But I'm Not

But I wasn't.

Starlight Sword Queen Aisha.

Ranked eleventh. She wielded the hidden class Sword Queen and was a former pro who had once lifted the DCK championship trophy on the strength of her sheer swordsmanship.

She was also the president of the Sword God Fan Club.

Then one day, her idol—her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠role model, the flawless, impossibly cool Sword God—tasted defeat. The one who handed it to him was Lily, a rising powerhouse of the new generation.

Lily had crushed the Sword God—her beloved Sword God oppa—with overwhelming force during the Siege Warfare, turning what should have been his stage into her own personal showcase.

How dare she.

Lily's abilities were blatantly overpowered, as if she'd never been touched by balance patches at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all, and yet everywhere you looked—public opinion, the community boards, every corner of Deo En—there was nothing but praise for her. Sure, a few people trashed Lily here and there, but compared to her defenders they were a vanishingly small minority.

The real problem was that even the Sword God had stayed silent about the whole affair.

Maybe he'd simply acknowledged Lily's strength. But Aisha, the Sword God's very first fan, could not accept it.

There's something going on.

There had to be a reason Lily was that strong. If she could meet her face to face—not through a screen—she was certain she'd notice whatever it was.

And so, clutching the Leaf of the World Tree she'd received as part of her DCK championship prize, Aisha set out for the World Tree.

Lily was streaming as always, wandering around the World Tree. Aisha decided not to approach rashly—she'd wait until Lily entered the heart of the tree, and close in then. Anyone at Aisha's rank could sense the presence of a strong fighter who got near enough. Lily was strong enough to beat the Sword God... well, whatever—strong, anyway—so of course Lily would sense her.

That was how she ended up trailing behind at a safe distance, watching the stream.

-She drew her sword!

-Whoa, she's actually drawing it.

-Lily drew a sword...

"...Huh?"

Aisha froze.

No—frozen didn't cover it. She was aghast.

Not because the plaza had erupted into commotion. Not even because Lily had drawn a sword she should never, ever have been able to draw.

"...So that's where it went."

Because standing right there was her idol. Her love.

"Sword God oppa!"

Aisha lunged toward the Sword God, and—

"...?"

"Whap!"

—took the flat of his scabbard squarely on the crown of her head and crumpled to the ground.

"You okay?"

"Heheh... yes..."

Aisha came to quickly. They were inside a town, and even for the Sword God, PK-ing someone within town limits was bad form—so he'd simply rapped her lightly on the head. As a ranked player, Aisha had shaken off the brief stun in moments.

She was muttering darkly to herself—he was worried about me...—when the Sword God turned to leave, and she scrambled upright.

"You—you remember me, right?!"

"...I'm afraid I don't commit every passerby ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to memory."

"N-no! I'm not just a passerby! I'm Aisha!"

Aisha's eyes sparkled like a sky full of stars.

The Sword God's brow creased.

"Who?"

"...Huh? You—you really don't know me...?"

"No."

Unfortunately, the Sword God didn't bother remembering trivial things. Even if she had fought him once, two years ago.

Aisha asked again, deflating a little.

"What about the Sword Queen?"

"Sword Queen?"

"Yes. We've crossed paths before... we've even sparred."

"...Sword Queen. Sword Queen... Ah. Right. So you're—"

"Y-you remember me?!"

The Sword God nodded.

Aisha whooped with joy, thrusting her sword skyward as if she'd just won the World Cup, and the Sword God watched her for a moment—then simply turned and walked away.

"Wait! I'm coming with you!"

The Sword God couldn't have cared less whether Aisha was the Sword Queen or his fan.

He pressed on toward his goal, and Aisha clung to his heels with dogged persistence.

"Stop following me."

"I won't get in your way. Promise."

"......"

Had Aisha blocked his path or acted on her own initiative, he'd have driven her off with force if he had to. But all Aisha wanted was to stay at his side—and she had more than enough strength to protect herself without his help. If it came down to it, she'd gladly throw herself between him and any danger.

"Who is it you're looking for?"

"The Child of the World Tree, who has gone missing. Whatever you do, don't lay a hand on them."

"I would never! If I find anything, I'll tell you right away!"

