episode_0022

“Come in.”

No sooner had permission been granted than the door opened and a female student with a brown bob entered.

She glanced at the student council president’s seat, confirmed it was empty, then rushed towards Isis, a bright smile gracing her entire face.

“Isis-nim! Do you know something?”

“Erina. What is it? Calm down and tell me.”

“You know the new members participated in the club for the first time today, right? The Royal Palace club did too, and Young Lord Ruan and Young Lady Remian had a dispute there!”

“A dispute? Ruan wasn’t hurt, was he?”

Isis, who had been calmly conversing with Erina while organizing documents, suddenly widened her eyes and sprang to her feet to ask as soon as Ruan was mentioned.

Erina was startled by her unexpectedly strong reaction and shook her head.

“Oh, no. Young Lord Ruan was fine. Young Lady Remian was hurt, actually.”

“Is that so? What on earth happened?”

Isis leaned in, bringing her face close to Erina’s.

Erina’s face flushed crimson.

Beside them, Regina, who had been watching with a detached expression, stiffened and began to eye Erina warily, but the two paid her no mind.

“Ahem! To put it simply, there was a ball at the new member welcome party, and Young Lady Skadia left her fiancé, Young Lord Ruan, and went to dance with another young master.”

“Young Lady Skadia did?”

Isis’s face turned cold.

No matter how bad their relationship, for someone with a fiancé to be cavorting with an outside young master is a great discredit to Ruan.

If time passes like this, he’ll probably be rumored to be an idiot who can’t even manage his own fiancée.

As Isis contemplated whether she should officially send a letter of protest to the Maryland family, Erina’s words continued.

“Yes. So Young Lady Remian approached Young Lord Ruan, who was left alone. Her followers said flattering things, like how kind she was or that she was truly fit to be the next empress, but in reality, they were probably trying to embarrass Isis-nim.”

“So what did Ruan do?”

“Well, he accepted, of course. If he had refused there, bad rumors would have spread. Afterwards, while they were dancing, Young Lord Ruan accidentally stepped on Young Lady Remian’s foot. He reportedly stomped on her big toe twice in a row and even kicked her shin!”

“That must have been serious.”

“Exactly. Even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came to check on Young Lady Remian. Her followers were thrilled, claiming Young Lord Ruan did it on purpose.”

For a moment, Isis felt her mind go blank.

Remian is the next empress.

Intentionally harming her physically was a serious problem.

Though it was unlikely, if the Imperial Family were to intervene, Ruan’s standing would plummet irrevocably. His reputation wasn’t good to begin with; if that happened, his life as a noble would be over.

As Isis bit her lip tightly, Erina, who had been amusingly watching her reaction, stretched out a finger and exclaimed.

“But! Young Lord Ruan cleverly used his quick wit there!”

“…Quick wit?”

“Yes! It was Isis-nim!”

“Me? How could I be a breakthrough?”

“At that time, Young Lord Ruan said that he had only danced with Isis-nim since he was a child, so he didn’t know it was this serious. In other words, he subtly implied that Young Lady Remian’s dancing skills were inferior to Isis-nim’s. Moreover, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also acknowledged that Isis-nim’s dancing skills were outstanding.”

“His Royal Highness…”

“Yes! And even after that, Young Lord Ruan asked them not to criticize Isis-nim, saying it was just his own inadequacy. So it was simply passed off as a mistake.”

“Ah…”

Thank goodness. What a relief.

At the words that the situation had somehow been handled, Isis breathed a sigh of relief.

If Ruan had truly been cornered, she would have used every possible means to calm the situation.

It’s a relief there was no need for that.

Isis, letting out a sigh of relief inwardly, offered a gentle smile and thanked Erina.

“Thank you for coming to tell me, Erina. I feel a bit more at ease thanks to you.”

“It’s nothing. I can do this much and more for Isis-nim. Feel free to ask me anytime in the future. I’ll tell you every single one of Young Lord Ruan’s movements!”

“No. Please don’t do that. It’s enough just to give me a heads-up when there’s a special problem, like now.”

“Understood! Then I’ll be going now. See you next time!”

Waving her hand, Erina turned her back and left the student council room.

Isis, having seen her off, returned to her seat and began working on documents again. The movement of her pen was light.

Regina, who caught onto it with her keen observation skills, asked nonchalantly, pretending not to care.

“You seem to be in a good mood?”

“Pardon?”

“Just that your expression seems much better than before.”

Isis touched the corner of her lips.

Indeed, without her even realizing it, her lips were forming an arc.

She answered, slightly embarrassed.

“I’m just a little happy.”

“About what?”

“That Ruan… thought of me.”

“Just for that? Did you forget how he stormed into the student council room and made a mess last time?”

“That was my fault, wasn’t it? And it’s not ‘just’. I thought Ruan truly hated me. But that wasn’t it. We’re just misunderstanding each other. I’m sure we can clear it up through dialogue someday.”

As if recalling that moment, Isis displayed a smile so beautiful that Regina, who had been with her for over a year, couldn’t even imagine.

Regina’s gaze was captivated by that charming smile, yet inwardly, she raised her guard.

‘Dangerous.’

Being siblings or anything like that means nothing.

At this moment, Ruan Friuli had become the rival she had to be most wary of.

