novelraw Chapter 339: Childhood Friend - Replica
Chapter 339: Childhood Friend - Replica
338: Childhood Friend - Replica
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On cloudy days, Lena always visited the bakery.
It was a truth so ingrained it felt like an axiom—a reflection of Lena’s habit of scouring the village daily for food.
Hans, the baker’s son, often waited for her to show up, hoping she’d come to work for the day. But that morning, even after his mother had finished kneading the dough, Lena hadn’t appeared.
“TChapter Guess today’s a bust.”
It wasn’t like he was expecting anything serious—he just wanted an excuse to talk to her. Having been loitering around the bakery’s corner all morning, Hans clicked his tongue and turned away.
The fun stories he had picked up in the big town would have to wait for another day.
That’s when Dino, his older brother, came rushing in.
---“Guys! Big news!! Lena got a divine revelation! The priest—”
“Dino, you’re late. We were already talking about that.”
It was a group of village youths, heading to the fields while chattering away.
---
“The priest asked to borrow a horse for Lena?”
“Yeah. Said he’d give it to her.”
“We only have one horse. Are we really just going to hand it over? Sure, plowing is done for now, but still...”
“The village chief’s still thinking it over.”
“Why is this even the chief’s call? The youth association should decide. We’re the ones using the horse.”
“It belongs to the chief. Technically speaking.”
“Whatever. Ownership doesn’t matter. We’re the ones who plow the fields.”
---
The debate went on. Hans, his curiosity piqued, slid into the group as they talked.
“Hans? What’re you doing here?”
Feigning nonchalance, Hans absorbed the gossip. The bottom line? Lena was Leaving the village soon.
That left Hans restless. His hands fumbled through the work—though, to be fair, fieldwork wasn’t something he was used to.
Lena began going around the village, saying goodbye to everyone and promising to return. Rev accompanied her, making it clear he was going with her on this journey.
Hans wondered where they might be headed. With a divine revelation, surely their destination was Lutetia, the holy city.
---
Spurred by an irrational impulse, Hans dashed to the big town, Toridom.
There, he sought out merchants he had helped with odd jobs, hoping to join a caravan heading to Lutetia. But without goods to sell or experience to his name, he was turned down at every turn.
Frustrated, Hans shouted and cursed before giving up.
---
“Damn it... divine revelation, my foot...”
Feeling like a dog chasing chickens, he wandered aimlessly through Toridom. Before long, his steps led him to the shadowy backstreets, where the dregs of society lurked.
“Hey, kid! What brings you here? First time, huh?”
A sleazy thug greeted Hans with a crooked smile, clearly seeing an easy mark.
With practiced ease, the thug clapped a hand on Hans’s shoulder, steering him further into the darkness while casually rifling through his pockets.
---
“Hans. What’re you doing there?”
“R-Rev!”
“That’s not the way out. Come here.”
“S-Sorry! I got lost, and...”
“Lost? Why not stay and play for a bit?”
Hans tried to duck away, bowing his head in apology, but the thug tightened his grip. His tone shifted from inviting to threatening.
“Stay. Let’s have some fun. Hey, you too,” the thug said, nodding toward Rev.
---
“No thanks. Hans, let’s go.”
“TChapter Fine. Go on, then.”
The thug released Hans, but not before pocketing the coins he had taken.
Hans stammered, “W-wait—!” but one icy glare from the thug silenced him. Rev grabbed Hans by the arm and pulled him away without a word.
As they walked in silence, Hans burned with shame. The embarrassment of being seen as a fool by Rev was unbearable. Finally, unable to hold it in, he lashed out.
“Why’d you stop me? If he was going to rob me, you should’ve just let it happen!”
“Do you even know what kind of place that was?”
“Does it matter? Lena’s... never mind. Damn it!”
Neither spoke again for a while.
It wasn’t until they passed a familiar landmark that Rev broke the silence.
“Are you going to keep living like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Helping merchants for scraps they won’t even pay you, getting called lazy by the villagers...”
“So what? I don’t care what people think! I’m going to be a merchant!”
“By reselling leftover bread from your aunt’s bakery? And where’s that money now?”
“...”
“Here. Take it.”
Hans blinked at the small pouch Rev handed him.
“What’s this? Money... and a book?”
“It’s the money I saved up. The book’s something you should read—it won’t hurt to Learn. You can read, right?”
“What the hell? This much money?!”
“You want to be a merchant? Learn to read first. Study hard. I’m Leaving soon, so take care of yourself.”
Rev handed Hans eight silver coins and five copper ones—a sum that could jumpstart a modest business.
The book? The Rules of the Backstreets. Rev wanted to ensure Hans wouldn’t stumble into danger again.
This was Rev’s way of tying up loose ends. With this being his last loop in the Childhood Friend Scenario, he wanted no regrets. If Hans could avoid falling into the shadows, that alone would be worth it.
---
Days later, Rev and Lena left the village.
The cart they rode in was provided by the Toridom Church, and the horse pulling it was purchased by the village chief after consulting with the youth association.
But when they saw the horse, Rev groaned.
“...Bante. Of course.”
The chief had unknowingly bought Bante, the same unreliable horse Rev could summon.
Even as Rev buried his face in his hands, Lena couldn’t stop laughing.
It wasn’t surprising that Bante ended up being the horse purchased from Toridom—it was, after all, the same way Leo first acquired him, using Barbatos’s charm to secure a bargain.
