Lucien's breathing quickened, a wide, radiant smile spreading across his face like sunlight on autumn leaves. The reward displayed before him shone with promise, and although he had no concrete sense of how powerful fifty percent increased luck could be, his previous draws had never failed to impress.
Luck, after all, was a subtle force. A person blessed by it could find gold in the dust without effort. If he used it now, the remaining three ordinary dice rolls might yield extraordinary results.
Lucien took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm the rising excitement. After careful thought, he resisted the urge to roll the dice immediately. His intuition whispered that this item was meant for a critical moment, not to be squandered. Used wisely, it might save a life, functioning similarly to Devour Soul or Damage Transfer, albeit a one-time use.
With discipline, Lucien ruthlessly closed the light screen. He was a man of control; fleeting temptation could not sway him.
Returning to the Barielle Mansion, Lucien found Priscilla enjoying breakfast in the sunlit living room. Her delicate features bloomed with beauty, and as Lucien settled on the sofa, she instinctively leaned over, offering him grapes.
Moments later, Anastasia and the others arrived.
"Master."
They all knelt in unison, heads bowed in reverence. Lucien rose without a word, approaching Anastasia first. One hand cupped her face gently, brushing her soft purple hair behind her shoulders. Leaning in, he pressed his face to her neck.
As he absorbed her life energy, Anastasia let out a soft hum, her body leaning back, eyes growing hazy and dim.
In the next instant, four black thorns pierced Al, Filis, Wilhelm, and Julius, reducing them to ashes in a single minute. Only their clothes remained, fluttering gently on the floor.
Kursiu and Priscilla's eyes flickered with fear. They attempted to escape, but their bodies were completely unresponsive.
"Master, why?!" Kursiu's voice trembled, but becoming a demon had not stripped her of thought. Emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness—still lingered.
Lucien, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, approached her. His finger traced her delicate face, then rested against her green hair at the nape of her neck. "Because I deeply love you all," he murmured.
Kursiu's body trembled, and a soft hum escaped her lips, tingling and numbing rather than painful.
"Master, no… no…" she whispered.
After Kursiu, Lucien turned to Priscilla. Her eyes, a mesmerizing purple diamond pattern, pleaded in vain.
"Priscilla, I deeply love you." His fingers caressed her vibrant orange hair, every word laced with affection, yet his own purple diamond-patterned eyes betrayed no emotion.
A soft hum escaped her lips, a single tear trailing down her cheek, before she too turned to ash, leaving only her red dress as a fragile remnant of her presence.
Lucien opened the light screen.
"Successfully hunted secondary supporting characters Priscilla, Kursiu, and Anastasia from the world of Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World. Dice chances awarded based on situation. Congratulations, you have received 3 chances."
He frowned slightly. Wilhelm, Julius, Filis, and Al—what about them? Only Al had significant screen time, but the others? Apparently, the golden finger's criteria for rewarding dice were mysterious. Screen time alone didn't explain it, nor did the importance of their plot role. The system offered no clarity.
Lucien's mood soured. If the calculations were so arbitrary, perhaps only characters like Felt and Reinhardt, that cheat, would grant dice rolls. But he lacked the confidence to deal with Reinhardt, an immortal powerhouse compared to the feeble yet unkillable Natsuki Subaru.
After careful consideration, Lucien resolved to visit Reinhardt's residence. Reinhardt patrolled the kingdom as a member of the Royal Guard—a prime opportunity to reach Felt. Once accomplished, Lucien planned to depart the kingdom and journey to the Sanctuary, following Roswaal's memories.
The Sanctuary intrigued him. The Greed Witch Echidna resided there, her soul imprisoned within. She had been Roswaal's teacher, and he had loved her dearly. Lucien's goal remained the same: kill the Divine Dragon to rescue Echidna.
With his ability to teleport at will, he faced no obstacles—though he lacked means to attack or defend against souls. Had he killed Echidna directly, she would at least have been a significant threat, a second-tier boss. The Jealous Witch remained the undisputed first-tier threat.
"This should be the Sanctuary."
Following Roswaal's memories, Lucien entered the forest. He felt a distinct energy fluctuation, a barrier designed to restrict half-blood children. Only those subjected to Echidna's three trials could leave, or they would be trapped forever. Lucien, a half-blood himself, entered unimpeded.
Unlike the restrictions on others, he felt nothing unusual—no obstruction, no interference, no signs of danger.