Chapter 140: Trolling (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 140: Trolling (2)
Violet - The Undisputed King of Trolling.
One unexpected incident had passed, but there was still one major event left in the first semester.
“I wonder who’s going to show up for the final exams…”
The problem was that the original story had changed so much that things weren't proceeding according to the script anymore.
To be honest, it was partly my fault for cooperating in the killing of Silence, the villainous civil servant.
“……”
Well, even so.
After the finals, there was the summer vacation episode and the damn Founding Day Festival that came around every year.
On top of that, there were two more exams in the second semester and various minor episodes remaining.
“……I have to work hard if I want to survive.”
That’s just how this world is, so what else could I do?
One silver lining was that the other races had enrolled in the Academy.
Elves. Dwarves. Beastkin.
And even the Dragonkin, who had never appeared in the original work.
These races—or more accurately, everyone except the Dragonkin—were characters who were supposed to appear only after the Demon King emerged and the Demon Tribe took over the current position of the Dark Mages.
It was the point in the story where the Dark Mages, once powerful enemies, were relegated to the status of mere trash mobs.
To stop the Demon Tribe that appeared to replace them, the powerhouses of the other races were supposed to join the fray.
That’s right.
The other races are strong.
Any race that wasn't strong had mostly been wiped out during the human slave hunts of the past.
Therefore, even at the point they appeared in the original work, they were on par with or even superior to the RoFan male leads, excluding Ellen and Arwen, who were nearing their completed forms.
At this current point in time, even Ellen or Arwen wouldn't be able to win against them.
Of course, the strongest among them, the Dragonkin, had been defeated by Daisy… but that was likely only possible because he hadn't been serious.
In a life-or-death struggle, Daisy was still quite lacking.
So, in an Academy where I had no idea what would happen next, having the reliable combat power of the other races was a very good thing.
“Now, all that’s left is…”
I’ll probably have to go to the Holy Kingdom this summer too.
I really hope nothing happens this time, but I know that’s not going to be the case.
As soon as I get back, it’ll be the Founding Day Festival, and I’ll have to participate in the flower arrangement contest.
“I feel bad for Daisy, but honestly, she seems like a lost cause.”
I don't know if some gag buff was involved, but there were people doing flower arrangements with narcotics and carnivorous plants.
But that wasn't the problem.
She was just… terribly bad at it.
It was as if these damn RoFan male leads lacked any sense of aesthetics whatsoever.
A three-year-old’s flower arrangement would probably look more like a work of art than theirs.
“Ugh. My head hurts.”
Recalling the events to come, I arrived at a familiar place: the library.
As is typical of academies, it was a treasure trove hidden with countless secrets.
“……”
Looking at the entrance, I couldn't help but fall into thought for a moment.
I felt like I should report this place soon.
Rationally, I thought I should speak up in advance, but instinctively, I had a strong feeling that I should never reveal this location.
It wasn't because I wanted to monopolize the so-called hidden pieces here for myself.
It was just…
“Whenever things get tangled up with that side, everything turns really weird.”
“What exactly turns weird?”
“Ack!”
As I muttered to myself, a strangely pleasant voice drifted into my ear.
Turning my head, I saw a plain-looking girl wearing large polka-dot glasses smiling at me.
“Do you have to keep startling me like that?! I told you to make some noise when you walk!”
“That’s mean, Senior Violet. Even if I don't have much of a presence…”
“……”
She was playing around, making sniffing sounds with her mouth, but she didn't actually lack a presence as she claimed.
She had simply ‘erased’ it.
“…You’re going to get it if you keep teasing your senior.”
“Hehe. Yes. Leah is a good junior, after all!”
Leah Asirans.
She was a member of the library club and a student in the accounting department—one of the humanities departments often called the General Department. She was a first-year who enrolled this year… or at least, that was her concept.
Of course, it was true she was in the accounting department.
It was true she was a member of the library club.
And it was true she was a first-year who enrolled this year.
So, what was different?
Her name was different.
Her real name wasn't Leah, but Nea.
Her family wasn't Asirans, but Elleras.
Nea Elleras.
That’s right. The person standing before me was none other than the 5th Princess of this Empire.
“……”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Are you… good?”
If you asked if she was bad, I’d say no.
But that didn't necessarily mean she was ‘good.’
As I narrowed my eyes at her, Nea—no, Leah—pouted her cheeks in protest.
“If you keep doing that, your library life is going to get very difficult, you know?”
“…Whatever you say, freshman.”
I replied while playfully pulling on her cheek to keep things natural.
“Ow!”
Watching the Princess of the Empire pull away with a tearful face, I recalled a past memory.
—I’d sooner confess to the Imperial Princess than to Daisy.
I knew it was just something he said, and I knew he wasn't the type to actually go through with such a confession.
But how should I put it?
In the world of RoFan, when someone says something like that, it’s exactly the kind of thing that actually ends up happening.
To prevent such a catastrophe, I felt reluctant to bring him to the library.
“Well, let me know if there’s a book you’re looking for!”
“Sure.”
I let out a small sigh at Leah’s behavior.
“Has this changed too?”
The fact that she hid her identity and lived as an ordinary student was something that happened in the original work.
However, in the original, she was supposed to have several encounters with Daisy in the early part of the first semester and reveal her true identity before the final exam incident.
