“Crazy.”
Where did it all go wrong?
I hadn’t done anything, yet the story veered off course, leaving me clueless about where to even begin fixing it.
“That must have been…”
After the sparring session, the heroines’ gazes turned toward me.
It was only a fleeting moment, but I remember it vividly.
It didn’t feel like mere coincidence.
Their eyes reflected me perfectly.
“Why? How?”
We were already acquainted.
I had spent a year circling around them with deliberate intent.
But I hadn’t built the kind of closeness that would make them look at me in such a crucial setting.
Sylvia might be an exception, but not the others.
“Gray did say something, though.”
That guy, notorious for wandering around so much he was nicknamed the Academy’s informant, mentioned something curious.
Kunbero, who typically skipped every class, had been training intensely in the practice hall for the past week, honing his martial arts.
This shouldn’t have happened.
Kunbero, a noble drenched in pride and arrogance, was supposed to underestimate the protagonist and take a thorough beating.
That was the canonical story.
But for someone who valued connections so highly to abandon all classes and gatherings just to train?
It made no sense.
“It’s as if he already knew…”
My head throbbed.
The information I thought I knew was already distorted, forcing me to scrap all my plans and freezing my brain in the process.
“I should have noticed sooner.”
The day the entrance ceremony began,
things I dismissed as my imagination now resurfaced.
“Hey, Theonar! Keeping the place clean?”
A blockhead who couldn’t even remember my name for a year suddenly approached me as if we were close.
“Kyahhh! Freshman! Something weird is following me!”
Someone who was more serious about the paranormal than anyone else clung to me over a simple will-o’-the-wisp.
“You’ve arrived. For the faithful believer, I will grant you a special baptism today.”
A baptism that even royalty had to schedule months in advance was suddenly bestowed upon a mere commoner like me.
“Theo, teach me this, and…that too.”
Someone who detested theory crammed a year’s worth of private tutoring in just a couple of days and shocked me.
“…They’re not the people I knew.”
To be precise, they weren’t the people from the novel.
Was the novel I read wrong?
Or had reality adjusted itself to make sense?
“Ugh, my head hurts.”
I had spent hours racking my brain.
Nothing made sense.
“Sigh… Let’s calm down for now.”
I could tell that the situation had changed.
But what’s my top priority?
Of course, it’s raising the protagonist.
If I leave this guy alone, who knows how far he’ll fall?
To defeat the final boss, I absolutely need his strength.
Like it or not, I have to drag him along.
“With the noble blood of the divine flowing through him, he cannot falter midway.”
A protagonist is a protagonist for a reason.
Unless the assumption that he’ll naturally grow strong like in the novel holds true, I need to find a way to nurture him, even if it means playing the role of a guardian angel.
After the so-called “Newbie Challenge” incident, where a first-year student dared to challenge an upperclassman and got thoroughly schooled, the Academy returned to its usual routine.
Normally, there would have been heated debates about how strong the top-ranked freshman was or whether they could even beat a third-year student.
But now, the protagonist was just a loudmouthed idiot of a freshman.
“What a dilemma.”
I had spent days thinking about how to raise the protagonist, but I hadn’t come up with a single decent idea.
“Should I teach him some of the skills he’ll use later?”
The techniques he primarily used in the novel were all incredibly destructive.
They were truly beyond the reach of ordinary people.
If I could even clumsily imitate them, I’d subtly teach them during sparring practice.
‘Would someone ranked 975 even be able to pull that off?’
It’s a relief if I don’t end up looking like a floppy squid.
“Ugh, isn’t there any way?”
“Why, are you worried about something?”
As I sat on a bench muttering to myself in frustration, Sylvia approached me.
She got so close that I didn’t even notice until her face was right next to mine.
“…You scared me. It’s nothing.”
“By the way, Theo, why don’t you ask me to study together these days?”
“Well, we’ve covered all the exam material, so there’s no need.”
“I still don’t know a lot.”
“What are you talking about? You’re already in the top ranks.”
Her lips stuck out in a pout, dissatisfied with something.
She kept her mouth shut for a while before suddenly turning her head toward me.
And then.
“Hey, Theo.”
“Yeah?”
She tapped the ground with her foot, hesitating for a moment.
“If there were a way to get stronger by sacrificing your lifespan, would you do it?”
She brought up an unexpected topic of conversation.
“Well, I guess it would depend on the situation.”
“…I see. I hope you wouldn’t.”
“Huh? Who’s even thinking of doing something that reckless?”
“There’s something like that. Anyway, I just wouldn’t like it if someone around me chose that path.”
Seeking strength at the cost of one’s lifespan.
‘That’s really something only a tough guy would do.’
I don’t know who it is, but that’s impressive.
“Sorry for saying something weird. I’ll get going now. See you next time.”
“Oh, yeah, take care.”
[Your presence has increased.]
[EXP +1]
‘Hmm, did Sylvia have someone like that around her?’
At least, such a character didn’t appear in the novel.
I wonder if she heard some strange story or if it’s a behind-the-scenes tale not covered in the novel.
“Alright, that’s not important right now.”
My head is already cluttered enough without worrying about anything else.
