Plans Never Go as Planned

The next morning, I sat at my desk and opened my notebook.

I stared at that last line for a while, then drew two strokes through it.

Once corrected, the results were catastrophic. On the very day I decided to save the original story, I got kidnapped by the one heroine I'd been sure was still safe. And that heroine's eyes had lit up looking at me — not the original protagonist. In an entirely different sense.

"Where did this even start going wrong?"

I almost wrote the entrance ceremony, then stopped. More precisely, it had been wrong since the moment I transmigrated. I tapped the desk with the tip of my pen. Still, giving up wasn't an option.

Yesterday I'd tried pairing them one by one and failed. So today, I'd put everyone in the same place. Kyle and all four heroines spending time together. No matter who triggered which event, at least one of them would drift closer to the original. Four times the odds. This plan was truly perfect.

As long as no magic circle appeared on the floor.

Before I even stood up from the chair, I checked under my feet first. Nothing. Good. I hadn't been kidnapped yet today.

When lunchtime arrived, I took Kyle and headed for the Central Garden. More accurately, I tried to take him.

"Why are you following me?" he asked before we'd even gone a few steps.

"I'm not following you. We're going together."

"Do I even know where we're going?"

"The Central Garden."

"I was heading to the cafeteria."

"Today we're eating in the garden."

"Why?"

"It's good for your health."

"Without food?"

Kyle spread both hands. Empty.

"We'll figure it out when we get there."

"You've been weird since yesterday."

"I've been weird since the day I enrolled. Don't act like this is new."

Kyle opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again. Even he couldn't deny that one.

The Central Garden held several round tables and chairs. During the day, students came here for light meals or to soak up the sun. I sat Kyle at a spot I'd picked out in advance — an open stretch of path between the student council building and the cafeteria. A position where anyone passing by would notice us.

What a visual novel protagonist needed was a fateful encounter. Today, I planned to give fate a little shove.

"Wait here."

"For what?"

"Destiny."

"I'm leaving."

"Sit down!"

I grabbed the sleeve of Kyle, who was trying to flee. That was exactly when I spotted a flash of red hair in the distance. Erika was cutting across the garden with a bread bag in one hand. I waved quickly.

"Miss Erika! Over here!"

The moment she spotted me, she changed course. Good. One down.

She didn't head for an empty chair. She walked straight up to me.

"Did you see the duel application?"

"No."

"The student council president put it on hold. Said your mana control is still unstable."

"A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠very wise decision."

"So I came to check."

"Check what?"

"Just how unstable."

A tiny spark jumped from Erika's fist.

"Please don't check that in the garden." I pointed at Kyle. "Kyle happens to be bored. Why don't the two of you talk?"

"I never said I was bored," Kyle denied ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at once.

Erika glanced at him once, then dragged over the chair beside her and sat down.

"Nothing to talk about."

"But something to fight about?"

"If you win."

Kyle stared at me. I wondered how it felt to be told by the person who'd dragged you here to wait your turn. I was sorry. But I was a victim too.

A little later, Lydia appeared, a basket of sandwiches and drinks in both hands.

"Miss Cheongha, so this is where you were."

"How did you know?"

"You said this morning you'd be eating lunch in the garden."

Had I? I might have mentioned it in passing while plotting to drag Kyle along.

Lydia checked my hair and complexion first.

"You must have been startled yesterday. Did you sleep well?"

"I slept great."

"No scary dreams?"

"I'm not that much of a child, you know."

"I know. But I can't help worrying."

Lydia set a sandwich down in front of me. Nothing in front of Kyle. I peered into the basket. There was one more sandwich.

"Is that Kyle's share?"

"No. I brought it in case you didn't have enough, Miss Cheongha."

Kyle stood up without a word.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"To get food."

The protagonist was about to leave the event because he couldn't eat. I grabbed the remaining sandwich and pressed it into his hand.

"Eat this."

"That's for Miss Cheongha," Lydia's voice dropped, soft and gentle.

Kyle looked back and forth between the sandwich and Lydia, then handed it back to me.

"I'll be right back."

"Don't go!"

I grabbed Kyle's sleeve before I could stop myself. Lydia's eyes narrowed.

"When did the two of you get so close?"

"I didn't grab him because we're close."

"Then why?"

To save the original route. I couldn't say that.

"Because he can't go hungry."

"I'll bring some right away."

Lydia rose with a smile. The saintess fetching a meal for Kyle. Good. The process was a little weird, but the result looked a lot like a favorability event on Lydia's route.

