After a busy day had ended.

I, who had taken the lady home after she nonsensically proclaimed that mint  chocolate tteokbokki was the ultimate creation, wandered the streets of the late evening capital.

“Mint  chocolate is the evil of society.”

I murmured, echoing the lady’s ridiculous statement, and let out a deep sigh.

The streets of the capital were still bustling with life despite the late hour.

The night patrol soldiers doing their rounds, adventurers unwinding in taverns after a tough day’s work, and Royal Academy students burning the candle at both ends.

Watching people wrap up their exhausting days, I muttered to myself.

“They’re young. So young.”

I had those days too.

Back when I attended the Academy.
It was a short time, less than a year, but I had lived quite the student life.

Shaking off predestined encounters.
Solving quests.
Crushing the remnants of heretics.

Hmm…

It wasn’t such a great school life after all.

On second thought, it wasn’t the ordinary school life I remembered. I corrected myself, thinking that ‘busy’ was a more fitting description for the time I had spent, not leisurely enjoying my youth like the others.

Still, it was fun in its own way.

The lady had been a thorn in my side, but it was amusing that I had entered the point where the novel truly began to unfold.

Seeing things I had only read about in books actually happen, and watching Yuria, the female protagonist, grow—it was both amazing and a sense of pride.

Yuria’s bullying incident.
The Academy fire incident.
The process of Yuria and Ruin becoming close.

It felt strange, experiencing events I’d only seen in the novel for real. They were memories that made me both cry and laugh, not entirely unpleasant ones. Especially the memories shared with Yuria were a bit more special.

I had only intended to watch over her, but we became close.
I had wanted to live as a stranger, but we became friends. Those memories weren’t easily forgotten.

As I walked through the glittering downtown, I reminisced about the old days.

-Why are you crying here?
-What…?

I thought back to the first conversation we ever had and looked up at the brightly shining moon.

“It’s ridiculously bright.”

I think I need a  drink after a long while.

*

Somewhere near the Academy, there was a tavern.

In a quiet corner of the tavern frequented only by regulars, Yuria sat with a gloomy expression.

It was a place where not many people came.
A secluded tavern free from noisy adventurers and ill-mannered folk.

The bar-style tavern was Yuria’s regular spot, where she could visit alone without worrying about unwanted confrontations.

Yuria, who was not particularly fond of alcohol, occasionally visited this pub when she felt down. It was also a place filled with long-standing memories.

Yuria, who had hung her outerwear over the chair, timidly raised her hand.

“Excuse me…”

The waitress, not noticing Yuria’s meek voice, continued to wipe glasses with a dry cloth.

Yuria glanced around, taking in the others.

Lovers lost in each other.
Students trying to end the approaching term with laughter. Yuria hoped to catch the eye of the busy waitress but failed to attract her attention.

Yuria checked her surroundings and then hunched her shoulders, whispering softly.

“Can’t she hear me…?”

Yuria closed her eyes tight and then called out to the waitress with a louder voice than before.

“Excuse me… I’d like to order!”

However, Yuria’s timid voice was drowned out by the chatter of other patrons and failed to reach the waitress.

“Ah… uh…”

Fidgeting with her fingers, Yuria finally managed to place her order after what felt like an eternity.

“I’m sorry. We have an unusually large number of customers today. Ha ha…”

“It’s alright. Could I have a draft beer and some jerky, please?”

Yuria’s order prompted the waitress to nod and write it down.

“A draft beer and jerky, is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Just wait a moment, I’ll bring it out to you right away!”

Yuria replied to the waitress in a small voice.

“You can take your time.”
“Sure~!”

After a short while, Yuria’s table was graced with bite-sized jerky and a cold beer.

Gazing at the beer, Yuria exhaled a deep sigh from her core.

“Haah…”

It was a sigh laden with deep contemplation.

Maybe it was the depth of the troubles she kept to herself that led Yuria, who normally didn’t even enjoy alcohol, to look sorrowfully at the beer.

“Why am I so foolish.”

Yuria murmured in a bitter voice.

“I can’t do what I know how to do right, and I misunderstand things on my own…”

Regret and self-reproach filled Yuria’s voice as she murmured gloomily. Since the hallucination she experienced in the dungeon last time, Yuria’s self-esteem had been slowly declining as she couldn’t shake the feeling of depression.

