Chapter 12: Anyway, I will serve you well

“Like a Flower Blooming on Barren Land.” This world was a ropan. My suspicions were confirmed.

“It’s really a ropan?”

“Yeah.”

Coming from someone who’d been transported here because of a comment they made on the original novel, I couldn’t help but believe her.

“So, like, terrorist attacks on the academy, getting caught in wars, all that stuff happens?”

“Of course.”

I couldn’t very well say, “What are you talking about…?” It was par for the course in a ropan.

“So, the culprit is Belian Erick, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

I mentioned the most obvious suspect, but her reaction was unexpected.

“He’s the president of the Flower Arranging Club. Isn’t he the mastermind behind the academy’s terrorist attacks?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Why?”

She looked utterly bewildered. My expression probably mirrored hers.

“He has narrow eyes, obviously.”

“Are all narrow-eyed characters villains?”

“Usually, aren’t they?”

“Well… that’s true…”

See? My suspicion was justified. Any avid novel reader would agree.

“But Belian is a genuinely ordinary person.”

Don’t lie. How could someone with that face be ordinary? And besides…

“I investigated him. He completed all his required graduation credits last year, including the mandatory courses. That means fourth-year is supposed to be a relaxed year.”

“Right?”

“But he’s taking a full course load this semester too. Does that make any sense?”

“Not really.”

See? Even someone who’d read the original novel found it suspicious.

“And despite taking so many classes, he has no close friends.”

“Isn’t that a bit harsh? Some people just don’t have many friends.”

“And he’s genuinely passionate about flower arranging? A noble man?”

“Flower arranging can be a hobby.”

She seemed to trust the original storyline too much, just because Belian wasn’t mentioned as a villain. We weren’t even supposed to exist in the original, yet she was blindly trusting the plot.

“But a narrow-eyed character shouldn’t be like that.”

“Judging people based on appearances…”

I might sound prejudiced, but appearances mattered. The same confession from a handsome person and an unattractive person would yield different results. Even the same person, dressed up or not, would give off a different impression.

And in a ropan, a character with narrow eyes… He could awaken at any moment and become a monster capable of defeating even Prince Ellen. Even Prince Ellen was bound to lose at least once, according to ropan tropes.

“Wait, what? How did you do that?”

Apparently not.

“Only once, though?”

After explaining the original story, Violet asked me about my past. She wanted to know where the storyline diverged. I agreed and told her everything, except for confidential royal information. And when I mentioned that I managed to defeat Prince Ellen once every thirty matches after painstaking effort, she was shocked.

“Do you know what Prince Ellen’s current nickname is?”

“What?”

“God of the Sword.”

“Whoa.”

Unless it had some other meaning, it was probably what I thought it was.

The God of the Sword. The scary part was that it sounded plausible.

“Do you know who Prince Ellen lost to for the first time after awakening his swordsmanship?”

“First, what do you mean by ‘awakening’?”

“When he crushed Princess Hestia.”

When was that? Prince Ellen had lost a few times early on, so it was hard to pinpoint the exact moment. He supposedly hadn’t lost since then, so it must have been relatively recent.

“When exactly was that?”

“When Princess Hestia quit swordsmanship.”

“…?”

That sword-obsessed woman?

“That actually happened? When?”

“I only know it happened before entering the academy. It was a flashback scene, so the exact timing wasn’t specified.”

According to the flashback, Princess Hestia was so devastated by the overwhelming difference in talent that she quit swordsmanship. And Prince Ellen became even more withdrawn after defeating his sister.

“But why didn’t she quit in this timeline?”

I felt bad for Senior Lucia if it was my fault. It meant she missed her chance to escape Princess Hestia and enjoy the social life like other instructors.

“She lost to you too, remember? Maybe losing to two people made her realize she just wasn’t that good?”

“Maybe?”

It seemed I’d inadvertently prevented that. I hadn’t intended to.

“That part wasn’t explained clearly, so I’m not sure. But that’s not important.”

“Then what is?”

“Do you have early-onset dementia? I asked who he lost to after awakening his swordsmanship.”

“Right.”

I thought about it. Someone who could defeat Prince Ellen… Besides the Commander and the Sword Emperor, no one came to mind.

“After entering the academy?”

“Yes.”

“Then it has to be the Sword Emperor.”

“Exactly.”

Even the Little Sword Emperor was permanently stuck in second place. No one in the academy could defeat Prince Ellen except for the Sword Emperor.

“But you know what’s even more important?”

Violet frowned, implying something even more significant.

“What?”

“There was a description of Prince Ellen’s feelings after his defeat. He was incredibly… excited.”

“Isn’t it normal to be disappointed after losing?”

“If that was it, it wouldn’t be important. He wasn’t disappointed. Quite the opposite, actually.”

“The opposite?”

“Despite losing, he felt it. That he could soon catch up. That the gap wasn’t that wide.”

Oh, crap.

