Chapter 14

Lumere Academy’s lunch break lasts from 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM. Exactly one hour and thirty minutes.

Before the lunch break ends, I need to bring Yudit and Yuren here.

First, it took about three minutes to persuade Shirai.

– Shouldn’t I come along too?

I thought it was too much to accompany Shirai, who is blind, while also being with Alphin.

Taking care of the rather shy Alphin is an excuse, and the truth is I don’t have the confidence to handle these two people at the same time.

Lately, I’ve been worried about Shirai.

Distance, skinship. Things like that.

If Shirai hadn’t overlooked my affairs at the church, I wouldn’t have been able to come to Lumere Academy, and just yesterday, she treated my punctured wrist.

She did it by pouring out a considerable amount of divine power.

What happened during yesterday’s orientation has already spread as a rumor throughout the school.

Since Professor Tiren’s orientations are always like that, most students don’t think much of it.

However, the rumor that a boy was pierced in the wrist by an arrow shot by a girl in a black robe has surprised even the seniors.

And the fact that the holy maiden used immense divine power to seal the hole in my wrist.

In fact, the students’ attention is more focused on Shirai and me rather than Yudit and Yuren.

There are two reasons why I’m accompanying Shirai.

One is that I’ve received too much, and the other is that her counselor, Ewha Cloudrein, is not in the Lumere continent.

Today, the special entry permit for the Lumere continent will conclude its evaluation, and tomorrow, those who pass the evaluation will be issued their permits.

In two days, Ewha counselor will arrive in the Lumere continent, and from then on, I plan to start gradually distancing myself.

“Holy Maiden… sama…”

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you properly.”

“Holy Maiden sama… Are you… close?”

Me and Alphin hadn’t walked far from the school gate and were aimlessly wandering near the academy district.

Cafés, restaurants, amusement parks, game centers, shopping malls, aquariums, museums, concert halls, and more.

Students here sometimes refer to it as the Lumere Entertainment Spot.

Since it’s lunchtime, I see quite a few students around. It’s not overly crowded, but someone passes by every five seconds.

“Rather vague question, but I guess we are close.”

Alphin merely nodded his head slightly and stopped asking questions. Silence surrounded us as we walked for quite a while.

“We’ll be there soon. Sorry for troubling you.”

As expected, there’s no answer. He just tilts his head a little.

In the awkward atmosphere, I stopped in front of an indoor archery range whose doors were tightly closed.

The building isn’t particularly large. The curtains are drawn, so the inside structure isn’t visible, but it seems like only around twenty people can barely fit inside.

“Closed?”

The curtain gaps show that no lights are on inside, and a ‘closed’ sign hangs heavily on the door.

Creak, creak-

It’s locked from the inside with a lock. Any passerby would think this shop isn’t operational. But…

“Alphin, could you open this door using object manipulation?”

“Th… That’s a crime, isn’t it?”

I tried pulling the door again.

Creak, creak-

No matter how hard I pull, there’s no sign of it opening. It seems not only locked, but something big inside prevents the door from being pushed open.

Why go through all this to skip class? Unless they’re emotionally unstable, it’s impossible.

“Is the person we’re looking for really… here?”

“Yeah, sure thing.”

Alphin, with a look of contemplation, scratched his hair and then, as if coming to a decision, clenched his fists and extended one hand toward the door.

Whoosh-

Alphin’s whole body becomes engulfed in wind pressure, his long hair wildly blowing. His light green eyes shine so brightly that I wonder why he isn’t the heroine.

The instant a red glow enveloped Alphin’s body, a red current flowed into the door cracks, and with a click, the lock opened.

A high-level technique of advanced magic. The ultimate goal for all mages, and if you master even one, you receive worldwide acclaim.

S-Rank Magic.

What Alphin is using is one of the telekinetic S-Rank magics called object manipulation.

A realm that others spend a lifetime researching and can’t even touch—the S-Rank magic is casually used by the young girl in front of me.

Additionally, object manipulation is also known to be one of the hardest S-Rank magics.

Despite knowing how extraordinary Alphin the Herta is, I once again feel the extent of his greatness.

“The big objects in there have all been moved aside.”

Alphin’s hair calms down as he returns, covering one of his eyes.

She looks beautiful enough to make me think, “Why does she cover one of her eyes when both of them are stunningly beautiful?”—this is how magnificent Alphin the Herta, while wielding S-Rank magic, looks.

I suppress the urge to comment on someone’s hairstyle and proceed to open the door instead.

Creeeak…

The sound is haunting, similar to opening a dilapidated door of a ghost house, causing Alphin to tremble slightly as he shrinks in his shoulders.

