"Princess Mezlen, are you not interested in men?"

It was during the vacation from our Natural Studies class, while enjoying a rare moment of leisure at a café with Mezlen.

Princess Mezlen tilted her head slightly, looking a bit perplexed by my sudden question.

"Hm...? What do you mean, Miss Lilith?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but it seems like you don't have any particular feelings for any man. Normally, girls your age would have someone they like or at least someone they think about, wouldn't they?"

"Hmm, I suppose? But I'm a princess, you know?"

"Pardon?"

"As a princess, I can't just fall for any man just because we've spent a few years together at the academy, right? Even if you searched the whole world, you might only find one or two men who would be suitable for me."

"..."

Once again, Mezlen brushed off my question with a remark that was fitting for someone with 'princess syndrome.'

I couldn't help but wonder if it was even possible to find a "good match" for such a woman. Her carefree answer left me pondering.

Even though I had set a lofty goal to match up the remaining four heroines, including Mezlen, I couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of doubt the more I spent time with her.

‘Honestly, it just seems like she'd be better off living alone.’

Was there really a man out there who could put up with such a troublesome personality?

If I wanted to solve this, I'd have to make Mezlen completely fall for a man, one who would do anything she asked. But it's hard to imagine any man capable of that—except maybe the Hero.

In the original story, the only reason Mezlen fell for the Hero was because he saved her life without expecting anything in return, and she was deeply moved by his selflessness.

‘Logically speaking, there’s no one else like the Hero.’

But the Hero of this generation, Gethmojoshegikgat, had already declared his intention to form a harem with me.

The only other person who might act similarly is Ethan, who saved my life from Mekhart and still hasn't used his "wish." But Ethan is already confirmed not to be Mezlen's fiancé.

There weren’t many suitable candidates to make Mezlen happy. In the original story, most of the decent male characters had already been paired off.

Karaham, originally a mid-boss in part three of the story, now had the perfect match in Lyria, a brash and straightforward warrior.

Antonio, who used to be gloomy and negative, had reformed and was now growing closer to Agnes, the reason for his change of heart.

Gwyn, the son of the mercenary leader and current vice president of the student council, would naturally end up with Luke, so I could skip him. Similarly, Thomas, the partner and childhood friend of Natalie, was off the list since he was already in love with her.

Serdik from the technical department was set to end up with Kael, and Orion had already graduated and didn’t even see women as romantic partners to begin with.

Ethan... since Mezlen herself said he wasn't her fiancé, he was off the list too. In short, there really weren’t any good candidates left. After all, Luminor Academy was a harem game, so the number of female characters far outweighed the number of males.

‘It’s definitely a bit of a dilemma.’

But, well, there’s still a year and a half left.

Maybe, in that time, a man who meets Mezlen’s standards would pop out of nowhere. For now, I decided to wait and see. After all, the best outcome for me would be the “natural romance and marriage” ending.

It’d be much easier and better for me if they all found happiness on their own rather than me playing matchmaker and messing things up.

“Oh, by the way... Do you know what I did last week while you were attending your Natural Studies class, Miss Lilith?”

Once again, I decided to humor Mezlen’s self-centered chatter and keep up my friendship with her.

There was no reason for me to be the one to cut off a connection that had already formed, after all.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After listening to Mezlen's self-praise, chatting lightly with Lizzy and Lara, meeting Karaham and Lyria at the swordsmanship training grounds with Ethan for a two-on-two duel, my days passed in a routine-like fashion.

In the blink of an eye, another week had passed, and it was the first day of Harold’s magical swordsmanship class again.

“Haaaahp!!” “Aaaargh!!” Clang, clang, clang!

Once again, the top two in the swordsmanship club pointed their swords at each other, never growing tired of sparring.

Usually, Gethmojoshegikgat had the upper hand against Ethan, but today, Ethan was putting more pressure on him.

It made sense—Gethmo had just returned from the 'Solar Studies' class yesterday, so he wasn’t in top condition.

Meanwhile, Ethan had spent the past week resting and sparring with Karaham, so he had the advantage.

It was clear how out of shape the Hero's party was just from today's sparring match between me and Natalie.

For the first time, I managed to win a round against her.

‘It’s my first victory among the four swordsmanship club members ranked above me.’

Even though Natalie wasn’t at her best, a win was a win.

No matter that my record up to now was 99 losses, I could proudly say that my latest record was 1 win.

Natalie? You’re not that great at sparring, are you?

“Heh, hehe.”

“…Is it really that amusing, Lady Lilith?”

Unfortunately, I recalled a joke from my previous life and tried to suppress my laughter, but Natalie, ever observant, noticed and asked about it, so I quickly fixed my expression.

“My apologies, Miss Natalie.”

“No, I understand. I felt the same way when I first managed to deflect my sister’s sword. There’s nothing quite as rewarding as realizing you've grown while wielding a sword, is there?”

“...”

Well, now I feel like trash for laughing over just one win.

Then again, that positive and bright personality of hers was part of Natalie’s charm. It’s why I liked her character in my previous life too.

With Ethan and Gethmojoshegikgat’s duel still ongoing, I asked Natalie what happened during her Solar Studies class last week.

“How was your Solar Studies class last week, Miss Natalie?”

“At first, I thought it was just a class on surviving in the desert. But as soon as the Hero took charge, he led us—his current ‘Hero Party’—somewhere. At the time, we all thought he was searching for something like an oasis for survival.”

“...”

“But then, the Hero fiddled with something on a rocky mountain, and suddenly, the ground opened up, revealing stairs leading underground! Inside, we found an ancient ruin full of mysteries…”

Hmm, just as I expected. He’s really following my walkthrough to the letter.

Although I didn’t need to verify it, it’s always good to check progress when I get the chance.

From tomorrow, the Geology Studies class with Agnes would start again, and I wouldn’t have time to meet her privately. So, it wasn’t a bad idea to get the scoop from Natalie while I had the chance.

“Oh, come to think of it, something strange happened during the Solar Studies class.”

“…What was that?”

“There was a temple puzzle that required two people to step on platforms to open the door. When Thomas and I stepped on it, the door only opened halfway. But when the Hero and the Saintess stepped on it, it opened completely. Afterward, Thomas looked depressed, and Selyna and Seraphina kept insisting that they needed to step on the platform with the Hero too. It caused a bit of a commotion.”

“…I see.”

“Even the Saintess lowered her head and grew quiet after stepping on the platform. It seemed like just an ordinary platform to me, so what could it have meant?”

“…I’m not sure, just hearing about it. I apologize for not being of help.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. It was probably a silly question.”

…I had a pretty good idea of what that platform was.

It was likely the 'Compatibility Puzzle' from the underground of the Sun Temple. It was a puzzle where the door would open based on the combined affection levels of the two people standing on the platform.

If the door only opened halfway for Thomas and Natalie, it meant Natalie’s feelings for Thomas hadn’t reached the level of love yet. I guess I just learned more about their romantic situation too.

‘Wait, the door opened when the Hero stood on it with Serista?’

What? Didn’t he say he wouldn’t get involved with any women in this world because he had to return to his own?

But for the door to open, it meant the Hero had feelings for Serista beyond just friendship.

‘What is going on in his head?’

Well, whatever. He can handle it on his own.

There was no need for me to meddle in his journey any further. As long as he successfully defeated the Demon King and cleared the game, it didn’t really matter to me.