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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Spring.
The campus of the Imperial Academy is beautiful.
Somerbadge in spring, well-known as one of the ‘Top 10 Tourist Attractions on the Continent to Visit Before You Die,’ is said to be the pinnacle of that beauty.
“Somerbadge is really something else.”
“It’s so pretty…”
Cherry blossoms are in full bloom along the wide boulevard from the main gate, past a lake with gentle breezes rippling across it, and the distinctive, antique-style buildings harmonize like a painting.
“Ah, look over there. It’s Lord Lockstryn!”
“Really? Where?”
“Wow, how can he be so handsome?”
“It’s my first time seeing him in person.”
And on this radiant campus, growing with youth and vitality for the new semester, a single boy was suddenly receiving the full attention of all the young ladies.
“Hah.”
Was he sculpted by God himself?
Skin as white as a winter snowfield.
Hair as glossy and black as lacquered wood.
Sharp curves that allow for not a single flaw, and deep, sorrowful blue eyes that seem to embrace the entire vast sky.
“Even his sigh is so cool…”
“Ah, I think he just said something.”
“His lips formed the shape of ‘please’!”
“He must be agonizing over something incredible that we can’t even imagine.”
While the girls squealed and let their imaginations run wild.
Sitting on a bench by the lake, he was muttering as he looked up at the blue sky.
“Fucking hell.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
How many times had he repeated it?
“Send me back…”
Lockstryn Aindarok…
That is, ‘I’.
This all happened exactly one hour after I fell into this damned world.
[Academy Somerbadge].
If there was a beginning to this incident, this was it.
The new game I, a moderately popular indie game developer, had been ambitiously preparing.
It was a classic academy story, set in the magic academy ‘Somerbadge’ within a fantasy world familiar to everyone.
If there was a point of differentiation, it would be that due to the strong presence of my color as a developer, it wasn’t entirely lighthearted.
That’s when I had a thought.
‘Wouldn’t it be good to have at least one gag character?’
A heavy atmosphere was often cited as my strength, but having a supporting character to lighten the mood occasionally was also important.
I thought the reason my ratings always hovered in the 8-point range was because the story was too heavy, and the character born from that conclusion was this guy.
Lockstryn Aindarok.
Honestly, I didn’t think about it for long.
I set all his other stats to level 3, the average for an academy freshman, and fixed only ‘Charm’ at the maximum level of 10.
In this game, level 10 was truly the pinnacle.
It was safe to say it was the strongest in the world, and to adjust the difficulty, only a few such beings existed. And even that was only when they had reached their full growth potential.
Among the new students who had just enrolled, the only absurd character with a level 10 stat was this ‘Lockstryn Aindarok’, but…
Naturally, he was useless.
‘Why him of all people?’
Countless variables exist in [Academy Somerbadge]. The core element is undoubtedly combat.
Who shines and who gets hurt in the numerous randomly occurring combat events. It’s not uncommon for some to become permanently crippled or even die.
In such a situation, there was no room for a genius-faced character with all stats at a mere ‘average’ to play an active role.
Anywhere this guy appeared in the game, he was nothing but a laughingstock. Not in a bad way, of course, but in the sense that laughter bloomed whenever his face appeared.
As he wasn’t in the initial plans, he had almost no involvement in the story, and there was absolutely no reason for the player to recruit him as a companion.
Lockstryn Aindarok.
Literally a supporting character used as a ‘laugh track’.
“…So why is that me?”
I discreetly shifted my gaze.
The Somerbadge freshmen, about to enroll, were stealing glances at me. Regardless of gender.
When I raised my hand to greet them after making eye contact.
“He looked this way!”
“Kyaaaaaak!”
“Waaaaaah!”
The freshmen ran away.
This is what this guy was originally made for.
“Heh heh.”
I laughed hollowly and stood up.
I can’t just sit here lost in a daze.
The cherry blossom-filled campus was beautiful, but the reality I faced was not beautiful at all.
“Can’t even quit.”
I can’t bring up the main menu.
