I looked back.

A man walked toward me with his familiar smile, hands in his pockets, swaggering.

The esteemed village chief of Algae Village.

It was Ruin.

Seeing him made me think.

‘Why is Ruin here?’

While it was pleasant to encounter an academy peer unexpectedly, Ruin wasn’t supposed to be here yet.

About a week should have passed before the news spread in the capital about the dungeon, attracting adventurers and Ruin’s participation in the unfolding story, but why was he here now?

He wasn’t here for a hike.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked him why he came.

“Excuse me… Algae Magician?”
“…It’s Ruin.”
“I see. Algae Knight.”
“Not a knight, a mage. And just call me Ruin.”

Ruin clenched his fist.

Seems like he’s disliked me since the past.

Despite remembering his name and giving him honorifics, was he always angry whenever he saw me? Ruin’s psychology was more irritating than a lady whose magical powers bloomed.

What have I done wrong?

Even with Hanna, who would give her liver and gallbladder, he broke into a fit on me only, which I found extremely upsetting.

We weren’t close at the academy, but we used to greet each other when passing by.

-Good morning~
-Are you mocking me?
-No? It’s just, our lady boasts about being the top student.
-You dog.
-Woof.

I cherished the memories of cheerfully greeting each other, congratulating on successes, and lightly bantering, but it was frustrating that Ruin was the only one who seemed resentful.

It was supposed to be a good memory.

-Uh… Ruin, I heard you burned up the lady’s  dress in the recent duel. It was quite expensive; are you okay with that? If it’s tough, we could…
-I can pay it back. Do I look like I can’t compensate for a mere  dress?
-It’s 300,000 gold.
-Oh…?
-The lady said not to repay her, but should we send the bill to the tower then?
-Wait a second…!

I vaguely remembered comforting Ruin, who was beaten by Michail and collapsed in the training ground daily.

-Lady, you have moss stuck on the floor.
-Oh…! It’s huge!

-You dogs, stop it!
-It talks too.
-Eek…!

I was pleased to see Ruin, but why did he react like that?

Ruin licked his lips as he looked at me. As if I was something to eat, he excitedly clenched and unclenched his fist like a dog in heat.

[Ruin Lv. 35]
[Profession: Royal Academy Student]
[Affinity: -77]
[Favorite Conversation Topics: Olivia/Magic Recognition/Dating]
[Disliked Conversation Topics: Inferiority about Magic/Blonde Hair/Red Hair/Being Defeated by a Junior]

Not even a mortal enemy, why is our affinity so low?

It hurt.

But he’s still a friend. I reached out to Ruin with a handshake, full of my joy of meeting him.

“Anyway, glad to see you, Ruin.”
“Glad, huh?”

Ruin snorted in disdain. Either he found me funny or the situation amusing.

Either way, I knew that the laughter wasn’t coming from a place of positivity.

Ruin sneakily glanced behind my back, searching for something. He looked around a bit more, then said sarcastically,

“Hey. Where did Olivia go?”
“She’s at home.”
“Home?”

Ruin, the chief of Algae Village, swelled up with bravado, hearing the lady wasn’t around.

He looked like a bulldog standing in front of a Chihuahua, whereas, at the Friends of Forest, he resembled a wet puppy.

Ruin strode toward me.
He came too close for comfort.
I feared I might instinctively slam his head on the ground, so I stepped back to maintain a safe distance.

‘Don’t come closer. You’ll pass out again.’

If I were to knock him out, it would be best after I heard Ruin’s last words. If there were other students around, they needed to be knocked out too.

Ruin spoke to me.

“Ricardo, I’m not happy to see you.”
“I see. What to do? I’m really glad to see you, Ruin.”
“Yeah?”

His white spit dangerously touched the worn leather of my  shoes.

“Pfft. What’s with those  shoes?”

Ruin chuckled, looking at the shoes, seemingly enjoying marking his territory like a dog, which I didn’t appreciate at all.

“Even a goblin wouldn’t wear such shoes.”
“Is that so? Guess I’ll have to steal a pair from a goblin then.”

Ruin’s taunts had no effect.

It would be strange if I were swayed by such provocations. If one were swayed by such simple provocations,

That wouldn’t be possession, but rather a rage disorder.

A true person should be patient and tolerant. Anyone charging at the slightest bait is immature.

No matter the provocation, to endure and silently go about one’s business is that of a true victor, a magnanimous person.

I looked around.

It was silent.
No one else was in sight.

‘This place is too dangerous.’

All that was present were elite orcs napping nearby and the bothersome elite goblins in this place.

A place where a person could disappear without anyone noticing.

Really, my friend had no sense of caution. Was he aware of how dangerous it was to come to such a gloomy place on his own?

I pondered over choosing Ruin’s grave site.

If the presence had been Rowen instead of me, Ruin might have ended up as a  work of art rather than a person.

With concern, I spoke to Ruin.

“Mr. Ruin.”
“Talk comfortably. We did at the academy. Why have you been like this since the last time?”
“Just a habit, I guess.”

I was genuinely worried for Ruin.

I wanted to share some wisdom with him.
He should have had at least one reliable person by his side if he were to come to such a dangerous place.

