Restraining Order
I had regained the memories of my past life. It was obvious with Irene. It was obvious with Ines, too. But it wasn't obvious with Claudia. With this second life I'd been given after so long, had she decided to live quietly? No. That couldn't be it. I knew the immense ambition and greed inside her better than anyone. In the end, she would rise from the very bottom of the imperial succession to the throne by surpassing all her siblings, and even that wouldn't satisfy her. She'd overreach in her greed and bring about her own downfall. So my role was to stay by her side, properly controlling her desires and acting as her restraint.
"I just can't get a read on her at all."
The fact that she wasn't rushing toward me instead felt strange.
"Well... I suppose it'll work out somehow."
It didn't seem like she'd cause me any immediate harm, so I figured I could just observe for now. For the time being, I'd stay away from the student council and think about Claudia later. Right now, dealing with Irene and Ines was already overwhelming enough.
In the student council room, Claudia had Irene and Ines seated before her as she listened to their account.
"Miss Irene, what is your relationship with Yihan?"
"He's someone precious to me."
"I heard you only got to know Yihan after enrolling?"
"That's true for when we met. But the time he's spent with me is longer than with anyone else. Unlike that liar over there."
Irene glared fiercely at Ines.
"Liar? I clearly told you that our memories are different."
"Your memories differ?" Claudia's eyes gleamed sharply. "Could you explain in more detail what that means?"
"There's nothing for you to know. It's none of your business."
Ines coldly dismissed her. However, Claudia had gathered enough clues. The way they spoke as if they had known each other for a long time despite having just met, their fanatical obsession with Yihan, and the decisive keyword "memories" that Ines had mentioned. Putting it all together, she judged that these two possessed some kind of memories regarding Yihan. Just like herself.
So I'm not the only one who regressed with memories.
She couldn't be certain, but there was no reason to deny it either. After all, she herself had regressed, so there was no law saying others couldn't have as well.
There might be more regressors. I don't know who regressed how, but I'll need to be more cautious.
The common point between these two and herself was their great affection and regret toward Yihan. If more regressors appeared in the future, they would likely have similar feelings toward him. Therefore, to prevent Yihan from being taken away, she needed to create a more meticulous and solid plan.
"I understand the situation well. I'll issue a disposition. Both of you are prohibited from approaching Yihan for thirty days. Since this is the first offense, I'll end it at this."
"What?! That makes no sense!"
"Why should I listen to you?"
Sharp gazes pierced Claudia. However, she continued without concern.
"It was an incident that nearly escalated into a major fight. Referring to past cases, this could even warrant suspension. You should consider yourselves lucky that it's ending at this level."
"Do as you please. Yihan will come find me first anyway. Then there won't be a problem, right?"
"I don't know about that, but I don't think such a situation will arise."
Judging from Yihan's attitude so far, he was thoroughly fed up with these two. And above all, because Claudia herself planned to make sure it didn't happen.
"We just can't approach him privately, right? In academy life, we might inevitably get involved!"
Irene tried to find some loophole.
"With an official disposition from the student council, it will be reflected in all aspects of academy administration. You can consider that there will be almost no chance of involvement. Though there might be exceptional cases."
Claudia gave a slight opening. She knew well that tightening the noose too much could backfire. Especially with these crazy women who might go on a rampage at any moment.
"Well then, thank you both for your cooperation. Let's conclude this matter here. You may return now."
Claudia stood up and saw the two off. Though they wore sullen expressions, they left the student council room without further complaint.
"Now then."
In the now-empty student council room, Claudia's face, which had maintained a gentle smile throughout, sank coldly.
Shall we think about how to eliminate these unnecessary variables?
After the fight between Irene and Ines, things remained strangely peaceful for some time. Due to the restraining order, Irene could only watch me from afar, and Ines seemed to be plotting something as she didn't show herself. There was no contact from Claudia either. That made it all the more unsettling.
Thus, it had already been a month since enrollment. Time had reached mid-April, and the cherry blossoms that had decorated the campus were fading as green buds began to sprout.
"Hup!"
I swung my sword through the air, slicing the last falling petals.
"Five, huh..."
Out of seven, I couldn't cut two at once.
"Not bad. It's exactly not bad."
Some might think being strict over just two was too much, but this was a very important issue. In the past, I would have gone easy and focused on the heroines, but this time was different. To escape the heroines' wicked clutches, I needed strong power. Irene was still inexperienced but had overwhelming talent. Ines was on a different level from the starting line. She was already nearly complete. Therefore, I needed to push myself to the limit.
