“You all, be careful. There have been rumors that someone broke into the dorms at night.”

“Ugh, creepy. I bet it’s someone ugly who’s doing it.”

“Then go apologize quickly.”

“You–!”

The sound of students laughing and chattering could be heard, but Siwoo and Amelia couldn’t hear it.

They had just heard an unbelievable story.

They looked at each other with stunned expressions.

…What?

There was an intruder?

“Based on the method, it seems to be the same criminal mentioned yesterday. Everyone be careful. They’ll be caught in a few days.”

“Okay.”

Siwoo’s expression became complicated.

When he turned his gaze towards Arte, she smiled faintly at Siwoo as expected.

He would have to hear about her plan after class.

The incident seemed to be heading differently than he had thought.

“Wow, already the second incident! We should diligently investigate this with a detective’s eye!”

“Detective!”

Amelia’s eyes sparkled at the word detective.

Why does she like it so much?

You said Arte was the enemy.

“What is this ‘plan’ you mentioned?”

“It’s not that difficult. You haven’t forgotten the club we joined, have you?”

“Ah, the Exploration Club.”

Arte nodded at Amelia’s words.

She nodded, smiling faintly, then reminded them of something they had not considered.

“Yes. And who is the person in it with the most experience in going where others can not and seeing what others can never imagine?”

“…The club president.”

“You got it.”

That’s strange.

Siwoo and Amelia had naturally assumed Arte had reported it.

But was that not the case?

Did she have a reason to help them this much?

Siwoo was suspicious.

‘…Should I test her a little?’

Even  if she notices it, he won’t die.

Based on Arte’s behavior so far, she wouldn’t kill him.

‘I won’t die…’

I won’t die?

…Probably?

Okay, take a deep breath.

Good.

“Hey, Arte.”

“Yes?”

“The truth is, I’m the culprit.”

“?!”

Ignoring Amelia’s shocked reaction, Siwoo looked at Arte.

He wondered how she’d react.

His heart started pounding.

Ever since enrolling at the academy, it felt like his heart was overworked.

Should he take some heart medication?

Arte’s reaction to his sudden coming out was unexpected.

“Huhuhu…HAHAHAAHAHA~”

She started laughing for a while as  if she had just heard an amusing joke.

“Ahahaha. Si, Siwoo being the culprit. Huhuh. That was a funny joke!”

…Success.

He thought it was a 50/50 gamble, but it worked.

Arte didn’t know anything.

Realizing this, Amelia’s expression brightened.

“Hey, Arte.”

“Yes?”

“By any chance, do you know who the first victim was?”

“Umm, probably one of the female students. I’m not sure.”

She really didn’t know.

Amelia and Siwoo confirmed this and let out a sigh of relief.

“…? Anyway, we’re meeting in the club room after school, right?”

“Yeah, got it.”

“Then I’ll go to class first. Take your time coming.”

Only after Arte’s figure disappeared into the distance could they feel their heads clear.

“We didn’t get caught! We didn’t get caught!”

“Yeah…! We survived!”

Was it because we realized the victim herself didn’t know she had been victimized?

Amelia, very excited, declared,

“Even  if we get caught later, we’ll just pin it on that bastard!”

“…Yeah! Let’s do that!”

“Don’t let him talk back when we catch him, or it’ll be big trouble! Got it?!”

Normally, Siwoo would be in a dilemma about whether or not to report Amelia to the police.

But he didn’t disagree with her words.

…This time, he genuinely agreed with Amelia.

Rummaging through Arte’s underwear,

He really is an evil guy!

Definitely send him to prison.

***

“Huh? You want to find the hidden villain?”

“Yes. Since you’re the president of the Exploration Club, I thought you might know something.”

“So, so suddenly? Well, well! I am pretty great! I can definitely find them!”

Hehehe, the president laughed shyly.

…Somehow, she reminds me of the Author.

She gets so happy  if you praise her a little, just like that childish Author.

“But the teachers will look for them too, so why are you doing something so dangerous?”

“It’s for the development of the club. Finding and arresting a villain no one else could find… isn’t that a perfect achievement for an Exploration Club?”

“…!”

In an instant, the president’s enthusiasm overflowed.

Easy.

[Hmm, the Chameleon Adept… Where should I have him appear for the fun of the novel… Hmm.]

Suddenly, even the Author, who is usually noisy, fell silent.

She’s still pondering over it.

What’s so difficult about it?

Without my prompting, she went into quiet contemplation.

…Hmm, I can’t voice my thoughts here with people around.

Ah.

I have a good idea.

“Well, considering the culprit broke into the girls’ dorms and even rummaged through their underwear, I think he must have had impure intentions.”