Truth be told, she'd abandoned any thought of chasing Lily and digging for the truth a long time ago. The moment she'd spotted the Sword God, she'd shut off the stream she'd opened for her stakeout, and now she was far too busy enjoying her heart-pounding date with him.

And so the two of them entered the World Tree through the Leaf, subdued a strange deer, wrung information out of it, and climbed upward.

Aisha was in awe. Lily was strong, sure—but Sword God oppa was simply the best.

How long had she trailed along behind him, treasure in her heart?

"Here it is. The second Chamber of Spirits."

They reached the second chamber. Unlike the first, its barrier was roughly half-broken—but even so, it looked immeasurably sturdier than the first one had.

Who had passed through here?

"Should I put my strength in too?"

"No need."

He could just smash through it in one go.

That's our Sword God oppa for you!

The moment the Sword God's blade moved, Aisha cheered—and then:

"Wha—?"

They were sucked into the dungeon.

A scenario dungeon, starting without warning.

The instant it began, the Sword God and Aisha arrived at Eloni Academy, stared at each other's transformed outfits, then pieced together the flood of new information and made their way to the classroom that matched them.

And then—

"...Why are you coming out of there?"

They ran into Lily.

He wore the Eloni Academy uniform, but that black hair, those violet eyes, and that unmistakably familiar face—it was the Sword God, no question about it.

Though the wolf ears on his head were pretty hard to ignore.

And beside him stood a girl with fox ears and a bushy tail, her long silver hair swaying, pink light glittering like starlight in her eyes.

Why was she here?

I stared blankly for a moment, then glanced at the message window.

The player count had gone from one to three.

So this wasn't a single-player dungeon after all—it was a competitive dungeon that ran in multiplayer, where rivals tried to make the World Tree's candidate their own Child.

"Why are you coming out of there?"

"......"

The Sword God said nothing. His reaction said he hadn't known I'd be here, but there was also the sense that he'd suspected something of the sort.

And in contrast—

"L-Lily?!"

Aisha beside him jolted in shock and drew her sword.

"Oops."

Not her usual Comet Sword, but the ceremonial blade of the fox tribe.

The Sword God eyed the standoff for a moment, then let out a sigh.

"...Sit down."

"O-oppa?"

"My goal is not to fight Lily 'right now.'"

If she wanted to fight alone, I wouldn't stop her—

Under the gazes of every student in Class C, the Sword God took an empty seat, and Aisha, absorbing those stares herself, hastily sheathed her sword with burning cheeks and scurried into the seat beside him.

What is even happening?

The difficulty had gone up, which meant the rewards would increase too—but there was no denying a wild card had just entered the picture.

I'd have to watch and see what choices the Sword God and Aisha made, though I doubted it would matter much in the end.

Creeeak!

The door swung open, and a mild-mannered elf professor walked in.

"Did something happen?"

It was the start of a new semester, yet the classroom was oddly rowdy, and he seemed puzzled by it. When the rock golem seated up front shook his head, his face glowing a serene blue, the professor nodded.

"In any case, welcome to Eloni Academy, new students. Ah—and a few of you are repeat students, I see."

Eloni Academy had a grade-retention system.

Students could attend for a maximum of four years, but anyone who failed the advancement exam didn't move up—they were held back for another year. The exams grew harder with every grade, and it was said that only a handful of students per millennium managed to graduate in just four years.

The average graduate needed at least ten years. Some took decades...

"Students who aren't long-lived races should forget about graduating and learn to quit while they're ahead. Rotting away at the Academy for a lifetime on a goal you'll never reach isn't exactly a blessing either."

At the professor's words, some of the students—the long-lived races—snickered. The prime examples were elves, nymphs, dwarves, and other races like golems that could live for centuries.

The short-lived races—kobolds and beastkin—kept their mouths firmly shut.

Their lifespans didn't even reach sixty years. For kobolds especially, living past thirty was considered a miracle.

The professor's gaze drifted, almost imperceptibly, toward me.

I was the only high elf in this class, and though my blood was thin, I bore the name of Elfosis. In human terms, that put me somewhere around a baron—but within Class C, I could wield power rivaling that of a princess.

If I were truly Ria Elfosis, I suppose I would have nodded along in deep agreement with the professor's words.

"I'm afraid I can't agree with that statement."

But I'm not, am I?