“……”
I could confidently say I wasn’t easily surprised anymore since I had experienced all sorts of things while living in the Forest of the Demon Realm, but this was something I never expected.
‘Why is she here?’
Looking at Rin, who was soundly asleep, I felt bewildered, and figuring out how to handle this came first.
“Should I wake her up?”
I shook her around and called her name, but she didn’t budge. It was as if she was under a ‘spell’ like a princess from a fairy tale, sound asleep.
“Sigh.”
Reluctantly, I rummaged through Rin’s pajama pockets and found a key.
I hoisted her up and headed for the door, making my way directly to the 4th floor.
Since it was dawn, no one was around in the girls’ area, so without thinking, I opened Rin’s door.
Just then, the door next to me creaked open, and a head poked out.
A girl with braided hair and glasses, Ares, the best magician in the third grade, was peering at me.
I was personally curious about her since I had fought Rin, but right now, she was staring at me blankly in her messy hair and pajamas.
“Uh, um…”
“Wait, that’s a misunderstanding.”
But then, I thought about it—she must have come back late after being questioned, so why was she still awake? I fumbled for an excuse, but…
Bang! The door slammed shut as Adriana entered her room.
I wanted to explain the situation, but all I could hear was the sound of her locking the door.
“Ugh, seriously.”
Is this how the academy operates?
Feeling unfair, frustrated, and annoyed, I tossed Rin onto the bed with a sigh.
“Snore.”
Rin was still deeply asleep as if still under a ‘spell.’ I placed my hand on my chest, and luckily, I didn’t feel any pain.
“Is it okay to sleep this deeply?”
Though my heart had been aching a bit when I met Rin lately, I confirmed that dizziness and nausea were gone and stepped outside.
Embarrassingly, I had an incomplete record against Rin—0 wins and 2 losses.
‘If we somehow end up fighting again, I’m definitely not losing this time.’
I had a bit of pride, so as I concluded that, I stepped out of the door to find Adriana, wearing glasses, waiting for me in the corridor.
“You came out quickly.”
“I’m not here to do anything weird!”
“I didn’t say anything.”
And she was right. I ended up flustering myself.
‘Why is today like this?’
Getting confessed to by May, being laughed at by Sen, and now being flustered by Rin—it felt like today was a day ruled by women.
Adriana chuckled as she began to inspect me curiously.
“What are you doing?”
I instinctively backed away, but Adriana spun around, making a clink! sound as she observed me.
“I won’t spread rumors about you entering a girl’s room in the girls’ area, so just give me 5 minutes.”
“It’s a misunderstanding!”
“I know, I know.”
Well, if it’s just 5 minutes…
Adriana meticulously examined me like a woman shopping for clothes, and in the end, she crossed her arms and sighed.
“I guess we have a similar build.”
“What do you mean?”
“No, it’s my business. But one question: Do you plan to dye your hair blonde?”
“What?”
What on earth is she thinking?
I shook my head, making a face like “no way,” and to my surprise, Adriana nodded in satisfaction.
“Yeah, blonde wouldn’t suit you. Just don’t dye it at least while you’re at the academy, okay?”
“I won’t even if you don’t tell me.”
“Well, goodbye then.”
With that, she turned and headed back to her room as if her business was finished.
“Seriously, magicians are often a bit weird.”
When I worked as a Sherpa in the Forest of the Demon Realm, the most frequent customers were magicians, and they were the most demanding as well.
Rare herbs, ores, and magical beast remnants from the Forest of the Demon Realm were like elixirs to magicians. They had many unique requests.
One magician brought a carriage to gather fortune, but when I mentioned I wouldn’t guard the wagon, he confidently said he would take care of it himself.
What happened?
The carriage and all the precious items inside became a magical beast’s snack.
Seeing the magician make a dumbfounded face back then made me chuckle.
He lost all his money since a magical beast devoured his wallet, so I kindly escorted him to the edge of the Forest of the Demon Realm.
“Ugh!”
Complaining, I arrived back in my room and flopped onto the bed.