“I think so too! He’s definitely a pervert…”

[Impure intentions? Pervert…?]

Good, she took the bait.

 If I can’t speak directly, I’ll pretend to deduce and throw out plausible settings.

The Author has started paying attention to my conversation with the president.

Let me drop some more hints…

“Given that he’s able to go unseen despite all these people around, he probably has some kind of cloaking ability.”

“I, I see?”

“If a pervert is wandering around…”

“Ah! There’s a high chance he’s in the girls’ bathroom or changing room!”

[…! This, this is it!]

Well, truth be told, I don’t really care  if that villain is a pervert or not.

He could just be an ordinary Übermensch villain with cloaking abilities.

But what  if the Author changes the setting?

“I did think that, but I’m having trouble finding a way to reveal the cloaking. Do you have any good ideas?”

“Um, hmm…”

[Interesting! A perverted chameleon adept leering at the heroines’ nudity, and the enraged protagonist deals with him decisively! And oh my, that will make him look so cool! This works!]

Good.

I’ve piqued the Author’s interest!

The betrayal of a fellow student.

Some kind of monster attacking the academy right from the first day of enrollment.

I’m starting to worry about Siwoo’s mental state, having experienced various incidents right from the start of his academy life.

But that was the tragic fate of these kinds of protagonists.

The ones who kill one person and then tremble uncontrollably.

The ones where small things pile up until their minds suddenly snap.

It’s said to be normal–that being unfazed after killing someone makes you a psychopath.

But these days, in web novels,  if it progresses like that, they say you’re “overly indulging the sweet potato”* or something.

I’ll pass. The Author can take that ride  if she wants.

…But what if she writes like that?

Dreadful. I don’t even want to think about it.

I can’t imagine what she might do if she goes off the rails.

So Yu Siwoo’s mind must not break.

Once a mind breaks, it’s hard to piece back together, so it’s best not to let it break in the first place.

The Author may package up developments occasionally, but that’s about it.

So, Siwoo’s mental state must be carefully tended to from the start to prevent it from shattering.

“Ah, I have one idea.”

“What is it?”

“This is a detector that senses ambient mana. Seniors in the club made it before to find hidden passages and such.”

[Heh, hehe. I’ve grown… Devising settings to this degree is like eating cold porridge…!]**

I was amazed at the Author’s tremendous speed.

Her pace is really fast.

She came up with the detector to reveal the cloaking in just the brief moment I didn’t speak?

It didn’t even seem like a minute had passed, and she’d thrown in a detector to expose the cloaking.

I was almost moved to tears by the Author’s growth.

Our girl really delivers when she puts in the effort.

“Then  if we use that to approach wherever the culprit is…”

“Yeah, we can easily find them!”

Siwoo and Amelia seemed very excited.

Yes, I suppose the protagonist and heroine would be happy to capture the villain with their own hands.

“Well, but how do we find them?”

“That’s easy! When swimming class ends, we catch the pervert who came to peep!”

“But everyone will be suspicious if we bring weapons to a pool.”

“…Ugh!”

I could subdue them with my threads, but I didn’t mention that.

I can’t overshadow the protagonist again.

“Looks like Siwoo has to solve this!”

“Me?!”

“Yes. The heroic Siwoo ambushes the culprit found by the detector! Doesn’t that sound cool?”

“But, but I…”

Huh?

Siwoo seemed about to object but suddenly closed his mouth.

… What’s wrong? Was he going to say he can’t go into the girls’ changing room because he’s a guy?

Well, whatever.

 If he doesn’t object, that’s fine with me.

No need to persuade him, which is actually more convenient.

“Then let’s do that! President, can I borrow this detector for a bit?”

“Of course! You can use the Exploration Club’s Special Detector as much as you want! … It’s specially made by the club!”

“Yes, I know.”

I mostly tuned out the president, repeatedly mentioning that it was made by the club and trying to elevate its status.

Okay, this should be enough.

But what to do about Siwoo’s mental health…

I got it.

Let me show a fan service scene for the ages using Amelia!

Teenage boys tend to get silly thoughts in their heads when they see a pretty girl’s naked body.

I know from experience.

I’m unsure  if it will help ease the shock of his first kill, but it’s better than nothing, right?

Besides, Amelia is the heroine.

She’ll probably take good care of him.

Being cuddled by the soft heroine’s bosom might help improve things a bit.

He needs to stay unfazed even after killing someone.

Hopefully, he’s the type who doesn’t get fazed by small things.

____________________

Author’s Notes

It’s just too hot these days.

On scorching days like this, the worst thing an adult can do,

Is to eat lots of that 5L tub of vanilla ice cream meant for businesses!