How to ruin the original

Episode 12

Somehow, Nigel’s group of three walked together to the auditorium where the entrance ceremony was being held.

“……?!”

Nigel glared at the golden dragon statue they encountered on the way as if facing an enemy. Allen barely held back his laughter, while Noah alternated glances between the two, puzzled by their strange behavior.

“Ah, Miss Nigel and Mr. Noah, please sit in the front seats. Mr. Noah, your seat is on the far left, and Miss Nigel, your seat is in the middle.”

An usher standing at the front of the auditorium spoke to the group as they entered.

“What about me?”

Allen asked, his eyes sparkling.

“Mr. Allen, you can sit anywhere in the Magic Department section.”

“Yes… Have fun sitting together, Nigel, Noah. See you later.”

Allen, with slumped shoulders, waved vaguely and trudged to the Magic Department seats. However, as soon as he met his fellow department students, he greeted them cheerfully as if he had never been downcast.

“Phew…”

Nigel and Noah watched him in disbelief before sitting in the front row.

At the party yesterday, someone mentioned that the top student of the year would sit in the middle seat, with the others on either side.

It was amusing to think that all his hard work had only earned him this middle seat, but now that he was sitting there, it felt quite satisfying.

Although there was a life-threatening pile of homework sitting next to him.

Nigel had made up his mind after much deliberation yesterday. With about a year and a half until the monsters invaded, he had to somehow train Noah to be as formidable as the original character in the story. And then, he planned to hand over the well-trained Noah Veselion to the heroine.

He still intended not to interfere with the original plot, but this was an exception since his life was on the line.

Knowing the original storyline greatly helped in achieving his goal. Yesterday’s events had given him insight into how Noah could grow rapidly, including specific experimental methods that could be immediately applied.

The only problem was that this experiment required a deep level of trust and a certain degree of intimacy. Proposing it without these would make him seem crazy.

‘Step one of the plan is to build trust with Noah Veselion quickly.’

He was about to throw out a phrase he had thought of this morning to build that trust.

“Are you feeling well?”

But Noah spoke first.

Due to his disgraceful behavior yesterday, Noah now regarded him as a frail lady. Nigel felt an immediate need to refute this and prove his physical robustness.

“Ah…”

…No, that’s not right. Trust, he had to build trust with him.

“…Thanks to you.”

Noah smiled warmly at his words.

‘It was worth holding back!’

It was a refreshing green light.

“That’s a relief. Ah, you don’t have to worry about what happened yesterday. The royal magicians regularly install and check protection wards in Sienia.”

I already kno…

Reflexively, words almost escaped his mouth, but Nigel managed to cover his lips with his hand.

Trust, building trust was important.

“…I see.”

While Nigel and Noah exchanged their slightly awkward conversation.

Thud.

Someone sat in the empty seat next to them.

It was a boy with dark blonde hair, whose demeanor screamed ‘noble.’ He immediately crossed his legs elegantly and folded his arms.

‘He acts precisely as he looks.’

Nigel thought as he watched the boy.

The boy turned his head sharply to meet Nigel’s gaze. Nigel didn’t blink, staring back at the boy.

“Which noble family are you from? I’ve never heard of the name ‘Ars.’”

The boy’s mannerisms and speech perfectly matched the stereotypical image of a noble.

With all the unexpected appearances and endless chatter from Allen, not to mention the sudden responsibility for the empire, Nigel’s patience was wearing thin.

Normally indifferent to others’ remarks, Nigel was sensitive when it came to his family. The audacity of this boy, asking about his family name without introducing himself first, was infuriating.

‘…Stay calm, I’m beside Noah Veselion. Trust, I need to build trust.’

Nigel clenched his fist and opened his mouth.

“I made it up.”

Despite controlling his words, his body mirrored the boy’s posture, crossing his legs and folding his arms.

The boy’s face became serious. He slowly rubbed his hand over his mouth.

“…I’ve heard that some families give separate names due to inheritance issues… but this is my first time seeing it.”

The boy’s expression relaxed, showing a strange hint of sympathy.

Regardless, Nigel was fuming at his presumption and his belief that all Sienia students were nobles.

“Well, it’s not the best start… Anyway, nice to meet you, Ars. You too, Veselion.”

The boy extended his hand.

The act of calling someone by their family name instead of their given name was infuriating.

“…Yeah.”

Nigel gripped the boy’s hand firmly, repeating the word ‘trust’ in his mind.

“…Oh, okay.”

Despite the likely pain, the boy tried to act nonchalant as he shook hands, his hand turning red.

After the entrance ceremony started, they finally learned the name of the boy sitting next to them through the announcement.

“Sid Cromwell from the Department of Politics, please come to the podium.”

Sid Cromwell stood up and walked confidently to the podium.

‘Sid Cromwell…’

The Cromwell family was famous for producing renowned scholars and ministers. Nigel owned two books by authors with the surname Cromwell.

One was a philosophy book interpreting humility as humanity’s greatest value, and the other was a history book documenting good records of noblesse oblige.

‘…Books and reality are different after all.’

Nigel gave a mild applause as Sid displayed utmost humility while greeting the dean.

Bored by the lengthy entrance ceremony, Sid began whispering to Nigel.

“Ars, who taught you for the entrance exam? Teller? Orlend? Or both? No wonder they were unresponsive to my calls.”

“Alone.”

The boy tilted his head, as if mishearing.

“I studied alone.”

“What?”

“True learning is like being in a dark tunnel. Just as there is always light at the end of a dark tunnel, learning involves self-exploration.”

“Ars, are you…!”

“That’s a famous quote from Manel Cromwell’s ‘On the True Beauty of Humanity, Humility.’ I was deeply moved by it as a child and still read it often to remind myself.”

Nigel smirked.

Sid’s jaw dropped, his habit of tilting his chin vanishing, making his face more bearable to look at.

Ding. Ding.

The entrance ceremony ended, and it was lunchtime.

“Hey? Where’s Noah?”

Allen, who had approached Nigel cheerfully, paused at the sight of the empty seat.

“The dean called him. He said we should go ahead and eat.”

After the ceremony, Noah naturally followed Nigel, but was called by a red-haired professor.

“Oh. Then, Nigel, let’s use the teleport stone!”

Feeling hungry, Nigel nodded readily.

He took the teleport stone from his pocket, holding it in one hand and Allen’s soft hand in the other.

“Teleport, dining hall.”

The stone glowed, and the surroundings changed instantly.

Those in direct contact with the teleport stone’s owner were also teleported.

This was a discovery made after being persuaded by Allen to teleport over thirty times last night.

“Thanks, Nigel.”

“You’re welcome.”

Nigel filled his plate to the brim, while Allen took only the minimum amount of food and sat down.

“…Nigel? Are you sick? Why are you eating so slowly?”

“Having a staring contest with Sid Cromwell.”

Nigel replied, tearing into a sausage.

“What?”

Allen turned around in disbelief.

“…Really? Did you kill someone in Sid Cromwell’s family without realizing? He looks ready to kill you.”

“Of course not. I just told him I enjoyed Manel Cromwell’s book, and he overreacted.”

Recalling Sid’s face turning red made Nigel’s appetite surge.

Lowering his gaze from Sid, Nigel cheerfully resumed eating.

“Well… knowing Sid, I get it.”

Allen said, having abandoned his fork long ago.

“Why?”

Nigel asked, swallowing a sausage.