Arian Liberin's Enemy
The one who showed the most shocked reaction to those words was Yee Eun-chae.
"W-what do you mean? You almost died?!"
Yee Eun-chae reacted with a startled expression, as if I were about to die right then and there.
"Calm down, Eun-chae. It was just something that happened a long time ago."
And of course, the ones who heard this weren't just Yee Eun-chae, Arian Liberin, and Yoo Eun-chae standing in front of me. Even Seo Moon-hyun, who had been picking out food with a plate in the distance, and Lee Se-na, who had been beside him, were now staring at me with surprised eyes.
To her, I was the heir of the Yucheon Group and a highly capable individual. On top of that, she had been impressed after hearing about my generous donations to the academy's welfare facilities, including this cafeteria. Learning about my past must have left her deeply confused.
'She's already suspicious about my connection to Seo Moon-hyun, and now she's hearing that I nearly starved to death in the past while Seo Moon-hyun claims he doesn't even know I exist.'
This would later drive a wedge between Seo Moon-hyun and Lee Se-na, but at the same time, it would plant the seeds for every student at the academy to develop negative feelings toward Seo Moon-hyun. Every time they ate in the National Hero Academy cafeteria, they would remember this story. It would never be forgotten.
"Let's just eat first. Our meal time is limited, after all."
"Ah! You're right."
With a thousand new students alone, the cafeteria was split into two separate locations. The building itself was enormous, yet even that wasn't enough to handle a thousand students at once. That's why additional tables and drink stations had been set up on the second and third floors. Meal times were also staggered: first- and second-years ate from 12:00 to 1:00, while third- and fourth-years ate from 1:00 to 2:30. The upperclassmen received an extra thirty minutes of meal and free time because their lunch period started later.
'Thanks to that, this place is filled with nothing but freshmen. No one above second-year.'
Arian Liberin, Yee Eun-chae, Yoo Eun-chae, and I each ordered our meals. I went with the galbi-tang set, while Yoo Eun-chae chose the ribeye steak set. Yee Eun-chae, on the other hand, ordered a wide variety of dishes.
"Grilled bulgogi set, plus seasoned grilled pork ribs, pork ribs, roast chicken, and stuffed pork chops as sides. You really ordered a lot."
"I tend to eat quite a bit for lunch."
One of Yee Eun-chae's original settings was that she was a big eater. As a physical-enhancement type Awakener, she was often shown devouring enormous amounts of food whenever a meal scene appeared. There had even been a scene where she single-handedly ate twenty portions at a buffet.
"Arian… are you sure that's enough?"
"Yes, this is what I like."
When Yoo Eun-chae asked about Arian's order, the princess smiled and replied. It was understandable why the question came up—Arian had ordered a hamburger set. Even though it was a handmade burger, many people found it surprising that a princess would choose fast food.
"When I'm training, something simple like this is best."
In the original story, Arian enjoyed Liberin Kingdom cuisine but also had a taste for foreign dishes. She particularly liked fast food that could be eaten quickly, and among those, hamburgers were her favorite.
'Hamburgers are delicious, after all.'
I had to agree with that. Today I had ordered galbi-tang, and I would be eating dinner with Seo Moon-min-hye, but I might just order a hamburger for lunch tomorrow.
While entertaining such ordinary thoughts, I sat down and slowly enjoyed my meal.
'It's starting to feel real.'
In the original story, the main plot had begun not with Lee Se-na, Seo Moon-hyun's childhood friend, but surprisingly with Arian Liberin. The National Hero Academy had enjoyed a long period of peace, but now threats to the world itself were beginning to emerge. And this academy, in particular, stood at the very starting point of that danger.
'This time, the enemy is a villain group from the Liberin Kingdom.'
Villain organizations existed all over the world. Among them, the ones with particularly massive influence were known as Aeternum Somnium, Reverse Heaven, and The End. The current enemies were undoubtedly Aeternum Somnium.
'Their true identity is the followers of the Eternal Dragon, Terenity.'
