[We need something new.]
"Huh?"
Out of nowhere?
While I was enduring a boring Mana Studies lecture.
Before I knew it, the Author’s sudden voice had slipped out of my mouth in a loud gasp.
"What’s wrong, Arte? Is there something you don’t understand?"
"...No, sorry. I was just lost in thought for a moment."
"Focus on the lesson. Now, mana circulates more efficiently within the body when—"
With Teacher Claire’s voice as background noise, I began to listen intently to the Author’s words.
[You see, Reader, things have been too monotonous lately.]
"...That’s true."
I lowered my voice to a whisper so no one else could hear.
This feels like a magical girl anime.
I remembered a scene from one I’d secretly watched as a kid—where the main character whispered to their mascot during class.
[Every day it’s just lessons, lessons, lessons. Training and theory all day isn’t enough material...!]
"What about swordsmanship class?"
[That’s the worst part! It’s just sparring all day. It’s boring!]
Wasn’t there supposed to be a heroine candidate there?
When I brought up what the Author had told me before, they flew into a rage.
[A heroine’s first meeting has to be special! Meeting her in such a dull place in such a dull way doesn’t make her a heroine! Grr!]
"Ah, right."
So that’s how it is.
Then what was the point of me forcing my way into swordsmanship class with a dagger and everything...?
Plus, there was that one strikingly pretty girl who looked like a heroine candidate... So she’s not? You’re just throwing her away? Seriously?
How could I trust the Author? They change their mind all the time.
[Anyway...! It’s an experiment, an experiment! I want to add a new episode!]
"Uh, okay. What kind of—?"
[An ambush, of course!]
"...?"
Did I mishear?
An ambush?
[It might be a little early, but... I’ll add an evil organization ambush event!]
"That’s way too early."
[Wha—?!]
Not just a little early—way too early.
Are you joking?
"An ambush... yeah, at least write two more events first. Right now is way too soon."
[T-Two whole events?! B-But I don’t even have any material right now...]
As expected.
I knew it.
You’re out of ideas, so you’re trying to force this in. I get it.
But does that mean we’re already burning through the delicious Academy ambush material?
At least let it simmer a little longer.
[But I don’t have any other ideas right now...]
"No ideas? Just make some up."
[D-D reader?]
Thump-thump.
I could almost hear the sound.
Even without seeing, I knew they were brimming with expectation.
They always ended up relying on me in the end.
It wasn’t a bad feeling.
Being depended on by someone... felt better than I thought.
"What do you think should come before an Academy ambush?"
[Huh? ...Uh, I don’t know?]
"Reconnaissance. We need to gather intel on the enemy first."
It helped to think like a counterterrorism unit planning an operation.
In movies, those guys always get the building blueprints and memorize all the details before going in.
"We need a spy. A spy inside the enemy organization."
[Ah—! Y-Yes! A mole planted in the evil organization! As expected of you, Reader...!]
The Academy’s security was airtight.
No ordinary hacker could breach its database—any suspicious access attempt would be traced back instantly, turning the intruder into a criminal before they even knew what hit them.
So, one might think having a spy would be a setting error, but it’s actually the opposite.
In Academy novels, the evil organizations are usually world-threatening groups.
It wouldn’t be strange for them to infiltrate somewhere.
After all, it’s a cliché that the world’s best security always gets breached.
[But who should the spy be? If they’re too ordinary, it might be a little…]
"There’s one good student, isn’t there?"
[…?]
Right, there is one.
A character the author wasn’t interested in, but who had some connection to Yu Siwoo.
Plus, she had an extraordinary appearance—an old heroine candidate.
"If she can’t be used as a heroine, then she should be used as a villain."
Wasting resources would be a shame.
A smile crept across my face. Joining the swordsmanship class hadn’t been a meaningless move after all.
Well, villains these days have to be pretty too.
One pretty spy wouldn’t hurt, right?
"Something’s off."
"Yeah, I felt it too."
Siwoo and Amelia were secretly watching Arte behind Teacher Claire’s back.
"There’s no way Arte would doze off and then suddenly raise her voice. …Something’s up."
"She hasn’t done anything for the past few days, so I was starting to think maybe we were wrong. But now it looks like she’s about to make a move."
Siwoo agreed with Amelia’s words.
Ever since joining the club, he’d been on edge for days.
Just as he was starting to relax, thinking maybe he’d misjudged the situation, Arte began acting strangely.
