Zero. The great mage makes a plan (1)

“Zero…”

Mirole muttered the name blankly and stared at Evan, who turned away because he couldn’t stand her innocent gaze. He couldn’t have it stay as it was, so he used dialogue from Yo-Ma Great War Zero.

“Where is this place? I was here when I opened my eyes…what was that giant just now?”

“Ah?”

Mirole’s eyes widened at a typical line that an amnesiac would say. Her naive reaction slightly made Evan feel guilty.

“As expected, that magic was transfer magic! Oh, this is the Mother Forest. The elves’ home, spirit’s haven…have you ever heard of this place?”

“Never…”

Evan shook his head and replied with a weak voice. It looked so miserable that a player would groan! The experience of conducting a national theater company wasn’t in vain. Evan, who probably knew more about this forest than Mirole, was lying naturally!

“Master, we should slowly…”

“Oh, you’re right.”

“What about this demon?”

Mirole’s gaze turned to Maybell. Looking at Mirole’s face, who was glancing Maybell’s appearance in leather clothes sticking to her body, blushing, her outfit now seemed too revealing even by the new generation standards.

“My familiar spirit.”

“Familiar spirit!? Treating the demons as a familiar spirit!”

Maybell’s existence, it was an area that couldn’t be covered by the lines from Yo-Ma Great War Zero. Evan submitted a good answer, which he had been preparing in advance. Who in the world would treat the Succubus Queen, a high-ranking demon, as a familiar spirit?

“You’re so mean to treat me naturally as a familiar spirit! Oh, but I think it would be quite okay to follow the orders by force…!”

“Maybell, you just shut up.”

“Ah, have you already started with the play?!”

Evan’s appearance of calming Maybell, who became free and was overexcited, was of a master treating his spirit harshly. Even Mirole, seeing it, was convinced.

“That’s awesome. It’s a human who kills the Forest Giant with a blow and treats a demon as a familiar spirit…if there were such a human, there would surely be rumors about him.”

It was for a moment, but Mirole had a suspicious look. Maybe Evan was also an existence trying to harm this forest. Even if Evan looked at himself, his existence was suspicious, so it could be said that it was a valid doubt. He smiled bitterly and opened his mouth.

“I want to know why, too…if it’s okay, why don’t you give me an explanation of this place? My memories are vague as a side effect of the transference. If I hear anything, I might be able to recall something.”

As expected, he was the ambassador of Yo-Ma Great War Zero. First ancient forest…by the new generation standards, the protagonist, who fell in a place called the Mother Forest, couldn’t remember anything about himself. He didn’t even know how he triggered the magic. Therefore, the beginning of Yo-Ma Great War Zero contained a process in which the protagonist, who knew nothing, met the elven princess, the heroine, acquired basic knowledge about the world, and realized the power of magic possessed. Of course, it was a development with the sleazy intention of the production crew that it would be easier to teach players the basics of the game.

“Ah…oh, that’s right. I see. Okay.”

“…?”

“I’ll explain. Where should I start…? First, let’s go to a safe place nearby.”

In fact, it wouldn’t have been necessary for the elf princess to listen to what a suspicious entity that suddenly appeared near the Mother Tree said. As he had great power, it would be the wiser choice to run straight away, but Mirole didn’t do that. There were several reasons: first of all, it was because the spirits guarding her liked Evan. Spirits could see through the good and evil of humanity. The fact that such spirits liked Evan meant that he was a very good person or possessed an overwhelming charm that could possess the spirits.

Secondly, if Mirole, who had escaped from the center of the forest, was separated from Evan, she would probably be caught right away. She managed to escape by taking the opportunity, and it would be very regrettable to end her runaway so soon. Lastly, because Evan’s charm was overwhelming, the power of his words broke through the resistance of Mirole’s reason at once. As one of the various effects of charm, the words of a person with high charm had strong persuasive power. And when Evan’s attractiveness was added to it, the other had no choice but to nod.

‘Right. I am in a state of attractiveness right now.’

Evan, who realized his condition, murmured to himself when he saw Mirole’s face turning red as she guided him into the forest. Of course, joining Mirole was a must, but it wasn’t good as it was. Even Mirole, who had considerable specs at this point, saw Evan and did that, so imagine other beings. It wasn’t a good thing to be noticed in a place where countless dangers were scattered. He urgently began to control his charm.

“Master, the most fatal part of you is your face. It’s not like much will change if you control your charm a little. As a bonus, the harmony between the sharp neckline that starts from the chin and the healthy curve of the collarbone…”

“Be quiet.”

His face stood out too much. It was obvious just by looking at Mirole, who took the lead, but occasionally glanced back at him. Indeed, this was the reason why the great ancient mage always wore a hood in the game, and Evan, sighing and searching his inventory pocket, came to a somewhat misleading conclusion. He just managed to find a moderately shabby robe. The fact that, by chance, it looked similar to the ancient archmage’s robe worn in the game pissed him off even more.

‘But it’s nice that it doesn’t have an artifact function attached to it…the artifacts I’m wearing right now are Miraseul’s Necklace (necklace-accessory), Heart Circlet (head ornament-accessory), Unknown Demon’s boots (boots), Black Cloud (gloves), Rose’s Vine Ring (ring-accessory), so, if I take off the cloak, does it mean that there are two additional artifacts that I could wear?’

