The Difference Between the Fake and the Real

Pantyhose is, without a doubt, the undisputed champion here.

Just imagining our frontier faction donning sheer tights was enough to paint a breathtaking picture of the future. The sheer, confident thighs of Arcadia peeking through the side slit of her qipao; the firm, toned calves and shapely leg line Isabelle had forged through years of adventuring; and the bashful ankles of Northern Grand Duchess Irene, normally swaddled in heavy trousers—all laid bare beneath a fluttering skirt, wrapped in the sleek embrace of pantyhose. For the sake of ushering in such a glorious future, couldn't I set aside petty factional loyalty just this once?

"Orknodi. Don't tell me you're drooling over those Imperial aristocrats' snacks?"

"N-No way! I haven't spent a single second daydreaming about their private wine vaults or the rare elixir spirits brewed by the Empire's premier mixologists! Not even once!"

"...If you want to drink that stuff so badly, go ahead and take their side."

"Wait, really?!"

"Sure. But you won't get another bite of my cooking."

"Hing..."

"And I'll tell Arcadia too. Good luck ever getting invited to her tea parties again."

That hit below the belt.

My wavering resolve instantly swung back like a pendulum. But still... picking the frontier was so fundamentally flawed.

From paper-thin ten-denier stockings that teased the skin beneath with peak allure, all the way to heavy-duty one-hundred-and-fifty-denier tights that could brave the fiercest winter blizzard—pantyhose could adapt its thickness to every season, offering an endlessly versatile charm. By contrast, the foolish players who pledged their allegiance to the frontier solely for dolphin shorts were left coughing up blood every winter, swallowed by bitter regret as the community relentlessly mocked them.

Even reading those forum archives back in the day was painful, so imagine the agony of an old-hand veteran like me. To think I had to throw my support behind dolphin shorts when I knew damn well betrayal awaited me the moment snow fell!

"Leave our girls alone!"

"Orknodi!"

"Group A's Upper Class valedictorian just stood up to the Imperial nobility!"

Yet, I choked back my tears and sided with the frontier's dolphin shorts faction anyway. Why? Because Giselle, Son Ocheon, and Isabelle were all frontier natives, and because I still wanted to gorge on the high-end pastries at Arcadia's tea parties. I wanted to stick with my buddies, and I desperately needed to farm entries for my Food Compendium. When faced with base desires like those, any gamer would gladly cast aside skirts and stockings.

Besides, the Gift Academy uniform already featured a skirt and tights. It definitely wasn't because actually wearing them made me feel hopelessly embarrassed, nor because I desperately wanted an excuse to slip back into the cold, practical comfort of default adventurer garb. Definitely not!

"What's wrong with throwing on something light and comfy after a brutal training session? It's not like anyone walked in dripping sweat; everyone took a shower first!"

The Group B girls faltered, momentarily intimidated by the sudden swell of confidence running through Group A. But their hesitance lasted only a heartbeat. Convinced that giving ground here would shatter the dignity of Imperial nobility, their eyes narrowed viciously.

"Oh, goodness, look at her. Staring daggers with those big round eyes... Are you actually talking back to your elders right now?"

"In the capital, a lady exposing bare limbs in broad daylight is considered utter savagery. Even a five-year-old learns such basic etiquette from their parents."

"My word, what if the poor thing hasn't even reached five yet?"

"At that height, if she isn't five, that's just grotesque, isn't it?"

A chorus of shrill, sneering laughter erupted from their ranks. Seeing that, the dolphin-shorts-wearing girl who had been squaring off alongside Isabelle stepped in front of me.

"There's no need to take it out on a child. If our attire offended you, I'll apologize. Just leave the kid out of this."

Hey! I just went to bat for you, so why the hell are you apologizing?! You're completely deflating my momentum!

"What are you apologizing for? Don't apologize for this!" I interjected, puffing out my chest. "Anyone who trains hard would totally understand dressing like this. Unless, of course, they're too lazy to break a sweat."

"Little girl. Are you directing that barb at us?"

"I'm talking to anyone who can't even be bothered to wash their hair, dousing themselves in perfume instead and suffocating everyone around them with the stench. Surely none of you fit that description, right?"

Fed up with the petty posturing, other Group A freshmen chimed in from every corner of the cafeteria.

"Seriously, that perfume smells like cheap rot."

"Go take a shower already."

"Disgusting."

Mortified by having their mockery turned right back on them, the Group B girls flushed crimson and stormed out of the dining hall in a huff.

Well, I did it. I went and crossed the line.

A heavy sigh escaped my lips. Sister Isabelle, Sister Arcadia, and even Irene in sleek tights... I really, truly wanted to see it with my own eyes.

"You held your ground brilliantly, Orknodi."

"I keep telling you, I didn't do it just for the food..."

"Is that so? You worked so hard that I was planning to borrow some premium ingredients from the kitchen tonight and whip up a feast just for you."

