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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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At the administrative building where the third investigation committee for the Mystic Island entrance exam was being held, Edwin Gwynn walked down the hallway with a serious expression.
As the leader of the entrance exam party, he had to cooperate with the investigation committee. First, the good news… Lev had returned. He knew it without anyone telling him.
The piercing wound he’d seen at the Divine Grand Park was definitely his.
‘He’s amazing… Lev…’
It was definitely him who had protected the Saint from the remnants of Crow Fey. But, ironically, this incident was also recognized as Edwin’s achievement.
‘Lev, do I even deserve to be an S-rank…?’
Having defeated the Great Demon of Mystic Island and protected the Saint, Edwin had been promoted to the highest rank in Clarice, which he had so desired.
‘I’m not… as big of a person as you, Lev…’
Edwin thought that Lev was more suited to defeat the Demon Lord than he was. The reason was simple.
Even though he had been killed by his comrade, Aria, he had embraced everything as if nothing had happened and succeeded in returning to his original state. What a grand plan he must have had.
‘But I…’
…on the other hand, he had failed to protect anyone.
Melissa and Abelline.
They were currently under suspicion by the Clarice special investigators simply because they had been in Kaelan’s party, who was now associated with demons. If it weren’t for his testimony, their situation would be grim. Therefore, he wanted to embrace everything coolly like Lev, but…
Kaelan…
-Sir Kaelan!!
-Y-You idiot! Where have you been…! I couldn’t even contact you…!
-N-No! It… it’s a misunderstanding! Things just got a little complicated during the raid drill! I just… just…
“…I’m so pathetic.”
The image of the two of them choosing Kaelan wouldn’t leave his mind. And then…
“Edwin…”
“Sir Edwin…!”
The two women who had been plaguing his mind approached him from a distance.
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At the Selaphie Black House, Aria and Yeriel were preparing dinner for the new dormitory student.
“Heehee~ Lev, Leeve~.”
A cute voice. Bright brown hair in pigtails.
“Ahem! Lily will be living here too!”
The girl humming Lev’s name was Lily Forget, who had officially moved into the Black House. She was sitting at the dining table, and across from her was Selena Windforce, the elf with pearly white skin, sitting with her eyes closed.
“When is Lev coming? Lily has something to show him…”
“…”
“He has afternoon classes today, so he’ll be a little later than yesterday…”
“I see! Ehehe!”
Unlike Lily, who was in high spirits because Lev had returned, a strange tension flowed between the other women.
Clatter, clatter.
Yeriel had longed for the day the Black House would be bustling with activity, so she was happy that Lily and Selena had moved in. But on the other hand, she was also disappointed that she had much less time to talk to Lev. Especially when Lily was around.
“Ooh! It’s Lev!!”
“Hello.”
“Lily succeeded in summoning a familiar today!”
“Oh, that’s amazing.”
“Ahem!”
…she would run to him and not let him go. So, even though the Lev she had longed for had returned, she couldn’t even exchange a word with him…
‘I’m so greedy…’
At first, she had thought that just seeing him was enough, as long as he returned alive… But now that he was here, she was so conscious of him. And she was getting anxious just watching him with Lily.
“Heehee~”
Aria cautiously asked the humming Lily, “…Lily, are you going to sleep in Lev’s room again today?”
“Yep! Of course. Lily and Lev are friends now~.”
“……”
Even though the two of them looked crestfallen, Lily answered cheerfully.
Yeriel exchanged glances with Aria and said casually, “Lily. According to the dormitory rules, it’s a violation to sleep in someone else’s room.”
“Ehh?”
Of course, considering Lily’s behavior on the first day Lev returned, she, as the dormitory prefect, could have turned a blind eye for a day or two. But it had already been over a week.
Lev, to avoid any unpleasant misunderstandings, kept his door wide open when Lily was in his room, and he even gave her the bed and slept on the floor. The inconvenient situations must have been piling up.
And with the increased number of practical exercises in the second semester, she was worried that he couldn’t even rest properly in his own room. So she had decided to make things clear.
“Hmm… Lev seemed okay with it…”
As Lily tilted her head, holding up her index finger,
“Haah…”
“!”
A short sigh came from across the table.
“Lily, could you tone it down a little?”
