Heroine Meetings Are Dangerous
On the night the partner practice was confirmed, I returned to my room alone for the first time in a while. More precisely, two imperial knights stood guard outside the door, detection magic Noel had installed clung to the window, and a holy law talisman Aria sent hung at the end of the hallway. On the bedside table lay the training plan Siella had left behind. Its title was brief: Kyle Diaren Survival Training Plan. It resembled a military operation document more than any training manual.
The first page listed my current physical condition. Residual pain from the wound on my right side. Lingering mana echoes in my left arm. Insufficient sustained combat ability. Repeated self-sacrificial judgment in crisis situations. Beside the final item, a line had been added in red ink: — Must be corrected.
I covered the paper. Scary.
It was hard to call it being alone. Still, I was the only one inside the room.
“Finally quiet.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. Official partner with Edan Gray. The more I thought about it, the more my head hurt.
My reason for choosing Edan was simple. Avoiding him would not solve anything. Edan was the original protagonist. If the Black Moon and Rowen kept trying to restore the “flow of the story,” Edan would inevitably stand at the center. Pretending not to notice him would only create bigger problems later. So I had to stay close and confirm things. Whether he was truly the Edan from the original work, or whether he had already begun to twist.
The real issue was how the heroines would react to that decision.
I started to lie down, then stopped. Wait.
It was quiet. Too quiet.
For the past few days my surroundings had never been silent. Aria would check on my treatment, Rhea would drop by under the pretext of managing her protection target, Siella would arrive with training plans, or Noel would climb in through the window. Yet today, no one came.
This was strange. It did not feel peaceful; it felt like the stillness before a storm.
I rose slowly. At that moment, violet magical letters appeared outside the window. Noel’s message.
— If you’re curious, come to the east conference room. We’re doing something fun.
A sense of foreboding washed over me. Should I not go?
But if I stayed away, something worse would probably happen. When Noel said something was fun, it was usually dangerous for the people involved—especially when that person was me.
I left the room carefully. The imperial knights stepped aside as though they had already been informed.
“Her Highness has granted you permission to enter the east conference room.”
“Her Highness did?”
“Yes.”
My unease deepened. If Rhea had given permission, the meeting was not a casual chat.
I walked down the corridor toward the east conference room. The academy at night wore a different face than it did by day. Magic lamps glowed sparsely in the gardens outside the windows, and the portraits on the corridor walls followed passersby with their eyes. Distant footsteps of night patrol knights echoed faintly. As I drew closer to the conference room, familiar voices began to reach me.
“So on the first day of practice, in the mana zone, I need to check Kyle’s condition.”
Aria’s voice.
“That is necessary. However, should combat occur, I will take the vanguard.”
Siella.
“Neither of you needs to stay excessively close to Kyle. It is enough if he remains within my line of sight.”
Rhea.
I stopped in front of the door. I probably should not go in. More accurately, the moment I entered, my peaceful night would end.
But it was already too late. The door opened by itself.
Inside sat Rhea, Siella, Aria, and Noel. Spread across the table were the partner practice map, Kyle’s physical condition report, a list of mana zone hazards, an expected combat deployment chart, and—oddly enough—a seating arrangement diagram. Small figurines labeled with names stood on it. One bore my name: Kyle. Arranged around it were pieces marked Rhea, Aria, Siella, Edan, and Noel.
Noel waved at me. “You came, protagonist.”
I asked quietly, “What exactly are you doing?”
Rhea answered calmly, “A preparatory meeting for the practice.”
“Why are there so many papers with my name on them?”
Aria averted her gaze, looking embarrassed. “They’re records of your physical condition.”
“There’s also a training plan,” Siella added.
Noel grinned and chimed in. “And a proposal for adjusting priority access rights around Kyle.”
“What is that supposed to be?”
Rhea shot Noel a glare. “We never agreed to call it that.”
“But that’s what it is.”
Aria murmured, “I find the term ‘priority access rights’ a little…”
“Then what should we call it? The Kyle Protection Route Allocation Meeting?”
“That sounds even stranger.”
I felt exhausted before I had even sat down.
Siella folded her arms. “I oppose Kyle being left alone with Edan Gray during practice.”
“Why?”
“It’s dangerous.”
“Edan is?”
“Both of you.”
