I Will Carry as an Academy Veteran

20

As far as I know.

The Salenium Saga was a game where the ‘heroine’ was at the center.

The protagonist, Erann, was entangled in a vast story that lasted until graduation, along with the heroine and other companions.

Even in the midst of countless despair and setbacks, he never gave up and continued forward.

No matter how dire the situation, watching the protagonist pick up his sword without faltering, stand up, and encourage his companions made me feel like I should be wielding a shield and sword, not a keyboard and mouse.

It was such a captivating game, a game that was worth dedicating my youth to.

Moreover.

Erann, being a ‘person,’ faced adversity and sometimes fell apart or sank deeper into despair than anyone else.

At those times, it was the heroine who stood by Erann without wavering, watching over him, comforting him, and sometimes scolding him to help him stand up again.

In the Salenium Saga, there were numerous heroines, each with different personalities, characteristics, and hidden circumstances.

Erann would choose one of them to accompany him until the end, form a bond with her, and witness the ending.

This was the standard strategy of the Salenium Saga, emphasizing the importance of the ‘heroine.’

Choosing a route was crucial, as it would lead to the key points of the ending.

Without a heroine, no matter what you did, you couldn’t see the ending.

Even defeating the final boss wouldn’t trigger the ending.

The typical ending of the normal route, along with the school setting, would not display the text below the screen, [And they all lived happily ever after. END.].

Anyway, to clear this damn game, you had to treat even an extra female student without a predetermined ‘ending’ as a heroine to have a chance at seeing the ending.

An extra heroine without an individual route could unlock the ending simply by maximizing her favorability.

For heroines with individual endings, you had to listen to their concerns and complete the ‘preliminary quests’ they presented to unlock the route.

However, most of these were ‘side stories that branched off,’ and while progressing through the main story, there were characters designed to ‘inevitably open the route through preceding quests.’

The Knight Department, commonly known as the ‘Royal Guard,’ was one of these.

And the main title heroine of the Knight Department, Evnis Route.

The starting point of the ‘Evnis’ route was none other than the 1st-year sparring episode mentioned earlier by Kalen.

This episode was a crucial turning point, an event of Erann’s forced victory, and most importantly, the unlocking of the ‘Evnis Route’ through Erann’s victory.

That’s why I couldn’t help but pay attention.

It was quite important for me to see which route the protagonist would choose and which ending he would strive for.

However.

Supposedly, in an event where Evnis should have inevitably lost, he won.

This meant one thing.

‘The flag opening Evnis’s heroine route had been completely ruined.’

The character ‘Evnis,’ originally designed as a heroine, had deviated so far from being a ‘heroine.’

With the route flag completely destroyed, there would be no elements of interest from Evnis towards Erann in future events.

Even if he were to be defeated in a future sparring, it wouldn’t lead to ‘interest and liking’ towards Erann due to ‘his weakness and lack of training.’

In short, things had gone terribly wrong.

Why did this happen?

Who cursed the poor guy to so thoroughly dampen her spirits…

At the same time, a phrase crossed my mind.

‘─This time, when you return to the family, I will thoroughly trample and break you with my abilities so you can never rise again, and then, I will become the successor.’

“Ha……”

I understood.

It was me.

So, it was me.

But what can I do now that I’ve come this far?

The fact that you can’t undo what’s been done is a rule and principle of the world.

I only acted to survive.

If Erhan didn’t choose the easiest and most orthodox “Ebneis” route, we’ll have to see what kind of heroine he’ll connect with in the future.

Depending on the route, the actions I need to take may vary.

“…Adrian, are you okay? Your complexion doesn’t look good, should we go to the infirmary if you’re feeling unwell?”

“Did I make you worry? I’m sorry. I’m really fine.”

“…But Adrian, you haven’t even touched your food, have you?”

As I came out of my reverie and looked around, the familiar sight of the public cafeteria unfolded before me.

Come to think of it, it must have been during lunch.

I still hadn’t touched my steak, and I gazed at the woman in front of me.

Raina, looking at this side with a worried expression.

I got lost in thought and dragged out the time too much.

I should get to the point now.

“Raina, Raina von Wolfgang.”

“Adrian? Why are you suddenly calling me that…?”

“Regarding this incident, you must be convinced of the culprit anyway.”

Her elegant hand, slicing the steak, paused.

“Because you know that ‘he’ is the only one with enough justification and skill to cause such an incident at this academy.”

Her green eyes shining, turned towards me.

“Is the guy you chose doing well?”

“Adrian.”

Raina fell silent for a moment.

Setting down the utensils, she sharply asked,

“…How much do you actually know?”

Instead of answering, I handed her a paper from my pocket.

“What’s this…?”

“It’s information I’ve compiled and organized. Take a look.”

Raina quickly read through the paper, then looked at me with a puzzled expression.

