episode_0019

“Ah… I enjoyed the meal, senior. The meat was tender again today.”

“Oh really~? Did you enjoy it? I feel good because I think our Shiye line enjoyed it too hehe.”

Seeing Sheryl smile, I mirrored her expression and then got up from my seat, heading towards my room.

Honestly, this kind of ordinary life isn’t bad. Still, my sole focus is on Hoopee House, so there’s no time to rest.

Yet sometimes… very occasionally, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to spend some time with Sheryl in a normal routine.

Arriving at my room’s door, I hesitated as I grasped the handle, suddenly feeling concerned about my life.

“…Can I keep living like this?”

The thrill I felt when ordering Lulu to Hoopee House was intense, but it was an emotion that quickly faded over time.

Still, whenever I met them to plan a Hoopee House, that emotion would resurface, only to dissipate quickly once they were gone.

But I had no intention of ending Hoopee House. It was something I longed for in novels, something I had to do now that the opportunity had arisen.

The problem I noticed was none other than my future.

Though I have a goal now, eventually achieving it will likely lead to losing the joy in life.

My goal is Hoopee House. With Lulu already done, only Rachel remains. It took a long time for Ayla’s Hoopee House to ensure stability and perfection, but Lulu’s Hoopee House ended too quickly.

I expected Ayla’s Hoopee House, noted in the notebook, to take some time after Lulu’s, but it was finished in less than a week.

As my goals near completion, worries about my future begin to creep in.

And what happens after I send them to Hoopee House? I can’t keep those kids trapped in Hoopee House forever. Eventually, my plans will be exposed, revealing that I intentionally sent them to Hoopee House.

So, what will become of my fate? Death? Eternal damnation? Life imprisonment? Incarceration?

“…It’s worrying.”

With each Hoopee House I conduct, gradually, rational thinking begins to return. My mindset, once consumed by Hoopee House, shifts towards a survival-oriented one.

My future looks bleak. Intentionally sending future monsters to Hoopee House, assaulting them, spewing excited garbage—I’ve said it all.

Even though I may have been insane, my ability to objectify myself was well intact. I’ve known I’m trash for a long time.

Despite this, I couldn’t stop Hoopee House.

I was firmly entrenched in Hoopee House madness.

I can worry about the future later. There’s no rush to fret about it now; I’ll just leisurely enjoy life and die when the time comes.

“Let’s go.”

Once again, my mindset reverts to thoughts about Hoopee House. I turn the doorknob I was holding and open the door straight ahead.

Stepping inside, I immediately rummaged through my desk drawer to find my Hoopee House notebook, intending to plan my next move.

“Here it is.”

Although I expected it to be covered in dust, the notebook was surprisingly clean.

Hmm, well, I haven’t left it there for long. So, it probably didn’t gather much dust.

Not sensing anything amiss, I settled comfortably into my chair and unfolded the notebook, revealing numerous meticulously written plans, contingencies, and strategies.

Truly intricate and filled with madness, the contents of the notebook didn’t surprise me. At that moment, I was truly insane.

Well, I’m still crazy now, but you get the idea.

Placing the notebook on the desk, I took out a plain pen and began jotting down notes.

“Rachel… Retribution plan…”

Starting with the central character Rachel, I pondered how to handle Rachel’s retribution.

Previously, I had considered distancing myself from Rachel, then being assaulted, and ultimately doing something decisive to turn Rachel’s feelings around and instill guilt… but I couldn’t decide what that something should be.

As I’ve mentioned before, Rachel is the most challenging heroine, hailing from a wealthy family with no penalties for killing people or lacking in temperament or humanity.

A woman of strong convictions, kind-hearted, and principled—Rachel. That’s her.

Simply put, perfect. In strength, she’s strong; in empathy, empathetic; in argument, argumentative—she was perfect in every way.

It seemed difficult for her to reciprocate just because someone gave her something. Even if I were to give her an incredibly fine sword, she might refuse it again.

Material things wouldn’t sway her.

“Hmm…”

Becoming closer to her isn’t difficult. In fact, it’s so easy that it’s sigh-inducing.

Though hard to approach, getting close is quite simple. This novel revolves around the protagonist’s demon extermination story. Saving the world, seeking revenge on heroines who humiliated themselves in the process, and the emotions of retribution felt by those heroines.

The crucial aspect here is ‘demon extermination.’

While retribution is the main theme, the protagonist’s growth stems from demon extermination.

From battling demons to awakening, evolving through demon battles, gaining love through demon battles—almost all situations arise from encounters with demons.

And these demons, mostly, are sought out by the protagonist for elimination. Therefore, when demons attack the academy, it signifies that a showdown is imminent.

The academy has faced numerous demon attacks, diligently hunting down demons hiding in the nearby forest and kingdom daily. However, they continued to allow attacks as they couldn’t locate a teleportation spell left by one demon.

Well, they’ll eventually be discovered, but for now, they remain well hidden.

There are moments when Rachel confronts demons coming through the portal alone. If I were to rescue her instead of Karla at that time, I could get closer to Rachel.

By consistently helping her, deliberately approaching her, and becoming friends, it’s certain that Rachel’s affection, previously directed towards Karla, will shift towards me.

However, in doing so, instead of retribution, it would devolve into a futile pursuit. Rather than capturing retribution, I would end up capturing Rachel’s heart.

Only thoughts of a pure love ending route keep popping up in my mind.

A proper… a proper retribution is needed.

Without something substantial that can turn Rachel’s heart towards me, retribution is futile.

Then how… how can retribution be achieved?

My mind felt strained, going blank. Increasingly, my thoughts weren’t making sense.

-Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh.

Despite crafting numerous plans without pause, a perfect retribution plan still eluded me.

