Chapter 236: It Was Winter (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 236: It Was Winter (4)
In the world of RoFan, and especially in the academy genre, the timing for incidents to break out is usually set in stone.
Admission periods. Club activities. Exams. Vacations. Festivals. Parties. The end of the year.
…In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that in this world, incidents occur on a regular, cyclical basis.
Still, there is a specific distinction between a standard academy genre and a RoFan.
"And that is, of course, romance."
I raised an objection to Boradori, who spoke with such confidence.
"Don't incidents happen in regular academy stories too when the leads go on a date?"
"Uh, well… now that I think about it, yeah!"
Those wicked bastards who even attack during exam periods weren't about to sit idly by while people were rubbing their dates in everyone's faces.
However.
"Don't you think they might actually skip it this time?"
Even I, who knew this world was a RoFan, wasn't entirely sure the villains would show up this time.
The Empire had been so thorough in its purge of the Dark Mages, after all.
"Tsk. This is why rookies who don't know the original work are so hopeless."
"That’s why I’m asking you to tell me."
"I’ve told you everything you need to know! If I tell you anything else, you’ll just toss me aside immediately, won't you?!"
"Just what exactly is your evaluation of me?"
"Adam Smith?"
"That is an accurate evaluation, I suppose."
What exactly did 'Adam Smith' mean to these guys?
I didn't ask, fearing that the answer would only hurt my feelings.
"And besides, I’ve told you this before."
She’d said a lot of things. Half of them hadn't even come true because the original plot had been derailed.
"The enemies in a RoFan aren't just Dark Mages!"
"……"
I stayed quiet, wondering what kind of nonsense Boradori was spouting this time.
But the remark that followed was unexpected.
"It’s not… the Dark Mages?"
"No! It’s just that things have gone so horribly wrong! Originally, they didn't come looking for trouble this often before we even left the Academy!"
True, the Academy arc is supposed to be a growth phase.
Building strength, falling in love.
…Though it seems the leads here couldn't manage the 'falling in love' part even originally. Must be my imagination.
Anyway, that growth phase had turned into a literal hellhole.
What’s scarier is that they survived that hellhole just fine.
"Of course, because of that, the other side seems to have a lot of problems too. They haven't been able to show their proper abilities compared to the original work."
"Is that so?"
"If that Axe Demon had been at the level of the original work, you would have already been Ad/am."
"Honestly, if he hadn't gone easy on me, I think that would've happened anyway."
He was so obsessed with swordsmen, being a sword-type himself.
If I hadn't learned magic, I would have died a long time ago.
"I lived because I’m a mage."
"Ugh…"
Anyway, even with those variables.
"In the Academy, minor nuisances usually show up more often than clear enemies of humanity like Dark Mages or the Demon Tribe."
"Like what?"
"Usually guys hitting on Daisy, or ideological criminals who have a grudge against the Empire."
"But they haven't really been showing up."
"It can't be helped. If anyone hits on Daisy now, they don't get stopped by a RoFan male lead; they get killed by Daisy herself. And the people with grudges against the Empire have to keep a low profile because Dark Mages keep popping up everywhere."
There were supposedly a few more villains.
"The representative villain faction, House Jeyka and its collateral branches, has been half-destroyed."
Senior Loreliya had already lost to Daisy last year and given up, and the collateral branches—who were trying to check the Imperial Family's power—were all rounded up and crushed after Dark Mages were discovered among them.
"Thanks to that, House Jeyka is pretty busy right now. Senior Loreliya said she’s excited to use this chance to completely suppress the collateral lines."
"Are you close with her?"
"Not bad, right? I think I’m closer to her than you are."
As expected of the Irresistible Lesbian.
No, it was just classic Boradori and her sociability.
"Anyway! Because of that, the villains who were supposed to interfere in the romance arc are gone, but the world is actually full of villains who were suppressed by the Dark Mages!"
And apparently, they were all planning to show up at once.
"Why are those guys coming for me and Daisy?"
"That’s just your ego talking. They’re not targeting you and Daisy; they’re targeting Esid, who’s following you."
Seeing her so certain, I figured it must be something from the original work.
"Is this in the original work?"
"Nope."
"What?"
"I told you, the character 'Adam Smith' doesn't exist in the original work. So obviously, there’s no way for me to know about an incident during a date between Daisy and Adam Smith."
Despite saying that, her voice was strangely full of conviction.
Boradori gave a bright smile and nodded.
"Because I sold information on Esid."
"……?"
Has this girl lost her mind?
"Oh, for the record, Esid agreed to it. Actually, Esid was the one who suggested it first."
"……???"
Had they both lost their minds?
"Oh, and Uncle Aeryun knows too."
"……?"
Has the Empire finally gone insane?
Well, it has been around for a long time…
"Oh, and the Commander too."
"…Our Commander?"
"Unless he quit being the Royal Instructor of Leon, then yes."
"……"
It seemed I was simply the one being left out.
For a moment, I could actually empathize with a smoker's craving for a cigarette.
They say to deceive your enemies, you must first deceive your allies.
If Boradori had deceived me alone, it would be an act of insubordination, but if even the Commander knew, it was a secret operation.
"You don't look like you understand at all!"
With her roles of legs and head reversed—that is, Boradori, who was currently doing a headstand—she shouted with a tearful face.
I decided to be generous and let it slide.
"So. Why did Esid do such a thing?"
"From next year… well, actually, he’s already taking over the duties of the Student Council President right now."
"Right."
"Esid wants to become the Student Council President and make it so that incidents no longer happen at the Academy."
"If that were possible, we wouldn't have suffered this much…"
His effort was commendable, but this was 'forced bad luck' created by the world—no, by a dimension beyond that.
