“Look over there! It’s the Evergarden siblings!”
“Professor Felix…! I heard he solved the problem in the last artificial dungeon all by himself!”
“Lady Rosaria apparently took down an assailant single-handedly, even though upperclassmen couldn’t handle them!”
“They’re incredible siblings…!”
“Amazing…”
As the two appeared in the peaceful cafeteria, the atmosphere quickly became lively.
It was because they were the hottest figures in the academy these days, the Evergarden siblings.
Felix had not only demonstrated an extraordinary level of skill as a magic professor from the very first curriculum, completely different from the past, but he had also become the hero who resolved the recent artificial dungeon attack incident.
Rosaria, on the other hand, had unexpectedly transferred to the combat department, despite her previous academic focus, and quickly dominated it.
During the recent attack, she had taken down an assailant by herself (though, to be precise, with a little help from Rachel) and saved the students, making her a hero in their eyes. Â
As a result, rumors about the two had spread throughout the entire academy.
“Sigh… Everywhere we go, people keep staring. The life of a popular person is such a hassle! Wahaha!”
“Ugh.”
Rosaria, who had just received her lunch tray, noticed the students watching them from afar. Her shoulders lifted as she grinned and laughed cheerfully.
“I don’t like it. A little attention is fine, but this happens every time we walk by. It’s embarrassing. If they were gathering to ask magic-related questions, I’d actually welcome it.”
Felix, on the other hand, seemed burdened by the excessive attention, making a slightly sullen expression.
‘Besides… this whole incident is too suspicious… I can’t relax and feel at ease.’
The event itself had been completely unexpected for him, leaving a nagging unease in the back of his mind.
A development entirely different from the original story.
Felix had maintained a certain level of composure so far because he knew how the original story unfolded.
However, if someone other than his family had also been reincarnated, then his knowledge of the original plot was only a half-baked advantage…..barely even half of what it used to be. Â
“Really? Oh, that reminds me…”
“Hm?”
“Uh… never mind! Let’s just eat!”
“What the…?”
Rosaria, watching Felix, suddenly thought of someone and was about to bring them up but quickly changed her mind.
‘If I introduce those two….who knows what might happen.’
Rachel.
She had been in the same group during the cooperative exam and had helped land the final blow.
She seemed like a decent person, but when it came to magic, she had a few screws loose just like Felix.
‘Two of my idiot little brother? Ugh, that’s a disaster waiting to happen.’
Sensing that something chaotic could unfold if those two met, Rosaria decided to keep Rachel’s existence a secret.
With that, the two picked up their trays and searched for a seat.
“Are they coming this way…?”
“I hope they sit here…!”
“Over here! We have seats!”
Students in the cafeteria got even more excited, standing up and enthusiastically calling the siblings over to their tables.
“Oh? Then how about…..”
“We’re sitting in the corner.”
“…Tsk, how boring.”
Rosaria, who had been subtly trying to move toward a table filled with beautiful girls, was dragged away by Felix’s firm grip, leading her toward a quiet corner seat.
“Sigh, fine. Let’s just eat. Oh…! The fish today looks amazing! Time to dig in—”
“Felix.”
“…What now? Just let me eat.”
Rosaria, having finally settled down, was about to enjoy her meal when Felix suddenly spoke up, forcing her to put down her spoon.
“I’ve been thinking about something.”
“About what?”
“Don’t you think… the academy feels kind of ’empty’ right now?”
“Empty? What do you mean?”
“Look. The protagonist is supposed to enter the academy next year, which is just under half a year away.”
“That’s… true.”
“But then, why haven’t we heard anything about the supporting characters who are supposed to be here?”
“Supporting characters?”
“Let me explain.”
Realizing the conversation might take a while, Felix pulled out a notebook from his coat and started scribbling as he spoke.
“There are a few key supporting characters the protagonist meets at the academy who have significant roles.”
Jin Bores, heir to the North.
Irene von Gracies, the saint of the empire.
Rizerotte, master of alchemy and poisons.
Griffon von Stardt, prodigy of the magic world.
CelebrÃan Asir, the second princess of the elves.
