Chapter 12: Anyway, I'll Serve You Awesomely (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 12: Anyway, I'll Serve You Awesomely (1)
Like a Flower Blooming in Barren Land.
This world was a RoFan.
It was the moment my suspicions were proven true.
“It’s really a RoFan?”
“Yeah.”
Since it was the testimony of someone who had crossed over after leaving a comment on the original work—unlike me—I had no choice but to believe her.
“Then, like, will there be terror attacks at the Academy? Will we get caught up in wars and stuff?”
“Of course.”
No, what are you even saying… is what I wanted to ask, but if it’s a RoFan, I guess it can’t be helped.
“As I thought, is the culprit Bellian Eric?”
“What are you talking about?”
I brought up the name of the culprit that naturally came to mind, but her reaction was lukewarm at best.
“He’s the president of the Flower Arrangement Club. Isn’t he the center of the Academy’s terror attacks?”
“No?”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
She looked like she didn't understand at all.
I’m sure my face looked the same.
“I mean, he’s obviously a closed-eyes character.”
“Just because someone has closed eyes doesn't mean they’re a mastermind.”
“Isn’t that usually how it goes?”
“Well… I guess so, but…”
See? My suspicion was justified.
Anyone who’s read a few novels would agree with me.
“But President Bellian is a truly ordinary person.”
Don’t lie to me. How can someone with that face be ordinary?
Besides.
“I did some digging, and he already filled all his graduation credits, including the mandatory subjects, last year. That usually means you spend your 4th year taking it easy, right?”
“Right?”
“But he filled his schedule with classes this semester too. Does that make any sense?”
“I guess not.”
See? Even a possessor who read the original work agreed that this was suspicious.
“And even though he takes so many classes, he doesn't have any close acquaintances.”
“Isn’t that a bit of a reach? A person can just not have friends.”
“But he’s also dead serious about flower arranging? A noble man?”
“A person’s hobby can be flower arranging.”
There were so many suspicious points, yet she seemed to trust him too much just because he didn't appear in the original work.
In the first place, people like us probably didn't exist in the original work, so isn't she being a bit too faithful to the source material?
“But a closed-eyes character shouldn't be like that.”
“How can you judge a person based on their appearance!”
I might sound like a bad person, but appearance is important.
The result of a confession is different depending on whether the person is handsome or ugly.
Even for the same person, their impression changes depending on whether they dress up or not.
And a closed-eyes character in a RoFan, of all things?
The moment he opens his eyes, he could become a monster capable of taking down even Prince Ellen.
No matter how strong Prince Ellen was, the RoFan development dictated that he had to suffer at least one defeat.
“No, holy crap. How did you even do that?”
Apparently, that wasn't the case.
“I mean, it was only once?”
Right after hearing about the original work from Violet, she asked me for my past story.
She said she needed to check at what point the original work had twisted.
I thought the request was reasonable, so I told her most of it, excluding royal secrets.
But when I said that through tearful efforts, I managed to beat Prince Ellen about once every thirty times, she was absolutely horrified.
“Do you know what Prince Ellen’s nickname is by the latest standards?”
“What is it?”
“Sword God.”
“Wow.”
Unless it meant something else, it was exactly what I thought.
The God of the Sword.
What was even scarier was that I found myself nodding in agreement upon hearing that nickname.
“Do you know who the first person to defeat Prince Ellen is after he awakens his sword in the original work?”
“First, what’s the criteria for ‘awakening’?”
“The point where Princess Hestia gets completely wrecked.”
Ugh, when was that?
Prince Ellen had a record of losing shortly after he started learning the sword, and he lost occasionally after that too, so it was hard to pinpoint the exact time.
If she said he hadn't lost since then, it felt relatively recent.
“When exactly is that?”
“When Princess Hestia quit the sword.”
“……?”
That sword-obsessed woman?
“A day like that actually happened? When?”
“I only know it happened before entering the Academy. It was a flashback scene, so the exact timing wasn't mentioned.”
According to the flashback, Princess Hestia quit the sword in despair over the overwhelming difference in talent.
And Prince Ellen supposedly became even gloomier because he had broken his sister’s sword.
“But why didn't she quit?”
If it’s because of me, I feel bad for Senior Lucia.
It means she could have had the chance to be active in social circles like the other instructor seniors she was so envious of.
“You said he lost to you too. Since he got his ass kicked by two people, maybe he just thought, ‘Am I just weak?’”
“Is that so?”
It felt like I had blocked that development.
It definitely wasn't intentional.
“This wasn't clearly explained, so I don't know for sure. But that’s not what’s important.”
“Then what is?”
“Do you have early-onset dementia? I asked you who the first person to defeat Prince Ellen was after he realized his sword.”
“Right, you did.”
I went through several figures in my head.
Someone who could have beaten Prince Ellen.
Aside from the Commander and the Sword Emperor, no one really came to mind.
“Is it after entering the Academy?”
“Yeah.”
“Then it can only be the Sword Emperor guy.”
“Exactly.”
Seeing as even the Minor Sword Emperor was a perpetual runner-up, the only person in this Academy capable of beating Prince Ellen was the Sword Emperor.
“But do you know what’s even more important?”
Violet, insisting there was something more crucial than that, frowned.
“What else is there?”
“There was a description of Prince Ellen’s emotions after his defeat. He was incredibly disappointed.”
“Isn’t it normal to be disappointed when you lose?”
“If it were just that, it wouldn't be important. The reason he was disappointed wasn't because he lost. It was actually the opposite.”
“The opposite?”
“He lost, but he felt it. He felt that he could catch up soon. That the gap wasn't that large.”
Oh, boy.
“…The Sword Emperor?”
“Yeah. And that thought was accurate. He actually defeated the Sword Emperor right before graduating from the Academy.”
