Chapter 2 - The First Heroine

["Why did you turn all of them down?"]

The younger student watching me play from behind asked the question. She was the one who had made this dating sim featuring beautiful girls—and the one who had talked me into playing it.

Rocking her chair, she regarded me with curiosity.

She was wearing a black skirt, yet she was crouched on the chair in a position that was, well, dangerously revealing.

Did she really notice me that little? It stung a bit.

["You said it was about the protagonist saving the world. Who cares about dating when the world's about to end? What a weird game."]

["What do you mean, weird? This is how these games work! It's a perfectly ordinary dating sim featuring beautiful girls!"]

Which meant it was weird...

Normal people didn't think dating sims were normal to begin with...

She'd titled it 《I'm a Lowborn Nobody, but Now That I've Enrolled at the Academy, All the Beautiful Girls Are Crazy About Me?!》 and expected it to be normal?

["I'm only asking because I didn't see any of the event CGs, but this isn't an adult game, is it?"]

["Who knows? Play it again and find out."]

["I'm definitely not playing it again."]

["Besides, we're adults. Is there a problem?"]

["Aren't there plenty...? If this is what you do for club activities...?"]

["Don't call it 'this'!"]

["You just did it yourself."]

Well, the truth was, I hadn't pursued anyone because none of the romanceable heroines was a mature older woman.

It was simply a matter of taste.

The academy teacher was more my type than those young heroines.

A woman whose age didn't start with a three didn't even register as a woman to me. In certain cases, a four worked too.

But admitting that to her might have jeopardized my social standing, so I'd blamed the game's story instead.

Anyway, setting aside my ever-so-slightly unusual tastes...

Since the heroines didn't interest me, I'd tried quitting the academy altogether, but every time I did, Laward died in some bizarre way.

He got killed by a carriage traveling at around ten kilometers an hour. A wound from being hit by an apple got infected and killed him. Things like that.

The game system did its absolute best to kill Laward in the least dignified ways possible.

Laward had to graduate from the academy, no matter what.

They probably hadn't implemented any other characters or events, so they'd forced him to stay there.

It was certainly a very game-like solution.

["Honestly. You're supposed to conquer the girls' hearts, not the final boss. I asked you to play because I wanted to find out what kind of woman you liked..."]

["Huh? What was that?"]

["Nothing. Anyway, congratulations. You've reached the only ending where the protagonist saves the world. The hidden ending."]

She pushed her glasses up with a decisive motion and spoke dryly.

Well, no.

It wasn't as though I'd been aiming for a hidden ending.

["It's a hidden ending that only appears when every heroine's affection is at its lowest. Getting it on your first playthrough... I suppose that's a talent in its own right."]

["It's a happy ending, anyway. If you pick a heroine, you get so busy fooling around with her that you ignore the mastermind and the world ends."]

["But you get to die beside the person you love most. Even if you become a hero, isn't that more romantic than dying sad and alone? An ending where you spend your final moments with the person you've chosen, right before the apocalypse!"]

She clasped her hands and spoke enthusiastically.

Hmm.

Her tastes weren't exactly normal either.

Back then, she'd been so fired up that I'd held my tongue rather than add fuel to the fire. But now I could say it with absolute certainty.

Without a doubt.

“That's just a bad ending.”

002

The slums.

A slave traders' hideout.

A boy struggled against the ropes binding him.

It was the protagonist, Laward.

His untended black hair had grown every which way, as though reflecting the rough life he'd led.

His tanned skin was coarse and dark, as if the shadows of the slums had settled over it.

The golden eyes barely visible through the hair falling across them were like gold bars discovered in the mud.

KNOCK, KNOCK.

At the sudden knocking, the two slave traders guarding Laward jerked their heads up.

They turned toward the door in perfect unison, as though they'd planned it.

“Who's that? At this hour?”

“... Don't tell me someone's tracked us down.”

The words were whispered as quietly as possible.

KNOCK. KNOCK.

