[A new letter has arrived in your mailbox].
[Do you want to check it?]
Dudeun. Dudeun.
I could feel my heart beating fast over and over again.
A new letter, the system tone announced.
It could an only one thing.
“A letter left for by the one who imprisoned in this ga.
I was certain.
A second letter had arrived from the mysterious entity.
‘Well, I figured it was about ti.’
I hadn’t heard from the letter’s sender since the ti of my first possession.
The speaker had rely told to enter Eldain.
It didn’t divulge any information.
I would have thought that by now they would have contacted in so way…….
As expected, a ssage arrived.
‘Checking ssages.’
I ntally chanted the confirmation without even turning it off.
Then I rembered the jet-black letters on the worn parchnt letter.
[Hi. Nox. It’s been a while. Now, if this letter has arrived, it ans you’ve been successfully admitted to Eldain.
It’s you, after all. I knew you’d make it to Eldain.
I’m so glad].
The letter began with the sa strange tone of knowing .
A bit of relief, and an inexplicable faith in .
Why?
Why does the letter’s sender always seem to believe in ?
It’s hard to answer all those questions in just a few lines.
I quickly rolled my eyes and kept my gaze downward.
[But the trial is just beginning.
It’s been hard enough so far… but what lies ahead of you will be even harder, and it will hurt.
But it’s also sothing no one else can do for you.
Because without you, no one will ever see the end of this story.
It’s irresponsible to say… but I will help you as much as I can. Please accept what is enclosed in this letter, however small it may be].
That was the end of the letter.
“I wonder if there’s anything big in this one…….”
I muttered to myself. The letter was already gone.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but I quickly cald down.
I can’t help it. It’s only the beginning of the scenario.
Besides, I can’t really tell, but the sender of the letter is at least a GM.
‘Given that they’re freely interfering with the system, and that they have the power to send sothing, that’s the most likely explanation.’
Therefore, I should focus on the main storyline as much as possible, if only to clear up any doubts.
As the second letter says, to see the end of the story and regain my mory.
To do that, I’ll have to work harder than I am now.
I’ve only just finished the prologue.
I will continue to run as I have been running, only faster.
Nothing changes.
“More than that… what is this gift you sent ?”
I muttered in a nonchalant tone, and touched sothing enclosed in the mailbox, which soon exploded with a loud popping sound.
[The ‘Character Viewing’ system has been added].
“A character viewing system?”
I muttered, scratching my head, and the system imdiately popped up a window.
[Displaying a list of registered characters].
[Theo von Reinhafer / Allen von Reinhafer / Hartz von Reinhafer / Talia von Steiner / Zitri / Rona de Nero / Carl…….]
The roster popped up, and every unit listed was one that I had a record of encountering as Nox.
Being the gar that I am, I imdiately realized what the system ant.
‘I can see the current stats and skill proficiencies of all the characters I’ve encountered so far. Without the constraints of space and ti.’
I felt my heart pounding loudly once again.
Such a feature didn’t exist in the original Inner Lunatic.
You could only access their information by facing them directly and using the [Insight] talent.
This was quite cumberso.
It was very annoying to see how far my other units had progressed, and whether I was nurturing them correctly.
Handy.{1}
What if you could see the status of your units more clearly in this way?
‘Of course, it would make the ga easier.’
As calmly as I could, I pressed a few buttons and checked each character’s status. As expected, the system displayed the stats and skills of the current units.
Compared to the beginning, everyone’s stats and skills had changed slightly.
So stats had gone up, albeit slightly, while others had gotten better swordsmanship than before.
Talia, in particular, had grown quite a bit.
It seems that the story of her training to beco a knight was not a lie.
‘Moreover, she also has the [Gifted] talent, so she must have grown terrifyingly as she trained.’
A sword that will pierce my heart.
Of course, the spider story is still not without its doubts….
Anyway, I continued to peruse the statuses of the registered characters.
Paracelsus, Penelope, Talia, Lana, Leone…….
Every single one of them is an imnsely talented genius.
The incoming cadets are as good as they co, so the next three will be tested. I don’t know how I’m going to face the four sages.
In the ga, they were your allies.
But to the villainous Knox, they are all enemies….
‘I can’t face them all by myself, even if I increase my power. I need to build my own force.
This is why he joined Lunatic.
Lunatic would protect Nox properly.
If that happens, I’ll have a better chance of surviving by playing the villain.
However.
‘…… it also hides a lot of the skills and traits of the top tier units.’
Unfortunately, 4 Sages, 3 Swordsn, etc.
I didn’t get to see all of their stats yet.
There’s information, skills, and stats that are only unlocked later in the ga.
Furthermore, even with the deceased characters of Inner Lunatic, there are thousands of skills and combinations in the ga. There are also all sorts of talents.
People with traits I don’t recognize seem to have tons of them. Regardless, I still have to keep my nerves in check.
“Okay, I’ve got that out of the way, now all that’s left is….”
My fucking relationships with the various units.
