Chapter 1: Meeting (1)

༺ Meeting (1) ༻

So, how did this happen?

The Baron Campbell Household was a small noble family located in a small barony on the outskirts of the Empire.

It was barely even mentioned in the main story of Sera.

There were no dungeons with monsters in the area and the main industry was also just simple dairy farming. The Lord and his family were actually nothing more than friendly neighbors.

Naturally, the slightest accident or event would cause a big uproar, as if the world had been overturned.

Namely:

The Lord's son entering the Imperial Academy. The effect was a rare spectacle of the territory's residents collectively weeping as if they were being abandoned.

"You're leaving at last, Dowd."

"Yes, Father."

Baron Armin Campbell, a warm and kind middle-aged man, hugged me while wiping away his welling tears.

"You are the pride of our fief. Please take care of yourself and graduate safely."

"Of course, don't worry."

I pulled away from my father with a reassuring smile.

He may look like this, but he's built with pure, hard muscle.

Dairy farming and farming were hard jobs in general, so your body gets toned even if you don't specifically train it.

"However, never get into a fight. The Imperial Academy is a place where high-ranking children from all over the empire gather. It's best for small barons like us to be as inconspicuous as possible..."

"Don't worry about it, really."

Doubling the confidence level in my smile, I cut off Nagging Season 1823718029837.

Well, his worries were not unfounded considering the main story of Savior Rising.

An aristocratic family with weak prestige would be easily swept up in all sorts of power struggles between the powerful and eccentric high-ranking nobles.

Fortunately, I also don't have the slightest intention of disobeying my father's advice.

「Dowd Campbell」

< Status Info >

Strength: F

Agility: F

Endurance: F

Luck: F

Power: F

< Skill Info >

[ No Skill in Possession ]

< Mastery Info >

[ No Mastery in Possession ]

< Special Gift >

[ Unawakened ]

"..."

It was an eye-watering, neat status window.

However, all my stats were F, an unprecedented trash starting line that I've never once encountered out of all the playtime I've put into Sera.

'This is dangerous...'

With a wry smile, I turned my gaze to the small window next to the main page.

[ Main Quest ]

Description: Enter the Academy and get assigned to a class!

This was something I often saw in the game, so it was nice seeing it here. However, the existence of a system page called the Quest Window was a problem in itself.

The fact that a main quest exists means that there are scenarios to overcome. This also meant that the Academy that I was about to enter would become a breeding ground for different types of plots and conspiracies.

'I can't just skip the main quest...'

Considering the game's system and mechanics, it will probably be game over the moment I refuse to do the quest.

I don't think that would ever do anything good for me.

At the very least, something akin to death would await me.

'But it doesn't make sense for me to complete the quest myself.'

In the first place, my motto was, 'Never do anything that interferes with my survival'.

I have no idea why I'm here, but one thing is certain. I must live to see the happy ending.

In that sense, getting involved in the main story with these garbage stats would simply get me deleted in one breath.

Although this guy does have an unawakened special gift, it's hard to expect anything from it.

I don't even have a clue on how to awaken it.

'All I know is that it would automatically awaken when the character completes a special action...'

I might know the ones for the player characters, but there was definitely no way I would know the gift conditions for an extra character like this.

If so, what was the best course of action that I could take in this situation?

Faithfully fulfilling my role as an extra.

Don't stand out, don't show off, and stay low-key.

Besides, the main character would take care of everything, right?

"Don't worry, Father!"

Uh. Now that I think about it, the advice that my father gave couldn't sound any wiser.

Is that really nagging if that's the case?

"I will definitely do my best not to stand out at the Academy!"

"...Uh, no, there's no need to go that far..."

"Don't worry, I'll never have the vain ambition of raising the territory's honor!"

"...Yes, it's true that I don't particularly want that, but..."

After such exchanges, I finally departed from the estate.

The expressions of the residents in the territory who were seeing me off and my father were a bit strange, but whatever. Anyways, what's good is good.

And thus, my lowkey academy life as an extra is about to begin!

●

I really thought that.

I was envisioning a truly hopeful future.

Ah, those dream-filled days.

"Do you need a doctor? You don't look so good."

"No, I'm fine."

Actually, I'm not fine.

As someone who decided to commit to being an extra, meeting the person in front of me was horrifically burdensome.

"..."

I glanced at the other person impassively reading the newspaper and sipping tea.

Eleanor Elinalise La Tristan.

The most likely candidate for the Final Boss.

'How did I end up traveling with someone like this?'

Thinking so, I couldn't help but let out an inward sigh.

The train bound for Elfante Imperial Academy had two-person cabins.

You had no choice since you couldn't choose which person you wanted to share the room with, and it was completely random. It was just that it was probably okay to lament if the person you were with was this terrifying.

This type of luck was astonishingly horrendous.

'Why would a Duke's Daughter get a cheap compartment that a countryside Baron uses, anyway?'

As I was thinking about that, an answer suddenly came from the other side.

Her gaze was still fixed on the newspaper.

"Duke Tristan cares a lot about public image. He focuses on creating a friendly image rather than making us ride first class just because we're from a noble family."

"..."

"Don't worry, you didn't make the stupid mistake of thinking out loud. Your expression is just funny."

The Student Council President laughed as she said one thing after another.

"The thoughts of the people who ride in the same compartment as me are all the same. You were simply giving off a similar look to them."

"...Is that so?"

It seems like this wasn't a one-time occurrence.

Well, as Duke Tristan's daughter, she's a huge celebrity bordering on royalty. A lot of people must've felt pressured by her presence.

