Operations Commander Echidna's Office.

Pink, silk-like hair.

A woman with milky white skin and a rebellious gyaru-style outfit. She was awkwardly making a V sign with her fingers and had an uneasy smile.

“Is this really alright?”

She was the Operations Commander, Echidna.

“It’s more than enough.”

I captured her appearance using the operations terminal and thought to myself.

‘Well… most people would be furious if the Operations Department took all the credit for the mission.’

I knew that she monopolized the credit for the sake of the Operations Department's survival.

So, I didn’t mind much.

‘The credit has no use for me anyway.’

Besides, she promised to do anything in return, so I simply asked her to take a photo.

“Still… just one photo seems like too little for what I owe you.”

Echidna muttered.

She had looked at me like I was an incomprehensible creature when I requested the photo.

To explain, I claimed to be a fan of hers.

I told her I was impressed by the Red Spear.

‘The truth is, it’s because she’s a character in a game…’

I always thought the V sign would suit her.

But her character was not that lighthearted, so seeing her pose like that was impossible.

Yet here she was, doing it in real life...

“I’m deeply moved.”

“You’re weird.”

I took a few photos for personal keepsake.

Considering that Elite Elki’s chosen background was a bit burdensome, I thought about switching it to this one.

‘…Wouldn’t having a photo of the Operations Commander as my background make it look like I’m just a loyal subordinate?’

With that thought, I naturally set it as my wallpaper.

“…Hey! No way, man!”

The Operations Commander was horrified when she saw it.

“If you use something like that as your wallpaper, what do you think people will say?”

“…A loyal junior of the Operations Commander?”

“Change it immediately!”

Under her stern order, I reluctantly reverted my wallpaper to a previous image.

This time, it was a photo of Punitive Squad Operator Elki.

‘…Elki took this picture on her own.’

As soon as I got discharged, she took a selfie with me and set it as my wallpaper.

I felt somewhat uncomfortable because I was in the picture and wanted to change it, but with no other photos to use, I decided to keep it for now.

Noticing my phone, the Operations Commander commented,

“Oh, that’s her from the Punitive Squad, right?”

“…You recognize her?”

“She’s changed so much that I almost didn’t.”

The Operations Commander muttered to herself about how that scruffy kid had transformed and then asked me.

“What did you do to make her change like that?”

Me?

She changed because of me?

According to Elki, the Legal Department head couldn’t stand it and trained her.

‘She said it was to improve her combat skills so something like this wouldn’t happen again.’

“Well, it might be partly because of the Legal Department head… Still, don't you think you had the biggest impact on her? She seemed really shaken up back then..."

"When do you mean?"

"Oh, right... You wouldn't know since you had collapsed at the time."

Even though I pressed the Operations Commander to tell me what had happened, she dismissed me, telling me to leave if I had no other business.

Left alone in her office, Echidna picked up a fancy teacup and muttered to herself.

"Still, she’s a senior. Her dignity should be maintained."

Elki had hugged Gardner's collapsed, bleeding body and wept. Seeing her like that, Echidna saw glimpses of her own past self.

Both Echidna and Elki shared the fact that the person they worried about hadn't died. However, the fact that they were ruthlessly teased for crying over little things wasn't a similarity they wanted to acknowledge.

"...It still makes me angry just thinking about it now."

After two weeks of bed rest, I had a lot of catching up to do.

I was busy running around to fill the gap—Operations Department, Disciplinary Committee, infirmary, study room, training room... I went everywhere. It would have been quite exhausting if I had been alone, but...

Laurent followed me under the pretext of monitoring me to make sure I didn’t overextend myself during my recovery, so I wasn’t too tired.

While I was frantically trying to catch up on the lessons I missed during my absence, I unexpectedly ran into someone.

"Lo-rant! What a coincidence to meet you here!"

"I've been waiting for 30 minutes..."

"You be quiet!!!"

A blonde girl with twin-tails and an otherwise nondescript girl with black hair and black eyes.

The two of them were waiting for Laurent.

The black-haired girl seemed to be there simply because the blonde wanted to wait.

‘I didn’t expect to see the player here.’

The girl with black hair and black eyes was the player.

The protagonist of this game, someone who was practically my alter ego.

I looked over at the player who was staring intently at Laurent.

She didn’t have many distinctive features, but she was tall and had a large chest.

By default, the character was male, but I often played as the female version.

Maybe that’s why the player appeared as a woman here.