It had been a tiring day.
With no lectures tomorrow, I just wanted to sleep all day, but…
“……”
Rin’s oddly sweet scent lingered in the bed and sheets.
*
Knock knock knock!
“Daniel!”
Knock knock knock!
“Come out!”
“Oh, please.”
Unintentionally, I found myself inhaling Rin’s scent while the voice ringing in my ears woke me up.
Rubbing my messy hair and squinting my heavy eyes, I checked outside.
It seemed to still be sunny, so it must be around lunchtime.
‘Maybe it’s Tana and Eve?’
Hearing the voices, I figured it was the two girls from my class. I scratched the back of my head and opened the door, and they rushed in excitedly.
“Hey, bursting into a guy’s room like this…”
Still feeling sleepy, I complained, but they interrupted me, rushing to the table I had brought in last time.
They were holding a big stack of paper.
“Look at this, Daniel! It’s amazing, right?”
Tana was babbling excitedly about something, but I couldn’t comprehend any of it.
As I frowned at them, Eve smacked the table and excitedly declared, “You’ve been chosen by Professor Veritio!”
Tana held up the stack of paper that had the title [Thornbush Rose] elegantly written in cursive, with the author’s name underneath.
[Author: Veritio Oulin]
“Who is Professor Veritio?”
Feeling exasperated, I sipped some water and asked, and the two girls grew even more excited. Especially Eve, who was almost spitting while she talked.
“You don’t know Professor Veritio?”
“He’s a great author who used to be the main scriptwriter for the royal theater! After retiring, he became a professor at the academy, and every time there’s a gratitude festival, he puts on plays with students, and it gets rave reviews! Nobles and fans come from everywhere to see it!”
Watching Eve ramble on made me genuinely uneasy.
‘Oh dear, my little Eve is gone.’
Where’s that little critter bouncing around? Now she’s praising this Great Author Veritio like a general.
“Anyway?”
I ignored Eve, who was panting from too much talking, and turned to Tana.
“Just show me the role. We asked you for the script, and we just barely got a look at it, but you’ve been offered a major role that every guy would want!”
“I said I don’t want it.”
Eve’s eyes widened in surprise at my response.
“What?”
“I said I don’t want to do it if they suddenly ask me to.”
What’s with this play nonsense?
I stared at them with a look that said, “Are you done talking?” while Eve shrank back, mumbling, “Help me…”
“Just look at the role first. We got you the script, so take a quick peek. You’ve been selected for a role that all the other guys would be envious of!”
“I said I don’t want to.”
“Come on! Just look!”
Tana opened the script, shoving it into my face, so with a deep sigh, I started to read what this impressive author wanted students to act out.
The content turned out to be more interesting than I expected.
But it was a little… on the risqué side.
Some scenes made me wonder if students really could perform this.
Especially, the villain character seemed to do some pretty intense things to the female leads.
“That villain is me?”
I looked at the name—Gary.
Yes, that was my role.
“See? Look at this! The scene where the villain forces the heroines to get close while provoking the protagonist is like a real man’s…!”
“I really don’t want to.”
As I tried to slam the script shut in irritation, I accidentally opened a page that listed the characters and the actors.
Protagonist
[Geldmea: Ares Helias (3rd Grade, Class B)]
[Roben: Althric Rami (4th Grade, Class A)]
Heroine
[Eris: Seria Deloa (4th Grade, Class C)]
[Philea: Rin (3rd Grade, Class A)]
[Sera: Philoa Nomea (4th Grade, Class D)]
[Bryta: Elise (3rd Grade, Class A)]
Villain
[Gary: Daniel McLean (3rd Grade, Class E)]
[Helia: Arni Duratan (3rd Grade, Class A)]
[Henchman 1: May Plov (3rd Grade, Class A)]
…
Way too many students from 3rd Grade, Class A.
Most of the main roles were filled by Class A, but there were significantly more roles for 4th graders as it progressed.
But more than that—
Looking at the cast, I hardened my resolve once again.
“I’m telling you, I’d rather die than do this.”
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