10. Different from the original

10. Different from the original

A week had passed since Lucinda entered the academy.

This morning, they were supposed to be sketching in the forest managed by the school for an elective course.

While Lucinda was using a large stone as a chair, staring at the grass and working earnestly with her pen, her homeroom teacher, Ray, spoke to her from behind.

“You’re drawing a…..caterpillar? That’s some strange taste you have there.”

“……actually, I’m drawing a dandelion flower in case you’re interested.”

“I see, now that you mention it, it is a dandelion, isn’t it? Well, it’s nice to have this kind of artistic touch, I guess.”

Indeed, Lucinda did not have any artistic ability in her previous life. Still, she did not think that it was at a level where people would not even recognize a drawing of a flower. Ray’s blatant follow-up also made her feel a little bit sad.

‘I wonder what other people are drawing. Let’s have a look.’

For a change of pace, Lucinda took a peek at Mia’s sketchbook since she was nearby.

“Wow, Mia! You’re really good at drawing!”

“Oh, hi Lucinda. Well, I’m a little confident in my drawing skills.”

Mia proudly showed me her drawings, which were so detailed and expertly shaded that it was hard to believe she had used the same pen as Lucinda did.

As Lucinda became convinced that her drawing could probably be called a caterpillar if it was compared to this, she noticed a small sketchbook lying at Mia’s feet. It seemed to be a different sketchbook from the one she was using for the class.

“Hey, what’s this sketchbook?”

“Oh, that’s……!”

When Lucinda picked it up and casually opened it, she saw a drawing of Ray with a seductive smile on his face and her, showing a shy expression, with Ray holding her wrist.

“What the hell is this?”

“It’s a hobby of mine, I just happened to see a good scene earlier, so I drew a quick sketch of it.”

It didn’t look like she was just ‘good at drawing.’ The picture was so good that Lucinda couldn’t believe it was just a quick sketch. But the problem was the content of the drawing; this scene did not happen in reality! It was a fabrication.

“I didn’t have my wrist held like this, and I don’t remember making this sort of face.”

“Well, this is how it looked in my eyes.”

There were no signs of remorse in Mia’s words.

“Don’t tell me there are more drawings like this in this sketchbook?”

Lucinda asked in horror and was about to check the other pages when Mia snatched the sketchbook back from her with blinding speed.

“I didn’t draw anything that extreme, so it should be okay.”

“What do you mean, ‘extreme’?”

“Anyway, I was surprised to see that you had an aptitude for magic. In the original version it wasn’t described that way.”

Mia diverted the topic of conversation, but since Lucinda was also curious about this fact, she decided to go along with the conversation.

“I wasn’t good at magic in the original?”

“In the original, Lucinda was not in the special magic class. She might have had some talent, but maybe she just wasn’t interested in it.”

It was true that she was only able to develop her talent for magic because she met Flora five years ago and got magic lessons. In the original story, the two probably never met, and so Lucinda never learned magic or entered the academy.

“……Speaking of which, what is Mia’s aptitude like?”

“I’m not sure if it’s because I’m a heroine or because I’m a bit special at magic: it’s not the usual fire and water magic, but a kind of ability that maximizes the power of imagination.”

“Wow! That’s cool! Is it like a non-attribute?”

“It’s supposed to awaken after the battle with the last boss and enable me to use light magic, but I have no idea what it is now.”

“Wait a minute, what? Do otome games involve battles⁉︎”

“Just at the very end.”

Lucinda thought it would just be a game where you had to navigate romantic events at the academy. She didn’t realize there were going to be battles with enemies. 

‘I can’t even imagine fighting in an otome game. I wonder what kind of combat system it is. Is it like attacking physics or magic on a turn-by-turn basis? I don’t think it’s going to be a rhythm game like the ones we would play on school trips.’

As if she knew that Lucinda was thinking about the battles in “Koi Para,” Mia helpfully gave her a brief description of the last boss battle.

“In the last boss battle, the demon king takes over the bodies of the students, and the captured targets work together to fight using magic. Finally, the heroine purifies the place, and the battle ends.”