*

After finishing another fruitful training session, I returned to the dormitory to find the familiar brown-haired, tanned man and Abel waiting for me.

“Yo! You’re back?”

“Move.”

Pushing away Yas, who had greeted me with a bright smile, I headed straight for my bed without even glancing at the hesitant Abel.

I carelessly tossed my belongings aside and flopped onto the bed.

On weekends, I would always train late into the night, then return like this and just collapse.

From my position, where I shouldn’t get involved with the main story yet, becoming unnecessarily close with Yas wasn’t a wise move.

Of course, there were various other reasons too, such as the existence of other transmigrators, and my stamina being completely depleted from overworking myself all day.

Anyway, as I lay on my bed with my eyes closed, Yas seemed to think I had fallen asleep and resumed his conversation with Abel.

“Abel. Don’t be so cautious. He’s always like this, you know? I already told you this morning, so it’s fine.”

“Still, isn’t it getting too late? I think it’d be best if I went back now.”

“Aw, just stay for another 30 minutes. So, what about you? Is there a girl you like in the club?”

In the game, the club Abel originally joined was the Photography Club. Uni was the main reason, as she persuaded him to join together, saying it would be good for a change of pace since they could travel to various places.

I wonder how it is here.

The moment Abel was assigned to Class 6, the original plot diverged significantly.

Curiosity kept me from falling asleep.

“S-someone I like? Well? I don’t know…”

“My friend, are you going to play it like this? You mean you don’t care because you have Uni?”

“Why bring Uni up suddenly? Uni and I aren’t like that. We’re just friends.”

“Oh ho! So, can I make a move then? Huh? Is it okay if I try to charm Uni?”

“Th-that…”

“What, you don’t like it? You said you had no ulterior motives? Friend, let’s not lie between us, okay? Huh? Hahaha… Ah, I need to be quiet.”

Yas, who was about to burst into roaring laughter while teasing Abel, glanced at me and shut his mouth.

There truly is a payoff to my nagging.

Meanwhile, Abel, who had been stammering, finally regained his composure and shook his head.

“Ah, anyway, it’s not like that, so don’t misunderstand. It would be rude to Uni.”

“Hmm… really? Then why don’t you answer my question quickly? Is there anyone you like in the club?”

“Uh, well… the club president? She seems kind, somehow…”

“Oh, President May? Abel, you have very specific tastes, don’t you? She certainly resembles Uni.”

“I told you to stop talking about Uni!”

“Ah, sorry. Sorry. I’ll stop.”

May Udillion.

She, a second-year student this year, is indeed the president of the Photography Club.

Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any major changes.

‘The problem lies elsewhere.’

That is, Abel and Yas have already become close. In the game, they had some interaction, but not to the extent of bringing each other to the dormitory.

In other words, a variable has appeared somewhere.

It could be a very simple reason, but there’s also a chance it could be an extremely serious problem.

There’s only one thing I’m considering right now.

‘Is Yas also a transmigrator?’

Fortunately, I believe I acted well enough in front of him, but it’s also true that my wariness has somewhat blurred while living with him.

If I had done something suspicious without realizing it, and Yas had noticed, it would be a huge problem.

My mind is racing.

Just as I was racking my brain, wondering if I wouldn’t even be able to relax in the dormitory anymore, Abel, in turn, asked Yas a question.

“Yas. But why did you come to the Photography Club?”

“Me? Well, obviously…”

“Obviously?”

“To participate in the nude photography contest!”

“Huh? A nu-nude photography contest?”

“Yeah! I heard it’s held a few times a year. Actually, I was debating between this and the Mountaineering Club. The Mountaineering Club is a hotbed of affairs, you know? I could have enjoyed fiery romances with engaged young ladies there. But that was too risky, so I passed. Anyway, my goal is simply to participate in the nude photography contest!”

“Ah… I see.”

A voice as if his soul had left his body.

Even without opening my eyes to check, I could guess the expression Abel was making.

‘He’s a crazy lunatic, alright.’

He was a character who sometimes spouted crazy nonsense in the game, but encountering him up close made me realize that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Well, thanks to that, the thought that Yas might be a transmigrator has become much fainter.

‘If it’s acting, then I can’t help it.’

As an Earthling, how much would it hurt to put on such a crazy act? Of course, there’s an astronomical chance he’s just naturally insane, but either way, at this level, it’s polite to be fooled.

As my mind eased, drowsiness slowly crept in.

I tossed and turned, then fell into a deep sleep as soon as Abel left the room.

*

“Alright, as you all know, midterms are next week. Study hard, and if anyone gets caught cheating, you’re dead. Understood?”

Sara, having issued her warning, sent me a particularly intense look before leaving the classroom.

‘My apologies.’

My pride as a scoundrel doesn’t allow me to study. I’ll at least try to solve them without guessing, but I can’t guarantee good grades.

No, I’ll just fail.

Sending an apology inwardly, I pushed aside thoughts of midterms and recalled the event scheduled for this weekend.

The episode concluding Chapter 1.

In the game, it was a development where Abel, having reached level 100, awakened his sword aura and defeated monsters using new techniques, but I don’t know how it will unfold here.

‘I should prepare.’

Though it was unlikely, I couldn’t know if some variable might interfere and cause problems, so I had to make at least minimal preparations.

I turned my head and gazed at Deborah.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, her body flinched.