"I'll bring more for you too, Miss Cheongha."

So the center of attention was still me. Fine. Call it half a success.

"Noisy."

A cold voice, and a thin sheet of frost spread across the garden floor. Selene was approaching with documents in hand. I raised my hand cheerfully.

"President, would you like to join us?"

"I'm working."

"You still have to eat while you work."

"Do you know whose fault it is that I'm processing a duel application and a kidnapping incident report at the same time?"

"Senior Noel's, right?"

"Only half right."

I decided not to ask about the other half. Selene scanned the table — Kyle, Erika, me, and Lydia, who had gone for food.

"What kind of gathering is this?"

"A social gathering."

"One you organized?"

"Yes."

Selene opened her notebook.

"Why are you writing that down?"

"Because the probability of an incident just went up."

"I told you, it's a social gathering."

"A Red Dragon, an unidentified dragon, and a suspicious half-blood all in one place."

"The saintess is coming soon too."

"Then the scale of the incident will only grow."

Her trust in me was in shambles.

That was when a small shadow dropped into the middle of the table. A black dragon familiar — identical to the one that had watched me in Noel's room last night. I instinctively shoved my chair back.

"Why are you here?"

The familiar opened its mouth. A folded scrap of paper tumbled out. Erika picked it up first and unfolded it.

"What's it say?"

"'Yesterday's outfit — which skirt length do you prefer?'"

"Throw it away!"

I snatched the note. On the back were drawings of clothes. A short skirt. A slightly less short skirt. Why were there only two options?

"What outfit?" Kyle asked.

"You don't need to know."

"Magical Dragon," Selene answered flatly.

"President!"

"It's written in the incident report."

Erika looked back and forth between the drawings and me. The corner of her mouth slowly curled up.

"It'd suit you."

"It would not."

"Wear it and fight me."

"Why are the duel conditions multiplying?"

"I need to check if it's easy to move in."

"That is completely unnecessary."

Lydia, returning with the food, spotted the note.

"Did Miss Noel send this?"

"Yes. Please confiscate it."

"The skirts are a bit short, aren't they?" Lydia studied the note with genuine seriousness. "Shall I tell her to make them a little longer?"

"Please tell her not to make them at all!"

The familiar ignored my protest and settled onto the table.

My plan to gather every last one of them had succeeded. Kyle. Erika. Lydia. Selene. And Noel, watching through the familiar. The original protagonist and all four heroines, in one place.

And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yet the center of every conversation was still me. Kyle was already munching bread and watching the show. Erika was laughing about how the outfit would work fine as duel gear. Lydia was seriously considering how to lengthen the hems. Selene was checking the regulations on unauthorized costume use.

I covered my face with both hands. I'd thought multiplying the odds by four would guarantee success. What had actually multiplied was the number of heroines surrounding me.

"Why is original recovery going like this…"

"There's that 'original' thing again." Kyle's voice came from right beside me. When I looked up, he was watching me. "What does it mean?"

"A dragon secret."

"You just made that up."

"Knowing would get you hurt."

"Looking at you, I feel like you're the one who'll get hurt first, not me."

Bullseye. I'd summoned rain against Erika's Breath and still collapsed. I'd walked straight into Noel's trap without even noticing. I'd gotten cocky about being able to use a little power, but I still couldn't control it properly. Even if I wanted to save the original story, there was no way forward if I kept getting dragged into every incident.

At the very least, I needed the strength to run. The strength to hold my ground and say no to what I didn't want. And the strength to stop, on my own terms, any flow I'd set in motion.

I looked down at the Yeouiju in my arms. A blue light turned quietly beneath its surface.

I wasn't giving up on restoring the original. But before that—

"Alright."

I stood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up all at once. Every gaze at the table swung toward me.

"First, I'm going to properly learn how to use my power."

Erika grinned first.

"Now that sounds more like it."

"That doesn't mean I'm agreeing to a duel."

"Once you've learned, you will."

"I said no."

Lydia took my hand, worry on her face.

"You mustn't overdo it."

Selene closed her notebook.

"Practice only within a range that doesn't cause incidents."

The black familiar spat out a new note.

"Don't connect it to that!"

And that was how the lunch hour I'd spent trying to glue the original protagonist and the heroines together came to an end. No results. But one goal had become clear.

If I wanted to put the original story back in its place, I first had to stop getting swept up in every incident myself. And for that, I had no choice but to properly master the power I held.