Something was bothering me.
“I haven’t heard of it either, but should I investigate?”
“Yes, please do.”
Olivia raised her face from the pillow.
“I think I need to take a bath in the bathhouse.”
Just as he said.
Olivia bit her tongue and blushed.
‘Could it be that there was a smell back then…?’
In a hurry, Olivia lifted her arm to smell it.
Maybe it was just her imagination, but there seemed to be a hint of sweat.
“I-I need to go right now!”
“Have a good time.”
Ignoring Bella’s farewell, Olivia hastily gathered her toiletries and headed towards the dormitory’s communal large bath.
The dormitory hallway felt strangely empty.
Olivia recalled the layout of the dorm in her mind as she walked toward the bathhouse.
At that moment.
BANG!
A thunderous sound roared in her ears.
It was coming from the direction of the bathhouse.
‘What’s going on?’
Curiosity piqued, Olivia quickened her pace.
Upon arriving at the entrance of the bath, what she witnessed was.
“How dare you peek at my divine body! You better be ready to die!”
A slim beauty, her naked body wrapped in a towel, with long dark blue ponytail flowing wildly, menacingly aiming a katana at someone.
“No, it was an acc-accident!”
A black-haired handsome man, with a flustered expression and cold sweat pouring down his face, was making excuses.
Understanding the whole situation in an instant, Olivia’s face flushed.
“P-Pervert!!”
A sharp scream escaped her lips.
It was the moment the original story took a wild turn.
*
The meals at Shuo Hero Academy were quite impressive.
Given it was hospital food, I expected the taste to be lackluster, but it was surprisingly good.
The quality truly befits an academy claiming to be the best in Japan and the world.
After quickly finishing dinner, I changed back into my school uniform and swiftly left the hospital room.
‘Now that I’ve eaten, I should head to check on the bathhouse situation.’
I had told Olivia to go to the bathhouse, but there was no guarantee that things would go as planned.
If she’s not at the bathhouse, I would have to find her again and urge her on.
‘As long as they meet, I doubt I’ll have to bother anymore.’
A grin spread across my face.
Now that Durandal is mine, all that’s left is to enjoy my time at this academy.
Let the protagonist and heroine roll around all they want.
I hastened my steps as I exited the hospital.
Walking through the campus filled with blooming cherry blossoms, I snuck into the dormitory.
Pinning the correction, I sneak into the dormitory.
Walking down the hallway while checking the blueprints of the inside of the dormitory I downloaded in advance.
‘Not much time left.’
First floor.
I can see the bathhouse sign in the distance.
The large bathhouse of Shuo Hero Academy has no gender distinction.
To prevent potential accidents, the usage times for male and female students are separated.
‘Preventing accidents? They can shove it.’
A shared bathhouse in a school that boasts the best facilities in the world with no separation between male and female?
It must be a shallow, convenience-driven setup to throw in some bathing gods and lucky perverts.
‘What a lame setup.’
I grumbled as I continued walking.
At the end of the long hallway, the bathhouse sign came into view.
“Pervert!!”
Olivia’s sharp voice echoed.
Did I succeed?
I halted my steps.
Thump, thump.
I summoned my magic. A thread of magic rose from the core and focused in my eyes.
My vision expanded like a telescope.
In the distance, the scene at the bathhouse entrance came into view.
A flustered Olivia.
A black-haired pretty boy, Kurosawa Yuji, bowing his head in embarrassment, hands clasped like in a comic, sweating coldly.
And in front of him, a beautiful girl with a dark blue ponytail, wrapped in a towel, her face set like a stone.
“Shinozaki Rin?”
Her name slipped out.
Shinozaki Rin.
Following the law of light novels where one heroine becomes the center of the story per volume, she is the titular heroine gracing the cover of Volume 2 and a lady from the prestigious Shinozaki family, Japan’s finest hero lineage.
The top candidate in Japan. The protagonist’s childhood friend.
And the unfortunate genius pushed to second place due to Olivia, who entered as the top student.
The story in the original Volume 2 resolves her inferiority complex over Olivia and the protagonist, leading to her salvation from the head of the Shinozaki family, who was using and pressuring her.
So, she’s not someone who should be here right now.
‘Why on earth is she here?’
My brows narrowed.
I needed to cool my head and assess the situation.
Olivia was dressed in casual clothes, holding a bath basket in her hand.
On the other hand, Shinozaki Rin was barely covered in a towel, her wet hair dripping.
Clearly, it was right after a bath.
Anyone with half a brain could tell.
‘The target of the protagonist seeing someone naked has changed.’
From Olivia to Shinozaki Rin.
‘Is this the butterfly effect?’
My head spun.
At that moment, I heard Shinozaki Rin’s voice ringing in my ears.
“I cannot tolerate such rude and shameless behavior disguised as an accident, Kurosawa.”
Her dark blue eyes grew cold.
Shinozaki quietly raised her right hand.
Whack.
A katana sliced through the air and landed in her hand.
Shinozaki’s signature weapon, the Totsuka no Tsurugi.
“I will judge your crime with this sword, Kurosawa Yuji.”
Shinozaki’s contemptuous gaze pierced toward the protagonist Yuji.
The Shinozaki family had been considered a perennial second-rate family in Japan until ten years ago when the Kurosawa family fell from grace due to an attack by the villain organization, New World League.
Having grown up constantly compared to the protagonist, Shinozaki inevitably harbors rivalry and inferiority toward Yuji, the last survivor of the Kurosawa family.
It’s a setup that inevitably brings about competition and inferiority complex.
‘Right, that was it.’
The original settings flood my mind.
Meanwhile, the conversation between Yuji and Shinozaki continues.
