Chapter 226: The Melancholy of RoFan Protagonists (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 226: The Melancholy of RoFan Protagonists (1)
#Asran - So-so-so…
If you were to ask Asran the question Adam had been wondering—why the hell he was here when the rest of the RoFan crew was busy participating in the main story—Asran would answer like this:
“It’s because of you, you son of a bitch!”
So-so-so Asran.
No, the Minor Sword Emperor, Asran.
In the original work, he was Ellen’s rival and the undisputed second-in-command of the Swordsmanship Department.
Unlike his current self, he was supposed to have a tragic past that kept him at a distance from others. He was the type of character who would linger around the RoFan female lead as she slowly healed his emotional wounds, stepping in to resolve most of the Academy’s incidents in place of Ellen, who only appeared at the most critical moments.
There was a reason why, in the early stages of the original story, he and Esid were the ones who truly made their mark on readers as RoFan male leads.
However, the original work was just that—the original.
The Asran of reality failed to shine.
Before entering the Academy, he was a rising star known across the continent as the "Minor Sword Emperor," inheriting the prestige of his grandfather, the Sword Emperor. Even immediately after enrollment, he was the face of the Swordsmanship Department.
But starting with his first defeat, followed by a string of consecutive losses, the Minor Sword Emperor became the Minor-Minor Sword Emperor.
Later, as countless nicknames like the Minor-Minor-Minor Sword Emperor or the Defeat Emperor rose and fell, people eventually dropped the "Sword Emperor" part entirely and just started calling him "So-so-so."
Yet, Asran did not break.
He believed that if he kept putting in the effort, he would eventually catch up.
“……”
But those two continued to charge ahead at an even faster pace.
It wasn't that he didn't understand. They were geniuses who also put in the effort. What could he do? He just had to try harder so he wouldn't fall further behind, so that one day, he might catch up.
“……”
While he was struggling like that, Daisy picked up a sword.
At first, he was horrified by the so-called Holy Sword—a weapon that seemed more like a magic sword, given how it plundered the opponent's mana. But as time passed, Asran couldn't help but tremble in fear.
Daisy’s talent was no joke.
Even setting aside the broken abilities of the Holy Sword, Daisy possessed the kind of raw talent that demanded she hold a blade.
It was already hard enough trying to chase the monsters in front of him on foot while they were practically flying, but now the pursuer behind him was flying too.
Was that all?
As time went on, more people—no, more species—began to appear, making him wonder why they were even attending the Academy in the first place.
Still, Asran did not give up.
Had someone not said it? The most important thing is an indomitable spirit.
Indeed, as if to prove his efforts weren't in vain, Asran was able to defeat the dark mages who attacked the Academy and targeted Daisy without much difficulty.
However.
“……?”
Even Asran was helpless against the sudden appearance of a mythical being like a Demon. That was true for Ellen as well.
“……?”
Or so it seemed.
During every break, Ellen—the only member of the club who didn't follow Daisy, or more accurately, the one who was dragged back to the Kingdom every time by Adam Smith—returned as a Sword Master.
Asran’s spirit almost broke at that fact, but… he congratulated his friend on his growth. If it was Ellen, he had the talent for it. If it were just talent, he might have been jealous, but Ellen was someone who always showed a matching amount of effort.
“……”
But when even Adam Smith became a Sword Master, Asran couldn't help but feel frantic. In terms of order, he should have been next!
So, he tried everything he could.
—Do you desire power?
“I told you I do!”
He grabbed a magic sword slightly more powerful than the one he had borrowed from Adam Smith before and demanded power. It was a dangerous gamble that could have resulted in the sword taking over his ego and causing him to go berserk, but…
—Gwaaaaah! It’s impossible! I am not a god!
Fortunately, the magic sword, after reading Asran’s mind and realizing his demands were beyond its power to fulfill, simply broke.
“No way…”
A dream so daunting it made even an evil magic sword commit suicide.
Was catching up to Ellen and Adam really that impossible?
“It is impossible.”
Asran was left speechless by the words of the Sword Emperor, who, in a rare display of fervor, had been leading the subjugation of dark mages since the recent Academy attack.
“Becoming a Sword Master at that age… it makes no sense in the first place.”
Even the Sword Emperor himself hadn't achieved it at that age. No, he hadn't even dreamed of it.
“It’s not that you’re lacking, but the targets you’re aiming for are just too nonsensical.”
To begin with, Ellen was one thing, but Adam Smith becoming a Sword Master was the result of miracle upon miracle.
If the Sword Demon hadn't been so fickle.
If Adam hadn't played along with that whim by insisting he was a mage.
If the Sword Demon hadn't been so enraged by that that he ignored the Evil God’s orders to assert his own will…
Adam became a Sword Master because countless conditions like those overlapped. If even one had gone wrong, he would have been a corpse long ago. Even now, things were slightly off; his Aura wouldn't even manifest unless he added magic to the mix.
To demand such miracles and variables from Asran was far too much.
In fact, if you stripped away the "RoFan Male Lead" attribute, even a sane Asran wouldn't be able to pull off the crazy stunts Adam Smith did.
And so.
“…Minor Sword Emperor, my ass.”
Asran finally broke.
“Die, Ellen!”
“That’s cheap! Fight without that sword! You’re a Sword Master now!”
“I’m a magician!”
“Agh! Just wait until we get back to the Kingdom! I’m telling on you!”
