‘W-wait, why is he…?’

Seeing the hero standing among the crowd as a spectator, rather than in the middle of the commotion where he should’ve been receiving Lyria’s confession (disguised as an ambush), I was thrown into a state of confusion.

The fact that the hero was here, watching the spectacle, meant two things.

First, the person Lyria wanted to confess to had never been the hero.

Second, I had just taught Lyria a confession method that would shock anyone who received it.

"..."

Tremble, tremble…

"Lilith...? Why are you suddenly shaking?"

...I was doomed.

My plan to make Lyria's confession fail had a dual purpose. While I aimed to mess with the hero a bit, the main goal was to help Lyria find a new love and be happy, rather than clinging to the hero, who would abandon all the heroines and return to Earth.

But if the target of Lyria's confession wasn’t the hero?

If she had never been interested in the hero and had already set her sights on someone else for a new love?

And what if some crazy mage had stepped in and messed up that love confession with an outrageous plan?

Dash!

"Lilith?!"

I had to stop it.

Before Lyria could say anything that would result in an inevitable rejection, I had to stop her, no matter what.

Feeling my body grow cold and my hands shaking, I pushed through the crowd as fast as I could, but it was too late. The "special confession" I had taught Lyria was already in its final stages, and her intended recipient had already subdued her and pinned her to the ground.

"L-Lyria? What’s going on here?"

"I couldn’t contain my overwhelming feelings for you, Senior! So… I challenged you to a duel!!"

"Wh-what? Are you saying…?"

Oh no, I’m too late...

"I’ve been in love with you ever since our first duel during our joint swordsmanship class! When I saw you wield that massive sword with such grace, I realized I had fallen in love with you!!"

"Hold on a second, Lyria—"

"I want to spend the rest of my life by your side, clashing swords and spears until the very end!!! Please, accept my feelings, Sir Callaham Samuel Auguste!!!"

"...Huh?"

Wait… Callaham?

So the "close senior" Lyria mentioned, the one she was in love with, wasn’t the hero but Callaham…?

‘The senior Lyria likes is probably in the swordsmanship club, a year above her.’

Callaham, like -***, was in the swordsmanship club and was a fellow classmate of mine and Ethan’s… so, that matched.

‘He’s probably one of the top five in the club’s rankings.’

Callaham placed third in the last ranking exam. Natalie dropped to fourth after losing to Ethan.

‘And someone with a status Lyria can’t easily approach.’

He was the son of the Marquis of Auguste, with a sister above him, but still, being the son of a marquis made him unreachable for a commoner like Lyria.

‘Come to think of it, this description could also apply to Ethan.’

...Of course. Luminor Academy was still a place where the nobility outnumbered commoners. There were more noble swordsmanship club members with high status than I had realized.

I had overlooked the fact that, in games, people tend to focus on the main and supporting characters, ignoring the background extras, whether they were nobles or not.

However, the current swordsmanship club had a different roster from the original game due to some story changes. Ethan was, of course, one of the key figures, and Callaham, who was supposed to fall into despair after Rigi’s death, was now diligently wielding his sword.

‘Wait, this is no time for reflection….’

I needed to explain things to Callaham. I had to make him understand that Lyria’s confession wasn’t actually her idea—it was just a prank I had pulled.

If I didn’t intervene, Lyria’s first love would be crushed by my stupid antics...

"Wh-what you just said… Were you being serious, Miss Lyria…?"

"Y-yes… Sir Callaham…."

"Hold on, Lord Callaham, I need to clarify something. What Lyria just said wasn’t meant to be taken seriously—"

"As the son of the Marquis of Auguste, I’ve had many marriage proposals from noble ladies, but… this is the first time someone has confessed to me so passionately, Miss Lyria."

"...Huh?"

"You want to spend the rest of your life dueling with me until the very end… How could I not be moved by such words…?"

"Sir Callaham…."

"..."

"I fully understand your feelings, Miss Lyria…!"

Wait, what?

Why… why is this going well…?

"Sir Callaham…."

"Lyria. No, my Lyria."

"...Sir Callaham…."

"If you truly mean it, I will gladly accept your feelings."

"Sir Callaham!!"

"Lyria!!"

Before I knew it, the two of them were locked in an embrace in the middle of the park, the atmosphere growing more romantic by the second.

The boldness of their kiss, without a hint of hesitation, left me dumbfounded, and the surrounding crowd seemed to share the sentiment as they cheered for the passionate display.

Smooch!

Smooch, smooch!

Oh… Oh my.

Even though this was happening in the middle of the park, they were being quite… daring.

...I had a feeling there’d be one more couple in the married/engaged dorm by the next semester.

Lyria’s confession, which was supposed to fail, ended up succeeding, and it caused quite a stir throughout the academy.

‘Now that I think about it, since the confession succeeded, does that mean my "confession failure" plan… failed?’

Well, I suppose it didn’t really matter. What was important was that everything ended up working out the way I had intended… albeit in a roundabout way.

My original goal of helping Lyria find a new love, one not involving the hero, had been accomplished, making the entire plan a success in a way.

The only issue was that this confession not only affected their relationship but also sparked a change among many other students at the academy.

The students in the close-combat departments—those in the swordsmanship, spearmanship, and martial arts clubs—began imitating Lyria’s confession method.

"Senior! Please accept my feelings!"

Clang!

"Darian! This is how I feel!"

Clash!

"Lazarus! The truth is, I’ve always…!!"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Students from the swordsmanship, spearmanship, and martial arts clubs started challenging their crushes to duels, and after the fight, they would confess, claiming they had "poured their feelings" into the match.

It got so out of hand that the academy had to issue an official notice stating, "If you’re going to use the ‘duel confession method,’ please make use of the training grounds." As a result, the training grounds at Luminor Academy became overcrowded with couples for the rest of the semester.

‘Who would’ve thought there were so many girls like Lyria in this academy…’

It seemed that many athletic girls at the academy had wanted to confess their feelings but were too shy to do it in a conventional way.

The typical, elegant confessions favored by noble ladies weren’t an option for these girls. For students in the swordsmanship, spearmanship, and martial arts clubs, who lacked the refined charm of more traditionally feminine students, Lyria’s confession method was a revelation.

They didn’t need to write a beautiful love letter, make chocolates or cookies, or deliver flowery words that would make hearts race. Lyria’s confession method—pouring their emotions into a duel and then revealing their true feelings afterward—required none of those things.

It was a fiery confession that got straight to the point, making it incredibly popular among the more athletic girls.

And why did the boys so readily accept these confessions?

‘There’s no need to overthink this.’

Guys who didn’t already have partners tended to accept confessions if there weren’t any major issues. Being confessed to by a girl was like a badge of honor for most guys.

Though I’d never been confessed to by a girl in my past life, as a former man, I understood that psychology well enough.

These days, boys even bragged about being challenged to a duel by a girl. What once would’ve been met with concern—"What did you do to earn her wrath?"—had become a point of pride.

This new trend would probably die down in a semester or so, but for now, thanks to Lyria and Callaham’s dramatic confession, Luminor Academy was full of new couples.

About a month passed after the confession fiasco.

"You’ve worked hard this year, Master Ethan."

"You too, Lilith. Good job."

Clink.

Now, I found myself sitting with Ethan, enjoying a drink at the festival that marked the end of the hunting season.

"Senior Lilith! Your glass is empty! Let me refill it for you!!!"

"Master Ethan, you should have some too! I can’t pour for Senior Lilith and leave you out, can I?! Ahahaha!!"

"...Sure, just a little."

"...Yes, please, if you would."

And across from us, sitting at our table, was the loudest couple in the world, Callaham and Lyria.