Let’s Make Saving a Habit - Chapter 32

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 32
I was pondering how to mediate between the two of them when it happened.
“Tania, want to see something interesting?”
“…What is it?”
“Keep your eyes on him, will you?”
Elysion pointed at Raspi, who was rushing toward us at high speed.
Then, without warning, he spread his palm wide open before suddenly clenching it into a fist.
Crunch.
In that instant, with a crunching sound, the pouch containing Raspi’s eggs flattened completely.
As if he’d shattered the eggs with telekinesis.
I turned my head sharply toward Elysion, my eyes wide with shock.
I’d known Raspi was no match for Elysion, but I never expected him to lose so pathetically without even properly engaging in combat.
No, Duke, this isn’t fair. How am I supposed to win against someone who crushes eggs from a distance?
“How do you like my magic? Now it’s just the two of us left.”
He asked shyly, as if anticipating my reaction.
“Well… you certainly crushed Raspi’s eggs very thoroughly.”
And his spirit along with them, it seemed.
Raspi turned his pouch inside out in disbelief, checking it.
But the eggs were already compressed beyond recognition.
I quietly turned my gaze toward Elysion.
“Sion, are you going to crush my egg too?”
“…Don’t you not have an egg?”
“What are you talking about? Of course it didn’t break, so I’m still here instead of going to the Safe Zone.”
“…So I’m the only trash.”
He muttered something incomprehensible and washed his face with his hands, his eyes squeezed shut.
[Overwriting Viewpoint 1 with the current viewpoint.]
I saved my viewpoint while Elysion was off his guard.
All this time, I’d been conversing with him obediently to find the right moment to save.
If I failed to persuade him, my next plan was to engage in endless close-quarters combat.
We were very close to each other.
He wasn’t wary of me.
There was no better timing than now, with his eyes closed.
But then…
After finishing his face wash, he opened a pocket dimension and retrieved an egg from it.
“…?”
Why is an egg coming out of there? This is seriously cheating!
Beyond bewilderment, I felt a sense of despair wash over me.
No matter how many times I rewound, this was a battle I could never win.
He held the egg up and waved it back and forth in front of my eyes.
“Tania, do you want this egg?”
I was caught between whether to answer or attack—it seemed like I could land a blow if I moved fast enough.
He smiled wickedly, as if he’d never intended to hear my answer at all, and suddenly dropped an egg onto the ground.
The way it fell created the illusion that he’d cast a slow-motion spell on it.
With a soft crack, the egg shattered far too easily.
And then what he said was….
“Oh, my mistake.”
A mistake? A mistaaaaake?
Anyone could see it was an intentional drop.
The people in the Safe Zone stirred in surprise at Elysion’s sudden action.
“Tania, let’s head down now.”
But he, unbothered by what he’d just done, took my hand and slowly descended from the rock.
I followed him down in a daze, utterly bewildered, and demanded an explanation.
“Sion, why did you do that?”
“Because I like you. I told you yesterday—I’d rather be on good terms than be competitors.”
“Just for that reason…!”
Elysion tilted his head slightly.
“Then why are the twin siblings helping you?”
“Well, because I saved their lives.”
“I have a similar reason.”
“What? When did I ever…!”
“There’s a thing called the butterfly effect. Even if you didn’t do it directly, your actions could have influenced me enough.”
…What could I have possibly done to influence him?
At this point in time, the only thing that could have influenced Elysion was the raid on the Underground Auction House?
Or was it telling the Merchant Leader about the location where mana stones were buried?
If it was something I did before I was seven, it was too long ago for me to remember.
As I racked my brain, pulling out every memory I could, he pressed his lips to the ends of my hair.
“That’s why I wanted to help you.”
“….”
“From the moment I first saw you, I was on your side, Tania.”
In his blue eyes, the reflection of a girl with rosemary-colored hair shimmered. His gaze was fixed solely on me.
