Love Letters Bring Disaster
Who would have ever dared to imagine it?
The Demon King, the Dragon Lord, the High Elf, the Emperor of the Empire, and the Master of the Academy — each ruling over territories roughly twice the size of Earth's continents.
That every last one of them would respond to a letter sent by a mere twenty-year-old third-year academy extra.
Or that the academy they had carefully protected for three years would be completely annihilated in a mere thirty minutes by a power struggle among the Transcendents.
Thirty minutes before every Transcendent on the continent gathered.
About four days after I had sent the letters.
I had finished my morning lectures as usual and was eating cafeteria food in the student dining hall, watching the protagonist Leon and Heroine Number Three flirting in real time.
"Hey, you worked hard last night… Eat up."
Chloe, Heroine Number Three and the academy's only 7-circle archmage, stabbed a piece of steak with her fork and brought it to Leon's mouth. Leon accepted the meat with practiced ease, chewing it heartily. And of course, he didn't forget his gem of a line.
"Hard work? Please… You had it worse. You must be exhausted."
Leon said it so naturally, so goddamn casually.
"Ugh… That's embarrassing. Keep your voice down."
Chloe flushed red and poked Leon's shoulder with her fork for no good reason, as if they shared some private memory only the two of them knew.
I watched the whole display from a distance, stabbing the steak on my plate with my fork. Stab. Stab. Stab.
These crazy bastards are having the time of their lives. Just turned twenty and already no brakes.
Why had those two done "that" last night? The reason was simple.
In the original novel, one of the biggest events of the academy's third year was the Shadow of the False God. Leon had infiltrated deep into enemy territory alone and rescued Heroine Number Three, Chloe.
Of course, the truth was that the place where the heroine would be kidnapped, the time, the kidnappers' route, the escape path, the ambush points, the support lines — I had planned all of it, secretly put a few professors and two seniors to work setting the stage, and Leon had just spooned his way in at the end.
But Heroine Number Three had fallen completely head over heels for Leon. She'd already liked him, but now her body… fuck.
What I got in return was, "Hey, thanks to you I was able to time it with the professors and get in clean. Appreciate it."
That one line. That was it.
"……."
Just thinking about it made the steak taste a little bitter. No — fucking bitter.
"Hey, stop stabbing it… I feel bad for the thing."
My classmate sitting across from me called out.
"For the steak?"
"Yeah."
"The one you should feel bad for is my heart, getting force-fed PDA and secondhand embarrassment, you bastard."
"…? What are you even talking about."
"If you don't get it, fine. Asshole."
There was no point explaining in detail. This guy would never understand me. I left my baffled classmate behind and shoved a piece of meat into my mouth.
The salty sauce spread across my tongue, but I was pretty sure the saltiness wasn't from the sauce.
Huh…? Why are there tears.
"Oh, hey, here comes another one."
My classmate suddenly jerked his chin toward something. This time it was Heroine Number Two, the woman who held the title of Flame Sword. She came over with her red ponytail streaming behind her, a tray piled high with meat, and casually claimed the seat next to Leon.
"Leon. You need to get enough protein."
"Yeah, I know. Thanks."
Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she speared a piece of meat from Leon's tray with her own fork and ate it.
"Didn't you push yourself too hard yesterday?"
"I'm fine with that much. I couldn't just stand by when you were in danger."
"……."
My steak wouldn't cut anymore. I pressed down so hard with my fork that it felt like the plate would shatter before the meat did.
Wow, these bastards are just… Hoo, calm down… my ass.
Why was I looking at a scene where Leon was getting fed by both of them at the same time?
…No. Fine. I know. This world is Leon's story. I'm just the extra who plugs the gaps and stops future disasters from the sidelines.
But still. People have feelings. I couldn't help wanting the main cast to acknowledge that I, a reader who loved the novel more than anyone, had been grinding myself into the dirt for them.
"Hey, you not eating your meat?"
"I'm eating. I'll fucking eat it."
I swallowed the remaining meat like I was chewing it to death, then suddenly pricked up my ears at a suspicious voice drifting over from the next table. It had become a habit of sorts — zeroing in whenever there might be a clue to pick up.
"Hey, doesn't the academy feel a little off today?"
Two second-year underclassmen had pushed their trays together and were whispering.
