Instant Dungeon
"A harem, I mean."
That was what Elie said, in a voice so low Sierra couldn't possibly hear it.
Her eyes curved into a narrow, mischievous slant — the look of a troublemaker about to spring a carefully prepared prank. The grin that bared her teeth was the very picture of a little devil tucked inside a girl's face.
"It's every man's dream, isn't it~! If you had that kind of looks, Yohan-ssi… of course you'd have at least that much ambition, right?"
The world of Legend Route permitted both monogamy and polygamy. Nothing too shocking. Same-sex marriage was even allowed, which was oddly out of place for a fantasy world. But then again, it was inevitable — most of the playable characters in Legend Route were female.
Thinking back, every character with a harem ending was female too. It had been a blindingly bright yuri ending, flowers of百合 blossoming in every direction.
"A harem… well, any man would dream of that."
"So, are you interested, Yohan-ssi? Hmm~! From what I can see, you seem interested~?"
Once Sierra had left to clean another room, Elie leaned subtly toward me.
Truth be told, it was about time I acquired a new Trait. I had only copied one so far.
Having a cheat-level ability like mine and only managing to copy a single Trait was a disappointing result. In fact, I'd been diligently sowing affection like planting seeds precisely to fix that.
"If I am interested, what are you going to do about it? Are you planning to put yourself forward as a candidate?"
If I were the me before the transmigration, I would never have even thought of saying something like that to a girl, let alone actually saying it. But now was different. When your perspective changes, the way you see the world changes with it.
"Ooooh~! How bold of you, Yohan-ssi~!"
Elie clapped her hands and squealed with delight. She was a fox in heat, no mistake about it. If Sierra caught wind of this, she'd be dancing with a knife.
"I don't dislike men like you, Yohan-ssi."
Elie reached out toward me.
With a teasing touch, she lightly stroked my cheek. It was an extremely, extremely light skinship — but the atmosphere she radiated was anything but playful.
If I had no information on Elie at all, I might have suspected she was a face-lover just like Professor Flora. But that wasn't the case. Elie's behavior like this was clearly calculated.
Elie Janette.
On the surface, she appeared to be a slightly ditzy, scatterbrained girl — but that was merely a shell she wore. In reality, she possessed the sharp mind befitting her title as the heiress of the Janette Merchant Guild. Her balloon-light exterior was camouflage to hide her true nature.
The reason Elie was approaching me so warmly.
It was clearly driven by her own needs. In other words, she had judged me to be considerably useful.
My status as the Academy's top-ranked freshman, the strength I'd shown in the exchange match — those were certainly factors she'd weighed. In short, she had approached me with purpose, not love.
What was Elie's affection level toward me?
I couldn't calculate it perfectly, but by intuition I'd estimate it at around the low twenties. Not a low number by any means, but nowhere near high enough to trigger a confession event or a kiss event.
"Yohan-ssi. When you have time, would you like to go out together? Just the two of us, without Miss Sierra."
"Aren't you afraid of Sierra?"
"Of course, you'll have to calm Sierra down properly. You said you were going to build a harem, didn't you? If you descend into chaos with just two women, how will you ever build a harem?"
Elie tapped my nose lightly, then turned around with her hands clasped behind her back. The seductive atmosphere vanished in an instant. She was back to her usual self — the "Elie" everyone knew.
"Yohan! I've finished tidying the room. There seems to be some laundry piling up — let's wash it now."
Sierra's voice called from inside the room, and Elie responded with a bright, lively tone.
"Hehe~! Anyway, this dormitory is really nice~! Studying just comes naturally when you're here~! Our dorm wasn't bad either, though."
Elie returned to her usual self, and Sierra — now transformed into a snail bride — went back to the dormitory as curfew approached. Even after Elie had left, her words lingered meaningfully in my ears.
—If you descend into chaos with just two women, how will you ever build a harem?
That was the right answer. After all, this world legally permitted polygamy, didn't it?
There was no reason to hesitate and let myself be bound by the common sense of my past life. The yandere-mode Sierra was a little scary, but controlling that was well within my capabilities.
"Then who should my next target be."
There were plenty of candidates. The ones that came to mind immediately were Sara Leoris, Arsha Swordhorn, Flora Tepes, Izumi Reina, and so on.
Ah, I'll think about that tomorrow.
I'm tired today, so I should just go to sleep.
Though, speaking of which — I feel like I'm short one pair of underwear. Am I imagining things?
The entrance ceremony passed, and the department selection period slipped by in a flash. Students had entered their chosen departments and begun proper classes. At last, the Academy campus exuded the genuine atmosphere of a new semester in full swing.
Most students were still in a period of not yet loosening their tension. Academy life was no easy task. Especially for noble students, the Academy was a vast social arena, meaning there was much to attend to beyond classes.
Which family's whom should they socialize with, and how? Or which family's whom should they ostracize, and by what means?
In this Academy — a miniature version of the Royal Capital's social scene — establishing these relationships was crucial for wielding influence. Moreover, such networking would prove invaluable even after graduation.
Wasn't it said that school ties were as strong as blood and regional bonds?
Looking at how the academic world turned, there was no one in the kingdom who could deny that fact.
Arsha Swordhorn.
Having entered the Academy with the outstanding rank of second place, she felt bored.
