NOVEL NEXT Episode 14: Characters + α (Chapter 3)
Episode 14: Characters + α (Chapter 3)
Characters (Ages as of the end of Chapter 3)
Mine Fireworks (Age 15)
– The protagonist of this story. Known as the “Guardian of the Beloved Child.” Honorary baron. A civil engineer adventurer and custodian at Hartelia Royal Academy. He inflicted severe damage on the Principality of Almira by sending an elite orc unit against them when they attempted to invade Hartelia. He also thwarted a coup by the academy principal and assassinated the mastermind, Edwin Gladiol. Additionally, he killed a significant figure with an explosive spell set in the underground of Count Vingul’s mansion.
Mine’s Player (In his thirties)
– Currently modifying [Bullet]. Recently, he’s been thinking, “My thoughts have been influenced by this otherworld…”
Seira Fireworks (Age 6)
– A girl adopted by Mine. She has the [Spirit Eyes] with ice and light attributes. Living with Mine in the detached house of the Border Count of Obraine. They have a very good relationship with the Obraine family. It was revealed that she is the granddaughter of Marquis Belgard. She is loved by everyone in the marquis family.
Kingdom of Hartelia
Obraine Border Count Family
Lux Obraine (Age 35)
– The current head of the House of Obraine Border Count in the Kingdom of Hartelia. Currently based in the royal capital, monitoring the activities of various nobles. A good understanding of Mine, he persuaded the king against ennobling him. Aware of Mine’s true identity but has not disclosed it to him. Played a significant role in the thwarted coup by the academy principal.
Aina Obraine (Age 33)
– Lux’s wife. Treats Seira as if she were her own daughter.
Alt Obraine (Age 13)
– Lux’s eldest son. A first-year student at Hartelia Royal Academy. One of the most skilled students despite being a first-year. Defeated Iris Dawson in the final of the martial arts tournament and got engaged.
Liela Obraine (Age 8)
– Lux’s eldest daughter. Has an affinity for water, ice, and light attributes, with magical talents comparable to Mine. Receiving magic training from Mine and Sasha along with Seira.
Thor Obraine (Age 2)
– Lux’s second son. Loves Liela and Seira very much.
Hale Obraine (Age 56)
– Lux’s father and former border count. A free spirited man who had retired on his own, now managing the territory as Lux moved to the capital. Frequently relieves stress in the forest.
Dahlia Obraine (Age 54)
– Hale’s wife and Lux’s mother. Lives in Ortya with Hale.
Wayne Fenfield (Age 40)
– A baron serving Lux. One of Lux’s bodyguards and advisors, leaving his estate to his wife and children. Reached the quarterfinals in a past martial arts festival. Known by the nickname “Swift Sword.” Played a significant role in thwarting the coup by the academy principal.
Dil Henrick (Age 48)
– A baron serving Lux and one of his bodyguards and advisors. Leads the Obraine Border Count army’s mages. Co-manages the territory with Hale. His hobby is magical research and he is very interested in [Tamaya].
Belgard Marquis Family
Lloyd Belgard (Age 50)
– The current head of the Belgard Marquis family, leading the neutral faction. Possesses [Spirit Sense] ability. Seira’s grandfather. Shed tears upon seeing the figure of a spirit. Sent Nevil to investigate the suspicious activities at the academy. Recently, he’s been overjoyed as Seira has started calling him grandpa.
Yurina Belgard (Age 47)
– Lloyd’s wife. They have a good marriage with four sons and one daughter. Acts as the brake for the Belgard Marquis family. Treats Seira like her own granddaughter.
Neil Belgard (Age 28)
– Lloyd’s eldest son. Possesses [Spirit Sense] ability. Increasingly taking over Lloyd’s duties as the future marquis. Cried when he saw a spirit for the first time.
Hart Belgard (Age 27)
– Not yet appeared in the main story. Lloyd’s second son. Assists in the administration of the territory. Frustrated that he is the only one who cannot see spirits.
Nevil Belgard (Age 24)
– Lloyd’s third son. Possesses [Spirit Sense] ability and is skilled but somewhat careless. Once fought Fenfield in the martial arts festival. Reunited with Fenfield while serving as a guard and realized Seira was alive. Later became a special instructor at the academy and played a significant role in thwarting the principal’s coup attempt. Has a good relationship with spirits, who often treat him like a toy.
Kyle Belgard (Age 22)
– Lloyd’s fourth son. Always serves beside the king as a royal guard. Known for his silence and stubborn loyalty to the king. Was briefly taken hostage during the principal’s coup attempt, but excelled after the king’s release. Was moved when he saw a spirit for the first time.
