CHAPTER~28
After the training ground incident, the four of us went for a walk through the academy gardens.
The Garden of Erynthia Academy was… absurdly vast.
Magnificent to the point of feeling unreal. Even if twenty thousand people gathered here, there would still be space left untouched.
In the garden there were restricted areas, apparently.
But just like you guessed, there wasn’t even a fence. Anyone could walk in if they wished.
When we reached the central garden, Lucan spoke casually
“How bad was it at your home, for you to request family disownment?”
I didn’t answer immediately.
Then I said, flatly,
“If I died today, it would take at least a week for them to even notice I wasn’t there.”
The air shifted.
Iris stopped walking. Then she turned, raised her thumb, and smiled without a hint of irony.
“You made an excellent choice.”
Before I could respond—
A message appeared in front of my vision.
__________________________________________
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Guess what.
__________________________________________
“…What?”
__________________________________________
Your Unluck is fully active.
__________________________________________
“What—”
I didn’t finish the sentence.
I bumped into someone.
A girl stumbled back, nearly falling. She was small. Fragile-looking. Dressed plainly.
A commoner.
Her hands trembled as she lowered her head picking up the books
I instinctively raised my hand.
“I’m sorr—”
“I won’t allow you to torment her, Louis Casper.”
Ah....
I slowly turned.
Standing there, bathed in afternoon light like the world itself favored him, was Arthur.
The Angelic Main Character.
The one blessed by fate, narrative, and plot armor thick enough to stop divine judgment.
“Oh shit,” I muttered internally.
“I didn’t —” I started.
“This academy is not a place for bullies,” Arthur declared, voice righteous, loud enough to draw attention. “I will protect her.”
The girl trembled harder.
I stared at him.
Behind me, Iris pinched the bridge of her nose.
Lucan sighed.
Aria looked… entertained.
And somewhere deep inside, the System felt smug.
Unluck, indeed.
Arthur took another step forward, eyes burning with conviction.
“From the first day you arrived, you’ve abused your family’s power,” he continued.
“You used dirty methods to gain elite rank.
You beat theo through underhanded means.You defeated aria unfairly. And now ” he gestured dramatically, “you are bullying a weak commoner.”
“No, that’s not...”
The girl tried to speak.
Arthur cut her off immediately.
“Don’t worry,” he said gently. “You’re safe. I will protect you.”
Ah.
He’s trying to add her to his harem.
I hate harems. A person should give their heart to only one person.
Then a new message blinked into existence.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Would you like to view Arthur’s affection level?
…Right.
That skill.
“Yup,” I thought flatly.
-35
Very good.
Arthur straightened, raising his voice even more.
“Aren’t you ashamed, Louis—”
“Shut the fuck off.”
The words landed clean.
Arthur froze.
For a split second, the Angelic Main Character simply stared at me, as if his brain had failed to process a reality
Then
Behind me—
Iris snapped.
She bent forward, clutching her stomach as laughter burst out of her, completely unrestrained
.
“Pfft—HA—!”
Lucan covered his mouth, shoulders shaking. Aria didn’t even try to hide her grin.
Arthur’s expression darkened.
“You dare speak like that after everything you’ve done?” he said, voice rising again, instinctively slipping back into performance mode.
“From the moment you entered this academy, you abused your family’s influence.
You stole an elite position,
defeated Theo through underhanded means, and even fought Aria unfairly—”
“That’s enough.”
The girl finally spoke.
Her voice was soft, but it cut through the tension cleanly.
Everyone turned.
She stood there clutching her books, hands still trembling but her eyes were no longer fixed on Arthur.
“They didn’t bully me,” she said quietly.
“I wasn’t looking where I was going. That’s all.”
Arthur frowned. “You don’t need to be afraid. I—”
“I’m not,” she interrupted.
That shut him up.
She bowed slightly toward me.
“I’m sorry. Truly.”
I raised my hand. “It’s fine.”
Arthur turned sharply. “What are you saying? It’s clearly his fault—”
“No,” she said, firmer this time.
“I was reading while walking. I should’ve been more careful.”
Iris completely lost it.
She was laughing so hard she had to lean against a nearby pillar.
“Oh my gods,” she wheezed. “This is gold.”
Arthur clenched his fists.
Iris wiped a tear from her eye and straightened, eyes sharp now.