Should he meet an untimely end, at least the news of his demise could be conveyed.

I slowly approached Ruin.

Upon closer look, something seemed to smear on the left cheek of Ruin, a dislikeable stain that was hard to remove. I should clean it off for him.

“Ah… by the way, Ruin.”
“What?”
“What brings you here? Shouldn’t you be at the academy?”
“Ah… It’s for a project.”
“A project?”

Ruin nodded.
And, he didn’t miss the chance to hurl more insults at me, saying, ‘What’s it to you, dropout?’ which made me wonder how he’d survive after graduating from the academy.

After being turned down by the female lead, he’ll be living like a shut-in, although that’s putting it lightly.

I was worried about Ruin’s future after the story’s conclusion.

Ruin is a character in the novel who crushes sweet potatoes like a refreshing cider.

In the parts of the story where the female lead is ostracized by the villainesses, other male leads would step back, saying, “Yuria will handle it!” or “I can’t interfere with Yuria’s friend troubles. I might not be the physical type but,”

But Ruin, whose attention spins wildly at anything related to the female lead, would swoop in like a knight on a white horse to say a word to the villainesses.

Despite everything, he was a character you couldn’t help but grow fond of.

I didn’t like his appearance, it wasn’t to my taste. However, other readers liked his rude demeanor and even made Ruin their favorite character.

Ruin is consistent.

Speaks informally to someone he’s just met.
Spew informal speech incessantly toward people he dislikes.
And even toward those he likes, he keeps spewing informal speech.

Even to the master of the magic tower who took him in, he speaks informally, calling him an “old man,” a consistency that makes me genuinely wish he’d meet his match and get brushed off.

Ruin said to me.

“Ah, speaking of which, you asked Hanna to appeal for the annulment of your expulsion? Bringing up expulsion annulment out of the blue. I seriously thought you were crazy.”

“I was not expelled, I’m on a brea…”

“Whether expulsion or break, it’s all the same to you two. Aren’t you ashamed to ask a junior for a favor?”

Could it be that he’ll die if he speaks nicely? Ruin, who speaks like he wants to part ways with the world.

I approached Ruin with a step.
Ruin flinches, trembling at the shoulders.
Why so afraid, I won’t do anything.

I laughed awkwardly.

“I just wanted to ask because I want to return to the Academy. Haha.”

“Bullshit.”

“So, how’s school life for you, Ruin?”

“Better without you guys.”

“Hmm, really? That can’t be true.”

The Royal Academy is special.

If you graduate, you can get a job in a well-known business or family within the empire, and even surpass the limits of a commoner to receive a title.

The educational policy was also specialized to discover prodigies.

With a system that allows students to select their own assignments, higher grades are given for more difficult tasks, and lower grades for easier ones.

At the Royal Academy, your grade dictates your rank.

A system designed to allow passionate students to bear fruit.

But considering Ruin, who did not care about grades, came to this far place just for an assignment made me believe there was an ulterior motive.

That’s why he didn’t take the bait.

I asked Ruin.

“Ah. Are you like that because you were stepped on by Hanna?”

“Shut your mouth.”

Ruin reacts violently with a flinch. Apparently, my thoughtless throw has struck a nerve in Ruin’s mental state.

I said, almost as if making excuses, wanting to inflict a little more pain on the wounded Ruin, hoping the sore wound would open further.

“No, if not for that, it wouldn’t make sense for a prodigy like you, Ruin, to come to a far-flung town like Hamel. Could it be… you were knocked out in the recent ranking match…?”

“Shut up, I said.”

I struck Ruin’s sore spot again.

Ruin glared at me.
His shattered mental state didn’t seem to recover, staring silently with eye contact.

Unable to think of anything to say, I simply gave a thumbs-up and spoke.

“Good choice.”

“Shut up!”

Red orbs lashed out furiously.

Last time there were three, but today, ten were flying at me.

The growing Ruin.

Given his growth rate, I thought he could hold his own against a mantis for about 10 seconds.

I naturally reached out to pin Ruin’s head to the ground, trying to calm his excited state so we could go our separate ways.

But then.

Just as my hand was about to touch Ruin’s head, a familiar voice stopped me.

“Ruin! What are you doing?”

A woman’s voice behind me.

A crisp voice, as if filled with fresh fruit, echoed in my ears.

“I’m so sorry─! My friend here gets angry quickly.”

The woman behind me apologized immediately upon arrival, speaking to me in a friendly, country-girl tone, unlike the haughty nobility.

With the woman’s arrival, Ruin’s face, which had turned fierce, relaxed as if nothing had happened.

Ruin, who smiled like an idiot.

I withdrew the hand I had raised.

“Ruin, what are you doing! Apologize!”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Don’t lie!”

I thought to myself.

‘This is trouble.’

I slowly turned around.
This was not how I wanted us to meet.

Gradually, her smiling figure came into view,

pink hair,
cherry-like lips,
and a refreshing beauty.

As our eyes met,
she began to hide her sunny smile.

“It’s been a long time.”

With an awkward smile, I said.

“Yuria.”

There stood Yuria, the protagonist of this novel, looking at me.