“This is the place.”
“…Thank you for guiding me.”
“Then, please rest well.”
Following the maid’s guidance, I arrived at the room assigned to me.
Having just reached the dormitory, I washed up first before collapsing straight onto the bed.
Whether it was the aftereffects of exerting too much strength or not, my body still felt completely worn out.
Fatigue washed over me and drowsiness crept in.
Still, I managed to get through this without any major issues.
In the end, I became a student of the academy and secured the opportunity to intervene in future events.
Thinking that I had successfully taken the first step, I finally felt a little more at ease.
I felt somewhat relieved as I sat on the bed and looked out the window.
Somehow, time had passed so quickly that the sun was already beginning to set.
…It’s beautiful.
The view from my high-floor dorm room was quite impressive.
The sight of the sunset casting its glow over the neatly trimmed greenery was nothing short of breathtaking.
Given the academy’s immense scale, the dormitory grounds were equally vast, making it an unexpected pleasure to take in such a beautiful and expansive meadow.
Even with over a thousand new students, each of us was provided a private room, meaning there was no need to deal with troublesome roommates.
I could live like this forever, just lazing around.
Such idle thoughts came to mind as I buried my face into the soft bed. But the moment I acknowledged reality, a familiar sense of gloom returned.
Moving sluggishly, I reached into my chest pocket and fumbled around.
Soon, my fingers found the familiar grip of an object I always carried with me.
Swish—
What I pulled out was an old, worn-out book.
The faded stains on its cover bore evidence of how many times I had flipped through its pages.
It had become a habit to read this book every night before bed.
…Forget it. I should just get some sleep.
Having read it hundreds, no, thousands of times, I had already memorized every word.
Even so, I kept reading the book. Probably out of anxiety.
Tonight, I should just rest without thinking about anything.
From now on, life would only get harder, not easier. If anything, it would be even more brutal than before.
With that thought in mind, I closed my eyes and let myself rest.
I fought off the drowsiness that threatened to overtake me and refused to fall asleep.
Instead, I thought about the old acquaintances I would be meeting tomorrow.
***
I never thought I’d be wearing something like this in this world.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror.
The student uniform the Headmistress had sent to my dorm fit me perfectly.
A dark purple coat with a black tie. It even made someone like me, who had never been associated with expensive clothes, look presentable.
…But how did they get my measurements?
Did they measure me with the Eye of Insight or something? That thing really is ridiculously overpowered.
Honestly, I wouldn’t mind having an ability like that myself.
As I kept checking out my uniform in the mirror, a commotion from outside the window caught my attention.
I turned away from the mirror and headed toward the window.
.
.
.
Outside the dormitory, the area was crowded with students heading to class.
With over a thousand freshmen alone, it wasn’t surprising that the sheer number of people pouring out of the dorms felt overwhelming.
If anything, what was truly astonishing was the sheer size of the dormitory buildings that were capable of accommodating so many students.
The dormitories were divided by grade level.
The class buildings were also separated by grade level, so interactions between different grades weren’t particularly frequent.
Of course, depending on course selection or club activities, the amount of interaction could sometimes increase.
Oh, so this is Ella Academy’s Gate?
The freshmen had gathered in front of a huge structure glowing with a blue light.
It was rectangular in shape, with an opaque blue energy surging within.
This enormous mechanical device known as a Gate or sometimes a Portal was the first instance of spatial magic being applied to a magical artifact.
Incidentally, it was a magical artifact created by the academy’s dragon headmistress.
Thanks to this invention, people across the vast continent of Albracia could travel freely and communicate with ease.
Ah, it’s already 37 minutes past. I’d better hurry through.
Depending on their type and quality, magical artifacts required exponentially more mana stones as their size increased.
And that Gate was, without a doubt, the largest one I had ever seen.
No matter how prestigious Ella Academy was, even they couldn’t afford to keep something like that running indefinitely.
That was why it only operated for forty minutes, starting at 8 AM.
What if I’m late?
I recalled the map of Ella Academy I had seen in the game.
…Yeah, no matter how fast I ran, being late was inevitable.
This academy was ridiculously huge.
I quickened my pace and approached the Gate like the other students.
Once I passed through that blue space, I would be transported directly to the classroom building area.
Moments later, my body touched the blue light as I stepped through the Gate.
Shhhh—
A brief sensation of pressure filled my ears, and in the blink of an eye, the scenery changed.
It felt similar to the spatial magic the Headmistress had used.
Though, in terms of comfort, the Headmistress’s version was far superior. This one was a bit—
“Ugh… my head.”
