chapter 4
4 – 2. Beast Hook
I wonder why it was like that, but <Romance Academy> is set in modern times ‘for now’.
Even so, it is just because modern times are boring, that a very small number of people are given a specific ‘job’ from birth, and that they are much stronger than ordinary people.
What if you hit a gate where a monster comes out in such an unreasonable situation? Voila, this is your <Romance Academy>. What the f*ck.
‘It’s index… … .’
What’s more, the unified Korean Empire, which includes not only Korea but also North Korea, is a powerful country that commands the world.
No matter how you look at it, you want to include a character from the royal family, but since the background is modern, you must have forced your head into it.
However, you don’t need to know about this background anyway.
From the beginning of the game to the ending, leaving <Romance Academy> is one of the few things I can do!
Virtually all four years spent in this floating city!
‘Is this correct?’
Even if it’s a woman-oriented non-yeonsi, is it okay to just set the settings like this without any countermeasures?
‘feminine… … unplayed.’
… Yes, there is one more thing that I have been neglecting.
That is, <Romance Academy> is a non-female version.
In fact, it feels like a school game because there are battles, events between several students, and exams to call it unplayed, but first of all, the main genre is unplayed.
I watched the seven students from the very back as they walked down the street to take the dedicated exam.
‘The prince, the mage, and the hero.’
It’s the ‘main attack target’ that those rather irritatingly handsome guys often refer to. There are more than that, but among them, those who have special jobs and have high influence are those.
They all fall in love with the main female character… … how was it
‘I can’t remember the female protagonist because I only did it until the 3rd playthrough.’
In <Romance Academy>, the default protagonist is a female as a female-oriented game, but you can also play a male protagonist if you want.
However, doing so will only cause major problems.
‘All romance elements are locked.’
Choosing a male lead doesn’t mean you can fall in love with female characters, but your likability or relationship doesn’t go up to the point where you can just date.
Of course, all the events related to love, confession, and marriage disappeared, so the content that was already less was reduced even more.
‘That was rather good.’
Yes, the advantage of the male protagonist is that ‘you can see the ending quickly because there is less content to do’!
It’s a famous game, so I wonder if it’s an advantage to see the ending quickly, but it was a very strong advantage from my point of view, who promised to see the ending with all jobs.
It was just torture because the round play went beyond the round play 10 times.
So, to collect game events and CGs, I proceeded as a female protagonist until the 3rd round and played as many events as possible.
‘… … Even so, the difference was insignificant.’
Collecting the dust is a great mountain, and if you collect even such an insignificant amount of time, it becomes a nutrient for playing the round quickly.
The crazy b*tch who saw me play like this was ruining my game.
That day too, sitting in a chair, a pillow on the back of my head—
“──Min?”
When I make fried rice, I only strain out the bell peppers and nag them——
“──Namgoong Min!!”
“……ah.”
I’ve been lost in thought for too long. It’s a problem because the memory of bullying that crazy b*tch is fun no matter how many times I think about it, and time flies by.
When I turned to my right, where my ears were a bit tingling, I saw a cute-looking girl with straight black hair glaring at me.
Knowing who she was, I answered quickly before anyone could say anything.
“Sorry, I’m a bit lost in my thoughts.”
“Is it okay for a bastard whose name is a special job to be so foolish?”
“Because I was worried about my job, I knew it was rude, but I couldn’t help but fall into it.”
“Then what happened?”
Even though it’s the first time I’ve met, I spit out nonchalantly, and I’m going to have a good time, and I’m going to have a good time, and I’m going to have a good time.
Relatively small in stature compared to others. Straight black hair that reached her waist. Wealth, wearing all kinds of luxury items and jewels.
As people say, the woman loved by luck.
Great Wealth Lake Liu Yan.
Even though he hadn’t even reached adulthood yet, a real rich man who could pay the national budget of a fairly powerful country was looking up at me.
“Hey, did you say fortune teller?”
“Undeservedly, yes.”
“Then you know how to tell fortunes?”
