I havenʼt heard anything from her.”

A sorrowful expression crossed her face, and slight tears welled up in her blue eyes. ”Hm? I thought that as the Saintess, you could freely converse with the Goddess through prayer alone. Surely, she must have told you something...” Vanessa said, tilting her head in curiosity. Emilia let out a frustrated whimper, her expression crumpling with distress. ”Ugh~ What should I do, Vanessa? Actually... itʼs been over a week since I last heard her voice.” She hugged herself, as if trying to shield herself from her own anxieties. ”I knew something was wrong the moment I started hearing less and less from her, but yesterday... ever since it happened, not even a single hymn, not even the faintest whisper of the Goddess, would come through-no matter how much I begged.”

Her blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears as she clutched at the fabric of her uniform. ”Did I do something wrong? Maybe I committed some sin without realizing it? What if... what if she abandoned me?”

Before Emilia could spiral further into her doubts, Vanessa swiftly stepped in front of her, placing her hands on both of Emiliaʼs soft cheeks and twisting them with a firm tug. ”O-Ouchh! V-Vanessha?! W-What are you dooing?!” Emilia yelped, her words slurred from the constant stretching of her cheeks.

Vanessa sighed, shaking her head. ”Iʼve noticed this for a while now, Enna-you overthink way too much.”

She released Emiliaʼs cheeks, watching as the Saintess rubbed them with a small pout. ”You are the Saintess, the closest person to the Goddess in this mortal world. Her beloved daughter. There is absolutely no way she would abandon you over some nonsense mistake you might have made without realizing it.”

Vanessaʼs emerald eyes softened as she placed a reassuring hand on Emiliaʼs shoulder.

Ever since Emilia had revealed her true identity to her a few weeks ago, their bond had deepened beyond what one would call normal friendship.

At this point, Vanessa saw Enna as the little sister she never had-and the same was true for

Emilia. ”I-Iʼm shorry...” Emilia mumbled, still rubbing her sore cheeks.

Vanessa chuckled, patting her head gently. ”There, there. Just stop doubting yourself so much, alright?”