episode_0200

After narrowly escaping death in MacHeart’s attack that day afternoon, I couldn’t properly focus during the following magic class, and could only reflect on the danger I had just experienced.

“It was really dangerous….”

I was on the brink of death due to MacHeart’s whims. Although I could have escaped through rough resistance and deception, my life was still in danger.

No, perhaps I was entangled in a situation more troublesome than just being threatened with my life.

If it had stopped at just threatening to kill me, I could have dealt with him first, but if MacHeart was truly targeting me, it was a difficult situation.

There was a possibility that even if I killed him, I would be labeled as a human in league with demons, which was troublesome.

Even if that wasn’t the case, being associated with the Fourth Prince was also problematic. Being connected to demons made things even more complicated.

There was also the possibility of causing trouble for my current fiancée, disguised as Edan.

“I have to handle this as quickly and quietly as possible.”

Normally, he was someone I could deal with right before leaving the empire after graduation. He was like the final boss of Part 4 in the game’s main story.

After the battle with him, Part 5 would begin, where I would fight the Four Kings of the Demon Army in the demon-occupied empire.

“In theory, he may be the final boss of Part 4, but that doesn’t mean there’s no way to defeat him at this point.”

MacHeart received power from demons about four and a half years ago. After gaining power, he executed the First Prince and the Empress, so this calculation was accurate.

And at the five-year mark of receiving that power, MacHeart successfully transformed into a demon. He faked his own death by killing his doppelganger and left the empire, unable to hide his true identity any longer.

In other words, MacHeart gaining the power of a final boss in Part 4 was only possible after his transformation into a demon, and fortunately, there was still about half a year left until that transformation.

It wasn’t a lot of time, but it was enough time to attempt to kill him. Gathering the main characters of ‘Luminor Academy’ and making a plan to take him down might just work.

…The problem was, even if I tried to gather those main characters, it wouldn’t be easy.

“I have no connection with the hero party, and even approaching the hero would go against Edan’s orders….”

Despite my actions being to protect my life, the fact remained that I still planned to contact the hero against Edan’s wishes.

Moreover, since I had secretly met Agnes without telling Edan at the end of last year, if I did something similar this time, Edan would undoubtedly be disappointed in me.

So, not only did I have to explain to Edan why I was being threatened by MacHeart, but I also had to explain why I needed the hero’s help.

I honestly wasn’t confident that I could explain this to Edan without mentioning my past life.

“I could probably be more candid with Gethmogoshegut.”

From the moment I saw him, I was convinced that Gethmogoshegut was undoubtedly a player from ‘Luminor Academy,’ based on his actions.

Even if I were to reveal the fact that I was a previous player of the “Luminor Academy” in my past life to him, I thought he would understand without much surprise.

However, in Ethan’s case, being a person in this world and trying to make him understand that he was a character in a game was a challenge in itself.

Since the concept of computer games was not even in his head, I would have to replace it with a different medium like a novel to make it understandable.

…And above all, I didn’t want to reveal to Ethan that I was a man in my past life.

Well, you see. If I were to reveal this to Ethan, who likes me, he would either end up becoming a guy with a liking for men or fall for just the appearance of a woman, regardless of the content.

Either way, it wouldn’t leave a good aftermath, so there was no need to harshly reveal the truth to Ethan.

And most of all, if I were to reveal to Ethan that I was a man, in the future, to me as well…

“Lilith, Lilith.”

“Uh, yes, yes?”

“Class is over. How long are you going to sit there quietly?”

“Oh….”

…Come to think of it, it was during the afternoon class.

I remember coming into the classroom, exchanging brief greetings with Agnes, and sitting down, but when I belatedly came to my senses, all I saw was the erased chalkboard and the empty classroom with just me and Agnes left.

“What’s wrong? You’ve been staring into space since earlier.”

“I-I’m sorry, Agnes.”

“…There’s nothing to apologize for.”

Still, she was a friend with some loyalty, as she stayed by my side until everyone left the classroom.

During my time playing “Luminor Academy,” she wasn’t a character I particularly liked, but the more I got to know her in the game, the more fascinating she became.

I quietly apologized in my heart for the past mistake of attaching the nickname “Red Chawa” to Agnes.

“I had an important dilemma for a moment. A dilemma that is deeply related to my future.”

“…Career issue? Thinking about where to go after graduation?”

“It’s a more fundamental issue. It’s about whether I can graduate from the academy in the first place.”

“…You’re in the Magic Department, right?”

“Uh…yes.”