It was a convincing argument. Edan was the original protagonist; even I thought he was dangerous. But the danger Siella spoke of was slightly different. She was considering both the possibility that Edan might harm me and the possibility that I might push myself too hard because of him.
Aria spoke carefully. “I don’t think Edan is a bad person. But if he and Kyle are together, the Black Moon might target both of them at once.”
Rhea added, “And Edan Gray has not yet been verified.”
“I’m not exactly verified either.”
“You are already under imperial protection.”
“What does that have to do with verification—”
“I have decided.”
That was the end of it. There was no room to argue against imperial logic.
Noel placed small stone figurines on the table—one representing me, one Edan, and the rest presumably Rhea, Aria, and Siella.
“All right, let’s do a little role-play. Kyle and Edan move ahead in the mana zone. Suddenly a trap activates. Who reaches Kyle first?”
Aria raised her hand. “Me. Checking injuries comes first.”
Siella said, “If it’s a trap, it’s a combat situation. I go first.”
Rhea spoke coldly. “You’re both too slow. I’ll seal it with a frost barrier first.”
Noel laughed. “Excellent. If all three move at once, Kyle will end up frozen, nearly sliced, and treated all at the same time.”
“That sounds dreadful,” I muttered.
All three turned to look at me simultaneously.
Aria said, “That’s why you mustn’t overexert yourself, Kyle.”
Siella agreed. “Exactly. You’re the biggest problem.”
Rhea nodded. “I concur.”
Why did the conclusion always circle back to me?
I sat down. “Then please take my opinion into account as well.”
Rhea said, “Speak.”
“First, during practice I will move as Edan’s official partner. That cannot be changed.”
Aria’s expression darkened slightly. I quickly added, “However, I will not act alone.”
Her expression softened a little.
“Second, in combat situations I will prioritize Siella’s instructions.”
Siella nodded, satisfied. “A sound decision.”
“Third, in cases of mana anomalies or injuries I will report directly to Aria.”
“Without fail,” Aria replied, her voice gentle yet strangely irresistible.
“Fourth, I will share all risk assessments and external political matters with Princess Rhea.”
Rhea said, “Do not be late.”
“Understood.”
“Especially anything related to the future memories you possess—report those immediately.”
“Yes.”
“And if it is confirmed that you withheld information based on your own judgment, I will strengthen the protection target management regulations.”
“Do those regulations actually exist?”
“I can create them if necessary.”
Still terrifying.
“Lastly, Noel senior.”
Noel’s eyes sparkled. “Yes?”
“Please do not conduct any strange experiments in secret.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Senior.”
“Fine. I’ll make sure you don’t find out.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
A brief laugh rippled through the conference room. The tension eased slightly, though it did not last long.
Rhea pointed to a spot on the map spread across the table. “The mana zone on the first day of practice. This area is connected to the ley lines of the Central Sealed Area.”
Noel nodded. “Right. If Rowen tampered with the mana core, there could be residual effects in the mana zone as well.”
Siella said, “In other words, there is a high chance an incident will occur from the very first day.”
Aria looked at me. “Kyle.”
“Yes.”
“This time, we really are going to survive together.”
All eyes turned to me at those words.
I nodded slowly. “Yes. This time I won’t charge ahead alone.”
Siella narrowed her eyes. “I’ll remember that.”
Rhea said, “I’ll record it.”
Aria smiled quietly. “I’ll be counting on you.”
Noel picked up a pen. “Three witnesses, one recorder. Kyle, changing your mind will be difficult now.”
“It already was.”
At that moment, a black bird flew past the conference room window. Everyone tensed instantly. Siella’s hand went to her scabbard, frost gathered at Rhea’s fingertips, Aria’s holy law glowed faintly, and Noel’s eyes flashed violet.
But the bird simply flew by.
Noel murmured, “Everyone’s gotten jumpy.”
She was right. We had already grown accustomed to the Black Moon’s methods. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, I could not tell. What was certain was that once partner practice began, there would be no more time to prepare.
On the map spread in the center of the conference room, the small figurine bearing my name stood side by side with Edan’s. Surrounding them were the pieces representing Rhea, Aria, Siella, and Noel—as though protecting me, or perhaps refusing to let me go.
Looking at that arrangement, I let out a quiet sigh. The eve of partner practice had not even arrived yet. And already, I was surrounded.