How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game

Chapter 751: A Goddess’s Advice to Godhood 8

The preparations for the ritual were soon completed.

Emilia stood in the middle of the nun’s room, looking around at the work she had spent so much time preparing.

Ritual circles covered parts of the floor, carefully drawn symbols surrounded the room, and several smaller formations had been placed around the walls to make sure everything would work exactly as intended.

She had been careful with every single detail.

One wrong symbol or an improperly connected line could affect the entire ritual, so Emilia had taken her time making sure everything was properly arranged.

She could have easily asked some of the church members to help her.

In fact, they probably would have happily done so.

But Emilia had insisted on doing everything herself.

After placing the final symbol, she stepped back and looked around the room.

"...Done."

She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand before breaking into a satisfied smile.

"Hehe, with this, the preparations should be complete!"

Her expression was filled with the simple pride of someone who had just finished a difficult piece of work.

The people of the church had long since become accustomed to Emilia’s unusual requests.

When she had first asked them to prepare the room and give her some privacy, a few of them had exchanged curious looks. But after knowing Emilia for so long, they had simply assumed it was another one of her strange little ideas.

None of them questioned it too much.

In fact, despite her rather unusual behavior at times, the people of the church had gradually grown quite fond of Emilia’s innocent side.

There was something strangely endearing about how seriously she approached things that everyone else found completely bizarre.

Of course...

Emilia herself had absolutely no idea they felt that way.

As far as she was concerned, they were simply helping her because it was their duty.

"Vanny said she’ll prepare the garments and attire for me..."

Emilia looked toward the neatly prepared clothes that had been placed nearby, although such clothes should suffice it seems Vanessa was preparing something special.

"I should probably just stay here and wait for a while."

She paused.

Then looked down at herself.

"...Actually, no."

She had been working hard enough that her clothes were slightly damp from sweat.

Emilia frowned before nodding to herself.

"I should probably take a bath first."

She glanced toward the window.

It was already late afternoon, and the sunlight outside had begun to slowly fade. The sky was taking on warmer colors as the sun gradually descended toward the horizon.

Riley should be making his way toward her soon.

Thinking about that, Emilia’s smile returned.

"He’ll probably be here before the sun completely sets..."

She quickly began gathering what she needed for her bath.

There was still some time left.

Everything was prepared.

The ritual was ready.

Now all Emilia had to do was wait for Riley to arrive.

Just thinking about what was supposed to happen during the ritual was enough to make Emilia’s face grow warm.

She quickly shook her head, trying to push the thought away.

"I-It’s not like I’m expecting anything from it..."

She clasped her hands together as she tried to convince herself.

"It’s simply one of the requirements of the ritual. That’s all. We’re supposed to exchange a kiss because it helps complete the ritual’s connection, nothing more and nothing less."

Her cheeks became even redder.

"And it’s also meant to help Senior, so everything I’m doing is for a good reason. Yes... that’s right."

Emilia nodded firmly to herself.

"There’s absolutely nothing strange about it."

"Who are you speaking to?"

"Hieek!"

Emilia nearly jumped out of her skin.

She spun around and found Vanessa standing at the entrance, carrying the things she had prepared for the ritual.

"V-Vanny?! You’re here?!"

"Yes."

Vanessa raised an eyebrow.

"I just finished preparing my part. Though..." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What exactly were you mumbling about?"

"N-Nothing!"

Emilia immediately turned away.

"Absolutely nothing!"

Vanessa stared at her.

Emilia stared at the wall.

Neither spoke for several seconds.

"..."

"..."

Vanessa slowly sighed.

"Right."

She didn’t need to ask.

The sight of Emilia’s bright red face had already given her enough of an answer.

Vanessa knew her best friend well.

Emilia could be incredibly innocent most of the time, but that innocence sometimes made her surprisingly straightforward.

Once she convinced herself that something was necessary, she could rush forward without properly thinking about how it might look from someone else’s perspective.

And now Vanessa had agreed to help her with the ritual.

She had originally thought everything would be simple enough.

Prepare the room.

Prepare the ritual garments.

Make sure the formation was complete.

Then let Emilia handle the rest.

But now...

Seeing how flustered Emilia already was before Riley had even arrived made Vanessa wonder whether she had underestimated the situation.

Still, she trusted Emilia.

And she trusted Riley to respect her boundaries.

Even so, Vanessa figured a little friendly advice couldn’t hurt.

"Emmy."

"Hm?"

Vanessa walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Just remember something."

