A few days had passed since then.
Kalian had been extremely busy preparing for his academy entrance, leaving little time to meet with me.
He also stopped handling matters with the women on my behalf.
He declared loudly that he couldn’t be indebted to me forever and that he would manage everything himself.
Fortunately.
If he showed this level of adaptability even before entering the academy, there shouldn’t be any major problems.
Finally, he has gained true freedom.
It’s been 20 years since I was born into a novel… and for 16 of those years, I’ve been taking care of the
protagonist just in case something goes wrong.
You’ve worked hard all this time.
From now on, I’ll leave all the hardships to Kalian and enjoy myself in everyone’s indifference.
Crackle
In front of the warmly burning fireplace, I sat in an armchair reading the newspaper.
From specialized publications issued by various fiefs to comprehensive newspapers compiling news from across the empire, I had piled up all kinds of newspapers on the table.
Having read the original novel from start to finish, I vaguely knew what would happen in this world.
There were both good and bad events, and I gathered information to prevent as many of the bad ones from occurring as possible.
Of course, I didn’t handle things directly but instead fed information to the relevant organizations.
Maria asked,
“Is everything alright?”
“Yeah. The Demon King’s army, the apostles, and the church are all quiet. Haven’t we received any new information lately?”
“The young master doesn’t have anything to worry about. If anything, it’s that Kalian has prepared his academy entrance documents. They said they’ll be sent out today or tomorrow.”
“That’s good.”
It seems he’s finally made up his mind.
Come to think of it, I wonder if there’s really a need for him to enter the academy.
Wouldn’t it be better for him to join the military instead of the academy for his future?
Why isn’t there an academy for just males…?
Kalian had been repeatedly escaping reality like this, but it seems he realized he had no other choice.
It’s understandable; his goal is to defeat the Demon King.
Is there any better way than building his skills and connections at the best academy?
What a stubborn guy.
If he just enters the academy, all kinds of women would line up for him. Especially women who would dominate this world.
The pitiable ones are the women around him.
They would become rivals, having to stay in a constant state of conflict throughout their school life.
They might not even realize that Kalian is unattainable.
“Maria, what do you think of Kalian?”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s handsome, strong, has a good personality, and his family supports him. At this point, you might also find him likable.”
I suddenly became curious about what kind of feelings Maria might have towards Kalian.
Hearing my words, she looked at me intently and gave a slight laugh.
“That’s true.”
“Really? When should I formally introduce you two? I don’t think he’d be too wary if it’s you.”
“You’re being mischievous. You know well that I won’t look elsewhere.”
I wondered if she had any hidden feelings, but there was no sign of it.
She often watched Kalian with me, but she never showed any particular affection.
I carefully folded the newspaper and pointed to the basket beside me. It was filled with letters.
“I should go to bed now. You can burn what’s here if you want.”
“Sleep peacefully.”
“Yeah, you sleep well too.”
Maria naturally took the letters and left.
It’s been a few days since I last met Kalian, but there are still people sending me love letters.
They could just send them directly to him instead of going through me.
Maybe they think I’ll talk to him because I’m close with him.
What a big mistake. I have no intention of entertaining their damn unrequited love sitcoms, nor any reason to do so.
The women who offer gold bars and jewel tributes while begging for ‘favors’ at least show some sincerity, but those who just send letters are completely incomprehensible.
Letters are destined for the fiery pit.
Since Kalian himself asked me to handle them, I have no guilt.
After confirming that Maria had taken the basket, I opened the wardrobe door to change into my pajamas.
And there, I met Kalian’s eyes.
He gave an awkward smile and waved his hand.
“Hi?”
“What are you doing…? At this late hour, inside the wardrobe.”
“Ha ha, we haven’t met in a few days. It’s fine if I’m a bit late meeting a friend, right? The wardrobe… I thought it would be fun to do it like this.”
“Come out.”
He closed the wardrobe door as if nothing was happening.
However, seeing him curled up inside looked pitiful, and since the academy entrance day was approaching, I didn’t argue.
Kalian scratched his head and sat on the chair.
I heated the tea that was on the table. I preferred freshly prepared tea with a nice aroma, but that meant I had to call Maria, so there was no other choice.
When I handed him the cup, Kalian savored the warmth of the tea as if he had just come back from a bitter cold.
Anxiety surged.
“Is something wrong?”
Thinking nothing was wrong, I cautiously asked.
He shook his head with a nonchalant expression.
“What’s wrong? Nothing like that.”