“Wouldn’t that be nagging?”
Liu spoke as if arguing, and before he knew it, others were also turning around and looking at Liu.
No, corrected. Everyone was just watching Rio.
‘I already know these guys.’
From all sides, he is the royal family of a powerful country, a wealthy man, a son of Europe’s most prestigious family, a grandson of a former US president, and a saint protected by the Catholic Church.
Since birth, they have been at the top of society, and they are future powerful people who have secured their position by being given a ‘job’.
‘But there’s no way I’m blind.’
However, a fortune teller intervened in the meeting of the powerful. That can’t look good.
But that did not mean unconditional exclusion.
“…… Mr. Liu. It’s our first time meeting you, so can you be a bit more polite?”
“Huh? Hey, why do I have to be polite to such an asshole?”
“He’s also a classmate taking the romance academy entrance exam, and even a classmate taking the exclusive exam. Isn’t that enough reason to be polite?”
“I’m not interested.”
“……Ah, yes. That’s right.”
<Psychic> Lane Arthur sighs after pointing out Liu Yan’s attitude, and <Saint> Raphael Martina shakes his head and looks at Kim Seong-il, <The Imperial Family>, with contempt.
Yes, it is true that these guys have met since childhood.
It can’t be all friendship, can it? Of course, their relationships are twisted like wired earphones in their pockets.
‘And it’s my job to solve it well.’
To come back after seeing the ending, and furthermore, to hold my sister by the collar.
I smiled at Rio and Lane, who were growling at each other.
“Mr. Liu, did you tell me about fortune-telling?”
“…Oh, yes.”
“Right now, there are no cards for divination……how about a simple test?”
“test?”
Liu pays attention to me. Correspondingly, Rain Arthur and Lucas Arthur also turn their eyes to me.
In fact, everyone’s attention was focused on me, except for <Hero> Abel Legion, who doesn’t always pay attention to those around him.
‘It’s time to make a first impression.’
In fact, the core of <Romance Academy> is the first impression they have. This impression will have a great influence on your subsequent actions.
I pointed at Liu’s waist, paying attention to every action and word.
What is tied around her waist is a small pocket that the wealthy woman always wears.
“What about what’s in that bag?”
“This pocket? Hey, can you figure this out?”
She let out a smirk as if she were full of spirits. Yes, it is a natural reaction.
I saw it for the first time today. If you know what’s in your pocket, that’s a superpower, right?
Of course, you can’t tell by looking at this. I can’t even use tarot cards, so I have no intention of leaving an important first impression to everyone with a 10% gamble.
Just commit a small foul.
“What I’m trying to see is just bullsh*t or nonsense, not some kind of pseudo quack—”
“Is it a golden toad?”
“──What?”
The arrogant gestures and tone of words harden as they are. The face that says I’m dumbfounded stops awkwardly.
I, who had frozen the arrogant tycoon with just one word, continued.
“And there’s not one. Let’s see… Two? Three? No, four? Oh my God, there are only four golden toads in there, but at that size, they must be artifacts, right?”
“………you.”
“The shape of the sculpture is also beautiful. I carved a dragon on the toad’s back, a tiger on its forelimbs, and a snake on its hind legs. The toad’s face is just as thick as it is in that posture.”
“hey.”
“yes?”
“What have you done?”
It’s probably just embarrassing for Rio.
The reason she put the golden toad in her pocket was for her childhood memories.
The golden toad, which I received as a birthday present from my parents and younger brother in the happy days, has already disappeared. At least, I carry it with me to keep the memories.
If you listen like this, it sounds like three would be correct, but since you put your own in order to insert yourself into that memory, four are correct.
Anyway, the fact that Liu carries a golden toad is her own secret after all.
She must have been going crazy for how she knew this, as she had a suspicious illness as a child.
Of course, I only had one thing to say to her.
“I hit a fortune.”
“Ha… it’s f*cking annoying if you just open your mouth.”
At my answer with a smile, she smiled as if it was more absurd than before.
