"…It’s way too obvious, you know."
Laira didn’t seem to have any intention of hiding it.
The fact that she wanted to kill me.
[Well, yeah. I did set her up to turn villain out of inferiority, but maybe I made her inferiority too extreme? I’m starting to doubt she even *wants* to hide it.]
Her burning gaze bored into the back of my head. She was radiating open hostility toward me.
Pretending not to notice was exhausting.
"Have you decided who you’re teaming up with?"
[Of course! The spy, the protagonist, the Reader, and one extra! Perfect!]
"You’re including an extra?"
[Well, I have an idea…]
Ah, so the Author was scheming again.
I could only pray it wasn’t in a bad direction.
I couldn’t control every little thing, after all.
If I tried to micromanage the Author’s every move, my body wouldn’t be able to keep up.
[Hehe, I’m looking forward to the dungeon!]
"…Oh, right. Author."
[Yes?]
"Give me some money."
[Wha—?!]
I was starting to feel the need to squeeze more cash out of the Author.
The first step toward the storm brewing over the Academy.
I had things to prepare for.
[I *could*… but what for this time?]
"I need to buy some clothes."
[Y-You’re using me for your personal gain?! Reader, I never took you for that kind of person!]
What was she talking about?
Obviously, I needed all of it.
"Well, I have to stay near the protagonist. I need something to cover myself up in case something happens."
[…Ah! I didn’t think of that! As expected of the Reader!]
Think harder next time.
She *did* deliberately pair me up with Yu Siwoo and Laira just to watch the protagonist in action, right?
What if—*what if*—Laira and Yu Siwoo ended up in a one-on-one, and I missed it?
Or what if, like last time with the beast attack, she throws a tantrum and some ancient monster pops out?
I had to stop that.
I *needed* to observe Yu Siwoo’s actions during critical moments.
But if I openly followed him around, he’d get suspicious.
I’d have to hide, but the protagonist’s ability was intuition, wasn’t it?
The Author said it only detected physical threats… but who knew?
Given the Author’s track record, being extra cautious wouldn’t hurt.
If I *did* get caught, the best way to play it off would be to keep my face hidden.
"I’ll get a mask and a hood."
[Should I add voice modulation to the mask and facial recognition jamming enchant to the hood?]
"…You can do that?"
[Nothing’s impossible.]
"Please do."
Reliable as always in moments like this.
What could I even say?
It felt like playing an RPG with an infinite money and item cheat.
"Oh, you’re here. Whore."
"I told you not to call me that, Geoffrey."
I turned at the flippant voice, and sure enough—
There he was, sauntering toward me with that delinquent look of his.
Not that I needed to look to know.
He was the only one who called me by that ridiculous nickname—"whore," just because I used a spear.
"What, it’s accurate. A woman who wields a spear? *Whore*."
*Whoosh!*
In a flash, I accelerated my spear and pressed the tip against the back of Geoffrey’s neck.
"Hiiik?!"
The sudden attack left a small wound on the back of his neck, and only then did he finally stop talking.
"Ah, fine. Sorry, Amelia."
"If you call me that one more time, I’ll rip that mouth of yours open."
Haa.
This man is so frivolous. I really don’t like him.
Even after a warning like this, he’ll probably be singing that whore, whore song again tomorrow like nothing happened.
I’ll have to settle for the fact that I got him to shut up for now.
I don’t want to keep talking to a man this reckless, but…
I have no choice.
His abilities are undeniable.
Even before enrolling in the Academy, he was already famous in intelligence circles.
I can’t afford not to use him.
"So, what do you know about her?"
"…Which one?"
"Start with Laira."
"Fine."
He casually sat down on a park bench and began to speak.
"First, that underachiever. I don’t get why a lady like you would ask about a guy like him, but…"
"Just get to the point."
"There’s nothing special about him. The only info is that he suddenly got stronger recently."
"…Did that coincide with any suspicious behavior?"
"Nope. I’m only telling you this because you paid me well, but he hasn’t gone anywhere out of the ordinary."
"Tch."
A dead end?
If he says there’s nothing, then there really isn’t anything.
Other than the fact that he got stronger all of a sudden, he’s completely average.
