"...What do I do."
[We have to separate Yu Siwoo somehow! If this fails, we’ll have to resort to extreme measures!]
The Author started urging me.
It made sense—if the protagonist was about to face danger, of course they’d panic.
But this was *your* fault...
It was absurd, but there was nothing I could do. The damage was done. I had to clean up the mess first.
"How strong is he?"
[Uh, um... Well, judging by his output, he’s in the upper tier... But since he’s already been observed, modifying him is... a bit...]
"Haa..."
[...O-oh no...]
I couldn’t hold back my sigh, and the Author let out a defeated groan.
But I didn’t care. Upper tier in the world’s power hierarchy? That was asking for trouble.
In Academy novels, it was standard to cram half a year’s worth of dense plot into what would normally take three years to conclude. Most stories worked that way.
And honestly, you *had* to force events forward sometimes.
But if you asked whether any protagonist—especially a *growth-type* protagonist—would fight an upper-tier threat *before* even finishing their first-year break ceremony, the answer was a hard *no*.
This wasn’t some already-perfected, overpowered protagonist. This was a character who was *supposed* to grow.
And yet, before he’d even finished growing, he was facing an enemy at the top of the world’s power balance? That was *dangerous*.
Could the protagonist *actually* beat this villain? If he did, the power balance would shatter.
If an absurdly strong enemy lost to a protagonist who hadn’t even finished growing, then every future villain would *have* to be even stronger just to pose a threat. That was inevitable.
But what if the protagonist *lost*? ...That was even worse.
Losing to the villain = death, most of the time. Everyone knew that.
If he survived, we’d have to come up with some excuse for it—but *how*?
Maybe the villain suddenly falls in love with Yu Siwoo?
Ha. We’d be lucky if all we got was complaints about poor plausibility.
"It’s not like there’s *no* way..."
[R-really?]
"Yes. Strength alone doesn’t decide the outcome of a fight."
The most basic example was type advantage.
Take Amelia and Siwoo, for instance. No matter how fast Amelia was, she couldn’t overpower Siwoo’s intuition.
Other options included teamwork, weakening the enemy, or buffing the protagonist.
"What if Dorothy strengthens Siwoo, and the villain is weakened for some reason?"
[...!]
"Or we could have another powerful figure take on the boss, and just give the protagonist a lieutenant to fight."
[D-d-dear Reader!]
"You get this excited over such a simple idea..."
[N-no, it’s not that! C-crap, this is bad!]
"Huh?"
The Author’s frantic voice made me look around.
...And only then did I realize what they were talking about.
Had so much time passed while I was racking my brain over how Siwoo could win?
The battlefield had changed drastically.
"Uh... what?"
[N-no, w-wait—what do we do?! He’s way stronger than I thought! Aaaah, I kept putting off finalizing his stats and now—! W-we’re doomed!]
As I watched the students—who had been holding their own—now struggling to stay on their feet, I realized the truth.
That dragon-horned woman was behind this. No doubt about it.
If I left things as they were, it would be dangerous.
Not because the students might die—it was because, perhaps due to the fate of being a mid-boss, the boss of the Webermensch was moving toward where Yu Siwoo was.
"I have no choice. Even if it messes up the progression a bit, I have to stop that..."
[W-Wait, Reader-nim! Behind you!]
"?!"
- CRACK---!
At the Author-nim’s voice, I hastily rolled my body to the side. The attack that had flown in from behind me let out a chilling sound as it shattered the rooftop floor.
W-What the...?!
I was used to ambushes, but this was the first time I’d been on the receiving end. While I was flustered, the one who had attacked me, kicking up dust, began to grumble in irritation.
"What the hell, you. You got eyes in the back of your head or something?"
"...I just got lucky."
"Well, you’d have to be at least this good to be an Arachne, right? Don’t you think?"
[?!]
"...How did you know that?"
A man with an unusual hairstyle—white and black hair that looked like a pattern. A tail of the same color.
...I had a rough idea. This was the last executive of the Webermensch, the one whose location I hadn’t been able to pin down until now.
Tiger.
Why was this guy here? Wasn’t he supposed to be searching for the secret room?
No, wait—how did he even know I was an Arachne in the first place?!
"Nice, that’s the right answer. Found you, Arachne."
"...Did you guess?"
"Nah. In the middle of all this chaos, who else would be leisurely watching the battle from the rooftop? Even if it’s not you, killing you won’t hurt."
"..."