“…To the Sword Emperor?”

“Yes. And he was right. He actually defeated the Sword Emperor right before graduation.”

Graduation was four years away. That meant Prince Ellen was going to defeat the Sword Emperor within four years.

“No, why?”

Ellen, oh Ellen… If you do that, I have to do it too… I can’t defeat you, but I have to keep up… If you defeat the Sword Emperor, I need to be at least on his level…

“That’s his character.”

It felt strange to refer to a living, breathing person as a “character,” but it was also the most plausible explanation for Prince Ellen’s talent. He was written that way. He’d reached a level unattainable through normal means.

“Prince Ellen is a crucial character. He’s a sub-male lead, but he’s also a cheat code that resolves any plot bottlenecks.”

Violet summarized the upcoming events, describing the incidents Daisy would be involved in with each potential male lead. And Prince Ellen’s role in those events was clear.

“He really is a cheat code…”

A terrorist group, taking advantage of the Sword Emperor’s absence, attacks the academy. Daisy is caught in the crossfire, and she and the male lead rally the students to fight back. They win the initial skirmishes, but the academy is still in danger! …And then Prince Ellen sweeps in and single-handedly defeats the remaining enemies. That’s how it goes, apparently.

“Was ‘Like a Flower Blooming on Barren Land’ really that popular?”

“Unfortunately, yes…”

“With that kind of plot?”

“It’s a ropan. The fighting isn’t important. If you care about that, why read ropan? Just read martial arts novels.”

The idea that the important part was the never-ending romance was absurd, but it was also the core of the ropan genre.

“Even after graduating from the academy, when Prince Ellen becomes a major player, there are barely any fight scenes. The battles are usually over by the time he arrives.”

In other words, he was the author’s designated overpowered character.

“Then what about the demon king?”

“He uses magic and curses, not just swordsmanship. Of course, he still couldn’t defeat Prince Ellen.”

Therefore, the demon king avoids direct confrontation with Prince Ellen and targets Daisy instead.

“The problem was that he targeted her virginity too.”

I almost burst out laughing, but seeing her expression, filled with suppressed rage, I held back. It wasn’t sexual harassment, but a blunt statement of fact.

“Anyway, that’s all I read. I don’t know what happens after that. My plan was to influence the story early on, but…”

She frowned at me. Her expression, already strained from talking about the demon king arc, worsened, and I felt intimidated.

“This is a state of emergency.”

“What is?”

“You ruined everything.”

That was unfair. What did I do?

“First, Prince Ellen is a different person.”

“That’s unfair.”

I was just doing my job. And hadn’t she said it herself? He was the future God of the Sword. I worked my ass off to keep up with him.

“And you defeated the Little Sword Emperor. You ruined their dynamic.”

“That’s also unfair.”

He was just weak. He was destined to be a stepping stone even in the original storyline. He should have trained harder.

“Those two changes have created many variables, but the biggest problem is that Prince Ellen is moving too fast.”

“What do you mean?”

“Prince Ellen was supposed to be a late bloomer. In the academy arc, he’s essentially the final boss of Aslan’s route, with a touch of sub-male lead flavor!”

But Prince Ellen’s personality had done a complete 180, and he was actively pursuing Daisy.

“Isn’t that a good thing? He won’t get NTR’d by the demon king.”

“But you ruined the entire academy arc! Prince Esid and Aslan were supposed to be the main players!”

Judging by her reaction, our Ellen was making his moves aggressively.

“This changes the other male leads’ roles. And it creates a power vacuum. Prince Ellen was supposed to be secretly protecting Daisy from various threats.”

The main ropan plot was supposed to begin after the midterm exams of the first semester, with the typical academy trope of frequent terrorist attacks.

“And there’s the issue of the Little Sword Emperor’s growth. He’s an important combatant, even if not as strong as Ellen.”

We were at risk of losing the advantage of knowing the future. Looking at the distressed Violet, I held up two fingers.

“I can take care of two things.”

“What?”

“Prince Ellen’s role. If you tell me more about the original plot, I can fill in the gaps.”

If incidents at the academy were inevitable, I had more leeway to act. I wasn’t just a student; I was a Royal Instructor. Other kingdoms had also sent their princes and princesses, so they would have similar agents. If I could cooperate with them, I could protect the academy even better than the original Prince Ellen.

“And I can handle the Little Sword Emperor.”

“Really?”

“Are you seriously losing your mind? What kind of swordsmanship did you say I learned?”

Defeat Swordsmanship. A sword style designed for losing. It became useless after Prince Ellen’s talent blossomed, but I was unparalleled in that specific style. I could even create a nail-biting match against a newly appointed instructor!

“Leave Prince Ellen to the Sword Emperor, and I’ll train the Little Sword Emperor. Just handle the rest.”

The Leon Kingdom, the Kingdom of Knights. I would unveil the secret royal swordsmanship, passed down through generations, at the Imperial Academy.