Terenity, the final boss of this novel who sought to invade this world from another dimension, had already extended its influence here long ago. A direct appearance would only happen in the final arc, but even now, Terenity's power was spreading across the world. There were those who had gained strength through Terenity. Aeternum Somnium consisted of people who believed they had been chosen by Terenity.
'They think they'll be the exception in the coming apocalypse, but…'
Once Terenity descended upon this world, it had no intention of sparing even its own followers. The large-scale emergence of magic power on Earth and the appearance of countless Mana Awakeners had all been part of Terenity's scheme to raise humans as livestock—fattening them up to be harvested later.
'But in the original story, those very humans ended up defeating it instead.'
As long as I was here, this world would never fall into danger. The current enemy targeting Arian Liberin was already watching us, but it seemed they had no intention of making a move just yet.
'Rotten Bendision.'
The very first villain of the Academy Hero Chronicles, a vengeful spirit born from the accidental mistake of Arian's grandmother, was already observing the academy. An event that would deliver a devastating shock to Arian Liberin—who knew nothing of the truth—was fast approaching.
* * *
About one hour ago.
"Arian Liberin."
There was a gaze fixed upon Arian Liberin. Its owner was a middle-aged man with dull gray hair. Though he must have once been considered quite handsome and manly, a horrific burn scar now marred the left side of his face.
"Heh heh. You've grown up beautifully, Princess Arian."
Wearing training pants for practical exercises, Arian swung her sword in her skirt uniform, demonstrating her skill before the instructor. Her enthusiastic participation in class looked genuinely joyful.
"Rotten Bendision has finally found the perfect time to reap his harvest."
Watching Arian Liberin, he recalled memories that were also painful. Her mother, Queen Laura, had been an incredibly good person. However, her grandmother, Aizina, had inflicted an unforgivable wound upon him.
Grind!
The moment he thought of Aizina, he could no longer suppress his rage. Despite appearing middle-aged, he was actually quite old. Back then, he had been a passionate knight loyal to the Liberin Kingdom—one who could never have imagined joining the villain organization Aeternum Somnium.
'She betrayed me twice.'
Aizina had once been his lover. Yet after many years, she abandoned him—her childhood friend and lover—and married into the Restan ducal family after falling for the heir who had saved her from a large monster. Even though his heart had been torn apart, he hadn't resented her at the time. Instead, he had blamed his own shortcomings.
Later, while trying to forget the pain of his first love after meeting a good woman and having a child, he was forced to confront yet another betrayal.
[I'm sorry… I'm truly sorry.]
At the time, Laura, who had just become queen, had tearfully apologized to him. Her mother, Aizina, was an outstanding Mana Awakener. When terrorists plotted a large-scale explosion, she had hurriedly gathered the scattered magic bombs into one central location to minimize casualties. That location had unfortunately been Rotten Bendision's house. It was simply bad luck that the magic bombs had converged exactly there while he was away. Unable to stop it, Rotten had lost everything—his beloved wife, his son who had just come of age, and his elderly parents—all erased without a trace by the massive magic explosion.
Queen Laura's tearful apology had done nothing to quell his fury.
'Aizina.'
To take revenge on the hateful woman who had betrayed him twice and completely destroyed him, he had searched until he found Aeternum Somnium and joined them. There, he gained power along with the honor of being acknowledged by the great being, Terenity, who granted him the strength for his vengeance. Blinded by revenge, he realized that simply killing Aizina would not be enough. He had lost everything, so merely killing her while she watched her daughter, Queen Laura, be brutally slaughtered before her eyes was far too merciful. After that, he killed every member of the Restan ducal family. Only Arian Liberin, the princess of the Liberin Kingdom who had been an infant at the time, had escaped his grasp.
He had slaughtered the entire Restan household to make Aizina experience the pain of losing her family.
"Princess Arian, your body and soul will become an offering to Terenity."
* * *
"…Haaam."
A grayish-black-haired young boy watching Rotten Bendision, who glared at Arian Liberin with eyes full of vengeance, let out a light yawn.
"Just as my lord said."
Belphegor, the Demon of Sloth, was secretly monitoring Rotten with drowsy eyes.