Ch.22. The Secret of the Main Entrance

My room in the family home I’ve returned to after a long time. The maid leaves after saying she’ll call me when the meal is ready.

I hadn’t expected a warm welcome, but the cold response was typical of the North.

“Sigh.”

Thanks to the heating in the room, the visible breath that had been coming from my mouth earlier disappears.

“Is this the coldest time of year?”

February, when Norsweden’s infamous crystallized cold begins.

It’s a period when the cold can’t pass over the high mountains surrounding the North and gets trapped, crystallizing.

During the transition from February to March, the ground itself freezes, making it impossible to plant anything.

I came at the worst possible time. Though not intentionally.

They must have known I was coming, as the room was neatly prepared.

I headed toward the desk and chair set up for estate management work.

The chair wraps around my body comfortably.

Leaning back, I close my eyes and sink into thought.

The name of the game I’ve entered is “Retry.” It simply means you have to keep trying, but that’s not all.

It’s also related to the ending.

This game only has bad endings.

In the first playthrough, that is.

To see the proper ending, you have to move on to the second playthrough—that’s the nature of this game.

I remember it being heavily criticized as a game company’s ploy to artificially extend playtime.

‘The important thing is that I’ve ended up inside such a game.’

Where would there be a second chance in life?

In the end, the only outcome awaiting this world is a bad ending.

To help prevent that, I forcibly headed to Robern Academy, the game’s setting, but just three months after getting hired, I was dismissed due to the schemes of my fiancée, Erika Bright.

‘My plans have gone quite awry.’

Erika is also a key figure in the story’s progression. She’s one of the protagonist’s helpers who will enroll this year.

A woman with a kind heart, full of consideration and love.

‘Yet that Erika betrayed me.’

The disgust she showed me until the very end pierced my heart more deeply than I expected.

I had completely trusted her, believing the Erika I saw in the game wasn’t the type to betray anyone.

‘Perhaps I shouldn’t have thought of this as just a game.’

Having learned a painful lesson, I close my eyes and calmly interlock my fingers.

If I can no longer help the protagonist directly at the academy, I have no choice.

I must help from the outside to ensure she reaches the ending.

Only a second playthrough can prevent the continent’s destruction. But since there are no second chances in reality…

Only I, knowing everything, can prevent this world’s end.

“There are many ways to help from the outside.”

As the game progresses toward the latter half, there’s almost as much activity outside the academy as inside.

When I first heard about my dismissal, I actually thought it might be for the best.

It had been exhausting having to wake up in the early hours every day because of the ghosts at the academy.

‘That’s what became the problem.’

That was precisely why I was dismissed from the academy.

Because I could see ghosts, my actions to resolve their grudges or counter evil spirits appeared strange to the academy.

As professors’ testimonies accusing me of being a heretic or devil worshipper and student complaints grew, I was eventually dismissed.

‘I had no choice.’

I couldn’t just stand by when I could see evil spirits tormenting people at the academy right before my eyes.

The academy couldn’t be in ruins before the protagonist enrolled.

And seeing students suffering because of evil spirits was like seeing my past self.

I had been fighting hard against the evil spirits for their sake, but…

This was the result.

Mentally ill.

Heretic.

Devil worshipper.

I feel nothing.

I’ve heard it all before in my school days, so I’m rather indifferent.

Even in a different world, people think similarly.

“Come to think of it, it was strange.”

The protagonist would have enrolled at the academy and lived well even without my actions.

That’s how it happened in the game.

There were brief episodes related to evil spirits, but they weren’t that important.

There were too many ghosts to ignore, but on the other hand, I was the only one who could see them.

I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the thought that I’d brought this outcome upon myself by making a fuss alone.

“Your meal is ready.”

A maid’s voice from outside the door interrupts my train of thought.

I was about to head straight to the dining room, but the door opens and a maid enters pushing a cart with food.

“What does this mean?”

Bringing the food here means I’m supposed to eat separately, not together in the dining room.

When I ask with a frown, the maid bows her head deeply in fear and answers.

“The, the head of the family ordered it. Master Deus is to remain and live only in this room from now on.”

“My brother?”

Both my parents have passed away, and the current head of the family is Darius Verdi, my older brother.

“Also, Master Deus is forbidden from any outside contact from now on.”

