episode_0012

Like a flower blooming in barren soil.

This world was a romance fantasy novel.

It was the moment my suspicions were confirmed.

“It’s really a romance fantasy?”

“Yeah.”

Unlike me, this was the testimony of someone who had crossed over after leaving a comment on the original work, so I had no choice but to believe it.

“So, like, there’s terrorism at the academy and getting dragged into wars and stuff?”

“Obviously.”

No, what kind of nonsense is that…? But if it’s a romance fantasy, there’s nothing I can do.

“So, the culprit is Bellian Eric, right?”

“What are you talking about?”

I mentioned the most obvious suspect’s name, but the reaction I got back was far from satisfying.

“Isn’t that the name of the flower arrangement club president? Isn’t that person the mastermind behind the academy terrorism?”

“No?”

“Why?”

“Why?”

They looked completely baffled.

I probably had the same expression.

“No, obviously, it’s the squinty-eyed guy.”

“Just because someone’s squinty-eyed, they’re automatically the villain?”

“Isn’t that usually the case?”

“Well… I guess so.”

See? My suspicions were justified.

Anyone who’s read a few novels would agree.

“But President Bellian is just a genuinely ordinary person.”

Don’t lie. How could that face belong to an ordinary person?

And besides—

“I looked into it. Last year, he filled all his required credits for graduation, including core courses. That usually means fourth-years take it easy, right?”

“Right?”

“But this semester, he’s packed his schedule again. Does that make sense?”

“It doesn’t.”

See? Even someone who’s read the original would agree this is suspicious.

“On top of that, despite taking so many classes, he has no close friends.”

“Isn’t that a bit harsh? Some people just don’t have many friends.”

“But he’s also supposedly serious about flower arrangement? A nobleman?”

“Some people just have flower arrangement as a hobby.”

With so many suspicious points, it felt like they were blindly trusting the original work too much.

From the start, beings like us probably didn’t even exist in the original. Isn’t it too much to have blind faith in the original?

“But a squinty-eyed character shouldn’t be like that.”

“Judging people just by their appearance!”

I might seem like a bad person, but appearances matter in the real world.

Even the same confession will have different results depending on whether it’s from a handsome or an ugly person.

The same person’s impression changes based on whether they dress up or not.

And especially in a romance fantasy, a squinty-eyed character?

The moment they open their eyes, they could turn into a monster that brings down Prince Ellen.

Even if it’s Prince Ellen, given the novel’s progression, it wouldn’t be strange for him to lose at least once.

“No, what the hell? How did you even manage that?”

Apparently not.

“No, just once?”

Right after hearing about the original work from Violet, she asked me about my past.

Her reasoning was that we needed to pinpoint where the original had diverged.

I also thought the question was fair, so I told her everything except royal secrets.

But when I mentioned that, through tearful effort, I managed to beat Prince Ellen about once every thirty times, she was absolutely floored.

“Do you know what Prince Ellen’s nickname is in the latest updates?”

“What?”

“Sword God.”

“Wow.”

Unless it meant something else, it was probably the meaning I knew.

The God of Swords.

The scarier part was that hearing that nickname made perfect sense.

“In the original, do you know who Prince Ellen lost to for the first time after awakening his sword?”

“First, what’s the benchmark for ‘awakening’?”

“The point where Princess Hestia got utterly wrecked.”

Hah, when was that?

Prince Ellen had lost a few times shortly after learning the sword, and even after that, he lost occasionally, so it was hard to pinpoint the exact moment.

But if they said he hadn’t lost since then, it must’ve been relatively recent.

“What was the exact moment?”

“When Princess Hestia quit the sword.”

“……?”

That sword-obsessed maniac?

“There was a day like that? When?”

“All I know is that it happened before academy enrollment. It was a flashback scene, so the exact timing wasn’t specified.”

From what I gathered, Princess Hestia, despairing at the overwhelming gap in talent, gave up the sword.

And Prince Ellen, upon breaking his sister’s sword, grew even darker.

“But why didn’t she quit earlier?”

If it was because of me, I’d feel bad for Senior Lucia.

It meant she had the chance to be active in high society, like the other education officers she envied so much.

“She lost to you too, right? Getting beaten by two people probably made her think she was just weak.”

“Maybe?”

It seemed like I was the one who stopped her.

I definitely hadn’t planned it.

“This part wasn’t clearly explained, so I don’t know for sure. But that’s not the important part.”

“Then what is?”

“Do you have early-onset dementia? I asked who Prince Ellen lost to for the first time after awakening his sword.”

“Right.”

I ran through several names in my head.

People who could’ve beaten Prince Ellen.

Aside from the Sword Master and the Sword Emperor, no one else came to mind.

“After academy enrollment?”

“Yeah.”

“Then it’s only the Sword Emperor.”

“Correct.”

Given that even the Junior Sword Emperor was permanently stuck as second-best, the only one in the academy who could beat Prince Ellen was the Sword Emperor.

“But do you know what’s even more important?”

Violet frowned as she said there was something even more critical.

“What else is there?”

“After the loss, there was a description of Prince Ellen’s emotions. He was incredibly frustrated.”

“Isn’t that normal when you lose?”

“If it were just that, it wouldn’t be important. He wasn’t frustrated because he lost. It was the opposite.”

“Opposite?”

“Even though he lost, he felt it. That he could catch up soon. That the gap wasn’t that big.”

Damn it.

