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Chapter 20.1: Protagonist Part 1

“You…!!”

“Oh my, so sharp… You’re shaking after just a few words.”

Clara and Ariel were openly hostile towards each other.

I hurriedly pulled myself out of my daze, startled by their confrontation.

‘What’s going on…? Were they always on bad terms?’

I knew from the original story that Clara, the top student, often clashed with the runner-up,

but their current glares seemed ready to escalate into a full-blown slapfight.

This is strange. Ariel isn’t the type to fight with anyone…

“Top student by a mere 3 points…”

“At least you admit you’re beneath me, right?”

“Grrrr…!!”

Ariel was losing the exchange badly.

Clara, seemingly enjoying the sight, mocked Ariel with a sneer.

“No matter how hard you try, you’ll only ever be chasing my tail. Why don’t you just give up now?”

At this point, it was clear who the problem was.

Clara, she was the problem.

I sighed deeply and brushed my hair back.

‘…Well, I guess Ariel must be an eyesore to her.’

Clara, with her obsessive desire for the top spot, would naturally be wary of Ariel, whose grades were similar to hers.

Moreover, Ariel belonged to the Lishite family,

which had a bad relationship with Clara’s own Misoph Marquis family.

Besides all that, she was just a terrible person.

‘She must be even worse at this early stage of the original story.’

Sharp-tongued, prickly, and enjoying her malicious behavior.

The national team senior who recommended the book to me used to love these kinds of “tsundere” characters.

I didn’t get it.

I didn’t particularly hate Clara, but I didn’t like her either.

“Clara…! How can you talk to Lady Ariel like that…!!”

“Hmph, what’s it to you?”

“Sigh… I apologize, Lady Ariel.”

Our protagonist, Allen, intervened, trying to restrain Clara while glancing at Ariel.

Yes, Allen, you have your work cut out for you.

At this point in the story, he must be getting tossed around by the heroines.

Allen met my gaze, which held a mixture of emotions.

He stiffly pulled Clara’s hand.

“…”

…He’s wary of me, not Ariel.

Well, it would be awkward to see a third-rate villain you thought you defeated reappear in front of you.

Still, that wary look in his eyes hurts a little.

“We’ll be taking our leave. Have a good day, both of you.”

“W-Wait, Allen…! You’re suddenly holding my hand…!!”

Clara blushed as Allen unexpectedly grabbed her hand.

She was soon swept away by him, completely smitten.

Ariel watched them with a dumbfounded expression.

“…I hate them.”

“You should get along with your friends.”

“Do they look like friends to you?”

“…”

I couldn’t bring myself to nod.

.

.

.

Our first encounter with the protagonist was unexpectedly chaotic.

We left the scene behind and headed back to the dorm.

Rachel greeted Ariel enthusiastically when we arrived. Seeing their affectionate interaction warmed my heart.

Yes, this is what a friendship should be like.

Actually, it felt more like a nanny and child relationship,

but Ariel would sulk if she heard me say that, accusing me of treating her like a kid.

“Uwaaaah!! Rachel, let go of me…!”

“Hehe~ You’re so cute, my lady…!!”

“Aaahhh..!!”

I leaned back in my chair, watching Ariel being devoured by Rachel in real time.

Despite the minor incident, it was another peaceful day.

I trained with Ariel, and tested out the special skill ‘Extrasensory,’

and unintentionally made acquaintance with the protagonist.

‘…Though Allen seemed uncomfortable around me.’

Still, it was a pretty fulfilling day.

As I was reminiscing about the day’s events, basking in the pleasant exhaustion,

a familiar mechanical sound rang in my ears.

-Ding!

[Main Quest Issued!]

“Ah.”

Right, there was this.

A new main quest.

I had missed it earlier because I was at the training ground.

‘Well, the content is predictable.’

I reached out and clicked on the small text box.

-Ding!

[Main Quest Issued!]

Title: For Your Past Self

Objective: Prevent the ‘First Princess Assassination Attempt’ that will occur in a week.

[Reward: 500 points]

[Penalty for Failure: None]

Condition: Resolve the incident using only your own strength.

※If you violate the condition, the quest will automatically fail, and the target, ‘Lucy von Lietro,’ will inevitably die.※

[Time Remaining Until Quest Start: 3 days 1 hour 36 minutes]

“Hmm…”

The quest content was as I had expected.

The Academy banquet held to celebrate the end of the midterm exams in a week.

The ‘First Princess Assassination Attempt’ that occurred there was the biggest event in the story during Allen’s first year.

I remember the story taking a darker turn after this incident.

‘But I didn’t expect this.’

My eyes were fixed on the quest condition.

-Resolve the incident using only your own strength.-

In other words, I was forbidden from informing the faculty about the assassination attempt.

Allen also received quests with this kind of condition from time to time.

‘This is going to be a pain.’

Not being able to utilize the Academy’s forces was a significant handicap.

It meant I had to face all the upcoming challenges alone.

Well… I guess the System would allow the professors to intervene later in the event,

but by then, Lucy would likely be dead.

“…”

Honestly, I could just ignore this whole incident.

Even if I failed this quest,

there was no penalty for me other than Lucy’s death.

Plus, the world would flow according to the original story, allowing me to prepare for future events more proactively.

‘…But even if I think like that, I’ll end up going anyway.’

Even if it was just Raiden’s memory,

I didn’t want to see someone who was once close to me die.

Moreover, if I successfully resolved this incident, I could potentially lighten the dark atmosphere of the original story.

There was no reason not to go.

‘I need to prepare to some extent.’

I got up from my seat, organizing my thoughts.

.

.

.

That evening,

I finished dinner and headed straight to the first-year dormitory.

I had no other reason than to meet our protagonist.

I needed to give him a little warning before the big event.

‘Of course, because of the condition, I can’t tell him about the assassination attempt.’

But the First Princess Assassination Attempt wasn’t the only thing happening that day.

The Saintess and the Second Princess, enjoying the banquet with a group of juniors, would also be caught up in an assassination attempt.

Fortunately, as the word ‘attempt’ implied, Allen would heroically save them…

‘I need to minimize unexpected situations as much as possible.’

It would be arrogant to believe that everything would go smoothly.

It would be all for nothing if I saved Lucy, only for the Saintess and the Second Princess to die.

So I needed to warn Allen.

To stick close to the Saintess and the First Princess.

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