Chapter 62
Over the past few days, we had become the stars of the Academy.
No matter where we went within the Academy, people recognized us and praised our actions at the Beast Ranch.
The news that mere Academy students had subdued the Demon responsible for the beast rampage spread like wildfire.
Since the nation’s largest theme park had been attacked by terrorists, the aftermath was bound to be massive.
Thanks to that, I ended up appearing on the media—something that wasn’t even in my destiny.
Fortunately, since I hadn’t done anything that stood out too much, the attention on me was buried under the others.
Most of the focus went to Park Siwoo, Dan Chun-woo, and Helena, who had fought hard on the frontlines.
Perhaps because Helena and Dan Chun-woo came from prestigious families, they handled the cameras with ease.
Since those guys were taking all the media attention, I was honestly grateful.
That was why I was currently going around on my own, leaving them behind.
Of course, that didn’t mean the attention toward me had completely died down.
As I walked down the corridor, I caught snippets of the cadets’ conversations.
“Hey, that’s the guy who helped during the beast rampage, right?”
“Yeah. But did they really take down a Demon? I heard there’s no proof they actually did.”
Especially toward me, there were plenty of unfavorable gazes.
Helena and Dan Chun-woo had impressive family backgrounds, and Park Siwoo had claimed the Academy’s top rank despite them.
Compared to them, there wasn’t much publicly known about me.
So they said things behind my back—words they wouldn’t dare say in front of the others.
“I heard there’s going to be an award ceremony too. For the entire student body.”
Come to think of it, I had heard something like that.
Instructor Kang Jae-seok had mentioned it, but I’d completely forgotten.
The award ceremony was an unexpected bonus.
In truth, just the fact that I had foiled Berid’s scheme and that the Academy’s public trust and reputation had risen because of it was already a more than satisfying reward.
Above all, it was satisfying to have given Berid a massive slap in the face.
Anyway, since it was an award ceremony involving all the students, I could expect a decent bonus.
Considering the Academy’s vast grounds and cutting-edge facilities, it was clear that the Academy was rich—and known for spending its money well.
Wandering aimlessly, I eventually found myself standing before the Student Council room.
Naturally, the reason was to meet Berid.
Honestly, I’d expected him to summon me immediately or even barge into my dorm room uninvited.
But unexpectedly, three days had passed before he sent a very polite request, asking me to come to the Student Council room.
Perhaps the little display of power I’d shown back then had been effective after all.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, Berid, who had clearly set up a serious atmosphere, greeted me.
“Welcome. Thank you for coming.”
“It’s been a while.”
“Indeed. A lot has happened.”
As he said that, he took off his glasses and set them down on the desk.
“You must already know why I called you, right?”
“How could I not?”
The door to the Student Council room suddenly shut on its own with a loud thud.
“Please, have a seat.”
As I sat on the sofa, a cup of warm tea was placed before me.
I could clearly feel that his attitude had changed.
Previously, even when he acted polite, there had always been a hint of condescension underneath. But now, there was no such pretense.
However, that wasn’t necessarily a good thing either.
Instead, I could feel a distinct wariness—a wall between us.
Berid took a sip of his steaming tea and looked at me.
“You’ve become quite the celebrity since I last saw you.”
He spoke in a roundabout way, but his intent was obvious.
He was asking why I had helped subdue the Demon of Pandemonium.
To that question, I gave him an equally straightforward answer.
“Thanks to someone, all my efforts to stay hidden have gone to waste. Fame? How absurd.”
Berid’s teacup trembled slightly.
Rather than answering his question, I rebuked him instead.
My mission from Pandemonium had been to find the hidden Gate within the Academy.
Since the Gate was of immense importance, I was supposed to operate completely under the radar.
But because of the beast rampage incident, I’d become a public figure.
I used that as a chance to make Berid and his subordinates look incompetent.
He set his teacup down on the desk.
The clinking sound of porcelain rang louder than usual—surely not my imagination.
“You were there when Boris was subdued, and again when they stopped the beast rampage.”
“So what?”
“How can you say so what!?”
I casually picked at my ear at his outburst.
He didn’t even have any solid evidence that I had betrayed him.
If he truly believed I was a traitor, he would have taken action long ago.
From the moment I started moving with Park Siwoo’s group, I had expected this kind of suspicion.
But so what.
Did he have any proof?
Most of the battle had taken place within the space created by the Guardian’s Spear.
In other words, even Berid had no knowledge of what had happened inside.
In short, I had nothing to feel guilty about.
I took a sip of the tea he had brewed.
The aroma was quite pleasant.
“Then let me ask you the opposite. Are you saying I should have participated in your operation? Our alliance should have ended after the assassination of Seo Da-hee.”
“……”
At those words, Berid closed his mouth.
“If I had stepped in, the mission might have succeeded.”
“Then why—!”
“Have you lost your sense of reason too? The moment I take action, Pandemonium’s true wish—to find the Gate—fails completely. Isn’t that too high a price to pay just to play along with your little games?”