"Why? I've been in class all morning. Didn't notice."
"No, I… I usually pass by the main building before second period. And, well."
The underclassman glanced around for no reason, then dropped his voice even lower.
"I didn't even recognize the Headmaster at first."
"The Headmaster? That woman with the scruffy beard, greasy hair, always wearing that shabby robe?"
"Yeah, her."
The underclassman's eyes went wide, like he'd seen something bizarre.
"But her hair… it was all cleaned up and taken care of?"
"…Huh?"
"Her hair was, like… shiny. And her beard was neatly trimmed. She'd taken off her glasses, and her robe looked brand new. Honestly, she looked like a regular grad student about to finish her thesis. She looked so normal I didn't even think it was the Headmaster at first."
"What the hell? Don't tell me she's dating someone?"
The two of them snickered. I stopped mid-chew.
Grooming? That woman actually took care of herself?
The image of the Headmaster that floated up in my mind: a freak who, once she latched onto a magic research project, would hole up in her lab for a month without washing. Hair hanging limp like it'd been oiled, robe so stained you couldn't even tell what color it originally was. The highest-ranking person at the academy, and the worst-dressed.
Which was why, when I sent that love letter last time, I'd jabbed her about how if she wanted to be loved, she should start by managing her appearance….
"No way… Can Transcendents even date?"
One underclassman tossed it out like a joke, and the other jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow.
"Shut up and watch your mouth. If weird rumors start spreading, the whole academy's going to flip."
"But I'm serious! It was too good a sight to keep to myself. All the other professors were freaking out and greeting her. You could just tell something… big was happening today."
"…."
I stopped listening there and gulped down some water, as if washing away unnecessary thoughts.
Something's probably going on. Meeting some outside VIP? Or maybe a meeting with a new committee.
Not my business either way. What was my business right now was Heroine Number Three feeding meat into Leon's mouth right in front of me, and Flame Sword Heroine Number Two sitting there leaning against his shoulder.
Damn bastards. Just because they turned twenty, they're going completely insane….
"Haa… Let's finish up and get out of here. How long do I have to sit through this PDA hell."
I muttered curses under my breath and started shoveling soup with my spoon, figuring I'd finish eating, head to the training grounds, and get ready for afternoon classes…
And then it happened.
Thud.
A heavy vibration suddenly rolled up through the floor beneath my feet. At first I looked around, thinking someone on the first floor had dropped something. But it wasn't just once.
Thud.
Thud, thud—
As if some massive beast were crawling up from underground, the entire floor began to tremble at regular intervals.
"What the hell, an earthquake?"
Murmurs rose from all around the cafeteria. Someone started toward the windows to look outside.
I saw it.
No — I couldn't help but see it.
Beyond the window, cutting through the clear blue sky that was shining so brightly today — a truly, literally fucking enormous golden arrow, flying straight toward us.
"…What the hell is that… an arrow?"
The words tumbled out of my mouth on their own. No matter how you looked at it, that was not a size you could call a human weapon. A golden spear and arrow that looked like it could punch through an entire city with ease. And the speed was no joke either. It was falling toward the ground near the central plaza — close to the cafeteria — faster than it took me to even process the situation.
KRA-BOOOOM—!!!
The moment the arrow slammed into the earth, the world felt like it flipped upside down as a shockwave exploded in every direction. Tables and trays went flying into the air, and the windows shattered into pieces that rained down toward me. Someone screamed. Someone else was thrown to the floor without even managing a sound.
My ears were ringing. At the same time, I vaguely felt my whole body slam into a wall, then roll down onto the floor.
Ah— this isn't some ordinary raid…
My mind went blank. My vision spun, and soon every sound faded as if sinking underwater. In one corner of my vision, I could just make out Leon and the heroines — who'd been force-feeding me PDA all day — lying collapsed. Behind them, someone was bleeding, and someone else was buried under a pile of tables, unconscious.
Looks like no students are dead, at least… More importantly, what kind of event is this…
I too was crushed by the shockwaves rolling in from every side, my consciousness slowly cutting out.
…Ah.
And the last thing I heard before my consciousness fully went dark was an authoritative woman's voice ringing out from somewhere in the air.
A low, husky voice that was somehow magnetic.
With that, my vision went completely black.