The one consolation was that I knew well how to become stronger, while the heroines did not. Since the heroines grew through my devotion, without me now, their growth speed would be slow.
"Still, I can't let my guard down."
I steeled my heart and swung the sword again. I had already raised my skills above the average of my classmates, but it was still far from enough. Only monsters occupied the top ranks of the academy. Like Ines. So the only thing I could do was swing my sword one more time than before.
I swung my sword relentlessly from the dim dawn until the sun rose.
"Hey— Yihan."
A female student approached from the other side of the training ground, yawning lazily.
"Good morning, Angela."
"Yeah, good morning... Training again today?"
"I have to do it every day."
"You never get tired of it... And that girl too."
Angela turned her gaze to the far side of the training ground. There, a student was hiding in the bushes with only her head poking out. As soon as my gaze reached her, she hurriedly hid back into the grass.
"Irene..."
Ever since she learned that I trained at the crack of dawn every day, she had been hiding and watching like that every morning. The reason she was only watching was probably because she had received the restraining order from the student council not long ago. It was a bit creepy, but I felt awkward approaching her to talk, so I was just leaving her be.
"Right. Yihan is pretty cool. He doesn't attend classes but he's diligent, and if you look closely, he's quite handsome too."
Angela chuckled and poked my face repeatedly with her finger.
"That's enough. More importantly, shall we do it?"
"Ah, yes. Let's."
Angela took the sword she had been carrying on her back and fastened it at her waist. We occasionally crossed swords like this. Her skill was just average, but having someone to spar with was a great help.
"Oh, by the way, about this week's practical. Is it okay for just the two of us?"
"Ah, yes. I spoke to the student council about it."
"Nice. Thanks to you, we can go comfortably. It's great that you're such a loner, Yihan."
Loner. Honestly, it was a word that had nothing to do with me. The reason Angela started calling me a loner was like this.
"Student Council Protection Target? Did I do something wrong?"
"No. You didn't do anything wrong. But you're practically being stalked by those two students. This is for your sake, Yihan."
Claudia handed me a sheet of paper. It contained detailed information about the Student Council Protection Target.
"If you become a protection target, the student council can assist in areas like forming practical groups, assigning dormitories, and adjusting schedules to avoid those under restraining orders. Isn't this good news for you, Yihan?"
"... I just want to be a normal student."
This Student Council Protection Target system originally existed to help students who were being bullied or subjected to violence. The idea was that the student council would adjust daily aspects to provide support. For example, ensuring they weren't placed in the same group for practicals as their harassers, or assigning distant dormitories. However, becoming a protection target meant reporting daily activities to the student council and having regular meetings through visits.
"I'd like to decline."
"Then if Irene and Ines approach you again, the student council won't have a way to help. Once the restraining order ends, something like last time might happen again?"
"... It sounds like a threat."
"No. It's a protective measure."
What was this? There was no reason for her to go this far for a complete stranger like me. It wasn't as if Claudia had a strong sense of duty as student council president. On the contrary, she usually didn't care how the students lived. There must be other students who needed more help, yet she was pushing this on me specifically... It seemed related to her regained memories. Perhaps she was trying to control me starting from these small things.
But Claudia wasn't wrong. It was currently calm, but an incident like before could happen again at any time.
"If I sign here, you really have to block all the annoying things."
"Of course. That's the reason the student council exists."
"Really?"
"Yes. Really."
"..."
Though something felt off, to stop the two monsters called Irene and Ines, it seemed like a reasonable compromise. In the end, I signed the document Claudia presented.
This was how I became a protection target. I had fully utilized the rights of a protection target for this week's dungeon practical exam. I had requested the student council to form a party with the student I wanted, and Claudia had coolly approved it. It felt a bit wrong to use the authority given to avoid Irene for my own convenience.
"To be honest, I was a bit worried. I don't have any close friends except our group. Thanks to you, Yihan, I won't have to be in a group with awkward people."
"How about trying to make more friends? It's a rare academy life after all."
"Are you the one to say that?"
True enough. Besides Philip, Yohan, and Angela, I didn't have any other friends. I probably needed to be more proactive in social activities.
"Anyway, pick up your sword. Let's see your skills after so long."
"I'll learn a thing or two again. Thanks, Yihan."
"Don't mention it."
And so we swung our swords without any worries. Unaware of what might await us in the upcoming dungeon practical exam.