Nemesis's End
The First Princess, Siris Leysander, had killed her own father—the reigning king.
Such a thing had never once occurred in the original story. No matter how much Throne of the Academy branched into different routes, and even if I hadn’t seen every single one, there was no way I could have missed a divergence this massive.
Siris, no longer a princess but a queen.
She had declared she would defy fate and carve out her own path.
“…It must be because of me.”
Siris was a regressor.
Over the course of nearly seven regressions, she had meticulously planned and executed the optimal route. But the moment I appeared as a variable, everything changed. All the things she had believed were destiny, all the moves she thought were perfect, came crashing down.
Fortunately, thanks to the head priest’s reputation, Siris didn’t seem to suspect I was a possessor. Still, the fact that she had taken an interest in me was already a serious problem.
“…What am I supposed to do with this?”
I stared blankly at the fan Siris had left behind and unfolded it.
Emblazoned on it was a radiant sun—the symbol of the royal family. It was even more direct proof of royal favor than the crest I had received before.
With the fourth act concluded, the fifth would expand the stage across the entire kingdom. The larger the scale, the more variables would appear. And now, on top of all that, Siris had become queen—an explosive development.
My head throbbed. I sat in the chair for a while, pressing my temples.
“Master?”
Void approached cautiously and placed her small hand on my head, gently stroking it.
“I’m fine. Just a little dizzy, that’s all.”
As I quietly savored the warmth of her tiny hand, noise erupted outside. Through the broken wall, I could see the main building bathed in golden light.
“…Looks like Nemesis has been dealt with.”
I let out a small sigh.
The fourth act had ended far more smoothly than I expected. There had been no Jo-hyun, and without her, no chimera legion. Thanks to devouring every power-up event meant for the original protagonists, the Shadows had been no match for us.
I could only hope the rest of the story would unfold this easily.
“Void, I really shouldn’t have come back to our hometown after all.”
“Master!”
Void grinned brightly at my words.
*
In the end, the Shadows’ invasion of Erebos had ended in utter failure.
While several buildings had been destroyed or set ablaze, the damage was limited to structures. Human casualties were remarkably low compared to the scale of the attack.
Even the recovery personnel dispatched by the royal family and the investigators from the Mage Guild clicked their tongues in disbelief as they surveyed the scene.
“Only twenty-one deaths from an assault of this magnitude…”
“It’s a miracle.”
All eyes naturally turned to the ones who had suppressed the incident.
Sophia Aquilova, top student of the Knight Department.
Isolde, top student of the Magic Department.
Elise de Rua, Saint candidate of the Divinity Department.
And finally, Ottilie Eichendorff, who had achieved the greatest feats by controlling her dolls from atop the ashen tower.
Thanks to these students who had performed even better than the faculty, Erebos had overcome the worst crisis since its founding.
“What became of the ringleaders?”
“The one called Yaksha is dead. Sophia Aquilova pierced his heart.”
The investigator spoke while writing his report.
“As for the white-haired woman, the Saint candidate’s testimony suggests she escaped, but tracking her trail indicates she suffered fatal wounds. Given the bloodstains and residual mana at the scene, she won’t be active for some time.”
“And the man named Yeong-rang…”
The investigator’s gaze shifted to the gray-haired man being dragged away in chains.
“Yes. As you can see, he was defeated and captured by the top student of the Magic Department. He’ll be transferred to the royal tribunal and punished according to proper procedure. He likely won’t escape execution.”
A complete victory.
Erebos Academy moved swiftly to celebrate the triumph and boost morale. Just like during the Full Moon Festival, a grand commendation ceremony was prepared in the auditorium despite the chaos.
“Today, we have achieved a great victory.”
Headmaster Cornelius stood on the stage, his voice amplified by magic.
“Wicked forces sought to ravage our Erebos, but we did not yield! Thanks to our students, faculty, and the great royal family’s aid, we were able to protect it!”
Cornelius did not forget to praise the royal family. After all, it was the Royal Academy.
To me, this scene felt strangely familiar. This commendation ceremony was the event cutscene that played during the interlude of the fourth act.
“However, behind this victory lie twenty-one sacrifices. Without their sacrifice, we could never have protected Erebos, this ivory tower of intellect. Let us all observe a moment of silence in their honor.”
Once the silence ended, Cornelius spoke again to lighten the somber mood.
“Next, I will introduce the heroes who performed outstandingly in this incident. It is thanks to their courage and wisdom that we stand here today.”
Fatigue was clear on Cornelius’s face, yet it was mixed with unmistakable excitement. He turned to introduce the heroes.
Then his eyes met mine.
Of course they did. When the headmaster on stage turned, he was bound to face me directly.
“The guardian of Erebos and a model for us all—Priest Leo!”
“…”
Cheers erupted.
I stared blankly into the air. Why on earth was I standing here?
Sophia to my left, Elise to my right. Behind me stood Isolde and Ottilie like a folding screen. I was positioned dead center on the stage.
Yes. Right in the center.
“Woooooo!”