‘I was wondering what I’d do if they were a man...’

The player was a master of leading people on, having multiple romantic interests at once, and often using mistakes as excuses for sexual harassment.

If such a person had tried to approach Laurent...

‘I don’t even want to imagine it.’

The player was absolutely necessary to lead this story to a happy ending.

However, if something like that had happened right in front of me, I wouldn't have been able to forgive the player, no matter what.

I was relieved that nothing like that would happen since the player was female.

At that moment, the player, who had been staring intently at Laurent's large chest, smiled secretly and exaggeratedly muttered to herself.

“Oh... my head...”

Then she suddenly acted as if she was about to faint from anemia.

If it were acute anemia, there wouldn’t have been much that could be done.

But since it happened right after she had stared at Laurent's chest, it was hard not to be suspicious…

‘Could it be... no, right?’

Thinking she had simply tripped by accident, I rushed forward to catch her as she fell.

But unexpectedly,

"Tsk."

Without a word of thanks, she clicked her tongue and quickly distanced herself, as if the mere touch of a man was disgusting to her.

Then, she changed her position and, taking advantage of the moment when her companion started talking to Laurent, tried to fall again.

'...This little...'

I dashed forward and caught the player just as she was about to fall over again.

"Hehe... is there perhaps some damage to your inner ear? You can't seem to keep your balance."

"Hehe... I'm just feeling a bit dizzy today... You really don't need to help me anymore."

"No, it doesn't look like you're okay. I think I'll just escort you to the Legal Department."

"Really, I'm fine, don't worry. Besides, shouldn't you be the one going to the Legal Department for following someone as cute as Laurent?"

"...I'm not very happy to see them."

Gardner and the mysterious black-haired woman were causing a commotion nearby.

But none of that caught Laurent's attention.

She was focused on the unlucky-looking woman in front of her.

Her name was Trinia.

She was Laurent’s high school classmate.

"Laurent! I'm here to declare war this time!"

"Declare war?"

"Yes! For the upcoming midterm ability evaluation! There, I will crush you, your class, your friends! Your grades! Your honor! I'll destroy it all!"

Trinia was wildly burning with a desire for victory.

She had been annoying since high school...

Constantly claiming to be a rival and competing over everything...

Sigh...

Laurent sighed.

Then she spoke.

"You?"

"..."

"You're really weak."

"...Hmph, are you trying to provoke me?"

Trinia's face twitched.

Did that hit a nerve? It must have... since Trinia had never once beaten Laurent.

Laurent possessed five-star talent and worked harder than anyone else.

In other words, a hardworking genius.

Only geniuses who enjoy their work can win against such a genius.

Laurent, the Disciplinary Committee's Chief Enforcer, was such a person.

In contrast, Trinia was at best a prodigy. Even with more effort, she might only reach the toes of a genius like Laurent.

To Trinia, Laurent was an insurmountable wall.

“This time!!! It'll be different from before, so be prepared! I'll break you down until you're crying!!!”

“Oh, try it. This should be fun.”

“You!”

Yet, Trinia never gives up.

She had faced many walls like Laurent before, and her presence here was proof that she had overcome all of them.

Trinia believed that the wall named Laurent was just one more she would surpass.

And that was the terrifying thing about Trinia.

“You! We're settling this in the evaluation! Let's go, Hiro! What are you doing with that man!!!”

“Huh? Oh, no, he just keeps...”

“It's obvious you got caught trying to do something weird again!!! Can’t be satisfied with females, and now you're reaching out to guys too!!!”

“Haa... I'll protect Laurent…”

“...What?”

Laurent looked up at me with an incredulous expression.

I caught my breath, exhausted from the struggle.

As expected of a player, even stopping her from falling leaves me breathless.

I asked Laurent as if nothing had happened.

“What were you talking about?”

“Just… Trinia said she wants to face me in the midterm evaluation.”

“Really?”

So, Trinia and Laurent are rivals.

Who won according to the original story?

They’re both hard workers and at the same level, both rated at 5 stars, so it’s tough to say. But in terms of talent, I recall that Laurent had the upper hand...

Is Laurent going to win again?

When I asked her, Laurent shook her head.

“She’s always been right on my heels, so this time she might be able to beat me.”

“So you’re going to lose?”

“…”

Laurent crossed her arms, seemingly deep in thought.

After running several simulations of her battle with Trinia in her mind, Laurent finally spoke.

“Nah, I’d win.”

Please support the series on NovelUpdates