…Raina von Wolfgang, her tentacles already extending into the academy like roots, is adept at managing the academy’s internal affairs, information gathering, and control.

All the information has been verified by top-notch experts, so even if she knows more about the culprit, it’s not surprising at all.

She rolled up the paper, tucked it into her uniform, and looked into my eyes.

After a brief silence, she spoke first.

“…I won’t ask about the source. Adrian, you wouldn’t answer even if I did, would you? If I persist, it will only make our relationship uncomfortable.”

She probably already knows who the culprit is.

But as an information officer without any tentacles, how did I manage to uncover this information puzzles her.

“…But, I sincerely warn you. Don’t do such a thing again. Investigating by throwing yourself into danger is a matter of life at stake. I’ve told you before, right? Please take care of yourself. After all, we’re engaged. Understood?”

Raina glared at me, cheeks puffed up.

Before answering “I got it,” she promised because it seemed like her face would stay the same all day if she didn’t.

“Hmph.”

… It seemed like there was a misunderstanding, but it seemed more helpful not to deny it.

“And let’s have steak. No, it’s not good to eat everything cold. I’ll order again.”

“No. I didn’t eat it, so I…”

Before she could finish speaking, another dish arrived.

“Eat. I won’t talk until you eat even a piece.”

And only after Reyna watched me cut the steak with a knife, put it in my mouth, did she speak again.

“I put forward Erhan because… he showed remarkable abilities in the previous battle with Lykan Slope, and… when I had someone look into him, he seemed to possess a straightforward and kind nature always ready to help others.”

Hmm.

That’s true.

“Adrian also knows, right? Normally, someone with such abilities and talents in Sareneum wouldn’t help others. Friends, colleagues, lovers… they could all be seen as competitors. But that boy didn’t act that way. Should I say he always tries to help others as naturally as breathing? That caught my eye. I assure you, that boy is going to be someone significant in the future.”

“What benefits do you gain by putting him forward?”

“The connection between the future talent and Wolfgang.”

She raised a finger and looked at me.

“He’s already the second in the Knight Department of the first year, isn’t he? He’s a commoner with no suitable background, so we need to prepare him to become one of us in advance.”

…Certainly.

If he makes it to the final act, he’ll truly become a ‘hero’ and ‘savior,’ so Reyna’s judgment is very accurate.

“What if he doesn’t realize that your actions are for him?”

“That won’t happen. I’ve designed it so that he’ll eventually feel uncomfortable and trace back the source of the information.”

In the original work, Erhan never realized that Reyna was the source of the information.

This time, is she pre-emptively uncovering the source and starting by having Erhan come to her first?

No, how frightening this woman is.

Come to think of it, Reyna von Wolfang was also the main heroine of the Magic Department route.

If Evnis is a heroine who can’t be honest with her classmates.

She was a heroine in the role of an older sister guiding and supporting Erhan from the front, making sure he can become a great hero and Grand Wizard in the future.

While I quietly watched the boy singing with a knife, I saw my reflection in the juice in the glass.

…Act 1, Scene 2’s main story.

The subtitle is ‘Criminal Chase.’

In fact, the backbone of Act 1, Scene 2 is Erhan tracking down the culprits of the ‘Summoning Beast Disturbance’ all over the academy.

As you gather information, you inevitably get hints for the boss battle in Scene 3.

For example, an extra character who comes up to you saying, ‘Be careful! I saw a guy in a robe suddenly using intermediate ice magic behind the central courtyard!’

It throws hints quite blatantly.

This is a kind of game device for players to prepare for the boss battle… but also to win.

Playing Scene 2 with ‘Erhan’ multiple times, you often have doubts.

The information being spread.

It’s so systematic, detailed, and specific.

It’s as if someone ‘definitely’ planned for Erhan to realize that Melud is the culprit and receive the spotlight, making it inevitable.

“…You’ve done well so far, Reyna. Let’s set the showdown for next Saturday. It would be nice to align the schedule like that.”

“…”

And.

In this academy, the person with the highest information power seems to be just one person in front of me.

“…Well, I thought Adriane would know anyway.”

She said that, nodding her head.

“I understand. Since Adriane’s words have never been wrong, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Alright.

The final battle with the boss of Act 1 next Saturday.

No one can die.

“Well, I should gather the remaining people.”

Considering that there are not just one or two guys whose flags have been crushed, but including Lumens Reburns, there seems to be no other way but to go and personally give them a push to fit them all back in.

Then, I must move quickly.

“Uh, Adriane, by any chance…”

Reyna grabbed me.

The guy, who seemed like he wanted to say something, looked into my eyes and nodded.

“Um, this may be quite out of the blue, but… after everything is over… can we, can we go to the self-study room together?”

“Let’s do that.”

“Oh, it’s a promise! A promise! Stamp! Copy!”

Reyna said that with a bright smile.