Chapter 16: Second Target

Marie had been curled up on her bed ever since she opened her eyes.  

She didn’t have the slightest desire to go outside.  

As dawn passed and morning arrived, the sounds of the dormitory stirring began to echo.  

It was probably the students starting to head to class.  

But even so, Marie didn’t move.  

“I should go…”  

Somewhere deep in her heart, a voice screamed at her to run to Emil right now and apologize.  

He’s kind, after all.  

If she apologized sincerely, truly from the bottom of her heart, he might just forgive her.  

That’s what she thought.  

“I should go to Emil…”  

But her body wouldn’t budge.  

The moment she resolved to move, that scene flickered in her mind.  

In front of the academy’s main building.  

Emil’s small figure hanging there.  

His limp body dangling, tongue sticking out, his rolled-back eyes seeming to stare right at her—that scene.  

That image kept holding Marie’s steps back.  

Even so, she couldn’t stay like this.  

Emil surely still carried the memories from back then.  

The events she saw in her dreams were likely the reason he rejected her confession.  

Marie still wanted to be in a loving relationship with Emil.  

That desire hadn’t changed, even now with the memories from her dreams,  

and it had only grown stronger with the recollection of being Emil’s lover.  

That’s why she couldn’t just stay cooped up in her room like this.  

“But even if I go out… will anything change…?”  

Marie sat curled up on her bed, lost in thought.  

How could she earn Emil’s forgiveness?  

How could she make Emil love her?  

She pondered and pondered these questions as time slipped closer to night.  

After agonizing for a long time,  

Marie finally reached a conclusion.  

“Yes… that’s it…”  

Having found her answer, Marie lifted her head and gave a faint smile.  

Her mind felt clear.  

“I’m not a bad person.”  

She could become Emil’s lover.  

With that single thought, Marie rose from her bed.  

The image of Emil hanging by his neck flickered before her eyes again,  

but with the sheer determination to share love with him, she erased that trauma.  

Click, click…  

Rustle…  

Marie changed her clothes and rummaged through her room.  

It was something she’d stored away at some point.  

Though she was a bastard child, she was still a noble, and for emergencies, she kept self-defense items.  

Among them, she picked up a knife with an ornate, antique design, grinned faintly,  

and hid it at her waist before leaving the dormitory.  

***

Later, Marie found herself on the dimly lit, isolated path between the academy and the dormitory.  

There, she encountered her target—Malcolm.  

Stab!  

Stab—!  

Fortunately, no one was passing by.  

At this hour, no one would be on this path anyway.  

Though Marie was currently in a fragile mental state, she had meticulously checked such details.  

Stab—!  

Stab—!  

With each thrust of the knife, the light faded from Malcolm’s eyes.  

“It’s because of you…”  

Stab!  

Stab!!  

“Everything… it all went wrong because of you…”  

Stab—.  

Stab…  

“So… this is you paying for your sins…”  

What was he thinking as his body grew cold?  

Since he couldn’t even let out a final cry, no one would ever know.  

All that remained was Malcolm staring up at Marie, who had straddled him, a single tear falling from his dimming eyes.  

***

The next day, Marie still didn’t show up at the academy.  

“I guess the shock really hit her hard.”  

Of course, unlike yesterday, my mind wasn’t in turmoil.  

If I started showing signs of distress, the system would automatically trigger mental healing for me.  

So, with a refreshed mind, I attended classes as usual.  

…Perhaps it’s because Marie can’t receive this kind of mental healing that her shock is so much greater.  

After all, witnessing someone’s death is naturally traumatic.  

The fact that Marie, in the first cycle, had sex with Malcolm even after seeing me hang myself—that’s what’s strange about her.  

Still, putting Marie aside, the fact that Malcolm didn’t show up at the academy either was quite concerning.  

“Was getting beaten up a little really that tough for him?”  

I didn’t know the reason, but if losing miserably to me was why, I’d be pretty disappointed.  

To think I’d lost Marie to a guy like that.  

Well, whatever.  

After rejecting Marie’s confession, my life had completely reverted to how it was before pursuing her.  

“So, you’re saying you have no idea at all?”  

No, it hadn’t completely reverted.  

“I told you, I don’t know.”  

“That’s weird… I thought you’d definitely know something.”  

“Why would you think that?”  

