“Oh, it started. Now let’s see what developments await us, shall we!?”
Lost saw rhinoceros beetle monsters the size of an adult’s face with horns about the same length attacking people one after the other, and whispered with an expectant voice.
The same panic and confusion Rush once caused with the power Lost gave him spread throughout the insectary, and Drop could not hide her joy as she watched with Lost.
“Kyahahahaha! It’s starting. What a fun event!! Drop wasn’t involved this time, so Drop’s just watching!”
“It’s fine. We get to see how the people involved will react, right? And there are other things to look forward to.”
They watched people go down as they were attacked one after the other as though they were watching a movie with popcorn in hand.
As Drop watched another person go down with blood flowing where a rhinoceros beetle was clinging, she asked a question.
“By the way, wasn’t one of those main characters (trash) acting weird? When Yui and your hero’s little brother went to the bathroom, he left them and disappeared… What do you think that means?”
“Hn? That he’s trying to use this event to eliminate Phi? When you think of the timing of the event popping up and the route, it fits perfectly.”
“Eh? Tell Drop more about it.”
Drop was not thinking too deeply about the hero prospects’ way of thinking, so she threw Lost a question, since Lost appeared to see through it all.
Lost responded that there was not much to it, summarizing this event’s branching paths and what laid beyond it.
“This event splits into two routes depending on the exchange students’ favorability. One is the route the main characters are experiencing, the other is the route Phi has entered, I guess.”
Basically, if the player had high favorability with Ryuuga and Yui when the event started, they would be sent to a different route.
If favorability was high, the player would be entrusted with looking after Yui, like Phi was doing, and would be in the bathroom when the event started.
If this was the case, the player would be away from his party and would have to face the monsters and one of the bosses alone.
This route was much harder than the regular one, but clearing it gave a big boost to Yui’s favorability.
“…Meaning Egos is using this to have Phi face the monster armor beast. If they wait by the bathroom, the main group will know they’re there waiting, and the event I just described won’t happen. They left so this information would be crushed.”
“So they’re forcibly recreating the route where Yui is alone with someone so the monster armor beasts attack Phi. There’s no way someone with no fighting ability can beat monsters. He’ll be tragically killed, and his big brother will be depressed… Right? But won’t Yui get killed along with him?”
“In the game, Yui won’t go down before the player. That means Phi should be killed first. Well, the monster armor beast standing before them likes boys, so he should be eaten first… But thinking everything will follow the game to the letter is a big mistake. This isn’t a game.”
“Hahaha, Drop got it! Phi gets killed, and then Yui is attacked! And then the main characters gallantly swoop in! They beat the monster armor beast, and get her favorability! Right!? They take out their rivals, and the loli gets all I wuv you I wuv you! Good things all around! Damn scum…”
“That’s it! And they’re probably thinking that if Phi dies and Yui’s favorability is high, suppressing information won’t matter. Basically, it all hinges on letting Phi die. They really are low.”
“…But will this plan go well?”
Lost shrugged, hinting that it was a clear no, and pointed at something.
There was Shian’s party plus Egos facing off against the monster armor beast siblings, and Lost continued.
“The plan has already started to go off track. It’s strange to face two monster armor beasts at the same time here. According to their plan, it was supposed to be just the big brother… And the little sister would attack Phi and Yui.”
“Hm, I see? So how will that affect things?”
“The main characters will want Riel to go attack those two right away. But being with their party members means they can’t be too direct. Meaning… They have to hurt them to some extent, and then give the sister an opening to escape. That means they can’t finish off the monster armor beasts until she does. They have to let her go, and tell the others to finish off the big brother before he can escape. Otherwise, they’ll catch the little sister right away.”
“Got it! But are they that much more powerful, that they can toy with their opponents like that? Then shouldn’t the main characters (lol) use that power to finish the plan safely for them?”
“You’re nasty, Drop…! I’m sure you can imagine how things would develop later…!!”
Said Lost with a grin.
It was a boorish answer, since obviously they would not be the masterminds who made people unhappy if they did not have nasty personalities.
Drop’s expression was also full of malice and expectation as she waited for the unhappiness of the people she hated.
“You really don’t understand what those two were saying… I can sympathize with one thing, if nothing else.”
“Eh? And what is that?”
“Insects are diverse… And have wonderful potential for evolution.”
Drop then cleared her throat, and laughed for a bit with Lost.
She was sure they were thinking the same thing, and turned to Lost again.
“Most of the time, when living beings evolve, it’s because the continuation of their species is being threatened… Basically, Drop believes a lot of times, dormant power awakens when they are cornered. What do you think, Lost?”
“Who knows? I’m not a scholar, so I don’t really know. But if I had to say…”
Lost gave a vague answer, and continued while watching Shian and the others fight monster armor beasts.
“…We are going to see a live demonstration of that answer soon.”
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… right I forgot one of the “heroes” is after Yui. That’s extra scummy of them.
Rhinoceros beetle and stag beetle, power up mid battle… Are they going King Form or Cast Off I wonder?