The status screen popped up on its own, but the quit game button was nowhere to be found.
“Full of bugs.”
Dumping a perfectly fine person into a game is a bug if there ever was one.
Anyway, I only realized this a few minutes ago. I had scanned the entire list of new students posted at the main gate.
“What a shitty game.”
In this world, there is no player—
That is to say.
There is no protagonist.
“Lord Lockstryn’s r-room is Tower of Truth, 1203!”
“Thank you. I forgot.”
“I-it happens often. Yes! It’s okay! I sometimes confuse my room with the bathroom too! Ahahaha!”
I left the reception desk, leaving the woman with an ecstatic expression behind me.
I shouldn’t smile carelessly with this face. I learned something valuable.
“It’s high.”
I had to walk up a long slope.
A dormitory building so tall I had to crane my neck just to see the top.
The Tower of Truth. True to its name, it looked very much like a tower.
All Somerbadge students live in the dormitories. The first tuition payment includes the dormitory fee.
Of course, the treatment varies greatly.
Somerbadge values equality as an important principle, but outside the academy, society is based on a strict class system.
Therefore, each person’s background is also an important characteristic of a character.
In that respect, Lockstryn was well-treated.
[Tower of Truth]
[Wisdom reaches for the heavens. May all that is thought be as clear and distinct as a cloudless sky.]
I passed the sign and entered the entrance.
The Tower of Freedom, the Tower of Justice, the Tower of Truth.
Among the three dormitories, I was assigned a room in the ‘Tower of Truth’, which had the best facilities, or in other words, was the most aristocratic.
The luxurious atmosphere felt from the outside continued, with a red carpet laid out from the entrance to the elevator.
Even within the Tower of Truth, the 10th floor and above are considered the upper floors, and only high nobles or royalty are allowed to stay there.
[Room 1203]
[Lockstryn Aindarok]
Therefore, Lockstryn Aindarok is a high noble.
“Aindarok…”
A margrave who protects the northern border of the Empire, and a family famous for its prestigious magic.
Initially, the Count of Aindarok—this body’s father—was supposed to be childless, but when I created Lockstryn at the last minute, this family was the only place to shoehorn him in.
This part was at least a consolation.
A spacious room and a bed with a wonderful feel. In the desk drawer, there’s also a heavy money pouch.
Regardless of my skills, my background is solid, which means I don’t have to worry about starving to death right away.
There are many students at Somerbadge who starve because they can’t afford the murderous tuition.
[Monthly Somerbadge Issue 594]
I sat on the bed, adorned with flashy gold thread, and spread out the newspaper I had brought from the lobby.
The student newspaper made by Somerbadge students themselves, ‘Monthly Somerbadge’.
There was nothing better for getting a general idea of the situation.
[A large number of much-talked-about freshmen enroll!]
[…As has always been the case, you all should be particularly careful with your actions this year. Not only the Imperial Princess, but also three members of royalty from other countries have enrolled!]
[Q. But of course, the one who stands out the most is him, right?]
[A1. Lockstryn Aindarok!! The young master of the renowned Aindarok family in high society has enrolled. I saw him earlier and I thought I was going to lose my mind~]
[A2. That’s no exaggeration. There was a saying that you’d have no regrets if you saw him just once in your life, and now we can see him every day. This isn’t a dream, right?]
[A3. Father, thank you for sending me to Somerbadge. I will study hard…]
—I decided to stop reading.
Trying to sort out my thoughts only made them more jumbled.
Was he this popular?
The second Imperial Princess of the Empire, the prince of a neighboring kingdom. Leaving aside such huge figures who were mentioned in just a line or two, an entire page was dedicated to Lockstryn Aindarok.
Perhaps I had underestimated a Charm level of 10.
The laugh track was overdone.
‘What if I get a bad ending?’
If this were a game, that would be the end of it.
The screen would fade to black, and two options would appear: ‘Start Over’ and ‘Quit Game’. That much is the same for any ending.
“I can’t just try dying.”
I pinched my cheek.
It hurts.