The department classes were, frankly, tedious. Generously put, they were solid foundational lectures. Harshly put, they were a rehash of lessons she had finished long ago. From Arsha's perspective, there was nothing left to learn from them.
The Academy had a wide gap in student ability. Especially in this generation, called the Golden Generation, that gap was even wider. Sara Leoris, whose strength was already evaluated as surpassing that of graduates, could not be placed on the same level as a student who had barely scraped into the Academy.
Arsha was no different. The number of people within the Academy who could rival her was countable on one hand. Even most upperclassmen had not reached the level Arsha had attained.
It would be nice if the Academy offered differentiated lectures based on student ability, but for various practical reasons, such a system was not yet implemented. That was the decisive reason for the boredom Arsha currently felt.
'Everyone's just thinking about how to build connections.'
As boring as the classes were the interpersonal relationships. How can I use this person better? Or how can I isolate that bastard? — the Academy students' minds were full of such thoughts. They freely applied the knowledge of social maneuvering they had learned from their parents, and to them, Arsha was someone they could not afford to lose.
"Miss Swordhorn. The weather is truly lovely today. I, Billando Mason, would be honored to escort you today…."
"I know a truly excellent restaurant. It's run by a chef my father knows well, and whenever you have time…."
"Oh my! Where did you get such a luxurious necklace? There's a party at the women's dormitory tonight, so if you have time…."
It was all the same tedious talk. Giving each of them a response that didn't violate etiquette was quite the labor.
"That's all for today's class."
Class was over. Arsha mixed into the procession of students heading back to the dormitory and set off in that direction. The dormitory she had received as a privilege of her second-place rank was located a bit apart from the group dormitories used by ordinary students.
'Hm? That guy is…?'
As Arsha made her way back to the dormitory, a man caught her eye. A man with such a dazzling appearance that she could recognize him at a glance, even from far away.
'That's Yohan Baker.'
Yohan Baker.
The Academy's top-ranked freshman, and the subject of endless chatter among Academy students these days.
—Did you hear about it? The Rogue Department and the Swordsmanship Department faced off in an exchange match, and the Rogue Department won!
—I heard the top-ranked student went to the Rogue Department. But where even is the Rogue Department?
—They say they often hold classes at the Swordsmanship Department's training grounds. Maybe I'll go watch when I have time?
—Sounds great! I'm actually thinking about confessing to him this time. He's a commoner, but with looks like that, I don't think it'd be a problem taking him in as a live-in son-in-law, right?
The impression Yohan had made during the entrance ceremony duel was deeply etched into the minds of Academy students. And apparently, he had also fought in an exchange match against the Swordsmanship Department afterward. The result, shockingly, was a victory for the Rogue Department.
'Is this the first time since the Leoris Mansion visit? Where is he going?'
Yohan walked at a leisurely pace toward somewhere.
That sight stirred Arsha's curiosity. Her curiosity glands, worn out by a tedious daily routine and boring classes, seemed to stretch and wake up. Arsha secretly followed after Yohan.
'Following a man around like this is so undignified… I must have been really bored lately.'
She didn't need to follow him — she could just ask where he was going. In fact, that would be the more appropriate approach for a noble.
But for some reason, it felt strangely embarrassing. Thinking about it, she and Yohan had only met once, at the Leoris Mansion party. They had no relationship at all. After exchanging a few words, casually asking "Hey~ where are you going?" would seem like getting too close too quickly.
If she had the capybara-level affinity of someone like Elie Janette, she could have easily asked such a question. But Arsha was not that kind of person.
Yohan's footsteps led him to the small Garden Forest within the Academy grounds. It was a forest with a simple walking course, but since it was somewhat on the outskirts of the Academy, almost no one visited it on weekdays. On weekends, a fair number of people gathered there.
'What business does he have here? Is he here for a picnic?'
That didn't seem right — he had no picnic basket in hand. And a picnic alone, as a man? That was absurd.
"One."
Yohan suddenly stopped on a stepping stone along the walking path. Arsha, startled at the possibility that she'd been discovered, covered her mouth with both hands and hid behind the bushes.
"Two."
Fortunately, it didn't seem like he'd noticed her. Yohan counted to himself as he slowly moved his steps. What was he doing?
"Three."
At the point of three steps, Yohan rotated his body ninety degrees.
He looked like a pirate searching for treasure buried on a map.
"Four from here."
Yohan continued counting and moving his steps.
His footsteps extended exactly to nine steps.
"Is this the spot?"
Yohan stopped in front of an ordinary tree. As he reached toward it, something astonishing happened. Blue light erupted from a knot in the tree's trunk. The released light formed a circular passage.
'A dungeon!?'
It was a dungeon entrance. Not an ordinary one, but an instant dungeon entrance.
An instant dungeon hidden in the Academy's Garden Forest.
It was a shocking revelation.
'How does he know about that?'
Yohan entered the dungeon's passage without a moment's hesitation. Arsha poked her head out curiously.
Yohan Baker.
The more she looked, the more unknowable he seemed.
Arsha was beginning to feel confused. She wasn't sure what kind of feelings she should have for that man.
But one thing was certain. That man possessed a strange power capable of melting away her boring daily life.
Arsha sprang to her feet. Fortunately, since she was on her way back from class, she had brought her weapon. She set off toward the entrance of the instant dungeon.