“Is this a funny kid?”
Not ‘just an idiot to play with for a while’.
“It is an honour.”
They begin to look at them as ‘suspicious opponents’.
“Hey, can we try again?”
“As much as you like.”
Liu Yan is a terminally ill patient. She doubts, doubts, and doubts everything in the world.
Now that I’m with those guys who I’ve met since I was young and I’m less suspicious of them, at least my suspicions have subsided.
It’s not difficult to pull it back up.
She’s a psychopath who only judges people as ‘assholes’ or ‘suspicious assholes’.
‘Rio’s character event was like that too.’
This problem is not unique to her.
All of those who carefully watch the conversation between me and Rio have a ‘bomb’ similar to this one.
And all the ‘bombs’ are driven to the brink of exploding, and the main character must intervene to stop the bombs.
That’s the ‘character event’. In fact, it was the most important part of <Romance Academy>.
‘If you fix Rio’s suspicious disease in the game, Rio becomes a reliable source of funds for the main character.’
Resolving character events fixes the character’s biggest problem, maxes out favorability, and gives rewards.
For Liu, the reward is endless wealth. yes, it’s money
That was why I made Rio my number one target.
It’s easy to get close to him because he’s fighting first, and if you touch a suspicious bottle a little bit, the character event will happen quickly.
“Inside this ring?”
“The little jewels are connected like a matryoshka.”
“Ha, in this pocket?”
“It’s a gold coin that always bounces around.”
“What’s in this box?”
“……Mr. Liu, don’t you see me as some kind of clairvoyant?”
“Why, it’s fun. Try more.”
The more I answer her questions, the more Liu’s suspicions grow.
Perhaps, in her imagination, I had been blown up to the extent of ‘an assassin imitating a fortune teller sent by the hostile forces’ or ‘the disguise of a romance academy instructor’?
It must be really annoying to see this. You have to be suspicious to get her eyes on you, but if you do, your doubts will continue to grow… …
Even now, actually, I’m not in a very good condition, but I still had a corner to believe in.
“Go on, you bastard. Inside this pendant——”
“——Stop it now, Liu.”
“Ah, Lucas. Why!!”
“I have arrived at the dedicated test site.”
“………….”
Yes, there was a time limit for this conversation.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t stopped talking while talking, so I had no choice but to arrive at the test center sooner or later.
Liu, who confirmed the dedicated testers installed in front of him, gritted his teeth and glared at me.
“You, I remembered.”
“It is an honour.”
This is the end of her suspicion fraud. From now on, you can build a relationship while dealing with each other in moderation, and then solve the character event when it happens.
I said it simply, but I can’t imagine how hard the event will be.
Still, since it’s an event I’ve cleared 25 times, I just believe that I can do it this time too.
“……They each have their own names.”
“It’s okay to enter according to the name, right?”
“Rio, calm down. It’s a dedicated test soon.”
“Do I look real? That bastard is 100 percent sure. I’m sure I remembered!”
<Mage> Lucas Arthur anxiously soothes Rio, who is pointing his finger at me out of excitement.
And such <psychic> Rain Arthur looks at such Lucas and Liu with complicated eyes.
<The Imperial Family> Kim Seong-il and Kim Eun-ha have already entered their respective examination halls, and the <Hero> Abel Legion is staring at the entrance with his name written on it.
<Saint> Raphael Martina will watch until the end to see if the others go in well before entering.
Characters I’ve seen 25 times. Actions seen 25 times.
Feeling the strange feeling that I was looking directly at the people I had only seen through the screen, I walked into the test room marked with ‘Namgoong Min’.
“and…….”
An empty space without any decorations or utensils. Lamps installed here and there emit bright and warm light, and chandeliers and other lamps hang in the space that is open to the ceiling.
And in the middle of all that space, there is only a table and two chairs.
“Sit down, Namgoong Min.”
“……yes.”
Sitting across from him was the always expressionless Charles teddy bear.
It was the beginning of the dedicated test.