It’s a bit of a bold declaration of ‘I’m going to harem’, but fortunately there’s no big deal (?).
‘Since there is already a precedent’
At Esdinas Academy, it is a kind of ‘national rule’ that whether male or female, if you have the ability, you can graduate with several partners.
Polygamy.
Polyandry.
The former is a universal aspect of this world, while the latter can be seen as a bold move by capable women.
Thus, declaring a harem isn’t particularly strange.
What matters is whether one has the ‘ability’ for it.
“I understand your ambition. The Academy respects that mindset as well.”
Esta nodded silently in agreement with my statement.
“Actually, it’s good to clearly understand your desires. There’s no greater motivation to improve one’s abilities than the desire for the opposite s*x.”
“Don’t you think it’s strange?”
“I simply have no intention of harboring any prejudices.”
Esta drank her herbal tea in one gulp.
“Let’s leave the discussion here. I have an urgent matter to attend to.”
“An urgent matter…?”
“Yes.”
It felt sudden when she got up from her seat, but having Esta stay here wouldn’t have been particularly beneficial to me either—
“Since I am staying here, I need to organize the instructor’s office.”
“Ah.”
Thinking about it, it was indeed getting quite late.
“There’s no curfew because it’s the old school building, but be cautious. This old building… has some frightening rumors.”
“Frightening rumors?”
“Yes.”
Esta pointed at the clock with a serious face.
“When it hits midnight, ghosts appear.”
“…”
At the mention of ghosts, Yunia turned pale.
* * *
After Esta left, another faculty member came and told me that ‘the room is ready’.
“Is this it?”
I lay down on the bed in a room that was about 15 pyeong.
This was one of the more spacious rooms among the old dormitory rooms and probably used to be for aristocrats when the Academy was first established.
‘This is for me?’
In the original, it was the protagonist’s room.
After talking to various characters in the old school dormitory, it was a space to use various system elements.
‘It’s familiar, so I’m grateful, but it feels awkward.’
It’s strange that someone who wasn’t originally the protagonist, now disguised under a different name, is occupying the protagonist’s room.
‘Is this a sign of fate telling me to completely take over the protagonist’s position?’
If the protagonist is assigned to another room, that would be an issue in itself, but simply being assigned this room solves one problem.
‘The ghost at midnight.’
Soon, it would arrive—
Knock knock.
The sound of knocking. The clock on the wall was nearing midnight, and I discreetly closed one eye.
Flicker.
Flames burning before my eyes.
Through the flickering flames, something like an infrared camera image started to appear.
“…”
I quietly got up and walked to the door to open it.
“What’s the matter?”
“Ah, well…”
Yunia.
She stood before me, clutching her pillow tightly while wearing pajamas.
“I, I was feeling uneasy…”
What does Yunia mean by feeling uneasy?
There should be others in this old dormitory as well.
“Is it okay to come into a man’s room in the middle of the night?”
“B-But…!”
Yunia looked embarrassed but glared at me with intense eyes.
“Alright, alright.”
It meant to behave appropriately.
More precisely, it was a reminder not to joke around when you know everything.
“Come in. I’ll offer you some calming herbal tea.”
As I opened the door fully, Yunia entered, and I quickly glanced outside before locking the door.
Click.
As soon as the door was locked, I could hear some movement outside in the corridor.
‘It must be the staff.’
They must have been wondering she would go after leaving her room.
And they might have been surprised to find out that the destination was my room, concluding that they should ‘observe for now’.
If a dangerous situation were to arise—
‘They would intervene immediately.’
In a general academy dormitory, there is strict separation between males and females, so there usually aren’t major issues, but the old dormitory is a bit different.
Especially if the dormitory building was damaged and we were just borrowing the old school building for a while, and the two students who were selected as special admission students got into trouble on the first day, it would be even more serious.
“Well, so…”
“Shh.”
I gestured for Yunia to be quiet by alternately pointing to my hand and ear.
[Surveillance. Monitoring. Staff.]
I then whispered quietly to Yunia, who briefly squeezed her eyes shut.
“…I can’t sleep, so how about we talk a bit?”
“Isn’t it too late for that?”
“I’ll just talk a little and then go to sleep.”
Yunia started her pretense of being concerned.
[I really want to talk.]
At the same time, she communicated her true intention in a brief note.
“Please sit down. I haven’t completely finished organizing things yet.”
I offered Yunia a seat and placed paper and a pen on the table.
[Through notes.]
[Got it.]
I had to keep talking aloud.
However, Yunia would use written notes for what she truly wanted to discuss, then burn the paper to erase any traces.
“You really did a great job today. Phew, it was like a real miracle….”
I spoke about the usual things a special admission student might feel.
[Is the harem real?]
She asked her real question in writing.
[Of course.]
[Really?]
[What’s wrong with a man pursuing a harem?]
[It’s not that it’s wrong.]
Yunia’s handwriting grew more rigid.
[Is it really the ultimate goal?]
It seemed that the mere mention of a harem had somehow upset her.
She looked somewhat disappointed.
[No.]
In response to my note, Yunia’s eyes brightened.
[Harem is just a method.]