“Because the day before Marie took a break, she went on a date with you.”  

“…”  

“I was sure she’d confess that day.”  

If there was one thing different from before pursuing Marie, it was Sierra.  

She’d started coming to me more often.  

Even now, she plopped down in the seat in front of me in the classroom, chatting with me casually.  

The topic was none other than Marie and Malcolm, who hadn’t shown up at the academy.  

“You really don’t know anything…?”  

Sierra looked at me with suspicious eyes as she asked about the two of them.  

Of course, I knew.  

I knew very well.  

But I didn’t bother explaining the situation to her.  

“No point in stirring up trouble.”  

Perhaps when Marie and Malcolm eventually returned to the academy, I could ask them why they’d been absent.  

I’d just play dumb and say I didn’t know the reason back then.  

“Sigh, if you don’t know, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll head back now. See you later.”  

“Later…? You’re coming back?”  

“What, you don’t want me to?”  

Sierra shot me a glare before breaking into a playful smile.  

“See you later, then.”  

And with that, she waved goodbye, promising a next time as she left.  

“See you later, huh…?”  

I had no intention of hanging out with Sierra.  

For some reason, she seemed to treat me like a friend, but I had things to do.  

I didn’t have time to waste playing friendship games with her.  

“Especially since the next target’s攻略 timing is coming up soon.”  

Marie’s pursuit had ended with me rejecting her confession.  

So, I had no more business with her.  

Now was the time to move on to the next target.  

“There she is.”

At that moment, I caught sight of her walking through the scenery outside the window.  

A girl with a confident stride, her blonde ponytail swaying, her fierce yet steadfast gaze standing out.  

Chris Bellmore.  

She was my second target to pursue.  

For reference, I had previously pursued her in the fourth cycle.  

However, due to the timing, this was the most suitable moment to go after her, making her the second in line this time.  

Anyway, it was about time to start preparing for Chris’s pursuit.  

***

To be honest, out of the five heroines, Chris was the furthest from my type.  

That’s why I only attempted to pursue her in the fourth cycle.  

The reason was simple.  

Crash!  

“Hmph, that’s all you’ve got? Pathetic.”  

“Ugh…”  

She was rough and violent.  

In short, she was scary.  

“Even in the fourth cycle, pursuing her was a real struggle…”  

I watched Chris sparring during a joint training class, recalling memories from the previous cycle.  

Chris.  

To pursue her, you had to put your body through a lot.  

Not in the sense of running around like I did with Marie, but in the literal sense of pushing your body to its limits.  

“Still, with easy mode and all the perks I’ve stacked up now, it should be pretty doable.”  

Pursuing Chris fundamentally required combat ability.  

That’s why, in the fourth cycle, I threw aside studying and everything else from the start, focusing solely on practical training.  

Even then, I never reached a level where I could beat Chris, but I managed to get just close enough to barely make the pursuit work.  

For reference, what level was that?  

It meant being able to survive the upcoming labyrinth training event without dying.  

“You don’t seem happy with your opponent. Want to go a round with me instead?”  

“Huh?”  

During a short break after a light sparring session,  

I approached Chris, who was standing there with a dissatisfied look, and struck up a conversation.  

Her sharp, delinquent-like eyes glared at me slightly.  

That gaze was still intimidating, even after pursuing her once before.  

But despite that, she was beautiful.  

The complete opposite of the innocent Marie, with striking features, flawless skin, and a toned, slender figure honed by years of training—enough to make any man’s heart race.  

Enough that the pounding in my chest from her fierce glare could be mistaken for love.  

“You… you’re the guy who stood out at the entrance ceremony, right?”  

Unexpectedly, Chris already knew about me.  

“Being the top of the entrance exam really pays off.”  

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like I’d need to spend much time introducing myself.  

“Yeah, I’m Emil.”  

“I’m Chris… but I heard you collapsed during a spar not too long ago.”  

“Oh…”  

It seemed she’d heard about that incident with Malcolm.  

And since the story was about me getting hit by a wooden training sword and being carried

off to the infirmary, it was only natural that Chris now glared at me with a look of displeasure.  

“Sorry, but I don’t have time for a guy who falls apart in a simple spar. Find someone else.”  

With that, Chris turned her gaze away from me, waving her hand dismissively.  