“So, I’m sorry. Rin. I really didn’t mean to.”
“I told you not to act like we’re close and call me by my name, didn’t I?”
Shinozaki glares at Yuji with a cold expression.
“I’m sorry, Shinozaki.”
“I don’t want to hear any sugar-coated excuses. Get to the training ground right now, Kurosawa.”
“······Got it.”
As Yuji grudgingly responds, Shinozaki glares at him and coldly turns away.
“Damn it.”
I catch sight of Shinozaki disappearing from view.
Muttering a low curse in Korean.
The original story is already going off track from the beginning.
It’s absurd how the reality of this light novel world can change based on who the protagonist saw naked.
I feel like a wise man’s time will hit, but anyway, the future has already changed.
Spilled water.
There’s no way to take it back.
‘What a mess.’
It’s not like I can’t handle it.
But I can’t just continue to lounge around as I originally planned.
I have to intervene, whether I like it or not.
If I don’t, I might end up having to directly deal with the New World League and those lunatics.
Ugh, just the thought of it is horrifying.
Those guys are strong as hell.
‘So, the protagonist should be dealing with this instead of me.’
My gaze turns to the protagonist, Yuji.
True to the setting of being a handsome man, he’s ridiculously good-looking.
Well, with looks like that, I guess he’ll be drowning in a harem.
I don’t like it.
‘You can expect the interest on the cost of bothering me will be claimed back with compound interest.’
It’s annoying to interfere with the original story, but it’s not impossible.
Key events always tend to concentrate on the protagonist.
It’s natural that crumbs will fall if I’m nearby.
From my position, where I have no choice but to leverage national pride to survive, it’s quite an attractive aspect.
The more I get attention, the more my ego will skyrocket.
‘Thinking about it, this isn’t half bad. Just minus the annoyance factor.’
To find a way back to my original world, I first need to become famous and rise to a high position.
That way, I can access more information and available resources.
Yeah. Now that it’s come to this, I’ll suck the marrow out of the protagonist.
Besides, I won’t lose anything.
With that resolve, I tried to turn away.
Then.
“Wait a minute.”
I hear someone’s voice in my ear.
Ugh, I need to escape.
It’s Olivia’s voice.
“You there, with the black hair… You’re Kim Deok-Sung, right?”
This is why I can’t stand it.
Any random person can recognize black hair; it’s a rarity.
“Damn it.”
Muttering low in Korean, I turn my back.
I see the platinum-haired beautiful girl, Olivia, awkwardly standing next to the protagonist Yuji.
“What if I am?”
I casually respond, alternating my gaze between the protagonist and Olivia.
“That’s…”
Olivia stumbles over her words.
She clicks her tongue and crosses her arms.
Yuji is watching nervously in the middle.
“Forget it. You. Kurosawa.”
“Uh?”
Kurosawa Yuji looks this way.
A sigh escapes involuntarily.
I move towards where Olivia and Yuji are.
I can see Yuji’s face.
Suddenly, my face, no, Kim Deok-Sung’s face, pops into my mind like a delinquent.
We have the same black hair, but the difference in appearance is this huge?
What an unfair world.
I poke the protagonist on the shoulder.
“Don’t hold back, just win honestly. Don’t make things worse by trying to go easy on him.”
Yuji’s black eyes waver.
He seems flustered at the realization that the strength play has been called out.
“W-What are you suddenly talking about, hahaha…”
He awkwardly laughs.
It’s obvious from his expression that he’s lying, as expected of a Light Novel protagonist, which is just amusing.
Be that as it may.
“It would align more with your goals. Well, unless you want to distance yourself from Shinozaki, keep hiding.”
I have to say what needs to be said.
If I hold back just because he’s a childhood friend like in Volume 2, I’ll only tire myself out.
No matter who the opponent is, the protagonist must reveal his strength at this point.
That’s the only way the tangled story can at least start to unravel.
“……”
Yuji’s eyes widen.
His expression stiffens.
This should be enough for him to understand.
I take a step forward.
“Wait a moment.”
I hear his voice.
I’m done talking.
I have no interest in being held up by some guy.
I ignore Yuji’s words and pass him to reach Olivia.
Olivia glances over at me.
“Hey.”
“Did you call for me?”
Now her gaze finally turns toward me.
Elegant as a French princess.
I let out a sigh inside.
With the situation changed, I suppose I’ll have to take charge of this troublesome main heroine for a while.
“You follow me. We need to talk.”
I press against my temples as I speak.
“W-Why me?”
I touch my forehead.
I’m feeling a tsundere vibe from this.
“If you don’t want to, just say so.”
I can’t stand being brushed off.
I walk past her.
“I never said I didn’t want to!”
I hear Olivia chasing after me from behind.
I click my tongue.
She should have said that earlier.
*
At the bathhouse, where Olivia and the mysterious black-haired student have disappeared, only Kurosawa Yuji remains alone.
“Don’t hide your strength,”
Yuji murmurs softly.
The image of the black-haired student comes to mind.
He shares the same black hair and eyes as me.
A face I’ve never seen before.
Considering that the color of the dark magical energy is rare, he might be the only student in the academy with the same hair color as me.
“More distant, you say…”
The image of my childhood friend, Shinozaki Rin, surfaces.
Her cold expression and tone.
It’s not just anger stemming from seeing her naked body.
Maybe it’s something more.
It could be rage born from the long-standing feud between the Shinozaki and Kurosawa families.
‘Is that what he meant?’
If so, how?
The secret between the two families isn’t something a regular student would know.
On top of that, the purpose he mentioned.
It undoubtedly refers to ‘family revenge.’
