Academy’s New Guard is Unusual - Chapter 5

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 5
Objective: Evangelline’s Graduation
Reward: Wish Token
Failure: Death
The protagonist of this Game was Evangelline.
Evangelline had countless shortcomings. Chief among them was her cursed social aptitude.
Evangelline’s social skills were appalling. True, there were circumstances, but it was still severe.
Though the Game described her as “the Continent’s foremost beauty,” there was a reason she had few friends. One of those few was Andy.
Of course, to Andy, Evangelline was merely an acquaintance he exchanged greetings with now and then. But to Evangelline, Andy was her closest friend.
That’s why I made Andy my first recruit.
“Befriend Evangelline.”
“Befriend her, sir? You don’t mean just get close to her?”
Andy tilted his head as if something seemed odd. I nodded lightly.
“That’s right. Make sure you befriend Evangelline.”
“Yes, sir! Leave it to me! I’ll make her so dependent on me she can’t live without me!!”
Andy spouted nonsense while executing a sloppy salute. I barely restrained myself from pointing out the angle.
“But Evangelline? I’ve never heard that name before. The way you emphasized it—must be an important person, sir?”
“A very important one.”
“Oh—. Is this it? This?”
Andy held up his pinky finger questioningly. I narrowed my eyes.
“Absolutely not.”
“Hehe, understood. Where’s the target? I’ll take her down right now.”
“She’ll be here soon.”
I turned my gaze toward the Bakery across the street. It was so famous that any noble visiting the Capital made it a required stop.
Evangelline was obsessed with bread. She loved it so much she’d sleep with bread as a pillow instead of an actual one. Her reasoning was absurd—that way she could eat bread even while sleeping.
If it was Evangelline, she’d rush straight to that bakery the moment she arrived in the Capital.
“What are the target’s characteristics?”
“Pink hair and beautiful.”
“Beautiful, huh. Heh, this should be fun to work with.”
Andy grinned with unseemly delight, rubbing his hands together.
How long did we wait like that?
A flash of pink poked out from the end of the alley.
The protagonist—Evangelline.
By design, Evangelline was the Continent’s foremost beauty. The Game described her appearance as transcending mere “beauty” to evoke “love” itself.
Because of that appearance, Evangelline had endured countless trials.
Her family had fallen into ruin, her parents’ necks had ended on the gallows, and her younger sibling had vanished.
For that reason, Evangelline viewed her beauty not as a blessing but as a curse. That’s why she concealed most of her face with thick, oversized Dragonfly Glasses that made her look simple-minded.
It was a common Game trope: a girl wearing thick glasses, then stunning beauty once removed.
The problem was—
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Evangelline kept tripping. Just like now.
There was nothing to catch her foot on, yet Evangelline collapsed with a resounding thud. The sound was cheerfully loud enough to hurt even watching her. The Dragonfly Glasses skittered across the ground.
“Ah, it hurts……”
The moment Evangelline lifted her head, the bustling street fell silent. Everyone stared at her, entranced.
Even knowing her design, I was startled for a moment.
‘So that’s why she’s called the Continent’s foremost beauty.’
Evangelline hastily put her glasses back on. But the attention already drawn didn’t scatter.
Then Evangelline—
“Kak! Kek! Keuk! Shlick-shlick! Shak!”
She flailed her hands while making strange sounds. A disheveled pink-haired woman in Dragonfly Glasses thrashing about looked genuinely mad.
The gathered gazes scattered in a panicked rush.
“Is—is that her?”
Andy pointed at Evangelline with an uncomfortable expression.
“That’s her.”
“Ugh. I think I need a bonus for this—”
“A bonus?”
“Haha, just joking. Only joking.”
“You’re getting one.”
I pulled out a pouch and tossed it. It was heavy with Gold Coins.
Andy fumbled in panic instead.
“No, that was just a joke! I’m fine, sir!”
A man destined to become an Archmage shouldn’t have such meager ambitions.
I narrowed my eyes.
“It’s a friendship fee.”
“But who takes money to be friends with someone—”
Instead of answering, I pointed at Evangelline.
“Kyahaha!”
Now Evangelline was puffing up like some sort of animal. People didn’t so much look at her as hurry to avoid her.
Andy let out a small sigh and quietly pocketed the pouch.
Soon Evangelline entered the bakery. I pushed Andy’s back.
“Go.”
“Yes, sir! Entering now!”
Andy spouted an ominous line and followed her into the bakery.
‘Evangelline.’
Seeing the protagonist in person stirred unusual feelings. Though not good ones.
When I played through Year of Graduation as a Game, Evangelline was the Landmine that caused me the most Game Overs.
Having to graduate this useless Pufferfish—
I’d rather fight an external threat. Truly.
‘But Andy’s here this time.’
When Andy and Evangelline became close was an important element in the Game. Andy’s presence somewhat dampened Evangelline’s pufferfish mentality.
Since I’d attached Andy quickly this time, the chances should improve—
“Kyahhhhh!”
The bakery door burst open roughly as Evangelline bolted out with a strange shriek. She ran away fast.
Andy emerged belatedly, shouting after the fleeing Evangelline.
“Sir! That bastard’s running!”
This is ridiculous.