“These five. Each of them has exceptional talent and plays an important role. In the original story, they may not be as central as the protagonist, but they’re important enough to get their own side stories or spin-offs.”
“Hmm… I see…”
“But ever since coming to the academy, I haven’t run into any of them.”
“…Wait, didn’t you say the protagonist would meet them after enrolling next year? Shouldn’t they already be students here?”
“That’s exactly the problem. Rizerotte and the second princess enter the academy at the same time as the protagonist, but these three are already supposed to be here.”
“Then why haven’t you seen them?”
“That’s what’s weird. When I looked into it, I found out that for some reason each of these three has taken a leave of absence from the academy.”
“A leave of absence?”
“Yeah. Don’t you think that’s suspicious?”
“Hmm… I don’t know. The novel was written from the protagonist’s point of view, right? Maybe they took a break but came back before the protagonist enrolled, so it just wasn’t mentioned.”
“Still, the fact that three key characters are on leave at the same time… it’s strange.”
Felix had a point. The original story didn’t go into much detail about what these characters were doing before the protagonist arrived.
But the fact that three major figures, all crucial to the plot, had taken a leave of absence at the same time it was definitely something to think about.
“My guess is… it might have something to do with the ‘Master’ the assailant mentioned.”
“The Master?”
“Yeah. If this ‘Master’ is someone like us another reincarnator and has enough influence to stage an attack on the academy…….then maybe they saw those three as obstacles.”
“So… that means these three people have already been… slashed?”
“Phew… I don’t know that much. It’s just a possibility.”
“Ugh… my head hurts. Why is there so much to worry about…?”
The academy attack.
That person.
The disappearance of key figures.
With so many sudden and chaotic events happening all at once, the two were racking their brains, but no clear answers emerged.
And then—
“Hey, is this… a gun?”
“Huh?”
“Who…?”
Before they realized it, someone had approached them, pointing at the gun strapped to Rosaria’s back.
Her hair was a soft pink, like cherry blossoms in bloom, loosely tied back as if she found it bothersome. A pair of transparent goggles covered her slightly broad forehead.
Around her neck, she wore a cloth scarf, stained as if it had been used for wiping grime. Despite the cold weather, she was dressed in a sleeveless top, her impressively bold chest standing out. A tied-up jacket hung from her waist, and her belt was packed with various tools.
She stood around 158 cm tall, shorter than Rosaria, and her entire body was covered in sweat and dirt.
“Wow… I wanted to try making one myself, but I didn’t think there was someone else in this world who had the same idea!”
“Wait, a gun?”
“How do you…?!”
Her appearance suggested she worked with tools, yet her face didn’t match that image at all a mismatched yet strikingly beautiful girl. Her casual remark had caught the two completely off guard.
A gun.
People in this world had no concept of guns.
Neither of them had called it a gun, and to an average person, it would just look like an unusually shaped staff.
Yet she had not only called it a gun but spoken as if she fully understood what it was.
That meant only one thing.
She wasn’t from this world….she was from modern Earth.
“Hey, did you make this?”
“Huh? Uh… yeah?”
“I see…! Then what materials did you use? How does the firing mechanism work? Gunpowder? No… it can’t be gunpowder. I took a quick look, and there’s no rifling inside, so you must’ve modified magic formulas instead, right?
Then what about the bullets? Did you engrave magic inscriptions onto them? I didn’t see any on the gun itself… Wow, this is getting interesting!” Â
“…She figured it out?”
“Wait a second! Who are you?!”
“Oops—!”
The moment she realized Felix was the one who made the gun, she immediately leaned in, bombarding him with a relentless stream of questions.
As she stared at him with sparkling eyes, her face so close it was almost touching his, Rosaria quickly stood up, wedging herself between them to separate them before Felix could get too carried away in his magic-geek mode.
“Ah, I forgot to introduce myself.”
“I’m Louise Gramore, first-year in the Magic Tools Department. Just call me Louise.”
“And, well… I’m in the same boat as you guys.”
Adjusting her posture, Louise lowered her goggles and flashed a sly grin.