How to get on the protagonist’s flower path

After finishing our work in the reward room, we exited through the real exit located behind the altar in the reward room.

Surprisingly, the exit was directly connected to outside the gate.

As we stepped outside, the sun was just beginning to rise.

I still had to go back to the dorm and get a few hours of sleep. I recalled my teacher’s advice about the importance of sleep and made up my mind.

“Now, today’s strategy is over~.”

“Thank you for your hard work. I’ll see you again next time,” said the conman casually as he bid farewell, prompting Choi Soo-jung to scoff.

“Junior, have you erased the memory of how you deliberately provoked me earlier? Do you really think you can walk away unscathed?”

Choi Soo-jung smiled brightly and began to condense the wind again.

“I could kill you right now, you know~?”

At that, the conman chuckled calmly and said, “I know you wouldn’t kill me. More importantly, I have something else to deal with involving you, senior.”

Then he approached Choi Soo-jung and whispered something to her.

Immediately, her expression hardened.

What on earth did he say?

“How much do you know?”

“I know much more than you think, senior.”

I pretended to be restless and quietly perked up my ears.

However, I gained nothing. As the conversation deepened, the conman used an item to block sound. How unnecessarily thorough.

I clicked my tongue inwardly. Since it wasn’t about me, it seemed I wouldn’t get to see it as part of the narrative either, which was more disappointing.

After a little while, as their conversation seemed to be winding down, the conman retrieved his item. They wrapped up their dialogue and approached me.

“Will you accept?”

“…Sure.”

Choi Soo-jung glared at the conman with a crooked smile before breaking into a bright grin.

“It was dirty meeting you, let’s not meet again~.”

“I’ll report the dungeon. See you again.”

“Get lost.”

With that, Choi Soo-jung and the conman finished their conversation in a somewhat friendly (?) manner.

After concluding her talk with the conman, Choi Soo-jung fluttered over to me.

“Ah, senior! Can I still call you like before at school?”

“You can call me whatever you want~.”

“Yes!”

“By the way, give me your number.”

“Yes!”

It’s surprising. Choi Soo-jung is the type who doesn’t easily make friends and doesn’t communicate well with others, despite her appearance.

Still, I had nothing to lose, so I quickly exchanged contact information with her.

In the process, I felt somewhat sad that the number of contacts saved in Choi Soo-jung’s device was still more than mine, especially compared to Na Yu-ri’s. Yu-ri…

After staging a little spy movie to sneak back to the F-class dorm with the conman, I flopped onto my bed.

Maybe because it had been such a tiring day, sleep quickly washed over me.

My eyes closed almost immediately.

***

In a dark room, a woman hidden behind a red veil laughed as she lowered her pipe.

“You dare to boast that you can solve my greatest homework, little one?”

“Yes. I can distinguish between ‘Gemini.’”

A conversation in a dimly lit room.

At that time, I was truly desperate.

So, I rummaged through my memories from my past life, grasping at anything I could, and clung to the “Black Scales” even with my imperfect recollections. I requested a deal with her.

“What are your terms?”

“I want citizenship issued to the teacher of the orphanage where I live and all the children associated with it, and for them to be relocated to a safe place.”

I was even prepared to die there if I couldn’t succeed.

Fortunately, the gamble was successful.

“You have change left; go ahead and make one more wish.”

“In that case—”

The most desperate and most successful moment of my life,

“Please ensure that the teacher of my orphanage and all the children never get involved with a criminal organization.”

That became the turning point of my life, the foundation of the life I could live.

Those few minutes were everything.

“Alright. But you are an exception. A soul from another world always brings storms.”

That unsettling statement still clings to my mind, refusing to fade away.

***

The alarm goes off.

“…Ah.”

Is it because I recalled the past while killing monsters at the gate? I ended up having another nightmare.

The deal with the “Black Scales.”

That was an unavoidable choice to move my precious orphan family to a safe place.

Thanks to the deal with the Black Scales, we were able to relocate to safety, so it was indeed the right thing to do.

However, recalling that memory brings along many unwelcome thoughts, like yams trailing behind, which makes me reluctant to think about it.

It’s all because of that conman. I cursed him one more time for no good reason.

Let’s get ready for school.

With a heavy heart, I arrived at school that morning, only to find chaos unfolding.

I had woken up later than usual, trying to squeeze in a bit more sleep, and by the time I got there, rumors about the conman and the gate had spread like wildfire.

Every time I walked through the hallways, I could hear whispers.

“That guy?”

“He looks clueless, though.”

“I heard he’s a government-supported awakened from Class F.”

“Lucky him.”

I could hear all of it, you know.

It seems the rumors about the stationary gate that the conman and I cleared had already circulated.

However, since the students would find nothing but a desolate plain if they went to that gate now, I wasn’t too worried.