It was a realm that couldn't be helped, no matter if he was the Student Council President, a Prince of the Empire, or the man closest to being the main male lead of the original RoFan.
"But we can't exactly tell him that, can we?"
"I suppose not."
Even if we did, he wouldn't believe us.
"And theoretically, it’s a decent idea. The Dark Mages have been dealt with on a large scale. Now, he’ll use himself as bait to round up the remaining variables. He thinks that if he does that, at least next year won't be like this one."
It wasn't a bad thought.
However.
"An Imperial Prince is putting his life on the line for that?"
Wasn't it a bit too dangerous for that?
"…To call that dangerous, just think about everything that’s happened so far."
"That’s true."
No matter how dangerous these terrorist-like bastards with their radical ideologies were.
Once the Dark Mages—the true lunatics—appeared, these fake lunatics went into hiding.
"Even the ones with any actual guts were already instigated by the Dark Mages and ended up dead or captured."
In short, the ones left now were weaklings compared to the ones we usually dealt with.
Cowards who wouldn't even show their faces unless it was for someone like an Imperial Prince.
"If he were the type to die at the hands of such weaklings, he’d be dead already."
A RoFan male lead is not weak.
Boradori gave a confident smirk, but…
"Making that face in that posture doesn't look cool at all."
"If you know that, then let me stand up already!"
A lot had happened, but since the Empire and even the Commander had given their permission.
I let my guard down, thinking nothing could possibly go wrong.
"Who got kidnapped?"
—Prince Esid…
Fuck. Now that I think about it, it wasn't that long ago that a RoFan male lead got kidnapped.
During 'Operation Date A Live.'
I got scolded by Boradori for not complimenting Daisy, who had clearly put effort into her appearance.
"You prepared more than I expected?"
But the person in question seemed satisfied.
"Just what do you take me for?"
"Adam Smith?"
"……"
What exactly did these childhood friends think of 'Adam Smith'?
Of course, just like before, I knew the answer would only hurt me, so I pretended not to notice.
—Esid’s group is on them. Personnel: 2nd years from the Flower Arrangement Club. All 1st years!
At the sound of Boradori's voice in my ear, I glanced toward where I felt a presence.
As I turned my head very slowly, I felt the presence hurriedly hide itself.
"Is something wrong?"
"Ah, the terrain has changed more than I expected."
"Ah… that’s true. But this area is relatively okay. Hedrick told me that some commercial districts are completely off-limits."
Does Daisy know that the guy saying that is currently gleefully buying up all the ruined shops?
"I see."
And that the guy who was too busy to even participate in club activities is secretly tailing us today.
"Then next, we should…"
I proceeded with the date, referring to the 'Daisy Date Course Revision 2: Final_Final_RealFinal (Post-Academy Attack Edition).'
We had a simple tea. We visited a famous dessert shop in the Empire.
"Y-You! Are you the pâtissier Adam Smith from the Sacred After-School Dessert Club, the winner of this year's Imperial Baking Competition?!"
"An autograph, please!"
"……?"
I even signed autographs for fans.
"Let’s go there next."
"A theater?! I didn't know there were any left!"
"I know, right…"
Even though the city outskirts were a mess after the Academy attack, we watched a performance by a courageous troupe that had come to make some money by seizing the gap, and as we were coming out…
"Who got kidnapped?"
—Prince Esid…
"Why the hell?"
—The theater troupe itself was a trap?!
As if proving that Dark Mages weren't the only ones who put in effort, it seemed the villains had been running the theater troupe itself.
"I didn't sense anything like that at all…"
The performance was definitely of a much higher quality than the one I saw on my last date with Daisy.
The Dark Mages were one thing, but these guys too.
Why on earth were they doing stuff like this with that kind of talent?
"So, what happened?"
—Well, the Empire was prepared too, so they found the kidnappers midway. But they’re in a standoff right now, and it’s a hostage situation?
Fortunately, they had found Esid.
But in the worst-case scenario, Esid could still die.
"What happens if Esid dies?"
—Well, you’d be sad because your friend died, right?
"Cut the crap. Give me a cold evaluation."
—Uh, well… honestly speaking. In the original work, Esid was a vital key card for episodes related to the Imperial Family, so it would have been a huge disaster… but things have changed so much now. It might not actually have that big of an impact?
According to the additional explanation, unlike the original work, the 1st Prince was standing firm.
In terms of sheer influence, he was now less important than Prince Ellen, who had quickly become a Sword Master, or the Magic Spammer who possessed the unique magic 'Eternity.'
However.
—Compared to the original, his support from the Academy students is several times higher. That could act as a variable.
Since the average power level of the Academy had risen compared to the original.
Considering the value of the talents being produced here, the fact that he was a very important person remained unchanged.
Therefore.
"I guess we have to save him, then?"
—…Were you planning not to?
"What if he was useless?"
—Wow, you piece of trash…
"Shut it. He’s the one who went into this prepared."
I am a person of the Leon Royal Family, not the Empire.
So if things went wrong… the best I could do was give about 50,000 won as a condolence gift at Esid's funeral.
"Anyway, I’ll meet up with Daisy and follow."
—Confirmed. I’m heading out first.
Sending Boradori ahead, I decided to meet up with Daisy and go rescue Esid.
Even if the worst happened, if Daisy was there, she could save him as long as he wasn't already dead.
So, having stepped away briefly using the restroom as an excuse, I waited for Daisy at our meeting spot.
"……"
Is it true that women need more time than men?
Quite a bit of time had passed, but Daisy was nowhere to be seen.
"……"
Even though I waited for a long time.
—Hey, when are you coming! We saved Esid!
"……?"
Even though the Empire had safely rescued the kidnapped Esid.
"……?"
Daisy did not come to the meeting spot.