Tales of the Gods ④ - The Fate Goddess Allofa

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The main gate of the Royal Kiralimake Academy.

A structure built to embody the dignity of the Teenidys Kingdom.

Its white marble walls are adorned with reliefs depicting the myth of the Goddess of Knowledge bestowing wisdom upon humanity. Its solemn design is awe-inspiring.

More than just the entrance to a place of learning, this gate is counted among the top tourist attractions of Teenidys.

Atop this gate, a small bird watched as the carriage from the Salar Baron's territory entered the academy grounds.

"Pii......"

The rainbow-colored small bird let out a single call, almost like a tired sigh.

This was the avatar of the Fate Goddess Allofa - the true mastermind behind the incidents surrounding Sara Salar, the Baron's daughter.

The Fate Goddess Allofa, true to her name, governs the fate of this world.

Her form is said to be that of a beautiful goddess with rainbow-colored hair who appears before people in the guise of a small bird.

However, the truth is that even Allofa's true form awaiting in the gods' realm takes the shape of a rainbow-colored small bird.

The "beautiful goddess" description is merely a convenient belief engineered to gain human faith.

She has been an avian creature since birth, never once taking a humanoid shape.

In the gods' realm of Ardyst, cases where a deity's true form differs from their mythological humanoid appearance are called "mythological deception" - but it is so commonplace that it is not particularly frowned upon.

In any case, putting that aside.

"Pii pii pii! Pipi pipi!"

Finally, the stage was set.

Allofa could now proceed with filming her isekai broadcast that she had been preparing.

Singing a joyful song while hopping and dancing about, Allofa celebrated.

She too wanted to produce an "otome game reincarnation" broadcast.

Ever since becoming entranced by the "otome game reincarnation" videos aired by gods from other worlds, this desire had swirled within her heart - now finally realized.

Of course she was delighted.

There had been unforeseen obstacles, requiring far more preparation than expected, but that only amplified her elation all the more.

......The "unforeseen obstacle" referred to that mysterious black-haired, black-eyed cursed child who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

There are occasional existences whose destiny even the Fate Goddess cannot discern.

More often than not, such irregularities are individuals who have somehow escaped a fate where they were originally meant to die.

Typically, through interacting with others in life, such beings eventually get incorporated into new flows of destiny...but that did not seem to be the case with the cursed girl.

Which also evidences that up until her current age, she had survived by barely interacting with people at all.

From Allofa's brief investigation, it appeared the cursed girl had cohabited with an elderly man until a few months ago. However, that man was also a recluse himself, apparently unable to bring about the causal nexus that would determine her destiny.

In other words, even now, while her actions over the next few months could barely be predicted, her greater destiny remained unreadable even to Allofa.

Truly an irregular among irregulars.

Now then, because this "unforeseen obstacle" - the irregular cursed child - had gotten involved with the Salar Baron's household, Allofa ended up having to go through extra trouble in preparing her isekai broadcast.

Implanting a reincarnated soul into Sara Salar the Baron's daughter's body to recreate an "otome game reincarnation" scenario pseudo-artificially.

This was not originally supposed to be difficult.

From the start, Allofa had envisioned having the reincarnated soul take over Sara Salar's body as she suffered from "a mysterious severe fever."

The reason being, in other worlds' "otome game reincarnation" broadcasts, that was a common introductory setup.

Allofa is the type to model things based on existing forms.

However, when she consulted the Plague God (who takes the form of a large rat) to inquire if there was any "disease that would cause only high fevers making one deathly ill, but fully recover by having a reincarnated soul take over the body", he flatly rejected her:

"There's no such conveniently contrived disease."

No matter how desperately she tried pleading that it was the mainstream setup used in other worlds' "otome game reincarnation" introductions, he still refused to cooperate:

"Over there is over there, over here is over here."

That rat was an inflexible stickler for rules.

To begin with, he had little interest in isekai broadcasts.

He adamantly refused to expend his divine powers on such frivolous pursuits.

