The Regression Protagonist Didn't Regress - Part 1

With that, my preliminary investigation into Jeonghye was more or less complete.

I had learned quite a lot, but none of it fundamentally altered my master plan:

1. Survive the Academy, no matter what happens.

2. Wait patiently until the protagonist demolishes the Azure Heaven Cult.

3. Earn my diploma, graduate, and find a peaceful corner of the world to make a living.

Under the present circumstances, this was the absolute best course of action. I still didn't understand the intricacies of this world, but I figured things would work themselves out somehow. From what I recalled of the novel, students weren't held back for poor grades, though getting expelled for causing serious trouble was always on the table. Written exams wouldn't be an issue if I studied hard, but practical sparring... honestly, that part worried me to death.

Even so, there was at least one silver lining.

In the protagonist's second life, the Academy falls into chaos much faster than usual. Right after regressing, Leon immediately starts stirring up trouble and rooting out the Azure Heaven Cult, exposing their true nature far ahead of the original timeline. That happened right before the second-years advanced to their third year, meaning all I had to do was endure for a little under a year. After that, faculty members would be drafted into the war effort, and regular classes would grind to an effective halt.

Yeah. In the end, all I need to do is hold out. Since there was still no obvious way to communicate with the original owner of this body, staying the course was my only option. A sliver of unease tugged at the back of my mind, but I chose to brush it aside. Clutching that faint apprehension close to my chest, I stepped out of the dormitory.

Leaving the dorms behind, I headed toward the main campus. Having gathered the necessary ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠intel on myself, I figured it was time to get my bearings and familiarize myself with the layout of the grounds.

I wandered through the Academy courtyards. Grand, fantastical architecture unlike anything seen on modern Earth filled my vision in every direction, accompanied by the persistent, judgmental stares of passing students. Seriously, what kind of reputation did Jeonghye build here before I took over?

After walking for a while, I stumbled across a massive cafeteria lined with long, banquet-style tables. As luck would have it, my stomach was already rumbling, so I stepped inside without hesitation. Approaching the counter, I ordered a decent-looking meal set and picked up my tray. Meals were apparently free for enrolled students—a massive relief, considering I didn't have a single coin to my name.

Holding my loaded tray, I scanned the vast hall for an empty seat when something caught my eye.

"Huh?"

Sitting across the hall was none other than our glorious protagonist.

Messy brown hair. A rather slight, unassuming build. A silver name tag pinned to his chest reading 'Leon.' And, flanked neatly on either side of him, two attractive female students.

Leon, the protagonist of Regression Dunce, was a deceitful hypocrite of the highest order. He constantly put on airs of being a lonely, brooding outcast, yet he triggered poignant romantic flashbacks with virtually every woman who crossed his path. Blatantly assembling a personal harem while genuinely believing he wasn't popular gave him the distinct flavor of an old-school light novel protagonist.

Those two girls sitting beside him were undoubtedly members of his retinue. I had a rough idea of who they were, though they hardly mattered in the grand scheme of things. In his second cycle, Leon dismantled the Azure Heaven Cult in just a few short years, never giving the people around him adequate time to grow. Most of the peers he met at the Academy were mere children, leaving them too weak to hold any real relevance in the late-game conflicts. Even if they clung to his harem, they were little more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than glorified background decoration.

While I stood there observing Leon, my gaze inadvertently crossed paths with the purple-haired girl seated to his right.

Staring at a stranger like a specimen under a microscope was undeniably rude, so I quickly averted my eyes. Yet ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the purple-haired girl didn't look away. Instead, she narrowed her gaze into a sharp, venomous glare, pinning me to the spot.

What is it this time? Another piece of Jeonghye's baggage?

Even a starving stray dog is usually left in peace while eating, though I suppose I was the one who stared first. Deciding discretion was the better part of valor, I shoveled the food down my throat as fast as humanly possible and cleared out. Even as I hurried out the double doors, I could still feel that burning gaze boring into the back of my skull.

Nothing seemed to be going my way today. All I wanted was to live a quiet, unremarkable life beneath the radar.

"Haaah..."

Letting out a heavy sigh, I stepped out into the open air, doing my best to ignore the lingering glances trailing behind me.

Having escaped the cafeteria, I slumped down onto a wooden bench flanking a cobblestone path and turned the scene over in my head.

Leon, casually enjoying lunch on the very first day of the term, surrounded by giggling girls.

"Something is definitely wrong..."

The vague sense of dread I had felt back in the dorm surged back with renewed force. If this was the Leon I knew from the novel, there was no way in hell he would be sitting around having a leisurely lunch like that. A cold chaos churned through my thoughts. If my gut feeling was correct, this wasn't just bad—it was an absolute, unmitigated disaster.

Just as I pressed two fingers against my throbbing temple to think, a sharp, haughty voice pierced the quiet air.

"You there."

