Chapter 27: The Academy's Service is Over (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 27: The Academy's Service is Over (5)
It was a strange ceiling.
What the fuck?
Is this an isekai reincarnation?
“Oh, you’re awake?”
When I opened my eyes, a woman I’d never seen before was smiling at me.
Wait, did I really reincarnate into another world?
“Ah, it’s your first time seeing me, right? I’m the new healing mage. I’m also the head of the academy’s infirmary.”
At those words, several pieces of information about the academy flashed through my mind.
After the terror attack, a lot of new personnel had been added to the academy.
Violet had mentioned that some of them were agents sent by the Empire.
And she also said a small number of them were members of factions hostile to the Empire who had infiltrated the academy.
“I see.”
The moment I saw a suspicious person, the information naturally surfaced in my head.
At the same time, I realized that I was still in the RoFan world.
What a shame.
As long as it wasn't a hardcore apocalypse genre, almost any other world would be better than a RoFan world.
“The Sword Emperor said you’d need to rest for a while.”
“Ah.”
As I was thinking that, the suspicious individual who identified herself as the school nurse snapped me back to reality.
“I see.”
I was wondering why I was here.
Now that I thought about it, it was all the Sword Emperor’s fault.
Seriously, that old man.
I thought he was just going to give me some light pointers, but right before I collapsed, he was basically throwing 'Serious Punches'—the only thing he didn't use was Aura.
Is that what it means to be the Sword Emperor? It felt like he realized I was a natural-born sandbag and just had a blast beating the crap out of me.
It’s terrifying. He won’t call me back later because he developed a taste for it, will he?
“Anyway, I’m glad you woke up quickly. There’s a faculty meeting soon. I was debating whether I should attend or not, but since you both seem fine, I suppose I can go.”
I didn't know the head of the infirmary was also considered a professor.
I nodded to the nursing professor, who asked with a squinty-eyed smile if I felt pain anywhere, and then I just laid back down.
Judging by the light coming through the window, it wasn't evening yet.
Since it wasn't a regular meeting day, I figured I’d legally slack off for a bit.
However, it seemed that choice was a mistake.
“Adam Smith.”
A cold voice pierced my ears.
It didn't feel like the person held a grudge against me; it just felt like that was their natural voice.
“I thought I’d have to meet you eventually. I got lucky.”
In an instant, all sorts of thoughts raced through my mind.
Who is it? Is it a villain from the RoFan?
This was a world where it wouldn't be strange for an assassin to be sent to take me out for my role in defeating Silence.
So, I opened my eyes and looked at the person who had spoken to me.
“……”
The moment I saw them, three thoughts occurred to me.
First, fortunately, it was someone I recognized—well, someone whose face I knew, literally just the face.
Second, in a sense, they were a villain from the RoFan.
And third, though it would never happen, even if that person truly intended to kill me...
There was absolutely no way I would die.
The reason was simple.
“…Are you okay?”
“It… hurts a little.”
“It doesn't look like it hurts just 'a little' though?”
“To be honest… it hurts quite a lot.”
Because the person who had spoken to me was a patient so critical they should have been the one occupying the bed.
What exactly is a main villain in a RoFan?
Is it the revolutionary forces or dark mages who show up at the academy whenever they’re bored to cause a ruckus?
Or is it a villain like Silence, who threatens the RoFan male leads at every turn with some grand backstory?
If not that, is it the Demon King, who appeared as the final boss in the chapters Violet read?
None of the above.
The revolutionaries and dark mages who caused trouble at the academy were just pitiful plot devices used to raise the affinity of the female and male leads.
A main villain with a grand backstory like Silence was merely a sacrifice to power up the male lead connected to that specific story.
And the Demon King, who appeared like a final boss, was just a newly introduced male lead candidate.
That’s right.
No matter how much of an apocalyptic fantasy atmosphere it projected, the foundation of a RoFan was romance, not fantasy.
In that sense, the true main villain of a RoFan wasn't the enemy of the male leads who would eventually disappear.