The problem was not just Alphin but also Yudit Mundersturm and Yuren Star Dust who were startled.

Both had erected the broadswords they carried and were on guard, pointing the blades toward us.

“With Alphin…”

Yudit shifted her eyes from Alphin to me, naturally closing her lips.

Yuren relaxed his guard and sighed with relief, while Alphin still revealed his uneasiness through his wide and anxious gaze directed at me.

“You wouldn’t be… joking, would you?”

“Yeah.”

I bypassed Yudit and Yuren and grabbed the bow lying on the table.

I spread my legs shoulder-width apart and equipped an arrow.

Closing my left eye, I pulled and released the bowstring, and the arrow flew like lightning.

The arrow accurately hit the target board, landing in the yellow outer circle, scoring 9 points.

“What do you think about enjoying the remaining lunch hour? We’ve got nothing else to do.”

My gaze was directed towards Alphin, frozen like a statue, and as he comprehended my words, his light green pupils started trembling uncontrollably.

“The winning team will fulfill the losing team’s wish.”

*

“Come out for a moment.”

Yudit grabbed my wrist and led me outside the archery room.

She then pushed me against the wall and cornered me with her hands pressed against it.

I could smell peaches from her long black hair, likely from perfume, though I know it is a scent Yuren favors.

Her golden eyes carried their usual sharp intelligence, with a radiant glow on her porcelain complexion. Her proud and elegant face looked even more striking now that she had returned.

I easily escaped by brushing aside her hands holding the wall.

“What’s with the sudden action? Pushing people against walls.”

“Just answer the question. You remember, right?”

This wretched regression.

Of course, I thought I’d be the only person retaining memories due to being the protagonist, but it was all a scam.

From Shirai to Xyah Stella and even Yudit herself in front of me, everyone retained their memories.

‘There it is.’

Directly facing Yudit gave me conviction on the long-thought issues.

The relationship between the heroines and me right now is absolutely muddled.

I can’t keep pretending to have lost my memories or acting disinterested.

It’s easier and faster to reveal everything and seek help from the heroines.

Moreover, Yudit knows why the Holy Maiden corrupts. It’s possible that she could manage this all by herself if things go well.

Above all, I find it difficult to keep my composure in front of Yudit. This quick and clean approach seems beneficial for my mental health.

“Yeah, I remember. Including you cheating on me with Yuren.”

“Did Siya Stella say that? I see you’re still the type who blindly believes her words.”

Yudit crossed her arms with an exasperated expression.

“Honestly, have you ever trusted me once while we were married?”

“You need to give me a reason to trust you. Yuren’s cherry blossom hair ornament, presented when you were young, wearing that during our wedding—how can I trust you?”

The cherry blossom decorates her side hair even now. Every time I see it, past or present, my anger boils.

I at least expected her not to wear it during the wedding. Honestly, I didn’t just think it; I even made a request not to.

Yudit sighed deeply as if the earth beneath her feet had collapsed.

“For such a small thing? Would shredding this ornament make you feel better?”

That sigh, filled with frustration, has bothered me since a long time ago, even though I never showed it.

Frankly, it’s quite tough having this face-to-face interaction.

“I have nothing more to say with you. Let’s focus on surviving individually.”

“Then why did you come here? Aren’t you still concerned deep inside?”

Those words triggered my boiling point.

Something I’ve been suppressing so far reached the tipping point, threatening to explode.

Understanding her shameless attitude is beyond my comprehension.

But I hold myself back. I need to withstand it.

I recall my dear mother’s face.

I bring back the memories of hardships from my former life as a working adult.

I recite the patriotic anthem lyrics which now hold little significance to me.

‘Hmm.’

Hardly containing my anger, I express what my intellect demands instead of instinct.

“Because of the two of you, I’ve been barred from entering the school snack shop for first-year students. If you understand what I mean, please take caution, will you?”

“Snack shop ban? Does that mean fewer opportunities for first-year students?”

I opened the archery range door and headed inside.

“Right, I don’t care about your dating escapades. But please avoid causing trouble for others.”

Yuren was demonstrating archery to Alphin, and Alphin looked astonished as he watched Yuren shooting the bow.

It was a perfect 10. Yuren’s arrow landed right at the center of the target.

“So, you said you weren’t confident about this but shoot like a pro?”

“Probably just luck, going with the flow.”

That Alphin can easily talk with him now, not to mention hitting a 10?

Amazing! The life of the protagonist!

In a world favoring only the protagonist, living as an extra inevitably breeds jealousy.

Still, what can be done? If you reincarnated as an extra, you should know better than to make a fuss and stay in your lane.

Romances with the heroines were just too out of line for me.