Our Protagonist Could Never Do That! (2)
The Literature Club's booth was drawing enormous popularity.
It was only natural—flashy club members, the sharp-eyed passersby, and the stunned reactions to Ranihan and Rsen's martial arts performance had everyone turning their heads.
Serhan and Javier simply stood there in stunned silence, while Yoter busily offered words of comfort. Oliver, for his part, had already spotted the value in the merchandise and was busily calculating profits.
Still, it had been another eventful day for the Literature Club.
Then, out of nowhere, someone appeared.
“Iris! Where is Iris?!”
“Huh? Who?”
“It’s me, Professor Laura! Just for a moment, come with me somewhere!”
“Eh? Eh?”
Laura was dragging Iris along.
No prior acquaintance, no real face recognition—every single person stared in bewilderment. Of course, Serhan and Javier, both from the Magic Department, immediately recognized Laura and stepped forward to stop her.
“Professor? Why are you suddenly taking away my daughter…”
“Something important has come up! I’ll only be gone for a little while, so wait for me!”
“Something important?”
Yet it was surprisingly difficult to catch the professor. Casting magic against her would be too risky.
Iris could only let out a bewildered cry in response to this sudden abduction.
“P-please, Professor! What on earth is this?!”
Why was a Magic Department professor taking her away when she wasn’t even from the Knight Department? The only talent she could think of was her own synesthesia ability.
After all, synesthesia was the very power mages lacked and envied most. And hadn’t the club members themselves been warned to hide their talents so they wouldn’t be exposed?
It had to be connected to Professor Laura somehow.
*Could this… be it?*
Iris’s conclusion formed in an instant.
“You’re trying to do something bad to me! Kidnapping without consent is wrong, Professor!”
Laura was about to use her talent for something illegal…!
That was Iris’s only possible conclusion. At that moment, Laura narrowed her brows.
*What is she saying?*
Given her infamous reputation, a misunderstanding was almost expected. No matter how eccentric she was, Laura was not the type to casually perform illegal experiments.
First, she had to dispel the misunderstanding before Iris could think any more nonsense. Laura spoke urgently to Iris.
“Don’t think anything weird. Your friend is doing something suspicious, so I came to warn you!”
“…Friend? Who?”
“Cassel, of course! Haven’t you ever thought Cassel was suspicious? It’s obvious if you just think about it!”
“Our Cassel?”
Cassel? What did she mean?
Iris, a pure-hearted heroine who had only ever seen Cassel as a sunflower devoted to a single woman, had never considered him suspicious.
*Our Cassel could never be a black villain!*
“Cassel is just a little mischievous, but his heart is pure!”
Of course, he had openly admitted to fake dating on the first day of the fair, then brought princes from the Four Great Ducal Heirs the next day to advance the same business, and even spent a full hour on a date with Michelle—!
“Cassel is being slandered! How could you say something like that? This is slander!”
Even in the deepest corner of her heart, Iris still saw him as the pure-hearted main character who had stepped out of the novel itself!
Laura could only press her palm to her forehead at the unyielding assertion.
*Who is this girl?*
How could someone trust others without the slightest suspicion? Even if she had a natural personality, this level of trust was almost pathological. Laura finally exploded in frustration.
“Your friend has been corrupted by evil forces…! I know you really trust him, but think carefully! Is there not even one strange thing about him?!”
“Where exactly is strange?!”
“Everything! He’s the illegitimate son of a mysterious foreign noble you’ve never met, he slipped quietly into your club which has a student body, and he even submitted a club exhibition piece that no student could have created!”
Common sense!
Wasn’t there something suspicious? His background didn’t match anyone else’s at all.
He appeared out of nowhere, escalated the situation, and then solved it all on his own while leaving almost no clues to his real identity. Shouldn’t there be at least some cause for suspicion?
“Listen carefully. You don’t have to believe every word, but right now Cassel’s situation looks suspicious. He could go down the wrong path if you’re not careful.”
“W-what…?”
She had to persuade Iris now. If she convinced Iris, the other members would naturally follow, and Cassel’s rampage could be stopped.
“If you truly think of Cassel as a friend, come with me right now to check. Stopping a friend from going down the wrong path is the virtue of a friend, isn’t it?”
Laura’s plea was sincere—she would do anything to protect her rival Ruina. Iris fell silent under the intensity of her gaze.