Reveal myself for the sake of the Demon Boris—kill the heirs of noble families and the Academy’s top cadet, then claim I was the sole survivor?
That would have been nothing short of digging my own grave.
“Berid, don’t forget the debt you owe me.”
“……I got carried away. My apologies.”
He slowly bowed his head.
I fought hard to suppress the smirk tugging at my lips.
Heh, I really had done that.
If there was ever a time for the phrase “the pot calling the kettle black,” this was it.
It felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest.
Knowing his personality, he was probably frowning like a ghost even as he bowed.
I could barely keep a straight face anymore.
“The tea was good. I’ll see you at the award ceremony.”
I set down the teacup and rose from my seat.
Of course, I didn’t forget to get on his nerves one last time before leaving.
After stepping out of the Student Council room, I didn’t head straight back to the dormitory.
Instead, I waited by the door for a while.
About three minutes passed.
When I focused my mana toward my ears, I heard something breaking from beyond the door.
Only then did I walk away, satisfied.
Not long after my meeting with Berid, the day of the award ceremony arrived.
We were attending to honor the cadets who had distinguished themselves during the beast rampage incident.
It had been almost a week since the field trip.
Reporters and cadets kept clinging to us nonstop.
On top of that, each of us had been constantly called in for interviews and investigations about the incident, leaving us with barely any time to even chat casually.
“It’s been a while, everyone.”
“A while, my ass. You’ve been the one avoiding us!”
“But if we had stayed together, people would’ve swarmed us even more, right?”
Park Siwoo, who had been overwhelmed by all the attention, shuddered as if he were sick of it.
“Ugh, it was horrible. Even people I’d never met came to me saying they wanted to be friends.”
“That’s what real heroes have to deal with every day. No—probably even worse. Still, at least the reporters and paparazzi can’t invade the Academy, right? And you should be proud. What we achieved wasn’t something minor.”
It was something I’d heard countless times.
A catastrophe of that scale with zero deaths—it was practically a miracle.
The award ceremony was likely a positive consequence of that.
Originally, in Become a Hero, there had been no such event as an award ceremony.
The beast rampage incident was supposed to happen half a year later.
No matter how well the Player performed, someone was destined to die because of Berid’s scheme, and the Academy’s reputation would plummet—making social life nearly impossible afterward.
I still remembered cursing out the Game Developers the first time I played through that event.
But thanks to my interference, there had been no casualties among the Academy members, and the death toll was zero.
It was a major deviation from the original storyline.
Because of the variables I had introduced, the main story was starting to diverge more and more.
That had been true even during the beast rampage itself.
The event had originally been set to start at 5 p.m., during free time—but this time, it had happened during lunch.
Far greater variables were sure to appear from here on out.
I couldn’t always expect things to line up perfectly like they had this time.
That was why I felt, more than ever, that not only I—but everyone else—needed to grow stronger.
Honestly, the only reason we had managed to overcome the incident was because of Instructor Mabel’s incredible performance.
Just then, while waiting for the ceremony to begin, Helena shouted toward Park Siwoo.
“Would you stop fidgeting already! How many times are you going to fix your outfit? Why don’t you just use mana for it instead?”
“But what can I do? I’m nervous! I heard she’s coming to this ceremony!”
“She? Who are you talking about?”
Helena looked puzzled.
Park Siwoo’s eyes widened as he shot back.
“You really don’t know? The whole Academy’s buzzing about it! This ceremony’s got a special guest!”
Curious as well, I urged him to continue.
“So who’s coming?”
“The Sword Empress! The Sword Empress is coming to the Academy! Don’t tell me you don’t know who the Sword Empress is?”
The Sword Empress?
The unexpected name made me pause.
Dan Yehwa—the youngest upper-ranked Hero, and a renowned heroine who enjoyed immense fame and popularity from her teens through her thirties.
If Yoo Iseo was the Academy’s idol, then Dan Yehwa was a national superstar idol.
And as her name and title suggested, Dan Yehwa was Dan Chun-woo’s older sister.
In the original game, her appearance didn’t come until the mid-to-late stages.
She would aid Dan Chun-woo’s awakening and act as a key ally.
But for her to show up this early—
Could it be that Dan Chun-woo’s awakening was going to happen sooner because of the recent battle…?
If so, that would certainly make my future plans a lot easier.
Helena, just as surprised as I was, turned to Park Siwoo.
“Are you serious? Yehwa unnie is really coming to this ceremony?”
“Yeah! …Wait, you know the Sword Empress?”
“Of course I do. You haven’t forgotten that I’m the eldest daughter of the Raiders Family, which holds influence over all of Europe, have you?”
Dan Chun-woo and Helena had once been engaged through their families.
So it was only natural that the Sword Empress, his sister, knew Helena.
Now that I thought about it, Helena had always seemed to get along well with members of the Swordmaster Family, even if her relationship with Dan Chun-woo himself wasn’t great.
The Sword Empress, huh.
I turned my head toward Dan Chun-woo, who was sitting in a waiting-room chair, wearing headphones and listening to music.
Would he be all right?