It was Selena, the epitome of ‘speaking one’s mind.’
“I’m sorry, but it’s just your opinion that Lev seems okay, isn’t it? He’s not your guardian.”
“…Lev said he enjoyed being with me too!”
“He probably said that. He’s a foolishly kind person.”
“What? Are you calling Lev foolish?”
“I’m saying he’s very considerate. Ah, was that hard for the cute little Lily to understand?”
“L-Lily is cute, but…! I know! Lily knows that much!”
As they had formed a party together during the entrance exam, Lily and Selena weren’t complete strangers. But before Kaelan Hiss and Lev Denec appeared, Lily had shown a one-sided interest in Selena.
“You two, it’s not good to argue in the Black House…!”
“That’s right. Please calm down, both of you…!”
Selena looked at the indignant Lily and smiled faintly.
“Really? You knew that too? That Lev is kind and considerate.”
“Yep! I know!”
“Then, you can just quietly follow the prefect’s words, right? For Lev’s sake.”
“Huh? Th-That’s?”
“Oh my, it seems you don’t know much about Lev. Because you’re still a child.”
“A child…”
Actually, Lily also knew. That Lev was sleeping on the floor every morning because of her, and that he looked a little tired. But she had probably wanted to be childish until Lev said something himself. Thinking this, an unidentifiable, uncomfortable feeling washed over her.
‘Sowwy…? Lev…?’
She felt like crying. But she didn’t want to admit it so easily. A child. She couldn’t just let that word go.
“Grandma.”
“What…?!”
“Selena… is clearly jealous of Lily.”
“!”
“Lily did something wrong. But Selena is more of a fool than Lily.”
“……Ha?”
As Selena looked at her with a bewildered expression, Lily began to speak clearly.
“Lily knows. Selena is always looking at Lev, who is next to Lily, right?”
“…”
“Lily can honestly say she likes Lev.”
“Now…”
“But Selena, even though she’s an adult, can’t even say she likes him in front of others, right?”
“…!!”
A blush began to creep up Selena’s pale face.
“You’re just waiting for Lev to notice your feelings, whimpering like a puppy.”
“……!”
It wasn’t just Selena who was hit by this truth bomb. Aria and Yeriel also just opened and closed their mouths, unable to say anything.
“So, Lev is a good match for Lily. He’s Lily’s.”
“!!!”
And so, with Lily’s cute but explosive declaration… the atmosphere in the Black House began to turn fierce.
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Ring.
The announcement that the train was about to enter the platform rang. And at the same time, Yellody’s mouth opened.
“That’s… I don’t know.”
Ring…
The Demon Lord’s location. As expected, it wouldn’t be that easy to find.
“Really?”
I asked again, and…
“Yep. Would I lie to my master?”
“That’s right…”
Yellody had a serious expression, different from usual. She looked at the train tracks and continued, “That’s why I chose Kaelan.”
“What?”
“I thought he could find out where the Demon Lord was.”
It certainly didn’t seem like a lie. In [Reincarnated Hero], the Demon Lord appeared after all the Great Demons were defeated. In the worst case, he might not appear at all if certain conditions weren’t met.
Of course, my personal goal was…
…I only had to graduate from Clarice Academy, and the game-end button was already activated, so it was practically over…
‘Is Lev a good person?’
‘Then tell me you like me.’
…but there were more than one or two heroines I had gotten involved with. How could I leave them behind? At the very least, creating a world where they could be safe was a top priority.
‘I also need to find evidence to identify the writer.’
I was sure that there were traces of the person who had sent me here.
Woong…
As the train slowed down and stopped, Yellody stood up.
“Well. I’ll look into it myself. You should also do your best and not betray me, junior.”
“Alright.”
She left me and disappeared. The sun was setting.
‘I should go back to the Black House soon…’
Whoosh…
“!”
Then, a breeze blowing through the empty platform cleared my head. After being possessed here… all the events that had happened so far flashed through my mind.
The countless battles I had fought, regardless of whether they were demons, demon-possessed, monsters, beasts, or humans. The people I had met, those I had liked because they were the original, and those I had disliked because they weren’t…
“……”
And so, I suddenly had a premonition.
“Found you. Demon Lord.”
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