A few days after the incident.

"Rudyyyyy!"

After class, Luna spotted Rudy and called his name as she ran towards him.

Ena and Rika, who were with Luna, watched the scene.

"It's strange."

Rika muttered to herself, prompting Ena to ask,

"What's strange?"

"The way Luna calls Rudy Astria. It's a bit odd."

"How?"

As Ena asked, Rika stroked her chin and looked up.

"Hmm... Luna used to call Rudy Astria 'Rudy!'"

"Right?"

"But these days, she's been calling him 'Rudyyyyy!'"

Ena's face went black for a moment as she heard the story.

"Why?"

"Ena! Don't you see the difference between 'Rudy!' and 'Rudyyyyy!'?"

"...I don't think anyone would understand that."

Rika thought for a moment before speaking up.

"Somehow, 'Rudy!' feels friendly, but 'Rudyyyyy!' is a bit different. It's like... something has changed."

Ena glanced at Rika for a moment and then chuckled.

"Yeah, Rika, you do have some insight."

Luna's attitude had been strange for a few days.

She had always been close with Rudy Astria, but their bond seemed to have grown stronger.

Rudy Astria didn't seem to have changed much, but Luna was different.

Their relationship seemed to be more than just close friends or colleagues.

"I wonder what happened..."

Ena looked at Rudy Astria with suspicious eyes.

Clap!-

Suddenly, Rika clapped her hands.

"Hmm?"

Ena looked at Rika, who was smiling.

"Did you figure something out?"

Rika looked at Ena and grinned even more.

"No! I have no idea!"

"...Right."

She didn't know what Luna was feeling, but she resolved to help Luna as much as possible.

After the library fire, we enjoyed a few peaceful days.

Rie was acknowledged for her efforts in extinguishing the fire and received a commendation.

And somehow, I'm not sure how, but I also received words of gratitude from the professors.

They said giving me a commendation might be difficult, but they still appreciated my hard work.

I clearly told Rie to say I ran away, but I'm not sure what happened.

Honestly, who wouldn't feel good when everyone's expressing their gratitude?

I just happily went along with it.

It didn't seem like there would be any issues with the story since rumors about me hadn't spread among the students.

I didn't care too much about Rie receiving the commendation either.

After all, Rie was the type to sweep up all the awards and certificates as the game progressed.

However, there was one problem.

It seemed like Rie had no particular thoughts about Evan.

Originally, when Evan took the top spot, Rie's gaze would be directed at him.

She would look at Evan with interest.

But she was so busy with the library incident that she hadn't paid any attention to Evan.

"Is it twisted already...?"

It was too early to judge that things had gone awry.

I decided to wait and see before making any decisions.

On a happier note, there was another piece of good news.

My Beginner Magic level had reached 9.

It was probably thanks to the real-life experience.

I had studied the theory diligently until now, but I had no practical experience.

Suddenly, having that practical experience caused my magic proficiency to increase explosively.

Looking at my current magic abilities, it seemed like I could reach Intermediate Magic with a bit more effort.

My goal was to learn at least some Dark Magic before the midterm camp.

That way, I could survive the event.

Of course, there was a problem to solve before that.

I opened the door to the student council room and entered.

"Oh, Rudy Astria, you're here?"

Astina and Rie were there.

"Rudy Astria, long time no see~."

Rie greeted me with a bright smile.

Her tone was not as aggressive as it was during the library incident, but rather her usual friendly demeanor.

I frowned and opened my mouth.

"You said to speak informally. Is there anyone here besides us?"

"Sigh..."

Upon hearing my words, Rie sighed and crossed her legs.

"Well, I guess there's no need to hide it now."

Rie spoke in a cold tone, not her usual gentle one.

It was a fierce tone, but it felt more comfortable.

"Shall we talk about 'that incident' now?"

She was referring to the library incident.

When the incident occurred, we brushed it off vaguely, but now it was time for a proper explanation.

And it was time for me to hear a proper explanation about them as well.

"First, Rudy Astria, tell us how you knew. How did you know Luna Railer would cause such an incident?"

Astina asked me.

I took a magic book from my bag.

Levian's magic book.

The magic book that Luna had handed over to me.

"Luna had this magic book."

"A magic book?"

Astina took the book and tried to open it.

"It's better not to open it. If something goes wrong, Astina might lose control too."

"…Fine."

Astina listened to me and put the magic book down again.

"So, what is this magic book?"

Rie asked me.

"The Royal Wizard, Levian's magic book."

"Levian…?"

Levian was a famous wizard for his magic circles.

Although it wasn't mentioned in the game, it seemed that he was a well-known wizard in the world of magic here.

"When Luna was young, Levian died in the Railer territory."

"What?"

According to my findings, Levian's death wasn't officially recorded.

He was merely listed as missing.

This told me one thing.

The head of the Railer family, Luna's father, didn't report Levian's death to the royal family.

"How did he die?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but it's believed to be due to aging. This part might be wrong, so just keep that in mind."

"Then how did Luna's mental contamination occur?"

I explained to Astina about how to use this magic book in response to her question.

A magic book that allows the use of magic without scrolls.

