As I pass through the Kyoto sightseeing scene, Hoshino Kasumi gets hurt by the architect.
I unleash my lines with the excitement of a boy manga protagonist.
“Junior······. That’s definitely you······!”
This time, I hear Kasumi’s voice.
“To think the Black Beast has such a backstory······!”
“I had no idea······.”
“Doesn’t the Black Beast look a bit handsome when you see him again? He does look a bit of a punk······.”
“His physique is amazing, though.”
What on earth is being made in Korea?
Hearing the voices of the extras makes my head spin.
Next, the festival scene and the fireworks scene flash by.
And finally, France.
I can see the end of this long audiovisual torture.
[Olivia]
[I came to rescue you, as promised.]
Boom!
With a thunderous sound, I crash through the ceiling.
Seeing me, the animated William smirks unpleasantly.
[How dare you lay hands on my Olivia······. You, the Black Beast······.]
His shadow is just like the villain in the poster.
Was William the villain on the poster?
What a joke.
“Kim Deok-Sung! Please take out William!”
Evangelin shouts.
“Go Black Beast!”
“Hang in there! Don’t let that guy take the princess!”
“Take out that jerk and save the princess!”
The other extras are yelling.
Please, please, just stop it.
But I have no choice.
At least I should block out the visuals.
Just as I was about to close my eyes.
“Ugh······. Hmph······.”
Olivia next to me blushes.
Her blue gaze glances over here and there.
[Partner, you weren’t trying to close your eyes, were you?]
The Black Prince asks in my head.
I sigh.
Yeah, that’s just my fate.
Anyway, there’s not much time left in this hellishly long animation screening.
Giving up on everything, I turn my gaze back to the screen.
The scene of me fighting William, transforming into a monster under the orders of the shadow.
Finally, the scene where Olivia awakens and slices up William in monster form appears.
“Hooray for the Black Beast!”
“The Black Beast saved the princess!”
“So that’s why everyone fell for him······. I had no idea······.”
“If he’s this cool and also good in bed, isn’t it weird if no one falls for him?”
“Is it too late to back out?”
“Maybe ‘Black Harem King’ suits you better?”
Cheers erupt from the audience.
Where on earth did theater etiquette go?
The final scene showed me arriving at Shuo Hero Academy with Olivia, Makoto, Eri, Senior Kasumi, and Rin, as the camera panned up to the sky for the end.
Finally, it’s over.
I shouldn’t have to endure this damn pain anymore, right?
The staff roll begins.
[Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo, crossing over Arirang Hill♬]
A K-POP remixed version of Arirang plays with the staff roll.
Hearing Arirang at a Japanese cultural festival is ridiculous.
My face is burning.
This is so embarrassing.
Is it really over now?
Just as I thought so…
A post-credits scene appears.
[It’s summer! It’s the sea!]
The video ends with Eri, Rin, Senior Kasumi, Makoto, and Olivia in swimsuits shouting that.
Was that just a teaser for season two?
Are we really doing this again?
I feel faint.
“······And with that, we conclude the screening. Thank you to the audience for watching. Please look forward to the upcoming TVA edition. Thank you.”
Han Seo-Jin, the host, makes a horrifying announcement.
Clap clap clap clap clap.
The audience rises and applauds.
“It was the best!”
“Black Beast, surprisingly cool, huh?”
“I’ll definitely watch it when the TVA comes out!”
With the audience buzzing one last time, the screening comes to an end.
What a horrifying time that was.
I took a deep breath, struggling to erase the terrible animation from my memory.
I barely made it through the biggest hurdle. Now, today’s remaining schedule is just a formality.
The problem is tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the second day of the cultural festival, where the Miss Shuo contest will take place.
It’s the day Maeda Shinji and the Trickster terrorized the academy in the original work.
Although the flow has changed significantly from the original, it wouldn’t hurt to be careful.
“Kim Deok-Sung, let’s move on to the next class now.”
“Understood.”
As I stood up at Aris’s words, it was time to wrap up the inspection of the cultural festival site.
Master’s charm points
Just as I stood up with Aris…
“W-what?! Are you leaving already?!”
Olivia grabbed my wrist.
Her face flushed slightly.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward us at her words.
“Ugh, Master, were you trying to sneak away from us?”
Eri puffed out her cheeks.
Sneak away?
“You naughty junior who only favors the knight princess and the student council president… The one who cruelly tramples on a girl’s heart is bad.”
Senior Kasumi peeked out, looking over here.
“Master, are you really leaving now…?”
“Deok-Sung, can’t you stay with us just a little longer?”
Makoto said with a shy face, and Rin bit her lip.
I’m not even leaving for good.
With them all wearing maid outfits together, I was worried about how weird that looked.
Even if I thought about just walking away…
“Uuuuuu…”
Seeing Olivia holding my hand, puffing her cheeks, and blushing made it hard for me to take a step away.
Just then, I heard…
“Look over there! It’s the Black Beast and the harem members!”
“It’s the Black Beast and the harem members!”
“Kyahhhhh!”
“Please sign!”
People swarmed around me like mushrooms after rain.
Sign?
What the heck do they want me to sign?
Just as I was confused…
“Please form a line, as it can be overwhelming for Kim Deok-Sung if you all crowd him at once.”
Han Seo-Jin stepped forward to manage the crowd.
[Oh, partner. Are we having a signing event?]
The Black Prince chimed in my head.