Still, Rev found the coincidence almost too perfect.
“So, does this count for the Mount achievement or not?”
He whistled, but the Bante harnessed to the cart only rolled its eyes lazily, showing no signs of responding. Rev scratched his head in frustration.
The cart was lightweight enough to be pulled by a single horse, but Rev had intended to summon a second Bante to help with the journey. Given the long road ahead, it seemed prudent.
But no such luck.
“Oh, well. Let’s just go.”
“TChapter So much for that idea,” Rev muttered, disappointed.
He’d hoped to impress Lena by summoning his other horses—Kus, the sleek black stallion that thundered across plains, or Woody, the white steed that appeared like a moonbeam. Instead, here he was, stuck with a pair of lazy Bantes.
Not long after they set off, Rev was dumbfounded yet again.
Hihing?
There, by a shallow stream, was another Bante, lounging without a care in the world. Lena burst into laughter.
“Wow, what a lazy friend he is!”
“Ugh. Hey, YOU! Get over here! Stop embarrassing me!” Rev groaned as he wrangled the second Bante and hitched it to the cart.
Now, with two near-identical Bantes pulling the cart, their journey east began in earnest.
The resemblance between the two horses was uncanny. Their appearance, gait, and even mannerisms were indistinguishable—like they’d been stamped from the same mold.
Hihi-ing!!
Hihi-ing!!
By the time Rev and Lena reached Lutetia, the capital of the Conrad Kingdom, autumn had set in. The Leaves were painted in hues of red and gold, and the crisp air carried the scent of harvest.
Even after traveling nonstop for over a month, they had barely arrived in time. The continent was vast, and Rev’s schedule left no room for delay.
Lena, puzzled by his urgency, asked as they bypassed Harie Guidan and Philas Tertan without stopping.
“Why are we rushing? Didn’t you say the ending depends on when I pick my career or get married? Can’t we just decide when it happens?”
“That’s true, but we need to synchronize with the next loop. To catch Astroth, we’ll have to head to the Bellita Kingdom eventually.”
---
The next Betrothal Scenario would begin in winter. In that loop, Ray would persuade Rera to head to Orville, and Rev’s party needed to coordinate with that timeline.
“Oh, right. You said Rera doesn’t dream, huh?”
“Yeah. She’s hard to manage. It’s easier if we handle things on our end to line up with her.”
“Makes sense. But what about them?” Lena gestured toward the distant figures crossing the Irotasi River—Philas Tertan’s group.
Rev shook his head.
“They’ll be fine. Oriax isn’t in play anymore.”
In previous loops, Philas had been unknowingly carrying a necklace adorned with a crimson gemstone—Oriax’s life force. That necklace had passed to Harie, and though the two had planned to part ways, their love had led them to seek permission to marry, which brought them to the Conrad Kingdom.
There, they met Bart, who took the necklace in his obsessive quest for revenge. This chain of events ultimately brought Rev’s party face-to-face with Oriax, making his destruction possible.
It had all been part of the god’s intricate design:
- Harie and Philas were fated to meet and fall in love.
- Their journey brought them to Bart, ensuring the necklace reached him.
- Bart’s confrontation with Oriax allowed Rev and his party to intervene at a critical moment.
Now that Oriax was gone, the world seemed to be correcting itself. Harie and Philas would fall in love, marry, and move on without interference.
Rev felt a bittersweet satisfaction as he watched them. The gods had treated human lives like pawns, but without Oriax, everything seemed to flow naturally.
As Rev and Lena crossed the river, they noticed her staring wistfully at the water. He skipped stones across the surface, breaking her reverie.
Lena smiled softly. “Thanks.”
Once in Lutetia, Lena marveled at the bustling capital, her attention flitting from one sight to the next.
With ample funds from the Crusader Church’s support, Rev bought every delicious-looking snack he saw and handed them to Lena.
“So, where to now?” Lena asked between bites.
“We need to meet Lean. That means getting into the royal palace... though the pass the Saint gave us probably won’t be enough to just waltz in.”
“It could work, but we’d have to go through the churChapter That’d take days—kind of a hassle.”
“Then we’ll skip the formalities and go straight in. Wasting days on bureaucracy doesn’t sit well with me.”
“And the cart?”
“We’ll come back for it. There’s a secret passage outside the city.”
---
The secret passage left Lena in awe.
“Wow! This is amazing! And a little scary!”
“Shh. We’re almost there. This tunnel Leads to a dry well. Be careful when we climb out—it connects to the garden.”
But as Rev poked his head out of the well, he froze.
Someone was there.
Despite his changed appearance, Rev recognized him instantly: Bart.
Bart, dressed in casual clothes, was patrolling the secret passage, perhaps during his off-duty hours.
His gaze locked onto Rev, and his expression hardened. He silently drew his sword, clearly identifying Rev as an intruder.
To prevent the secret passage’s existence from being revealed, Bart didn’t call for reinforcements. Instead, he Leapt into the well, intending to handle the matter personally.
Rev tensed. Bart was one of the strongest knights alive, unmatched except by a Swordmaster. Without using an aura blade, Rev would have to give it his all.
As Bart landed, Rev struck out with a desperate kick.
“Ugh!”
“Huh?”
Bart collapsed instantly, unconscious from the blow.
Rev stared at the knight’s prone form, dumbfounded.
“Did... did that actually work?”