I Became an Extra Without Growth in the Academy

After finishing my chat with Alkiné and stepping out, I ended up face-to-face with the guy standing right in front of me.

Well, considering the only other guy here is Diggerus, I didn’t need to think twice about who it was.

“Can we talk for a minute?”

Diggerus said this with a nonchalant expression, as if nothing was wrong.

I wasn’t surprised at all; I had a feeling this would happen before I came out.

In the game, if the protagonist raises their reputation in the Student Council, there’s an event where they personally meet with Alkiné, and he reacts just like this.

He’s like a clingy, obsessed suitor trying to brush off any guys around the president with impeccable skill.

‘Now that’s some genuine dedication!’

Honestly, I didn’t mind Diggerus’s obsession with Alkiné.

After all, I knew that this clingy guy’s love would never be reciprocated.

Eventually, when the president doesn’t accept his feelings, he turns dark and does ridiculous things, but she overcomes it all effortlessly.

In the end, he’s a crazy character who, in a desperate bid for attention, ends up committing crimes and gets expelled from the Student Council, even kicked out of the academy!

He does play the role of a helper at the very end, but he only shows up briefly, and nobody really knows what he did.

Still… taking that aside, he was objectively a competent person.

So, Alkiné must know all about his dark intentions and still keeps him around as the vice president.

The real problem might be that I feel like I’ve become a target for this competent guy.

Diggerus pulled me behind the Student Council Building and immediately shot me a question.

“Are you going to be the secretary?”

“Well, since you’re pushing me so hard, how could I refuse?”

I answered like that, but honestly… if I had really made up my mind not to be the secretary, I could’ve avoided it somehow.

Thinking about it, when Alkiné joked about me leaving the Student Council, it seemed like a playful comment on her part.

But this new route with the student council officials? I couldn’t pass that up.

I was too curious about what kind of developments could happen.

Of course, I only thought of this reason later.

I’m in the habit of choosing one option when given choices, and earlier, I genuinely pondered whether to leave the Student Council or to take on the role of secretary.

But whatever it is, it’s important that I don’t regret it now.

After all, I came into the Student Council half-pushed, so what difference would taking on an official position make?

I had already come too far to worry about the consequences. It was probably time to let go of that worry.

“…If I’m here, why is the president…”

Meanwhile, he was mumbling something to himself.

Huh, look at that deadly gaze. Just because he’s smiling doesn’t mean it’s a friendly face.

Diggerus groaned for a while, then sighed and approached.

“I don’t know what happened today, but don’t get too full of yourself. You’re still a freshman and the youngest here. Got it?”

Although his tone was kind, knowing the context of the incident made it seem ridiculous from my perspective.

Did he completely forget that he was the reason I got involved?

If he hadn’t dragged me into that Rift ‘to show me some spicy flavor,’ things wouldn’t have escalated to this point, you jerk.

I had a lot I wanted to say, but I just held back and nodded, deciding to play the waiting game. A true pro waits for the right moment, after all.

‘Let’s see… was this Stage One?’

I had to act sweetly and pretend to be kind to keep my distance from the president.

That was the content of Diggerus’s Stage One event.

This event consists of three stages, and it ends in Stage Three with a good walloping after a good roasting in Stage Two.

Though there’s a development where I could time my retaliation to later on and beat up the vice president instead, I wasn’t planning anything according to the game’s plot, so let’s not focus on that.

The student council officials? There wasn’t such a development in the game.

Would a Stage Four suddenly pop up that isn’t even in the game?

I guess I’ll just stick close to Alkiné and scratch my own itch.

I might not win, but I’m confident I won’t get beaten up.

Completely unaware of my wicked thoughts, Diggerus said he’d leave first so I should come after a bit, and then he took off.

Hmm… But isn’t it weirder to go back separately after coming out together?

I couldn’t understand it, but regardless, I followed his instructions and, after a bit of a delay, I was caught by Grain.

“It’s my turn now, right? The president said you could go back with me. Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?”

“Um… How about the Student Cafeteria first? You haven’t eaten yet, right?”

That was true. After my training with Lilith, lunch was getting closer when I dashed to the Student Council.

Now that I checked the time, it was too late for lunch, but too early for dinner.

For someone like me who hadn’t eaten anything, any time was optimal, so it didn’t matter.

“Sounds good. You’re paying, right?”

“Hmmm, well… It’s a bit embarrassing to play the senior since I’m a second-year who got robbed by a freshman.”

I expected him to still hold onto that, but I didn’t think he’d openly express it.

He didn’t seem upset about it, so I felt comfortable to retort lightly.

“I apologize for not recognizing the great senior of the time…”

“What are you talking about? That’s weird. Don’t you get hit on by girls with that line?”

Why sprinkle salt over old wounds?

You know, I really didn’t want to die without experiencing love at least once.