“.You know, since you know everything, just tell me quickly.”
“I told you, there’s nothing. I just really came to hang out. It’s true.”
Oh, please… Oh God.
Kalian, who was said to be fine even if he died soon, remained seated, showing no sign of getting up until he finished his tea.
“Kalian, if you don’t have anything else to do, you should go now?”
“I’ll drink all the tea and then leave.”
“It’s been 30 minutes since you finished it.”
What have you been doing all this time holding an empty cup?
He snapped to attention at my remark and only then put down his teacup, starting to stretch his legs.
“So, what is it?”
“…What?”
“Tell me what’s going on. Haven’t you always considered me, Wade, as the only friend you can confide in?”
Everyone has problems they want to hide.
But the problems he has must be addressed.
Any variables that could block his path to success need to be eliminated in advance.
Then he bowed his head deeply and muttered something.
“…I guess.”
“What did you say?”
“…I guess.”
“What are you saying? Try speaking clearly.”
He was trying to say something, but his voice was too soft to understand.
He was almost touching my forehead, so only then did I catch what he was saying in my ears.
“I can’t get into the academy.”
“Huh?”
However, even though I heard the entire sentence, it took me some time to grasp its meaning.
Academy, entrance, can’t do it…?
What is this?
Am I dreaming or something?
“I’ve been struggling for a long time. And after much deliberation, I decided I could get in… but I just can’t.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“Well… Half of the academy is female, and I’m the one who’s actually afraid of women… I guess I was never cut out for this in the first place.”
“But you’ve been doing well all this time. You’ve been talking to other girls normally, and you’ve learned how to reject confessions… Now? Isn’t there something more to it?”
Various emotions clashed within me.
I wanted to get rid of the guy, but at the same time, I understood the frustration he must be feeling.
All I could do was try to maintain a composed expression and continue asking questions. After gauging my reaction, Kalian spoke.
“Erika… you know?”
“Of course I do.”
Erika is one of the very few women who maintain a good relationship with him and has been instrumental in helping Kalian overcome his fear of women.
“Erika… has disappeared.”
“Hmm?”
“She’s missing. We’ve been looking for her for days, but we can’t find her anywhere. She’s not at home, not at work, and there’s no trace of her even in the gate records.”
“So, someone kidnapped her?”
It’s a bit harsh to say, but it’s entirely possible.
There have been plenty of incidents like that so far.
He has many women around him.
Among them, there are many who have gone astray.
People who say things like, ‘I can’t stand you talking to other women,’ or
‘How can you hang out with him without knowing the topic,’ and end up doing crazy things.
There’s no guarantee that Erika’s disappearance was caused by them, but it’s likely.
“First, calm down. There’s still time…”
“I’m tired of even that.”
“Wait, I said calm down.”
“What if you enter the academy? Can you imagine? Girls from all over the empire—or rather, the entire continent—will gather there. If things get worse here, they won’t get better.”
“Who would dare do such things at the Imperial Academy…”
But his words were true.
The Imperial Academy is a ticking time bomb.
They have abilities and power, but they’re full of people without common sense, so you never know when it might blow up.
However, if I just accepted this passively, my life plans would be ruined.
“Academy or whatever, I don’t need any of it…”
As I was pondering how to calm him down, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bundle of papers.
They were the entrance documents. Kalian needed to submit those to officially enter the school… Huh?
“Wait a minute!” With a swift motion, he tore the documents to shreds.
I couldn’t do anything about it, but instinctively hunched my body and gathered the torn papers.
“Don’t do this, Kalian. Remember your goal. You said you wanted to defeat the Demon King, right? You said you needed to enter the academy for that?”
“It’s all over. I’m just going to join the temple. I’ll go somewhere without women.”
“What are you trying to do there? Think again. There’s no other path for you.”
“You can become a priest or whatever. There’s no rule that you have to be a knight to defeat the Demon King.”
“What are you talking about, priest?”
Your talents are all geared towards being a knight.
If you don’t enter the academy, there will be no one to stop the Demon King or his apostles.
Everything is falling apart.
Not only is my sweet life plan getting derailed, but it’s sinking entirely.
In this moment of crisis, I had no choice but to pull out the only card that could turn the situation around.
The card I had been fiddling with since he appeared from the wardrobe, something I had only intended to use in the worst-case scenario.
“Then, let’s do it this way. I’ll enter the academy with you. If I promise to sort out those strange girls… will you enroll then?”
To be continued…
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