It took me several hours to fully grasp the situation.

This was just too far from ordinary.

Possessed by a game character? That kind of thing shouldn’t even be possible.

But no matter how much time passed, the reality before me didn’t change. So, for now, I decided to accept it.

After all, I’d been given the rare chance to enter the world of *Arcadia Quest* (abbreviated as *AlQue* from now on).

It’d be a waste to mope around and lose precious time.

If this was a dream, I’d enjoy it until I woke up. And if—just *if*—I really had possessed Norwin, then I was going to savor this world to the fullest.

But before that, there was one problem.

*AlQue* had countless branching storylines, but the issue wasn’t which route this world would follow.

Sure, depending on the route, the world could easily be destroyed—but that didn’t matter to me.

The problem was **Crescentia**.

Yes, Crescentia.

My beloved Cres-tan.

Would Cres-tan still die in this world, too?

Most likely… yes, she would.

Hundreds, thousands—maybe even more times than that—I’d searched for a way to save Crescentia, only to witness her death over and over again.

If this world followed the game’s scenario, Crescentia would undoubtedly die.

I refused to accept that. I *would* save her, no matter what.

But… how?

 

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

I thought about it, but I’ve got no clue!

How the hell am I supposed to save her?!

If I had to guess, there was *no* way to save Crescentia in that game!

With my deep knowledge of *AlQue*, I could probably use my game expertise to dominate.

But that wouldn’t be enough!

Following existing strategies would *never* save Crescentia!!

And possessing Norwin was the worst possible scenario.

Norwin only appeared *once* in the entire story—as a nameless background mob without even a single line of dialogue.

How the hell is someone like me supposed to get close to Crescentia, the kingdom’s *Second Princess*?

If I approached her without a reason, the royal knights would cut me down on the spot.

Damn it, what do I do? What do I do?!

"Ah."

…Wait, there *is* one way.

"I just have to break the story."

If the only scenario is Crescentia’s death, then I’ll smash it to pieces and paint over it with a happy ending.

Thinking about it, possessing Norwin might not be so bad after all.

Norwin had *zero* involvement in the story.

So if *I*, as Norwin, meddled with the scenario, maybe something would change.

Of course, even if that worked, the problem of getting close to Crescentia still remained.

But saving her comes first—and from that perspective, this wasn’t a bad option.

"Alright, alright, alright, alright!"

This might actually work!

Maybe there’s a way to save Crescentia *and* make myself happy!

"Hell yeah! I’m fired up now!!"

Knock knock.

My burning enthusiasm was instantly doused by a sudden knock at the door.

"Young master? Is everything alright?"

A woman’s voice called out from behind the door, checking on me.

Given the polite tone and the fact that Norwin was nobility, she was probably a servant.

"Ah, I’m fine! Don’t worry about it."

"I find that hard to believe. Your way of speaking is quite different from usual..."

"Uh, well… Sorry, but I really am fine. Could you leave me alone for a while?"

"If you insist, then I shall take my leave. Please call if you need anything."

I thanked her as she withdrew, then turned back to the mirror.

A young boy who, by Earth standards, looked to be around elementary school age—maybe six or seven.

The *AlQue* story begins when the protagonist turns fifteen. Since Norwin is the same age as the protagonist, that meant I had nearly ten years to prepare.

Within that time, I had to lay the groundwork to *break the story*.

But how?

There were two possible approaches.

First, I could become insanely strong myself.

If I could crush the protagonist’s party head-on before they killed Crescentia, then the story wouldn’t even matter anymore.

But that was probably impossible.

Those guys were *cheat-level* monsters. Blessed with talent, nurtured in the perfect environment, and given plenty of dramatic power-up moments to fit the emotional narrative.

Beating them *after* their awakenings? No way. I wouldn’t survive even with a thousand lives.

Besides, I had no idea if Norwin even had any combat talent. It was unlikely a mob character could surpass the main cast, so I shouldn’t get my hopes up.

So, getting stronger alone wouldn’t save her. (Still, in this world, strength was never a bad thing, so I planned to train myself regardless.)

The second option was to gather allies.

I could form an organization of powerful individuals and mobilize them to protect Crescentia.

This one had a lot more potential. After all, Norwin was a noble. With the right approach, I might be able to recruit some seriously strong people.

The problem was *how* to gather them—

But this was where my knowledge came in.

Having played *AlQue* for thousands of hours, I knew almost everything that would happen in this world.

Some details about pre-story events were vague, but thanks to timelines and flashbacks, I had most of it covered.

I’d use that knowledge to its fullest, complete events *before* the protagonist could, and recruit powerful allies in the process.

Alright, I’ve made up my mind!

"I’ll get stronger! And then I’ll gather allies even stronger than me!"

The dream I could never achieve—saving Crescentia—this time, I’ll make it happen with my own hands!