“How beautiful is the back of someone who knows when to go… such fleeting moments…”

“What are you even saying… Alright, I’ll pay for the food, so stop with the weird talk.”

“Thank you, senior.”

Even though my heart was shattered into pieces, since he was paying, I would forgive him. People who buy you food are good people.

Having successfully secured a meal ticket, as we headed to the Student Cafeteria, Grain brought up the earlier incident.

“I heard about it. You got lost and came out alone.”

“Yeah. I just hid and somehow managed to survive…”

“You don’t need to think too much; I’ve heard everything was a lie.”

Eh? Weren’t we keeping that a secret?

Is it really okay to spread this around already?

“I know what you’re thinking, but the president was also trying to keep it under wraps. It just couldn’t be anymore.”

“What happened to make it that way…”

When I expressed confusion, she pointed a finger at me and replied.

“Starting from the dark energy sticking to your body, it’s easy to see that you’re lying. If it’s all visible like this, it’s hard to mislead anyone.”

Grain said the black aura coming from the Demon Race had clung to me in a creepy way.

If Alkiné looked like she’d rolled around in muddy water, I looked like I was buried in a mound of mud.

Knowing that it wasn’t something that would just show up from a few minor wounds, it made me immediately see through Alkiné’s lie.

‘So that’s why they could see it all.’

It turned out that locking eyes right after clearing the Rift wasn’t just coincidence.

For Grain, it must have been natural to be drawn to whatever dark energy was floating around.

Thinking like that made me understand why Alkiné seemed oddly calm even while pushing this nonexistent official position on me.

“Still, you’re pretty gutsy. Other people don’t even know what you did, yet you just accepted it like that?”

“I didn’t take it because I wanted to.”

“Please. You’re not showing any signs of displeasure about it. In fact, it seems like you’re actually quite happy now.”

“…Is that a talent?”

“No. Why would I have to use some genius talent to look at you?”

That might be true… but if we’re saying it’s not a talent, then that’s even more surprising.

Maybe I was influenced somehow? Otherwise, there’s no explanation for this overly keen perception.

After that conversation, nothing particularly special came up.

We just exchanged a few words about our future academy life or student council activities.

What can I say, I was relieved.

I thought knowing I had caught a Demon would make things awkward, but contrary to my expectations, I could engage in a normal senior-junior conversation.

If I wasn’t really that strong, but merely thought I was due to a happy coincidence, it would have been quite bitter to feel awkward.

Both Alkiné and Grain seemed pretty relaxed about it. Maybe not revealing my strength wouldn’t be that shocking after all.

Of course, I didn’t have the strength to be exposed… but anyway, I’d prefer to avoid learning more here.

As those thoughts crossed my mind, I found myself at the entrance of the Student Cafeteria.

What’s odd about the academy is that while they discriminate between lower, intermediate, and upper classes, the Student Cafeteria is mixed together.

Maybe they didn’t want to discriminate in food?

I’m not sure of the exact reason, but thanks to this, it was a truly great place to encounter a variety of people.

In a fantasy world, the Student Cafeteria acts like the guilds or taverns back in the day, serving as a gathering place.

With a thumping heart, I entered the Student Cafeteria, only to find an uproar inside.

Given the time, not many people were there, so what on earth was happening? As I looked around, it seemed most of the crowd was fixated on one spot.

Following their gazes, I spotted two familiar faces.

Seria and Lilith.

Once I recognized them, it made sense why the atmosphere was so chaotic.

They’re pretty famous within the academy.

It would be strange if the Princess and the Saintess weren’t well-known.

Just their presence would grab enough attention, but on top of that, they were stunningly beautiful.

And I don’t mean just pretty; they had the kind of looks that could captivate a whole crowd… so it’s no surprise the surroundings were all in a tizzy.

But why on earth are they having dinner so early?

I can understand Seria, who usually goes out at odd hours to avoid the crowd, but why is Lilith here? Isn’t she the type to eat late?

Still, I felt happy to meet them like this.

With that in mind, I moved closer to say hi…

“So, what? You didn’t come here to brag about needing help from Rudion, right? What do you want to say?”

“It’s not bragging; I just…”

“If it’s not urgent, I’d like to focus on my meal.”

She’s at it again, isn’t she?

Oh, or maybe not. This is probably the first time she’s acted like this here.

She didn’t act like this when she was around me, so I thought she had improved, but it turns out it was just because I started the conversation.

“Senior, I’ll be right back. Could you please order my meal first?”

“Uh… that looks pretty fierce. Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“No problem. Oh, I’m fine with the regular set meal.”

Seeing Lilith looking quite awkward, I decided to entrust the meal order to Grain and butt in between the two.

And a moment later, the ceiling of the Student Cafeteria exploded.

I’m not using that as a metaphor; it really blew up.

“The culprit was Seria.”

---