Yunia tilted her head in confusion.
[Didn’t I say I can see the future? I came to prevent the Apocalypse at the Academy.]
Yunia swallowed nervously.
[I saw it. Different women from this Academy were destroying the world.]
While the conversation remained polite enough to be heard by others, the notes contained serious content.
[Most of the destruction was due to ‘love’. They were ruined because they couldn’t receive love, for whatever reason.]
[Emotional collapse…?]
[Something like that.]
I hesitated for a moment.
How much should I reveal?
It might be fine with others, but I was unsure how to talk to Yunia about this.
‘I’m still not sure, so let’s keep it a secret from Yunia for now.’
After all, the apocalypse is right in front of me.
[Instructor Esta. I saw a glimpse of the Apocalypse in her.]
Yunia’s body stiffened.
Although I hadn’t directly heard this from Yunia, knowing the original background and why Yunia came to the Academy, I understood why she reacted this way.
[I came to the Academy to prevent the Apocalypse.]
Preventing that Apocalypse is Yunia’s mission.
The problem is that Yunia doesn’t know what form this apocalypse will take.
[How do you know she’s the Apocalypse? And what exactly is the apocalypse?]
[Like I said. I can see the future.]
Yunia must be surprised that I know more about something than her grandmother, the witch, but she nodded at my vague answer.
[Can you tell me?]
[It’s like something I saw in a dream, so it’s fragmented.]
Snap.
“Miss Yunia.”
“Ah, yes?”
“Don’t you want to see my ability?”
As I clapped my hands and spoke aloud, people outside began to approach the door one by one.
“Um… Will you show me?”
A glimpse of the apocalypse.
“Yes. It’s like a form of ‘memory sharing’, you see?”
“Memory sharing?”
“Yes. It allows others to see experiences I’ve had. Technically, it’s called ‘out-of-body experience’, but you don’t need to worry about the complex details.”
I pointed to the bed.
“Think of it as me hypnotizing you. I’ll cast a spell on you, and you’ll indirectly experience my memories through dreams.”
“Um… Is it possible?”
“It’s not impossible.”
I mimicked driving a bus with my hands.
“I can do quite a few things.”
“…”
Yunia nodded slightly and whispered.
[Actually, that’s one of the reasons I came here.]
Ah.
“What’s this, Miss Yunia? Have you reached the point where you can’t sleep properly without my massage?”
“Ah, no! What are you talking about right now?”
“True. My sleep massage is quite effective.”
I deliberately made a loud clapping sound and laughed.
“My older sister and younger sisters also can’t sleep without it and take turns asking me for it every week.”
This isn’t a joke.
The Dukes of Hell wanted my massages as compensation for sparring with them.
“Want to try lying down? Ah. If you fall asleep…”
“N-no, it’s fine!”
Yunia raised her hand and shouted.
“The school rules manual, uh, the manual that students must follow, um….”
Yunia peeked outside.
“…It says that Academy students must not sleep in places other than their designated dorm rooms.”
She started mentioning the rules.
“…But this isn’t a dormitory; it’s the old school building, right?”
“Hah.”
Could it be my imagination that I heard a sigh from outside?
“Are you planning to break the rules right from the first day of admission?”
“I’m not breaking the rules. The manual mentions ‘academy dormitory’, not ‘old school building’, right?”
That’s true.
After the new academy dormitories were built, several new regulations were established, and some old ordinances or rules were abolished and integrated.
“I’m not violating the rules! If I go to the dormitory, I’ll obviously sleep in my own room.”
The Academy Dormitory refers to the space where current students stay, and the ‘old school building’ does not apply.
“So… Yeah? It’s not like it’s your first time.”
“It seems it will be my first time here.”
Even though I’ve given a sleep massage on the bus before, sharing my experiences to some extent is a first.
“Alright. Then I’ll show you. Let me know if it hurts while you’re getting the massage. Understood?”
“Will it hurt?”
“I’ll do my best to make it as painless as possible.”
[However.]
I lightly tapped Yunia’s head.
[After experiencing the Apocalypse, people might appear different from before.]
I wondered how Yunia would react.
[Instructor Esta, of course.]
Heroine No. 11, the White Sword Saint Esta.
[In the future, she becomes an iron-blooded controlling ruler who suppresses everyone’s desires.]
“…What?”
“Just lie down comfortably.”
Yunia’s expression became more and more serious, and she began to stare at my mouth.
[After creating the iron-blooded empire where no one could defy her….]
Rustle.
[She created a world where if someone would ride a unicorn, they would face execution.]
“…Eh?”
I adjusted Yunia’s hair and made a gesture in front of her face.
[Doing this will mean execution.]
I made a ring with my fingers and pushed my thumb in and out.
No. 11-01. Bad Ending.
[She became someone who imposes her purity on all humans.]
The Apocalypse.
It’s not just about volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, floods, typhoons overturning the world, and earthquakes.
[It’s a world where humanity no longer produces descendants.]
Esta [Angel].
Another form of her is the <Tyrant of Purity>.
Controlled by the Goddess, humanity is forbidden from reproducing, a kind of apocalypse known as the ‘prohibition of reproduction’.