The venom dripping from her tone was impossible to miss. Whoever was speaking clearly harbored zero goodwill toward me.

Good grief... Jeonghye, is this your fault again?

"...?"

Looking up, I found the purple-haired girl from the cafeteria looking down at me with disdain. I had half-expected the blonde noble from earlier or one of his lackeys, making this an unexpected encounter.

The girl scowling in front of me was Everett Melendez.

Her distinguishing traits were simple: an illustrious family lineage, a boundless fortune, and an exceptionally well-endowed figure. She was one of the harem members I had thought of earlier—the quintessential underpowered side character who got carried along by the protagonist. Even so, Everett was treated slightly better than most in the narrative, managing to secure consistent screen time thanks to her family's wealth and prestige.

Still, why was she picking a fight with me? Her name certainly hadn't been on the sparring match record sheet I saw earlier.

"Ha! Are you ignoring me now?"

Oops. Lost in thought again. Every time something caught my attention, my brain overloaded with cross-referenced novel knowledge, pulling me away from reality.

"No, sorry if it looked that way."

I offered a mild apology. Unlike the petty cannon fodder in the lecture hall, getting on Everett's bad side offered no upside whatsoever.

Everett let out an arrogant huff and smoothed her skirt.

"Well. At least you possess the bare minimum of manners. Unlike what the rumors say, that is."

I deliberately let the backhanded remark slide, acting as though I hadn't heard it at all.

"You remember what happened in the dining hall just now, don't you?"

Of course I remembered. I had been studying them like an exhibit at a zoo. But had she really chased me all the way out here just over a passing glance? I never realized she was this petty in the original novel. Regardless, her status was towering, so even if her attitude grated on my nerves, putting on a show of remorse was the safest move. I gave her a curt nod.

Everett's lips curled into a sneer.

"I suppose you wouldn't dare make excuses after staring so shamelessly at Leon."

I never considered myself particularly sharp, but even I could instantly tell what kind of bizarre misunderstanding had taken root in her head.

"Wait, that's not—"

"Do not insult my intelligence by denying it! Do you honestly believe I cannot see right through your pathetic little schemes?"

Cutting me off completely, Everett launched into an avalanche of unprompted, utterly unwanted information. She droned on about how many shameless vixens had thrown themselves at Leon since their first year purely for his handsome face, boldly declaring that she saw through every single one of them. Then came a proud, self-aggrandizing speech about how shallow girls like me couldn't possibly appreciate Leon's true, profound charms, culminating in a detailed recounting of everything she had endured to secure her place by his side.

"Look, I'm telling you, that wasn't why I was looking at him!"

I thrust both palms forward in desperate denial.

"Ha! Then pray tell, why were you boring holes into his face with your eyes?"

Everett glared down her nose, entirely convinced of my guilt.

Because I had to verify if his face matched the novel's official character illustration, you idiot!

Of course, blurting that out would get me branded as a raving lunatic, and my reputation was already rock-bottom as it was. As I hesitated, unable to offer a plausible excuse, Everett let out a derisive scoff.

"Did a nobody like you truly believe you could worm your way into his favor? Leon and I have already agreed to hold our formal family meeting over the summer vacation—"

Hold on.

That makes no sense.

"...What did you just say?"

Whether her claim of a 'formal family meeting' was an outright lie or a desperate exaggeration didn't matter in the slightest. What mattered—what truly set off alarm bells in my head—was the fact that Leon had scheduled personal plans with Everett over the summer break.

That was something that should never, under any circumstances, happen.

"Wh-what is with that look?!"

Startled by how abruptly I sprang up from the bench to stare her dead in the eye, Everett took a flustered step back, her haughty veneer cracking.

"W-well... calling it a formal family meeting might be a slight exaggeration, but it is an indisputable fact that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he promised to visit my family's estate—"

"No. I'm not asking about that."

What Everett was doing with Leon wasn't the issue.

Why would Leon be wasting time on frivolous social visits during summer vacation?

The Leon I read about would never do that. A vengeful regressor whose every waking breath was consumed by thoughts of annihilating the Azure Heaven Cult wouldn't be gallivanting off on high-society holiday trips.

"...Holy shit."

"D-do you think using such vulgar language will change his schedule?! You have no hope of—"

"Shut your mouth for a second. My head is splitting."

"G-gah?!"

Everett choked on her words, utterly paralyzed by the raw irritation lacing my voice. But I had no time to coddle her fragile noble ego.

The creeping suspicion that had haunted me since the first period of the day was threatening to solidify into terrifying reality.

—He attended classes normally from the very first day.

—He ate lunch casually in the dining hall, flanked by two girls.

—He promised to spend his summer vacation visiting Everett's estate.

—And that undeniably gentle, carefree, unburdened expression on his face in the cafeteria.

Every single clue pointed toward one inescapable, catastrophic conclusion.

"Ah..."

Leon, that useless bastard... he might not have regressed at all.