-Zziiing!

“This… this isn’t right!”

-Thud!

Frustrated by a contradiction in my plan, I crumpled the paper and tossed it to the floor.

I had already torn 14 sheets of paper. Despite formulating countless plans, they all led to either a pure love ending or an imperfect retribution.

I wasn’t pleased with any of it. Whether our relationship improved or worsened, without something decisive, Rachel couldn’t be subjected to retribution.

If there is even one flaw, then somehow… or if Rachel were to die, no matter what, if there is something materialistic that she desires… It’s after the relationship sours that the desire for perfection in revenge becomes complete.

However, Rachel did not desire anything materialistic. Would there be something that could move her, who dismisses even the best swords as burdens?

To fill in her lacking talent?

No, not that either. Rachel already felt satisfaction in her swordsmanship skills, so giving her another talent wouldn’t change her mind.

Then what should I do… What should I do…

If we liken it to a game difficulty level, Rachel’s difficulty surpasses hard mode and enters nightmare mode. It was a difficulty akin to a nightmare.

“How… what should I do…”

As I began to feel a headache from such concerns, I stared at my notes with a firm grip on my head.

Within those notes were methods of revenge using Ayla’s mother and Lulu’s rampage.

While looking at those revenge methods, something suddenly caught my eye.

“Mother…?”

Seeing the word ‘mother’ in Ayla’s mother, I transformed from the exhausted face of someone worn out to one filled with joy, unlike before.

“Yes…! Why was I forgetting about this?”

It was because I recalled a revenge method that seemed very promising, the only method I was certain of besides this one.

*

“How… what should I do…”

A trembling body, clear traces of tears left from crying, and lifeless green eyes emphasizing those tear marks even more.

“What… what have I done…”

Lulu. She was currently in a very disheveled state.

Surely, if I found the culprit who made the report, sent that culprit to Sieline, and made them apologize, Sieline would return to me just like yesterday.

Recalling Sieline’s appearance from yesterday, it began to flicker before Lulu’s eyes.

When she found the culprit, Lulu was somewhat shocked. It turned out that the person who made the report was none other than Karla, a man she used to like, or rather, mistakenly thought she liked.

Initially, it seemed like she would just investigate a little and take him away, but upon hearing Karla’s words, Lulu couldn’t contain her anger and ended up committing an assault that shouldn’t have happened.

Yes, the assault was fine. It could have been resolved with an apology.

But the timing was bad. Right at that moment, Sieline walked in.

Suddenly appearing Sieline looked at me with eyes full of disdain, and Lulu could clearly feel that she couldn’t change Sieline’s heart anymore by finding the culprit.

At that moment, Lulu could vaguely sense that Sieline truly started to dislike herself.

“Sob… Hiccup… Hiccup… Sob…”

Realizing that she no longer liked Karla, or rather, realizing it was a misconception, Lulu became disheveled once Sieline was gone.

It wasn’t like this with Karla. It must have been because it wasn’t love.

But now she was disheveled. It was almost like the feeling she had back then was showing her what true love really was.

“Sieline…”

Endlessly calling out for Sieline, Lulu realized that instead of seeking forgiveness, she needed to sort out this situation first.

Right now, Sieline has accumulated 5 demerits.

For commoners, those 5 demerits were like hell, akin to a death sentence marking a turning point in life.

Seeing Sieline deteriorate due to those 5 demerits, as unpleasant as witnessing her in a desolate state, Lulu made up her mind.

Even if Sieline no longer liked her, she couldn’t love anyone else but Sieline.

I had already felt true love, and because it seemed unlikely that I would ever feel such genuine love again, that was the case.

Therefore, Lulu left the Alpha dormitory to head to the principal’s office within the academy in order to shift the blame back to herself as the real culprit, instead of Shieline.

Since the principal handles the penalty points, if I firmly assert that I am the culprit, the principal will inevitably have to assign the penalty points to herself.

I don’t mind receiving penalty points. It’s much better for me to suffer than for Shieline to suffer.

One could say it’s foolish.

One could say it’s stupid.

One could say it’s foolish to devote oneself to someone who doesn’t love you just because of the emotion called love.

However, due to Shieline’s actions yesterday, Lulu no longer felt that this behavior was solely foolish.

Even though she knew I loved Karla, Shieline only wished for my happiness. It was simply a desire for my happiness, even if I didn’t love her.

Lulu also came to empathize with that feeling. It means being happy if the person you love can be happy.

With that determination, Lulu arrived at the principal’s office and decided to confess her guilt to the principal.

“Principal…”

“Oh, hello? Lulu? Weren’t you the one I saw at the social gathering?”

But Lulu’s words were cut short.

Because of the presence of just one person, her words were interrupted by what that person said.

“…Princess Yustetia?”

“Yes~ I am Princess Yustetia~”

That person was none other than Yustetia, the daughter of the King of Leon Kingdom. She was the first princess, Yustetia.

Not a well-known figure, but Lulu knew Yustetia because her family had met Yustetia once.

Although a little flustered by Yustetia’s sudden appearance, Lulu’s purpose remained unchanged.

To clear Shieline’s name and relieve the injustice by revealing the truth herself.

However… What was this ominous feeling about? Something… something felt like it would only hinder her…

Lulu’s instinctive senses gave her a sense of foreboding.

But Lulu decided to attribute it to her mood and stood idly inside the principal’s office until the principal arrived.

However, the foreboding that Lulu felt was not just a mood.

“Hmm… Was she trying to use me at that time? I’m not sure what the plan is, but… I’ll play along.”

Yustetia. She, this morning, somehow communicated with herself through magic, and was carrying out the task requested by Shieline that she overheard through magical communication.

Namely, to become a false witness proving her own guilt.