Chapter 28

Chapter 27

Four days after the enrollment ceremony, on Thursday.

I am working as a librarian, reading a novel borrowed from the upper floor during my shift, and spending my time after work reading manga.

There's no deadline for the mission given to me.

At least, on the surface.

The mission given to me by the boss was to seduce a capable woman, and such missions are usually carried out with a long-term perspective.

It's only been a month since I entered Sejong Academy, and it's impossible to lure a woman into the guild in such a short time.

At the very least, I need to calmly observe for a year and get the so-called 'heroines' to join the guild.

Even if they're not heroines, it's fine to bring over people with a bright future from the extras or future supporting characters.

With that in mind, I am slowly checking the list of new students through the library's book lending program.

However.

"What is this?"

I kept checking the list of students registered in the database.

When I first checked, I just let it slide, but when I checked it again, I realized something was seriously wrong.

The protagonist is not here.

There is no male student among the freshmen who can be assumed to be the protagonist.

The name of the protagonist that I remember is not here!!

I thought maybe he had changed his name or was using a pseudonym, so I manually copied all the names from the library lending program and searched for hero information registered on the Hero Association and the internet's unofficial hero wiki, but there was no one who could be assumed to be the protagonist.

"Why isn't he here! He's a Korean guy living abroad with a decent E-class ability!"

Most of the people I investigated had clean backgrounds, and none of them matched the protagonist's background.

"I'm going to go crazy."

Has the original setting changed?

Has the setting of being a Korean who came from abroad changed to a different country from the one I knew?

Or is he not enrolling this year but next year?

Or is he not enrolling in the academy at all this year?

My head started to hurt because the target that should be here is not even at the start.

It's like I infiltrated the place where the target should be for an assassination mission that determines the fate of the world, but the target never showed up where he was supposed to.

"I'm really going to go crazy."

Where in the world does such a case exist?

"How can the protagonist not appear in an academy light novel?"

I wanted to cry.

I investigated and re-investigated the protagonist to the point where the chicken I conjured up had gone cold, but in the end, there were no results.

I thought about checking every single male student, but when I counted, the number was quite significant.

There are about 100 male freshmen who entered the academy this year.

Originally, there should have been fewer, but due to the appearance of a certain woman, the number of enrollees increased more than usual.

- I came to the academy to see Lady Snow White! Everything else is fine!

Not only women, but many men also chose to enroll in the academy just to see Snow White, and in fact, a secret Snow White fan club has already started operating within the Sejong Island community.

The membership has already exceeded 1,000, and all kinds of photos and videos of Snow White are being uploaded under the name of 'fandom'.

- Members, Lady Snow White is coming out of her dorm, she's so beautiful T_T

- Can you see her back view when she holds the chalk on the podium? Her hip line is amazing...

- Seventh Dwarf is keeping an eye on it ^^

- Lady Snow White seems to be having a dinner party at this restaurant tonight? It's a full faculty dinner, wow.

Thanks to this, I can know Snow White's every move without having to investigate her myself.

'I want to know the protagonist this much.'

It would be great if someone could tell me the protagonist's every move from morning to night, just like Snow White.

Assassination is not an easy task.

Assassination is difficult even when attempted based on accurate information.

Since I can't even confirm the assassination target, which is the first step of the assassination, I can't help but feel anxious.

'Keep calm.'

It hasn't even been a week since the first semester of March started.

Whether it's a mid-term transfer, a seasonal enrollment, or in some other form, the guy will definitely appear in the academy.

- What is your purpose for coming to the academy?

- I can't tell you.

- Why? You didn't come here just to study. Tell me the real reason, not the surface one.

- That... I'll tell you when the time comes. The reason I came to Sejong Island.

The guy must have a specific purpose to achieve at the academy.

'But what if the novel ends abruptly without revealing that purpose?'

If the novel ends without resolving the plot, people might praise it as a MacGuffin, but a MacGuffin is only a MacGuffin when the work is a masterpiece.

In this case, the unresolved plot would just be an unresolved plot.

It doesn't help me at all.

What could be the reason for the protagonist to enter the academy with such a low ability, almost to the point of being powerless?

To pretend to be weak and then suddenly become strong?

To seduce any girl in the academy and play the role of a pillar?

Or to really learn something at the academy?

As long as the protagonist has a real purpose, he will definitely appear in the academy.

But what if that purpose can be achieved outside the academy, or there's no need to achieve it in the academy?

"......Sigh."

My head is getting complicated.

Just the absence of the guy I need to find has given me too many things to think about.

The only variable I can think of is my activity as a goblin over the past six months, but did that activity make the protagonist give up on coming to the academy?

It's an absurd butterfly effect.

It would be more plausible if the protagonist got involved in an accident and died, or committed suicide due to the snowball effect of my villain activities.

If this continues, I won't know where the protagonist is.

'Should I just tell everything to the boss and ask for help?'

It might just increase the uncertainty, but the boss will definitely help me.

But in return, my life will be mortgaged to the boss.

My life is already almost half-mortgaged to the boss, but if I tell him I'm a reincarnated person, he will definitely make me a 'writer'.

- Spit out all the creative works from your world. Hurry!

- You were a reader in your previous life? Don't you know that all readers are potential writers?!

- Spit out the synopsis, plot, or anything right now! All kinds of stories from a world without abilities, a world that doesn't exist here!

- I brought a novel writing guide. From now on, you just need to write 30,000 characters a day. What? How do you write 30,000 characters? Well, if you can type 300 characters per minute, you can write 30,000 characters in 100 minutes! Why are you saying that without even trying? Just try it!

He will make me spit out all the creative works from my original Earth.

Like Scheherazade, who had to tell all the world's stories to save her life, I might have to recite the stories from my original world for the boss.

'If I can't find him by summer, I'll have to ask for help.'

The deadline is the second semester.

If I can't find the protagonist by the end of the 'summer camp' when the goblin starts to run rampant and the guild's Four Kings start to be targeted, I will admit my incompetence and ask the boss for help.

'Where is the protagonist not showing up?'

It would be great if he suddenly appeared and said, "I'm the protagonist"—

"...Huh?"

"Hello?"

Across the desk, a familiar woman was smiling brightly at me.

"You're working here, Mr. Do."

"I told you I work at the library, but I didn't expect you to come, Yumir."

Yumir came.

Putting aside the complicated thoughts about the male students, I greeted her with a gentle smile as a librarian.

"Did you come to borrow a book?"

"No, I came to see you."

"...Me?"

"Yes. You paid for the restaurant bill, didn't you?"

She came because of a sense of obligation.

"That's something I should do. No matter how chaotic it was, if someone suddenly disappears, someone will naturally try to find them."

"......Oh."

Yumir's expression suddenly stiffened.

She must have immediately understood what I meant as a goblin.

- If a hero who hides their identity suddenly appears and disappears at the scene, there's a possibility their identity will be revealed.

If Yumir is smart, she will understand my words even in this everyday conversation.

"...I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Do."

"You don't have to go that far."

I shrugged lightly in response.

"So, did you really come to see me?"

"Yep."

Yumir took something out of her bag.

"Would you like a cup of coffee? I have some."

It was a convenience store coffee.

...A 500ml bottle of Starbucks latte in a glass bottle?

'What's her intention?'

It's too much for a simple gesture.

"Thank you. I'll drink it. And don't worry about the restaurant bill."

"Um, if you're not busy, I have something I want to ask."

"What is it?"

"......Do you have any books about clothing?"

"Clothing?"

"Yes."

Yumir's expression seemed genuinely serious.

"Um, it would be better if it's about hero costumes."

Apparently.

She's planning to abandon the Platinum Knight concept.