As a strange atmosphere settled between us, the Safe Zone stirred once more.
I tried to push away the awareness that others were watching and asked him directly.
“What influence did I have on you?”
“I told you. You saved my life because of it.”
“That’s not what I’m asking…!”
“That’s a secret.”
Elysion placed his index finger on his crimson lips, then smiled softly, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
“I’m an eliminated contestant, so I’ll head to the Safe Zone now. Actually, the Battle Royale isn’t over yet.”
“What?”
While we were talking, hadn’t Raspi eliminated everyone?
“There’s one idiot who didn’t even notice the water rising and came rushing to the center too late. I’ll leave that one to you.”
You should get to show off your abilities too, shouldn’t you?
Elysion added this quietly, then turned without hesitation and walked toward the Safe Zone.
By having me eliminate someone in front of the other participants…
He’d even provided me with a rebuttal against the claim that I’d won solely through others’ help.
I watched his retreating figure, my eyes blinking slowly. It felt like I’d been bewitched by something.
“…So that’s why people warn you to be careful of young foxes.”
But I couldn’t waste an opportunity I’d finally gained. I immediately saved my viewpoint.
[Viewpoint 1 is being overwritten with the current viewpoint.]
The remaining person was probably hiding nearby by now, waiting for their chance to strike.
They wouldn’t have dared make a move while Elysion and Raspi were alive.
The moment Elysion carelessly shattered his own egg, they must have thought it was their opportunity.
I was only known by rumor; I hadn’t actually demonstrated any abilities yet.
The ability to tame magical beasts like Raspi? I don’t have that.
Quick hands like Rosemary? I don’t have that either.
Proficiency in magic like Elysion? Not at all.
But I could receive infinite opportunities that came around fairly to everyone once each.
Whether my opponent was an Ability User or an ordinary person, I was confident I could win within the bounds of common sense.
“I know you’re hiding, so come out. You already know my ability is foresight, don’t you?”
At that, a girl emerged from behind a tree roughly in the nine o’clock direction from where I stood.
She appeared to be close to fifteen, the maximum age allowed to stay at the Talent Cultivation Institute.
As a side note, anyone sixteen or older had to leave the Talent Cultivation Institute.
Typically, the standard path was either being hired by Duke Papiope’s Household or finding employment elsewhere with a certificate of completion.
In other words, this girl was someone who would soon have to leave the Talent Cultivation Institute.
She seemed intoxicated by the thought that she would become the Duke’s adopted daughter, laughing loudly.
“I don’t know how you managed to roast Elysion, but you should have checked if any survivors remained first. Well, I’m grateful though!”
The girl stamped her foot with such force that the ground trembled, charging straight at me.
Each time she took a step, her legs left deep imprints in the earth.
With such brute strength, she appeared to be an Ability User with superhuman power.
She was so strong that in just a few bounds, she closed the distance between us in an instant.
[The current viewpoint is being overwritten with Viewpoint 1.]
The girl, practically flying through the air, didn’t slow down and crashed directly into me.
In an instant, I felt my body lift off the ground as I was knocked backward.
The girl wrapped her arms around my waist and repositioned herself to take the impact below.
It seemed to be an instinctive action.
Crash—!
Still holding me, she fell backward and pinned me down with her weight.
Her grip was so powerful that I couldn’t move an inch in her embrace.
I remained as still as possible, fearing that if I struggled, she might increase her grip and crush me.
The girl reached toward my right pocket, which was visibly bulging for anyone to see.
Crack.
A sticky, unpleasant sensation emanated from my pocket. An egg had shattered.
“Kyahahaha! I won!”
The girl released her grip on me and sprang to her feet with unbridled enthusiasm.
So consumed by exhilaration was she that she threw her arms skyward, cheering triumphantly at the heavens.
I stared at her in bewilderment, then—still seated on the dirt ground—drove my fist into the bulging pocket of her garment.
Crack.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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