Just as I was feeling a little disappointed, I noticed he was staring at me.
Something about the mood felt off.
"Here’s what I think—your real target isn’t that underachiever, is it? He’s probably connected to the other one."
"Why do you think that?"
"Ha, that’s obvious. Anyone who looks into this would think the same."
His face twisted as he flipped through the documents with a sharp glint in his eyes.
It was the look of someone who had lost a bet—
Not just any bet, but one in a field he was confident in.
Like his pride had been scratched.
"Arte Isis. No elementary school records. No middle school records. No high school records. No birth registration. Parents unknown. Relatives unknown. Birthplace unknown… Are you kidding me?"
"…"
"A person with absolutely nothing on file is just walking around the Academy like it’s normal?"
"But it’s the truth."
"PUHAHAHAHA!"
Jeffrey’s loud laughter drew the attention of the students in the park for a moment before they dispersed.
After laughing so hard he nearly passed out, he suddenly stiffened his face and declared,
"Sorry, miss. I’m out."
"…What?"
"I’m still a student. I’ve got a long life ahead of me. I don’t wanna die. Honestly, I already thought this was a little risky coming here."
"Jeffrey, wait—!"
"I’m only telling you this because you paid me a lot, so listen carefully."
I wanted to call out to stop him from leaving,
But the look on his face made me hesitate.
He was terrified.
Had he realized something I didn’t?
"Arte Isis’s files are sloppy. The Academy’s teachers don’t have the authority to notice, but if anyone outside investigates her even once, they’ll see it right away."
"Then—!"
"Still don’t get it? Then I’ll spell it out for you. …We inserted a person who might as well not exist into an Academy with world-class security."
"…!"
"If anyone starts to notice, we’ll bury them under false information in an instant. Where they lived, who their parents were… hell, they might even end up with a childhood friend they never had."
His words came rapid-fire, desperation seeping through.
He wanted out as fast as possible.
…But as an informant, he had to finish the job.
So he must’ve decided to pass on the intel quickly and cut ties with her for good.
"Right now, you just don’t see the need. But I don’t think that kind of person is harmless."
"…Fine, I get it. I don’t want you in danger either."
"Good. …Sorry, miss. Next time, I’ll cut you a deal."
"Good work, Geoffrey."
In the end, I couldn’t stop him from leaving.
…But it wasn’t a total loss.
I’d realized she didn’t even have a birth record—she might as well not exist in this world.
The only proof that she was real was the fact that she was a student at the Academy.
"…That’s how it is."
"Doesn’t exist in this world…"
Even after Siwoo and I racked our brains, we reached the same conclusion.
The midterms were dangerous.
"Siwoo, you were definitely in the same group as her during the midterms, right?"
"Yeah. Lyra, me, Arte, and one other person."
When Arte had contacted the "Author," we’d overheard that the Academy would be attacked someday.
We didn’t know when, but it was coming.
"Be careful, Yu Siwoo. Lyra definitely has some kind of connection to her."
"…Got it."
Honestly, I was uneasy.
Out of everyone, why did it have to be Lyra and Arte in the same group?
It felt like fate was messing with us.
Yu Siwoo just stared blankly for a while.
"But I doubt you’ll die. Relax. …Of course, don’t let your guard down completely. Just in case."
"Huh? I won’t die?"
Siwoo was so tense I was worried he’d cause a disaster, so I decided to give him a little encouragement.
It wasn’t hard.
All I had to do was add a little imagination to reality and tell him.
"She’s interested in you, isn’t she?"
"…Is she?"
"I don’t know exactly why yet, but do you think she’d suddenly kill someone she finds interesting?"
"No way!"
"Exactly. As long as Arte finds you interesting, she won’t just kill you out of nowhere."
To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure that was true.
Villains could be unpredictable.
But there was no need to make Siwoo even more anxious with that thought.
Still, I shouldn’t let him get *too* careless, so I added a warning.
"…But don’t get *too* relaxed. Lyra’s different from her. She might kill you just for disagreeing."
"Yeah, I’ll be careful."
Academy life was supposed to be ordinary, but here we were in chaos.
Now, past me felt like an idiot.
Boring? This was downright deadly.