‘Falling in love with someone you’ve never met, only exchanging letters—what kind of fool would do that?’
A headache began to creep in.
Not knowing their face, status, or anything about them, yet falling in love through letters.
I always thought such things were the delusions of naïve girls or the stuff of romance novels.
But now that it was happening right in front of me, I found myself utterly speechless, overwhelmed by the absurdity of it all.
‘I thought Yuri was practical…’
Based on Yuri’s usual demeanor, she was someone dependable.
Even when her friends were taken to the Vermont estate, their fates uncertain, she didn’t break down into tears or panic but instead chose the path of entering the academy.
Even in situations that would make it hard to focus, she maintained her steel-like mental strength, consistently holding the top spot academically.
I had thought Yuri had matured early…
But now I realized that wasn’t the case.
What looked like early maturity was simply a necessity.
Due to her harsh environment, she likely couldn’t afford to show any signs of weakness.
Even at the academy and later at work, Yuri had no choice but to appear strong.
The only person she could complain to or reveal her true feelings to was Mr. Black.
It seemed that, through her letters with him, Yuri had been gradually drawn in, revealing emotions she had long suppressed.
‘Is this some kind of affection deficit?’
A benefactor who supported her without asking for anything in return, encouraged her, and extended a helping hand in times of trouble.
Had Yuri been in a stable mental state, she might have merely admired him.
But with her affection deficit and growing dependence, she began to see him as more than just a benefactor.
‘I don’t dislike it, but this isn’t how I wanted Yuri to develop feelings for me.’
My plan was for Mr. Black to remain a reliable, trustworthy figure for Yuri—someone akin to a godfather.
As Aslan Vermont, I wanted to approach Yuri, share genuine interactions, and eventually secure an engagement.
But strangely, it seemed easier to secure an engagement as the “Mister in Black” than as Aslan Vermont.
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ urges you to just reveal your identity to Yuri and propose!]
“I can’t reveal my identity here…”
I shook my head at Kali’s suggestion.
During the break, the relationship between Yuri and Aslan Vermont had improved considerably.
If I revealed my identity now, when Yuri harbored romantic feelings for Mr. Black, it was highly likely we’d go straight to an engagement.
But that wasn’t acceptable.
Not just because it would ruin my plans.
There was a decisive issue…
“It’s… lame.”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ nods in agreement, silently acknowledging your point.]
The problem was that it lacked style.
If I immediately revealed my identity after hearing that Yuri liked me, it would seem as though I’d been plotting to marry her all along—ever since the days she hated me and sought revenge.
It would look like I’d been secretly nurturing her affection to secure a marriage.
While not entirely untrue, it wasn’t entirely true either.
After all, when I first started supporting Yuri, my intentions were purely altruistic.
‘It’s genuinely unfair…’
Back then, I even thought Yuri was a boy.
Marriage wasn’t even a consideration, let alone seduction.
I hated the idea of my pure intentions being misinterpreted as part of some sinister plan.
“Of course, that’s not the only reason… seducing someone in an unstable mental state goes against my principles, too…”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ wholeheartedly agrees, realizing the importance of caution and restraint.]
If I secured an engagement by taking advantage of Yuri’s affection deficit and dependency,
Could it truly be called love?
Could I trust that her feelings would remain unchanged once she recovered and stabilized mentally?
Of course not.
That would be akin to confining Charlotte and Julia in a mansion and forcing them to rely only on me.
Such a method blatantly violated my principles and wasn’t even worth considering.
‘I thought Yuri had made friends at the academy… but she seems lonelier than I thought.’
The solution to Yuri’s affection deficit and dependency was simple.
Currently, the only people she could trust were Mr. Black, Charlotte, and Julia (only when I wasn’t present).
If she had more people to rely on, her mental health would improve.
The lack of impact from her academy life suggested she hadn’t made many close friends there.
It was likely Yuri was feeling out of place at the academy.
Then again, she probably viewed the academy as nothing more than a stepping stone to gaining power and wouldn’t have prioritized building relationships.
‘I need to expedite Charlotte and Julia’s admission. By next year, for sure…’
I needed to make Yuri want to stay at the academy.
I needed to make Yuri want to stay at the academy.
She had to form connections not only with Charlotte and Julia but with others as well.
To do that, I had to get Charlotte and Julia enrolled in the Imperial Magic Academy as soon as possible, encouraging Yuri to engage more actively in academy life.
It wasn’t enough to focus solely on academics.
It was time to nurture her social skills. Resolving to take action, I picked up my pen.
“First, the reply…”
After some hesitation, I began drafting a letter, deciding to write what Yuri truly needed to hear.
