Miss Hebe Is Charging Through the Lostbelts! [2]

The first time Hebe opened Secret Histories Simulator, her starting situation had been an absolute mess.

In the background story loaded at the start, Merlin had only two accomplishments to his name—trying to draw the Sword in the Stone before anyone else, and occasionally bullying the village girl Artoria.

The latter was the one who would later truly draw the Sword in the Stone and become Arthur, the king who ruled over Albion.

The moment Hebe learned that her name in this Lostbelt was “Merlin,” she immediately understood her role and figured out exactly how to complete her Great Deed.

She found Artoria digging potatoes in the field, apologized to her, then stepped aside so she could push that ahoge-sporting country girl toward drawing the Sword in the Stone.

What followed went exactly as Hebe had expected.

The girl Artoria drew the Sword in the Stone, swept through chaotic Albion, crushed the Romans who sought to invade, and in the end was crowned in London as monarch under the name Arthur.

“But Arthur never possessed Avalon. The Sword in the Stone could grant her kingship, but it couldn’t preserve her health forever…”

Hebe walked calmly through a colonnade wound with grapevines. Sunlight filtered through the greenery above, scattering across the ground in broken patches, and when the girl’s bare soles stepped into them, it felt as though she were walking through a river of light.

A retainer came hurrying out from the side. The instant he saw Hebe, he jumped in fright, and the bundle in his arms slipped free and hit the ground with a clatter.

It was a wrapped set of silver tableware.

“Lady Merlin…” He dropped to his knees in panic.

“So it’s gotten this bad already?” Hebe gestured for him to rise. “Tell me.”

“Thank you for your mercy!” The retainer hurriedly gathered up the bundle. “The truth is, I’m one of the very last attendants who hasn’t already fled! ‘Bad’ isn’t enough to describe London anymore… Ever since half a year ago, reports have kept coming in from outside the city.”

He swallowed nervously.

“—The Red Dragon Duke and the Lionheart King may not fight each other first after all. They may gather their forces and take London first, forcing King Arthur down from that Iron Throne. And another report says they’ve already waited far too long. When the two kings’ armies break into London, atrocities will follow—atrocities no one wants to see.”

What other atrocity could it be? Naturally, the sacking of the city.

“The Knights of the Round Table stationed across the land had long since each sworn allegiance to one of the two kings. And supposedly, two months ago, someone saw… the enchantress Morgan outside the city.”

The retainer’s voice grew quieter and quieter, and he cast Hebe a fearful glance.

“The enchantress Morgan, imprisoned for betraying King Arthur, is said to have escaped from the Tower of London. Meanwhile, Merlin, the court mage who served King Arthur all this time, has vanished without a trace. And even with matters this dire, there’s still no word from King Arthur herself… For all anyone knows, she may already have died on the throne.”

Hebe calmly finished the sentence for him.

“That’s what all of you think, isn’t it?”

The retainer stammered, but could not force out a single word.

Though his head was bowed, there was little shame on his face. Clearly, he had long since lost whatever reverence he once held for this so-called King Arthur.

Hebe let him go. He was hardly the only one thinking such thoughts, and at a time like this, reproaching them would have been meaningless.

…

“I’m exhausted…”

The weariness did not come from her body, but from her mind.

Hebe sat down on a stone bench beneath the colonnade and rubbed the soles of her feet.

It had taken her an entire day, but she had finally grasped the situation she was facing. After such a long siege, almost no soldiers in all of London remained loyal to King Arthur. As for the knights and nobles of every rank, they had thrown in with the two kings long ago.

In the final analysis, it was because King Arthur had grown too old, and because she had gone too long without touring her lands. The Round Table Council had also long since taken over most of the functions of kingship. Given enough time, even loyalty would curdle.

Arthur had believed she defeated war and brought peace back to this land. But war did not disappear. It had merely sunk deep into her kin and bloodline, like embers smoldering underground.

“Arthur probably saw this coming long ago. Mordred raised a rebellion once too, after all, stirred up by Morgan… But now she really is old. There’s barely enough fuel left to keep her alive—only enough to preserve her conscious thought.”

“Heh. Maybe not even conscious thought anymore… Morgan escaped long ago and has already become one of the two kings’ greatest assets.”

Hebe looked up at the moon hidden behind the clouds. Her fingers toyed with the strands of hair hanging by her temple, and a slight curve touched the corner of her lips.

She was not mocking anyone.

She simply felt, from the bottom of her heart, relieved.

At long last, this Lostbelt was almost cleared.

Words visible only to Hebe surfaced one by one.

[The Red Dragon Duke and the Lionheart King have already reached the city gates. They walk their own Paths, as the sun moves along the tracks of its heavenly chariot.]

[As the court mage and sage who aided Arthur in accomplishing her Great Deeds, you may support either one in taking the throne. By doing so, you will complete the final step of your own Great Deed.]

[“Enchantress” Morgan—what drives her to seek revenge on Arthur will not be love, but jealousy. What will bring about Albion’s ruin will not be jealousy, but desire. What gave birth to all this will not be desire, but curiosity. And what led to today’s ending will not, in the end, be curiosity, but love.]

[As the one Morgan both hates and loves, you may choose to help her carry out her revenge upon Arthur and let Albion be destroyed by war. By doing so, you may also bring your Great Deed to completion.]

Two choices. Two directions history might take. The former was probably closer to how real history would unfold; the latter was far more unrestrained. Either way, both could lead to the Lostbelt’s conclusion.

Hebe snapped her fingers.

The dark green desktop rose soundlessly into view, and a faint, half-transparent card gave off a soft glow.

This was Hebe’s “personal information” within this Lostbelt, and she could check it at any time.

[Hebe Stanton / Merlin Ambrosius]

[Path: Sage (Lostbelt-limited).]
A sage is the king’s counselor, the kingdom’s high tower, the peering glass of wisdom.

[Principle: Lantern (Lostbelt-limited).]
A Principle representing reason, light, and ascent.

[Rank: Dusk (Lostbelt-limited).]
The third stage on the road to ascension, only one step away from rising beyond.

[Final Great Deed]:
Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia (Incomplete)

Hebe raised a hand and wiped away all the floating text.

She wanted neither of those endings. Since she would not truly die while clearing the Lostbelt anyway, why not do things more thoroughly?

In the empty courtyard, the court mage could no longer suppress her smile.

“I choose neither of those endings.” The instant the words left her mouth, Hebe felt her heart begin to pound. “I will walk only the true path that belongs to me.”

And so, in accordance with Hebe’s will, the floating text rippled away like water, and new words rapidly emerged.

[King Arthur’s flame has already dimmed. Her kingship has weakened, and her Great Deeds stand on the brink of collapse. But there is still a chance. The court mage once promised her that everything would be all right, that all would be set in order—]

[You will, by your own strength alone, defeat the two kings and the enchantress Morgan.]

[This will allow Arthur’s kingship to once more rule over the whole of Albion, thus bringing this Lostbelt to its close.]

T/N: hueheuhue merlin

This is a fan translation of 赫柏小姐正在杀出异闻带！ by 青散人 Rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!