Chapter 227: The Melancholy of RoFan Protagonists (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 227: The Melancholy of RoFan Protagonists (2)
Daisy — No, this is a bit much…
Daisy knew she was loved.
It was true of her family, the people of her territory, and her childhood friend.
Even after coming to the Academy, that hadn't changed.
Many people loved Daisy, and she shared the love she received with others.
However, that love was strictly the kind of friendship found between peers.
It was Like, not Love.
But her fate changed the moment she joined the Flower Arrangement Club.
‘…Did I do something wrong?’
At first, Daisy thought she was just being full of myself.
To think that not just one person, but every single man in the club had fallen for her.
And were these just ordinary people?
Starting with the Prince of the Empire, princes of powerful nations she knew even as a country girl, and individuals of equal stature—all of them were infatuated with her.
Could such a thing even happen?
“…Wait, why is this actually happening?”
It was happening.
Normally, she wouldn't have realized it.
However, having overcome the Curse of RoFan to some extent through Violet’s efforts, Daisy’s eyes had been opened…
“W-what should I do?!”
Unfortunately, there was an old saying from the ancestors that ignorance is bliss.
Only then did Daisy truly understand the meaning of those words.
“……”
Glance…
Daisy shifted her eyes, stealing a look at her surroundings.
They were pretending otherwise, but unless she was a complete fool, it was impossible not to notice.
But.
‘I’d rather… they just confess already!’
Not a single person… actually confessed to Daisy.
Usually, if one person tried to approach her, they would all keep each other in check.
Yet, when they actually got an opportunity, they would hesitate and stammer before scurrying away.
“……”
Should she just be the first to ask if they liked her?
Daisy had thought about it dozens, hundreds of times.
But whenever she did, the scenarios that would follow (from the books Violet had drilled into her) naturally came to mind.
Therefore, there wasn't much Daisy could do.
She could only draw firm lines as friends. If they tried to cross them, she had no choice but to build an impenetrable Iron Wall.
After that, she could have made a fake lover and hidden the truth… but since that might cause trouble for Adam Smith, she let it be known that it was fake.
She could feel the atmosphere shift slightly.
This is fine.
That’s what Daisy thought.
And the event that brought things to a head was…
“I like you, Daisy.”
It was Arwen’s confession.
“Thank you. But…”
Daisy hesitated.
Because she was someone who was always loved, she realized for the first time while attending the Academy that being loved by someone could be such a heavy burden.
Let alone the method of rejecting that love.
‘Help me, Violet…!’
Daisy squeezed her eyes shut and summoned her inner Giga-Chad—no, Violet.
And the inner Boradori whispered to Daisy.
—What did I say happens if you give them an opening? That’s right. Do it!
“Arwen, you…”
Let’s omit the subsequent remarks for the sake of protecting a man’s pure heart.
Just know that, following the will of her inner Boradori, she performed a complete "uprooting" to ensure he could never confess again, and so that the bud called love could never sprout again.
The problem was that the measure was so powerful it left the other RoFan male leads trembling in fear, making them unable to even dream of confessing.
“……Haah.”
“W-what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing…”
Then, an event occurred that broke the balance: Asran’s despair.
“What… am I?”
“Uh, well…”
The man was broken.
Actually, the RoFan male leads usually only showed their broken sides in front of Daisy anyway, but Asran was malfunctioning to the point where even Daisy, who was used to it, was at a loss for words.
“I thought I had devoted everything to the sword… Was my effort not enough?”
“There’s no way that’s true!”
Daisy knew that Asran had been putting in effort even before coming to the Swordsmanship Department.
And while attending the department and learning the sword herself, she realized that Asran was doing his absolute best.
To the point where he spent every waking moment outside of the Flower Arrangement Club at the training grounds.
Sometimes he skipped dinner, and even when night fell, he would swing his sword over and over until the professors or TAs had to scold him to get him to leave.
However.
The problem was that the people Asran aimed for were also individuals who put in an equivalent amount of effort.
Because of that.
“Then… is it my talent that’s lacking?”
“……”
Daisy felt dizzy from the follow-up combo.
To be cold—very cold—that was technically the right answer!
‘What do I do, Violet!’
—Hmm… Life is meant to be lived alone. It’s not good to keep asking others for their opinions, Daisy.
‘Violet?!’
That response was a question that even the inner Giga-Chad—no, Boradori—would wash her hands of.
It was something she couldn't possibly say to the already broken Asran.
Even if Asran were to confess, Daisy was fully prepared to dump him instantly.
But she wanted to reject unwanted love, not crush Asran as a person so he could never stand again.
So, for the first time in a long while, Daisy began to treat Asran the way she treated others.
Kind and gentle. The "Fatally Charming RoFan Heroine" mode that had first captivated the RoFan male leads was resurrected.
“……”
“……”
“……”
Only for Asran!
“No. I’m not even at that level. Yeah. I’m probably on the same level as an Academy stray cat, aren't I?”
“Now you’re not even comparing yourself to humans?!”
Of course, Asran was so broken that he didn't even register that side of Daisy.
