That dawn.

"Ugh"

Yeniel regained consciousness and tried to sit up.

"Where am I?"

"Yeniel, are you okay?"

Startled by the sudden voice, Yeniel turned her head toward its source.

"E-Evan?"

At the edge of her vision stood Evan.

In that moment, Yeniel noticed her attire.

It wasn't a typical school uniform but rather clothes resembling those of an assassin.

Touching her face, she realized she wasn't wearing a mask either.

Then, memories started flooding back to her, one by one.

She had been defeated by Rudy Astria and had lost consciousness.

But why was Evan here in front of her?

She should have been in jail. There was no reason for her to be here.

"Yeniel, how are you feeling?"

In response to Evan's concern, Yeniel nodded, indicating she was fine.

Yeniel had never been alone with Evan like this before, nor had they ever conversed. The situation felt awkward and confusing.

Although they were in the same group, they never had a real opportunity to talk.

She always held back while her groupmates, Serina and Garwel, chatted with Evan.

Yeniel fell into deep thought.

Did this guy know the current situation?

For now, it would be difficult for him to know that she was a rebel.

However, judging by her attire, he could guess that she was involved in something shady.

As Yeniel contemplated this, Evan spoke up.

"Yeniel, I'm not sure what situation you're in."

Evan said so and stood up from his seat.

"I don't expect you to tell me just because I asked. So"

Evan gave a faint smile.

"When you feel like you can trust me a little more, I hope you'll share it with me."

Yeniel stared at Evan, dumbfounded.

Evan pointed in a direction with his finger.

"Over there, you'll find the others. Go change your clothes then join us."

Then he walked in the indicated direction.

"...He's too kind."

Yeniel snorted as she watched Evan disappear.

To make such a remark when even the professors or the student council were not enough to meet her demands?

All without even knowing what she had been planning to do?

Yeniel pondered on this as she rose to her feet.

"Naive"

While saying this, a question arose in her mind.

After her defeat against Rudy Astria, how did she end up here with Evan?

Shouldn't Rudy Astria have called the student council or the professors after defeating her?

And how was it that Evan had been the one to find her?

No matter how much she thought about it, it didn't make sense.

Things didn't add up.

"I need to return first."

She needed to inform Garwel about this as soon as possible.

Yeniel gritted her teeth.

Directly telling Garwel would put her neck on the line.

She would have to mix some truth with lies.

Muttering these thoughts, she uttered a single statement.

"Rudy Astria..."

A member of the Astria family, an incompetent individual.

A guy who even had the top seat stolen by a commoner without any support.

Thinking this, she had initially considered it an easy task.

But it wasn't.

Yeniel remembered the look in Rudy Astria's eyes when they faced each other.

Indifferent and sharp.

A person who maintained such a gaze when ambushed...

Even though Yeniel had grown up as an assassin since childhood, she had never encountered someone like that.

She thought it could be possible if the person was strong.

However, the fact that an ordinary student reacted so calmly to the surprise left Yeniel bewildered.

"What is he up to...?"

Sensing that something was amiss, Yeniel changed into her school uniform and headed toward her groupmates.

The following morning.

"Hehehe... Did he really do that?"

"......It's understandable to be concerned if you heard something like that last night."

Rie laughed heartily, clutching her stomach, as she chatted with Luna.

They were discussing the events of the previous night.

I intentionally didn't tell Rie the truth.

I wanted to brush it off as mistaking a rabbit for a person.

But Rie wasn't the type to let things go easily.

Since the morning, she had been recounting how I was so nervous that I was trembling.

I was indeed nervous, but I wasn't trembling...

And the truth was, I had almost been assassinated.

Honestly, it felt unfair, but there was no point in dwelling on it now.

"Ah..."

Instead, I wondered if Evan had found Yeniel collapsed.

In the original story, Yeniel, who wanted to kill Rudy Astria, should have fought against Evan and been defeated.

Then Evan would realize that Yeniel was the assassin, but he wouldn't report it to the professors or anyone else.

That's how the relationship between Yeniel and Evan should have started.

But instead, I emerged as the victor.

It was something I never anticipated.

So what should I do now?

I had two options.

The first option was to reveal Yeniel as the assassin and bring this story to an end.

But I dismissed that immediately.

If I exposed Yeniel as the assassin, she would be swiftly arrested.

Then dealing with the rebels would become much more difficult later on.

As the story progressed, Yeniel would provide Evan with information about the rebels.

She was essentially a double agent.

There was no reason to let go of this opportunity.

So, I had to choose the only other option.

And this option was simple.

Follow the original story.

There were two bosses in this story.

One was Garwel, and the other was Andrei, a knight from the rebels.

So, if we followed the original story, the rebels would attack this forest, and Garwel and Andrei would ambush Evan one after another.

Evan would easily deal with Garwel, but not with Andrei.

Evan couldn't defeat Andrei.

So, he would make Rie flee and hold off Andrei by himself.

It would be a story of Evan fighting Andrei and holding out until others arrived.

That would be the final battle of the midterm camp in the game.

If he succeeded in holding out there, Evan would receive a reward.

Andrei's magic sword.

It was an incredibly powerful weapon, suitable for Evan to use or trade.

Moreover, Andrei was a knight with a reputation among the rebels, entrusted with the task of assassinating the Princess.

I couldn't precisely gauge his influence since he died early on, but considering the performance of the magic sword, Andrei must have been formidable.

So, I had to deal with him here.

If I reported this to the professors, I could prevent this incident from happening.

If that happened, that guy could interfere in other stories, and I wouldn't be able to get his sword.

That would be a big problem.

Thus, I decided to let the incident happen.

