Became the final boss in the game

Chapter 6

“Then, Master, I’ll return to my position.”

“Wait.”

I usually try not to do anything that might raise suspicion, but I think I have no choice this time.

“It’s probably best to double-check the final details of the plan before you leave.”

“Final details… what do you mean?”

I go over the plan again. This is something I’d never done before, so it’s definitely suspicious, but… well, I think it’ll be fine this time.

The opponent isn’t a Reaper or Yodala, just a low-level officer who barely made it to the higher ranks.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why the sudden change?”

Now I have a good excuse to explain.

“Well, the original plan got a bit messed up. The relationship with Princess Aris became a little more complicated, so I need to revise the plan accordingly.”

“Oh, that’s why you didn’t dodge my sword earlier and made that improv…”

“Exactly.”

If I’m right, Princess Aris plays a significant role in the original plan. If my relationship with her changes, the whole plan needs adjusting.

“I understand now.”

The doppelganger nodded with a serious look.

“So, how should we adjust the plan?”

This is the critical point. I need to figure out how to get the doppelganger to suggest changes on his own.

“If possible, I want to adjust it to be even more intense than the original plan… but for some reason, I can’t think of anything right now.”

“More intense than this?”

“To make that happen, I’d like to hear your thoughts, since you were a writer before.”

Before joining the Black Night, the doppelganger was a writer. I’ll use that information to get more out of him.

“Are you saying you trust my judgment as a writer?”

“Heh, would I say this if I didn’t trust you?”

The doppelganger’s eyes were wide in shock, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I trust you.”

“Ugh…!”

The doppelganger looked deeply moved by my words.

“Alright, can I count on you?”

“Yes, of course! I’ll make sure to repay your trust, Master!”

The doppelganger’s eyes burned with passion.

“There are three ways we can change the scenario to make it more intense. You can choose any one of them.”

“Tell me.”

“First, the first scenario is…”

As I listened to the three alternative scenarios, I started to understand the original plan.

“The original plan was almost a romance fantasy.”

By understanding the original plan, I learned a lot. First, Jay Laon’s goal.

“Could it be that his ultimate goal was to marry Princess Aris?”

Jay Laon’s goal wasn’t just to win Princess Aris’s favor and build connections. His goal was to marry the third princess, Aris, and become the prince consort of the Kanarion Kingdom.

Eventually, he planned to make her the next queen and become the real ruler of the kingdom.

“Yikes, a guy over 500 years old planning to marry a 17-year-old… it’s pretty disgusting, but strategically, it’s a good plan.”

The Kanarion Kingdom is weak for its size. The previous kings were strong, but the current king is incompetent, and his foolish policies have weakened the nation.

Given the state of the kingdom, making the third princess the queen isn’t impossible.

“But why the third princess? Why not the first prince or princess?”

It seems like it would be easier to control the first prince and make him a puppet, so why go through the hassle of placing the third princess on the throne?

“Did Jay Laon plan this because he knew about Aris’s abilities?”

Aris is one of the top three characters in the game, “Young Star.” Her abilities are so overpowered that I’ve never played the game without including her.

That’s how strong Aris is.

Did Jay Laon plan this knowing how powerful she is, trying to take both her and the kingdom?

“But how did Jay Laon figure that out? Aris hasn’t shown any of her abilities yet.”

Right now, Aris’s talents are completely hidden behind a veil of misfortune.

Her abilities will only appear after she overcomes her bad luck, which won’t happen until her third year.

At the moment, no matter what he does, Jay Laon can’t see Aris’s real potential.

“Did he have some way of seeing through her abilities? There must be something I don’t know about.”

After all, I’m just a player. It’s possible there’s something I don’t understand about the game.

“I wonder how he saw her abilities, if he did.”

While I was lost in thought, trying to figure it out…

“Everyone, please be quiet.”

A middle-aged man who looked like a teacher appeared on the stage.

“We’ll now begin the 127th Garam Academy entrance ceremony.”

With those words, the ceremony began.

“How typical.”

The entrance ceremony was pretty normal. The teachers introduced themselves, the head teacher explained the course, and the principal gave a speech.

It was just like a regular high school entrance ceremony.

“Is falling asleep at an entrance ceremony a universal rule?”

I yawned in boredom, when suddenly…

“Next, I’ll introduce the two student representatives. First, Aris Bell Kanarion.”

Clap, clap, clap!