In the first place, if he hadn't been at that level of despair, Daisy wouldn't have shown him that side of her.
But… only Asran and Daisy thought that way.
Not only the second-years, but even the first-years who still had slight feelings for Daisy couldn't help but think otherwise as they watched her.
‘If I… act like that, will she look at me too?’
‘Asran, you lucky bastard…’
‘Don't tell me he planned this. Asran!’
Those who had rarely experienced frustration in their lives could not empathize with Asran’s despair.
No, even if they had, they wouldn't have been able to stand seeing Daisy treat the current Asran that way.
And so, despair began to spread through the Flower Arrangement Club.
“Why am I inferior to my brothers?”
“Hmm… there’s a problem with the merchant guild lately…”
“Ha, right now in the territory…”
“I feel like I’ve hit a wall… Ack! Asran! Why so suddenly?!”
Occasionally, Ellen would make a clueless remark, causing Asran to snap, but the Flower Arrangement Club began to fill with all sorts of hardships and despair.
“……”
“……”
“……”
However, because it looked artificial to anyone watching, Daisy, Violet, and Arwen were left speechless.
“Why. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s nothing…”
Violet’s gaze was a bit strange, but Arwen didn't notice.
Prince Ellen requested a counseling session for the first time in a while.
Of course, since I had already heard the news from Boradori, I could roughly guess what it was about.
But.
“Adam. What exactly is despair?”
I never imagined he’d say something that made me want to punch him, prince or not.
“Want to go a round?”
“We just went a round.”
“That’s why I’m saying let’s go again.”
“I already lost…”
“Get up here, you brat.”
And so, the revenge match proceeded.
Naturally, I lost again.
“……”
Why did the heavens create me, Adam Smith, and then create Prince Ellen…
Well, since he’s the RoFan male lead, they probably created that bastard first.
“Asran’s mood has been unusual lately.”
Lightly ignoring me as I lamented my injustice to the heavens, Prince Ellen began to sigh and grumble with a frown.
“To be honest, I didn't think Asran would ever break.”
“I agree with that, but…”
He was the type to grit his teeth and challenge again even after being called the "Defeat Sword."
As someone who was treated as the Empire’s rising star and called the "Minor Sword Emperor," he was a guy who received both the admiration and jealousy of people from a very high place.
As the saying goes, the higher you are, the harder you fall.
Only the person himself would know the pain of falling when he was at the very top of the Empire’s young swordsmen.
A mediocre guy wouldn't have even tried.
Knowing that the more you lose, the more people gossip, they would have tried to avoid it as much as possible.
But Asran challenged.
Me. And Ellen.
He endlessly challenged the strong who kept appearing after that, and he endlessly lost.
I acknowledge that courage at least.
If he had even half—no, a quarter of that courage—he would have confessed to Daisy long ago.
“But he broke. I wonder why?”
“……”
It’s probably because of you and me. Are you really asking because you don't know?
…Come to think of it, if it was this bastard Ellen, he might actually not know.
Before the Curse of RoFan, didn't the original work say that Princess Hestia hit a wall and gave up the sword because of him?
At least I give some "service" by putting the essence of the Defeat Sword into it.
But Prince Ellen faces the students with full power, at his maximum, without any of that.
He says it’s "respect for the opponent" or something?
Geniuses don't understand ordinary people.
Respect for the opponent is all well and good, but our dear Prince didn't realize that he was making all the newbies quit.
“I wish… I could break too.”
“……”
For the first time, I could understand the feelings of the Magic Department students.
I used to say that if I died from being hit by magic, it would be death by natural causes.
Couldn't we say that if Prince Ellen died from being stabbed, it would also be death by natural causes?
He wants to hit a wall—something others can't reach even if they want to, something I wouldn't have reached without Sword Father’s tearful sacrifice.
No, to be honest, I’m still in a pretty flawed state.
It’s not that he doesn't put in effort, but he’s a bastard who became a Sword Master through pure talent, and yet he wants to hit a wall.
“I can break your back for you right now if you want…”
“What did you say?”
“I said come at me, you brat…”
My expectation that I might win one out of three times was lightly ignored, and I was beaten like a dog.
“Haah…”
Watching Prince Ellen sincerely envy Asran, I wondered how long this hopeless RoFan development would continue.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the RoFan male leads’ act of being depressed patients didn't last very long.
However, the reason wasn't because Asran overcame his despair and stood up again.
It wasn't because the RoFan male leads suddenly snapped out of it and looked back at themselves.
And it wasn't because a pissed-off Daisy flipped the Flower Arrangement Club upside down and beat up all the RoFan male leads.
It was simply because…
“Who did you say was kidnapped?”
“The Minor Sword Emperor, Asran.”
“…What Minor Sword Emperor? Just call him Sososo.”
Apparently, the culprit, Asran, had been kidnapped.
The grandson of the Sword Emperor, the guy who was supposed to be called the next-generation Sword Emperor.
He was kidnapped not by the Demon Tribe, nor even by a Dark Mage, but by revolutionary forces.
“Shit.”
The average level of a RoFan male lead.
I really don't know how much lower it can sink.