It was great when she discovered she had a talent for divine power… but lately, it seems like there have been more depressing things.

Relationships.
Studying.
The worries only got heavier as the grades went up.

-Dad! I… I got accepted into the Royal Academy!
-What?!
-Yep! I was selected as a scholarship student, ahem!
-My daughter is amazing!
-Of course! Now, Dad, you can stop adventuring and live off the salary I bring home!
-Haha! Are you telling me to quit my job?!
-Yes, for sure!
-No, I still have to earn an allowance for my daughter.
-No need. I’ll study really hard and get a full scholarship! So take some rest, Dad.

How long had it been since she was thrilled at the thought of being an impressive daughter to her father, who lived the difficult life of an adventurer?

Yuria’s heart still swelled when she remembered giving her hard-earned scholarship money to her father, but thinking of her current life at the Academy made her feel depressed.

At the start of the semester.

Yuria was being bullied.

-Why does she act so high and mighty? She’s just a commoner.

She thought that being active would make her many friends. It was the first time Yuria faced the wall of social status.

Hated for every action she took.
Insulted for simply passing by as if she stank. The start of her Academy life was emotionally challenging for Yuria.

In the tranquil countryside, her bright smiles and energetic spirits were well-received by friends, but the Academy was different.

Labeled a vixen for mingling with boys.
Accused of being shallow when approaching girls, Yuria faced insults and slander.

Where to fit in?

How to avoid the abuse, Yuria pondered and tried to change herself, but only cold responses came back.

-Why are you pretending to be close?
-Exactly, it’s freaking awkward.

Although it was just a private thought, in fact, Yuria hated her Academy life.

The life at the Academy she had looked forward to was cold, and the Academy, which was supposed to be free of discrimination between commoners and nobility, clearly had invisible lines drawn.

It was Ricardo who became Yuria’s sole comfort in the grey life at the Academy.

He was confident, unlike herself.

She had fallen for him at first sight.

During the freshman orientation.
The emotion she felt when she first saw him was indescribable—like a declaration of ‘He’s insane’.

Deep red hair.
A tall stature.
Flawless features.

With a fierce appearance yet seemingly kind-hearted, Yuria felt an attraction to Ricardo for the first time.

The surrounding students didn’t think highly of him…

-Is that him? Olivia’s butler?
-Probably. He definitely looks like the butler of a crazy woman.
-Connections really do matter. Even a commoner like him can enter the Royal Academy.
-Hey, keep your voice down.
-Why? Let them hear. It’s the truth.

Ricardo was infamous for his bad temper.

Among the nobles, a mad dog.
Among the commoners, he was seen as a lowlife who sucked up to the nobility by snobbish rumors. Nevertheless, Yuria ignored those views, captivated by his appearance.

She wondered why they hated him.
Why wouldn’t they like someone so good-looking?

It was a malicious thought, but at the time, she felt fortunate that there were fewer rivals. It was just a fantasy, but if they became a couple, it meant she wouldn’t have to deal with jealous rivals.

Like every student harbors a first love in their hearts, Ricardo had taken up that place of longing in Yuria’s heart.

When Yuria ended up in the same class as Ricardo, she buried her face in her pillow with joy.

-Insane… Insane…! We’re in the same class! What do I do!!!

Especially since Ricardo’s behavior was so peculiar that it never failed to amuse her.

-Hey, commoner. Go to the store and buy me some bread in my stead.
-What.
-What? A commoner talking back?
-Nobility talking back?
-You crazy bastard.
-Miss!!!

Ricardo, who didn’t cower at being called a commoner, would recklessly bounce around without caring for others’ stares.

Perhaps it was because of his strong backing, but Ricardo’s behavior seemed to stem more from an innate, carefree confidence.

In the early days of school, he even got into fistfights with nobility and during ranking fights, he would use dirty tricks like throwing sand to win at all costs.

Though Ricardo’s reputation among the students hit rock bottom, he lived his life unaffected, seemingly normal.

Even just watching from the sidelines felt joyful and exciting… and at the same time, supportive.

Yuria was spending her school days like that.

Then one day.

Yuria had her first conversation with Ricardo. Not of her own will, but compelled by someone else’s. Yuria talked to Ricardo showing the side of herself she least wanted him to see.

[Idiot.]

The day she ran away after seeing the red scribbles on her desk.

-Why are you crying here?

Ricardo had come to her while she was crying.