Chapter 9: My Life Was a RoFan (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 9: My Life Was a RoFan (2)
"Didn't we say we'd see each other in a week?"
Through the communication device, I saw the Captain’s haggard face.
A Sword Master should be perfectly fine even after going a week without sleep. To think he’d ended up in such a state after just one day.
I was truly worried, but it seemed our Prince was not.
"I wanted to wait, too."
I didn't exactly want to see the Captain’s face every day either, but I had no choice.
If he looked like this just from hearing about Prince Ellen’s first love, I wondered how he’d transform once he heard about the rivals. I let out a small sigh at the future I was about to witness.
—What is it this time...?
His voice was already drooping with exhaustion, and I felt bad for him, but this was information that had to be shared. Whether this world was a RoFan or not, there was no way that specific combination of people wouldn't cause an incident.
"Well, the thing is..."
I told him the facts exactly as they were. I didn't include a single shred of my suspicion that this world was a RoFan; I simply reported what I had witnessed with my own eyes, without exaggeration.
—Stop bullshitting me...
And yet, a curse word flew out of the Captain’s mouth.
Since becoming an instructor, I had never heard him speak like that. Even when Senior Lucia came to him three times a week with a resignation letter as if her "unbreakable heart" was the only thing that mattered, he’d just laugh it off. Even when I demanded a salary higher than his—and he's a Sword Master—because the "unit price" for my services didn't match the workload, he’d just chuckle!
"Unfortunately, it’s the truth."
—Liar! Please, tell me you're lying!
The Captain screamed as if pleading, but that didn't make the reality go away.
"It’s easier if you just give up."
—Aaaaaagh!
The Captain wailed at the first act of rebellion from the usually obedient and talented Prince Ellen. The sad part was that this lamentation and pain wouldn't be the Captain’s alone.
The moment the call ended, the news would spread to the other instructors and related personnel. At the end of that chain would be the Intelligence Bureau. And the news starting from the Intelligence Bureau would flow back in reverse, eventually heading straight for the Captain.
And at the very end of that, there would be me.
Damn it. I should have retired back when Prince Ellen took down Princess Hestia.
—...Anyway, here is the information we’ve gathered so far.
Just like that.
"Can I choose not to listen?"
—Don't be ridiculous.
To think they finished an investigation on a person named Daisy from the distant Empire in just one day. As expected of the Intelligence Bureau—they're good at their jobs.
—She’s the daughter of a Baron from a place considered the middle of nowhere, even within the Empire.
"I see."
A classic background for a RoFan heroine. In the RoFans I remember recently, many of the heroines were villainesses from Ducal houses, but this was the traditional route.
—Her background is so non-existent that it makes one wonder how she even got into the Imperial Academy.
"I see."
This, too, was a common background for a RoFan heroine. Usually, there was a hidden secret behind it. It would turn out she wasn't the Baron’s biological daughter, or she had been taught magic by a legendary mage as a child. Or perhaps it was a story where she awakens her talent after entering the Academy.
—They say the reason she joined the Flower Arrangement Club is simply because she likes flowers. Apparently, the local specialty of her territory is the daisy.
"How can the local specialty be the same as the lady's name..."
—Tell me about it. But her family is said to be quite harmonious, so it doesn't seem like a name they just threw together.
The rest of the information didn't seem particularly important. However...
—Until recently, the Flower Arrangement Club consisted of only the President and Lady Daisy.
The Captain lamented the fact that "until recently" meant "until yesterday," but something else caught my attention.
"There’s a separate President?"
For a moment, I wondered if that purple-haired girl who looked like the heroine’s best friend was the President, but I couldn't help but frown at the Captain’s next words.
—Yes. A fourth-year male student set to graduate this year is the President.
There’s... another guy?
And he’s in a "Senior" position?
—Fortunately, he’s a perfectly ordinary fellow.
I couldn't let my guard down just because he was "ordinary." If the genre of this world really was RoFan, there was no way the first man to have a connection with the heroine was ordinary.
