Mari had been huddled on her bed ever since she opened her eyes.
She had no intention of going outside.
Dawn passed, and morning arrived, bringing the sounds of the bustling dormitory.
Probably the sounds of students starting to go to school.
But Mari still didn't move.
'I should go…'
Somewhere in her heart, a voice urged her to run to Emil and apologize right now.
Because he was kind.
If she sincerely apologized, he might even accept her.
That's what she thought.
'I need to go to Emil…'
But her body wouldn't move.
The moment she resolved to move, that scene flickered in her mind.
In front of the Academy's main building.
Emil's small figure, hanging from it.
His body limp, his tongue hanging out, his eyes rolled back as if staring at her—that scene.
That scene kept stopping Mari's steps.
"…"
Even so, she couldn't stay like this.
Because Emil surely had memories of that time.
Those events she saw in her dream must be why he rejected her confession.
Mari still wanted to be in love with Emil.
That desire was the same even now, with the memories of the dream.
And now, with memories of becoming Emil's lover, that desire had grown even stronger.
Therefore, she couldn't stay in her room like this.
'But even if I go out… will anything change…?'
Mari huddled on her bed, deep in thought.
How could she be forgiven by Emil?
How could she be loved by Emil?
As she pondered and pondered on the method, time soon approached night.
"…"
After agonizing for a long time.
Mari reached a conclusion.
"Yes… that's it…"
Having found the answer, Mari lifted her head and gently smiled.
She felt like her mind had cleared.
"I'm not bad."
She could become Emil's lover.
With just that thought, Mari got up from her bed.
Again, Emil, hanging by his neck, flickered before her eyes.
But with the sole conviction of loving him, she erased that trauma.
Clatter, clatter… Scrape…
And after changing her clothes, Mari rummaged through her room.
It was something she had definitely stored away at some point.
Though illegitimate, she was still a noble, so she possessed self-defense items for contingencies.
Mari, holding an antique-designed knife in her hand, grinned.
She hid the knife at her waist and left the dormitory.
Afterward.
Mari, on the dim, solitary path between the Academy and the dormitory.
Encountered her target, Malcolm.
Thud! Thud!
Fortunately, there was no one passing by.
From the start, there was no way anyone would be passing through this path at this hour.
Though Mari was currently mentally unstable, she meticulously checked such details.
Thud! Thud!
As the knife went in and out, the light faded from Malcolm's eyes.
"It's because of you…"
Thud! Thud!
"Everything, it all happened because of you…"
Thud. Thud.
"So… this is you paying for your sins…"
As he grew cold, what was he thinking?
Because he couldn't even let out a short death rattle, it became a fact known to no one.
Simply.
Malcolm looked at Mari, who was on top of him.
A single tear fell from his fading eyes.
. . .
Mari didn't show up at the Academy even the next day.
'The shock must have been truly great.'
Of course, my mind wasn't as conflicted as it had been yesterday.
Because if I showed any signs of distress, the system would automatically activate mental healing.
I attended class as usual, feeling refreshed.
…Perhaps Mari's shock was even greater precisely because she couldn't receive such mental healing.
After all, witnessing someone die is naturally shocking.
It was the Mari from the 1st playthrough, who had sex with Malcolm even after witnessing me hang myself, that was somehow strange.
However.
Even putting Mari aside.
Malcolm also not showing up at the Academy was quite concerning.
'Was getting beaten up a little really that difficult for him?'
I didn't know why, but if his crushing defeat at my hands was the reason, it was quite disappointing.
I also wondered if Mari had been taken from me by such a pathetic guy.
Well, anyway.
After rejecting Mari's confession.
My daily routine had completely reverted to before I started trying to win over Mari.
"So, you're saying you don't know at all?"
"…"
No, it hadn't completely reverted.
"I told you, I don't know."
"That's strange… I thought you'd definitely know."
"Why on earth?"
"Because the day before Mari rested, Mari went on a date with you."
"…"
"I certainly thought she'd confess that day."
If anything had changed slightly from before the Mari strategy.
It was Sierra.
She started visiting him frequently.