I’ll just look into it when I have time later.
“Ugh, should I head to the temple?”
Today is the day the church offers free meals.
For someone like me who has nothing, it’s a day I truly appreciate.
‘Since I spend my time gathering points and hanging around the heroines, I barely have time to work.’
Dreaming of a part-time job was out of the question.
The best I could do was short-term gigs like helping out at events.
Without the allowance provided for maintaining dignity in Arcane, I would’ve starved to death by now.
‘Hard bread and bland soup, but hey, it’s still food.’
The academy’s cafeteria is as good as a high-end restaurant in terms of quality, but the prices match.
The noble lords and ladies don’t mind, but commoners like me cry every time we press the payment button.
“This way, please line up!”
After getting an outing permit and walking about five minutes toward the central district, I saw an elderly priest in a robe running around, organizing the line.
‘There are more people than I expected today.’
The weather had warmed up, so waiting a bit wasn’t a problem. I stood quietly in line for about 30 minutes.
Finally, as my turn approached—
“…Theo Nar believer, right? I’m sorry, but you won’t be able to receive it.”
The priest, who had shown a troubled expression, shook his head, saying I couldn’t receive the meal distribution.
“Pardon? What are you talking about? A church that preaches mercy and love turns people away?”
“It’s not that… Sigh, please, follow me for now.”
With a deep sigh, as if the ground would collapse, he guided me past the square where the meal distribution was taking place and led me into the temple.
“Why here…?”
“Please enter this room,” he said, pointing to a certain room in the confessional and left without further explanation.
Questions swirled in my mind, but…
“Wow, what is this smell?”
An enticing aroma of savory oil and stimulating spices captivated me.
Creak.
As I pulled the doorknob, the old hinges creaked loudly in welcome.
The scene unfolding before my eyes was utterly unbelievable.
Steam rose from freshly prepared, mouth watering delicacies.
The table, laden with rare and luxurious dishes, seemed like something out of a dream.
‘How can the church afford such extravagance?’
The church, known for its austere lifestyle, serving hard stone bread and bland soup during meal distributions, had set up a feast like this?
“Why are you standing there dazed? Please, have a seat.”
A soft, pleasant voice spoke quietly.
It came from beyond the table, in a space obscured by a wall.
‘Oh right, this is the confessional.’
A place where priests listen to confessions of sins and offer encouragement.
“Since your baptism last time, have you encountered any issues?”
‘That voice…!’
Though I couldn’t see her face, the mention of baptism and the familiar tone of her voice gave away her identity.
The pride and symbol of the Holy Church devoted to the god Elea.
“Lady Saintess! Nothing much has happened, but…”
It was none other than Saint Venice.
“Your voice is trembling. Do you have any concerns?”
“Not really, but I was wondering about all of this.”
“Ah, you were curious about that. It’s nothing much, just something the temple provides for devout believers.”
“But others don’t…”
“Please, eat before it gets cold. It’s all right.”
This isn’t something offered to everyone, and the thought of enjoying such luxurious food alone made an unsettling feeling creep up from my toes.
…But how could I refuse this?
For a year, I had eaten poorly seasoned food.
Spices were expensive, so bad odors and fishiness were the norm, and in some places, they even used spoiled ingredients.
‘I almost died back then from relentless stomachaches.’
While my mind signaled this was wrong, my hands had already reached for the table.
“Haha, seeing you eat well makes me happy.”
Saint or not, the only thought consuming me was to devour the food in front of me.
After what felt like a frenzy of eating, I finally finished.
“You’re a second-year, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Following the purpose of the confessional, we had a brief, casual conversation.
“Are you getting along well with your friends?”
“Not many, but…”
“Who is your closest friend?”
“A guy named Gray… Oh, and I have a friend named Sylvia too.”
Though it’s a place for confessing sins, I didn’t have any major wrongdoings to admit, so I casually continued talking about everyday matters.
“Uh, do you have a friend you talk to often?”
“Recently, I think I’ve been talking a lot with Sylvia.” Hmm…
As I smoothly carried on with the conversation—
Clench, grind.
“Like a horny bitch in heat… No, no, that’s not it. Ahem, I see. It’s good that you’ve made many friends.”
With the grinding of teeth, her tone suddenly changed.
‘What? Did I mishear that?’
She spoke softly, so I couldn’t make out exactly what she said, but the atmosphere was distinctly different from her usual tone.
“So then, who is the friend you spend the most time with?”
“I think that’s also Sylvia~”
Boom!
Pretending to know nothing… That sly fox of a woman…
“…Excuse me?”
“Oh-ho, it’s nothing. Suddenly, something urgent came up, so I think we’ll need to wrap this up.”
“Understood.”
With that, I finished the confession and left the sanctuary after her subtle hint for me to leave.
On my way back to the academy,
“What on earth is going on…”
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t pinpoint the source of this nagging unease coursing through me.
From the day of the sparring match to now,
The heroines’ words and actions have all been suspicious.
What should I doubt, and where do I even start?
Who should I keep an eye on?
No clear solution came to mind.
“It’s already a headache trying to figure things out as the protagonist. Why are you all acting like this too?”