Chapter 5

Objective: Evangelin’s Graduation

Reward: Wish Ticket

Failure: Death

The protagonist of this game was Evangelin.

She had many flaws.

The worst of them all was her cursed lack of social skills.

Evangelin was catastrophically bad at interacting with people. She had her reasons, of course—but even so, it was severe.

Despite being described in the game as “the most beautiful woman on the continent,” she had almost no friends. There was a reason for that.

One of the few friends she did have was Andy.

Well… from Andy’s perspective, Evangelin was just an acquaintance he greeted every now and then.

To Evangelin, however, Andy was her best friend.

That was why I recruited Andy before anyone else.

“Become friends with Evangelin.”

“Become friends with her? Not just get along with her?”

Andy tilted his head in confusion.

I nodded.

“That’s right. Become her friend.”

“Yes, Boss! Leave it to me! I’ll make her so attached she won’t be able to live without me!”

Andy snapped off a sloppy salute while saying something rather inappropriate.

I barely resisted the urge to correct his salute.

“But… Evangelin? Never heard that name before. If you’re emphasizing her this much, she must be someone important?”

“Very important.”

“Ooh… Is this it? You know…”

Andy raised his pinky finger suggestively.

I frowned.

“Absolutely not.”

“Heh, got it. So where’s the target? I’ll go charm her right away.”

“She’ll be here soon.”

I turned my gaze toward the bakery across the street.

It was so famous that any noble visiting the capital considered it a mandatory stop.

Evangelin was absolutely obsessed with bread.

How obsessed?

She loved it enough to sleep with a loaf as a pillow because, according to her bizarre logic, she could eat it the moment she woke up.

If she had just arrived in the capital, she would run straight to that bakery.

“What are the target’s distinguishing features?”

“Pink hair. Beautiful.”

“A beauty, huh? Heh… this’ll be fun.”

Andy rubbed his hands together with a sleazy grin.

After waiting for a while…

A splash of pink appeared at the end of the alley.

The protagonist.

Evangelin.

According to the setting, she was the greatest beauty on the continent.

The game described her appearance as something beyond mere beauty—as something that made people feel love itself.

That very beauty had brought countless tragedies upon her.

Her family had fallen.

Her parents had been executed.

Her younger sibling had disappeared.

As a result, Evangelin saw her appearance not as a blessing, but as a curse.

That was why she hid most of her face behind absurdly large, thick glasses that made her look foolish.

It was the classic game trope:

A plain girl removes her glasses and turns out to be unbelievably beautiful.

The problem was…

“GYAAAH!”

…she tripped over absolutely nothing.

Just like that.

There wasn’t a single obstacle in her way, yet she sprawled face-first onto the ground with a painfully loud smack.

Her dragonfly-wing glasses rolled across the street.

“O-ow…”

As Evangelin looked up…

The noisy street fell silent.

Everyone stared at her as though hypnotized.

Even I, who already knew her settings, was momentarily stunned.

So this is why she’s called the continent’s greatest beauty.

She hurriedly put her glasses back on.

Unfortunately, once everyone’s attention had been captured, it wasn’t so easily dispersed.

So Evangelin…

“Kyak! Kek! Kyuk! Shoo! Shak!”

…started waving her arms wildly while making incomprehensible noises.

A girl with messy pink hair and oversized bug-eyed glasses doing that…

She genuinely looked insane.

The crowd hurriedly looked away.

“S-Seriously…? That’s the target?”

Andy pointed at Evangelin with a conflicted expression.

“Yes.”

“…Mmm. I think this job deserves hazard pay.”

“Hazard pay?”

“Haha… just kidding.”

“You’ll get it.”

I tossed him a pouch stuffed with gold coins.

Andy panicked instead.

“I-I was joking! Really! It’s fine!”

A future Archmage with ambitions this small…

I frowned.

“Consider it friendship expenses.”

“Who pays people to become friends?”

Instead of answering, I pointed at Evangelin.

“KYAAAH!”

She was now puffing herself up like some kind of frightened animal.

People weren’t merely avoiding eye contact anymore.

They were actively steering clear of her.

“…”

Andy quietly pocketed the pouch.

Soon, Evangelin entered the bakery.

I gave Andy a push.

“Go.”

“Roger! Entering the field!”

Andy shouted something ominous before following her inside.

Evangelin…

Seeing the protagonist in person felt strangely nostalgic.

Not because I was happy.

Far from it.

Back when I played Graduation Harder Than Romance, Evangelin had been responsible for more Game Overs than anyone else.

I have to somehow get that hopeless little glass cannon to graduate…

Honestly…

I’d rather fight an Outer God.

I truly meant that.

Still… this time I have Andy.

The timing of Andy becoming friends with Evangelin had always been an important event in the game.

Thanks to Andy, Evangelin’s fragile mentality became at least slightly more stable.

Since I’d introduced them much earlier this time, their friendship should develop even faster—

“KYAAAAAH!”

The bakery door burst open.

Evangelin came sprinting out, screaming strangely as she fled down the street.

A moment later, Andy stumbled out after her.

“Boss! That bastard’s running away!”

“…What the hell.”

I muttered a curse and walked over.

“What did you do to her?”

“Nothing! I swear! I just said hello!”

Andy looked genuinely wronged.

Something wasn’t right.