Watching the maid bow her head deeply again, I couldn’t help but click my tongue.

‘So the rumors have already spread this far.’

It seems the rumor that the second son of the Verdi family, dismissed from the academy, is actually a strange person who worships the devil has spread all the way to Norsweden in the north.

“Where is my brother? I want to speak with him directly.”

I couldn’t live confined like this, so I intended to confront him immediately, but that wasn’t possible either.

“The, the head of the family has gone to dispatch troops because of the foreign tribes crossing the Norsweden mountains.”

As my brow furrowed even more, the maid trembled in fear and hastily said:

“I’ll, I’ll clear the dishes when you finish your meal!”

“……”

The maid left immediately. I slowly walked to the door and placed my hand on the doorknob, feeling quite intense mana.

I could sense Darius’s strong will to keep me confined and raised here.

Is he trying to imprison his ignorant brother who could become a thorn in the side of the Verdi family?

I respect his choice as the head of the family. In a situation where the entire family could be labeled as devil worshippers, he quickly cut off just his brother to contain the damage.

‘But I can’t just stay put.’

The protagonist will enroll at the academy this year.

I needed to quickly establish a foundation to help her.

Leaving the food untouched, I clasped my hands behind my back and slowly walked toward the window.

It was a day when Norsweden’s bitter wind, always white and blue, was blowing ominously.

* * *

“Professor Verdi has been dismissed for inappropriate behavior and remarks. Therefore, the lectures he was scheduled to teach have been canceled. Students who registered for these courses should promptly visit the Academic Affairs Office.”

“Huh?”

“The lecture titles are-“

Meirin was shocked by the continuing announcement.

The professor in charge of “Mana Harmony Tendencies” and “The Connection Between Soul and Mana” that she had registered for was Professor Verdi.

“What? And dismissed?”

Not just fired, but dismissed—it seemed quite serious.

“Damn it! I had my schedule all worked out!”

Meirin messed up her purple hair in frustration.

As a second-year student, unlike her first year, she had meticulously planned her schedule and was satisfied with it just yesterday.

And now this?

“This is so annoying.”

She had heard strange rumors about Professor Verdi. That he would wander the academy corridors at dawn talking to someone.

That he would stick strange pieces of paper on walls and pray.

That he would warn students to be careful because something strange was attached to them.

She knew rumors about him being a heretic were widespread, but she hadn’t expected him to be suddenly dismissed like this.

“Argh! This is so frustrating.”

Continuing to mutter harsh words, Meirin shoved her hands deep into her robe pockets.

Should she think it’s fortunate that this happened before the semester started?

Since she was staying in the dormitory during the break instead of returning home, it was lucky she heard the news early.

“The Academic Affairs Office is…”

Knowing it was on the first floor, Meirin descended the stairs with heavy steps.

‘They better not just assign me to any random remaining lecture.’

She was waiting to see how the academy would handle this. In such cases, shouldn’t they create space in another lecture during the same time slot?

They better not stick me in some weird subject because there’s no space.

As Meirin descended the central staircase to the first floor, feeling annoyed, her eyes fell on someone.

“Hmm?”

A man was standing firmly at the central entrance.

He was the embodiment of the word “ominous.”

A dark blue aura swirled around him, and even the surrounding space seemed distorted.

And what stood out most was…

‘He’s missing his right hand?’

Yet he wore a sword on his left hip, which seemed very odd.

That would make drawing the sword extremely inconvenient.

Instinctively, Meirin realized this was no ordinary person.

As she looked around to see if anyone else was there…

Thud.

Meirin’s foot touched the first-floor corridor.

[!]

The man, who had his back turned, immediately twisted his body and rushed toward Meirin.

Screech! Screech!

A strong wind blew.

Faced with the overwhelming killing intent, Meirin unconsciously fell back on her behind.

The man, who had drawn his sword, confirmed this and slowly sheathed it again, returning to his original position.

If the man had worn his sword on his right hip instead of his left, and hadn’t taken time to draw it, she would surely have died.

Meirin was certain of this, but more importantly…

“A, a skull?”

The man’s face was a skull without any skin, with only fiery blue eyes remaining.

An undead in the academy?

Sweating coldly, Meirin’s face gradually turned red. She realized she had done more than just break out in a cold sweat and covered her face with both hands.