“……”
Watching the two of them, who had become like insurmountable walls, act like that, it was a wonder Asran hadn't suffered a mana backflow from sheer stress.
An urgent summons came from Boradori.
For Boradori—who usually never shared information until I was practically getting blindsided—to call me first was unusual. Feeling a rare sense of tension, I headed to a suitable warehouse Uncle Aeryun had prepared for the agents and waited.
“…Something terrible has happened.”
And when Boradori walked in, she skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point with a rare, serious expression. Seeing her bite her lip and speak in such a grave tone, I couldn't help but brace myself.
“What is it?”
“For once… the story is progressing like a proper RoFan.”
I recalled what Boradori had told me before. If it was something happening now, she had said it was the Student Council President election—a typical political arc.
“Is it that big of a deal?”
“It is.”
This was unexpected. I’d heard that many noble students felt a sense of crisis due to the Imperial Family’s movements. Although Loreliya was their figurehead, I never imagined their influence would be large enough to threaten Esid.
“I thought Senior Loreliya didn't really have any intention of moving?”
I figured she wouldn't act since she didn't want the leadership position. Had she been forced to move as the eldest daughter of House Jeyka, the leaders of the Noble Faction?
When I voiced my doubts, Boradori tilted her head and asked, “Why are you bringing up Senior Loreliya?”
“Wasn't this about the Student Council President election?”
“No? That ended ages ago.”
“……?”
“I mean, you’re a Leon Royal Agent. You’re my superior… Why do you have that ‘I don’t know’ look on your face?!”
“Well, because you didn't tell me?”
“You idiot. You could’ve known this just by listening to the Academy news!”
It was news to me. Lately, the only things I heard at the training grounds were: Ellen vs. Adam, who wins? Does that bastard Adam Smith have no conscience, using Daisy’s sword even after becoming a Sword Master? Wait, isn't that actually magic? All I heard were sword-related stories.
No one talked about things like the Student Council election, which had nothing to do with the Swordsmanship Department.
“This is why the Swordsmanship Department, with their heads full of nothing but scrap metal…”
Sighing deeply, Boradori gave me a brief summary of the election.
Using her knowledge of the original work, she had pre-emptively marked the students playing the villain roles. She linked those who seemed to have contacted dark mages with the troublesome Noble Faction students and handed them over to the Heresy Inquisitors. Then, she had a private meeting with Senior Loreliya and got what she wanted.
As a result:
“Esid is the Student Council President, and Senior Loreliya is the Vice President?”
“Exactly.”
“…Pairing up a broken-off couple again. Do you have no conscience?”
“What does it matter? Do you think Esid will actually go to the Student Council room even if he’s the president? He’ll be hanging out with Daisy in the Flower Arrangement Club.”
“Is the President allowed to do that?”
“He’s a Prince; who’s going to say anything?”
The Student Council was basically going to be abandoned, held in name only. To keep it running properly, they needed someone to fill the gap.
“Good family. Good reputation. Good personality. Capable. Great face. Great body. Where else are you going to find someone like her?”
“I get the first few, but isn't the last part just your personal bias?”
Honestly, if the genre of this novel weren't just RoFan but a GL RoFan, Boradori would definitely be the protagonist.
“Tsk. This is why ignorant sword-swingers are… A representative’s appearance is always important. Think about it. If the person who came out as our representative was ugly and didn't take care of themselves, would you want to acknowledge them?”
“Well, no.”
“And she’s the Vice President, not the President, right?”
I had no choice but to nod reluctantly at Violet’s insistence that looks were important. There was something more pressing right now.
“So, why is this an emergency?”
The most important event, the election, was already over thanks to Boradori’s secret maneuvers. They pretended to have a moderate conflict, then reconciled through some typical drama, ending with the two factions merging. What could possibly be an emergency?
“Asran hit a wall.”
“He’s always been hitting walls.”
“Not a wall like the one to becoming a Sword Master. A wall of life. ‘Do I have no talent? Is it useless no matter how hard I try?’ He passed the early stages of depression long ago; now he’s charging toward the terminal stage.”
“…Really?”
Thinking back, Asran’s attendance at the training grounds had dropped noticeably lately. I just assumed it was because of some RoFan development and he was spending time with Daisy.
“If that were the case, Ellen wouldn't be here either.”
“I heard Prince Ellen was rarely around anyway.”
“That was true before, but the current Ellen is different, isn't he?”
He went from the original work’s overwhelmingly strong but wounded and storied RoFan male lead to just an overwhelmingly strong RoFan male lead with zero romantic sense or tact.
“Isn't that a bit of a harsh evaluation of Ellen?”
“Ah, my bad. I said that out loud.”
It was a slip of the tongue. It definitely wasn't because I lost to him in practice yesterday.
“Anyway. The problem is, to use your phrasing, Asran has now taken over the position of the ‘wounded and storied RoFan male lead.’ To the point where Daisy, without a hint of suspicion, is sticking by his side every day to take care of him.”
“Daisy is?”
That was truly unexpected. Unlike the original, Daisy was aware of the male leads' feelings. She had been maintaining a proper distance from them.
“It shows just how serious Asran’s condition is. But the real problem… is the other RoFan male leads.”
“Why? Don't tell me they’re copying Asran?”
No matter how much their intelligence might have dropped due to the Curse of RoFan, surely royalty or those of equivalent status wouldn't…
“……”
“Why are you shutting up…?”
“……”
“And why are you avoiding my eyes…?”
Son of a bitch.