I couldn’t find a proper rebuttal, so I stayed silent.
He was right, after all. The villains, students, and teachers were locked in a fierce battle.
The fact that I, in a school uniform, wasn’t fighting the villains was suspicious enough on its own.
"Miru told us. Those meddlesome bastards who keep interfering—she said you’d definitely come to stop us, no matter what. So she told us to look for places where no one was around."
"..."
"Honestly, I was half-doubting it... but looks like she was right. How does it feel, Arachne?"
"How do I feel right now? I’d like you to step aside. I need to go."
I subtly conveyed my request.
And, as expected, his response was exactly what I’d predicted.
"Can’t do that. You’re not gonna try to interfere again, are you?"
"..."
He didn’t look like he had any intention of moving. ...This was bad. If a fight broke out here, it would be dangerous.
I didn’t think I’d lose. After all, I had the Author-nim behind me. Since the Author-nim was in a hurry, they’d probably help me no matter what.
But if I wasted time here, the protagonist—!
"I know you hate us, but we feel the same. After everything you’ve put us through, we can’t just let it slide. We have to pay you back somehow."
"Get out of my way. Now."
Anxiety washed over my entire body.
I didn’t have time for this. I had to join up and help Yu Siwoo. If—if the protagonist died...!
"I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but you seem pretty desperate. In a big hurry, huh?"
"I said, move!"
"This time, it’s our turn to interfere with you, Arachne."
Tiger smirked cunningly.
"I’ll cling to you even if it kills me."
All for the sake of the plan.
"...This is the Founder’s Tomb. The Founder’s Cradle."
Mir gazed out at the vast Academy grounds.
A wind that seemed to mirror her mood blew coolly across her entire body.
"Finally… I’ve confirmed the true nature of the blast furnace…"
"But Mir, isn’t the blast furnace in the secret chamber? How are you going to find it? No one’s been able to for hundreds of years, right?"
"That’s simple, Annie. The reason no one’s found it until now is because their methods were too passive."
"Passive?"
Mir began condensing wind in her hand.
The more it condensed, the more the wind raged wildly within her palm.
"Exactly. Everyone who tried to find the secret chamber never used extreme measures."
With a laugh, Mir hurled the wind, condensed to its limit, into the Academy’s main building.
"Whether the Academy crumbles or not doesn’t matter to me. All I need is to find that secret chamber."
The wind’s flow would guide her to its location.
"I see… But what if it’s blocked by something like mana and we can’t get in?"
The suppressed wind burst free in an instant, tearing through every corner of the Academy.
…Wow. This place is sturdy.
Normally, if something like that rampaged inside, the building should collapse, right? But it’s completely fine.
"Then that’s even better. It means the secret chamber is in a place the wind can’t reach."
"Huh."
"…And you don’t need to worry. I think I’ve found it."
Was Mir’s long-awaited wish finally coming true?
As I watched her, her face was flushed with excitement, muttering to herself.
"…Finally, finally found it. I’ve waited so long for this moment."
"That’s great, Mir."
"Thanks. …Shall we go, then? To the start of a new world."
"Yeah."
I was genuinely happy.
Mir had finally achieved what she’d wanted. I knew how long she’d spent planning for this.
That was why, when I saw the people trying to ruin her happiness, my mood soured instantly.
"Hah, hah…"
"S-Siwoo…! W-Why, why did you suddenly change—Hiiik?!"
"…Who the hell are you?"
"W-We… hah, hah… came to… to stop you…!"
Were they insane?
Their bodies were covered in minor wounds—probably from the wind Mir had unleashed on her way here.
It was impressive they could still move after taking that, but they must’ve realized who was responsible for the attack.
And yet they still followed. Had they lost their minds?
"Ruining such a perfect moment."
I’d make them the first sacrifices for Mir’s new world.
Just as I was about to attack in a rage, Mir stopped me, pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, and scribbled something on it.
"This is… a map? Don’t tell me…"
"Will you go to the secret chamber first, Annie?"
"Huh? B-But…"
"Don’t worry. I just admire their courage and want to play with them for a bit."
That was when I realized it.
Mir was far more excited than she appeared. Far more.
These fools had suddenly interrupted her after she’d spent so long yearning for this moment. She must be furious.
Like a child about to take a bite of chocolate, only to have someone snatch it away at the last second.
The sheer audacity of their interference had sent her into a rage.
"…Take your time and enjoy yourself, Mir."
"Don’t worry. It’ll be over quickly."