episode_0021

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There are several dining options at the academy. One of them is to go out to the commercial district for a meal. The commercial district is the only area where academy students can meet outsiders as it is located on the boundary between the academy and the institute. Even within the academy, there are various delicious foods available, but many students leave the stuffy academy and travel to the commercial district for a breath of fresh air.

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Just like us right now.

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The commercial district has charming café streets. It’s perfect to stop by on a sunny afternoon like this. I was waiting for the sandwich I ordered while sitting on the outdoor terrace. Thanks to the shade, I didn’t have to worry about the hot sunlight. It was quite a nice café.

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“You seem to know all these places well.”

“Because Mayne Mansion is in the institute. I often come to the commercial district too.”

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I wanted to say, “Did you get lucky after possessing me? Going around exploring good restaurants…” But I held back. It’s not always possible to say everything you want to say.

Passersby on the street used to glance at us. Not only the academy students, but also outsiders. They were looking at the person sitting with me.

[By Karl Mayner]

The weight of the name “Mayner” is significant.

A noble among nobles in the empire. A family that produces the empire’s finest intellect every time. The sole heir. Veiled until adulthood, a man who emerged into the world at the same time as entering the academy. That was the background of Karl known to people. Even if there is an SNS unique to this world, it seems that his face is known through various communications and magic circles. So most people in the institute knew him.

When the news of the Duke of Mayner’s son entering the academy spread along with Karl’s face, Scarlet’s scream that echoed in the student council room remains vivid. I don’t know why she did that. She was so upset that she couldn’t find her usual self for a while.

Some gazes lingered on me. If they were academy students, they looked at me as if they had heard of my notoriety when I entered, and passersby stared at my face absentmindedly. Now, these are familiar gazes. Somehow, it seemed like we were a pair that attracted attention in various ways.

With such random thoughts in mind, I was looking at the street.

“Are you bothered?”

I turned my head at the soft voice.

“I heard the story. There was some misunderstanding when you first enrolled. That’s why everyone is cautious of you.”

“Misunderstanding?”

“Playing the villainess.. You’re not that kind of person, right?”

I didn’t answer. This man is defining me. Based on his memories as a reader. He must be thinking of the cheerful and confident Beatrice from the novel.

“What do you know..”

I wanted to strongly refuse, but I hesitated because I felt something. Avoiding his gaze, I only looked at the empty coffee cup. No matter what I do these days, I’m just following Beatrice’s footsteps… The experiences after possession and the actions after possession were not much different from those of Beatrice in the novel… So, would there be much difference between the fact that the man knows Beatrice well and the fact that he thoroughly understands me?

At that moment, the sandwiches arrived. Two plates with sandwiches were placed between me and Karl. It was a BLT sandwich and a ham sandwich.

“What do you want to eat? By the way, the BLT sandwich here is the signature dish.”

He gently pushed the plate with the BLT sandwich towards me as if encouraging me to choose it.

I won’t do as you wish.

I reached out my arm and picked up the ham sandwich that was farther away. Seeing my firm stance, Karl chuckled. I’ve felt it since earlier, but it was an elegant laugh, not vulgar…

“That’s also a good choice.”

“…”

I started eating the sandwich without saying a word. It was strange to have my first meal together be a sandwich eaten with our hands… It felt peculiar.

*

To sum it up, it was delicious.

It was worth bringing me to this popular restaurant in the commercial district. I almost asked for another one. As I wiped my mouth with a napkin, I met the gaze of someone staring at me. When our eyes met, he smiled again.

Ugh… Why do you keep cutting it into pieces?

Unable to bear the silence that had settled in throughout the meal, I finally spoke.

“Why do you smile every time you look at me?”

“Me? Did I do that?”

“Yeah, you’ve been doing it since class today.”

At my words, he chuckled and said, “Oh, again!”

“Look! You’re smiling again.”

“Oh, right. Yeah, you made me smile. I guess I unconsciously smiled along.”

“What?! I make you…? You smile when you see me?”

Surprised by his words, I looked around and found our reflection in the café’s window. In the reflection, I was smiling. Like a person whose mouth is stuck to their ears.

“What, what is this..! That crazy girl!!”

Is that me? Is that laughing woman by the window really me…?

I couldn’t understand my reflection in the window at all.

“Maybe because it looks good.”

“Lies.”

“It’s true.”

Feeling like I’m being manipulated. Gradually losing control. At this rate, it seemed like I would forget everything I had intended to do. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It seems like he’s too tense thinking of the opponent as a possessor. That guy is just one of the characters leading this novel for my purpose.