"Assuming I do that..."

I had to make other preparations.

Garwel and Andrei would attack to eliminate Rie.

It was clear they would target our group instead of Evan's.

With the failed assassination and my presence, it was almost guaranteed.

I looked at Rie and Luna, who were chatting and having fun.

"I can't just let them die."

I had to prepare a countermeasure in advance.

No one would die.

Touching the summoning stone in my pocket, I walked towards Locke.

***

Garwel, Yeniel, and another man were conversing in a deserted place.

Yeniel explained what had happened.

But she didn't reveal all the details.

If she mentioned that she had been defeated and fainted during the fight, and Evan discovered her identity, she knew her head would roll.

So, she cleverly concealed the situation.

She didn't mention anything about Evan, only that she had been defeated by Rudy Astria and had fled.

Smack!

"You useless girl... How did you fail?"

Garwel slapped Yeniel's cheek, leaving a red, swollen mark.

Yeniel felt the sting on her cheek, but she thought the punishment wasn't too severe.

The man standing beside them remained unresponsive, simply observing the situation.

"I heard they brought in an excellent assassin, but it seems you're just a failure," Garwel taunted Yeniel with a haughty gaze.

The observing man calmly spoke up.

"In that case, we should revise the plan."

"What if Rudy Astria reports to the professors? Won't everything be ruined then?"

"It's difficult to determine immediately. The academy will conduct its own assessment, and considering how well she managed to escape, it will be challenging to find concrete evidence."

"Hmm, I see."

As the man spoke in a composed manner, Garwel reluctantly accepted the explanation and settled down.

"Alright, then we need to resolve this tonight. Inform Andrei. Let's eliminate both Princess Rie and Rudy Astria tonight."

Garwel uttered those words with a malicious laugh.

He continued, "After that, Yeniel and I will take care of Serina and that Evan, and then we'll head over there."

"Serina and Evan?" Yeniel asked, surprised by Garwel's statement.

"We'll raise suspicion when we flee amidst the chaos, won't we? It's better to eliminate them. Besides, I never liked either of them. Just send a few soldiers. We'll dispatch them quickly and depart."

"Understood. I will inform Knight Andrei."

Yeniel felt uneasy about the command.

Although she believed it was necessary to kill Evan, who knew her true identity, he was the one who had covered for her.

She felt guilty at the thought of killing someone who had shown such kindness.

"We'll carry it out tonight," Garwel declared.

The moment Garwel spoke those words, the man in front of them disappeared without a trace.

On that fateful night.

The atmosphere was peaceful, no different from any other night.

Luna and Rie engaged in a quiet conversation, while Locke focused on practicing his swordsmanship.

Suddenly, breaking the tranquility, a loud explosion echoed through the air.

BANG!!!!!!!

"Huh?"

"What was that?"

Startled by the explosion, Luna and Rie abruptly stood up from their seats.

Has it begun?

Could it be the Rebels' attack?

In the game, the Rebels didn't target just one location.

They simultaneously attacked students dispersed across various places.

That way, they could divert the attention of the professors and student council.

Sensing something amiss, Rie retrieved a summoning stone from her pocket and began calling out to anyone.

"Hello? Can anyone hear me? Is anyone there?"

However, the summoning stone remained eerily silent.

"What's happening?" Rie furrowed her brows in concern.

Luna, too, voiced her worry. "Is something wrong?"

"It seems that way," I responded, noting the growing unease.

Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Rie swiftly rose from her seat. "Let's head towards the main building, just in case."

Her calm demeanor mirrored my own thoughts, and I felt grateful for her initiative.

Leaving behind everything but the essentials, we set off towards the center.

"What could be happening?" Rie led the way, her expression filled with concern.

We ventured into the dark forest, avoiding any magical fires that would expose our presence. As our eyes adjusted, the path ahead became discernible.

Through the dense undergrowth, the faint silhouette of a person emerged.

It was not a figure clad in our school uniform, but rather someone donning lightweight chain armor.

Locke took a step forward, sword drawn, while the rest of us prepared our magic.

"Sylph!" Rie summoned her wind spirit, standing guard against the stranger.

"Identify yourself! If you don't, we will attack!"

Her voice carried authority.

The stranger slowly raised their head to meet our gaze.

Their eyes, cold and brimming with intent to kill, sent a shiver down my spine and caused goosebumps to rise on my skin.

Reacting to this unsettling sensation, we unleashed our magic spells without hesitation.

"Sylph! Attack! Wind Cutter!"

"Fireball!"

"Abyssal Flame."

Our spells were launched, aimed at the intruder.

Yet, to our astonishment, the enemy did not evade our assault.

With one swift motion, they raised their sword and effortlessly sliced through our spells.

"What the...?"

Rie stared at the scene, disbelief etched on her face.

A single strike was all it took. Even though we were novice wizards, our magic was not weak enough to be shattered so easily.

As we were taken aback by the unexpected turn of events, the stranger spoke.

"Attack."

In response to their command, hidden figures emerged from the grassy undergrowth, swiftly closing in on us.

Their target was not all of us; they focused solely on one person.

"Rie!"

I called out, pulling her arm.

"Ah!"

Startled, Rie instinctively moved closer to me, evading the impending attack, while Locke confronted the approaching assailants.

"What the hell...?"

"Rie, run."

"What?" Rie looked at me, puzzled.

I calmly grasped her hand and began running.

"Hey! What about Locke and Luna?"

"Just run! Didn't you see? You're their target!"

"What?"

Just as I had said, the figures dressed in black were pursuing us relentlessly from behind.

"Locke, take care of Luna!"

With a resolute shout, I sprinted towards the central building.

***