After enrolling in the Academy, I thought about it multiple times, but I couldn’t believe it.
The protagonist didn’t enroll.
Even if it was an environment where I couldn’t recognize the protagonist’s presence, how could he not exist?
‘This doesn’t make any sense.’
A game without a main character.
A game without the protagonist. The Academy isn’t a free-play game where you choose one of many characters like OO Musou.
Even when setting up the protagonist for the first time, you could adjust various aspects, but at minimum, the character remained “a male student enrolled on March 1st, Year 997 in the Continental Calendar”.
Through countless playthroughs, that element never changed.
The endings branched off based on numerous choices, leading to a myriad of outcomes, from simple dialogue to hidden endings. But the starting point remained the same.
No matter how many branching points the Academy had, the prologue at least was straightforward.
There were barely any elements in the prologue that influenced the story or endings, save for perhaps building a little early favorability with characters encountered in the beginning.
But now, that player doesn’t exist.
…Why?
[Isn’t this a serious issue?]
Fenrir, who lay dormant within me, cautiously voiced an opinion.
[Could there be a chance that the ‘Vanguard of Heaven’ we must eliminate doesn’t exist?]
“Indeed.”
What is the protagonist?
The protagonist isn’t merely a character who bombards heroines with favorability, nor simply someone I, “Regif,” needed to remove as a threat. He’s not just someone who can defeat me.
“I never imagined that Heaven’s puppet might not exist.”
The protagonist is a being blessed by Heaven—a vanguard sent down by the Goddess, a being granted her blessing.
Before bringing about the Apocalypse and humanity’s extinction, the Goddess sent down one last hope, imbuing this figure with her blessing to observe humanity’s potential.
In the game, there’s a unique identifier for each angel, and the protagonist’s was [LAST HOPE].
Read as it is: Last Hope.
Just as a transcendent being decided to flood the earth, instructing the most devout human to build an ark, the protagonist became humanity’s last hope in a way that ultimately decided their fate.
‘Though from my perspective in this world, that notion is utterly ridiculous.’
The protagonist, appearing to be an ordinary man, was monitored by angels who deliberated whether humanity should be destroyed.
A device for the vicarious satisfaction of the Goddess and her angels.
The protagonist engaged in romantic encounters with the Academy’s female students, amusing the beings of Heaven.
If the interactions pleased the Goddess and angels, the world continued peacefully. But if they didn’t approve, an angel would possess the heroine, testing the protagonist directly.
That was another side of the Apocalypse.
Most apocalypses devised by angels were forms of humanity’s destruction, but if there was an erratic apocalypse, it often stemmed from an angel or Goddess testing the protagonist.
Thus, I sought the protagonist.
‘The protagonist is nothing but Heaven’s amusement.’
If Heaven’s avatar, the protagonist, were to perish, they would be forced to descend directly to grasp the earthly situation.
‘As long as the heroines’ minds are stable, angels have to possess a relatively low-magic human or other being to exercise their power.’
And when such angels possessed not a heroine but some piece of attire, armor, or a giant golem, the rest was simple.
[If we eliminate Heaven’s vanguard, angels will descend directly, and then I can shred those detestable beings to pieces…]
“That’s right.”
The most certain key to making angels descend one by one, the protagonist, is absent.
[Did you miss him?]
“No way. I checked with my own eyes; no one was absent.”
Among the new male students, the protagonist was nowhere to be found.
If he had been among the returning students, he would have been known, but there was no sign of him.
The only possible explanation was this.
“It seems he didn’t enroll.”
[Why?]
“For fear of Mana Drain.”
Mana Drain.
“If he enrolled at the Academy, he might fear having his mana sucked dry. Or perhaps he failed to enroll, like Yunia, and rather than remaining in the terminal, he returned home.”
Without mana drain, there was no reason for a male student to hurriedly pack and leave the terminal immediately.
[Isn’t Heaven’s vanguard supposed to move with purpose? Can he just act like that?]
“It’s not really like that. Not that I’m defending him, but he’s just an unfortunate guy blessed by the Goddess.”