"I lied! It was totally for the food!"

There was no helping it. Now that I had forfeited the imperial cosmetic skin for our frontier girls, the only way to heal my shattered spirit was to stuff my face with gourmet cooking.

The following morning, I received quite a shock while prowling around campus on my daily hunt for Stat Stones.

"Good morning, Orknodi!"

"Hey there, cutie!"

"Orknodi, do you want some candy? Big sister has plenty!"

Whenever the older girls jogging in dolphin shorts at the crack of dawn spotted me, they would wave cheerily or jog right over. Their bare, toned legs paced in steady rhythm, the snug contours of their shorts mesmerizing my gaze with every step. Pretty seniors, glorious dolphin shorts, and an endless tribute of free candy... Wait. Am I actually happy right now?

Monk Myeongho let out an amused chuckle as he reviewed the instructors' morning reports.

"Virtue invites auspicious fortune, and sincerity touches the heavens to banish lurking calamity. A gentle heart has blossomed into wonderful karmic ties."

He had harbored grave concerns that the title of youngest Upper Class valedictorian would draw jealousy and malice toward the poor child. Yet through an unexpected turn of events, the female students of Group A had rallied completely to her side. Everyone deeply respected the sheer courage it took for such a tiny girl to stand up against the arrogant central nobility.

A few scattered witnesses claimed she had simply been bribed with snacks, but the instructors dismissed it as baseless slander; the overwhelming prestige of Imperial high nobility was hardly something that could be weighed against petty treats.

"May she pass the remaining days until the entrance ceremony in peace."

Of course, his mind would be far more at ease if she stopped her bizarre habit of scrambling up tall trees just to rummage through birds' nests for glowing rocks. Watching over a pitiable child from the shadows was truly an exercise in perpetual anxiety for an adult.

Having extinguished that immediate fire, the general atmosphere across the academy settled down noticeably. It would have been wonderful if the friction between Group A and Group B remained quiet all the way through the entrance ceremony, but the grim shadow hanging over Hestia when I passed her in the hallway shattered that wish.

There was only one reason for a fellow Group A student like Hestia to look that miserable.

Don't tell me that zero-point-one percent RNG bullshit actually triggered?

Hestia was a Chapter Boss. Every Chapter Boss had a designated window to wreak havoc, and barring extraordinary anomalies, they strictly adhered to that schedule. In Hestia's case, her rampage was slated for the midterm exam period.

What if an anomaly occurred? The timeline would be dragged forward by several weeks. It was the infamous 'Hestia Early Awakening Event.'

The sequence began when Upper Class students from Group B picked a fight with Hestia. A duel would ensue, ending in a disastrous accident with severe casualties. If the opponent was merely crippled, the early awakening wouldn't trigger. But if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠RNG rolled poorly and the opponent died, Hestia's reputation plummeted straight into the abyss. She would become an outcast reviled even by her peers in Group A, degraded into a tragic pariah.

And the only solace left to her was the classmate in the room next door... which is actually The Answering Door.

It was easy to see why she lost her mind, snapped, and transformed into 'Frenzied Hestia.' A lethal accident, an uncanny haunting anomaly, and systemic bullying—all culminating in a tailor-made tragedy.

She's probably venting to the wall right about now.

'Someone picked on me today and my heart hurts. What should I do?' She was almost certainly whispering something like that. If I wanted to prevent this trainwreck, I had to intervene immediately.

Pressing my lips against the partition, I spoke softly to the stone surface. "Tell me what you and Hestia talked about."

If I knew what she poured out during the night, I could approach her during the day and comfort her. With any luck, we'd become close friends, and I could chaperone her to ensure she never accepted reckless duels. A veteran gamer's foolproof operation to stop a Chapter Boss from falling into darkness! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠As I giggled to myself in self-satisfaction, a flat, sullen voice echoed right into my ear through the wall.

"No."

"Excuse me?!"

Wait, I didn't see this coming.

It was supposed to answer, but there was no guarantee it would give the answer the listener wanted. My grand future scheme ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of using it as my personal exam cheat sheet and private tutor just crumbled at its very foundation. This was a bona fide crisis.

"Why not?"

"Hestia talks to me more often."

"......"

The Answering Door has an Affection meter?!

Compared to poor Hestia, who poured her heart out night after night, my standing was bound to be rock bottom when I only treated it like a prep book. To extract information, I would have to talk to it more frequently and far more desperately than an isolated loner whispering to a wall in the dark.

Yet that created a catastrophic dilemma. If I raised my favorability with The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Answering Door to the point that it started ignoring Hestia, wouldn't that make me the villain who stole Hestia's one and only precious friend—even if that friend was an anomaly?

What do I do? What do I actually do?!

To think that in a route I had never played because I never picked a female character, such a devious blind spot was waiting for me. My brain is going to explode!