…It wasn’t originally meant in that sense of graduation.

Anyway, now wasn’t the time to be picky about means and methods. It was time to seek help from anyone who could help me survive MacHart.

Especially in Agnes’s case, since I had already incurred a debt once, it was relatively easy to ask for her cooperation.

“Agnes.”

“Yeah.”

“Before we go back to the dormitory, could you please take me to the Swordsmanship Department building?”

“…Sure, no problem.”

Although Agnes had not yet entered the ranks of the Grand Magician, having her by my side would prevent MacHart from approaching me as easily as before.

If I could be protected by her for a very short period, that would be enough. Before the end of this semester and the start of summer vacation, that was all I needed.

Before MacHart completed his transformation into a demon, before his last semester began, during this summer vacation, I was determined to bring him down somehow.

***

With Agnes’s help, we walked to Ethan’s Swordsmanship Department building together, and then walked back to the dormitory with him.

After finishing dinner and returning to the dormitory with him, I immediately explained to Ethan what had happened this afternoon.

After parting ways with Ethan during lunchtime, MacHart Prince approached me and tried to take my life, only to give up and leave.

Isabel had no intention of sharing the story with anyone else, so naturally it was just the two of them.

“What… did you say?”

“This afternoon, Prince MacHeart came to threaten my life, and in the end, he even threatened to make me his wife before giving up and leaving.”

-Clang!

“E-Edan, sir?!”

“That bastard….”

…Despite trying to listen to the story calmly with a cup of lavender tea, it seemed that it had little effect.

The cup that was clenched in Edan’s hand shattered along with his fist. It was fortunate that his hand wasn’t injured due to his sturdy build.

The shattered pieces of the cup fell both above and below the table, but it was more of a struggle to stop Edan from storming out with a sword in the middle of the night than to clean up the glass shards that exploded from his grip.

“Edan, please calm down.”

“…No, I can’t calm down. Before dawn tomorrow, I’ll hang that bastard’s head at the academy gate. And I’ll throw his body into the stable to be trampled by horse hooves all night long….”

“If you do such a thing, it will be a royal insult and treason! Do you intend to erase the entire Blackwood family from the empire?!”

“…Fine, I get it. Then I’ll sneak in and kill him instead. If I had thrust the blade at Lillis, she would have been prepared to be stabbed as well….”

“Edan, sir!”

I didn’t particularly hope for a nonchalant response to the story of my near-death experience, but I also didn’t wish for him to get so excited that he lost his senses.

I had honestly told Edan this story not to coerce him into assassinating MacHeart, but to discuss how we could deal with MacHeart.

Rushing into action would only make things worse and complicate matters even more.

“I’ll say it once more. I understand Edan’s feelings, but at this point, we cannot kill that prince.”

“If you’re worried about the aftermath, I’ll take care of it. It may take some time, but if I create a disguise, I can somehow cover my tracks. Without using magic, there won’t be any traces left.”

“That’s not what I meant. The issue I’m talking about is the act of killing Prince MacHeart itself.”

“What do you mean?”

“Prince MacHeart was using the power of demons.”

“…He was using the power of demons?”

“Yes, Edan.”

Upon hearing my words, a deep concern appeared on Edan’s face. It seemed that upon hearing about the use of demon powers, he realized that the situation was much more serious.

I briefly pondered what to do if he stubbornly insisted on going to kill MacHeart even after hearing this story, but thankfully, he didn’t seem to be as stubborn as expected, showing a level of wisdom befitting a knowledgeable noble.

“One piece of advice: if you act recklessly in your current state, you may put yourself in danger, Edan. At least from my experience of facing Prince MacHeart directly, that’s how it felt.”

“So what should I do? Are you just going to let it go that someone who threatened Lillis’s life is involved with demons?”

“No, of course not. However, if possible, I would like to end this thoroughly.”

“Thoroughly?”

“Yes. I mean, after eliminating Prince MacHeart, creating a situation where there are no loose ends.”

“Do you have a proper plan?”

“There are still some parts of the plan that need to be fine-tuned, but at least there is someone we must meet for sure. …It seems that the person who knows best about dealing with demons is attending our academy.”

“….”

Upon hearing the mention of someone related to dealing with demons, Ethan’s expression stiffened as if frozen.

He roughly anticipated whose name would come out of my mouth, but now, for a trivial reason, he couldn’t dismiss the most certain reinforcement.

“It seems we must meet the hero of the modern era… Gyetmyeojoshegwi-nim.”

“…That hero?”

“Yes. It’s necessary.”