"Give me some info on him."
—There isn't much.
The details the Captain rattled off were truly unremarkable. Just as I was starting to think that maybe I was overthinking the whole "RoFan" thing...
—Oh, I managed to get a portrait of him too.
"......"
This world really is a RoFan!
I almost shouted it out loud. Because...
"He’s a narrow-eyed character."
This bastard was one of those "closed-eyes" tropes.
Imperial Public Academy, 4th Year, Bellian Eric.
Classes were over, but he couldn't bring himself to leave the classroom.
"How... how did it come to this?"
As the third son of the Viscounty of Eric, he had been able to enter the Imperial Academy thanks to his decent academic brain. For someone from an ordinary Viscount family to enter the Imperial Academy...
He had entered the Academy carrying the expectations of his parents, older brothers, and younger siblings. But no life-changing events had occurred.
His grades were average. Aside from note-taking, he had zero talent. Whether at home or at the Academy, he never stepped forward first. Consequently, his social circle was also average. It was more like he maintained a moderate distance with similar students.
Even so, he did have people he was quite close to: the seniors of the Flower Arrangement Club. It was a tiny club with fewer than ten members, always on the verge of being shut down.
That was why he liked it. Just meeting lightly, enjoying things lightly, yet having that unique, tight-knit atmosphere. Because they had faced the threat of disbandment several times due to low membership and lack of activities, an invisible bond had grown thick between the members every time they narrowly managed to save it.
"This is all because of the seniors."
—It would be such a shame for the Flower Arrangement Club to end like this.
With the three seniors who graduated last year, the Flower Arrangement Club had been slated for closure. It was inevitable. No new students had joined after Bellian, and no matter how much the Imperial Academy encouraged free club activities, they didn't allow one-man clubs to persist.
Those voices full of regret kept echoing in his mind, prompting Bellian to muster courage unlike his usual self.
On the day of the entrance ceremony, in front of the auditorium where the freshmen were pouring out...
At the spot where countless clubs were promoting themselves, Bellian gathered every ounce of courage he possessed and made an effort.
"The Flower Arrangement Club?"
"Y-Yes!"
And there, by chance, he met a freshman. Her name was Daisy. She was from a small, rural family called House Parvan.
Somehow, she felt familiar. Both he and the previous members of the club had been in similar positions. Since she even said she liked flowers, he thought it was destiny guided by the Goddess.
Furthermore...
"Can I bring my friend along too?"
Surprisingly, she said she had a childhood friend who had enrolled with her. With that, they could fill the minimum requirement of three people to keep the club alive.
Of course, it was literally the minimum. To maintain a club with only three people required some activity, but the Flower Arrangement Club was already experienced in twisting its body to stay afloat. He was confident. Confident that he could keep the club alive at least until the moment he graduated.
So that one day, if he happened to run into the graduated seniors, he could proudly say that he had kept the club going until his graduation!
"Or was it? Was it because I got greedy?"
Up to that point, everything was fine. Daisy and her childhood friend, Violet. One man and two women. Uncharacteristically, he had become the "lone man" in the group.
But without a single selfish motive, Bellian simply wanted them to experience the daily life of the Flower Arrangement Club that he had loved. In the Imperial Academy, where one could rarely experience the four seasons, they could observe flowers that weren't easily seen in other regions. By arranging them to suit the season, they could appreciate the small beauties of daily life.
In an Academy life where one was constantly crushed by high-ranking nobles and geniuses, he purely hoped they could feel a small but precious happiness.
"I'll find more members!"
That was why he had smiled and said he’d be grateful when Daisy showed such enthusiasm. He figured that since birds of a feather flock together, anyone Daisy—who seemed to have no special abilities and came from an unremarkable family—brought in would be someone just like them.
That was his mistake.
"I'm a new member, Esid."
Was there another student named Esid among this year's freshmen? No, even if there was, could there be one with white hair and red eyes?
