I Stole the Heroines’ Tragedy Flags

Once again, I remind myself—I am a criminal.

Not just any criminal, but a traitor who attempted to bring down the very foundation of the empire.
And yet, surprisingly, I was neither a death row inmate nor a prisoner in the empire’s detention center.
Despite having committed what was undoubtedly one of the most grievous crimes in imperial history, the place I was being sent to was, ironically, none other than an academy.

'Anyone hearing this would think it’s absolute bullshit.'
It was a decision that made no sense to anyone.
The woman sitting in front of me was no exception.

"No matter how I think about it, this is insane… Why the hell did they let a piece of trash like you live?"
Sure enough, she immediately voiced her complaints, her tone dripping with disdain.
When I lifted my head to look at her again, I was met with the same icy glare.

Unfazed, I simply smiled and spoke.
"…It's been almost a year since we last saw each other. Isn’t it a bit too cold of a welcome, Adel-noona?"
"You really are shameless, huh? And don’t call me that. It makes me want to kill you."

"Aww, but you can’t kill me anyway, can you? No way a Royal Guardian assigned to protect someone by the emperor himself would just murder her charge, right?"
"…"
Adel fell silent, visibly suppressing her fury.

I could tell how badly she wanted to tear me apart.
…Which also meant she still despised me with every fiber of her being.
'Good.'

It wasn’t exactly a pleasant thought, but her hatred was justified.
I had left her with wounds that would never heal.
Inside the carriage, thick with suffocating tension, she was the one who unexpectedly spoke first.
"Hey."

"…Yes?"
"What the hell are you plotting this time? What kind of ridiculous scheme are you cooking up that has you going to an academy?"
"Scheme? What do you mean? I’m just enrolling in an academy. Shouldn't you be congratulating me on—"

"Hey."
Ssssssshhh…
Suddenly, the air inside the carriage grew heavy.

Her killing intent caused the mana in the air to stir, resonating violently.
…Breathing became a pain in the ass.
Even at her Expert-tier level, her strength was still growing.

"I should’ve killed you back then."
"…"
Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke, regret etched across her expression.

Vrrrrrrr—
Only the hum of the carriage echoed in the silence between us.
…And that was the end of our conversation.

Not that there was ever much to say between us in the first place.
…
…
…
…
…
"I should have killed you."

After some time had passed, I found myself bitterly repeating her words in my mind.
Just then, the carriage came to a halt.
The moment it stopped, Adel immediately stood up and swung open the carriage door.

So we had arrived at our destination.
"Get out."
"Yessir~"

As I stepped out after her, the glaring sunlight stabbed at my eyes.
Squinting against the brightness, I took in my surroundings—
A familiar sight greeted me.

'So this is Ella Academy, the place I only ever saw in the game.'
The largest academy on the continent.
A nest of knowledge, founded under the ideal of equal education for all races.

…And the very root of all the suffering in this world.
Standing before the place where every single tragedy in the game had begun, I couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of sentimentality.
It had taken years of struggling through this miserable world for me to finally arrive here.

Unlike the other characters, my tutorial had been exceptionally long.
"Hey."
"…?"

Hearing Adel’s call, I turned my head—
And something came flying toward my face at high speed.
Luckily, my hands—still bound by restraints—managed to catch it just in time.

It was a key.
"Hurry up and take off those restraints. Once I retrieve them, I’m leaving. I’m sick of looking at your face."
"How cruel~"

Clink!
As soon as the restraints were undone, the fatigue that had weighed down my body instantly faded.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than .net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Stretching out my sore wrists, I handed both the key and the restraints back to her.
"This is the last time I’m saying this. If you pull any of your usual bullshit again… I will kill you."
"Ella Academy isn’t part of imperial territory, is it? How exactly are you planning to kill me?"

I smirked as I spoke.
But Adel’s expression didn’t change.
She didn’t respond.

Without another word, she simply turned around, climbed back into the carriage, and left.
I watched as the carriage rolled away, disappearing from sight.
"…Heartless as ever."

Not that it mattered.
We would be seeing each other again soon enough.
She was a playable character after all—

And whether she liked it or not, she would inevitably be drawn into the academy’s events.
'…If we meet in private, she’ll probably try to kill me immediately.'
I let out a sigh and ran a hand down my face.

Seriously. My life was just one long, miserable joke.
'Whatever. No point in thinking about it.'
Pushing aside the growing sense of gloom creeping up on me, I turned my gaze forward.