What a killjoy.

Left with no choice, Allofa decided to have her apostle Kiskett arrange for bandits to attack Sara Salar the Baron's daughter. But then that accursed girl appeared on the scene.

Not only did she rescue Sara Salar from the bandits, she ended up staying on at the Baron's estate as hired help.

To implant a reincarnated soul into an already living body requires first putting the host in a near-death state. Yet with that cursed girl acting as a bodyguard, Allofa could not create such an opportunity.

In hindsight, it would have been better to have the reincarnated soul inhabit Sara Salar's body from birth, then have her powers and past memories awaken upon reaching a certain age condition - a commonly used method by gods like the Holy Goddess.

By stubbornly trying to mimic other worlds' "otome game reincarnation" setups, Allofa had needlessly complicated matters for herself.

It was her own doing.

In any case, lamenting it would not help.

To turn the situation in her favor, Allofa performed another "destiny confirmation" assessment and took a few key actions.

First, she issued a divine command to the Salar estate's servant Mauve:

<If you wish to change your destiny, then take action. Take Sara Salar hostage and barricade yourself in the study.>

That was roughly the content of the divine command.

Not many humans can receive divine commands, but Mauve was a fervent believer in the Fate Goddess Allofa.

He had always harbored a deep desire to escape his unfulfilling, overlooked destiny.

Though he never took any real action to realize that wish, remaining an unremarkable man.

The role of the Fate Goddess is to "view" destiny, not to improve the destinies of her followers.

They had to figure that out for themselves.

In any case, since Mauve was such a devoted believer in Allofa, she could grant him a divine command and prod him into taking actions favorable to her.

Normally, such a divine command could be misconstrued as a demonic whisper. However, having been constantly bullied by that fastidious butler Sneigen, Mauve's mental state had become quite unstable.

So unstable that even demonic whispers held sway over him.

Incidentally, Mauve's action of dropping the ceiling panel aimed at the lady and young miss of the household was his own decision, despite his unhinged mentality.

In fact, it was that very action that led Allofa to decide to use Mauve as an expendable pawn.

Next, Allofa issued a divine command to that Poison topopolock Queen the cursed child had fought to the death against.

She was a magical beast, of course not a believer of Allofa's, but wild creatures have simpler thought processes than humans, making them easy to intervene with.

<If you wish to build a paradise for your kind, attack the large human nest outside the forest.>

Originally considering an invasion into the human world anyway, she gladly followed the supernatural thought that suddenly resonated within her mind.

It was an extremely vague divine command.

There were no specific instructions to attack the second floor study, or use 【Poison Breath】.

However, since Allofa could foresee the resulting destiny playing out that way, the lack of details did not matter.

Furthermore, to ensure the Queen would definitely attack the Salar Baron's estate, Allofa triggered a landslide that devastated their habitat, backing them into a corner.

The large Kaliva tree Kiskett felled had been a supporting element stabilizing the mountain slope.

With that gone, a major rainfall would inevitably cause a landslide.

This allowed Allofa to perfectly synchronize the timing of the Topopolocks' attack with the day the Baron estate's barrier stone happened to be damaged.

At any rate, Allofa prepared meticulously up to this point.

And yet, once again, that accursed girl defied the destiny Allofa had arranged.

Originally, Allofa had predicted the cursed girl would repel the majority of the Topopolock horde.

But the powerful Queen beast would be an exception.

The cursed girl would be devoured after an intense battle with the Queen.

That was the destiny Allofa had foreseen.

However, the outcome differed.

Incredibly, that small cursed girl defeated the Queen and even began devouring her flesh instead.

Due to lacking sufficient combat data samples on the cursed girl, Allofa had misjudged her predicted destiny.

This was bad.

Once again, because of that accursed girl, the destiny Allofa had foreseen was being overturned.

She could not implant the reincarnated soul into Sara Salar's body.

Should she have Mauve injure Sara Salar instead?

