Kyle was, as always, swinging his sword in the personal training ground. Although his training time had decreased since becoming a Master, it didn’t mean he had stopped training altogether.
There were many students practicing secret sword techniques or advanced skills that they couldn’t show to others, so Kyle was able to rent one of the abundant private training grounds for himself.
After swinging his sword for a while and working up a sweat, he exited the training room to find someone waiting for him at the entrance.
“…Kail Meyer.”
“Hmm, who are you again…”
“Y-you forgot me? You’re joking, right?”
“Yes, I’m joking. Senior.”
Kyle chuckled softly as he looked down at Izuna, whose face was turning red. Realizing she had been teased, Izuna stomped her feet to express her anger.
Considering how she used to scream and avoid eye contact with him when they first met, this was remarkable progress.
“You didn’t faint this time.”
“Hmph, I can’t keep being scared just because you look scary.”
“Do I really look that scary? That hurts a bit.”
Though he said it confidently, Kyle noticed her limbs trembling slightly. He chose not to mention it, for the sake of her pride.
As Kyle continued to chuckle, he finally asked her what she wanted.
“So, what brings you here, Senior, after saying you’d never come back?”
“…You know quite a bit about the Saintess, don’t you?”
“As much as anyone else does.”
“That’s not what I mean. There’s a rumor going around that the Saintess is coming to the Academy looking for you.”
With that, Izuna pulled out a drawing from her pocket and handed it to Kyle, who took it and scanned its contents.
It depicted a handsome male face he had never seen before.
“What’s this?”
“It’s your composite sketch.”
“My composite sketch, you say?”
Which meant, it was supposed to be Kyle’s face. After glaring at the picture intensely, Kyle let out a dry laugh and looked at Izuna.
“Do I really look like some pretty boy gigolo?”
“Of course not. It doesn’t look anything like you.”
“Thank goodness.”
“Is that something to be happy about?”
Anyway—after taking the composite sketch back, Izuna tucked it into her pocket and cleared her throat.
“It’s certain that the Saintess has come to the Academy looking for you, so we have no choice but to assume you’re acquainted with her.”
“And?”
“…Introduce me to her.”
“I’ll pass.”
Seeing Kyle’s refusal, Izuna quickly shook her head, signaling it wasn’t what he thought.
“—Because of my ability, I need to talk to her.”
“Your ability, huh.”
Now that he thought about it, she had an innate ability to see other people’s stats. It was like a basic system feature that playable characters in games possessed.
It was strange for her, an NPC in the game, to have such a skill. Even Sera, who seemed to know everything about the game, appeared clueless about her.
“If you help me, I’ll do anything…”
“Alright.”
“R-really?”
“But in return.”
“In return…?”
Izuna swallowed nervously as she looked up at Kyle. She had said “anything,” so even if he demanded her body, she would have no choice.
Of course, there weren’t many people who liked frail women like her, but the world was vast and full of perverts. She had heard there were people who preferred her body type.
As Kyle considered the possibility, he cautiously looked at her…
“I want to bring one more person along with us.”
“Ah…”
Izuna nodded, accepting that condition. Kyle promised to arrange a meeting with the Saintess and then left.
Watching his retreating figure, Izuna sighed deeply.
‘…Still scary.’
In her eyes, Kyle’s titles had changed. Despite the short vacation break, new positive titles like Savior of the Empire and Guardian of the Academy had appeared.
It was like seeing a tiger in the zoo with a tag that read [Won’t Bite], which made her approach him despite her slight trembling.
True enough, the titles hadn’t betrayed her expectations. However, there were a few puzzling additions. Titles like Guardian of the Academy caught her attention.
‘Guardian of the Academy?’
What had he done to earn that?
Suppressing her questions, Izuna eagerly awaited the meeting with the Saintess.
* * *
The meeting with the Saintess proceeded quickly. It was possible because Kyle, for some unknown reason related to being the Hero, received endless goodwill.
After successfully setting up the meeting, Kyle informed Izuna of the gathering time. When the time came, he brought Sera along to the designated spot.
Sera, dragged out abruptly, glared at Kyle with a sulky expression, but upon seeing the Saintess already waiting, her expression softened.
“S-Saintess!?”
“Yes, I’m the Saintess.”
Watching the cheerful Saintess, Sera widened her eyes in disbelief. Amused by her reaction, Kyle leaned in close to whisper carefully in her ear.
“Why do you like the Saintess so much?”
“Why do I like her? She’s cute!”
“I thought you hated female characters with big chests?”
“The Saintess is different! She’s got girl-crush vibes!”
Sera began praising the Saintess’ achievements: wiping out demon armies single-handedly, defeating demon worshippers, saving people from slums.
Even though she whispered these praises quietly, it seemed the Saintess overheard them, blushing and bowing her head.
As Sera continued praising the Saintess, she suddenly paused upon noticing a small child standing next to her.
“…But who’s that?”
“Izuna Hela.”
“Izuna Hela… Izuna Hela!?”
Recognizing the name of the Archduchess Hela, Sera gasped in shock and stared at her. Seeing Izuna’s petite stature and appearance, Sera cautiously pulled Kyle away from the scene.
Wondering why she was acting this way, Kyle followed her until they were far enough away to ask the reason.
“…That person is Izuna Hela?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Is she really the Archduke Hela’s daughter?”
“Probably?”
“No way…”
Sera kept glancing suspiciously back at where Izuna and the Saintess stood. Unable to understand why, Kyle tilted his head and looked at her, prompting Sera to scold him.
“How do you not know Izuna Hela? I thought you definitely would.”
“Uh… This is my first time seeing her.”
“Of course you wouldn’t recognize her just by sight. I didn’t realize it was her the first time I saw her either… Let me explain. She’s the villainess.”
The Villainess of the Academy. At those words, an image flashed through Kyle’s mind like lightning.
A stunning beauty with an amazing figure who dominated the Academy’s social scene, constantly tormenting the protagonist in typical villainess fashion.
Kyle remembered now. The reason he hadn’t recognized her earlier was understandable.
“She looks completely different!”
“Exactly!”
The game version of Izuna Hela had a voluptuous figure—crafted meticulously by designers to be universally attractive.
A face and body anyone could easily fall for. That’s what she had.
Not the loli-type body that only niche tastes appreciated, unlike now.
“What on earth changed?”
“Hmm…”
While Sera couldn’t guess why Izuna had changed, Kyle had a rough idea. After all, it was unusual for an NPC in a game to possess a status window.
If Diaros Academy had such a peculiar setting, there was no way Sera wouldn’t know about it. Meaning, Izuna Hela awakening a power stat was unique to ‘this world.’
People grow based on their genetic makeup and environment. With a status window, Izuna could likely read others’ thoughts, actions, and desires.
For a fledgling bird newly hatched, the dark and overwhelming nature of human desires would have been enough to breed deep distrust.
“Sera, the real reason I called you here today is—”
Kyaaaaaaah—!
At that moment, a scream echoed from the room where the Saintess and Izuna were. Hearing it, Kyle quickly rushed to the room.
Inside, Izuna stood with blood dripping from her eyes, writhing in pain, while the Saintess looked on helplessly.
“…What’s going on?”
“I don’t know…”
Amidst the confusion, Izuna opened her blood-red eyes and glared at Kyle and Sera behind him.
“Diaros Academy…? Game? What is all this…?”
Then, words that no one in this world should utter began spilling from her lips.