No matter what happened, Evangelin had always gotten along with Andy.

So why…?

“Andy.”

“Yes?”

“If you were standing next to Evangelin without my orders, what would you have done?”

“Huh? I’d have ignored her. Why would I—”

“What if she were another freshman?”

“I’d probably greet her out of courtesy.”

“…I see. That’s the problem.”

I finally understood what had gone wrong.

Andy had approached her first.

That had triggered Evangelin’s wariness.

“Boss! Want me to get the boys?”

“What boys? Just wait.”

“Huh? After all that? She’s coming back? No way.”

Instead of answering, I pointed toward the end of the street.

A hooded woman was standing there.

A lock of pink hair peeked out beneath the hood.

“W-What? She’s already back?”

“Evangelin loves bread that much.”

“Even if there were a demon inside, she’d come back.”

“No way! She made that huge scene and came right back?”

Oh, yes.

It was entirely possible.

Because Evangelin was hopeless.

“Go inside first.”

“Buy every chocolate-filled bread they have.”

“Every single one.”

“Huh? All of them? They’re ridiculously expensive…”

A mage worrying about bread prices…

That was Andy’s chronic flaw.

“Use the money I gave you.”

“That’s an order.”

“Buy them all, then stand there quietly holding the bread.”

“Ugh… alright…”

His voice grew noticeably smaller.

He’d talked big earlier.

Now that he actually had to spend money, he was terrified.

“Stand there holding the chocolate bread.”

“Evangelin will approach you.”

“Don’t show any interest.”

“Just quietly eat your bread.”

“She won’t be able to resist begging you for one.”

“When she does, give her one.”

“That’ll be enough.”

“That simple?”

Not at all.

It only worked because it was Andy.

Rather than explaining, I shoved him toward the bakery.

“Whatever you do…”

“Don’t approach her first.”

“She’s not some wild animal…”

Grumbling to himself, Andy entered the bakery.

Soon afterward, Evangelin cautiously approached the bakery.

She hesitated outside for quite some time before finally stepping inside.

It looked rather ridiculous.

But bringing Andy and Evangelin together was incredibly important.

You could even say the fate of the world depended on it.

…If the world’s fate depends on those two, maybe it deserves to end.

I rubbed my aching temples.

He seriously wants me to buy all of this?

The outrageous prices made Andy tremble.

But it was the Boss’s order.

“Everything from here to here!”

He finally got to say the line he’d always dreamed of.

The bakery clerk stared at him in shock.

For some reason, it felt incredibly satisfying.

Can I really do this?

Won’t I go bankrupt?

This is way too expensive!

With trembling hands, Andy handed over a gold coin.

Paying for bread with gold…

He’d never imagined such a thing.

Just then, the bakery door opened.

A pink-haired girl entered.

Her oversized glasses completely hid her face.

It was Evangelin.

Following orders, Andy simply stood there holding the bread.

Evangelin wandered through the bakery as though in a trance.

After circling the store once…

She began examining each loaf with the solemn concentration of a mage selecting a magic crystal.

The bakery felt more like a research laboratory than a bakery.

Eventually, she hovered nervously near the clerk.

It was obvious she wanted to ask about something.

After watching her hesitate for a long time, the clerk finally asked if she was looking for a particular bread.

Evangelin answered.

Her voice was so quiet that the clerk couldn’t hear.

The clerk asked again.

And again.

After the third time, irritation appeared on the clerk’s face.

When the clerk sharply repeated the question…

“CHOCOLATE BREEEEAD!!”

Evangelin squeezed her eyes shut and shouted.

Watching from the side, Andy couldn’t help but admire her.

Wow… she’s really hopeless.

When the clerk apologized and said all the chocolate bread had already been sold…

Evangelin collapsed to her knees.

She looked like someone whose entire family had just gone bankrupt.

When tears began forming in her eyes, the flustered clerk pointed toward Andy.

Andy deliberately looked away, pretending not to notice.

Evangelin timidly approached him.

Andy ignored her.

Even without the Boss’s orders, he had no desire to get involved with someone like her.

“U-Um…”

Before he knew it, she was standing right in front of him.

“What?”

“Ch-Chocolate bread…”

“I heard… you bought… all of it…”

“I… like chocolate bread too…”

“That’s mean…”

“N-no! That’s not what I meant!”

She muttered to herself so quietly he could barely understand.

Growing impatient, Andy simply pulled out one of the chocolate breads and held it toward her.

“You want one?”

“Y-Yes!”

“I’ll… I’ll pay for it!”

“No need.”

“I’ve got plenty.”

Not wanting to get tangled up with her any further, Andy tossed her a chocolate bread.

Holding the bread, Evangelin wore an odd expression.

She seemed to ponder something deeply.

Then suddenly—

“Ah! I knew it!”

She proudly lifted her chin.

Andy felt a bad premonition.

Pointing at him, Evangelin declared,

“You’ve fallen for me, haven’t you?”

“…What?”

How did the conversation jump to that?

As Andy stood there speechless, Evangelin became even more convinced.

“Sorry.”

“I like older men.”

“W-Wait!”

“You’re not going to take the chocolate bread back just because I rejected you, right?”

She hurriedly hid the bread behind her back.

At that moment, Andy made a solemn vow.

He was definitely charging extra friendship fees for this.