Emilia tilted her head.

"If anything makes you uncomfortable, you can always stop the ritual."

"..."

"You don’t have to force yourself to continue just because you started it."

Emilia blinked a few times before slowly nodding.

"Alright."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Vanessa gave her a small smile.

"Good."

She then glanced at Emilia’s slightly sweaty clothes and sighed.

"Now go wash up. We’ve both been working for hours, and you don’t want to meet Senior looking like you’ve just finished running across the entire church."

Emilia looked down at herself.

"...I suppose you’re right."

"I’ll take care of the finishing touches while you’re gone."

Vanessa picked up the remaining materials.

"I’ll also prepare your clothes and the ritual garments. Once you’re back, everything should be ready."

Emilia’s expression immediately brightened.

"Thank you, Vanny!"

She gave Vanessa a cheerful smile before quickly walking toward the door.

Vanessa watched her leave.

The moment Emilia disappeared from sight, she let out another long sigh.

"...She’s really something."

She looked around the room at the completed ritual formation.

Everything was ready.

Vanessa quietly hoped that the ritual would go exactly as planned.

Knowing Emilia, though...

She had a feeling the evening was going to be much more troublesome than either of them expected.

.....

Unfortunately, having second thoughts when it came to Liyana was really starting to cause me more trouble than I expected.

I already knew the easiest answer to all of this.

I could just monitor Liyana myself.

If I knew where she was going, who she was meeting, and what she was doing every day, then I wouldn’t have to keep guessing what she was planning.

The problem was that Liyana wasn’t someone I could simply follow around without her noticing.

She had her own responsibilities, her own excuses, and more than enough freedom to move around the academy whenever she wanted.

And knowing her, even if I tried to casually ask what she was doing, she’d probably give me some perfectly reasonable answer while hiding whatever she actually had in mind.

Of course, I doubt she’d ever refuse if I asked her to spend the day with me.

She’d probably be happy about it.

But that wasn’t what I needed.

After learning that she had already been quietly moving around the academy and meeting people who were acquainted with me, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was doing something.

I just didn’t know what.

Liyana doesn’t move without a reason.

That’s one thing I’ve learned about her.

Even when she looks like she’s simply wandering around and doing whatever she wants, there’s usually something behind it.

If I suddenly started paying close attention to her movements now, she’d notice.

And if Liyana realized I was keeping an eye on her...

She’d become suspicious.

That would only make things worse.

So, for now, I had to stay passive.

I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t afford to make a careless move.

Fortunately, she hadn’t done anything drastic yet.

Our date had ended peacefully, and she seemed genuinely happy afterward. If anything, she looked more satisfied than I had expected.

I could only hope that mood hadn’t changed yet.

Because when it came to Liyana, I knew better than anyone that things could change very quickly.

"...For now, everyone should be fine."

Snow, Rose, Alice, and Seo could take care of themselves.

Even if Liyana became a little troublesome around them, I wasn’t particularly worried.

Those four were strong enough to handle whatever she threw at them, and Liyana couldn’t exactly do whatever she wanted without them noticing.

As for everyone else...

I started going through the people I knew at the academy one by one.

"Emilia should be fine."

Considering the Goddess’s connection to her, I seriously doubted Liyana would try anything against Emilia.

They’d already met as well.

So far, Liyana had only acted a little suspicious around her, but nothing more.

That was manageable.

"Kagami..."

I paused for a moment.

She had probably already seen him when she visited the student council.

I didn’t know what Liyana thought of him, but there wasn’t much reason for me to worry about Kagami either.

Then there were the others.

And that’s where things became a little more complicated.

There were plenty of people Liyana could run into around the academy.

Most of them weren’t worth worrying about.

But there was one person who immediately stood out in my mind.

Lucas.

My expression naturally became more serious.

"Especially him..."

That was where I couldn’t afford to be careless.

Lucas wasn’t like everyone else.

Too many things were connected to him.

Too many possibilities.

And too much of the future had once revolved around him.

I had already changed countless things from the future I remembered, but that didn’t mean every possibility had simply disappeared.

Especially when it came to Liyana.

If she met Lucas under the wrong circumstances, I couldn’t be sure what would happen.

Evelyn...

That clone of mine hadn’t done anything useful as usual.

I let out a heavy sigh.

With things going the way they were, I was starting to doubt whether I’d be able to have a single moment of peace at the academy.

And it wasn’t like things were going to slow down anytime soon.

The Continental Grand Festival was still going on, preparations for the vacation ceremony were already underway, and Alice’s graduation was getting closer as well.