As I told them the story, both Astina and Rie frowned.

"A scroll that can be used infinitely… Why isn't this known to the world? If multiple books like this are created..."

Astina started to speak but stopped.

"...Did they run away?"

I looked at Astina as she spoke.

I had thought the same thing.

Levian created that fraudulent magic book and fled.

And to find him, he was reported missing.

The place Levian reached after fleeing was the Railer territory.

I could make that much of a guess.

"Who did he run away from?"

"It seems we'll have to find that out. The fact that he fled is just speculation, not certainty."

"Then, digging up information on Levian should be our priority."

Rie summarized the situation.

After listening to the conversation, I opened my mouth to speak.

"But do we really need to find out?"

After all, what Levian's plan was and who he was didn't matter to me.

There was no other influence from Levian at the academy besides this magic book.

"It doesn't hurt to know. Information can become a lifeline or a source of money."

Astina responded to my words.

Of course, it's not wrong to say that, but isn't there a saying that ignorance is bliss?

"Alright, I'll do a rough investigation."

So I left that for Rie to investigate.

I then asked Rie a question.

"What's the deal between you and Astina?"

"An alliance."

"I'll help Rie become emperor, and Rie will make me the Viscount of Persia. That's our plan."

Astina briefly elaborated on Rie's words.

"Is it because of Yuni?"

Yuni von Ristonia.

The Second Princess of the Empire and Rie's rival.

Rie was obviously ahead in terms of ability, but Yuni had other support.

Yuni had the support of the Astria family, the Nobles faction.

Three factions appear in this game.

The Rebels, the Nobles, and the Royalists.

The conflict between these three types of factions was the main story of the game.

When we become second-year students and Yuni enters the academy, the structure of these three factions is established.

"Can you even tell me this?"

Even if I was a discarded child, I belonged to the Astria family.

The Astria family was the leader of the nobles.

Isn't it strange to say such things?

"Don't you know already know this much?"

Rie spoke as if it were absurd.

"'Rudy Astria will have a hard time making a name for himself in politics.' Well, that makes you a better ally."

Astina also seemed to agree with Rie's words.

"So, what do you plan to do?"

As I asked, Rie answered.

"I'll help you become the head of the Astria family. Then all our problems will be solved."

"…What?"

***

I finished the conversation and returned to my room, deep in thought.

Take over the Astria family?

This suggestion was tantamount to completely twisting the story.

And it wasn't an easy task.

First of all, the gap between my brother and me was too wide.

My brother, who had already made a name for himself in politics, compared to me, who had just entered the academy and even lost the top spot.

No matter what anyone says, my brother would be the one to inherit the family.

"Haah... What a headache."

I agreed with them in that situation, but I'm not sure what they were thinking.

"Rudyyyy!"

While I was lost in thought, Luna came running, calling my name.

Luna ran up to me, looked at me, and smiled.

"Rudy, where are we going to study today?"

Since the library incident, Luna seemed more lively.

However, we had lost our study space.

The fire in the library required repairs, so the library was closed for a while.

We could borrow books, but we couldn't use the space inside for reading or studying.

So lately, Luna and I would rent a classroom to study together.

We couldn't rent a classroom alone, so we went together to rent one.

Of course, Rika and Ena often joined us.

"Today, I think I'll practice magic in the lab?"

Although I had lost the top spot, I could still use the first-place student laboratory.

The proper first place would be determined by the total score at the end of the semester.

I glanced at Rika and Ena behind me.

With those two around, they could rent a classroom without me, so it shouldn't be a problem.

"Is...is that so? I see."

Luna looked a bit disappointed.

Then she changed her expression and opened her mouth.

"Well, I guess there's no helping it... Then later─."

"Ah...! Oh, that's right! Now that I think about it, I have an assignment, so I think I'll need to go to a lab?"

Just as Luna was about to say something, Ena suddenly interrupted.

The usually quiet Ena spoke with an unusually lively voice.

"Huh?"

Luna looked at Ena for a moment.

"Ah! Ah! Now that I think about it, Rika! I think you'll need to help me! It's an assignment related to water attribute magic!"

"Water...attribute?"

Rika looked puzzled as she spoke to Ena.

"Luna... I don't think we can rent a classroom together... I'm really sorry."

"Uh...? Really? You said you didn't have any separate things to study just now..."

"I forgot, okay~. And Luna can't use water attribute magic... I think Rika will have to help me..."

Rika patted her chest and said,

"Ahem! That's right! Luna might be better at magic than me, but I'm better at using water attribute magic!"

Ena grabbed Rika's wrist as she spoke and began to lead her away.

"Eh? We're leaving already?"

"Luna sorry!! Rika, you better follow quickly."

"Ugh..."

Luna and I blankly watched Ena walk away, dragging Rika along with her.

"Uh... what should we do?"

With those two gone, Luna couldn't borrow a study space.

But she couldn't give up on magic practice for today either.

With midterm camp approaching, she needed to reach intermediate magic as soon as possible.

"...Luna, want to go to the lab with me?"

"Huh...?"

***

And thats 4/4!

Enjoy the chappy!