[Despite the absurdity, it’s true. Blessed by the Goddess… what a truly unlucky soul.]
He was just an ordinary person.
An ordinary being who became Heaven’s puppet, forcibly granted abilities and strength, and through that, dreamed of enrolling in the Academy.
So.
The protagonist is essentially enduring a “reality show”.
Without realizing that every move he makes is being watched, he believes his given abilities are divine miracles, earnestly aiming to nurture his strength at the Academy to face the world’s crises.
The Goddess and angels are viewers, occasionally “descending” to the Middle World to flip the entire scenario.
“Perhaps he’s dead.”
[Dead?]
“From the perspective of the Goddess and angels, wouldn’t that be a bit ridiculous? They went to the trouble of giving him a handsome face, a well-built body, and immense magic power so he could win over the hearts of numerous beautiful Academy students, and yet, he didn’t even enroll.”
[Hmm…]
Fenrir pondered deeply.
[He may be dead as a student, but could he still exist as a person?]
“…”
[Even if he didn’t enroll as a new student, that doesn’t mean he disappeared, evaporated, or died in this world.]
“That’s true for now.”
There is no protagonist as a freshman.
In that case, there’s only the ‘Vanguard of Heaven’ with that role, but not the protagonist of the Academy.
“If he’s out there somewhere using his talents…”
[Could he be interacting with the ‘female villains’ outside the Academy, charming them?]
“It’s possible.”
Who knows what the beings of Heaven fancy?
“At the very least, if the p*rverts of Heaven decided to oppose the Academy, they might guide him to interact with groups hostile to the Academy, creating an anti-human faction that could potentially wage war against it.”
This is mere speculation, but there’s a high chance it might happen.
“Like the nine-tailed fox demon spreading Mana Drain, the Succubus Queen, and the countless demons scattered across the world.”
[And among humans, the ‘Vinyudan,’ the Academy’s long-standing adversary, may have already made contact with him?]
“That’s probably the most likely scenario.”
Vinyudan. Although I haven’t encountered them since entering the Academy, I may come across these enemies of the Academy during future field exercises outside.
These women hold endless animosity toward the Academy, actively utilizing “Mana Drain”, and for them, the protagonist would be like an inexhaustible well of power.
[The Vanguard of Heaven, right? Does he have the same technique you use?]
“Yes.”
Fenrir’s energy flowed down to me.
[Infinite Vitality.]
“Instead of calling it raw virility, let’s call it Infinite Vitality.”
[Is there a need to feel embarrassed among ourselves? Well, considering Academy decorum, it’s probably better to tone it down.]
A unique ability that both the protagonist and I possess.
The vitalization of magic power. As long as there’s moonlight at night, I can produce an immense amount of vitality without tiring.
As long as my mind doesn’t give in first, I could, theoretically, go all day long from sundown to the next nightfall, charged with the vitality absorbed under the moonlight.
Back in the Demon World, I once went on a week-long, sleepless, relay battle against the Seven Dukes.
The protagonist has the same capacity.
‘It’s no wonder he managed a 1-on-17 scenario in the original story.’
The protagonist is overflowing with the same vitality, albeit derived from a different source.
For me, the source of this vitality is mana.
For him, it’s divine power, essentially the energy of angels.
‘I’ll find him and eliminate him.’
Even if he isn’t here at the Academy, if he encounters others and impregnates them, those women will gain angelic powers, potentially giving birth to angels.
“Fenrir.”
[Nyah?]
“Until the next field exercise, let’s focus on storing magic power and enjoy a bit of youthful life.”
Once I’m certain, all that’s left is to follow through with the plan.
If the protagonist isn’t here, then this Academy is my domain.
“I’ll give the students their massages daily, making them dream deeply…”
Thus.
“In reality, I’m a innocent Academy student, but in dreams…”
[Pfhehe.]
“?”
[I just laughed like a certain someone.]
Well.
Isn’t it a personal freedom to let go of your desires by fantasizing about something in your dreams?
(TLN: Illustrations for Kadisha, Evangeline and Fenrir in Discord <3)