Royal Family of Hartelia
Kurt Sol Hartelia (Age 19)
– The new king of the Kingdom of Hartelia. The sixth son of the previous king. Chosen as the new king due to his excellence and good character. To address the shortage of talent, he decided to admit commoners to the royal academy, following the example of Alteria, which caused some noble backlash. Was briefly taken hostage during the principal’s coup attempt but was rescued by Mine. Almost realized the truth of the turmoil two years ago but decided to ignore it. His naming sense is on par with Mine’s.
[Original Work]: Does not appear in the original work.
Norris Dawson (Age 38)
– A royal guard of the Kingdom of Hartelia, always accompanying the king. One of the kingdom’s top fighters, having won the martial arts festival. Was briefly taken hostage during the principal’s coup attempt but excelled after the king’s release. Relieved that his daughter’s marriage has finally been arranged.
[Original Work]: Appears as one of the royal guards. Mine’s player does not remember him.
Hartelia Royal Academy
Heine Gergust (Age 37)
– Principal of Hartelia Royal Academy. The second son of a duke, chosen as principal for his abilities and ennobled as a count. Initially, he believed accepting commoners was inevitable given Hartelia’s situation. However, due to his dark attributes that have a high affinity with Gladiol’s chaos magic, increased his nobles’ sense of privilege and hostility towards commoners, leading him to attempt a reckless coup. Briefly took the king hostage but was buried by Mine. Scheduled for execution soon.
[Original Work]: Appears in the Battle of Hartelion but is not remembered by Mine’s player.
Liza Drastin (In her fifties)
– Wife of Marquis Drastin and vice-principal of Hartelia Royal Academy. Trained for three years at Alteria Royal Academy, where she met Mine. Has [Magic Sense] ability and understands Mine’s abilities to some extent, thus entrusting him with the stage for the finals. Played a significant role in thwarting the principal’s coup attempt and was appointed as the new principal afterward. Apparently struck the long-winded marquis with a huge lightning bolt after the entrance ceremony, using magic.
[Original Work]: Does not appear in the original work.
Walz (Age 40)
– Custodian at Hartelia Royal Academy. Knight baronet. A veteran with twenty years of service. Often accompanies Mine and teaches him about various things he’s unfamiliar with. Played a significant role in the principal’s coup attempt by beating up Mr. Sarcastic Guy and others who kept interfering. Was offered a promotion to baron but declined as it did not suit him.
[Original Work]: Does not appear in the original work.
Mr. Sarcastic Guy (Mid-twenties)
– Custodian at Hartelia Royal Academy. The fourth son of an earl. Dislikes commoners and dislikes Mine and Walz. Sided with the principal during the coup attempt but was beaten up by Walz when distracted by the principal’s sudden burial. Scheduled for execution soon.
[Original Work]: Does not appear in the original work.
Iris Dawson (Age 16)
– Fourth-year student at Hartelia Royal Academy. Eldest daughter of Norris Dawson. Influenced by her father, she loves martial arts and has long claimed she would marry someone stronger than herself, causing her father much worry. Held a three-year winning streak in the martial arts tournament but was defeated by Alt and is now preparing for marriage while continuing her training.
[Original Work]: Does not appear in the original work.
Axe-User (Age 15)
– Third-year student at Hartelia Royal Academy. One of the top fighters, following Alt and Iris. Trained with the goal of defeating Iris but was defeated by Alt in his first match.
[Original Work]: Appeared as one of the royal guards, but Mine’s player does not remember.
Other Nobles
Sean Febris (Mid-twenties)
– Third son of the Febris Count family. Responsible for the maintenance of the academy’s training grounds. An outstanding individual who was ennobled as a baron as scheduled.
[Original Work]: Does not appear in the original work.
Hamil Febris (Late twenties)
– Second son of the Febris Count family. His jealousy towards his brother Sean was amplified by Gladiol, leading him to interfere with Sean. After being involved with Mine and others, his actions were discovered, and he was expelled from the count’s family. He was caught while planning an attack on Mine and others.
[Original Work]: Does not appear in the original work.
Mild Vingul (Late forties)
– Count of the Kingdom of Hartelia. Became a puppet of Gladiol and was a leader of the former war faction nobles. Planned a rebellion but was dissuaded by his eldest son, Davil. After the kingdom’s defenses were weakened following an invasion by the Theocracy and Principality, he intended to lead a rebellion with the war faction nobles. Was killed by Mine’s sniping during a meeting with Gladiol.
[Original Work]: Appears as one of the war faction nobles, but Mine’s player does not remember.
Davil Vingul (Mid-twenties)
– Concerned about his father’s submissiveness to Gladiol. Met Mine shortly after the defeat of Rosand and guided him to the teleportation magic circle in the mansion’s basement. Due to having a dissuaded past rebellion, the Vingul Count family was allowed to continue under supervision.
