How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game - Chapter 570

Chapter 570: Saintess’s Blessing Interlude

“So, you really have nothing going on with that junior?” Alice asked again, her golden eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

“Of course not.”

“Hmm…”

“You aren’t convinced?” I raised a brow at her tone.

“Yes,” she said bluntly. “After all, she was pretty cute… and touchy.”

Her gaze sharpened as she scrutinized me from the side, as if trying to peel the truth off my skin. I could only chuckle softly.

Honestly, seeing Alice act jealous like this was undeniably cute—but there was also something a little terrifying about it.

We had left the church behind, now walking along one of the quieter streets at the far edge of the commercial district.

It wasn’t crowded here, which was rare.

The road sloped gently downhill, opening into a scenic view of the academy’s lower sector.

From here I could see the clusters of small open parks scattered at every corner, each dotted with early autumn blooms and benches basked in sunlight.

“Enna is just a good friend of mine,” I explained patiently. “She’s close to Reina, and some of the other well-known freshmen. Even Lucas is quite friendly with her.”

“So, she’s close to little sister-in-law…” Alice tilted her head. “She must be quite the popular junior then.”

“Not as much as the other top freshmen though,” I corrected. “In any case, trust me, there’s nothing going on between us. It’s just that Enna is… well, innocent and socially awkward. Much like Seo.”

At that, Alice’s steps slowed.

She gave me a side glance, lips curling into something between amusement and suspicion.

“Hm… I can see the resemblance. But doesn’t that just mean she’s ultimately dangerous?”

“What do you mean?”

She leaned a little closer, her voice lowering into a teasing yet pointed whisper.

“If she reminds you of Seo, then chances are you’re going to end up taking her in as well.”

“Do I look like Somone who just goes after every girl I encounter.”

“Isn’t that a bit of the case?” Alice’s grin was dangerous and delighted at once.

“I never do it on purpose.”

“Well, you don’t intend to, but you do attract them… and she’s pretty cute as well.”

I shrugged, letting the honesty be half-joke, half-truth. “But you’re cuter in my eyes, Alice.”

She paused. The air between us shifted.

“Hmmm~ just because you say nice things to me won’t mean I’ll forgive you so easily, you know—”

I closed the distance and leaned toward her ear, my voice low. “You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met. There’s a reason why I fell for you instantly.”

Heat rose across her cheeks; the pink in her hair seemed to flare.

“H-Hmm~”

She turned away with a little sound that was half-fluster, half-pleasure, squeezing my hand tighter until our fingers ached.

Over time I’d learned a lot about Alice in those quiet, intimate moments we carved out for ourselves.

She acted mature and teasing, but she was a soft, soft thing underneath—hopelessly weak for compliments when they came from me.

No matter how much she tried to hold herself composed, one sincere sentence and she’d melt like sugar in warm tea.

“What you said…” she murmured, walking beside me in step with the tilt of the street.

She looked back at me, eyes suddenly earnest. “Do you really mean it?”

“Yes.”

She let the word in, turning it over on her tongue like a taste she wanted to keep.

“I—I see. Hmmm~ that’s good…” A small smile curved her lips. “But… you said most beautiful in your eyes, right?”

“Of course.”

“Even among the other girls…?” Her voice grew softer, a thread of vulnerability pulling at the edges.

I felt the question set down like a stone between us.

The world narrowed to the space of her gaze.

I paused, measuring the weight of the answer—not just truth, but the truth that could reshape everything that sat on the delicate balance between us.

“Even more beautiful than Rose… even more than Snow…?”

‘Why was she asking such a dangerous question?’

Although beauty was subjective, if we were to measure it in the most objective sense—symmetry, elegance, refinement—Snow would probably define and win every category.

She was beauty personified, incarnated into flesh and grace.

But…

Even if Alice was my personal Bias.

In my eyes, all of them were beautiful.

I chuckled softly, letting the words slip out before I could stop them.

“Haha, of course you are.”

Alice blinked at me, a little flustered, then looked away with a smile tugging at her lips. “I-I see…”

She chuckled to herself as if she had secretly won something precious.

Maybe she knew I was saying it just to make her happy.

But in the truest sense, from the deepest part of me, every one of my lovers was the most beautiful in my life.

They were close to each other, and none of them harbored any true ill will or greedy intentions.

Still, I couldn’t deny that each wanted their own little claim over me, something to hold as theirs alone.

Snow loved lingering, almost endless kisses.

Rose preferred when I was rough with her in more ways than one….

Seo loves spending time with me.

And Alice… Alice bloomed under compliments, softening and glowing with every word I gave her.

Each of them carried their own quirks, their own ways of pulling me deeper.

I knew I should treat them all equally, and I tried.

