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chapter 74
“Wow, f*ck.”
Returning to the dorm, I stared blankly into space.
An Siwon.
Anyone could tell it was a Korean name, and I was at a loss for words.
His attitude, as if he didn’t even care to change his name, completely left me speechless.
“He does look kind of East Asian, I guess.”
The Crocus Empire was made up of the typical fantasy race—basically pseudo-Westerners.
Among them, he definitely stood out with his appearance. Maybe that’s why I remembered him even though I never exchanged a word with that guy.
“His name is An Siwon… ah! Siwon is the given name, An is the surname. Kind of unusual, right? In my hometown, naming works the opposite way.”
“…Where’s your hometown?”
“You suddenly fell from the sky!”
“Riji! Haha, no, I mean my parents picked me up when I was wandering around.”
“……”
It was a classic fantasy protagonist backstory, one that could have happened ten years ago or more.
I gave a knowing smile and left the conversation.
One thought dominated my mind.
“I absolutely must not get involved.”
Having a classic fantasy protagonist around me—why do those types of human male characters always exist in romantic fantasy?—made me nervous.
It’s common sense not to get entangled with that type of human.
Classic fantasy protagonists tend to get into endless trouble. Maybe they’ll just keep eating hardships and die before the story ends.
For someone like me, whose life genre was set to “refreshing and carefree,” he was a first-class danger.
“Forget it.”
I decided to erase him neatly from my mind.
The only concern was the potential existence of another “foreign element” besides me.
Two former Koreans in this small academy was not a good sign.
An Siwon seemed oblivious, but someone might know the original novel.
If so, they would have already realized that the protagonist, “Carnis Esclif,” was suspicious.
Or maybe the “original female lead” who hadn’t possessed my body existed somewhere in this world.
In that case, the most likely person would be—
I turned my gaze to the bed next to me.
“May.”
“Yes?”
“Team Chicken or Team Pizza?”
“…What does that mean?”
No reaction.
“It’s a thing.”
Any Korean hearing that would instantly shout “Chicken!”
What? Pizza?
…Well, both together would taste even better.
I slid down onto my bed, leaning against a big pillow.
Then I noticed the calendar hanging on the wall.
The academic calendar was still stuck on the number 8.
I tore it with magic.
On the September page, a huge, red message read:
<Midterm Exams>
Indeed, the month of exams was approaching.
“So we formed a study club.”
Felix handed me a temporary club registration form.
“All you need to do is sign, Carnis!”
I rolled my eyes and scanned the member list.
<Midterm Exam Study Club>
Felix Agrife (Leader)
Dawn Grace (Member)
Aiden Grace (Member)
Carnis Esclif (Member)
“I never agreed to put my name here.”
“We’re close friends, aren’t we?”
“Since when?”
Felix smiled cheerfully.
I sighed and signed my name anyway.
Studying for midterms was useless to me, but at least I could help them academically.
“Come to B-1 on the 4th floor of the main building after dinner today!”
“Okay, okay.”
So I went.
But why…
“Are there this many people?”
There should have only been four listed on the paper.
I was dumbfounded at the circle of people sitting around.
Aspodel, noticing my expression, explained casually:
“They joined along the way.”
“?”
Is that… allowed?
On the side, Bella jumped slightly at seeing me.
“Oh, hi.”
She still seemed uncomfortable around me.
Well, that was manageable for now.
“Ha… haha… haha. Why am I here…”
Exactly what I wanted to ask.
I frowned at An Siwon, who was smiling dumbly.
Why the hell was he here?
An Siwon wanted to cry.
“Why am I here?”
A short-term study club for the midterms.
The concept was good. A perfectly normal, ordinary club.
But the members were the problem.
“All right, let’s do our best!”
The unnecessarily cheerful red-haired guy #1.
“Quiet down, Felix.”
Ugh.
The blonde, green-eyed, thinly bespectacled handsome guy #2.
“The magic department’s questions are quite high level too.”
Black-haired, black-eyed cold beauty #3.
“Uh, Carnis, how do we solve this problem?”
Blue-haired, blue-eyed cold beauty #1.
And—
“Aha, let me explain the solution process first.”
Carnis Esclif, surrounded by all those beautiful men and women!
“Ughhh!”
Help me. I have to get out of here.
As I silently despaired, a blunt voice spoke beside me.
“What’s wrong? Can’t focus?”
It was Bella.
With practical ginger hair and freckles, her face was far from sparkling or pretty.
Yet whenever An Siwon looked at her, he felt a breath of relief.
“No, I have to focus.”
“Pay attention.”
I had gotten close to her shortly after entering the academy.
In an academy with mostly nobles, both Bella, who was barely noble, and An Siwon, who had fallen from the sky, were in similar positions, giving them a lot in common.
However, over time, he had distanced himself from her.
Bella had actively provoked Carnis Esclif.
Seeing Bella torment Carnis, An Siwon thought:
“A villain cliché. An extra villain cliché!”
It was obvious when you looked slowly.
The magic department at an academy gathering talent from all over the continent.
The only high-class beauty unable to use magic.
A familiar setup.
If this continued, a “protagonist” type guy would appear, save her, and make her fall for him.
And in the process, she would get punished by him.
So he had kept his distance, having no desire to be dragged into that ruin.
“I didn’t expect him to be the protagonist, though.”
It wasn’t until the second semester of 4th year that he considered Carnis Esclif the protagonist instead of the heroine.
As a magic student, he witnessed Bella provoking the audacious Carnis and humiliating Professor Vernua firsthand.
At the time, he had only commented as an extra, “Good, I thought I could skip class today!”
But at that moment, she was undeniably the protagonist.
Behaving as if completely changed for no reason—
That was the privilege of a reincarnator or someone possessing another’s body.
An Siwon was convinced Carnis Esclif was a reincarnator.
“If she were possessing someone, she couldn’t use magic this freely.”
Of course.
Typically, a possessed character in academy stories uses modern knowledge to start businesses or invent new foods.
A reincarnator, by contrast, pursues revenge or unfinished business from a previous life with overwhelming skill.
Judging by the circumstances and actions, Carnis Esclif was the latter.
Regardless, the fact remained: she was the protagonist.
He sighed and adjusted his pen. Using a quill and ink instead of a ballpoint was inconvenient, but unavoidable.
That wasn’t the important part anyway.
“This exam cannot be a failure.”
Yes.
4th-year second-semester midterms.
The higher the year, the more important grades became.
Especially in the academy, the transcript would matter for the rest of his life.
Rankings determined assignments, allowances, job prospects… everything.
“Right. No time to worry about protagonists or anything.”
Study! Only studying could save him!
He lit a fire in his eyes and began to study.
For his lifelong dream of a long, fulfilling life.