The roar from the audience was deafening. I desperately maintained my expression and whispered to Cornelius.
“Headmaster, this wasn’t part of the deal. I was supposed to stay quiet—”
“Ah, Priest Leo. I had no choice either.”
Cornelius replied with an awkward twitch of his lips.
“A messenger from the royal family strongly insisted. They said the protagonist of this ceremony must be Priest Leo. It was Her Highness Siris’s order—how could a mere headmaster defy that?”
“…Hah.”
Siris. That woman again.
She had clearly intended to drag me onto the stage. After all, her influence had been significant during the aftermath of the cathedral incident too. I still remembered how some strange misunderstanding had caused me trouble back then.
Regardless of my sour expression, Cornelius hung the medal around my neck and declared loudly.
“This medal is the highest-class meritorious service medal bestowed by the royal family! It honors Priest Leo’s contributions in saving the academy from crisis and protecting countless lives!”
The golden medal gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight.
At the same time, the elders of the Mage Guild and the knight commanders seated in the VIP section fixed their gazes on me.
“So that’s the priest?”
“Just like the rumors. He’s completely hiding his presence. No ordinary fellow.”
“Sophia Aquilova’s master, isn’t he? His swordsmanship must be considerable.”
“And his magic too. He unleashed multiple high-tier spells against Nemesis.”
Their murmurs were so loud they reached my ears.
“…”
Misunderstandings. Especially the last one—that was a complete misunderstanding. When I turned my head, I caught Ottilie smirking. I barely restrained myself from giving her a good smack on the head.
I wanted to shout that it was all a misunderstanding, but doing so now would only make everyone praise me as a humble saint.
“Congratulations, Priest.”
Elise, standing beside me, smiled brightly.
“You’ve become the academy’s most prominent figure.”
“Please don’t tease me.”
“I’m not teasing. I’m genuinely congratulating you. Though there is one thing I regret.”
“And what might that be, Miss Elise…?”
“That I can’t keep you all to myself?”
Elise grinned. Helena, who had been watching from backstage, twitched the corner of her mouth—clearly having overheard.
Helena, who knew everything, said nothing. Even though the maids of Ophelia Hall were supposed to value silence as a virtue, I thought at least a little testimony wouldn’t have hurt. I felt rather betrayed.
“With this, the commendation ceremony concludes! Erebos Royal Academy will use this incident as a lesson to grow even stronger!”
While I was lost in thought, Cornelius’s closing declaration rang out, followed by bursting fireworks.
Amid the shower of flower petals, I tightly shut my eyes, already sensing the exhausting days ahead.
*
A few days later.
Erebos Academy officially announced a temporary closure. It was determined that at least a month would be needed to repair the damaged buildings and rebuild the barriers.
Most students packed their belongings and returned home, while faculty members took leave except for essential personnel. The once-bustling academy fell silent once more.
In this situation, I too had to leave.
“We’ll be carrying out restoration work on the chapel during the closure.”
Because Yaksha had destroyed it, one entire wall of the chapel had been completely smashed, necessitating major construction. With workers coming and going every day, staying in the chapel during the break wasn’t an option.
Suddenly thrown out onto the streets.
Normally, I would have found lodging at a nearby village inn, but that wasn’t feasible now.
“Master!”
I had Void tagging along.
For the sake of her education, I didn’t want to take her to rough places like inns or taverns.
“…This is troublesome.”
I considered leaving Void at Ophelia Hall, but that place was just as dangerous. Especially since I couldn’t bear the thought of her learning embarrassing things from Elise under the guise of “early education.” I couldn’t let Void pick up words like “X” or “mating.”
While I was agonizing over this, someone arrived.
“Master…”
Sophia had come to the chapel.
Come to think of it, she was in the same situation as me—she had nowhere to go. During breaks, she usually did odd jobs in the village near the academy to secure food and lodging.
“Miss Sophia has nowhere to go either?”
I asked with a small laugh.
“Hehe. No! This time it’s different!”
Sophia stood there with a bundle on her back, wearing a triumphant smile.
“Master, look at this!”
What she handed me was a document—an invitation to a swordsmanship qualification exam hosted by the royal family.
“The Sword Master qualification exam is next week. So the royal family invited me!”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, the Sword Master exam was supposed to take place after the midterms. Since it was also Sophia’s power-up event, all I could do was wish her luck.
“I see. I’ll be cheering for you.”
“You’re coming with me, Master.”
“…What?”
Sophia flipped over the invitation I was holding. On the list below her name—Sophia Aquilova—was also written the name of her master: me.
“…Why?”
“They say it’s only natural for a master to participate in their disciple’s exam.”
“Who said that?”
“Nureongi.”
Nureongi.
Considering Sophia’s habit of calling even Elise “Whitey,” there was only one person who could be called by that name.
‘Beatrice… Ludenfeldt.’
The kingdom’s greatest swordsman.
And at the same time, the royal family’s personal guard knight.
In that case…
“…Damn it.”
It was Siris’s doing after all.