[Original Work]: Does not appear in the original work.
Commoners
Sasha (Age 29)
– After leaving the church, she runs an orphanage in the slums while teaching the children both academics and magic at a private school. Three of her students were accepted as the first commoners at the royal academy. At Mine’s request, she helped track down and defeat Gladiol. A good confidant to Mine, advising on the education of Liela and Seira and interactions with the Belgard family.
Rick, Mary, Lumina (Early teens)
– Children attending Sasha’s private school. Passed the entrance exam and became the first commoners admitted to Hartelia Royal Academy.
Miltia Theocracy
Edwin Gladiol (Mid-thirties)
– Officially a merchant in the Almira Principality’s commercial guild but secretly responsible for covert operations for the Miltia Church. A rare user of chaos attribute magic, but not highly skilled in combat. Used Hamil and bandits to distract the academy from the activities of Gergust and others. Pulled the Principality into a pincer attack plan with Miltia, orchestrated a coup by the principal, and attempted an uprising with Count Vingul to bring down Hartelia. However, the Principality’s attack was thwarted by an orc raid, and the coup failed. Was killed by Mine’s sniping while directing future actions to Vingul on his way back to the church. Despite being a major antagonist, he had no dialogue or direct encounters with Mine.
[Original Work]: Appears as an executive of the commercial guild. Publicly declared his opposition to Hartelia early on and supported the protagonist’s resistance army. However, secretly, he was a covert agent aiming for the Miltia Church’s takeover of the Hartelia Kingdom by manipulating the royal family, infiltrating the commercial guild, and destabilizing the Principality from within. After the Principality’s fall, he intensified efforts to take over the commercial guild while also attempting to approach the central figures of various countries as a contingency plan. In the original work, except for one route, he ended up as an ally of the protagonist.
Chaos Magic
– A rare attribute that affects the mental state of people. It can amplify or diminish others’ emotions. The effects and duration are initially modest on first-time targets, but repeated use can strengthen the effects and extend the duration. Long-term exposure can warp personalities. However, the effectiveness and duration vary depending on the target’s attributes, so careful selection of targets is necessary. While the effects of chaos magic can be nullified by [Calm] or [Purification] spells, any warped personalities cannot be restored. Gladiol combined this magic with information, weaknesses, and money he obtained through his merchant activities to control his targets’ actions.
Rosand (Early thirties)
– A “Miltia Apostle” who guarded Gladiol. A warrior wielding a large axe. He matched Mine in power and speed but surpassed him in skill. However, he was defeated by trickery and crushed to death.
[Original Work]: One of the strongest among the “Miltia Apostles.” He confronted the protagonist’s resistance army at the end of the “War Arc” but was defeated by the reinforcement, Earl Hertia
???
– A person who teleported to the Vingul territory to search for the missing Gladiol. Noticed the presence of a landmine immediately after teleportation but was killed in the explosion when a companion stepped out of the magic circle. According to the spirits, this person had an arrogant demeanor.
Kingdom of Alteria
Aria Sairen (Age 15)
– A girl whom Mine spoke to during the entrance exam at the Alteria Royal Academy. Consistently ranks among the top in academics. Wants to express her gratitude to Mine.
Protagonist of the Original Work (Age 12)
– Not appeared in the main story. It is unclear if he exists. Chronologically, he would be enrolled in the Alteria Royal Academy. At this point, there are only a few events involving Hartelia or Miltia, so the story seems to be progressing as in the original.
[Original Work]: Enrolled in the Alteria Royal Academy and was targeted by noble faction students like Cain Arlight. Formed close friendships with fellow commoner students, Shal and Roland, and Viscount daughter, Diana Dirlston, while improving his skills. Despite being a first-year student, he performed well in the martial arts tournament, drawing attention but also deepening conflicts with noble faction students.
Principality of Almira
Count Zigalde (Late 40s)
– A noble entrusted with the border with Hartelia. Influenced by Gladiol’s magic, he, along with the Minister of Military Affairs, strongly advocated for and implemented a joint attack on Hartelia with Miltia. However, he was killed by an orc raid during the invasion preparations. The Principality suffered significant losses in this battle and abandoned the plan to attack Hartelia.
[Original Work]: First appeared in the “War Arc” as a count of the Hartelia Kingdom. Mine’s player does not remember.
The Behind-the-Scenes Story of Almira Principality’s Fall in the Original Work
– The principality gathered troops near the border upon learning of Hartelia’s advance. However, Count Zigalde, already under Gladiol’s influence, quickly defected, leading to the capital’s fall and the principality’s demise. The defectors retained their noble status in Hartelia and began a standoff with Melnier. There were rumors that members of the Almira ducal family escaped to Melnier, but their truth remains unknown.