Chapter 43: School Opening (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 43: School Opening (3)
How did I end up becoming Daisy’s boyfriend?
To explain that, I have to go back one day.
That morning was just like any other. To be precise, I was repeating the same routine I’d established since returning to the Academy.
“Whine!”
Thanks to the living alarm clock on the floor, I let out a yawn and heated up some meat I’d brought back yesterday using a magic tool that functioned like a microwave, then set the bowl down.
“Can’t you at least eat in your human form?”
The small puppy, who had been happily tearing into the hunk of grilled meat, looked up at me with a blank expression. It was the universal look of ‘don’t even disturb a dog while it’s eating.’
“Fine, have it your way.”
Yawning again, I stood up.
That puppy was the beastkin girl who had almost been used as a sacrifice during the Dark Mage incident—the one Prince Ellen had reverse-carried. As for why she was hanging around me…
Honestly, I don’t know either.
I’d intended to give her some basic treatment and send her home through my beastkin-related contacts in the Kingdom. But she declared that she wouldn’t listen to anyone weaker than her and insisted on following me, the one who had proven stronger, all the way to the Academy.
Of course, this canine beastkin girl—or as I called her, the little wench—didn’t actually listen to me either, despite me being stronger.
Her logic was that while she never listened to those weaker than her, she occasionally listened to those stronger.
Even though she wasn't a cat, she was acting like she was choosing her own butler. Since she claimed to be close friends with the Canine Tribe Princess, I was keeping her around for the time being.
If she really was the Princess’s friend, I’d surely be handsomely rewarded. Even if it wasn't a material reward, just gaining the favor of the beastkin and opening up trade routes would be a massive win.
Of course, she could be lying through her teeth. If that turned out to be the case, I’d have to find an imperial black market and sell her off.
I was just about to head out for the day when that thought crossed my mind.
“Hey.”
I grabbed the puppy by the scruff of her neck as she was gnawing on the meat and lifted her up.
“Today’s the weekend.”
“……”
The wench, meat still clamped in her jaws, avoided my gaze. This brat had probably forgotten what day it was since every day was a weekend for her.
“Good grief.”
Even then, she refused to let go of the meat.
“You’re really close with the Princess, right?”
Seeing her nod, I set her back down on the floor. Since I had nothing else to do, I figured I’d just head to the training ground.
“Oh, right.”
Before leaving, I remembered something Boradori had asked and decided to follow up.
“When are you going to tell me your name?”
“Yip!”
“If you keep barking, I’m just going to keep calling you ‘Wench,’ you know.”
“……”
I was willing to respect her ‘mysterious girl’ concept, but she had to be prepared to face the consequences. I wondered if our little wench was ready for that.
“Bell.”
After whimpering for a good while, she finally squeezed out a single word.
Apparently, she wasn't ready for the consequences.
Even though I was heading to the training ground, I couldn't actually train. I was currently committed to a perfect patient cosplay, after all.
The reason I went anyway was for publicity. I wanted to show everyone: ‘Look at me, I’m so dedicated that I come to the training ground even when I’m this hurt, but alas, I’m in too much pain to actually do anything.’
If Ellen had a shred of humanity in him, he’d hopefully remember this sight the next time he was about to cause trouble.
“Or maybe not.”
Slurp.
I stood up from my spot in the warehouse where no one ever came, sucking on a coffee through a straw. Even on weekdays, people were so busy they only trickled in; it seemed no one could even afford to rest on the weekends.
“School starts next week.”
This RoFan world used the familiar Monday-through-Sunday system. Today was Saturday, and the new term began this coming Monday. Once school started, the standard RoFan incidents and accidents were bound to break out, so I needed to share some information.
“Did Uncle Aeryun really get fired?”
He’d said he was with House Jeyka, so it wasn't impossible that he’d quit after hearing from Senior Loreliya. However, since the engagement hadn't been officially broken off yet and he’d mentioned supporting Prince Esid and Daisy, keeping a line open to an informant wasn't a bad idea.
“He must be working like a dog right now.”
Come to think of it, since he was two-timing between the Imperial Family and House Jeyka, his workload must have doubled. Realizing it was all his own karma, I decided that as soon as he returned, I’d dump even more work on him.
“It’s about time for my meeting with Daisy.”
I’d been avoiding her, but I couldn't keep up the patient cosplay forever once school started, so I’d made an appointment to get some healing. Right now, Daisy was like a Legendary Pokémon—it was hard to even run into her by accident, let alone schedule a meeting.
However, our elite agent, Boradori, was a talented individual capable of contacting even the Saintess.
I’d get healed, have a regular meeting with Boradori, eat dinner, and then maybe do a few laps around the training ground to celebrate my recovery.
Not wanting to keep the busy Saintess waiting, I arrived at the meeting spot early. Right on time, Daisy trudged toward me, looking like a ghost.
“…Are you alright?”
She clearly wasn't, but I asked out of politeness.
“I’m not alright…”
Daisy, who would usually say she was fine even if she wasn't, answered weakly.
“I feel like I’m going to die…”
It seemed that even the Saintess, who had flipped the Holy Kingdom upside down after witnessing injustice, found the political side of things difficult. Come to think of it, the political arc of a RoFan usually featured Prince Esid as the lead. Rumor had it that Prince Esid had been dragged back to the palace by a knight order waiting at the border, so she was likely handling the politics all on her own.