"Rest assured, you won't be harmed just by being involved with me. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"..."

However, she cared too much for another person.

'Isn't this different from the one in my memory?'

In the game, this person obviously didn't care about other people.

She judged everything by value and was a perfectionist who never tolerated flaws. Finally, she was an arrogant person who always saw others as beneath her.

Those were the characteristics of Eleanor that I remembered.

But what was with this delicate and thoughtful appearance she was showing me right now?

Even if she was doing it to manage her image, this was undeniably strange.

"Do you have any other questions? It doesn't seem like you're convinced."

"No. It's just that you're surprisingly nice."

Hearing this, Eleanor removed her gaze from the newspaper for the first time.

Her eyes slightly narrowed.

"Surprising?"

"What?"

"Have you heard anything bad about me? Have we met before?"

"..."

That's because I know you're one of the possible people who'll destroy the world.

However, it was only after meeting the main character that her villainous transformation began. It all stemmed from her inferiority complex towards the main character, who was considered perfect in all aspects and had a talent that far surpassed her own.

Of course, you might wonder how the world would end just because of an inferiority complex, but the real problem is the curse that this person had.

Gray Devil.

Thinking of the Tristan Dukedom and the name of the existence inside Eleanor, I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

It's the worst amongst even the Devils, endgame villains of this world. It's so bad, in fact, that it appears in the myth of creation.

The moment that it's released, the world is practically over. The trigger was the moment when Eleanor's mind collapses.

Throughout the scenario, Eleanor constantly has friction against the main character, and when her mentality collapses, the demon takes over her body. After that...

It was a direct path to world destruction. Except for the main character, who had completed their final growth, no one could stop the entire world from falling into chaos.

"..."

And here I just said, 'I thought you had an explosive personality but it turns out you don't' towards someone like that.

I must have gone crazy.

"...I've just heard a lot about you being strict."

Eleanor stared at me for a while, then sighed. I wondered if my improvised excuse worked.

"You're a strange man, aren't you?"

"Yes, I often hear that."

I blurted with an awkward smile before immediately looking out the window.

I'd rather avoid further communication.

Anyway, my goal was to just have the main character beat the main quest. There was nothing good about hanging out with people who would often appear in the scenarios.

My purpose was to lead a peaceful and quiet Academy life, so let's do just that. Let's remain calm and enjoy the view outside.

The spring scenery in full bloom was very picturesque. It almost feels like you can smell the fragrance of the flowers with your eyes.

The new buds blooming, the stretching mountain and streams, the wide fields, and the huge boulder flying towards this window—

"..."

Wait, the last one... Fuck!

"Student Council President."

"Hm?"

"Excuse me for a moment."

Right after saying that, I dove into Eleanor's arms.

"...?!"

Eleanor's eyes fluttered wildly.

It seems that even she can't help but panic when she encounters someone who rushes at her out of nowhere.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the situation continued without pause, leaving no time for explanations.

—!

—!!

—!!!!!!!

A house-sized boulder flew towards our compartment, tearing most of it off.

The train, which was in motion, swayed greatly from the impact. Subsequently, the train's body deviated from the track and tilted over.

—!

—!!!

—!!!!!!!!!!!

A few tumultuous turns ensued as the entire train rolled on the ground.

There were screams everywhere, but even that was drowned out by the roar that followed.

It's probably the sound of the entire train being thrown to the ground.

And throughout all of this, Eleanor and I remained unharmed.

It wasn't necessarily because we were lucky; it was all thanks to the faint, blue shield that surrounded Eleanor.

An automatic defense made from the remains of a saint.

'I survived because I knew that this person always carried this...'

Drenched in a cold sweat, I let out a sigh of relief.

If I had been directly hit by that thing without any protection, I wouldn't have lived. Not with my abilities.

"...You, are you okay?"

"Yes? Ah yes. I'm okay."

"Then, can you move? It's a bit heavy."

After hearing Eleanor mutter something like that in an emotionless voice from below, I finally realized that I had been hugging this person with my entire body.

"..."

I quickly got up from that embarrassing position. After a while, the Student Council President also stood up.

She looked down at the ground, tidying up her messy hair and uniform. Perhaps it's because of the ambiguous mood, but her nape and face were slightly red.

Um, what now?

I should probably apologize first, right?

"I'm sorry—"

"It's alright. You were just trying to save me."

What?

"I've never had this much contact with a man before, but thank you. I know your intentions, so there is no need to apologize."

"..."

Did she interpret it that way?

I just rushed in knowing that she had a shield.

From Eleanor's perspective, it probably looked like I was protecting her in anticipation of the impact.

Well, she didn't know that I knew the existence of the defensive barrier in advance.

As I was thinking about that, Eleanor spoke again.

"What's your name?"

What?

This person, according to her character setup, only asked the name of someone she liked, didn't she?

Something tells me that we'll be involved often in the future if I answer her here.

"...You, what's your name?"

However, I couldn't just say, 'What for?' to someone who was staring directly at me.

Rather, it's the worst option.

"I'm Dowd Campbell."

"Dowd, Dowd, Campbell, Campbell."

Eleanor closed her eyes and muttered my name a few times, then nodded.

"All right, I got it. I won't forget it. I will definitely pay you back later."

No, you can just forget about it.

Can't we just not get involved with each other as much as possible?

As I was thinking that with an awkward smile, something suddenly appeared in front of me.

System Message

[ You have gained the favor of a villain! ]

[ Satisfied Special Gift Awakening Conditions! ]

[ Obtained the skills Desperation and Fatal Charm! ]

...What the fuck?