Even now, she was occupying the seat in front of him in the classroom, speaking to him amicably.
The topic was about Mari and Malcolm, who hadn't shown up at the Academy.
"You really don't know, do you…?"
"…"
Sierra looked at him with suspicious eyes and asked about the two of them.
Of course, he knew.
He knew very well.
But he didn't bother explaining the situation to her.
'It might cause unnecessary problems.'
Perhaps later, when Mari and Malcolm returned to the Academy, she might ask them for the reason.
At that time, he would just make an excuse, saying he didn't know it was for that reason.
"Whew, if you don't know, then there's nothing I can do. Well then, I'll be going now. See you later."
"See you later…? You're coming again?"
"What, you don't want me to come?"
Sierra said that, shot him a look, and then immediately smiled playfully.
"Then, see you later."
And then, arbitrarily setting a date for their next meeting, she waved and disappeared.
'See you later…'
He had no intention of deliberately hanging out with Sierra.
For some reason, she seemed to regard him as a friend, but he had things he needed to do.
He had no time to waste on friendship games with Sierra.
'More importantly, it's almost time to target the next person.'
The Mari strategy ended with rejecting her confession.
So, he no longer had any business with Mari.
Now was the time to move on to the next target.
'There she is.'
Just then, she was walking through the scene outside the window.
A woman characterized by a confident stride, a swishing blonde ponytail, and fierce yet honest eyes.
Chris Bellmore.
She was his second target.
For reference, he had targeted her in the 4th playthrough.
However, due to timing, this was the most appropriate moment to target her, which is why her turn became second.
Anyway.
It was time to start preparing for Chris's strategy.
. . .
To be honest, Chris was the furthest from his type among the five heroines.
That's why he only attempted to win her over in the 4th playthrough.
The reason was simple.
Thump!
"Hmph, is that all? Pathetic."
"Ugh…"
Because she was rough and violent.
In short, she was terrifying.
'Even in the 4th playthrough, she was tough to win over…'
He watched Chris's sparring match in the joint practical class and recalled memories from previous playthroughs.
Chris.
To win her over, he first needed to use his body a lot.
Not in the sense of 'running with his body' as he did when trying to win over Mari.
But in the sense of actually overworking his body.
'Still, now that he was in easy mode and had received a lot of perks, it should be quite doable.'
Chris's strategy fundamentally required combat ability.
That's why, in the 4th playthrough, he abandoned all studies and everything else from the start, dedicating himself only to practical training.
Even then, he ultimately didn't achieve enough skill to defeat Chris.
But he still reached a level just barely enough to win her over.
For reference, what kind of level was that?
It meant a level where he wouldn't lose his life in the upcoming labyrinth practical event.
"Looks like your opponent isn't to your liking. Care to spar with me once?"
"Hm?"
During a short break after finishing a light sparring match.
He approached Chris, who was standing with a dissatisfied expression, and spoke to her.
Then, she, with sharp, delinquent-like eyes, subtly glared at him.
That gaze was still terrifying, even though he had tried to win her over once before.
However, despite that, her appearance was beautiful.
Although it was the exact opposite of the innocent Mari.
Her distinct features and fine skin.
And her slender figure, thanks to long training, alone made a man's heart pound.
So much so that one might mistake the pounding in their heart, felt due to her terrifying gaze, for love.
"You… you were the one who went up front during the entrance ceremony, weren't you?"
But, unexpectedly, Chris already knew about him.
'Being the top scorer in the entrance exam is definitely good.'
Fortunately, introducing himself probably wouldn't take much time.
"That's right, my name is Emil."
"I'm Chris… But, I heard you collapsed during a sparring match recently."
"Ah…"
It seemed she had heard about that incident with Malcolm.
And because the content of that incident was that he was hit by a training wooden sword and carried to the infirmary.
Naturally, Chris began to glare at him with a dissatisfied expression.
"Sorry, but I have no business with someone who ends up like that from just a sparring match. Find someone else."
Saying that, Chris turned her gaze away from him and waved her hand.
A gesture as if shooing away a bug.