“What an exciting development! Ohh, I want to fight against the demon king with you!”

A battle against a demon king would be the most RPG-like event of the whole game, so how could Lucinda not participate?

When Lucinda expressed her wish with sparkling eyes, Mia groaned for some reason “hmmm.”

“But I have a suspicion that the demon king might not be resurrected as in the original story.”

“What do you mean?”

‘What on earth does she mean that the demon king may not be resurrected?…Although, speaking in general, it would be best not to revive the demon king. But somehow I think I would be disappointed if he doesn’t come back; I think I would be just a little bit unsatisfied.’

“At this point, the characters’ personalities are quite different from the original, so I wondered if this story would continue to follow the original storyline.”

“When you say the characters’ personalities are different, do you mean you and me?”

“That’s part of it, but the personalities of the characters to be captured have also changed a lot. There are some characters we haven’t met yet, so I don’t know about all of them. Still, Aaron, Lyle, and Ray, in particular, are very different from the original.”

“What? Does that mean everyone is a reincarnated person?”

“I don’t think so. I think there was something that made them change before they entered the academy. I suspect that it’s because you were already acquainted with all of them.”

Mia looked at her suspiciously, but Lucinda had absolutely no idea how to respond.

“Umm, but they were all good people from the start, just like they are now. What were their personalities like in the original?”

“In the original version, Aaron was a seemingly refreshing prince, but he never took any interest in other people. Besides, I attended a tea party at the royal palace five years ago: according to the original story, Aaron should have been impressed by me, but what he actually remembered was Lucinda.”

“Oh, that’s because I said something uncommon…”

Mia continued, ignoring Lucinda’s attempt to make excuses.

“Lyle was more of a cold-blooded character. He didn’t want to be a magic knight—he wanted to be prime minister, following his parent’s orders.”

“……maybe that’s because I thought of the term ‘magic knight’……”

Mia glanced at Lucinda with an expression that said, “Told ya,” and continued.

“And the one who has changed the most is Ray! In the original story, he was forced to become a teacher to pay off his debts, but he was just a temporary teacher, not a homeroom teacher. He was a flirtatious guy who was totally unmotivated to do his job and flirted with the female students non-stop. Still, in this story he turned into a serious homeroom teacher.”

“Back then I just wanted to help Mrs. Flora, who seemed to be troubled by Ray’s rebellious phase….That is, in Ray’s case, isn’t it a good thing that he has a decent personality now…?”

Mia gave a small sigh as she looked at her with a frown.

“At this rate, it looks like even Chris won’t be a yandere anymore.”

“Yandere? But Chris is such a kind and reliable older brother.”

“See, I knew it! Well, anyway, since the story turned out like this right from the start, I have my doubts about the demon king’s resurrection happening.”

Mia twirled the pen in her hand, then sat down on a small tree stump and began to draw a new picture.

‘The characters’ personalities are indeed different from the original as Mia said. However, I wonder if the story’s ending, the revival of the demon king, would be changed as well.’

Unable to give up on the last boss battle, Lucinda asked Mia, who was well-versed in the original story.

“When is the battle with the demon king supposed to occur?”

“I think it was about a month before the graduation party. By the way, I should be able to meet the student who will be taken over by the demon king soon, so I’ll let you know when that happens.”

Mia turned around and replied with a quick wink.

‘Hmm…….if I don’t get involved with the student who the demon king will take over, will there be a greater chance of a demon king battle occurring?’

Lucinda felt really sorry for the student who would get taken over by the demon king. Still, in the end, the heroine, Mia, would purify the demon king and restore the student with recovery magic. That means that if the demon king attacked and they won the battle, it would be a completely normal occurrence in this world. So, if possible, Lucinda wanted everyone to play their part for just a little bit so that she could have her fun.

‘For now, let’s not get involved with that student.’

Lucinda made up her mind and turned to ask Mia to teach her how to draw a dandelion.

Note:

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TL:Nozomi

ED:Ali