But Daisy, who should have been visiting the library to improve her magic, had discovered a magic sword and, influenced by someone, had fallen into the path of the sword.
Thanks to that, instead of the original development where she frequented the library for everything except the Flower Arrangement Club, she was now roaming around the swordsmanship club and the training grounds.
Was this the aftermath of that, or was it because the events of the original work had been knocked out of alignment?
Even Princess Nea, who should have revealed her identity and started acting in earnest, was still attending the Academy as an ordinary student.
“I know what her goal is, though.”
There were two main reasons she was in the library as a member of the library club.
One was to find one of the few books commonly called the ‘Secret Tome,’ which was said to be hidden in the Imperial Great Library.
The other was to personally verify the legend that a hidden dungeon existed beneath this library, containing a treasure she desired.
“Well, it’ll work out somehow.”
In any case, she was positioned as an ally to Esid and, by extension, Daisy.
I didn't really need to worry about her.
So, I checked a few books that were my original goal, skimmed through a Secret Tome—a hidden piece of the library—and returned when it was time.
…I eventually reached the spot where I could see the garden in front of the dormitory.
“Who is our primary enemy?!”
“What the…”
I heard a shout that even the military in my past life wouldn't have used.
…Well, I never actually went to the military, though.
“Adam Smith!”
But I couldn't help but gape at the response that followed.
Naturally, North Korea wasn't going to show up in this world, but to hear my boss’s name being shouted like that…
I hadn't expected this at all.
“Who is our primary enemy?!”
“Adam Smith!”
They were even repeating it.
I quickly slipped away and peeked out to secretly watch the people holding the rally.
First-years. Third-years. Second-years. Second-years. Third-years again… there were even fourth-years.
Unlike other grades, having fourth-years involved meant this was no ordinary matter.
Unlike the current second-years, the current fourth-years didn't have any special students like the RoFan male leads.
Because of that, they were usually busy preparing for employment or their career paths after graduation.
Yet, even those people had come out, eyes bloodshot, screaming for the downfall of Adam Smith.
I wondered what on earth this man had done…
“Violet! Mr. Adam did it!”
Since the people around me were who they were, I sought out Daisy, who was always quick with news.
Before I could even ask, she began explaining the atrocities committed by our Mr. Adam Smith one by one.
“Wow……”
He was, quite literally, the undisputed King of Trolling.
I marveled at his actions, which were enough to turn not just the Academy but all mages into his enemies, and I praised my past self.
Therefore, you are permanently banned from the library.
“Die, Adam Smith!”
“……”
Since when were assassins allowed to roam the Academy so openly?
It was around the time I felt dumbfounded by my life genre, which had shifted from Pokémon to GTA.
“What’s wrong with that senior?”
“Ah, I heard Senior Demacia from the Magic Department lost to Adam yesterday.”
“Really? Adam is that good?”
“As expected of the second-in-command of the second-year Swordsmanship Department… but what does that have to do with this?”
“Apparently, after that, he stood in front of the frustrated magic students and told them to acknowledge him as the strongest mage.”
“Seriously? That crazy bastard Adam went that far?”
“He really is the strongest and worst Leon-in in Academy history… Even if he gets assassinated by Dale, it’ll be considered death by natural causes.”
“……”
These weren't just random people; they were from the same department and the same year. I’d even sparred with them a few times at the training grounds.
They were people I could at least nod in agreement with if someone introduced them as my classmates, even if calling them friends was a stretch, yet they were reacting like this.
“To tell the Magic Department to acknowledge a swordsmanship student as their strongest…”
“Who would ever accept such a humiliation…”
No, the first-years have already accepted it… The top student of the Swordsmanship Department is in the Magic Department…
Besides, in the second semester, a High Elf named Yerisha and her younger sibling are joining the Magic Department.
I don't know about the other High Elf, but Yerisha was someone even the professors, let alone the swordsmanship students, couldn't match.
I wasn't sure if she had reached the level of a Sword Master, but if she didn't use Aura, she could probably hold her own in a good fight against the Sword Emperor.
So, unofficially, the Swordsmanship Department was already losing to the Magic Department.
The only asymmetric powers we had were Daisy and our Ancestor, who were in the Swordsmanship Department…
But those two were hard to call ‘true’ swordsmen.
It wouldn't be strange if they declared a transfer to the Magic Department at any moment, and if that day ever came, the Swordsmanship Department might have to declare a humiliating defeat to the Magic Department.
So, I was trying to boost the prestige of the Swordsmanship Department by making a preemptive strike before such an event occurred.
But even the other swordsmanship students, who were ignorant of these facts, began treating me like a madman.
Ah. Is this why they say all pioneers were met with criticism?
However, as a swordsman and a proud citizen of Leon, I had no choice but to walk this thorny path.
That’s why.
“Adam. Even so, don't you think that’s a bit much?”
Even if the Prince of Leon said it was a bit much.
“You’re the public enemy of the Magic Department now.”
Even if Boradori said it was a bit much.
“Shouldn’t… shouldn’t you apologize?”
Even if the RoFan heroine urged me to apologize.
“I don't think I was even this bad in my youth. Hoho.”
Even if the most respected swordsman of the current generation was made to reminisce about the past.
Still, nothing changes.
If fire and ice come out of a sword, that’s magic.
“Die, enemy of mages! Adam Smith!”
“……?”
But did I really deserve to hear that even from a Dark Mage?
I really don't know.