.
.
.
“Now, as it’s the first class, we’ll begin with a combat ability assessment to form balanced teams.”
The second semester of the Imperial Magic Academy had begun.
It was the first lecture for the Combat Magic Department.
Standing before the students, now dressed in comfortable training clothes, the assistant read aloud the guidelines.
“Due to time constraints, the assessment will be conducted in a battle royale format.”
“Battle royale… you mean?”
“Yes. Everyone will duel simultaneously in the arena. Points will be awarded based on how long you remain standing. Additional points will be granted for notable performance, so avoiding combat entirely isn’t a wise strategy.”
In the Combat Magic Department, rankings were determined at the start of each semester based on the students’ combat abilities.
While these rankings tended to shift significantly as classes progressed and exams were taken, the final rankings directly impacted their grades.
As such, any event that could influence the rankings was a matter of utmost importance to the students.
“If a participant sustains damage beyond what they can endure, the judges will intervene with a barrier and disqualify them.”
“Is collaboration between participants allowed?”
“It is. We won’t evaluate any ethical or moral implications arising from cooperation or betrayal.”
“Understood.”
One student smirked at that response.
Inwardly, the teaching assistant could only sigh.
“You’ll be together for an entire semester. Try not to give yourselves reasons to glare at each other. All right, we’ll begin the match now.”
All the students entered the arena.
At the assistant’s whistle, they sprang into motion in unison.
Some started chanting spells and attacking the moment the match began.
Others turned tail and fled right away. A few, apparently having made a tacit agreement before the match, neither attacked each other nor ran but opted to cooperate.
‘Same old strategies every year. Same level of skill, too…’
After all, there weren’t many strategies to begin with.
First.
Run and avoid battle as much as possible. It might yield a decent final standing, but you forfeited the extra points awarded for combat performance.
Second.
Engage in combat when advantageous, flee when not, repeatedly. By swiftly eliminating potential threats, you could aim for both extra points and a high standing.
Other than that, there wasn’t much else…
“R–Ref! What is that?! She’s bleeding all over! She’s been hit hard enough that anyone else would be unconscious—why aren’t you taking her out?!”
“We only remove someone if they take a blow they can’t handle. Continue the match.”
“What?! How are we supposed to fight a monster like that…?!”
To think the teaching assistant had assumed there were no other strategies…
His jaw dropped when he saw something entirely new:
Yuri confidently stepped forward, bruised and dripping blood.
Then she ran her hand over her wounds as if to soothe them, and they vanished without a trace.
“E–everyone! We have to take her down first!”
“Are you insane? You want me to fight Yuri?”
“If we don’t work together, we’ll never stand a chance!”
The students, panicking at the sight, glanced around at each other and began nodding.
Moments later, they all launched a massive assault on Yuri.
‘So she’s going to fight the entire class…?’
Clicking his tongue in disbelief, the teaching assistant realized this was a wild strategy indeed—racking up extra points by fighting as many opponents as possible, then getting knocked out early.
But before he could finish that thought…
“Ack! She’s totally fine!”
“No matter how many times we hit her, she just keeps healing—how do we stop her…?!”
“…!?”
When the smoke cleared, Yuri stood there in the center of the arena floor, scorched black by countless spells—and she was completely unscathed.
She dashed forward, quickly hunting down the fleeing students who had lost their will to fight.
It was a scene of raw pursuit—no, rampage.
Whether out of terror or simple forgetfulness, the other students weren’t even trying to battle it out.
Fleeing in all directions, they left Yuri the sole aggressor, taking them out one by one, shaping the final standings in a bizarre turn of events.
Within that arena, for the first time in their lives, the students tasted true terror.
They had never felt this as humans, the supposed apex predators. It was the dread that prey feels when devoured.
They had faced Yuri before and known she was strong, but never this frightening.
What in the world had happened over the break to change her so drastically?
Fueled by pent-up emotions, Yuri’s hands wreaked havoc, turning the arena into a chaotic mess.
“Telling me to think more carefully… That’s basically a rejection…”
“Y–Yuri? I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I’m sorry! Whatever it is, I’m sorry! I don’t know what I did wrong, but I’M SORRY!!!”
Meanwhile, Yuri’s mind was in complete disarray, even as she swung her fists indiscriminately at fellow students, knocking them out of the match.
Think more carefully…?
Question whether my feelings are real or just a mistake…?
Wait to talk about marriage until we meet face to face…?
Isn’t that practically turning me down?
The more she replayed Mr. Black’s reply in her head, the tighter Yuri clenched her teeth and fists.
She was in no mood to go easy on anyone, even if it was the first day of class.