Faced with the sudden appearance of the Imperial Prince, Bellian agonized over whether he should finish bending his half-bent knees into a full kowtow or stand back up.
In that half-insane state, he accepted the Prince’s club application. He went to the dormitory and slept. He woke up. He went to the Academy. He sat through all his classes without taking a single note, letting the lectures drift past him.
Maybe this was all a dream.
'Yeah, it can't be real.'
No matter how low his chances of inheriting the throne were, the next successor hadn't been decided yet. There was no way the busy Prince would join the Flower Arrangement Club of all places.
With that thought, he entered the clubroom, only to find...
"These are the prospective new members!"
The entrance to the Demonic Realm had been opened, right alongside a brightly smiling Daisy.
That was what happened yesterday.
"Seniors... the Flower Arrangement Club has now become immortal."
Sitting in the empty classroom after everyone had left, Bellian stared blankly at the chalkboard and thought.
One Prince of the Empire.
One Prince of the Kingdom of Knights.
One Prince of the Kingdom of Magic.
One son of the Border Count who defends the Demonic Realm.
One grandson of the Sword Emperor, known as the Minor Sword Emperor.
One future heir to a massive merchant guild that moves the economy of the entire continent, not just the Empire.
And himself, the President of the Flower Arrangement Club.
At this point, they could repel the Student Council even if the entire body attacked them at once. No, excluding himself, any one of them would probably be enough. With this, the disbandment of the Flower Arrangement Club wouldn't happen for at least four years.
"Should I just quit?"
However, the Flower Arrangement Club that gave Bellian peace of mind was already dead. It had died the moment the Prince joined. Even the imaginary seniors of the club were running away, saying, "Uh, this is a bit much..."
"Right. I have to graduate. I'll just say I'm quitting to focus on my studies."
Since studying was the only thing he was good at, he put effort into his academics. He had already earned enough credits to graduate, but there was no harm in earning more. Since he wouldn't be inheriting his family's title anyway, the only way to increase his value as someone from an unremarkable family was to pursue a career as an Imperial civil servant!
"Yeah, the Presidency... if I tell Daisy, someone will take it."
Excluding himself, the Minor Sword Emperor was the most approachable male member of the club. Being the President in a place like that... he wouldn't live a full life.
"Hello, Senior?"
"Ah, yes?"
The moment he stepped out of the classroom with renewed resolve, a junior popped out as if he had been waiting. No, he definitely had been waiting.
"I have a lot of questions regarding the Academy. Could you spare a moment for some counseling?"
No.
He wanted to say that, but Bellian’s danger-sensing abilities had developed rapidly due to recent events. This wasn't a request for his opinion. It was the voice of a predator telling him to shut up and follow.
"S-Sure."
Back when Bellian first enrolled, a first-year wouldn't have dreamed of telling a fourth-year senior to follow them or not.
'But things are different now!'
With the Sword Emperor and the former Magic Tower Lord serving as head professors, this year's freshmen were truly the beginning of the Imperial Academy’s golden age. He didn't even need to look far; he just had to remember the clubroom yesterday.
Thus, in a small Academy cafe, Bellian watched with a tense expression as the junior naturally brought over two cups of tea.
"Ah, come to think of it, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Adam Smith, from the Leon Kingdom."
"......"
It was a name he had heard. It was the same as the monster who had easily defeated the Minor Sword Emperor on the first day of the Sword Emperor’s class.
"I don't like long-winded talk, so to get straight to the point... our Prince joined your club, didn't he?"
"H-He did."
"I'm just asking you to take good care of him."
No, I'm going to quit.
"The Prince is quite timid. I don't think he'll get along well with the other students. If someone like you, Mr. President, could put in a little effort..."
No, I'm really going to quit!
"Y-Yeah. Sure."
But because the words coming out of his mouth were different from his true feelings...
"Welcome, Mr. President!"
Like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse, he had no choice but to head toward the Flower Arrangement Club.