It was the enemy of the female lead!
Simply put, the Villainess.
In that regard, the critical patient before my eyes was the true main villain of the Academy Arc.
She was none other than the fiancée of Prince Esid Elleras, the main male lead of the Academy Arc.
She was Loreliya Jeyka.
Normally, she was someone I should be extremely nervous around.
She was the eldest daughter of the Duke of Jeyka, the most prestigious family in the Empire, and a lady who held immense influence in the Empire’s social circles.
However, bandages were visible everywhere despite being covered by her school uniform.
There were small wounds in places the bandages didn't reach.
And unlike her eyes, which still held a spark of intelligence, the dark circles hanging deep under them—unbecoming of a duke’s daughter—evoked a protective instinct despite her cold face and voice.
Furthermore, according to Violet, her core personality was actually kind, unlike a typical high-ranking noble.
After looking into it a bit more later, I found out she was using her massive influence in social circles to… teach noble ladies the joy of volunteering.
The more I saw, the more I wondered if this was right.
While some worthless husks were busy learning flower arrangement because they were blinded by women despite their status as royalty...
Loreliya, who held the position of the Villainess and the RoFan’s main villain, had gathered her followers and founded a volunteer club last year when she was only a freshman.
She had negotiated with the high-ranking officials of the Church of Light stationed at the academy and eventually collaborated with the Church to build an orphanage near the academy.
She didn't just build it; she was actively involved in its operation.
Looking at her disposition, she wouldn't just wash her hands of it after graduating.
The more I saw, the less I understood.
This is a Villainess?
Maybe if she were to turn evil later, it would make sense, but didn't Violet swear she remains kind until the very end?
“Did you… get into an accident?”
Knowing all this, I had no choice but to treat Loreliya with the utmost respect as my senior.
After all, my own master was one of Daisy’s men—the wicked men who were stealing the fiancé of such a wonderful person!
“I’ve been experimenting with some magic lately. I made a mistake.”
For a moment, I almost teared up.
To a normal person, it would just sound like she had an accident during a magic experiment.
But hadn't Violet told me?
—She’s basically been abandoned by her fiancé, Prince Esid. But instead of sending assassins, she’s trying to win him back fairly through her own skills.
A duke’s daughter had her fiancé stolen by a baron’s daughter whose name no one had ever heard of.
And instead of sending assassins, she was working hard to make him look back at her through her own merit.
Even though she had pushed herself so hard in the process that she sustained these major injuries...
She was quietly receiving treatment in a corner of the infirmary, without a single rumor spreading through the academy.
“It looks like it was a fairly large accident, yet I had no idea.”
“Mm. I requested it. The academy is already in a state of unrest. It would be a problem if the students were gripped by anxiety because of me.”
It felt like light was radiating from her awkward smile.
If the light Daisy showed before was an active skill, the senior’s aura felt like a passive skill.
Is this what it feels like when a person literally glows?
I felt like I was experiencing so many things after coming to this RoFan world.
“By the way, you said you wanted to meet me earlier.”
“Ah, yes. There was something I wanted to ask you.”
Perhaps it was because I was seeing a truly good person in the flesh.
As long as it wasn't a kingdom secret, I felt like I could answer anything.
To be honest, I felt more affinity for her than for Violet, who was a fellow possessor.
In terms of personal feelings alone, I think I liked her more than Prince Ellen.
Is this why people say you should live a good life?
Maybe it’s because I live like a total materialist myself.
Like an evil spirit being exorcised by a priest, I felt instinctively weak against this type of person.
“Hmm…”
However.
After closing her eyes for a moment to deliberate, the question Senior Loreliya finally spat out exceeded my expectations.
“Could you become my spy?”
It was a question truly befitting a Villainess.
“…So that happened.”
“I’ve seen this before. This is the typical development in an extra-protagonist story when a heroine is introduced, right?”
“Stop reading so many RoFans.”
Senior Loreliya had accepted my answer—that I needed some time to think—as if it were only natural.
