#014 The Mysterious Girl
The first weekend after entering the academy.
After the rumor spread within the academy that I was Amethyst’s fiancé, Ruby, upon learning about it, said to me.
“Leave.”
“Miss… It’s not that we actually got engaged; there are unavoidable circumstances…”
“I said leave.”
“Yes.”
It was risky to provoke Ruby any further beyond this point.
If her temper flared, I might end up burnt to a crisp, not even leaving bones behind.
Eventually, I was driven out of the room, sitting in the corridor with only clothes on.
***
‘It’s frustrating…’
I knew Ruby would get angry if she heard the rumors, but I never imagined it would be like this.
The dormitory corridor on the weekend was deserted, not a single person in sight.
Most students were either resting in their rooms or out somewhere.
Being expelled without even grabbing my wallet, going out wasn’t an option for me.
‘A stroll…? Or maybe Dia’s room?’
Walking in the backyard was nauseatingly common on weekdays, thanks to Amethyst, and now that I thought about it, Dia was Amethyst’s roommate.
Considering why Ruby was angry, being where Amethyst was right now was tantamount to suicidal behavior.
‘I can’t think of anyone else.’
I could once again confirm how narrow my social circle had become.
For now, to overcome the boredom, I decided to wander around the academy as circumstances dictated.
As I did, places I had missed or passed by when walking with Ruby started catching my eye.
‘Now I see, they all have signs.’
Many rooms I glanced at during classes turned out to be club rooms for students’ extracurricular activities.
The functionality of clubs in the original game was almost inferior compared to the real thing.
The protagonist receives a bonus to their abilities based on the type of club they choose, and unless they’re a player focusing solely on capturing a specific heroine, they opted for the Student Council, hands down.
Unlike other clubs, the Student Council, rather than boosting specific abilities, raised all of them adequately. Joining was challenging, but once in, it provided a deceptive advantage in the latter part, where abilities took a different turn.
Today, almost every student concealed themselves in the academy for the weekend.
Not only the Student Council, but most club rooms were either empty or locked.
In the end, unable to overcome my frustration, I stepped into the backyard and started a brisk walk.
Why is the concept of time always accurate?
When next to Ruby, the time that flowed so quickly felt disgustingly prolonged when left alone.
Reflecting on my situation as a maid who couldn’t stay by the owner’s side, I continued to cross the backyard and inadvertently reached near the academy’s walls.
‘Get a grip on yourself… huh?’
Raising my head and looking up, there was a building I hadn’t seen before.
‘Did this exist?’
Compared to other facilities, it was an interior that seemed unusually old and worn-out.
I cautiously grabbed the creaking doorknob, enhancing the mysterious feeling with ivy climbing the wooden walls.
Approaching it as if enchanted by something, I opened the door with a careful creak.
“Excuse me…”
As I entered, towering shelves filled tightly with books greeted me.
The blend of the earthy scent of wood and the aroma of paper eased my mind.
‘…Is nobody here?’
Searching diligently, somewhere, I heard a sudden sound of something falling.
“…!”
Startled by the sound, he immediately turned his head to look at the origin of the noise.
Behind a stack of books, a pair of rosy eyes stared back at him.
“…Um… over there…”
Someone peeked out, revealing themselves with a playful gesture.
With mysterious violet curls covering one eye, she resembled a cute small creature due to her petite stature.
Twirling the end of her hair with her fingers, she looked at me curiously and asked, “Are you here to read books, by any chance?”
Wearing the same white uniform as me, indicating she was a commoner, her ribbon matched the color on her chest, suggesting she was probably in the same first year.
I looked at her with curious eyes and replied, “No, just happened to stop by while passing through.”
Considering the seemingly decent size of the library, it was puzzling why it was left in such a deteriorated state.
“Is this a library? I’ve never heard about a place like this.”
“Yeah, I’m the only one who comes here…”
I couldn’t recall such a location being mentioned in the original game.
Despite my numerous questions, encountering a commoner high school girl who treated me normally for the first time made me so happy that I greeted her first.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Amber.”
“…Amber, huh? It’s a pretty name.”
She quietly murmured my name.
“And you?”
She answered my question, clasping her hands together.
“…Coral.”
“Coral…?”
Seeing my reaction, Coral tilted her head and said.
“…Coral Hestia. Is it strange…?”
Let me correct myself.
She was not an ordinary commoner schoolgirl.
Coral Hestia.
She was one of the official heroines in the romance game [Lesbian Magic Chronicles], and the only commoner among the capture targets.
Coral’s capture route was notorious among players for its absurd difficulty.
It would have been better if it required certain stats to engage in conversations, like Amethyst.
Coral Hestia was a heroine as rare as finding a star in the sky.
She always wandered alone, living up to her nickname “The Enigmatic Girl,” so the opportunity to talk with her was extremely scarce, except during classes.
Players who were captivated by Coral’s unique mystique and started capturing her would often end up with a solo ending without even filling up their affection gauge.
The biggest reason for this was the developers who set Coral’s malicious appearance rate.
In general, all heroines could be visited on weekends to build up a lot of affection, but the chance of Coral being in her room on weekends was a mere 9.8%.
It was a probability that you had to repeatedly save and load the game, turning it off and on about twenty times, just to have a chance to meet her. At this point, it could be said that the developers intentionally tried to extend the playtime.
As I recalled the difficult gameplay of that time, Coral spoke softly to me.
“…I never expected someone else to come here.”
Now that I think about it, her aura fit this library very well.
“Coral, do you come here often?”
“Yeah. When I’m not in class, I spend most of my time here.”
‘A mystery has been revealed…’
The topic of where Coral goes every weekend was such a hot debate among users that they engaged in heated discussions over possible answers.