Suddenly, what’s with the signing event atmosphere?
“Master! Sit here!”
Rollin’ in.
Eri brought in my desk from who-knows-where.
On the desk were already name pens and signing paper.
Wait, who set this up?
“Well, it can’t be helped. Just go ahead and sign.”
Aris crossed her arms and looked at me.
Even Aris, my last hope, acknowledged the signing event, making it an undeniable reality.
My head hurts.
Sighing, I sat down.
“Then, let the signing event begin.”
With one word from Han Seo-Jin, the signing event kicked off.
“Kyah! It’s the Black Beast!”
“He looks even more like a jerk in real life!”
“Our eyes met! He might just run away!”
The extras were talking nonsense just the same as always.
I sighed and signed the papers they held out to me with the name pen.
What is this, not even in Korea and here I am in Japan, having a damn signing event?
“Deoksung-chan! Sign here!”
Rollin’ in.
Saoiri was sitting across from me, smiling and pushing her chest out.
“Where?”
“Here.”
Giggle.
She pointed to her chest.
Her glasses sparkled.
As expected of a 4D genius character, even the signing spot request is something else.
“Cough, even my brother has succumbed to Saoiri…”
Ishihara’s nonsense drifted in from the side.
“Do it somewhere else.”
“Saoiri, I want to get Deoksung-chan’s signature right here.”
Saoiri smiled.
She had no intention of backing down.
I turned around.
The line was pretty long.
I couldn’t waste any more time here.
Sighing, I scribbled my signature on Saoiri’s shirt.
“Thank you! Deoksung-chan! I’ll treasure this for a lifetime!”
After Saoiri moved away, the next person in line was…
“Kim Deok-Sung! Hehe. It’s my first signing event, and I’m so nervous!”
A beautiful girl with impressive pink twin-tails.
It was the English princess, Evangelin.
Whoosh.
She pulled a ton of goods out from the crossbody bag she was carrying and placed them on the desk.
Kim Deok-Sung fan, Kim Deok-Sung photo card, Kim Deok-Sung clear file, Kim Deok-Sung cheering wand, and so on.
Finally, Evangelin placed a crossbody bag with my character on it on the desk, her pink eyes shining.
“Girl, I can’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of your signing event! So, please, sign!”
Her sparkling pink eyes.
Did she really bring all this stuff just to get a signature?
And the bag too, really?
[Wow, Evangelin, the head of the Deoksung fan club in England? Not messing around, huh?]
The Black Prince was amazed in my head.
“Got it. Fine.”
I just gave up now.
Resigning myself, I picked up the name pen and signed every single piece of merchandise.
“Ha-wa-wa-wa-wa… Kim Deok-Sung… I’m so grateful…”
As the signing event ended, Evangelin blushed and carefully placed the goods into her bag before leaving.
“Oh my, when did you conquer the British princess too?!”
“From France to now the UK… The Black Beast, could he be a Princess Killer?”
“Is the Hundred Years’ War happening again in Japan?!”
Whispering extras.
My head is already throbbing from this damn signing event.
Just when I was pressing on my temples.
“Kim Deok-Sung! I also want a signature…”
A beauty named Kotori Beige sits down.
This time, it’s Yoo Se-Ra.
She timidly presents her signing paper.
Didn’t she get an autograph in Korea last time?
I felt a slight doubt but still signed for her.
Yoo Se-Ra blushes and retreats with the signed paper.
The signing event continued like a marathon.
It wasn’t until I scribbled down signatures on countless autograph papers that the long line finally ended.
I’m mentally exhausted.
After the premiere and the signing event, Yoo Se-Ra, Satou Rena, Ishihara Saori, and Evangelin wanted to explore the cultural festival and left with other attendees.
Ishihara Daiki and Kurosawa Yuji also exited the classroom.
So, in the 1st Year A-Class Classroom, only me, Olivia, Senior Kasumi, Makoto, Eri, Rin, and the Student Council President Aris remained.
“Hey!”
Olivia places her hands on her hips.
She speaks with a flushed face.
“How was the anime screening today? I’m not asking because I’m particularly concerned about your opinion or anything! Just curious, that’s all! Don’t get the wrong idea!”
Olivia mumbles, puffing her cheeks.
“Right. Master. A story depicting our strong bond! Isn’t it touching?”
Suddenly, Eri’s orange twin-tails sway beside me.
“Junior, wasn’t the anime fun?”
“Master, we truly are the best, right?”
Kasumi and Makoto’s gazes shift towards me.
“I’m curious about your thoughts. Speak up, Deok-Sung.”
Rin rests her hand atop her ample chest.
Thoughts?
Are they seriously asking me to comment on that terrible anime?
“……”
Han Seo-Jin stares silently at me.
Unlike the other heroines, she hasn’t spoken a word, but the fanatic patriotic fervor hidden in her dark eyes feels terrifyingly palpable.
To be honest, the quality wasn’t bad.
If I had seen it during my obsessive phase, I might have called it a godly anime.
But the issue is that the ridiculous protagonist of that cringe-worthy anime is me, and I’m no longer an obsessive fanboy.
More than anything…
“Everything’s fine, but wasn’t the story a bit too historically inaccurate? When did I ever say lines like that from the anime?”
I’ve never said any of those cheesy lines like a protagonist from a shonen manga or light novel.
Eri laughs while covering her mouth.
“Master, you’re such a shy one. Totally tsundere.”
What?
Shy? Tsundere?
