episode_0329

“Princess Melzen, do you not have any interest in men?”

One day, during a break from Investigative Studies class, I found myself relaxing with Melzen at a café.

Upon receiving my sudden question, Princess Melzen tilted her head with a slightly bewildered expression.

“Excuse me…? What do you mean, Lily?”

“I’m not quite sure, but it seems like you don’t have any special feelings for any man. Usually, girls around your age would at least have someone they like or care about, right?”

“Well…? But I am a princess, you know…?”

“What?”

“As a princess, I can’t just fall for any man I come across just because we spent a few years together at the academy, can I…? It’s not easy to find a man who matches my standards, you know, even if I search the whole world…”

“…”

Once again, Melzen evaded my question with a statement that was typical of her princess-like behavior.

It was a fresh response that made me wonder if it was even possible to find a suitable partner for a woman like her.

I had ambitious plans to pair up Melzen and the remaining four heroines, but as she spent more time with me lately, I couldn’t help but feel a bit doubtful about my intentions.

“She seems to be much better off living alone.”

Finding a man who could tolerate her troublesome personality seemed like an impossible task.

If I wanted to solve this, I would have to make Melzen fall head over heels for a man who would cater to her every whim, but it was hard to imagine such a man existing.

Logically speaking, there was no one other than the hero who had saved my life, Gethmyoshet, who had declared himself as my harem keeper.

Perhaps Ethan, who had saved my life and still hadn’t used his “wish power,” could fit the bill, but he was already revealed not to be Melzen’s fiancé.

There weren’t many male candidates who could make Melzen happy. Most of the decent male characters from the original story were already paired off.

Although he was the mid-boss in the third part of the original story, Karahm had found a perfect match in Lilia.

Antonio, who used to have a negative and gloomy personality, had become more open-hearted and was now dating Agnes.

Gwyn, the son of a mercenary captain and the current vice president of the student council, would naturally end up with Luke, so he was out. The same went for Thomas, Natalie’s partner and childhood friend from the Archery Club, who had a crush on her.

Cedric from the Tech Department would eventually be paired with Kael, so he was excluded, and Orion, a graduate who never considered women as romantic partners in the first place, was out of the question.

Since Ethan had stated that he wasn’t Melzen’s fiancé, he was also out. Well, everyone was out.

After eliminating one by one, there was hardly anyone left. Considering that “Luminor Academy” was a harem-themed game, there were overwhelmingly more female characters than male characters.

“It’s a bit worrisome in various ways.”

Nevertheless, there was still a year and a half left, so there was plenty of time.

Perhaps in the meantime, a man who was interested in the castle of Mezlen might pop out from somewhere, so I decided to wait and see the situation for now. Still, in my opinion, the best ending is ‘natural dating leading to marriage.’

It was more comfortable and better for me to let them meet and live happily on their own rather than trying to meddle and not solving anything.

“Oh, and… about what I did while Lily was attending the exploration class last week…”

I decided to maintain friendly relations with her for now, agreeing with Mezlen’s self-praise and excessive self-affirmation.

Since there was no need to cut off the connection that had already been established.

***

Listening to Mezlen’s self-praise talk, chatting with Lizzie and Lala, meeting Karaham and Liria at the swordsmanship training ground for a 2v2 match.

Spending each day almost like a routine, before I knew it, another week had passed, and it was once again the first day of Harold’s magic swordsmanship class.

“Haahh!!”

“Aaahh!!”

-Clang, clang, clang!

Today’s sparring lesson continued as the top two swordsmen in the swordsmanship department faced each other.

Usually, Kettmyojoshegwi had the upper hand against Edan, but today Edan seemed to be pushing back a little more.

It seemed that Kettmyojoshegwi had just returned from the ‘Sun Studies’ class yesterday, so his condition might not be that great.

On the other hand, Edan had built up his skills by sharing swords with Karaham over the past week, so he naturally had the advantage.

There was no need to go all the way to Kettmyojoshegwi and Edan to show how messed up the condition of the hero party was, which was demonstrated by today’s sparring between me and Natalie.

That’s because today, in the magic swordsmanship class, I won my first match against Natalie.

‘First victory against the four members of the swordsmanship department in a sparring match.’

No matter how bad Natalie’s condition was, a win is a win.

Even if my record was 99 losses out of 99 matches, I could proudly say that my recent record was 1 win with today’s victory.

Natalie? You’re terrible at sparring, aren’t you?

“Cough, cough.”

“…Are you really that happy, Lady Relis?”

Just as a joke from a past life came to mind, I tried to cover my mouth and hold back my laughter, but Natalie, who was quick-witted, approached me and spoke.

“I’m sorry, Natalie.”

“No, I understand. I felt a similar emotion when I first parried your sword. Isn’t it a rewarding feeling to feel that you’ve grown while wielding a sword?”

“…”

Just saying that I barely won one match makes me feel like trash.

But, this positive and bright personality was also Natalie’s charm, so I couldn’t help it. Besides, that’s why I liked the character even in my past life.

As the sparring between Kettmyojoshegwi and Edan was in full swing, I briefly asked Natalie about what happened during the ‘Sun Studies’ class.

“How was the Sun Studies class you attended last week, Natalie?”

“…At first, I thought it was just a class to learn how to survive in the desert. But as soon as the class started, the hero… I mean, the current ‘Hero Party,’ led us somewhere. Up until then, I thought the hero was looking for an oasis for survival.”

“…”

“However, as the hero led us to a rocky mountain, he suddenly fiddled with something, and lo and behold, a staircase leading underground appeared! Inside, there were ancient ruins filled with mysteries…”

Hmm, as expected, he did well. He’s really following my strategy and playing the game properly.

I actually believed him without checking, but I wanted to confirm the progress right away when the opportunity arose.

Starting tomorrow, the geology exploration class will resume, so I won’t have time to meet Agnes personally. It wasn’t a bad idea to tell Natalie to keep an eye on her.

“Oh, by the way, something strange happened in the solar study class.”

“What happened?”

“There was a temple with a puzzle in the solar temple where two people stepped on a platform to open the door. When Thomas and I stepped on, the door only opened halfway. But when the hero and the saint stepped on, it opened wide.

And for some reason, Thomas looked gloomy afterwards, and Silena and Princess Seraphine insisted on stepping on the platform with the hero, causing a brief commotion.”

“I see…”

“After the saint stepped off the platform, she bowed her head and suddenly became quiet. I felt like the platform didn’t have any special meaning. What could it have meant?”

“I’m not sure just from hearing the story. I apologize for not being helpful.”

“Oh, no. I realize now that I asked a pointless question.”

…Actually, I vaguely understand what Natalie means by the platform.

It was probably referring to the ‘Compatibility Puzzle’ underground in the ‘Temple of the Sun.’ The puzzle system where the door to the next location opens based on the compatibility level of the two people on the platform.

The fact that the door only opened halfway when Thomas and Natalie stepped on meant that Natalie’s feelings towards Thomas weren’t quite love yet. And on top of that, I unexpectedly learned about Thomas and Natalie’s relationship status.

‘Anyway, the hero going up with Cerista made the door open, right?’

What? Didn’t he say he wouldn’t get involved with women in this world because he had to return to his original world?

But the fact that the door of the Compatibility Puzzle opened means that he has some level of affection for Cerista, which means that the guy is feeling more than just love for Cerista.

‘I have no idea what’s going on in his head.’

…He’ll figure it out on his own.

There was no need for me to intervene in his strategy process at this point. As long as he successfully subdues the demon king and clears the game, it’s a story that doesn’t really matter.