“You said he used family power to gain elite rank,” she said casually.
“Are you accusing Erynthia Academy of accepting bribes?”
Arthur stiffened.
“That’s a very serious accusation.”
“I —I didn’t mean —”
“And you said he beat me unfairly,” Aria added calmly.
She tilted her head.
“What exactly was unfair?”
“We both used weapons.
We both used magic.”
Arthur hesitated. “H-He used a strange magic.”
Aria smiled faintly.
“…Is that illegal?”
Silence.
Arthur stood there, trapped by his own righteousness.
And for the first time, the hero had no script to follow.
“Awww.
What happened to my uuugie-woogie hero?
It’s okay. Let’s go complain to Mother my lady?” I said.
It was quiet. Painfully quiet.
No righteous monologue.
No dramatic pose.
No divine background music.
Just Arthur, staring at me like I’d broken something expensive.
Lucan covered his mouth with his fist, shoulders shaking. “Unfortunate,” he said, absolutely not sounding unfortunate at all.
Arthur’s face went red.
And finally found his voice. “Y-You can’t just —”
Arthur stood there, a red tomato of embarrassment, his "heroic" moment dissolving into the sound of students literally laughing at him.
He looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
I ignored him.
I looked at the girl, who was still struggling to keep the stack of heavy books in her hands.
“Miss, do you need help?” I asked.
She blinked, startled by the simple, normal question. “Oh… yes, please.
I was trying to get these to the faculty office.”
“Where are you headed?”
“To Professor Lioren,” she replied, her voice steadying.
“The philosophy instructor. These are the reference texts he requested for the next lecture.”
I took half the stack from her. The weight was solid, real.
“We’re heading that way,” I said, nodding toward my group.
As we walked away, Iris gave Arthur one last mock-salute, and We left the "Hero" standing in the middle of the garden, clutching nothing but his wounded pride
Lucan and the others headed toward the canteen, while I walked with her toward the faculty building.
She hesitated, fingers tightening around her books.
“I’m… really sorry,” she said softly. “This all happened because of me.”
I waved it off. “Ah, don’t worry. Trust me — this is a normal day for me.”
She blinked. “…Normal?”
“Unfortunately.”
That earned a small, nervous smile.
“So,” I added, “what’s your name, my lady?”
“Oh — sorry. I’m Rose. Class B.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said. “I’m Louis. Class A.”
Her steps froze.
“…No way.”
I felt my soul leave my body.
“You’re that Louis Casper?”
Ah.
Shit.
She knows me.
And that is not a good thing.
“Rose, whatever you heard … it’s just a misunderstanding.”
“Oh — no, no ,” she said quickly. “I heard you’re the only one whose answer actually satisfied Professor Lioren Ilyas Verdan.”
…Oh.
That’s somehow worse.
so you’re interested in philosophy?”
Yes
Philosophy’s just structured overthinking with footnotes. I find it … comforting.”
Yup this one is cracked
The faculty room smelled faintly of old parchment and polished wood, the kind of smell that made me wonder if centuries of academia had settled into the walls
Professor Lioren sat behind an enormous desk, fingers steepled, eyes sharp behind gold-rimmed spectacles. The air hummed with quiet authority.
““Louis,” he said without preamble, voice even but carrying weight. “I hear you’ve caused quite a… disturbance today.”
I froze for half a second. That was fast. How did he know before we even reached the faculty room?
Professor Lioren’s eyes twinkled faintly. “There are a lot of eyes, Louis. More than you think. Even in the gardens, even in the corridors… nothing escapes notice here
“We… collided,” I said finally, shrugging. “It was an accident.”
Is that so
Professor Lioren’s expression softened, almost approving. “Good. Remember, knowledge without reflection is dangerous. But with thought, even a rebel can teach the world something unexpected.”
I nodded, hiding a grin. “I’ll try not to get too dangerous then, Professor.”
He didn’t respond, just returned to his paperwork, leaving me with the strange sense that I’d survived a battle… without a fight
After I said goodbye to Rose, I headed back to the canteen. The three of them were already there, waiting, casually leaning against the tables like they owned the place.
I pulled up the System interface.
“Hey, System, what’s the current affection of… them?” I asked, voice low.
A soft chime sounded, and the familiar notification blinked into existence, numbers and bars aligning neatly before me.