Last night had truly been a massacre. Thinking back to the hardships I had endured just a few hours ago made my muscles ache unnecessarily.

I quickened my pace toward Class F.

As soon as I opened the door, an enormous cheer erupted.

“Hope of the government-supported awakened!”

“One of the twin stars of Class F!”

“Yoo Han, your partner has arrived!”

The kids in Class F cheered enthusiastically, as if they were more excited than I was, rolling out a metaphorical red carpet in front of me.

“Hey, guys…?”

“What’s wrong, Na Hyun?”

“Are you thirsty, Na Hyun?”

“Please tell us a story, Na Hyun!”

“A story? I don’t have anything like that.”

Good grief.

I shook my head, trying to cool down my flushed face, and sat down next to the conman.

He had arrived first and seemed to be relishing the praise, grinning widely.

Enjoying yourself, huh? His lips wouldn’t stop curling upwards. So annoying.

“I reported the gate.”

“Is that so….”

“Normally, going out at night would result in a penalty, but considering your achievement in clearing it, I’ll let it slide this time.”

“Thank goodness…!”

I sighed in relief and congratulated him.

“Good job, Yoo Han!”

“Oh, and there’s something to settle separately—”

Just then, the classroom door slammed open roughly.

Huh, this feels familiar; I think something like this has happened before.

“Na Yoo-han, you garbage of a person! Come out right now!”

“Yuri?”

“Right here.”

The conman waved casually. Na Yoo-ri strode towards us.

“What’s going on? Were you impressed by my hidden skills—cough!”

Then she delivered a straight punch to the conman’s solar plexus.

He flew through the air like an extra in an action movie who had just been hit by the main character. It was quite an unreal sight…

“How dare you take Na Hyun to the gate in the middle of the night! By force!”

“No, it wasn’t by force—”

“Shut up!”

Na Yoo-ri stomped down on the conman’s solar plexus again. That’s my girl, Yoo-ri.

I wanted to enjoy the scene of the beating, maybe munching on some popcorn, but sadly, I was the sunny heroine.

“Uh, Yoo-ri…”

As I cautiously called out to her, Na Yoo-ri stomped on the conman once more and quickly came over to grab my face with both hands. She looked me over, quickly spouting words.

“Are you hurt? That shameless guy didn’t lay a hand on you, right? Ah, if I’d known this would happen, I should have made you sleep in my dorm…!”

“I’m fine. Yoo Han was kind. And sleeping in someone else’s dorm is against the rules, you know. More importantly…”

I deliberately embodied a puppy that knew it had done wrong before being scolded.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you in advance. I made a contract with Yoo Han before our promise…”

“No. The one who deceived you is in the wrong.”

Na Yoo-ri hugged me tightly.

It seemed like she had learned how to control her strength, as her embrace felt warm and cozy.

Na Yoo-ri genuinely worried about me and treated me kindly, and just seeing her made my heart soften a little.

“By the way, you said you made a contract? Was that contract glowing softly in golden light?”

“Yeah. How did you know? It was really pretty!”

“…I see.”

Normally, contracts processed with skills glow golden. Yoo-ri probably concluded that the conman had tricked me with a special contract.

Na Yoo-ri walked over to the still-prostrate conman and promptly stomped on his solar plexus again.

“Guh!”

“How can you not change at all…?”

Her gaze toward the conman was as if she were looking at something that was hopelessly trash.

At least she didn’t hit him with a skill like before. Maybe their relationship had progressed somewhat?

“I thought you had changed in some way, but it seems you were just looking to use me again. Na Yoo-han, you really haven’t changed. Na Hyun! Step away!”

…Or maybe not?

At this rate, it seemed like Na Yoo-ri might actually isolate me from the conman, so I decided to give him a little shield.

“No, Yoo-ri. Yoo Han just suggested we clear the gate together. If we left the gate as it was, it could be dangerous, so I agreed to join him.”

“Still…”

With a worried expression, Na Yoo-ri, who had been lecturing me, pointed at the conman, earnestly advising me not to talk to him, before finally returning to her classroom.

Only then did the conman dust off his tattered school uniform and sit down in his place. There were footprints on his white shirt.

Our homeroom teacher usually arrives about five minutes late after the morning bell rings, so there was still time.

“Ahem… Anyway, about the dungeon byproduct settlement—”

“Is this the classroom with our proud twin stars!”

It wasn’t.

Our homeroom teacher, seemingly quite excited, burst in with heavy footsteps.

Then he started explaining how difficult it is for a new student to clear a gate, listing off achievements one after another. Occasionally, he sought active agreement from the students.

Eventually, completely exhausted from the teacher’s monologue, the conman muttered weakly.

“…Let’s continue this conversation next time.”

“That sounds good…”

I was about to speak up, but the homeroom teacher’s