Chapter 24

Released:

[You have unlocked an achievement.]

[From now on, achievements will be recorded each time you prevent a bad ending.]

[Achievement ‘Can’t Do Anything on Your Own?’ has been recorded.]

Huh? What’s this about achievements all of a sudden?

I’ve never seen this kind of system in the game before. Is it like the usual ending collection feature has been swapped out for a bad ending collection instead?

Well, it makes sense if achievements are recorded every time I prevent a bad ending, right?

[Achievements]

Can’t Do Anything on Your Own?

ㄴ All Stats +5

When I checked the achievements tab, it showed that I had successfully blocked one bad ending. It was basically the one starting with the phrase, “Can’t do anything on your own?”

But… it says “All Stats +5,” yet I don’t even have any stats, you idiots…!

If you’re going to do this, just give me money instead…!

[To commemorate the first activation of an achievement, 100,000 silver coins will be awarded.]

[The awarded silver coins has been automatically deposited into your main bank account. Please refer to your account for details.]

Seeing the phrase “main bank account” in a fantasy status window was, well, surprisingly fascinating.

That aside, ten thousand silver coins just for the first achievement?

The currency here was divided into only silver and gold coins. Silver coins, as it turned out, had the exact same value as the Korean won from my past life.

One silver coin equaled one won, one hundred silver coins equaled one hundred won, and so on.

Which meant that the money I just received from the system amounted to one hundred thousand won.

Gold, however, worked on a slightly different scale. One gold coin could replace a whopping ten million silver coins. It was, quite literally, one of the biggest coins in the world.

The gold coin had been introduced mostly for the nobility and royalty. Their immense wealth had made coins excessively cumbersome, which eventually led to monetary reform and the creation of the gold currency.

Gold coins, as the name implied, were actually made of real gold. A single gold coin carried a value that far exceeded ten million silver coins due to the worth of its material.

Because of this, those who owned gold coins typically preferred to carry them as cash rather than deposit them in banks.

While a bank would simply treat gold coins as the equivalent of ten million silver coins, carrying it around in cash allowed for the possibility of selling it when needed. Obviously, people would line up to buy gold coins, taking into account the price of the gold itself.

Given the situation, banks often accepted deposits in gold but preferred to issue withdrawals in silver instead.

“What are you thinking about so deeply, Sir Theo?”

Iris, who had been sitting next to me, turned to look at me with a slightly serious and worried expression on her face.

“Oh, it’s nothing much. I was just thinking about my parents, you know, worrying about them. I should be helping them out, but instead, I ended up coming here.”

In reality, both of them were incredibly strong and healthy, and much better at farming than I could ever be. They were practically professional farmers, so there wasn’t really anything to worry about.

Besides, it was still the middle of winter in the Deir Viscounty, with snow covering everything. Other than working in greenhouses, it was nearly impossible to grow anything right now. My parents who knew this were taking it easy and resting, so there wasn’t any immediate reason to be concerned.

“Ah… I can understand that. You’ve always mentioned how you’ve helped your parents with their work, Sir Theo.”

“Well, no, not always. I only started pulling myself together recently. Before that, I was the village’s infamous troublemaker.”

That was actually Theo’s story, not mine.

At least since I had taken over his body, I hadn’t done anything that could get me labeled as a troublemaker.

I worked hard, put in real effort, and even earned the title of “Farming? Easy as Pie”.

Not to mention, I managed to turn myself from the “Useless Son” into the “Proud Son”.

Ha, I had to admit, I’d done pretty well for myself.

“Fufu, it seems like everyone goes through a phase like that when they’re young.”

“Even you, Iris? You’ve had times like that too?”

“Yes, I did. When I was younger, I think I was even more reckless, especially when my mother was still alive.”

Having someone to lean on….what a difference that could make.

It certainly made people act a bit more their age.

“But after my mother passed away… well, I didn’t have anywhere to lean on my heart. But now, it’s fine. I’ve found a place to rest my heart.”

I hoped desperately that it would be Estelle.

Iris who didn’t get along with the Emperor, and Estelle who didn’t get along with the Pope.

Weren’t they just perfectly set up to grow closer to each other?

Sharing secrets in hushed tones, talking about their situations, starting with sympathy that would slowly evolve into the realization, Ah, this is love!

What a beautiful ending! Keuhe~!

Don’t worry, I’ll clear all the bad ending routes and set things up just like that.

After that, I could go back to my hoùe and live comfortably helping my parents.