Whether I have only one life, whether the game will even end, whether I can go back or not.
—I know nothing.
I wasn’t stupid enough to experiment by dying in a body where pain feels this real.
More importantly, since I am Lockstryn and not the protagonist, my death wouldn’t immediately lead to a bad ending.
Even before that, there’s a high probability that even such basic game systems won’t function properly.
“If I die, I really die…”
It was an easily reached conclusion.
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Only two weeks remain until the first main episode begins.
The seemingly peaceful and bright atmosphere of the campus is more like a trap.
[Academy Somerbadge] is by no means a light game. In its genre, it probably has one of the heaviest stories.
Every choice at every moment determines the life and death of countless characters, including the protagonist. It may be uncommon in this genre, but death is also frequent.
“I have to live.”
I murmured it like a sigh.
What’s the point of worrying? It’s better to be alive, even if it means rolling in shit. To survive, there was no other choice.
The laugh track of [Academy Somerbadge]
I had no choice but to become Lockstryn Aindarok.
[…All new students, please gather in the main auditorium. I repeat…]
I had been thinking it was about time.
The voice came from a speaker—something that looked vaguely like one—attached to a corner of the ceiling.
I hadn’t designed such things in detail, so it was just round and flat. Carelessly made. The setting is that it was somehow created with magic.
I got out of bed and picked up the hood that was on the clothes hanger.
It seems the original owner of this body, Lockstryn, also didn’t like to stand out much.
Even if it’s just one level, I’m grateful. Anyway, covering my face is what’s important.
Like the speaker, there were many parts I had glossed over with ‘there are many strange objects imbued with magic’, so it wasn’t strange for something like this to exist.
“Wow, even the auditorium is like a palace.”
“Gasp, is this all gold?”
“Hey, hey! That’s the real princess over there.”
“Then somewhere here…”
The freshmen were already forming groups of twos and threes.
Since most nobles build connections in high society from a young age, many already have acquaintances even at the official first event.
If one is talented in magic, they can receive sponsorship and an honorary title, as long as they aren’t a slave.
But Lockstryn is a loner. Because he’s a mysterious type.
“He’s over there!”
“Th-the seat next to him is empty.”
“Are you crazy! How can you go there?”
Like this.
So I found a seat in the very back row, in the most remote corner of the vast auditorium.
From behind, the multicolored hair looked like paint smeared randomly on a canvas.
I had made them as features for the characters, but seeing them all together, it wasn’t very aesthetically pleasing.
For reference, black hair is a unique color of the Aindarok family, so I’m the only one.
“May I have your attention?”
While the children were chattering away, someone came up on the stage. The voice echoed throughout the auditorium.
“I am Weirein, who, though lacking, has taken on the role of headmaster of Somerbadge.”
Weirein Mage Bruntelli!
The real power in the Empire’s magical academia, a name that everyone knows even if they don’t know the Emperor’s.
His characteristic sharp eyes and dignified voice revealed the weight of his name without reservation.
“Please forgive with a generous heart the irreverence of summoning your esteemed selves.”
The beginning was a light bow.
Murmur, murmur.
Even then, the commotion in the hall did not subside. They are children who have grown up without any lack in their prime.
“However, I must first inform you that the environment you have lived in so far is meaningless here.”
“What’s he saying?”
“The usual stuff, I guess.”
Princes and princesses from other countries, children of war heroes, heirs of great merchants, and even the Imperial Princess of the Empire.
All the children of prominent families are gathered in this auditorium. Even Weirein could not treat them carelessly.
Surely, that was what the children thought.
“Therefore, shut your mouths.”
“What…”
“Show some respect. You impudent chicks.”
Thud!
The staff lightly struck the stage.
The boy who was about to retort could not continue, and the inside of the auditorium instantly grew cold.
An enormous pressure crushed the children.
“We are your teachers.”
“Since when was that petty power and authority yours?”
“Know your place.”
Truly unconventional remarks.
But no one here could refute them.
“You have enrolled in Somerbadge, the great sanctuary of magic, as mere fledgling magic-users.”
