Sure, MC could have ditched the Paladin drugging plan and gone straight to Leon with a plan, but they probably wouldn’t have made it back. I know it’s done for the plot and most of the choices end with the same outcome, but killing the Paladins was the quickest route and MC STILL barely made it in time.
Waffling around and speaking in riddles to get Leon to cooperate might not have worked either. Even in the dungeons after the deed is done, just vaguely thinking about their true intentions triggers the collar. Risking what precious little time they had on a gamble that Leon could STILL deny and probably had no actual control over is too great a risk.
“Hey Leon we’re friends right”
“Yes???”
“I need you to trust me I need to kill the Saintess.”
“Did you just say you’re going to kill one of the most important figureheads of the church?”
“I know it sounds sus-”
“That is literally heresy, I have a sword from God.”
“Listen we need to because-” and boom goes Param
Or without the broken knee
Or the other massive injury Thalia isn’t nice enough to heal you from
Then again you’d think how much bodily harm The Mage takes in service of Param would make people see things favorably or atleast hear them out.
Like a “this is out of Character for The Mage, is something going on?”
No, really, so Ilya hisses at us and tells us we can’t do shit without her, Saine tries to diffuse but still agrees with Ilya, because he says that we need to see the reason - that’s all fine and dandy. But when Leon does the thing he is supposed to do (command his party) and commands the member of the party (us)… he is in the wrong? Come on, Leon has done us wrong but not in this instance. Everybody sees that it’s useless and they need to try something else, except for the Mage… So the Mage has to be reeled in.
That is true. The literal certified healer and Saintess to be herself is going “it’s impossible rn and we need to go get help. For once in your life please don’t give in to your Savior complex”
Mage: “I do not have a savior complex!”
Illya: “liar”
Saine: “bull”
Leon: “really? Are you really gonna just lie to our faces? I thought we were cooler than that.”
Mage: “Fine, be that way, see if I ever do anything nice for you guys.”
*Mage being burned at the stake *
“I’m thoroughly pissed right now and really don’t want to be here, so no, I don’t have the complex, eat that!”
Also Mage: *haven’t really tried anything to save themselves and just accepted that they probably will have to pay dearly for saving everyone else *
“I do not have a savior complex!”
Everyone except Ante: Press X to Doubt
Mage:
Literally tears themselves apart so that they can save Param during the war
Kills the Saintess to save Param, knowing that’ll make them into a criminal
Pretends to have been a villain the whole time just so that Leon will feel better about killing them
Literally dies for Param
Mage, freshly returned from the dead to once again put themselves in harm’s way for the sake of the greater good: “Maybe they’re onto something actually.”
Mage: “You know what, I’m done being nice! from now on, I’m gonna look out for myself, and no one else”
“Eli is in trouble”
Mage: “I WILL TEAR OFF MY ARM IF IT HELPS IN THE SLIGHTEST!”
On Leon ordering MC during the plague I felt it was more like doing it for them, so the MC don’t kill themselves trying to help and not simply just “I’m in charge, do what I say”. Basically it is an intervention like you do when your family member is addicted to drugs, only in this case it’s a hero complex. MC needs some tough love to get over their “problem”.
Also even if MC just resigned as a retainer that doesn’t mean anything, in a monarchy you listen to what royalty orders you to do, from the lowest peasant to the richest noble, you get no choice sonny.
The urgency of the situation doesn’t leave room for detours, if it’s not on the way forget about it, and going to the castle/palace to get the king and then to the church(? chapel?) to get Ilya is definitely not on the way. Another factor is that Mage doesn’t know how much time is left, if they knew beforehand they had time to deal with the paladins they might use it to get Leon, but again the time frame is unknown except that they are already on borrowed time when arriving at the capital.
Now I do you one better. Why not use a spirit gate to get straight to the saintess from outside of the city? Seems kinda useful spell to travel great distances, right? I guess using them is impossible if MC doesn’t focus on spiritism and would create too much of a difference in playthroughs, but for ones who do it’s an obvious choice.
Now I do myself one better: why travel by horse carriage at all when you can gate and shorten the traveling time to hours? MC could arrive days earlier. And remember you don’t necessarily have to be familiar with the destination as MC gated all the way back for reinforcements when saving the kids and in Book 2 SnakeFace team go across whole countries, I imagine they are not familiar with every piece of grass on the way. The Mage’s ability to gate should be accounted for, and made impossible for some reason to keep up the stakes and tension, if it is and I missed it just ignore me, if it isn’t, checkmate atheists.
i just read the posts of the last two months and my day has wasted away so anyone else playing a mage who will be destroyed when the choosing time comes?
I am replaying and I am opting for one who after coming back is sceptical and tries to ‘play’ the part and in that comes to care for the characters .
and my day has wasted away 
so anyone else playing a mage who will be destroyed when the choosing time comes?
.