He ended up losing points with her in an unexpected way.
'What should I do…'
It was time to start building a connection with Chris.
In the 4th playthrough, he had plenty of time to proceed with the strategy by building a connection with her right after enrollment.
But in this playthrough, all that time had vanished due to the Mari strategy.
If he didn't start now, he would miss the most crucial timing for Chris's strategy.
Therefore.
He decided to take a slight risk.
"Could it be you're afraid to lose?"
"Ha…?"
At his words, uttered at the end of his deliberation, Chris's sharp gaze suddenly glinted as she looked at him.
That gaze made his knees tremble.
By all accounts, she was properly provoked.
Just then, the voice of the practical training professor, who was looking around at the students, resounded nearby.
"Alright! Now, let's end the break and everyone resume sparring!"
Starting with that voice.
Chris, who had been glaring at him, grinned and extended her wooden sword towards him.
"Fine, seems like you enjoy getting beaten. I'll grant your wish."
"Haha…"
There was no choice.
Although he ended up provoking her anger.
He didn't have time now.
"Don't expect any mercy!"
And the highly excited blonde delinquent charged at him with overwhelming force.
. . .
"Ow, ow, ow…"
The result of his sparring match with Chris was his defeat.
Well, it was a natural outcome if there ever was one.
Although he could easily handle someone like Malcolm, Chris's skill was on a completely different level than Malcolm's.
Moreover, she was highly agitated, so she attacked even more fiercely than in a normal sparring match.
His defeat was an unavoidable outcome.
However, it wasn't the exact same level as in the 4th playthrough.
"You… your skill is better than I thought?"
After the sparring match ended.
Chris rubbed her shoulder, which had just been hit by his wooden sword, and looked at him.
The anger from a moment ago had vanished from her eyes, replaced by surprise.
"Your name was Emil, right?"
And saying that, Chris gently extended her hand to him, who was slumped on the ground.
When he took her hand.
Whoosh!
He was pulled up from his spot by her hand.
"Sorry for ignoring you earlier. I definitely misunderstood."
And Chris, facing him, smiled sweetly for the first time.
Her beautiful charm, hidden within her sharp gaze, became apparent.
At the same time, the professor's voice, announcing the end of class, was heard.
"Everyone, clean up and return! Good work today!"
Around them, tired students sighed, and Chris naturally let go of his hand and bid him farewell.
"Then, see you next time."
"Ah, right."
Although he had quite aggressively initiated the sparring match with Chris.
The result was better than he expected.
He imprinted his name in her mind and gained a good impression.
Well, thanks to that, his body ached all over.
But he had succeeded in making a good first impression.
And so, he gently smiled as he watched Chris's retreating back.
. . .
'So, what I need to do next is…'
Afterward, he spent his days attending Academy classes as usual.
Of course, that didn't mean he focused solely on classes.
His mind was filled with thoughts about how to win over Chris.
He sifted through his memories from the 4th playthrough and organized what he needed to do at the current point in time.
In Mari's case, he merely had to follow a major event like the midterm exams.
Chris's case was a little different.
Because winning her over required a certain level of improvement in practical ability.
He needed to raise his practical ability enough to withstand the upcoming labyrinth practical event.
Since he had to proceed with Chris's strategy in addition to that schedule.
He spent the entire day focused on organizing his schedule.
Time quickly passed until it was after school.
All the students began to leave the Academy.
'Training starts tomorrow, I guess… I hope I can entice Chris to join…'
Even as he returned to the dormitory, his mind was still pondering the strategy.
Perhaps because of that, his awareness of his surroundings diminished.
Just then.
"E-Emil—!!"
Someone called out to him from behind as he walked through a secluded area.
The voice was very familiar.
"Mari…"
Startled, he immediately turned his body and looked behind him.
"S-Sorry… Hehe, were you surprised…?"
Mari was standing there.
"I… I have something I want to tell, E-Emil…"
She certainly looked the same as usual.
But he instinctively felt that something was different.
Especially.
Her bright smile, made with empty eyes.
The uncanny feeling of it made goosebumps rise on his back.