The teacher introduced Aris, and there was a round of applause from all sides. Then, the familiar red-haired princess stepped up onto the stage.

“Why are there two student representatives?”

Normally, there’s only one, right? As I wondered about that, I joined in the applause with the others.

“Next, Jian Bellomata.”

Then, my name was called.

‘…Huh?’

What?

Why was I a student representative?

‘The doppelganger never mentioned this.’

Did he leave it out because it wasn’t important?

‘Well, I guess it wasn’t necessary to mention.’

It wasn’t like they could change the representatives now.

“Jian Bellomata?”

I heard my name again.

…Well, I was called, so I might as well go.

[Your Mental Resilience (EX) calms your nervousness.]

For a moment, my heart pounded from the sudden attention, but I quickly regained composure.

Standing in front of a hundred people wasn’t a big deal.

I confidently walked forward and stood next to Aris.

“…”

Aris looked at me in shock.

She clearly hadn’t expected that I would be the other student representative.

‘Surprised? Me too.’

I already knew Jay Laon aimed to graduate as the top student, but I didn’t expect him to start standing out this soon.

“Turn around.”

Following the instructor’s command, I faced the gathered students.

“These two have been chosen as representatives for their outstanding abilities in academics and combat.”

A hundred pairs of eyes locked onto me.

The old me would have been drenched in cold sweat.

But not now.

[Mental Resilience (EX) erases your anxiety.]

I felt completely at ease.

As I casually scanned the crowd—

“I can’t accept this!”

A furious voice rang out.

It was the doppelganger, disguised as my brother.

His face was red with rage.

“This is ridiculous! There must be a mistake!”

An impressive performance. Anyone watching would believe it was real.

“What’s his problem?”

“He seems crazy…”

The murmurs around us showed that his act was working.

“This must be corruption! Bribery! There’s no way—!”

“Hmm.”

The instructor’s eyes gleamed with interest.

“So you’re saying Garam Academy is corrupt?”

“Huh? N-no, that’s not what I meant—!”

Even in his blind rage, he still cowered before authority.

“Give me a chance! I’ll prove that he’s a fraud!”

“A duel, then?”

“Yes! A duel will prove it!”

The instructor nodded.

“Very well. But if you lose… you’ll be expelled immediately.”

‘…I didn’t expect the scenario to be this intense.’

The “scenario” that the doppelganger had told me about went like this:

[The doppelgänger would accuse me of being a fake in front of everyone and demand a duel to prove my strength.]

There were a lot of extra details, but that was the core of it.

‘I just didn’t think “in front of everyone” meant during the entrance ceremony…’

If I had known I was going to be the student representative, I could have predicted this.

“Ugh.”

I sighed at the realization.

At that moment, the door to the waiting room opened.

Aris stepped inside.

“I never imagined your own kin would be so reckless.”

She shook her head in disbelief.

“Not in just any academy… but Garam Academy’s entrance ceremony. Causing a scene like that…”

“…It’s all my fault.”

I let out another sigh, staring blankly at the ceiling.

“I knew that if I became the student representative, my brother would lose his temper… but I didn’t expect that my master would be the one to put me in this position.”

According to the information from the doppelganger, I or rather Jian had a “master.”

And I had been chosen as a student representative because of this master’s influence.

I didn’t know their name, but from the way people spoke about them, they must have been a big deal.

‘This explanation neatly resolves the contradiction of why I hid my strength when saving Aris but I am now openly displaying it as a representative.’

Aris seemed to accept my reasoning.

“I see. So being a student representative was never your choice.”

“…Yes.”

As expected, she understood.

Good. That meant I wouldn’t be questioned further about this.

“Jian Bellomata. Three minutes left. It’s time to come out.”

An instructor’s voice called from outside the waiting room.

“Well then, I should get going.”

I stood up and started walking toward the door.

Or at least, I tried to.

“Wait.”

Aris grabbed my wrist, stopping me.

“There is one last thing I need to ask before you go.”

She looked at me seriously and opened her mouth to speak…

And then…

[Mental Resilience (EX) repels ‘The Child Cursed by the World.’]

A strange force tried to invade my mind, but it was instantly deflected.

[Aris Bell Kanarion’s unique trait, ‘Beloved by All Things,’ awakens.]

[‘Beloved by All Things’ grants a blessing to those it touches.]

A warm sensation spread through my body.

‘…Huh?’