The knocking continued.

“Tch.”

“Just get rid of them.”

Left with little choice, the slave traders approached the door slowly, daggers hidden behind their backs.

CREEEAK.

One of them opened the door a handspan to greet their unwelcome visitor.

“Hey. You've got the wrong place. Fuck off.”

He addressed the hooded man outside in no uncertain terms.

“I've come to share the good word.”

The hooded man, meanwhile, caught hold of the door and continued cheerfully.

“Do you believe in the Goddess?”

“... A preacher?”

The slave traders inwardly sighed with relief and loosened their grips on their daggers.

It happened occasionally: fanatics showing up unannounced, knocking on doors and demanding that people believe in their god.

“In the Book of Blessings, verse five, the Goddess said...”

“'Your mother,' I'll bet.”

The slave trader tried to slam the door irritably, but—

CRUNCH.

The fingers curled around the door through the gap held firm.

“You really ought to believe.”

The hooded man held the door in place with just one hand, despite the slave trader pulling with all his strength.

“What the hell? How are you this strong...?”

CLATTER!

At last, the door flew open, and the hooded man barged into the hideout uninvited.

Both slave traders realized it at once.

This was no ordinary preacher.

Now that it had come to this, they had to stop him.

“I said you've got the wrong place...”

Tightening their grips on their daggers again, they charged him.

“I told you you've got the wrong place, you fucker!”

As they rushed him at full speed, the hooded man inexplicably clapped his hands in delight.

“Ah, excellent! You want to meet the Goddess right away! In that case...”

HUMMM.

Both his hands shone with searing light.

“I'll send you straight to her. One blow.”

BOOM!

His fist slammed into a slave trader's face, and the man's head burst with pathetic ease.

It happened in an instant.

Literally one blow.

“A-aaargh!”

At the sight, the other man let out a shriek and thrust his dagger at the hooded man's flank.

A surprise attack from his blind spot.

But—

The hooded man whipped out a hand without even looking back.

Despite the surprise attack, his hand moved faster than the slave trader's dagger.

The light-clad edge of his hand swept across the slave trader's neck, severing his head as cleanly as a sword.

THUD.

Both men, robbed of their heads in an instant, collapsed.

Only the soft trickle of blood filled the hideout.

Footstep by footstep, the hooded man—Daywin—approached Laward across the bloodstained floor.

“Do you believe in the Goddess?”

Laward nodded and nodded and nodded, his face deathly pale as he bobbed his head like a madman.

'Good.'

Having just watched him kill the slave traders for insulting the Goddess, Laward might have taken it to mean, “Believe or I'll kill you too,” but results were what mattered.

Daywin had scoured slums across the country before finally finding Laward.

At last, he'd reached the protagonist and joined the game's storyline.

This time would be different.

Different from the harem route.

'Now I just have to instill some faith in him.'

The protagonist would become a paladin.

“... Thank you for saving me.”

Still bound with rope, Laward struggled to bow his head.

“I'm not the one you should thank.”

Daywin looked down at him and spoke as solemnly as he could.

“If you wish to give thanks, pray to the Goddess. She guided me here.”

He lied with a grave expression.

“The Goddess granted me a revelation. She told me there was a boy here who needed help.”

In truth, there had been no revelation. He'd only managed to find the place because it appeared in the game's opening.

According to the first act's scenario, Laward would escape on his own, and an academy teacher passing by would discover his talent and enroll him.

But Daywin had interrupted that sequence and inserted himself into it.

It didn't matter if it was a lie.

It didn't matter if the outcome was staged.

Now was the time to give Laward an experience beyond common sense and reason.

To instill faith in his very bones.

“The Goddess... knows things like that?”

“What an impertinent question. The Goddess knows all things.”

Saying things he'd never said in his life felt like thorns sprouting on Daywin's tongue, but he forced himself to endure it.

It was time to deliver the final blow.

“Indeed, Laward.”

Daywin spoke the boy's name.

