Chapter 63

"......I'm sorry, Rin. I feel guilty for all this time."

Ichiro scratches his cheek.

Rin bows her head.

A tear rolls down her cheek.

Memories of the Shinazaki family flash through her mind.

His face also comes to mind.

The confident words of Kim Deok-sung, who said he would solve the problem for the chairman, ring in her ears.

Indeed, he did solve it.

Rin wipes away her tears with her sleeve.

"......It's fine, Father."

Father.

It's a pleasant sound.

Rin thought so.

It feels as if the resentment that had built up inside her is melting away like snow.

Perhaps she had always wanted to hear from Ichiro that she was not just a tool but his daughter.

Ichiro smiles faintly.

Though it's the first time Rin has heard him say it, it's not unpleasant.

"Yes. My daughter."

Their gazes meet in the air.

"All the orders I gave you until now...... are hereby null and void. You are not a tool of the family, Rin. Live your life. It's fine to have a boyfriend at the academy like everyone else. Of course, he has to be someone I approve of."

Ichiro smiles.

Boyfriend.

At the word, Rin's face turns bright red.

Her heart races.

The face of the man she admires, Kim Deok-sung, comes to mind.

She fidgets with her lips.

Ichiro, noticing Rin's unusual demeanor, asks.

"Do you have someone in mind?"

"That's......"

Rin touches the teacup.

Kim Deok-sung has two women by his side: Nishizawa Eri, who is better at cooking and much more beautiful than her, and Olivia, who is equally endowed and of equal status, and has the title of personal maid.

To surpass these two women, it might not be a bad idea to use her father's power.

"......I have my heart set on Kim Deok-sung......"

Or perhaps, she just wanted to have a normal conversation with her father.

Rin thought so and confessed her feelings in a small voice.

"What? Kim Deok-sung? Hahahaha, hahaha! Yes, my daughter has a good eye for people. I was going to scold you if you brought some random guy and tried to pass him off as your boyfriend."

Shinazaki Ichiro laughs.

Kim Deok-sung is the one who saved him and is also a desirable talent.

He had no intention of forcing a marriage on his daughter, but now that she has set her heart on a man, things are different.

In this situation, he must secure him.

Rin, with her blushing face, stammers.

"......I want to be Kim Deok-sung's girlfriend. I want to improve my womanly skills and cooking skills......"

She admits she can't cook.

But she doesn't want to remain a woman with no womanly skills forever.

She doesn't want to fall behind Nishizawa and Olivia.

One day, she wants to proudly make him a proper kimchi stew.

Rin thought so.

"Good. If you want to, I'll support you fully."

Hearing Ichiro's words, Rin smiles faintly and takes a bite of the pastry.

For some reason, the pastry tastes sweeter today.

*

The transmission of the Black Light Sword Technique skill is finally over.

I left the training room, leaving Olivia to practice on her own.

I cross the schoolyard, now bathed in the setting sun.

Today was really a peaceful day, nothing out of the ordinary.

It would be great if every day was this peaceful.

I think this peace will continue for a while.

Rin won't be causing trouble around me anymore.

Although Ichiro's words about a benefactor were a bit ominous, I'll figure it out eventually.

At that moment, a familiar voice is heard.

"Kim Deok-sung."

I look up.

Under the sky dyed by the sunset, she is there.

A beauty with a blue ponytail and blue eyes.

Shinazaki Rin.

"Why?"

"......Thank you."

Rin says, her face flushed, perhaps due to the sunset.

What, why is she suddenly acting like this?

"For what?"

Rin smiles faintly.

She speaks in a calm voice.

"......Father told me. That you moved Kurosawa to save us."

The moment I hear her words, all the puzzle pieces in my head fall into place.

Now I understand why Ichiro called me a benefactor.

This 100% protagonist, that smooth-talking guy, must have spilled everything to Ichiro.

"Really, what a pain. That dog Kurosawa......"

Curses come out naturally.

I went to all the trouble of setting everything up and even handed him the spoon, and he threw it all away?

People should have a limit to how much they can be suckers.

I'm going to lose my mind.

I thought I had finally cut ties with Rin, but this feels like I've just made things worse.

I'm already struggling with Olivia.

I feel like I'm going to faint.

"You're always like this, Kim Deok-sung. But I...... No."

Snap.

Rin places her hand on her chest.

No, don't.

"Right now, I can swear. Kim Deok-sung. If you want, I'll dedicate my body, my heart, and my virginity to you. I'll serve you for life, like a devoted wife! I, I can even take you for a walk on a leash, do, do a maid cosplay, and warm your futon naked like Hideyoshi did for Nobunaga. Please, be my husband!"

Rin shouts, her face red.

Fortunately, there's no one around.

"Hey, Rin. You're really useless to me, so don't do this. Please...... I'm begging you."

What? Husband? Devoted wife?

There's no way I'm becoming the son-in-law of the Shinazaki family unless I'm crazy.

Besides, I feel like I'm going to throw up right now.

"......Are you concerned about me? I'm glad."

Rin, who still has no intention of giving up.

How can you interpret my words as concern?

I don't understand.

Yeah, light novel heroines are all like that.

"It's not concern, so don't misunderstand. I didn't save you; Kurosawa did. I'm leaving now. Don't follow me. Really."

I wave my hand and leave.

How much more crazy is the world going to get?

I'm seriously worried about the future of the light novel world.

*

Tokyo.

Shuou Hero Academy's front train station.

A girl with a green short haircut and a striking androgynous beauty, Kamia Makoto, gets off the train.

Clack.

As she pulls her suitcase, the Shuou Hero Academy on the artificial island comes into view in the distance.