No, that would not work.

If commanded such a thing, the mentally unstable Mauve would undoubtedly go too far.

He would kill Sara Salar.

No matter how many times Allofa predicted the destiny, she could only foresee that outcome, which is why she resorted to this roundabout approach.

She must not kill Sara Salar.

Implanting a soul into a dead body would merely create an undead - not what Allofa desired.

Left with no choice, there was one final measure.

Allofa poured her divine power fully into the Queen's corpse, temporarily possessing it as an improvised avatar.

In other words, she directly controlled the Queen's body to unleash 【Poison Breath】 upon Sara Salar.

It was an inefficient brute-force approach that heavily taxed Allofa, but at least it accomplished her goal.

Until the very end, the accursed girl obstructed Allofa, standing in her way to protect Sara Salar, but that small body could not fully block all the venom.

Finally, Sara Salar fell into a near-death state, allowing Allofa to dispose of that troublesome cursed girl.

In the end, the gods prevail.

......Or so Allofa thought, but then that accursed girl recovered normally from the venom instead of dying.

Just what in the world is that thing? A monster?

Well, whatever.

The important thing is that Allofa succeeded in implanting the reincarnated soul into Sara Salar.

* * *

And so the present scene unfolds.

After dozing off in the carriage earlier, Sara Salar has awoken, frolicking excitedly at the majestic, elegant view of the academy grounds.

She can be seen leaning out the carriage window, only to be chided by her traveling companion Kiskett.

"Pii pii pii."

Preparations on this side seem sufficient enough.

For reassurance, Allofa decided to also check on the status of "the other one."

Spreading her wings, the rainbow-colored small bird flew off to observe the situation with the other reincarnator she had arranged.

To put it truthfully, Sara Salar was a human originally destined to become the main protagonist.

Had the Fate Goddess not intervened, she would have grown into a pure, upright, beautiful young woman - just an ordinary Baron's daughter from the countryside, yet fated to catch the Crown Prince's eye and become his queen.

She possessed such potential.

However...

If Allofa simply had the reincarnator walk that predictable, predestined path, it would not satisfy the audience...the gods watching.

Therefore, for the soul to inhabit Sara Salar's body, Allofa deliberately chose one with a nasty personality - a dishonest, arrogant, selfish reincarnated soul.

Allofa had no intention of making Sara Salar the main protagonist.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

An antagonist who abuses the "walkthrough information" ("obtained from playing the otome game" - but actually future knowledge predicted via Allofa's "destiny confirmation") to act selfishly.

That was the Sara Salar Allofa desired.

Then who would be the main protagonist?

It would be a character originally destined to be a meek, envious person who would constantly bully Sara Salar due to her status - a woman fated to have her engagement to the Crown Prince annulled at the academy's graduation party, then exiled from the country.

......Ijiwaar Deswaar, the Deswaar Duchy's daughter.

The possessor of a glamorous beauty, her golden drill-curled hair twisting left and right.

Indeed, the "reincarnated as a villainess" premise is arguably mainstream among "otome game reincarnation" stories.

And it is Ijiwaar who is the protagonist of the Fate Goddess Allofa's isekai broadcast: 【It's Fine to Reincarnate as a Villainess Daughter! But the Name 'Ijiwaar Deswaar' Seems a Bit too Cruel, Don't You Think!?】

......Incidentally, as the title suggests, it is a comedy work.

76. 【It's Fine to Reincarnate as a Villainess Daughter! But the Name 'Ijiwaar Deswaar' Seems a Bit too Cruel, Don't You Think!?】 - Sara Salar the Baron's Daughter Side

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"......Hey, wake up Sara. We've arrived at the Royal Kiralimake Academy where you'll be studying from now on."

"......Huh? Ah, really!? Really, is it true!?"

I jolted awake at Kiskett-sensei's voice, wiped the drool from my mouth, and peeked outside the carriage window!