The grand, ornate entrance of Ella Academy stood before me.
…The end of the tutorial was finally here.
***

I tried to kill the emperor.
And as a result, I arrived at an academy.
…There was something clearly wrong with the cause-and-effect logic here, but regardless, that was the reality of my situation.

I had made a deal with the head of the empire, and he had accepted it.
In exchange for sparing his miserable life, he erased my past and provided me with a way into the academy.
Thanks to that, I was able to escape the eyes of countless people who wanted my head.

Of course, even as the ruler of half the continent, the emperor couldn't simply impose his will on an academy located in neutral territory.
And when that academy was Ella Academy, it wasn’t like he could just shove me in like other schools would allow.
At best, all he could do was ask the headmaster for a favor under the name of the emperor.

‘That’s more than enough.’
The idea of an emperor having to request something from a mere headmaster—normally, that would be unthinkable.
But Ella Academy was different.

Because this place was the Dragon’s Nest.
Tap.
‘Hmm?’

As I neared the entrance, I noticed a figure standing there, leaning against one of the pillars.
Upon getting closer, I could make out their form—a rather small person, arms crossed, watching me silently.
‘…Didn’t expect a welcome party right at the gate.’

The entrance ceremony wasn’t until tomorrow.
Since all students were required to live in dormitories, everyone should already be inside by now.
The main gate at this hour should have been empty.

It seemed the emperor’s request had at least somewhat piqued her interest.
Quickening my pace, I approached her.
"Good evening, Headmaster."

"…Hmmm."
I bowed my head in greeting.
First impressions were always important.

"So you’re the one that red bastard asked me about?"
"Yes, that would be me."
Red bastard.

There weren’t many people who would dare refer to the imperial family’s trademark red hair in such a way.
…No, to be honest, there was probably only one person who would.
I silently engraved the presence before me into my memory once again.

A height that barely reached 140 cm.
Vibrant blue hair, full of life, contrasting with her drowsy, uninterested expression.
A person who always had a lollipop in her mouth.

"What’s your name?"
"Ain."
"…Ain? No last name?"

"I don’t have one."
"That so."
Our conversation was just as simple.

She wasn’t the type to waste words.
Hell, even speaking at all was probably a hassle for someone like her.
"Let’s move inside first. It’s too cold out here."

"…Understood."
With that, she casually snapped her fingers.
Snap.

And in an instant, the scenery changed.
A sofa, a table, and a desk with a nameplate sitting behind it—
A place I was quite familiar with.

Of course, it was the Headmaster’s Office.
‘No-chant teleportation magic… What a monster.’
A magic spell classified as 8th-circle, cast effortlessly without an incantation.

It was no surprise that someone like her could be considered the strongest on the continent.
"Sit there."
"Yes."

She gestured toward a seat before flopping down onto the couch opposite me.
A deep yawn followed.
She must have had a restless night again.

"Yaaaawn… So, you want me to enroll you in the academy?"
"That’s correct."
"And why should I?"

"…"
Just as I expected, her response was cold.
If not for the emperor’s request, she wouldn’t have even granted me this meeting.

"The entrance ceremony is tomorrow, and you just show up out of nowhere asking to enroll?"
"Yes."
"The entrance exams are already over, you know? You should’ve come earlier and taken the test."

"…I had my reasons."
There was no way I could have taken a public entrance exam without attracting attention.
That was why I had to resort to these roundabout methods.

"So, I’d like to be admitted under special enrollment."
"…Special enrollment? Hah, you actually know about that?"
Special enrollment.

Aside from the imperial family, few even knew of its existence, but Ella Academy did indeed have such a system.
The only issue was that its requirement was extremely vague—
The student had to "interest" the headmaster.

A criterion that was, to put it lightly, incredibly arbitrary and difficult to meet.
"…What a pain. I shouldn’t have made that system."
"But you haven’t kicked me out yet."

"Because if you meet the conditions, there’s no reason to refuse. You know what they are, don’t you?"
"Yes."
"In that case—"

Snap!
She snapped her fingers once again.
And in an instant, my vision was engulfed in darkness.

A thick, humid atmosphere swirled around me, her voice cutting through the void.
"I’ll give you five minutes."
The air itself felt heavy and oppressive.

A shiver ran down my spine as her next words followed.
"Get out of there within five minutes. If you can’t—"
And for the first time, I heard a small, devilish chuckle in her voice.

"—you might just die."
…As expected, dragons were all fucking lunatics.