As expected, hearing his name before they'd even introduced themselves made Laward's shoulders twitch.

'Now you'll ask how I know your name.'

“How do you know my name...?”

'Just as expected.'

Hidden in his hood's shadow, the corners of Daywin's mouth rose slightly.

“I believe I told you. The Goddess knows all things.”

Laward gazed up at him in rapture.

He was falling for another world's religious con.

“The Goddess commanded me to save you.”

His expression alone made it clear he'd already been won over.

“How can I... repay this kindness?”

“Pray. Repent and worship.”

And...

“Become a paladin.”

It felt like lightning flashing through his mind.

Laward's eyes widened.

“Become the sword of the divine.”

With every word Daywin uttered, Laward's gaze trembled wildly.

It felt as though an irresistible destiny was burrowing into his life.

Moreover, to Laward, Daywin looked like an apostle of the divine.

Though his life had been far removed from faith, he'd heard vague accounts of myths about the Goddess.

Especially the story of an angel.

A faceless angel who descended into the human world to save the poor and suffering.

He'd always thought it was an absurd fantasy, but now...

Laward had witnessed it.

He could bear testimony.

The hood pulled low over Daywin's head cast his face into shadow.

And there was the halo floating behind his head, the mark of a paladin wielding divine power.

That circular ring of light illuminated Daywin from behind.

With his face obscured by his hood and the backlighting, he looked every bit the faceless angel of myth.

'That story... was true.'

As Laward's misunderstanding began to take root, Daywin slipped a scrap of paper from inside his clothes and scribbled something on it.

“Take these.”

He handed over a holy scripture along with the scrap of paper.

“Once you've engraved the scripture on your heart, send a letter to this address. I'll show you the path to becoming a paladin.”

Barely suppressing the laughter threatening to escape, Daywin traced the holy sign before Laward's forehead.

“Young master, a letter has arrived. Another one from Laward.”

As the head butler spoke, a letter was placed on the desk in the study.

I slit open the envelope and took it out, revealing Laward's painstakingly written words.

『To my esteemed mentor,

I trust you have been well.

It is I, Laward, writing to greet you.

As spring brings new life to all things, I sincerely pray that health and happiness will always grace your household.』

For an uneducated kid from the slums, that greeting could rival a school principal's address.

Had he practiced just to write this letter?

Since that day, I'd been corresponding with Laward, teaching him the process and fundamentals of becoming a paladin.

All I'd done was teach him a single bottom-tier, F-rank spell, and he'd started calling me his “esteemed mentor.” It was a bit much.

『Thanks to your material and moral support, I placed first in the academy entrance examination.』

“First place, huh.”

Was a protagonist still a protagonist, no matter how things played out?

If I didn't send him to the academy at all, he'd never become involved with the heroines... but then this world would find some way to kill Laward.

In some utterly ridiculous fashion.

I'd had no choice but to push him into the academy.

『Graduating from the academy with excellent grades grants one the privilege of joining the royal knights.

Nevertheless, as you instructed, I intend to volunteer for the paladin order.

Like you, I wish to become an apostle of the Goddess and help those in need.

Until the day I die, I will never forget your kindness in saving me that day.

I will continue to study and apply myself.

Respectfully,

Laward.』

“Heh, heh.”

I covered my mouth to stifle my undignified laughter.

“At last. I've finally done it.”

After scouring the country to find Laward, I'd steadily supported him and instilled faith in him.

As a result...

The protagonist was now on the paladin route.

For paladins, not only marriage but even harboring passion in their hearts was considered a terrible sin.

A paladin who failed to remain chaste was committing a mortal sin by that fact alone.

They were acknowledged only by defying human instinct.

The more I reflected on having walked that goddamn path, the more I pitied myself.

Good job holding out all this time, me.

Now the scumbag who'd married five beautiful girls was going to become a paladin in my place.

He would shoulder the task of saving the world.

Alone, on that noble, lonely path.

With this, all of Laward's romance routes were as good as sealed off.