And so, I urgently summoned Violet, the one who had read the original work and was a RoFan expert.
I told her exactly what happened in the infirmary today.
The first thing out of her mouth was total bullshit.
“No, I’m serious, this has that vibe!”
“I’m busy blocking the Prince’s international romance; do you think I have time for an international romance of my own?”
If I’m going to date, I’ll do it after I return to the Kingdom.
That was how I’d planned my life.
“Life never goes according to plan, you know.”
“If you keep talking nonsense during a meeting, I’m cutting your salary.”
“Ah, no! I just bought a staff from the Magic Tower on an installment plan!”
This brat. How long has it been since she started working?
She was already overspending.
“No, I bought it because I really needed it! It was a planned purchase!”
“That’s exactly what 'car-poor' people say.”
“Look, I used up all my sorcery last time. The constraints I set when learning sorcery are 'time' and 'accumulation.' It’ll take at least until next year for me to use it properly. The academy isn't going to wait for that.”
It sounded like the academy was the enemy rather than the villains, but...
Come to think of it, since it’s a cliché that the academy is constantly breached and the students have to solve it, the academy was technically at fault.
“And?”
“I’m still in the top tier of the first-year Magic Department. With some gear-carried stats, I can pull my own weight.”
So, her argument was that this level of spending was necessary to handle future incidents.
“Fine, I’ll allow it.”
Since Violet was the one who would be suffering in my place during summer vacation, I decided to let the salary cut slide just this once.
“Then, back to the main point. Why would she ask me to be a spy?”
Why would such a kind lady suddenly start acting like a Villainess?
I wondered if this was another side effect of the original plot collapsing.
“Oh, that’s in the original story.”
Violet answered with an indifferent expression.
“Oh.”
I naturally placed my hand on Violet’s head.
“Oh, are you going to praise me?”
“Die.”
“Aaaaagh!”
“I’m doing this so it hurts, you brat!”
I immediately applied an Iron Claw.
“Ugh… I thought my head was going to split open.”
As soon as I let go, Violet rolled on the floor, clutching her head and whining, but I didn't feel sorry for her at all.
“You should have told me this right away.”
This brat. To think she didn't report such important information beforehand.
“No!”
I wondered if I really needed to cut her salary for her to snap out of it, but Violet jumped up with a look of extreme injustice and shouted.
“I said it’s something that happens in the original, I didn't say it’s happening according to the original!”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
To summarize:
There is indeed a scene in the original where Senior Loreliya recruits a spy.
“But that person is me?”
“Of course not! I told you, a character like you didn't exist originally!”
Now that I thought about it, that was true.
She had said that in the original, Prince Ellen didn't have a supporting character by his side.
“The one Loreliya was supposed to offer the spy position to was originally me.”
The protagonist of that scene was originally the female lead’s friend, Violet.
In other words, it was a scene where the RoFan Villainess tempts the RoFan female lead’s childhood friend!
“Why?”
“It’s basically a narrative trick the author used to make Loreliya look bad.”
It gave the impression that she was trying to put the female lead in danger by tempting her closest companion with money.
“But it’s nothing special. All she wants to know is what Daisy is good at, what she’s confident in, and what she’s not. That’s all.”
It was simply her effort to get to know her romantic rival.
“Then she could just ask. Why ask me to be a 'spy' and cause a misunderstanding?”
“I guess she thinks what she’s doing is really wicked.”
Based on the expert’s judgment that it wouldn't be a problem, I told the senior the next day that I would be her spy.
“Thank you. I knew I could trust you.”
At her smile full of trust, I said with an awkward expression.
“We only met for the first time yesterday. What on earth are you trusting me for?”
“I know quite a lot about you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. For example…”
I’d just said it in passing, but the things that started coming out of her mouth far exceeded my expectations.
“……”
After about three minutes, cold sweat began to pour down my back.
What is this? I didn't even use SK2 in my past life.
Like a carrier data breach, all my information had been leaked before I knew it.