I still needed to spend some time with her before she left.

Seriously...

Dealing with a character who was basically a last boss this early in the story was exhausting.

Liyana wasn’t simply strong.

She was a world-ending existence.

Her fate was tied to my doom, and the number of unfortunate connections between us had only continued to increase since I started interfering with this world.

Every time I thought I had finally gotten a handle on things, something else appeared.

"Treating her normally is impossible for now..."

I muttered quietly

"But soon..."

I stopped myself.

Again.

That happened far too often whenever Liyana was involved.

I’d start thinking about the future.

Then I’d start thinking about what could happen.

Then I’d begin trying to come up with some way to prevent it.

Before long, I would end up doubting my own decisions.

I shook my head.

There was no point thinking about it endlessly.

For now, I had to deal with what was directly in front of me.

And tonight...

That meant Emilia.

By the time I reached the cathedral, night had already settled over the academy.

The area around the church was unusually quiet.

Most students had already returned to their dorms, and the academy grounds were much quieter than they had been during the day.

Still, I made sure to conceal my presence properly.

There was no reason to attract unnecessary attention.

I could have simply opened a portal and appeared inside the cathedral.

But I decided against it.

Emilia was already inside.

Knowing her, she was probably still preparing the ritual.

If I suddenly appeared in the middle of the room through a portal, I might startle her.

Worse...

I could accidentally interfere with whatever divine formations and symbols she had already prepared.

I wasn’t going to risk ruining all her hard work just because I wanted to save a few seconds.

So instead, I quietly walked through the cathedral until I reached the room Emilia had prepared.

I stood outside the door for a moment.

Then...

Knock.

Knock.

There was a brief silence.

Then Emilia’s voice came from the other side.

"S-Senior!?"

Her voice immediately became noticeably flustered.

I couldn’t help but smile slightly.

"Yeah. It’s me."

I waited a moment before asking,

"Can I come in?"

There was another short pause.

"Y-Yes!"

Her voice came a little louder this time.

"Please come inside..."

As soon as I entered the room, I couldn’t help but look around.

Just like the last time, I was impressed by how much preparation Emilia had put into the ritual. Divine symbols covered the floor and walls, connected by carefully drawn lines that formed a complicated ritual circle. Every part had been arranged with obvious care.

She really had worked hard

"Once again, thanks for accepting this selfish request of mine."

"It’s fine, Senior..."

Emilia smiled nervously.

"I... actually like it when you ask me for favors."

"Is that so?"

I raised an eyebrow.

For some reason, she immediately looked away.

"...Junior?"

"Y-Yes!?"

"Why are you standing so far away?"

Emilia froze.

"That’s because..."

She couldn’t finish her sentence.

Her face slowly turned bright red as she looked down at the floor, both hands tightening around the loose sleeves of her robes.

For a moment, she seemed to be gathering every bit of courage she had.

Then she looked back at me.

Her brows were slightly knitted together, and despite how nervous she looked, there was a strange determination in her eyes.

"M-My great friend advised me that I shouldn’t always be the one to come forward, Senior..."

"...Your great friend?"

"Yes."

She nodded seriously.

"She said that if I always make the first move, it might look like I’m the one taking advantage of the ritual’s requirements."

"Huh?"

I stared at her.

Emilia’s face became even redder.

"T-That’s why..."

She took a small breath.

"I thought... this time, I should let you decide."

I understood what she meant.

Or at least, I thought I did.

The ritual required a certain level of trust and cooperation between us.

Emilia had apparently decided that she didn’t want to make me uncomfortable by assuming I would simply follow along with whatever she suggested.

She took another small step backward.

Then she stopped.

Her hands slowly relaxed.

Slowly, with hesitant fingers, Emilia loosened the outer layers of her baggy robe.

The heavy fabric slid off her shoulders, pooling at her feet. Beneath it, she wore the traditional ceremonial attire—white, delicate, almost luminous in the dim light.

The material was revealing, touching her white skin as it outlined her body, but it carried a kind of purity that made her seem ethereal, like she was part of the ritual itself.

She looked at me with those clear blue eyes... then closed them, steadying her breath.

"Please... come to me this time, Senior."

Her voice trembled, but her posture remained firm—hands clasped, shoulders drawn back, waiting.

Like a young woman mustering all her courage, hoping the person she trusted would meet her halfway.

Emilia stood there, not bold, not forward—just earnest. Just vulnerable. Just waiting for me.