The sses I’ve made.
And…….
“Orientation and class registration tomorrow.”
A small sigh escapes .
Even here in the Inner Lunatic world, there is a so-called enrollnt hell.
“Haah….”
I let out an involuntary sigh.
***
The next morning, a boy ca to visit .
He was short and wore a checkered newsboy cap.
He was wearing suspender pants and a white shirt, and his face looked suspicious. The corners of his eyes were crooked.
It was as if he was looking at to see what I was thinking.
A rchant’s eye, if you will.
“How do you do, Master Knox?”
“Who are you?”
The boy waiting for outside the Sidious Hall smiled.
“My na is Rick, servant of the Honorable Eleanor de Rivalin.”
“…Rick?”
Suddenly, a thorn in my voice.
This asshole…
‘The dangerous bastard found early.’
Rick, one of the central characters in the next three chapters of the story, an imperial knave who will betray Eleanor and thereby deepen the story.
Betrayer.
‘Rick the liar.’
I looked at him and furrowed my brow.
Rick smiled his best human smile.
“This is a gift from my lady to my master. It’s a very valuable artifact….”
“Get lost.”
I said, and walked away, struggling to control my expression.
Was sothing wrong? Why did he co to now, when he wasn’t supposed to start moving until Chapter Three?
Trying to ignore the shivers running down my spine, I reached for my pocket watch and checked the ti to make it to orientation.
I was nervous, but I couldn’t help it.
I an, you can’t be on ti for a stupid subject.
* * *
Eldain Academy has many buildings for the convenience of its students, but there are a few that stand out from the rest.
A facility that can only be found here in Eldain.
The so-called ‘Hale Hall’.
This building is where the maids and servants brought by the nobility receive their lessons, and it is a special place that does not exist in any other academy.
9:00 AM.
The place was packed with students, all of whom had gathered for lessons to serve their masters. Among them was a young girl with green hair and pure white skin.
Zitri. She was Nox’s commoner maid.
There were murmurs around her.
-Wow, is that her, the one who beca a commoner?
-What the hell did she think she was doing following us all the way to Eldain….
-Trying to make a na for herself, I suppose… She’s got a pretty face, and she’s good at manipulating people with the length of her skirt.
Zitri tuned out the sound of familiar voices.
This sort of thing was quite common in her family.
Of course, Nox had told her that she shouldn’t put up with it any longer than necessary, but she didn’t want to cause her master any trouble.
That was when Zitri ignored them.
-I an, she’s Nox’s maid, how can she be normal?
-That, too. Haha!
Snap.
(Ppajig.)
A vein sprouted on Jitri’s forehead.
‘I can tolerate insults to , ……. but I can’t tolerate insults to Master.’
No matter how much of a scoundrel he is, he’s still our scoundrel.
He didn’t deserve to be called nas by others.
‘Huh.’
Jitri spat lightly, then quietly stood up from her seat.
She straightened up and began to pace.
She then stepped in front of the group of people who had gathered around to curse her and Nox. She flicked back a stray strand of green hair and gave them a cold smile.
“Excuse , I was wondering if you could spare a mont?” {2}
“Ha, a mont?”
One of the most disparaging maids stepped forward and crossed her arms.
A sneer accompanied it.
“I am Giselle of House Polas, scion of the prestigious Earl’s House, in the service of Master Kane. I have no ti for a commoner like you.”
“You just said sothing very rude towards my Master.”
“Oh, that was….”
Giselle was taken aback for a mont.
She had to be.
After all, Nox was a scion of the Reinhafer family, a third-generation Dark Master. No matter how great the Kane she serves is, she cannot dare to speak of the Duke.
It was self-evident that nothing good would co of speaking ill of the son of a Duke.
But….
‘…My, you think I’m going to fall for this?!’
This is Eldain, a place where young boys and girls still gather.
Emotional judgntal people are everywhere, and Giselle was one of them.
An extra A, a character who is broken by the protagonist, well, because.
Because.
“So? If you’re going to ask to apologize, I’m going to refuse.”
“…….”
Zitri let out a small sigh and looked at Giselle, who held her head high.
Then she rembered what Nox had told her yesterday.
[It can happen at any ti, especially to you].
[So, when it does, open this thing I gave you].
‘I’m not sure what the hell is in …… that’s supposed to make things reasonable, but whatever, I’m out of options right now.’
Nox had told him that when she got screwed over by Schultz in Chasers, that if it happened to her in the future, she shouldn’t put up with it.
He’d even given her an artifact for the situation.
After much deliberation, Zitri took out the artifact Nox had given her and opened it.
It was the mont.
Pow!
(Paang!)
With the sound of a small firecracker going off, the image of a little boy appeared.
“Mom! What a surprise!” {3}
“…Young Master Nox?”
Giselle gasped in surprise, and Zitri was puzzled by the familiar face.
A boy with snow-white hair and lavender eyes.
Surely he was her master.
As she pondered this, the figure of Nox spoke up.