He took off the Astray Leader’s cloak and put on the robe. The main ability of the cloak was to increase his charisma and charm, after all. Unless you were fighting with a demon right now, since it was mana equipment, he could take it off without hesitation.

“Ah…”

Mirole sighed when she found him changing clothes. When Evan gave her a suspicious look, she blushed and quickly turned her gaze. Maybell whispered quietly into his ear.

“The attack is over.”

“No, it’s not! Originally, in the game, it takes a very long time to be attacked, so it’s still okay!”

Evan’s strength was that he could blatantly deny reality. He had been protecting his mind in this way since several years ago. Of course, most attempts ended in futile resistance.

“I think this place will be okay.”

The place where Mirole stopped was the spirits’ hideout deep in the woods. A cunning natural barrier was formed through the gaps where countless trees grow, creating a natural hideout that was difficult to find not only by monsters but also by elves. In the new generation, there were quite many secret places that were formed with such an excessively rich natural power. Still, this place was especially full of magic.

“Wow, it’s pretty. Master, look. The branches are entangled, and they keep us in like a prison!”

“Pretty? Maybell, say it again. Is it pretty? A prison?”

This was the first place in the game used as a resting place for the great ancient mage to lie down. Evan was relieved that the scenario didn’t seem to be out of sync, seeing the hideout’s appearance where he saw too much in the game’s original scenario.

“The spirits told me about this place. Isn’t it pretty?”

Mirole smiled proudly as she danced with her arms wide open in the middle of the hideout covered in the shade of the trees. The group of twinkling lights around her was probably the spirits protecting her. When Evan was unconsciously mesmerized by the fantastic sight, Maybell pouted her lips. Mirole didn’t notice it, however.

“Other people will not be able to find this place. You can talk and relax here.”

The other people she was talking about were probably the elves. She always dreamed of freedom, and at any time, she was thinking of going to the hideout that the spirits told her about.

“Is it okay to bring me to such a place?”

“You’re a very suspicious person, but you don’t look like a bad person.”

Mirole’s clear voice pierced Evan’s heart. That was also the line that appeared in Yo-Mar Great War Zero, but when he heard it himself, the slight damage struck him!

“The spirits told me. You must be a very strong and nice person.”

“…”

In the original game, he replied, “They’re great spirits since they know what even I don’t.” However, Evan thought it wasn’t necessary to spit out such a line. It was unnecessary to make less favorable remarks when he had to build as much trust as possible. For reference, there was no element in Yo-Ma Great War Zero to increase the favorability of heroines. That was added in Yo-Ma Great War 3.

“If you believe me, I have no intention of betraying you, either.”

“Oh…o-okay.”

When he picked the words, he wanted them to be the correct answer, so he replied. Mirole nodded, with her ears red. Maybell whispered into Evan’s ear.

“I also really like the way you talk. It lets me know what you’re thinking of.”

“Thank you so much.”

“…”

Mirole glanced at Maybell. She had an indescribable sentiment to the appearance of her clinging to Evan from before, almost naked.

“And s-she…I mean.”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you her name. It’s Maybell.”

“I’m Maybell. Please take good care of me, Mirole!”

Maybell’s attitude toward the girl, Mirole, was very friendly, perhaps because of her friendship with the present Mirole. But she wasn’t the same as present-Mirole. Even from an innocent girl’s point of view, the relationship between Evan and Maybell was very bothering!

“Maybell, me too. So, what’s your relationship…no, it’s nothing.”

The girl turned away from Maybell without being able to dig deeper. Her face was dyed red, and the corners of Maybell’s mouth gently raised.

“What can I say? She’s different from the one I knew. So cute…!”

“I agree that she’s cute, but don’t do anything weird.”

“Even though it’s the Master saying this, it is unacceptable to say that. The only person I do weird things with is you!”

“H-Hey!”

While the two were having a conversation, Mirole intervened. It looked like she was trying to separate Evan and Maybell.

“Now I’m going to tell you about this place. Is that okay?”

“Oh, yes. Please.”

“Good. But before that, how about having a meal first? You’re hungry, right?”

Evan raised his head. This was also the line he heard in Yo-Ma Great War Zero. The line that came next was obviously…

“In this era, in this forest, seeking food is also a war. To get to know the forest, you must first learn how to survive here, right? From now on, listen carefully to what I say…”

At that moment, Evan realized that Tutorial 02: Food Security had begun. Evan said this while thinking that the image of the girl, Mirole, who was excited to teach him the tree that was famous for its delicious fruit in this forest, was really cute.

“If it’s food, I have it.”

“…!?”

Mirole, amazed to see the meat, fruit, alcohol, and beverages coming out of his inventory pocket, sat down on the spot. Oh, that was cute too.

“For how long will that last!?”

“About 100 years…”

“…!?!?”

Evan was a fan of Yo-Ma Great War Zero, but at the same time, he was also a reincarnation who inherited the genes of a short-tempered Korean. He was sure that skipping all skippable tutorials was Korean etiquette!