“Wait, do we have to go through this every day just to get to class? This is seriously annoying.”
“Uweeegh!!”
“Kyaaaah—! Someone just threw up here!!”
The area was incredibly noisy.
Most of the students who had passed through the Gate were groaning in discomfort.
It was a minor issue caused by the fact that this form of transportation relied on a magical artifact rather than direct magic.
If someone used the Gate alone, it might not be a problem, but when multiple people passed through at once, their mana would intertwine, making the experience unpleasant for some.
If your mana resistance and sensitivity are high, it’s not an issue at all.
The few students who remained completely unfazed were likely quite skilled in their own right.
Still, the others would probably get used to it after a few months of daily use.
Simply passing through the Gate would serve as a form of training.
“Ugh, I think I’m gonna—blurgh!”
“Hey, what the hell! Don’t throw up facing me! Aaaah!!”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, my clothes!!!”
Damn… that’s rough.
I offered them my silent condolences, then turned and walked toward the building.
Or at least, I tried to—
Right until someone grabbed me by the back of my neck.
Thud!
“Kehek! Cough cough! Who—”
“Follow me.”
The voice was cold yet beautiful.
One thing was certain; it belonged to a woman.
She left only those words behind before gripping the back of my neck tightly and dragging me toward the rear of the building.
I was caught off guard. I had no choice but to grab my neck and stumble backward as I followed her.
The others who had been heading into the building glanced my way and started murmuring among themselves.
No, come on. Someone help me…!
That voice sounds familiar.
Being dragged backward made it difficult to see her face.
I spent a few seconds trying to piece together her identity as she pulled me along.
In truth, it didn’t take long to figure out who she was.
I had known we’d cross paths eventually, but I never expected it to happen this soon…
This is getting really messy—
Thud!
“Ugh!”
A floating sensation swept over me before my back slammed against something.
Pain spread across it. She must have thrown me straight into the wall.
The cold surface of the building pressed against me. Its chill sank into my skin.
“What the hell are you doing here?!”
Thud!
Once again, I was slammed against the wall. This time, by my collar.
Only then did I finally get a clear look at her face.
“…It’s been a while, Riley.”
“Shut your mouth. I’m sick of hearing my name come out of your lips.”
“‥‥.”
Her voice trembled as if she was barely holding back her rage. Her glare was sharp enough to kill.
“I told you… if you ever showed up in front of me again, I’d kill you. Didn’t I? Huh?”
“You’ve gotten quite the sharp tongue since we last met.”
“And whose fault do you think that is…? Do you even feel the slightest bit of guilt? After killing our master? After what you did to me? Do you not even remember those disgusting, vile things you said?!”
What could have turned her into this? …It must have been me.
Her once-delicate face twisted into something monstrous.
A deep, seething hatred burned in her dark eyes.
She was one of the playable characters, with neatly cut, short blue hair.
Back when I was a fugitive, wandering to escape my pursuers, she had been the disciple of the benefactor who sheltered me.
It wasn’t for long, but at a time when I had no home, she and he had been my refuge.
…At least, until I destroyed everything with my own hands.
I tore my gaze away from her and cast a glance at the sun hanging in the sky.
Having encountered countless protagonists from this game world, I had always taken a one-sided stance toward them.
I approached them as if offering kindness, only to steal what was precious to them.
I might have seemed like a beacon of hope and salvation, but to them, I was nothing more than despair itself. The root of all evil.
A con artist, a murderer, trash, a loved one, someone who abandoned them, someone they despised.
The countless names they had called me surfaced in my mind.
…Right. I should act the part.
The sins I had committed were real. Was it truly just an act?
Malice, even if feigned, was still evil, wasn’t it?
―That thought lingered for a moment before I shoved it aside.
Suppressing the emotions crawling up inside me, I put on my mask.
“I’m not sure what you mean. Did we have anything left to discuss?”
“You evil bastard… You really, really…!!”
I felt her hand trembling as she gripped my collar.
For a brief moment, her trembling voice made my mask waver. But I quickly steadied myself.
Srrrk—
Her hand, which had been clutching my collar, slowly fell away.
Her body too collapsed and sunk to the ground.
“Let’s not act like we know each other at school. …It’s not like anything good will come of it for either of us.”
Leaving only those words behind, I forced my heavy feet to move and walked away.
“…I swear, I’ll make sure—”
I ignored the voice calling out from behind me and kept pushing forward as if fleeing.
And just like that, I left her behind, melting back into the stream of students returning to school.
…This sucks.
This life really fu*king sucks.
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