"She just said ‘yes’ a second ago. It has to be that ‘author’ guy. You think so too, right, Siwoo?"
"He’s definitely the one behind it."
"Yeah, no doubt."
Author.
A term for someone who creates their own works in the arts.
On its own, the word wasn’t a problem.
But the way Arte referred to “Author-nim” didn’t seem to mean that.
It wasn’t about creating art—it sounded like someone orchestrating things in reality.
"What a sick taste. Causing incidents and treating them like art… He’s out of his mind."
Amelia’s words made his expression nearly crumble, but he forced himself to keep it together.
You’re just as strange.
Thinking about committing crimes to catch a criminal is just as twisted.
He wanted to snap at her.
"…Wait, did she just mutter something?"
"Can you hear it?"
"No. Too far away."
He was relieved they were so far apart.
But for the first time, he regretted the distance between them.
"…Swordsmanship class."
Huh?
Amelia’s sudden remark caught him off guard.
What did she just say?
He’d been staring at Arte’s face, wondering what was going on.
…Lip-reading?
"Sorry. I didn’t learn it properly, so I’m not very good at it."
"You… you can lip-read?"
"Only a little."
"Why, why would you even—…?"
"…I saw it in a movie. It looked cool."
Amelia’s face turned red with embarrassment.
Apparently, she was ashamed that she’d learned lip-reading just because it looked cool in a movie.
He found it absurd that she’d picked up a skill just because it seemed impressive, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.
Why she’d learned it didn’t matter.
This was their chance to eavesdrop on Arte and that “Author-nim” villain.
"She’s talking more now!"
"Wait, let me see… ‘too,’ ‘early,’ ‘ambush,’ ‘event’…? Two events? Did I read that right?"
"…Amelia, I don’t think now’s the time to worry about that."
"I know. You mean an attack. It’s fine for now. Doesn’t seem like she’s planning to do it immediately. I’m not even sure she realizes I’m watching her."
Early. Attack.
…An attack is coming early?
Where? And what’s this about an event?
I had no idea.
I hoped Amelia had misread it.
"None, make…? Nngh… I can’t make sense of it."
She squinted so hard at Arte that anyone watching would think she was furious.
There was nothing I could do right now, so at least I should cover her face with my body…
"Academy, attack. Preliminary investigation, assessment…?"
"You—what the—!"
"Spy, student, heroine, villain… That’s all."
Amelia’s words were so shocking that I froze mid-motion, about to shield her.
"I hope I misread it. It’s pretty shocking."
"An attack on the Academy? Unheard of. There’s no way…"
"I know. It’s never happened since the Academy was founded. But she’s not normal, as you know."
I didn’t want to believe it.
An attack on the Academy?
Was she really planning to do it?
"If I misread and this is all a mistake, great. But what if I didn’t?"
"…"
"No teacher would believe this absurd story… We have to stop it before it happens."
Amelia was right.
If nothing happened, that was fine.
But if she had read it correctly…
If she really intended to attack the Academy…
It wouldn’t end with just an apology.
There would be bloodshed.
"You’re right, Amelia. Even if it’s a false alarm, we should stop it before it happens."
"Good. Let’s go over what she said again."
Class was completely forgotten as Amelia stared at the paper where she’d written down the words she’d lip-read.
Swordsmanship class, early, attack, two events, none, make, Academy, attack, preliminary investigation, assessment, spy, student, heroine, villain.
"…This is confusing."
"Yeah. I’d be happy if I was wrong."
She buried her face in the paper, staring intently for a long time.
Then, one realization struck her.
"At least the attack isn’t happening immediately."
"Really?"
"Look at the part after the second mention of ‘attack.’"
Preliminary investigation, assessment.
The meaning of those words was simple.
"The first ‘attack’ came with the word ‘early.’ Maybe Arte thinks the timing for an attack isn’t right yet."
"Oh, so then ‘preliminary investigation’ and ‘assessment’…"
"Maybe she’s looking for the right moment to strike?"
The other words were too vague to decipher.
But there was one.
One word I could figure out.
"Swordsmanship class. It was the first word she said. There has to be a clue there."
"…I can’t go. I have spear class."
"Leave it to me. I’ll find out somehow."
"Be careful, Yu Siwoo."
Before I knew it, class had ended and the bell rang.
And the next period was weaponry class.
I had to keep an eye on what she was doing.
No matter how terrifying she was, I was the only one who could do anything about it.