-I don’t know what happened. But if Zitri is going to open this, one thing’s for sure: you in front of , or you.
Knox crossed his arms and sneered.
-You’ll all die. Only your heads will be delivered to the family.
Pow!
(Paang~!)
With a boom, Nox’s form disappeared.
“…….”
Zitri was at a loss for words.
He said he would settle this humanely and peacefully…….
Apparently, Nox was going to use his privilege to solve the problem the old-fashioned way. Zitri sighed in disbelief.
At that mont.
“Hiccup!”
Giselle and the group behind her hiccuped in surprise.
They had been sentenced to death by the Young Master of House Reinhafer himself. A cold chill ran down her spine, raising goosebumps.
“I will… die…!!”
With a bang!
Giselle’s knees and those of the maids and butlers around her fell to the floor at the sa ti.
She had to live now.
“I… what’s your na…?”
“It’s Zitri.”
“Zitri, we’re still young and have a lot of work to do…? So if you could have rcy on us just this once, we could sohow…….”
Zitri felt her eyes glaze over, but she decided to take advantage of the situation Nox had created. After all, they were the ones who dishonored him.
It wouldn’t hurt to give them a little trouble.
“It is not for to decide how the Master will treat you.”
“…….”
“Just.”
Zitri smiled brightly.
“I could use a little… persuasion. How about it, would you cooperate?”
The others in front of her nod vigorously. Zitri couldn’t help but smile.
She felt like she might get addicted, so she decided to be as careful as possible.
* * *
Let’s not even get into why Rick ca to see .
Anyway, dealing with what’s at hand right now is the most important thing.
“Eh… we will now begin our orientation to [Joint Martial Arts]. Eh… I am Professor Flitchell. I’d like to welco everyone.” {3}
A man nad Flitchell appeared at the podium and began to speak.
He was an old professor who taught a course called [Joint Martial Arts], and in his pri, he was quite skilled and was the head of the Knights of the Ackheim Empire.
However, he was not a very important professor in the ga.
In the first place, Joint Martial Arts was a common subject, and most of the interactions with units in Inner Lunatic were elective.
In other words, I have no idea what [Joint Martial Arts] is all about.
Sh*t.
I’m as excited as I am to see …… sothing I’ve never seen in a ga before.
I’m stuck in the mont. Anyway, it was interesting.
I was a big fan of Inner Lunatic, after all, and a gar who can’t get enough of gas.
But my fun didn’t last long.
Flitchell pushed up his round, horn-rimd glasses.
For so reason, he looks a little sorry for himself as he arches his back.
“So… today we’re going to team up and do a little socializing. After all, it’s important to get to know each other in order to organize a party.”
F*ck.
I’m in trouble right from the start.
I’m already the unpopular Nox.
Now I’m a guy who has nothing but what I look like!
In fact, I can feel the people sitting around slowly shifting away.
“Eh… I’ll let the cadets who like each other form teams of four. Err… you have 30 minutes.”
To make matters worse, Prof. Fletchell tells us to form teams of four. This is out of line. How am I going to get this Asa Knox three friends in 30 minutes…?
“Haa….”
I let out a short sigh.
The cadets had all done pretty well on their entrance exams, and they’d organized themselves into teams, except for .
Unsurprisingly, no one approached Nox.
Haha.
Of course, there were so who were particularly popular among the cadets, such as Penelope, Paracelsus, and Eleanor.
Loud voices echoed around her, grating on her nerves.
-My Lady, I’ll take care of you!
-Paracelsus, I’ll join you! I’ve seen what you can do.
-Ah. Bother… whatever.
-Eleanor! Please let accompany you!
-Ah, Eleanor is going to be working with , isn’t she?
Eleanor was especially popular.
She had definitely rewarded her teammates after the last entrance exam.
‘F*cking capitalism……!’
That’s what I was thinking.
Eleanor descended the stairs of the lecture hall and suddenly said.
“Nox von Reinhafer.”
My head snapped around. My crisis radar went off.
Eleanor is looking at , smiling broadly.
“You’ll join , won’t you?”
In that mont, I brace myself for the heated stares I feel around , forcing myself to face the jealous stares of others.
-That bastard… with Eleanor on a dark alley deal…! {4}
-What?! Did you have a soul after that?
-Godd*mn it! Kill yourself!
‘…… I’d rather do this alone.’
I thought, but didn’t say it out loud.
But I was sure of one thing.
‘Sh*t, this is starting to get ugly.’
Things were starting to go wrong again.
To make matters worse, she added in a whisper.
“I guess you didn’t like my response, huh?”
{1} : He says this in phonetic English
{2} : 엄마! 깜짝이야! – eomma! kkamjjag-iya!; He does in fact literally say Mom here
{3} : gender neutral honorific of lesser nobles
{4} : joined as in coed (both genders) and not joined/mixed martial arts
{5} : “on the subject of darkness”; business relating from their “underground” family background’s
Please for the love of God not another harem novel
Reviews
All reviews (0)