All the players, including myself, had their questions answered.
She was right here, hidden in this old and shabby library.
Not even a place implemented in the game for players to enter.
Regardless, it was an unexpected discovery.
One curiosity was satisfied, and it felt like finding a secret space.
“Coral, is it okay if I take a break here?”
“…Yeah. You can come hang out anytime. It’s just me here all day.”
I was worried about where to spend time on a weekend like today, but just reading the books here seemed to make the day fly by.
While searching for a worthwhile book, I saw Coral stacking and organizing books.
“What are you doing with those?”
…!
Coral, startled by suddenly being addressed, calmly stacked the books again and said,
“Oh… I was just organizing the books.”
She was categorizing the books in the library by topic, even though no one had asked her to.
“Your dedication is impressive.”
“No, it’s just something I enjoy doing.”
To organize this many books alone, it seemed like I would need to invest at least a few months.
In reality, I spent most of my time here on book classification.
“Coral, I’ll help you too.”
“Really? Amber doesn’t need to do that…”
“It’s okay. I didn’t have anything else to do anyway.”
As I helped her categorize the books, I once again marveled at the extensive scale of the library.
From Noble mtl dot com
“By the way, Coral, how did you find this place?”
Looking at it from the outside, it seemed like a place that had been neglected for at least a few years. I was curious how she discovered it.
“…A friend told me.”
“A friend? Who?”
“…Um.”
In response to my question, Coral hesitated strangely and couldn’t give a clear answer.
“…Even if you tell me, I won’t laugh, okay?”
“Sure. It’s not something to laugh about in the first place.”
Continuing to hesitate, Coral eventually spoke.
“…My ghost friend told me.”
“Ah.”
I had forgotten.
Coral had the ability to see dead people.
Call it spiritual ability, different from magic, it was her unique and special power.
If she hadn’t known in advance, she would have been quite bewildered after hearing what she said.
“Wherever you go, you must have a lot of friends. Never a lonely moment.”
“…That’s an unexpected reaction. Intriguing.”
Coral spoke with a slight smile.
“People usually find it unpleasant. If I tell them about this.”
“…Is that so? Pardon my ignorance.”
“Mostly. Amber might be unusual.”
After silently organizing books, Coral discovered a book with an intriguing cover.
“The title is faded and hard to see. Let me check…”
Even trying to read the faded letters didn’t make it clear.
“In my novel… War? Reincarnation? What did I write?”
As I was carefully examining the book, Coral struck up a conversation.
“Oh, that’s a novel.”
“A novel?”
I had thought that there were only books with dry information, but I was surprised to find a novel here.
“It looks interesting. Should I give it a read?”
“Well… I wouldn’t particularly recommend it. It has too many unnecessarily cruel scenes.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll steer clear. I’m not a fan of excessive cruelty.”
Coral’s advice, coming from a bookworm, seemed worth heeding.
I tossed the book I was holding aside and asked her.
“Coral, do you have any novels that I might find interesting to read?”
“Well, what kind of content are you looking for?”
“Something that involves adventure, romance, and has a happy ending.”
“…Unfortunately, we don’t have any novels in this library that have all three of those elements, Amber.”
I thought it was quite cliché, but it seemed that it wasn’t the case in this world.
While searching for something to read, Coral caught my eye with a bookmarked book.
“What about that one?”
“Huh? Which one?”
“The book you’re reading right now. It looks interesting, doesn’t it?”
When I showed interest in it, Coral slightly flustered and covered the book cover.
“Oh… this one is a bit…”
“Why? What’s the content?”
“…It’s, um, a romance.”
Come to think of it, since this world is originally a fantasy world, the romance genre would naturally be all fantasy romance.
“It sounds fun. Can I read it after you?”
“…This is the second volume. It would be better for you to start from the first volume if you’re going to read it… I think.”
Coral made a slightly awkward expression and rummaged through the book to hand me the first volume.
‘The Red Fox and the Blue Peacock. It’s a title that looks intriguing.’
Although the title is more of a traditional fantasy naming than a romance fantasy, I was still excited.
– Daeng.
The large clock on the library wall announced 6 p.m.
‘Has the time really passed like this?’
Despite only organizing books with Coral, time had swiftly slipped away.
“Coral, we should probably go. Our lady might be worried by now.”
By now, Ruby was probably glaring at the clock with clenched fists.
“Yeah, let’s go…”
“Can I borrow this book?”
As I picked up the book and stood up, Coral muttered something.
“Wait, I haven’t explained about the book yet…”
“It’s okay. I’ll read it and share my thoughts. See you, Coral!”
I walked out of the library with lighter steps.
I must have made a commoner friend too. Coming here today was a good decision.
“Miss, I’m here.”
Opening the door to the dormitory and entering, Ruby greeted me with a seriously dark expression.
“…Looks like you’re having fun? Amber?”
…”
After that, I sweated a lot explaining the rumors about the engagement with Amethyst.
***
Late at night, with a single small candle lit, I opened the borrowed book.
[ The Red Fox and the Blue Peacock ]
‘I look forward to it. What could be the content?’
As I eagerly read through the exciting beginning, I sensed something unusual.
‘…Why hasn’t a single man appeared?’
The only characters are a fierce noblewoman and an innocent maid.
Although it was supposed to be a romance, a suitable male lead had not yet appeared.
‘Well, it’s only the first volume. Maybe he’ll show up in the later chapters.’
However, even until the last chapter of the book, not a single male character had appeared.
The first was an embrace, the second was a kiss, and the third…
Continuing with the heartfelt affection scenes between the characters, but there was no sign of a man.