*Cassel going down the wrong path…? No way…*
Laura’s words carried some truth. Unlike the other members, Cassel’s background was shrouded in mystery—opaque in ways that invited suspicion.
Until now, Iris had only seen him as charming, but now she realized how suspicious he truly was.
She wasn’t going to blindly suspect Cassel, of course.
*If I keep getting dragged into dangerous situations with him…*
She already felt uneasy after the fake-dating incident he had caused before.
“…I’ll just watch and report. I’ll never suspect Cassel, okay?”
“Good. Don’t be shocked by what you see.”
She replied in a somewhat sulky tone and followed Professor Laura.
And all of this was unfolding exactly as planned.
✦─────✦
[Minor shift in Iris’s heart is detected.]
[Iris is beginning to doubt you while still trusting you.]
[Her inner monologue will be scripted.]
[Iris: “Cassel… being a bad person…? Hahaha! That’s impossible!”]
✦─────✦
‘Perfect. Exactly as planned.’
The message was already being relayed to Cassel, who was meeting Gashir.
Laura was really something. She had believed it.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Originally, recruiting Laura had been a somewhat impulsive choice. My goal was always to trigger the heroine’s awakening.
But I hadn’t dragged her in blindly. Iris needed someone to make her doubt Cassel’s existence.
From the protagonist’s perspective.
Whether it was a romance fantasy or dark fantasy, the protagonist’s growth required powerful motivation, a sense of lack, and emotional change—absolute essentials.
Only when these elements converged in perfect harmony would true awakening occur. To create such a striking development, I needed to make Iris doubt the villain.
That was why I recruited Laura. She would inevitably contact Iris or the other members to reveal my true nature.
Even if I wanted to tell the other professors, the higher-ups were already on my side. So the person she would approach had already been decided.
‘The Literature Club members, of course.’
Foreign nobles from other countries—people with considerable influence. At an age when they would be interested in rumors of the underground world, they would be easy to persuade.
Especially Iris, the club’s core member—I would show her my true nature. It was an inevitable progression.
That was the reason for everything I was doing.
After finishing the date with Michelle, I headed toward the academy’s outskirts.
Near the academy, Gashir’s subordinates were busy laying down magic circles to prepare for the terror operation. I nodded at the smooth progress and began speaking with Gashir.
“Have the subordinates been obedient? There were many changes to the plan. A double agent, after all.”
“They were under my direct command from the start, so they followed without complaint. And your personality is so intense that there were no issues.”
“Understood.”
The ambush should go smoothly. I casually glanced around, using Observation to find Laura and Iris.
Then, a rustle sounded.
*Aha, there they are.*
In the distance, Iris and Laura were using stealth magic to observe and evaluate the situation. With aura-enhanced vision, I scanned their faces for shock.
They had fallen right into the trap. I smiled faintly and checked the status window. The status window was now at the perfect moment to shine.
✦─────✦
[Major shift in Iris’s heart is detected.]
[Iris is shocked. Suspicion and trust in you are conflicting, causing inner turmoil.]
[Her inner monologue will be scripted.]
[Iris: “C-Cassel…? What are you doing there?! Meeting a suspicious person…???”]
✦─────✦
‘Perfect. It’s working exactly as planned.’
I was setting up the perfect stage for Iris’s awakening. I should thank Laura for a job well done.
Given her personality, Laura was probably eavesdropping on my conversation with Gashir right now. Would she be listening well? I needed to drop even more breadcrumbs here.
How to make it look like I was the hidden villain?
As I thought it over, a good idea suddenly came to me. I quickly opened the communication window.
It was the perfect time to use Rina, who was not present.
─What’s going on? I’m working.
─Are you busy?
─…A little? I have about half the ambush prepared—why?
The reply came like lightning the moment I sent the message.
I quickly explained the situation to her.
─…So, give them a little scare? Let them think you’re the villain?
─It might be difficult.
─No, not at all.
Was it really a troublesome request for her?
─Sounds good. I’ll do it right away.
There was no way that wasn’t possible.
Rina accepted the request with a refreshing tone.
The Finance Minister Rina was now on the scene.
✦─────✦
[Iris is frightened by the sudden appearance of the stranger.]
[Her inner monologue will be scripted.]
[Iris: “Hiiik! Who is that person?!”]
✦─────✦
The reaction was explosive.