"Here is Shuou Hero Academy......"

The highest academy in Japan, the best in the world.

For her, who grew up as a slave to the Kamia family and has never attended an academy, this might be a place of longing.

"Academy life......"

Makoto, who unknowingly spoke her thoughts, quickly covers her mouth and looks around.

Fortunately, no one is paying attention to her.

Her heart, hidden under the compression bandage that binds her uselessly large chest, beats rapidly.

'No. I'm a child who can't be happy......'

She shouldn't dream of things beyond her station.

Makoto, trying to steady herself, pulls her suitcase and heads toward the academy.

Does he think I'm a guy?

Clack, clack.

In a room filled with the sound of large gears turning, there is a metal altar made of cold steel.

In front of the altar, a beauty with black hair in a ponytail and golden eyes, the Saint, kneels and prays, her chest wrapped in a black dress, and a veil on her head.

A red rose blooms on the black eye patch covering her left eye.

Whirr.

The automatic door opens.

An old man with a kind appearance, dressed in a white priest's robe, appears, leaning on a cane.

"Your Highness, the Saint."

The honey-blonde beauty, the Saint of the sect, Beatrice, turns her head, her uncovered right red eye open.

Her arrogant gaze falls on the Grand Elder.

"The humans are absurdly foolish, shameless, and disrespectful. When they said they wanted a contract with me, I, in my magnanimity, bestowed upon them my loyal hound......"

"......I will lodge a severe protest with the League. Your Highness, the Saint."

"Hmph. It was my mistake to trust such despicable humans. I doubt I need to contract with such low and disrespectful humans. There will be no more contracts with them."

Her high-handed attitude and arrogant voice leave no room for argument.

Diego clenches his teeth in frustration.

'Trying to please a capricious superior is a futile task.'

The sect was an organization he created to monopolize the legacy of the otherworldly civilization.

The idea of being a chosen one was just propaganda to secure the legacy.

Beatrice is merely a symbol of the sect and the key to control all the ruins.

The source of sacred magic, the artifact 'Codex,' is her sole possession.

That's the extent of her usefulness.

Though she is a human found in the ruins, she has no memories or information from the otherworldly civilization.

'She should act like a tool.'

However, recently, Beatrice has been trying to break free from Diego's control.

Not only does she dislike the cooperation with the League, but she has also started to build her own power base within the sect.

Despite all this, he can't just get rid of her because she is the only survivor of the otherworldly civilization and the key to the Codex.

Diego, the founder of the sect, is not a fanatic who worships the Saint, but most of the sect's believers are fanatics, so he can't ignore their opinions in running the organization.

'Someday I'll have to get rid of her, but not now.'

Diego hides his dark thoughts and bows respectfully.

"......Understood."

For now, he needs to please Beatrice.

To do that, he has to accept her words to some extent.

"I will inform them that there will be no further cooperation."

He has no choice but to temporarily suspend cooperation with the League.

Messiah will understand after one time.

"Put all your efforts into rescuing my hound. This is my command and your top priority."

"Understood, Your Highness, the Saint."

"Dismissed."

Beatrice turns her back and closes her mouth.

Tick, tick.

The sound of the gears turning echoes in the Grand Elder's ears.

A small crack between the Grand Elder and the Saint is slowly, but surely, growing.

*

A considerable amount of time has passed since the interim school ended.

Nishizawa's in-school volunteer work is also nearing its conclusion.

She seemed happy when she told me, but I wasn't at all.

It felt like the hero hearing that the seal on the demon king has loosened.

Rin has been lingering around me ever since that day.

Now she openly talks about being a wife, and it's exhausting to deal with her.

I have no intention of becoming a son-in-law, but she keeps pushing, which is frustrating.

Olivia is about the same as usual.

She talks about being a personal maid while placing her hand on her chest, grumbles, and then argues with Rin when she appears, sometimes acting tsundere and suddenly becoming affectionate.

Honestly, she's the best among the three.

In the light novel world, Olivia is a decent person.

'I thought I could take a break for a while...... but there's a midterm exam.'

Volume 3 of the series also includes exams.

The Zero Ground practical training was, strictly speaking, part of the practical evaluation.

Exams.

I thought I wouldn't have to deal with school exams after graduating from university, but now I have to take them again, and it's overwhelming.

'Damn it.'

Curses come out naturally.

I have no confidence in the written exam.

I need to do well in the practical to make up for it.

In a situation where the whole country is being fed a nationalistic fervor because of me, if my exam results are poor?

I don't want to imagine it.

Something terrible might happen.

At the very least, I need to pass the midterm.

'Studying......'

In an academy story where the all-purpose status window makes studying a breeze, I never thought I'd have such realistic worries.

The unresponsive status window is frustrating.

What a crazy light novel world.

I guess I'll have to spend some time in the study room with Senpai Kasumi.

"Hello! Students! I'm Teacher Mayuzumi!"

During HR time, Teacher Mayuzumi, as usual, enters the classroom with the attendance book and a pointer.

The students' murmurs quickly die down.

"Ahem. Today, I have a special announcement."

Tap, tap.

Teacher Mayuzumi taps the desk with the pointer.

Her appearance always gives me goosebumps.

The thought of such a person in a magical girl costume......

The terrifying memories of that night come to mind.

The disgusting skill names and battle scenes I wanted to delete from my mind.

I quickly seal the horrifying images in my head.

But a special announcement?

"......It's a transfer student!"

The moment Teacher Mayuzumi speaks, I snap to attention.

'Transfer student?'

This is the timeline of the original volume 3.

It's not the right time for a transfer student.