I’m Sick of the Kind Protagonist, so I Might as Well Just Die - Chapter 36

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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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#36
I was about to jest that we were observing like concerned parents attending a school event when Perenustus spoke first.
“Aurelia. It seems Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis has recovered his memories, doesn’t it?”
“Is that so…? I hadn’t noticed.”
“Ever since he came of age, Leonas vanishes completely from my sight at intervals. It’s as though my observation system has developed gaps.”
“…That can’t be right.”
“He’s likely retreating into dark spaces. Without his memories restored, he couldn’t possibly know how to evade the Creator’s gaze.”
I shook my head curtly, as though I understood nothing of what Perenustus was saying.
“If he’s regained his senses, why doesn’t he just return already? Why is he lingering there like that? If he’s recovered his memories, wouldn’t it be advantageous to escape immediately?”
“When someone a man wishes to protect desperately desires something, his nature compels him to fulfill that wish completely, by any means necessary.”
He answered while observing Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis with his chin resting on his hand, his eyes sliding toward me.
“Though I suspect Aurelia wouldn’t understand.”
“You’re right, I don’t.”
As I nodded along without thinking deeply, a sudden clarity flashed through my mind.
“Wait, wait a moment!”
“Yes?”
“You noticed Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis wanted to go to Other Worlds, didn’t you? That’s why you deliberately had Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike enroll in the Academy! You were trying to keep her as leverage over him?”
Perenustus did not deny it.
“A promising student is a valuable resource. There’s no reason to carelessly hand over my Academy’s top student to Other Worlds, is there?”
“Wow…”
“I’m satisfied, Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis is satisfied, and seeing this ‘World,’ Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike is satisfied too. Everyone’s happy.”
I narrowed my eyes at Perenustus and wrinkled my nose in warning, raising my index finger.
“Don’t let Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis find out about this. With his personality, he’d bolt without looking back, wouldn’t he? If he learns that the professor he trusted exploited his sincerity, he’ll probably grab you by the collar first.”
Perenustus seemed somewhat taken aback by my unexpected words. He slowly turned to face me. The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly upward.
“Aurelia, you’re remarkably kind in the most unexpected moments. It would be a shame to dismiss you as merely a bug.”
“Whether I’m your destiny or a subject of intensive management… either way, that’s how it is. The injured finger always receives more attention, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. Now it seems I truly need ‘intensive management’—of my own heart and your position.”
With those cryptic words, Perenustus snapped his fingers.
Flash!
The image hovering in the air shattered like glass and vanished, and two figures appeared in the center of the room.
They were still enveloped in the lingering echoes of that world. The scent of earth and dust, the cool fragrance of metal, and the scorching heat of two hearts that had just confirmed each other’s feelings and were on the verge of crossing a forbidden line.
“Wh… we… returned…?”
Unlike Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike, whose unfocused eyes darted about in bewilderment, Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis noticed the image still lingering like an afterimage in the air and gasped in horror. His face flushed crimson in an instant.
“You two worked especially hard this time. I was curious to see just how deeply those who promised to carefully manage Aurelia’s immersion in the World would actually become immersed themselves.”
At those words, even Bilateia Fernichiosa Venisike regained her composure and coughed awkwardly. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then immediately buried her face in her palms and groaned.
“Insane… he watched something like that in such detail…?”
She seemed profoundly shocked by the fact that their first intimate moment had been broadcast so unfiltered.
Perenustus, utterly indifferent to his students’ horror, crossed his legs elegantly and lifted his teacup.
“Well then, shall we begin analyzing this World? Let’s focus on the cause of this World’s twisted immune system and its effects.”
At Perenustus’s question, Leonas Hagpethar Yuletanis barely lifted his head. Though his ears still burned red, he quickly composed himself like a top student should and opened his mouth to speak.
“The cause is Aurelia. As Aurelia altered the progression speed and direction, the World evolved of its own accord to proceed as similarly as possible to the original scenario.”
“In opposition, Aurelia weaponized the very personality of her remaining original self. It is presumed she used the hatred that Estella possessed as a shield, perfectly circumventing Silpi’s curse. The reason she emphasized that our agreement was your choice rather than her will was also to evade the curse.”
“It was a successful strategy. Thanks to it, we minimized the curse’s interference and completed the narrative in the direction the World desired.”
The two reported with every effort to ignore the phantom afterimage hanging in the air, their voices deliberately flat. Perenustus nodded and glanced sideways at me.
“What did Aurelia learn?”
“That it’s not so bad to live life to its fullest, so don’t just throw it away recklessly…?”
Compared to the senior students, it was still a foolish answer. Yet Bilateia, Leonas, and Perenustus all raised their eyebrows as if moved by my words.
“Goodness. That’s more progress than expected. How touching.”
“…It feels like you’re mocking me.”
“Mocking? Aurelia, you understood the lessons and purposes the World intended, and even discovered how to efficiently deceive the operating system that governs the World!”
I stared blankly at the graph shimmering with azure light. I couldn’t understand it no matter how hard I looked, but hearing the unusual exhilaration in Perenustus’s voice, it seemed I’d done something remarkably well.
“The directionality and purpose of my World are being completely overturned around you. It means that you, a bug, are independently layering all manner of functions that the operating system never commanded.”
Bilateia’s face grew pale as she glanced sideways at Leonas. His neck had flushed crimson, and he quietly shifted his position to stand directly across from Bilateia—so she wouldn’t witness the indecent scene unfolding in the empty air.
“It was quite fascinating. An anomaly where my irreplaceable senior students, originating from mere background data, get entangled with a bug and even lose their sense of self during their mission.”
“….”
“Ah, I’m not being sarcastic. I’m saying it’s admirable and amusing how Aurelia learns and develops on her own, bringing transformation and vitality to the World.”
The senior students, uncertain whether the professor was criticizing or apologizing, couldn’t find an appropriate response and turned to look at me.
‘Looking at me won’t help either. I can’t even tell if Perenustus is criticizing me or praising me.’
“I want you both to vividly preserve all the emotions Bilateia and Leonas must be feeling right now. So I’ll deploy you to the next World immediately.”
“Pardon?”
“In the next World, you two should also make free choices. Just like this experience—will you be helplessly drawn in by the narrative gravity that Aurelia keeps radiating, or will you try to uphold the rules of the original World?”
Bilateia and Leonas clenched their fists and nodded. For those who prided themselves as irreplaceable talents, being swept up by me seemed quite the humiliation.
“Then, let’s look forward to it.”
Perenustus snapped his fingers, and a new blueprint unfolded in the air. It was a World tinged with dark, gloomy violet energy.
“No matter what chaos Aurelia causes, I’d like to see my Academy’s senior students prove that they are the true protagonists of this story.”
Bilateia and Leonas exchanged a glance, then turned their eyes toward Perenustus with unwavering resolve.
“We will prove it without fail.”
“We’ll show you results that won’t disappoint.”
As they spoke, both their bodies vanished into the light. With only Perenustus and me remaining in the room, I let out a snort I’d been holding back and looked up at him with a slant.
“You deliberately gave praise that didn’t sound like praise at all, didn’t you? Crumpling their pride so they’d actually face off against me properly!”
“Of course. My students, whom I’ve taught with utmost dedication, can’t possibly be defeated by a single error that suddenly appeared.”
“If you’re going to call me an error right to my face like that, at least say it’s interesting instead.
“Aurelia’s very existence is extraordinarily fascinating, after all.”
Perenustus answered flatly. The man who in the previous life had genuinely worried for me and intervened at every moment seemed to have died somewhere. The emotional man who spoke of his past self with longing and sorrowful eyes appeared to have perished as well.

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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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