Weirein descended the stairs at a leisurely pace. He stopped right in front of the boy who had been cut off mid-sentence.
Weirein and the boy’s gazes met.
The boy, a royal from a neighboring kingdom, tasted a fear he had never felt before in his life.
“Do not attempt to learn magic with a light heart.”
Fwoosh!
A white flame bloomed from the tip of Weirein’s index finger. A shimmering heat haze was visible even from a distance.
“Even the simplest 1-star magic can easily kill a person.”
“Hngh…”
“You must understand how heavy the power you possess is.”
Weirein turned away from the face that had turned as white as the flame.
It was a feat to be commended that he hadn’t wet himself.
“Be humble.”
“Be restrained.”
“Be patient.”
“Have a goal.”
“Have passion.”
Each word, spoken slowly, seemed to slam into my ears.
I definitely wrote this script well.
“That is all.”
Click, clack.
Only the sound of Weirein’s shoes descending from the stage echoed through the vast auditorium.
But soon.
Clap, clap, clap.
In the very front row, someone began to lightly clap.
Since everyone sitting here had at least glanced in that direction once, the ripple effect was not small.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
The children, who had been watching cautiously, began to follow her lead one by one, and soon the auditorium was filled with thunderous applause.
Dazzling gold is the unique color of the Imperial family of the Empire.
‘Ainim von Rongreut.’
The second Imperial Princess of the Empire and, of course, a major character in [Academy Somerbadge]. I had been watching her from the beginning.
As long as there is no player, she would be the most powerful force I can utilize.
“Wow, I thought I was going to piss myself.”
“Seriously. He’s not called a Mage for nothing.”
“What was that presence…”
“Hey, what should we do for lunch?”
While the students were rushing out of the auditorium, I remained in my seat.
It wouldn’t be good to get caught in the crowd with this ridiculously handsome face, and Ainim, whom I had been watching, had not yet stood up.
‘Is it too early?’
Although Lockstryn is a high noble, there is no particular reason to approach her first.
Furthermore, as befits a princess, Ainim is always accompanied by an attendant…
Huh. I suddenly realized.
Why isn’t she here?
“Reveal your identity.”
A low voice dug into my ear.
It was too much for a fresh Somerbadge student, it was that of a mature woman.
I briefly retorted.
“What?”
“Not a flinch even with a knife at your throat.”
I snuck a glance down, and a gleaming blade was positioned just below my Adam’s apple.
Um, so. I hadn’t noticed at all.
This body’s physical senses aren’t that great to begin with. It felt a bit awkward to be surprised now, so I decided to just stay still.
“Don’t move.”
I was planning to do that anyway.
Click, clack.
Only then did I see Ainim, who had belatedly gotten up from her seat, walking this way.
The way she stretched, it didn’t feel very dignified for a princess.
“Maria, again?”
“He’s a suspicious one. He wasn’t intimidated by Headmaster Weirein at all, and he was watching only you, Your Highness, from beginning to end.”
“Reeally? How strange. Can there be assassins in Somerbadge?”
“He may have gone through the official admission process.”
“Mmm, but isn’t that too obvious?”
Ainim pouted her small lips as if she were bored.
In truth, Somerbadge values equality, so it strictly forbids the entry of attendants other than the students themselves.
However, this is the first year an Imperial Princess has enrolled, and as a sole exception, she was allowed to be accompanied by an attendant… a fact that is not yet known.
“Really? Really?”
Ainim asked as if urging her on.
“If he’s a freshman, he’s the same age as me, right?”
“I will remove his hood.”
“Hmph, what kind of person is he…”
Swish.
The hood slipped off without any resistance.
“Hic!”
“…?”
Ainim took a small breath, and Maria, who was behind, also caught sight of my profile and, startled, took a couple of steps back.
It was probably thanks to the jet-black hair that was unique to only one person on campus.
Or.
“I greet Your Highness.”
Perhaps it was thanks to this formidable face.
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So he has handsome aura
Bro suffering from success