>>96479287
Fun fact, there are not a lot of pictures of male white haired anime knights that aren't A. ridiculous B. look too modern or C. are actually in plate armor, which is kind of what I want. I'm 99% sure this is AI sloppa, and I'm not sure if I like the red, but it gets the message across, hopefully.

>>96479335
The CYOA DOES say it's possible to meet people without it being guaranteed by the Outsider System. I'm probably going to try and find Dobrava or Gunter on my own. If not, I'll try to have weight of numbers do something, since I intend on combining both Vanitas and Fundamentum as the buildup to the showdown with 0^0. I'm definitely going through the mercenary path early on, since at the end of the day I do largely intend on ultimately building up my own strength, but by the time I get to meet Nihlmatrix I hopefully should have control of the country and thus enough soldiers to take her down, or at least serve as a distraction so I can fight her on even footing. Honestly, I have a feeling one of said royal guards will be Nihlmatrix, since it says she hides as a random NPC.

If I fail...well, as you said, at least I go out like a firework, right? If I must fail, I'll at least give everyone a show. I've got a contingency plan in place that basically hardens the anti-Ecumene alliance, so even though I'll try to be the leader at the front, I'm hoping to leave behind institutions that can give enough weight to the twelfth.