Just as planned.

“I heard the Goddess asked Laward to meet her behind the old school building.”

“The old building? Isn't that the... spot where people confess?”

The Goddess.

It was the nickname of Esther, a first-year student in the academy's magic department.

An apt nickname for a girl whose overwhelming beauty made the word “beautiful” seem inadequate.

“Didn't you get that backward? You're saying Esther called Laward out there, not the other way around?”

“Don't you know anything? You're friends with Laward. Didn't you spar with him the other day?”

“What are you talking about? I don't know that bastard. That... worst creature humanity's ever produced...”

The rumor spread fast, and Laward lost even the few friends he had in an instant.

“It might not be a confession. The Goddess having a crush on some guy? That's impossible.”

Unable to stand it any longer, the male students rushed to the old school building.

When they arrived, Esther really was standing in a secluded spot behind it.

Esther.

Eye-catching silver hair.

Eyes with a subtle orange glow, reminiscent of dawn.

Her red lips stood out against her luminous white skin. Even the slightest smile seemed to change the air around her.

Whenever her alluring gaze swept past beneath those long lashes, every boy imagined she'd been looking at him.

They didn't care if it was only their imagination.

Perhaps that was why, from the moment Esther enrolled, boys of every sort had called her out to the old school building—only to have their hearts shattered against her ironclad defenses.

But now...

“Yes, I'm telling you I'm interested in you.”

She announced it to Laward with her head held high.

The girl who had only ever received confessions was making one herself.

“You placed first in the entrance exam, didn't you? I've been interested in you ever since. I felt there was a lot I could learn from you. Besides, you're the only boy who doesn't call me the Goddess. So, what's your answer? How long do you intend to leave me standing here?”

Unlike Esther, whose embarrassment showed despite her efforts to conceal it, Laward looked impassive.

It was strange.

Normally, he should have looked surprised or delighted, but his expression remained stiff and flat.

And perhaps...

He even looked displeased.

His unexpected reaction flustered Esther, but she did her best not to show it.

“Well, of course. A girl of my caliber has just told you she's attracted to you. I understand why you're overwhelmed.”

She swept back her hair and adopted a confident expression.

Just then, Laward strode up to her.

“Wh-what is it?”

At his sudden proximity, she blushed and took a step back.

'The other students are watching... If we're going to date, w-we should start by holding hands...'

She'd naturally assumed her confession would succeed, but she hadn't expected things to move so quickly.

Just as Laward's unexpectedly forward behavior began to make her heart flutter, he spoke.

“Indeed, they have been calling you the Goddess.”

“Yes. It wasn't something I asked for, but I can't deny that I attract a great deal of attention. So you should consider yourself honored...”

“How dare you.”

In an instant, Laward's gaze sharpened.

“You don't know your place.”

“... Pardon?”

“A lowly lump of flesh like you, allowing yourself to be called by Her sacred title? It's blasphemy. You disgust me.”

Laward looked down at her.

Glared at her with contempt.

“You'd do well to stay out of my sight from now on. This is the end of my patience.”

With one last icy look, Laward turned and left.

Had things followed the game's scenario, the old school building event would have presented two choices.

Accept Esther's confession.

Reject Esther's confession.

Choosing the first would begin the route where Esther became the primary wife. Choosing the second would branch into the harem route and the route where Esther lost out.

But Laward had chosen a third option.

Trample Esther's heart.

He'd gone beyond the choices provided.

After meeting Daywin, Laward had developed a profound faith.

To him, Esther looked like nothing but an impious woman.

A woman harboring lust in a place of learning. How vulgar.

Meanwhile, Esther covered her lips with a trembling hand.

She stood there blankly for about three seconds. Then her large eyes filled with tears.

Her face hadn't yet caught up with reality, but, infuriatingly, her tear ducts reacted on their own.

“Huh...?”

The first heroine, Esther.

For the first time in her life, she tasted the humiliation of being rejected by a man.