“By the way, it turns out we’re in the same class. I was a little nervous about being late on the first day, but at least it’s nice to see a familiar face. Did you arrive late too?”

“I got lost on the way…”

“I see. We haven’t even introduced ourselves. I’m Yoon Si-woo. And you?”

“Scarlett, Evande…”

“Alright, Scarlett. Since we both arrived late together on the first day, let’s try to get along from now on.”

“…”

Don’t talk to me, you clueless jerk…

Can’t you hear the silent outcry of the crowd condemning this calamari?

The gazes of the crowd made my limbs tingle and my stomach churn.

So please, turn your body around and sit properly!

A chair is supposed to have your back against the backrest, for heaven’s sake!

No matter how much I screamed that in my head, this oblivious protagonist just wouldn’t take his eyes off me and continued to beam.

Maybe he was waiting for a response to his invitation to get along, so I hastily nodded my head, and only then did he nod back in satisfaction.

No, for crying out loud, sit properly already.

At that moment, as everyone was staring at me and Yoon Si-woo, an unusual shape caught my eye.

As if it had always been there,

a massive bat-shaped monster was hanging upside down from the ceiling above the teacher’s desk.

Seeing that scene, I suddenly realized.

This world isn’t just a joyful place filled with dreams and love.

Some perceptive students turned to look at the front of the classroom just as the monster opened its mouth.

“Everyone, evacuate the classroom!”

■■■■■■■■■!!!!

As someone shouted, a terrifying noise enveloped the classroom.

“This is insane. A demon beast?! The academy should be protected by a barrier!”

“Damn it, the door won’t open!”

“The windows aren’t breaking either! If it’s a barrier, it must be at least a mid-level demon beast, and we can’t handle that alone!”

Most of the students huddled to the back of the classroom to escape the demon beast.

The panic-stricken screams of students realizing the door wouldn’t open echoed in the classroom, along with the frantic cries of those trying to devise defensive measures with their abilities.

Amidst all this chaos, the only ones calm were Sylvia and Yoon Si-woo, who had assumed a fighting stance.

I was not among them, as I was quietly sitting in my chair.

I knew those two would handle everything, so I was just sitting still.

…To be honest, I was quite sure I’d freak out a little if I moved.

Unlike me, Sylvia was earnestly chanting a spell to take down the demon beast.

Alf

Ad

Astra

With every line of the incantation, starlight-like sparks twinkled around her.

High elf, Sylvia Astra.

She was a contractor able to borrow the power of the star spirits in this world, where spirits were hard to find. The destructive power of her incantation was already beyond that of most active heroes.

As she finished her spell, a radiant sphere of light shone brilliantly on her palm.

Her palm pointed towards the demon beast that was flying toward her, baring its teeth.

“Mid-level demon beasts? I graduated from dealing with those ages ago.”

The sphere of light flew toward the demon beast—

But it passed straight through the beast’s body as if nothing had happened.

Huh?

Sylvia, who was confident she could take it down in one blow, sounded taken aback and let out a confused sound.

Naturally, she couldn’t react to the teeth of the demon beast rushing toward her neck.

Splurt—and blood splattered everywhere.

That was the blood of the demon beast, pierced through by Yoon Si-woo’s sword.

With a heavy thud, the body of the demon beast slammed onto the classroom floor.

Yoon Si-woo pulled his blade, glowing pure white like his hair, from the body of the beast and smiled at Sylvia, who stood behind him.

“Are you alright?”

Sylvia answered softly, “Yes…”

It was the moment when the protagonist was planting a flag with the heroine.

And I was witnessing it up close.

I wish I had popcorn.

It was a bit disappointing not to see Sylvia’s face fall for the protagonist from the back row, but still, witnessing this scene up close was unexpectedly moving.

Yoon Si-woo, with an unnecessarily cool stance, shook the blood off his sword.

As he let it go, the sword vanished in a beam of light.

Wow, now that I think about it, even if it’s only for swords, why does that guy have an inventory and I don’t?

I was drowning in feelings of relative deprivation at that moment.

As the corpse of the demon beast Yoon Si-woo had pierced seemed to crack the entire classroom, with a clang, the corpse and any traces of the battle were completely erased.

In simpler terms, everything we had just experienced was a hallucination spell.

Furthermore, it was a rather high-tier hallucination spell, and only those aware they were under an illusion could break it.

Of course, Yoon Si-woo was utterly exempt from it.

As the protagonist of The Holy Swordsman of the Academy, Yoon Si-woo possessed a sword named the Sword of Luminous Radiance.

The one who wields this sword is said to be immune to any form of illusion or seduction, granting it a nearly cheat-like status.

Yoon Si-woo was a walking cheat character with not just one, but seven of those magical swords.

The Holy Swordsman of the Academy is a total munchkin novel.

While some only have to spit fire…

Anyway, while everyone was coming to realize that what they’d experienced was an illusion and were left dumbfounded, a woman dressed like a wizard entered the classroom.

It was Eve, the greatest illusionist in the world, whose youthful appearance concealed a secret age, earning her the nickname “Eternal Mom” among readers.

She was also going to be our homeroom teacher for the next year.

“Seventeen students who did nothing but shake in fear, zero points.”

Standing in front of the desk, Eve looked over the students still gathered at the back of the class.

“Ten students who shouted for evacuation, noticed the barrier, or attempted to defend themselves with their abilities get fifty points.”

Gradually shifting her gaze to where the protagonist and heroine were, she fixed her eyes on Sylvia.

“Those who delivered a valid blow to the demon beast get eighty points, but since your response to the unexpected situation was disastrous, I’ll mark it down to sixty points.”

As she bypassed Sylvia, who was tightly clenching her fists in frustration, Eve turned her eyes full of interest toward Yoon Si-woo.

And in that moment, our gazes met.

She grinned widely, showing off her teeth.

Huh? Why?

“To be honest, I didn’t expect this, but to have two outstanding students who recognized it was an illusion right away, those two get two hundred points!”

Everyone, applaud!

At Eve’s words, everyone clapped in bewilderment.

I haven’t done anything, so why do I get two hundred points?

Is this a hidden camera?

Eve continued as she scanned the whole class.

“Right now the average is thirty-two points, but you all need to aim for at least eighty points. If you can’t, you’ll die.”

She said it as if it were no big deal, but by the end of the story, the number of people who survived from this class was limited.

Even Eve, standing up front, couldn’t escape death.

…Can I survive in this crazy world as a human firestarter?

“I hope everyone can still be alive by next year. Welcome to Aegis Academy!”

With Eve’s cheerful voice, I bid farewell.

Goodbye, my beautiful school life.