I cursed and headed for Andy.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing, sir! I just said hello and she went berserk!”
Andy shouted as if wronged.
This was strange. Evangelline was always comfortable around Andy, regardless of others. So why—?
“Andy, if Evangelline had been there without my orders, what would you have done?”
“Huh? I’d have pretended not to notice. But why—”
“If you were both new students?”
“I guess I’d have just exchanged a greeting for courtesy’s sake?”
“Ah, that was the problem.”
I understood why things had gone wrong.
The issue was that Andy had approached first. It seemed to have triggered Evangelline’s wariness.
“Sir, should I go round up the others?”
“Others for what? Just wait. She’ll come back.”
“What? After all that? She’ll come back? No way—”
To Andy’s doubtful question, I pointed to the end of the street. There was a woman in a hood there, with pink hair sticking out at the side.
“Wait, she’s back already?”
“Evangelline loves bread dearly. Even if a demon were there, she’d return.”
“But no matter how much she loves bread, you can’t tell me she’s coming back right after causing all that chaos?”
It makes sense. Evangelline’s a Pufferfish.
“Go in first and buy all the bread with chocolate in it. Every single one.”
“What, all of it? That bread’s really expensive—”
A mage who spends millions on research quibbling over bread prices. That was Andy’s chronic condition.
“Use the money I gave you. That’s an order. Buy it all, then stand there quietly with it.”
“Uggh, understood—”
Andy’s voice grew suddenly small.
He’d been bluffing confidently, but faced with actually spending money, he got nervous.
“Once you’re holding chocolate bread and just standing there paying no attention, Evangelline will come over. Don’t show her any interest—just keep eating your bread. She won’t be able to resist asking for some. Give her one piece and she’ll come around.”
“It’s that simple?”
It’s nowhere near simple. It just works because it’s Andy.
I pushed Andy’s back instead of explaining further.
“Whatever you do, don’t show interest first.”
“Like she’s some wild animal—”
Andy grumbled as he headed into the bakery.
Soon Evangelline cautiously approached the bakery. After hesitating long in front of it, she went inside.
The setup looked a bit silly, but linking Evangelline and Andy was crucial.
The fate of the world was at stake, so to speak.
‘If that’s the kind of world, it deserves to fall anyway.’
I pressed my temples hard against the exhaustion.
* * *
‘He really wants me to buy all this?’
Andy trembled at the exorbitant bread prices.
Still, it was the boss’s order.
“I’ll take everything from here to here!”
Andy recited a line he’d long wanted to say. There was an odd satisfaction at the bakery employee’s startled expression.
‘Is this really okay? Isn’t this ruining me? No matter what, it’s too expensive!’
With trembling hands, Andy held out the Gold Coins. Paying for bread with Gold Coins! It was unimaginable.
Then the bakery door opened, and a pink-haired woman entered. Her thick, oversized glasses hid her face. It was the target—Evangelline.
Andy followed orders, holding the bread and staying put.
Evangelline, having entered the bakery, wandered about as if entranced. After circling the shop once, she now scrutinized each bread with the seriousness of a mage selecting gems. The bakery felt solemn enough to be a laboratory.
Then Evangelline fidgeted, lingering before the employee. Clearly she wanted to ask them something.
After much hesitation, the employee finally asked if Evangelline was looking for particular bread.
Evangelline answered, but her voice was so quiet they didn’t hear. The employee asked again, and after this repeated about three times, irritation showed on their face.
When the employee asked sharply once more—
“Chocolate braaaad!!”
Evangelline shouted with her eyes squeezed shut.
Watching Andy genuinely marveled.
‘Wow, she really is a Pufferfish.’
When the stunned employee said all the chocolate bread was sold out, Evangelline sat down hard. She looked like someone whose entire family had collapsed.
As tears welled in Evangelline’s eyes, the employee desperately pointed to Andy. Andy deliberately looked away.
Evangelline approached hesitantly.
Andy paid her no mind. Even without the boss’s order, he had no interest in getting entangled with her.
“Um, hey—”
Evangelline, now at his side, called to him carefully.
“What?”
“The! The chocolate bread! I heard! You bought it all! But I! Also! Like chocolate bread! That’s not fair! No wait! I mean!”
Evangelline mumbled to herself. Her voice was too quiet to hear properly.
Unable to bear the frustration, Andy pulled out a chocolate bread and offered it to her. “You want chocolate bread?”
“Y—yes! I can pay—— I will pay!”
“No need. There’s plenty anyway.”
Wanting no further involvement, Andy tossed her one chocolate bread.
Evangelline, having received it, made an odd expression. She seemed to be pondering something intently.
“Oh! Could it be—!”
Evangelline exclaimed to herself and lifted her chin.
This felt ominous.
Evangelline pointed at Andy and spoke.
“You’ve got a crush on me, don’t you?”
What? Why did things suddenly take that turn—
As Andy stood shocked, Evangelline grew more convinced.
“Sorry, I prefer older guys. Wait—you’re not going to take back the chocolate bread because I rejected you, are you?”
Evangelline hurriedly hid the chocolate bread behind her back.
Andy made a mental note.
He’d definitely need to ask for a higher friendship fee.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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