“So, about that.”
Daisy, who had been slumped over, suddenly looked up at me with eyes full of expectation.
What was this? I had nothing to do with internal affairs or politics. I was a blatantly meat-headed swordsman character. I wondered what on earth she could want from a sword-swinger.
“Could you play the role of my lover?”
“No.”
“……”
Faced with this sudden assassination attempt, I executed a sharp evasive maneuver.
When I asked the reason behind this sudden attack, she sighed.
“I’m getting contacted from all over the place by people wanting to set up marriage meetings, engagements, or weddings.”
Despite the RoFan male leads watching with hawk eyes, it seemed there were many people out there attempting social suicide.
“I get at least dozens of letters every day. I feel like if I could just stop replying to them, I could end my day happily.”
I tilted my head as I watched her lament with a tearful face.
“Can’t you just… not reply?”
I mean, why was she replying to all of them in the first place?
“Because that’s the polite thing to do.”
She answered with such conviction that I couldn't help but ask.
“Isn't having a fake lover also impolite?”
“…Honestly, it’s not like they’re confessing because they actually like me. So wouldn't it be fine?”
Unlike her previous answer, her expression was now full of guilt. She even avoided my eyes, looking quite embarrassed herself.
“So, you’ll heal my injuries, and in exchange, I have to play your fake lover?”
“Yes…”
“Is it really okay to use divine power for such personal desires?”
“I got permission from the Goddess!”
“Wow…”
I was momentarily speechless. It was absurd enough that Daisy actually asked for permission for something like that, but what kind of Goddess would readily grant it?
“So don’t worry. We’ll just pretend to date during the second semester, and then during winter break, we’ll say we broke up because of the distance!”
The period was shorter than I expected, so it seemed our Saintess still had a conscience. But one question remained.
“But why me?”
She had plenty of men around her; I didn't understand why she was coming to me.
“If you asked someone in the club, there’d be plenty of volunteers.”
There were tons of guys who would jump at the chance to be her fake boyfriend, only to try and erase the ‘fake’ part later. I asked why she was asking me, someone she’d only greeted a few times.
“That’s because… the people in our club… they actually like me.”
“Pardon?”
I couldn't help but let out a dumbfounded sound at the unexpected answer.
In my opinion, RoFans generally fell into two categories.
One was the pure romance type where the male lead was set in stone from the start. In these novels, the second male leads were merely seasoning to deepen the narrative between the main couple. Since the second leads could never win no matter what they did, the main story moved at a breakneck pace and usually concluded around 100 chapters.
The other was the reverse harem style, where the main lead wasn't decided. Unlike the pure romance type, the heroine was surrounded by multiple male leads. In these cases, some stories ended quickly once a lead was chosen, but more often than not, they went into long-term serialization.
It made sense. Since the various male leads took turns competing, the content tended to repeat itself. In the webnovel market, where it’s hard to get a hit but a successful long-running series becomes a ‘pension,’ authors would often introduce more second leads to stretch the story to hundreds of chapters.
The novel I and Violet had been reincarnated into was exactly that kind of story: Like a Flower Blooming in Barren Land.
And the heroines of such novels usually shared a common trait.
They were incredibly dense.
It was only natural. If they knew the male leads liked them and didn't choose one, they’d look like trash, wouldn't they? So they either had to be genuinely dense or act dense specifically when it came to romance.
They would interpret the affection of those around them as mere friendship. Meanwhile, the male leads would keep each other in check, none of them able to confess first. This led to a frustratingly slow ‘sweet potato’ development until the readers were about to quit, at which point the author would toss out a sweet romantic scene to reel them back in. That was the charm of Like a Flower Blooming in Barren Land!
…Or so my avid reader friend Violet had told me.
She definitely said that.
“I can’t ask someone who has real feelings for me to be a fake lover, can I?”
Hey, Boradori.
You said Daisy was a blockhead. You said she was so frustratingly dense that you’d been giving her early education to make her interested in romance since way back…
“Ah.”
I had a sudden realization.
Violet was the one who had taken Daisy—a Saintess with only minor magical talent and divine power—and turned her into an infighter that made even me marvel, someone capable of pulling out a legendary Holy Sword that even our King, a Sword Master, would want to see.
With Violet’s teaching, even a dense RoFan heroine could be turned into a romance expert.
…Honestly, isn't Boradori the one best suited to be a training officer? I should seriously consider having her naturalized after graduation and recommending her to the Commander as the next training officer.
“Thank you for understanding.”
Seeing the look of realization on my face, Daisy seemed to mistake it for me empathizing with her situation and bowed her head in gratitude.
“I didn't say I’d do it…”
“Do you know why I’m asking you, Adam?”
Despite my refusal, Daisy spoke, her eyes shining despite the dark circles under them.
“First of all, I felt like you would never, ever fall for me.”
Well, she wasn't wrong. I’d sooner confess to the Imperial Princess than have the courage to date a RoFan heroine.
“And…”
A strange smile played on Daisy’s lips. It was a mischievous, bratty grin that didn't suit a Saintess at all—the kind of smile Boradori would wear.
“Because I knew you wouldn't be able to refuse.”
“Actually, I can.”
I was definitely going to refuse. What kind of misunderstanding was this?
“Oh.”
At my firm answer, Daisy blinked for a moment.
“If you refuse, Adam… I’ll have to ask Ellen instead.”
…She went straight to the threats.