Graduation was less than four years away.
In other words, Prince Ellen was scheduled to take down the Sword Emperor within four years.
“No, why?!”
Ellen, Ellen-ah…
If you do it, I have to do it too…
I might not be able to beat you, but I have to at least keep up…
If you beat the Sword Emperor, that means I have to at least be on par with the Sword Emperor…
“Because that’s the kind of character he is.”
I didn't like her calling a living, breathing person a ‘character,’ but at the same time, it was the most important piece of logic explaining Prince Ellen’s talent.
He was made that way.
Because Prince Ellen had reached a realm that couldn't be achieved otherwise.
“Prince Ellen is a truly vital character. He’s in the sub-male lead position, but he’s also like a cheat key that clears the path whenever the plot gets stuck.”
Saying so, Violet summarized the future developments for me.
Roughly what incidents would occur, and which male lead Daisy would get involved with during those events.
And Prince Ellen’s position in those developments was all too clear.
“He really is a cheat key…”
Taking advantage of the Sword Emperor being away for a while, a terror group attacks.
Daisy falls into danger, and she, along with the male lead, becomes the focal point for the students to fight back against the terrorists.
They win the small-scale skirmishes, but the Academy is still in a massive crisis!
…Or so they think, until it ends with: Prince Ellen swept away all the remaining enemies!
“Was the novel Like a Flower Blooming in Barren Land really that popular?”
“Unfortunately, yes…”
“With a plot like that?”
“It’s a RoFan, isn't it? The fighting isn't that important. If you care about that, why watch a RoFan? You’d just watch a Murim story where they fight all the time.”
The idea that the never-ending romance was what mattered was absurd, but at the same time, it was a statement that pierced through the essence of RoFan.
“Even after graduation, when Prince Ellen starts being active in earnest, there are almost no battle descriptions. Usually, by the time Prince Ellen moves, the battle is already over.”
In short, he was the ultimate power-scaler authorized by the author.
“Then what about the Demon King?”
“That side uses magic and sorcery, not just swords. Of course, even then, he couldn't beat Prince Ellen.”
That’s why the Demon King strictly avoids direct confrontation with Prince Ellen and targets Daisy, the focal point.
“Dammit, the problem was that he even targeted her virginity.”
I almost spat out my drink, but I managed to hold it in seeing her expression, which was filled with world-burning rage.
It didn't feel like sexual harassment; it felt more like she was calmly stating a fact.
“Anyway, that’s as far as I read. I don't know what happens after that. That’s why I was going to roll the snowball from the beginning, but…”
She scowled at me.
Her expression was already bad enough while talking about the Demon King part, but seeing it crumple even further honestly made me a bit nervous.
“It’s an emergency.”
“What is?”
“My whole plan is ruined because of you.”
I felt wronged.
What did I even do?
“First of all, Prince Ellen has become a different person.”
“That’s unfair.”
I just worked hard.
Didn't she say it herself?
That he’s the future Sword God. I went through so much hell just to somehow keep up with that Sword God.
“And then you went and took down the Minor Sword Emperor. Thanks to that, the relationship dynamics are shattered.”
“I feel wronged about that too.”
It’s just that the guy called the Minor Sword Emperor was weak.
Seeing as he was a perpetual runner-up even without me, it seems he was a bit lazy with his efforts.
He should have tried harder.
“There are so many variables created by those two things, but the biggest one is that Prince Ellen is running.”
“What do you mean?”
“Prince Ellen was originally a cheetah. In the Academy part, he was supposed to have a sub-male lead vibe, but he was practically the final boss of the Asran route!”
But because Prince Ellen’s personality had completely flipped, he was now aggressively making moves.
“Isn’t that a good thing for you? There’s no chance of him getting NTR’d by the Demon King now.”
“The story before that is completely trashed! The leads of the Academy part are Prince Esid and the Minor Sword Emperor Asran!”
Hearing her talk like that, it seemed our Ellen was being very aggressive indeed.
“If this continues, the screen time of the other male leads will differ from what I know. On top of that, there might be a void in Prince Ellen’s position, where he used to secretly remove threats around Daisy.”
Starting from the 1st semester midterms, the RoFan story was set to begin in earnest.
And naturally, terror attacks—the flower of Academy stories—were scheduled to happen frequently.
“And even if he’s not as strong as Ellen, there could be problems with the growth of the Minor Sword Emperor, who is a key combatant.”
The advantage of knowing the entire future was at risk of disappearing.
Looking at the venting Violet, I held up two fingers.
“I can take responsibility for two things.”
“For what?”
“Prince Ellen’s void. I can handle that if you explain the original content to me in more detail.”
If it’s certain that problems will arise at the Academy, the scope of my actions widens.
I might look like this, but I have a hidden status as a royal-certified instructor, not just a simple student.
Since other kingdoms also sent several prince-level figures, there must be agents similar to me on their side as well.
If I can coordinate with them, I’ll be able to protect the Academy even better than the original Prince Ellen.
“And I can roughly solve the Minor Sword Emperor problem too.”
“Really?”
“Are you the one with early-onset dementia? What did I say the sword I learned was called?”
Defeat Sword.
A swordsmanship created solely for the purpose of losing.
It became useless after Prince Ellen’s talent blossomed.
But when it came to talent for this swordsmanship, I even overwhelmed Prince Ellen.
After all, I had managed to create a nail-biting, neck-and-neck match even against a junior instructor who had just joined!
“Leave Prince Ellen to the Sword Emperor. I’ll raise the Minor Sword Emperor. So, you just take care of the rest.”
The Kingdom of Knights, Leon.
It was the moment I resolved to showcase the royal secret swordsmanship, passed down covertly in that land, right here at the Academy.