Or maybe, with Iris or Estelle’s help, I could land a decent job somewhere, earn a lot of money, and let my parents retire in peace.

***

The entrance ceremony began.

“We will now start the entrance ceremony for Ermunt Academy. However, before we begin, today we are graced with the presence of some very special guests.”

At the mention of special guests, a murmur spread through the auditorium.

“His Majesty the Emperor of the Ermunt Empire, and His Holiness the Pope of the Holy Empire, have come to bless you all. Please remember the great honor of this occasion.”

After the faculty member in charge of the ceremony respectfully bowed to the Emperor of Ermunt and the Pope, he stepped down from the podium. The Emperor of Ermunt was the first to speak while smiling warmly.

“Hoho, seeing the young people who will lead the Ermunt Empire and the Holy Empire in the future like this fills me with joy. As you all know, starting today, the Ermunt Empire and the Holy Empire have signed a peace treaty and pledged to live together as allies. The enrollment of the Crown Princess and the Saintess today serves as proof of this promise.”

Though his speech was long, it mostly revolved around admitting the Crown Princess and the Saintess to the academy, allowing students from the Holy Empire and Ermunt to study abroad in each other’s institutions, and other key announcements of that nature.

Since the Emperor had covered most of the important points, the Pope didn’t speak for long.

“May the blessings of God grace your paths.”

With a light blessing imbued with holy power, the students, many of whom had been feeling tired, found their bodies suddenly lighter and more refreshed. This caused a noisy stir of excitement to ripple through the crowd.

“Alright, alright, quiet down, settle down.”

After the Emperor and the Pope stepped down, the rest of the entrance ceremony moved along faster than expected. Nothing special happened after that.

There was a brief explanation of school life ahead, and instead of detailing rules and regulations, the faculty member announced that such information would be sent to students’ smartphones for them to review before classes began the next day.

“And now, we will announce the valedictorian.”

The valedictorian who would represent the academy’s entrance exam was traditionally not selected from among the commoners.

Most of the valedictorians were typically either nobles or imperial family members, and this time, everyone naturally assumed that the honor would go to either Iris or Estelle.

“The valedictorians are Crown Princess Iris and Saintess Estelle, who have jointly achieved the highest rank!”

As expected, the announcement confirmed the predictions and called out both of their names.

However, the concept of joint valedictorians was somewhat unusual.

In the past, the academy would go to great lengths to distinguish a single first-place student. However, given that this year’s theme revolved around a peace treaty, they couldn’t very well make the two esteemed individuals compete further, so they decided on a joint ranking.

“Wow, congratulations, Iris. I’d congratulate Estelle too, but she’s too far away.”

“Fufu, this much is easy. Still, I didn’t expect that woman to also be a valedictorian.”

“Go up there and don’t fight, just give a good speech as the valedictorian.”

“Yes, Sir Theo. Don’t worry.”

With a faintly ominous smile, Iris reassured him, but Theo could only laugh awkwardly in response.

“We now invite the two valedictorians to come up to the podium and deliver their valedictory speeches.”

At the call to the podium, Iris and Estelle rose from their seats and began to walk forward. The previously buzzing hall fell silent as all eyes turned to them.

Well, everyone’s practically drooling. Then again, they are both very pretty.

The sight of the two, whose lovely features were rarely seen even among the elite, gracefully walking side by side was almost like watching a living painting in motion.

“Greetings, I am Iris Luasa Ermunt, your valedictorian.”

“Greetings, I am Estelle Ingrid, your joint valedictorian.”

The voices of the two were as clear and melodious as jade beads rolling on a silver tray. This left even some students looking ecstatic as they listened.

The valedictory speeches concluded without dragging on for too long. After receiving their certificates, the two returned to their seats from the podium.

“Phew, I really hope you don’t use such petty seat arrangements next time, Iris.”

“I’ll use them whenever I can, of course.”

“That’s power abuse.”

While others admired how picturesque the two looked, the women were too busy bickering with each other to notice.

“Thank you both for your wonderful speeches. Normally, this would mark the end of the ceremony, but we have something special prepared this time.”

One of the faculty members who had stepped back onto the podium mentioned something unusual.

Special? What could it be?

So far, in all the times Theo had played the game, there had never been a case where anyone other than the protagonists received a special award during the entrance ceremony.

…Shit, did something go wrong?

With this unexpected development happening, Theo couldn’t help but grow increasingly nervous.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *