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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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The savory aroma of simmering soup filled the Selaphie Black House.
“So, Lev is a good match for Lily. He’s Lily’s.”
After Lily’s declaration, an awkward silence settled over the room. Aria and Yeriel were particularly flustered.
Lily’s words about Selena’s lack of courage in expressing her feelings also applied to them, and they were shocked to learn that Selena, who had always acted indifferent, also had feelings for Lev.
“Ah…”
The blush on her pointed elven ears was a dead giveaway.
Clap.
Selena clapped her hands and smiled sweetly.
“You’re right, Lily. You and Lev are a good match.”
“…Ahem!”
Lily was momentarily surprised by Selena’s ready agreement but then flashed a victory sign. Selena took a sip of tea and continued slowly, “As a guardian and a little kid, that is.”
“Huh…?!”
“You used to pretend to be an adult, saying you didn’t need Lev’s help, right?”
“…!”
“But now you’re like a little kid who can’t do anything without him.”
“N-No, I’m not~?”
Lily whistled and looked away, but Selena looked her straight in the eyes and said, “You’ve been talking with a lisp and whining like a child ever since Lev came back…”
“Ugh…!”
“What can you do? If you don’t act like that, Lev won’t pay attention to you…”
“No, I don’t!!”
As Lily shrieked, Selena propped her chin on her hand and continued with a leisurely smile, “In the end, Lily was a bad girl. Using Lev’s kindness to monopolize his attention… cowardly. You’re a cowardly girl.”
“……Hiccup.”
Lily bowed her head below the table and began to stifle her sobs.
“Selena, that was too harsh…”
As Yeriel handed Lily a tissue and intervened, Selena asked incredulously, “Why, isn’t that what you were all thinking? Shouldn’t you be thanking me?”
“…!”
“And isn’t it partly your fault that Lily has become so dependent on Lev?”
“What?”
As Aria replied, Selena crossed her arms and began to speak, one point at a time.
“Looking back at the situations where Lev was in danger, it was always to save you all, right?”
“…”
“During the dungeon investigation, at the festival, and at the entrance exam…”
“…”
As the two of them, their eyes filled with guilt, couldn’t say anything, Selena delivered the final blow.
“Especially you, Aria Bluebell. I told you it wasn’t good for you to approach Lev.”
“That was…! Because you were always suspicious of Lev, Selena?”
“Well, whatever. Isn’t it because of your constant interest in Lev that this whole mess happened?”
“!!”
For Aria, the fact that she had stabbed and tried to kill Lev was a clear trauma.
‘I’m sorry…’
She hadn’t even been able to properly apologize to Lev, so it was only natural that she felt guilty every time she saw his face. Yeriel saw Aria’s frozen expression and stepped in.
“Selena, this is a dormitory. Discord between cadets is not good. I’ll say it again, you went too far this time.”
Selena still had her arms crossed, as if daring her to argue.
“Of course, I can’t deny that Aria and I put LRev in danger…”
“So you do admit it?”
“So I’m always grateful and sorry to Lev…”
“If you know that so well, why don’t you keep your distance from Lev in the future?”
Despite Selena’s sarcasm, Yeriel spoke without any emotional turmoil.
“…But, this was also Lev’s choice. The fact that he went to such lengths for me and Aria… could also mean that he’s interested in us…”
“What…? Are you saying that now…!”
“As expected, you’re jealous, aren’t you, Selena?”
“…!”
“Because you had the least interaction with Lev among us… I understand why you’re being so hasty.”
Scrape!
“Yeriel Artina…!”
Selena stood up, growling. Her feelings had been completely exposed. On the other hand, Yeriel still calmly finished her words.
“So… let’s not fight over this…? In the end, the choice is Lev’s…”
“……”
At her slightly sad words,
“Hiccup?”
Lily’s crying also stopped. It was true. The most important thing was Lev’s true feelings, who he liked. So the four of them made a similar resolve at the same time.
‘My priority is to convey my true feelings to Lev. Next… there’s that.’
‘Yes, yes… In the Imperial City, Lev definitely… said he liked me…’
‘He was a man who would die for me, wasn’t he? The Wind Archery and all. Unfortunately, Lev’s interest in me is sufficient.’
‘If he sees Lily’s familiar, he might think she’s become more mature…!’
First come, first served. Now that the competition was clear, they didn’t have much time and had to play to their strengths.
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On my way back to the Black House, I contemplated the Demon Lord’s identity. In the fanfiction, [Reincarnated Academy], how was the war against the Demon Lord described?
The last scene I saw was Edwin being left behind, and Kaelan defeating a Great Demon with the non-canon heroines. The Demon Lord didn’t even make an appearance in [Reincarnated Academy].
Then let’s think about the game where Edwin was reincarnated as the player, [Reincarnated Hero]. Here, the final boss, the Demon Lord, wore jet-black armor and a mask that covered his entire face, making it difficult to identify him.
The only thing I could recall was that he had rough, red hair growing between the brown horns on his head.
‘Red hair makes me think of Kaelan.’
Currently, since Yellody was trying to use Kaelan to defeat the Demon Lord, the ‘Kaelan = Demon Lord’ formula couldn’t be established.
But in the future, it was possible that Kaelan would kill the current Demon Lord and become the Demon Lord himself. Considering the connection that [Reincarnated Hero] followed [Reincarnated Academy] in terms of timeline, it was a plausible hypothesis.
‘Then, there’s a different Demon Lord now.’
The Demon Lord I thought I had found earlier was… more precisely, the condition for the Demon Lord’s appearance. My guess was this.
Ding.
The status window that first appeared when I was possessed here. The mission objective. Looking at it now, there was one strange thing. It described the penalty for failure, but it didn’t say what reward would be given for completing the two missions, that is, for success.
At first, I had a vague idea that I would be able to go home if I achieved those goals. But considering that the game-end button was activated as a reward for helping Aria with her revenge, the context became strange.
It seemed unlikely that I would get a purely positive reward even if I achieved that mission. If the author’s scheme remained, this mission objective would surely play an important role.
‘Anyway, I have to clear that mission to see what happens…’
If, as I expected, that mission objective was the condition for the Demon Lord’s appearance…
‘Even better.’
I could just use that as well.
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‘I’m already here.’
When I came to my senses, I was right in front of the Black House.
“Haa.”
‘I’ll talk to Lily indirectly today. I have to apologize to Aria properly… there’s a lot to sort out.’
Clatter.
And so, I pushed open the door of the Selaphie House.
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In the hallway leading to the 3rd investigation committee room of the administrative building.
“M-M-Me, waaah…!”
“…”
Melissa, the princess of the Prominence Duchy, who had faced Edwin, was just wiping her tears with the palm of her hand. She regretted it.
She had been swayed by Kaelan again and lost everything. Aria, whom she had thought would be her close friend… Edwin, the man she had a crush on… her honor and dignity as a princess, all of it…
Reality was cruel. It wasn’t enough that she had barely survived Mystic Island. Kaelan turned out to be a demon-possessed, and siding with him… created a situation where she had no excuses in the investigation committee.
If this became public, her title as princess would be stripped, and everyone would condemn her.
“E-Edwin…”
“…”
As Edwin had said, if she had quietly accepted the punishment during the Crimson Ash suppression incident, the situation wouldn’t have gotten this bad.
“Edwin, what do I do…?”
“…”
All Melissa had left was Edwin. He was the one who had saved her life when she was threatened by Kaelan and had completely lost her mind.
“What should I do…? Hmm…?”
“…”
Despite Melissa’s repeated questions, the green-haired man remained silent. That made her even more anxious. If he had just yelled at her, she would have felt better.
Slide.
“!!”
He quietly passed by the two of them.
“Sir Edwin!!”
As Abelline ran after him and grabbed him, Edwin’s footsteps stopped.
“I-I was just being controlled by Sir Kaelan! Didn’t you see? If you just tell the committee this part, I…!”
“…”
Edwin turned his head and looked at Abelline with a deep gaze.
“!”
His expression was a mixture of contempt and a little sadness.
“Waaah!!”
Seeing this, Melissa collapsed. And she cried her heart out. There was no dignity left. Edwin informed them in a firm voice,
“My position is the same as before. You are each responsible for your own actions and choices.”
“……”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… Edwin…”
Melissa crawled towards him.
Hug…
And she grabbed his pants, subtly trying to initiate physical contact, and pleaded, “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… It was all my fault… I have no one left but you, Edwin…”
If a man had knelt and begged for his life… this was a kind of weapon only a woman could use.
“I-I’ll take the punishment. So… don’t, don’t leave me… you said so before…? You said you’d wait until I received all my punishment…”
‘I’ll wait! Once you’ve atoned for all your mistakes… we’ll see each other again then!’
Indeed, Edwin had said that. And if someone were to ask if he still held those feelings…
“I’m sorry.”
“!!!”
He could answer like this.
“Ah… ah…?”
Edwin left Melissa, who was staring blankly into the air, and walked forward.
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He’s grown up😂