Sprawled before me was the majestic decorated gate, beautifully manicured gardens, and dazzling upperclassmen conversing in their shining uniforms!

It was such a brilliant world, I could scarcely tell if the dream I'd been having moments ago was still continuing.

A lovely fragrance wafted from the garden flowers - a complete departure from the manure stench of the Salar Baron's territory!

Indeed, exactly!

The world of 'Swords and Magic and Romance ~Sparkling Academy, Underdog Love Story!~' that I played to literal nausea in my previous life had unfolded right before me!

"Uwah! Amazing, amazing! Ah! Masshio's fountain and Shokon's copper statue too - exactly like in the game!"

"Hey Sara, leaning out is dangerous, you know......But anyway, what's this about a 'game'?"

"Hah!? U-Umm.....ah! Ughh~! I must have gotten carriage sick! I think I'm gonna puke!!"

"......Sheesh, you really do say the most outlandish things. In any case, don't do anything reckless, all right?"

Phew! Close one! I managed to throw Kiskett-sensei off with my brilliant fake vomit act!

Heh! As expected of the notoriously clueless "helper" character Kiskett-sensei from the game.

Deceiving this guy is child's play for me!

No matter what the protagonist says in the game, this total pushover teacher just accepts and affirms it, after all.

But still, I really did reincarnate into the game world, huh....... I felt it all over again.

I had realized it when I found out Martz the Baron and Emma the Baroness were my parents, but those two basically only show up during the long vacation periods in the game.

So with just that, I was only half-convinced.

There were little discrepancies too at the Baron's estate, like a girl I'd never seen in the game, or an old man who was supposed to be there but wasn't.

Speaking of which, apparently I nearly died from a monster's venom, but wasn't that incident a substitute for the game's opening event of "getting ambushed by bandits and left for dead"?

I ranted so much when playing about how dumb it was for a bandit attack to open an otome game, so I remember that event vividly.

It existed solely to have the helper character Kiskett-sensei show up and guide you through the tutorial, with no other real foreshadowing or significance - which was refreshingly unique, hence why it stuck in my mind.

You'd see it over and over on repeat playthroughs too, since it was unskippable.

Well, while there are little differences like that, there's no doubt this is the game world.

I, "Sugi Chihiro", have reincarnated into the world of my beloved otome game.

"Fufufu......"

"? Sara?"

But more than that, even more!

My head is still chock-full of the walkthrough information from when I played the game!

Which means, in other words!

I can freely sweep up the hearts of any romance targets!

Exactly as I please!

That's what it means!!

"Gufufufufu!"

"Hey! Hey Sara! What's with that ominous laughter!?"

"Hah!? Oh, n-no, it's just, over there! There's a dog, you see! Seeing a dog settled my queasiness, so I was just feeling happy!"

"What kind of constitution do you have? Also, that's a cat over there?"

Phew~~~! Another close call, just barely avoided!

I only managed because Kiskett-sensei is so hopelessly dense, but I'll need to be more careful going forward.

After all, having the game's walkthrough information is essentially the same as knowing the future from the perspective of the in-game characters.

If that got out, any of my actions could be seen as having ulterior motives to "bring down the other person", preventing me from being able to romance anyone at all!

Conversely, if it remains secret, everything will undoubtedly go my way.

I realized during magic practice back home that conveniently, it seems I've inherited the game's data - my abilities are nearly maxed out already, easily allowing me to overpower with sheer stats if needed.

If things go smoothly, I might even be able to choose a harem route!

"Gufufu......Guhahaha......Haaaahahahaha!!!"

"Hey, Sara? Sara, keep it down, will you? Everyone's looking at our carriage now. I'm totally gonna act like I don't know you from here on out, okay? Okay?"

I will!!!

Revel in this world's spring to the absolute fullest!!!!

......But.

But will it really be okay? Is this really fine?

For some reason, I can't shake the feeling that I'm forgetting something extremely important......

That vague sense crops up occasionally.

I wonder what this feeling is......?