“For a successor of Mayner, you have exceptional mana sensitivity. Are you from the Imperial Studies Department?”

“Yeah, our family is excellent. Even if I can’t handle mana, I can interpret it to some extent.”

“Tsk.”

Spitting lies without even wiping the drool off my lips. As expected, your existence itself is a lie. In fact, feeling and interpreting mana for this man was as simple as breathing.

In the original work, he entered the Imperial Academy disguised as a member of the Meiner family. The Meiner family was the very brain of the empire. However, his true talent lay not in the pen, but in the sword. His talent far surpassed even Beatrice and Chloe. Soon, his abilities would be revealed at the academy, and he would grow into a promising knight to shoulder the empire.

So, I need you. For my empire…

“Did you hear?”

“What?”

“It seems like Confucius didn’t catch wind of this news either. It seems it was first relayed through the student council.”

Carl’s eyes sparkled with interest. Ah, right. It wasn’t in the original. Beatrice wouldn’t say something like this. No! Nobody would say something like this.

I leaned in close to his ear. Lowering my voice, I spoke each word clearly so that he could hear.

“Lady… has… come… to… the… Academy.”

“..!!”

Consistently, the eyes of the sword that had never lost its composure grew larger. Meanwhile, I watched that sight and smiled satisfactorily.

How was it? You got hit in one shot, right..?

You must have been very surprised. In the novel, the saint would have come to the academy much later.

With a serious expression, Karl blinked his eyes without laughter. Indeed, your composed appearance came from the ability of a reader who knows the future.

Do you think I came to meet you without any preparation? To meet someone as fastidious as you in this world?

I also had a plan….

-I was an enthusiastic fan of the novel and Karl Mayner. It was impressive to see him immerse himself in the novel by identifying with the character as a writer.

-However, I do not know the fact that the reader has possessed Beatrice.

I have tried hard not to forget the words of the passionate writer. [Enthusiastic Fan]

Perhaps it means that you read the novel fanatically. Not like me, who only roughly read and couldn’t finish it. That will be your weapon. Because you know more than I do. It must be so easy to know the future and act on it. The novel is all a sword, unfolding from your perspective.

On the other hand, I was thrown into Beatrice’s past without knowing anything. Thanks to that, I came to know too much pain. That terrible adversity is my weapon now.

Most importantly, I know that you are the possessor, but you don’t know that I am the one being possessed. I will never let go of this psychological advantage. You may have seen Beatrice’s future, but I am different from Beatrice. I will definitely twist the future you know.

“Why? You look unwell… Did you get sick from eating in a hurry?”

“Oh, no… I’m fine. But the saint? Why already—no, why suddenly?”

Karl seemed extremely flustered.

So this is your true form. Frustrating not having an answer sheet in this cursed novel, isn’t it? I felt the same way…

“Ceremony at the lectern, to be held at the academy.”

“Ceremony…?”

“Yeah! A two-day ceremony spanning the holy night. It’s going to be hosted at the academy.”

“The saint…?”

Ah! It’s the first activity of the saint chosen in a hundred years. So, naturally, she’ll come to the academy, right?

Karl exhaled deeply. I had spoken so subtly, as if the saint would be enrolling in the academy immediately. In reality, I had used the power of the student council to have the holy night ceremony hosted at the academy. Still, since the saint was actually coming to the academy, it wasn’t exactly a lie.

“I’m so excited! What kind of person will the saint be?”

“…”.

Of course, you must know well. Saint Alana is your childhood friend and first love. The reason you are living here under a false identity is because of her! Since you’ve possessed the body of a novel’s fan… the most likely scenario is that, like the original Karl Meier, you too will live for the sake of the saint.

At least from what I’ve read in the novel, it seemed most probable that the saint was genuine. Assuming the plot doesn’t change drastically in the later chapters, the person most precious to Karl Meier would be the saint. Even to the possessor in front of me!

That’s not good for me.

The organization to which the saint belongs… is my enemy. They are the targets of my revenge that I must destroy. They are the enemies I must repay for Theo’s suffering and reclaim the empire. But if you stand on the saint’s side… I can’t just leave you alone, can I..?

I won’t let things go as smoothly as they did in the novel.

I will not create a future where the sword stands against the saint using any means necessary. I am certain of the power of the royal family that has awakened. The power of the protagonist of the novel, Karl Mayner, is dangerous.

It’s best to avoid confronting this man. That was my conclusion.