“…To the Sword Emperor?”

“Yeah. And that thought was accurate. He actually beat the Sword Emperor right before academy graduation.”

If academy graduation was in four years, that meant Prince Ellen was on track to surpass the Sword Emperor within four years.

“No, why?”

Ellen, Ellen…

If you can do it, I have to too…

Even if I can’t beat you, I have to at least keep up…

If you’re going to surpass the Sword Emperor, I have to at least be able to hold my own against him…

“Because that’s the kind of character he is.”

I didn’t like calling a living, breathing person a “character,” but at the same time, it was the most plausible explanation for Prince Ellen’s talent.

He was made that way.

Otherwise, there was no way he could’ve reached such heights.

“Prince Ellen is a really important figure. He’s a sub-male lead, but he’s also like a cheat key that unsticks the plot whenever it gets stuck.”

As she said this, Violet summarized the upcoming plot developments.

Roughly what events would happen, how Daisy would get entangled with the male leads, and so on.

And Prince Ellen’s role in all that was crystal clear.

“He’s literally a cheat key…”

A terrorist group invades, taking advantage of the Sword Emperor’s temporary absence.

Daisy is thrown into crisis, and she and the male lead become the rallying point for the students as they fight back.

They win the small-scale skirmish, but the academy is still in major trouble!

…And just when you think that, the rest of the enemies are wiped out by Prince Ellen! The end.

“A novel literally called Like a Flower Blooming in Barren Soil. Was it popular?”

“Unfortunately, yes…”

“With a plot like that?”

“It’s a romance fantasy. The fights aren’t that important. If you cared about that, why read romance fantasy? Just read wuxia where they fight nonstop.”

The idea that the important part was the never-ending romance was absurd, but at the same time, it was a piercing insight into the genre’s essence.

“Even after Prince Ellen becomes fully active post-graduation, there’s barely any combat description. It’s mostly just ‘Prince Ellen moved, and the fight was over.’”

In short, he was the author-approved, ultimate force.

“Then what about the Demon King?”

“That one uses magic and curses, not just swords. Of course, even then, he couldn’t beat Prince Ellen.”

So, the Demon King meticulously avoids direct confrontation with Prince Ellen and targets Daisy instead.

“Damn, he even went after the virgin. That was the problem.”

I almost burst out laughing, but seeing Violet’s expression—like she was bottling up enough rage to burn the world—I held it in.

It was less like sexual harassment and more like she was just stating a cold, hard fact.

“Anyway, that’s as far as I read. I don’t know what happens after. So, I was trying to roll the snowball from the early stages, but…”

She scowled at me.

Her expression was already strained during the Demon King talk, and now it was even worse. Honestly, it was kinda scary.

“This is an emergency.”

“What is?”

“You ruined all my plans.”

I was wronged.

What did I even do?

“First, Prince Ellen has become a different person.”

“That’s unfair.”

I just worked hard.

Didn’t he say it himself?

Future Sword God. I went through hell trying to catch up to that Sword God.

“And you beat the Junior Sword Emperor. Because of that, the dynamics have collapsed.”

“That’s unfair too.”

The Junior Sword Emperor was just weak.

Given that he’d have been forever second-best even without me, it seems he slacked off on training.

Should’ve worked harder.

“Those two things caused a lot of variables, but the biggest is that Prince Ellen is now running wild.”

“What do you mean?”

“Prince Ellen was originally a cheetah. In the academy arc, he was more of a sub-male lead, practically the final boss of the Aslan route!”

But with Prince Ellen’s personality flipping completely, he’s now aggressively charging forward.

“Isn’t that good for you? No more NTR from the Demon King.”

“The whole story’s in shambles! The academy arc’s main leads were Prince Acid and Aslan, the Junior Sword Emperor!”

Judging by how she talked, our Ellen was being very aggressive.

“This changes the screentime of the other male leads from what I knew. And with Prince Ellen’s role—quietly circling Daisy and eliminating threats—now vacant, there could be gaps.”

The main romance fantasy plot was set to kick off after the first semester midterms.

Naturally, the highlight of academy stories—terrorism—would happen frequently.

“And even if not as much as Prince Ellen, the Junior Sword Emperor’s growth as a key combatant could also be affected.”

The advantage of knowing the future was at risk.

Watching Violet say this, I held up two fingers.

“I can handle two things.”

“What?”

“Prince Ellen’s vacancy. If you explain more of the original, I can fill that gap.”

If trouble at the academy is guaranteed, my range of action widens.

I might seem like just a student, but I also have a hidden identity as a royal-appointed education officer.

Other kingdoms have sent their own prince-level agents, so there must be others like me.

If I can coordinate with them, I can protect the academy even better than Prince Ellen did in the original.

“And I can roughly handle the Junior Sword Emperor problem too.”

“Really?”

“Do you have early-onset dementia? What did I say the sword I learned was called?”

The Defeat Sword.

A swordsmanship created solely for the purpose of losing.

It became useless after Prince Ellen’s talent bloomed.

But my talent for this swordsmanship surpassed even Prince Ellen’s.

Even against a junior education officer who’d just joined, I could deliver a nail-bitingly close match!

“Leave Prince Ellen to the Sword Emperor. I’ll train the Junior Sword Emperor. So, just handle the rest.”

The kingdom of knights, Leon.

It was the moment I resolved to unveil the royal family’s secret swordsmanship, passed down in secrecy, at the academy.