Like she was shooing away a bug.  

I’d ended up getting a bad mark from her in a way I hadn’t anticipated.  

“What do I do now…?”  

I needed to start building a connection with Chris soon.  

In the fourth cycle, I’d bonded with her right after enrollment, giving me plenty of time to pursue her, but this time, all that time had been eaten up by pursuing Marie.  

If I didn’t start now, I’d miss the most critical timing for Chris’s pursuit.  

So,  I decided to take a bit of a gamble.  

“What, are you scared you’ll lose?”  

“…Huh?”  

At the end of my deliberation, I blurted it out, and in an instant, Chris turned to me with a sharp glint in her eyes.  

My legs trembled under that gaze.  

No matter how you looked at it, I’d clearly struck a nerve.  

Just then, the voice of the combat training professor, who’d been observing the students, rang out.  

“Alright! Break’s over—everyone, get back to your sparring!”  

With that signal, Chris, who’d been glaring at me, smirked and pointed her wooden sword my way.  

“Fine. You seem to like getting beat up, so I’ll grant your wish.”  

“Haha…”  

There was no helping it.  

Sure, I’d ended up pissing her off, but I didn’t have time to waste.  

“Don’t expect me to go easy on you!”  

And with that, the fired-up blonde delinquent charged at me with ferocious intensity.  

***

“Ouch…”  

The result of my spar with Chris was, unsurprisingly, my defeat.  

It was only natural, really.  

I could handle someone like Malcolm with ease now, but Chris’s skill was on a completely different level.  

Plus, she was so riled up that she attacked even more aggressively than in a normal spar.  

My loss was inevitable.  

But it wasn’t the same level of defeat as in the fourth cycle.  

“You… you’re better than I thought.”  

After the spar ended, Chris rubbed her shoulder where I’d landed a hit with my wooden sword and looked at me.  

The anger in her eyes from earlier had faded, replaced by a hint of surprise.  

“Your name’s Emil, right?”  

Then, as she said that, she extended a hand to me while I was still sitting on the ground.  

When I took her hand,  whoosh, she pulled me up to my feet.  

“Sorry for brushing you off earlier. I definitely misjudged you.”  

For the first time, Chris faced me and gave a genuine smile.  

That smile highlighted the stunning beauty hidden behind her sharp gaze.  

At the same time, the professor’s voice signaled the end of the class.  

“Everyone, pack up and head back! Good work today!”  

Groans of exhaustion echoed from the tired students around us, and Chris naturally let go of my hand, giving me a casual farewell.  

“See you next time.”  

“Oh, yeah.”  

It had been a bit of a reckless move to start a spar with Chris like that, but the result was better than expected.  

I’d etched my name into her mind and left a good impression.  

Sure, my body ached all over because of it, but I’d succeeded in making a solid first impression.  

With that, I watched Chris’s retreating figure and gave a small smile.  

“Now, the next thing to do is…”  

***

After that, I went about my day attending academy classes as usual.  

Of course, that didn’t mean I was fully focused on the lessons.  

My mind was brimming with thoughts about how to pursue Chris.  

I sifted through memories from the fourth cycle, organizing what I needed to do at this point in time.  

With Marie, I just had to follow the flow of a major event like the midterm exams,  

but Chris was different.  

Pursuing her required a certain level of practical combat skill improvement.  

I needed to boost my abilities enough to survive the upcoming labyrinth training event.  

On top of that, I had to work on pursuing Chris simultaneously, so I spent the entire day mentally sorting out my schedule.  

Before I knew it, it was after school, and the students began leaving the academy to head home.  

“Starting tomorrow, it’s training time… It’d be great if I could rope Chris into it…”  

Even as I walked back to the dormitory, my mind was still occupied with pursuit strategies.  

Perhaps because of that, I wasn’t fully aware of my surroundings.  

And then—  

“E-Emil!!”  

Someone called out to me from behind as I walked through a secluded area.  

That voice was all too familiar.  

“Marie…”  

Startled, I immediately turned around, and there she was, standing before me.  

“S-Sorry… hehe, did I scare you…?”  

“I-I… have something… I want to say to you, Emil…”  

She looked the same as always, but something felt instinctively off.  

Especially that bright smile she wore with those hollow, empty eyes—  

it sent a chill down my spine from the sheer dissonance.