But when it was just the two of us, when no one else was watching… maybe it was alright to lean into those little biases, to indulge them more than I should.

After all, those moments belonged only to us.

“Alice…” I said, quiet enough that only she could hear.

“Hn?” she curled in closer, fingers warming mine.

“As an apology for making you jealous, I’m going to take you somewhere really weird and fun. You’ll have a lot of questions—I’ll try to answer them as honestly as I can. I can’t answer all of it, though. Do you trust me?”

She blinked, then grinned—the kind of grin that made the world feel softer at the edges.

“What kind of silly question is that? Of course I trust you, no matter what, Riley! And you said it’ll be fun, right? Hehe—count me in!”

Her faith felt like a small, dangerous thing in my chest.

I still didn’t know how much of myself I could give away.

Between the fragments of the old world, the rules of this one, and the lie that my Authority could twist reality into, there were too many loose threads.

But if anyone could handle the truth without fracturing—if anyone could take a sliver and not flinch—it would be Alice.

I looked at Alice and saw sparks of divinity inside her.

‘Emilia’s blessing should still be in effect…’

“Alice and I are going to an amusement park back in Gaia…” I started, and her eyes lit up.

“Amuseme—?” she began, but a system bark cut through the moment like a bell.

[The Anomaly has lied]

As the notification stamped itself into the corners of my mind, the air around us shivered.

The quiet street, the cathedral stone and stained glass, the cobblestones underfoot—everything bent on a hinge.

Sound rolled differently, light saturated.

Wheels screamed in the distance.

A metallic, joyful clatter rushed toward us, and with it came a flood of color: towering spoked circles slicing the sky, banners snapping in wind, stalls blinking with strings of lanterns.

The scent hit first—sugared steam, roasted chestnuts, bright citrus from candied apples.

People streamed in arcs and lines, laughter fracturing into a dozen harmonies—childish squeals, lovers’ chuckles, the deep baritone of carnies hawking prizes.

Balloons bobbed like small suns. Ferris wheels turned slow and perfect.

Roller coasters threw their shadows like teeth over the fairground.

“W-Where are we?”

Alice whispered, mouth hanging open as her gaze darted from carousel horses to a cotton-candy stand painted in pastels.

Her usual composure was gone; wonder had taken residence in her face and refused to yield.

Everything in her softened: the idol, the schemer, the saint—left for a moment in the wind of the park.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding.

Part of me trembled—this was a lie the world had swallowed and made real—but another part felt very honest: I was giving her a piece of my memory, an echo of a life she’d never lived.

This was as close as I could come right now to telling the truth without unraveling everything.

“Let’s go have some fun, shall we?”

I’ll give her the best memory of her life.

….

Meanwhile—

In the eastern Empire, at the heart of the Gyeoul Clan’s main mansion.

The room was silent, save for the soft rustle of paper and the measured drip of bamboo water echoing in the courtyard beyond.

A beautiful lady sat gracefully upon a cushion, her posture immaculate, knees folded beneath her in the traditional manner.

She wore a set of eastern attire that was unlike the simple robes of ordinary clan members—hers was woven in deepest black, its hems and sleeves threaded with silver floral embroidery so intricate that it seemed alive in the candlelight.

The darkness of the fabric only made her features sharper, more severe, as though the dress itself demanded reverence from those who looked upon her.

Her red hair, tied in a strict bun, revealed a pale neck and delicate jawline, but her bangs fell low, obscuring part of her face and softening her image.

Her crimson eyes, remained lowered as they scanned the paper before her.

“…Is this all you have to report, Bom?” she asked at last, her voice even, carrying no inflection yet making her daughter straighten instinctively.

“Yes, Mother,” Bom answered quietly.

Though Bom mirrored her mother’s kneeling posture across from her, there was a faint unease about her.

She was striking, with the same crimson hair and sharp gaze, but where youth gave Bom a liveliness, her mother’s presence seemed untouched by time.

Bom often found it difficult to reconcile the fact that was her mother even human at all.

Aera Nari Gyeoul.

Wife of Beol Gyeoul, the successor of the Gyeoul Clan.

She folded the paper neatly, setting it aside without comment, before lifting her gaze to her daughter.

“Bom… your half-sister, Seo. Where is she now?”

Bom hesitated, her lips tightening. “…At the academy.”

“And how is she?”

A beat passed. Bom lowered her gaze. “…Forgive me, Mother, but I have not spoken to Seo since she left for the academy.”

“I see…”

The silence that followed was heavy, as if the stillness itself pressed against their shoulders.

Tap…!

Tap…!

Only the steady tap… tap… of the bamboo water outside filled the space, a rhythm that made the pause feel longer than it truly was.

Finally, Aera’s lips parted again.

“Bom… is the Sect prepared?”

“Yes, Mother.”

“…Good.”