After washing myself, I changed my clothes.
['Mental Healing' is constantly active.]
I took out the suit prepared in the closet and skillfully put it on.
…This was already the sixth time starting anew.
That's right.
I had experienced this morning six times as of today.
"Haha…"
A hollow laugh escaped me.
But the emotion that burst forth wasn't futility.
It was exhilaration.
*Ding!*
[Find true love and meet your happy destiny!]
That mission message, which frequently chimed when I woke up on the first day, appeared.
I grinned broadly at the message.
"Screw off."
True love?
In this round, I'm not aiming for anything like that.
No, does true love even exist in this world in the first place?
There's love that pretends to be true and then stabs you in the back, sure.
That was the truth I had realized.
And the truth for them was that the five male leads were better men than I was.
That's why, in this round, I won't be deceived by that truth.
"This time, I'll be the one to backstab them."
If I don't, I'll feel sorry for the me of the previous rounds.
Suffering and finally dying painfully.
To the me whose death held no meaning.
Even if the result is a bad ending, I don't care.
Ah, did it say easy mode had no regression perks?
It doesn't matter.
Rather, if this damn regression ends, I'd welcome it.
"I'll be back."
"Yes, study hard, Emil."
"Take care of yourself."
"Brother… you must come back."
"Hehe, Airi. Your brother is just going to the academy. There's no need to worry."
This was the sixth time I had to part with my family.
'…In the end, my sister's worries were right.'
My sister saw me off with a look as if sending her brother off to war.
Stroking her head, Mother comforted her, telling her not to worry.
But Mother.
My sister's worries became reality.
Because in the last five rounds, I never managed to return home.
But this time, it's different.
"Don't worry, Airi."
"..."
"Your brother will definitely come back."
"Really…?"
"Of course."
Of course, it'll probably be a bad ending.
But there's no law saying that a bad ending has to be death.
It could be a lonely death ending, living alone for the rest of my life.
If that's the case, then it's fine.
I just need to live as the reliable guardian of my lovely sister.
Afterward, I got into the carriage and headed towards the academy.
…
"Hmph…"
Getting out of the carriage, I headed towards the academy's main gate.
Revel Academy.
Normally, it would be natural to feel nervous at the start of my time at this academy.
'If you count it, I've attended this place for five years, so there's no such feeling at all.'
I comfortably entered, as if it were a path I had walked just yesterday.
Then, countless applicants came into view.
All of them were here to take the entrance exam to get into this academy.
Every single one was a talented individual from the Empire or foreign lands.
But among them, I found four particularly noticeable people.
'There they are.'
The pink-haired girl, looking around foolishly and spacing out.
The delinquent-like blonde, arms crossed, glaring at her surroundings.
The mint-haired girl, grinning as if excited, looking around at people.
The blue-haired girl, sitting on the nearby floor with an indifferent expression, staring blankly.
'…As expected, that person isn't visible.'
The last, fifth girl was a second-year student, so she didn't appear for the entrance exam.
She's probably in the dormitory or at her family home by now.
Anyway.
I imprinted the images of these girls, whom I was encountering for the first time in this round, into my mind, then indifferently turned my gaze away.
At the same time, the announcer stood on the platform and began to shout something.
"The Revel Academy entrance test will now begin."
The test began precisely at the expected time.
'This is getting tiresome now.'
It was already the sixth test.
Since the second round, I had already been able to comfortably pass the admission cutline.
Even this time, admission itself was no problem at all.
However.
'Maybe I'll try something different this time.'
Unlike before, where admission was the goal, my goal in this round was solely the five heroines.
And the entrance test results add bonus points to their favorability.
Therefore, getting good grades here is advantageous.
"Then, the test begins."
A total of three tests were prepared.
Written, interview, physical.
*Rustle… rustle…*
I sat in a prepared seat and received the exam paper handed from the front.
'Before, I just did it carelessly, thinking I was just an extra, but… this time, I'm going all out.'
The moment I received the exam paper, I immediately began solving the problems.
Of course, as someone who had suddenly possessed Emil, I didn't know most of the contents of these exam questions.
Some questions were about things like the history of the Revel Empire.
But perhaps due to the convenience of possession.
Emil himself knew the answers to the exam questions.
Therefore, the possessed me was drawing upon and utilizing the knowledge Emil had studied in the past to the fullest extent.
But then.
'What…? Why is it so easy…?'
The questions were easy.
Problems related to math or magical calculations were areas I used to struggle quite a bit with.
For most of the questions, I realized the answer the moment I read the item.
*Scratch, scratch…*
As a result, I completed the written exam 30 minutes earlier than other students.
'What on earth is going on…?'
Having finished the exam, I rested my chin on my hand and fell deep into thought.
Remembering the answers after repeating the rounds six times…?
No, the written exam questions subtly changed each round, so memorizing them was useless.
In that case, there were two possibilities.
'Either it's the power of a perk… or the difficulty has been lowered.'
Or perhaps both….
I grinned broadly.
Either way, it was a good situation.
Thanks to this, my entrance test scores would likely be excellent.
Afterward, I proceeded with the interview and the physical test.
As expected.
The interview, thanks to the trait [Sweet Voice], instantly persuaded and enchanted the interviewers.
And for physical ability, under the influence of the trait [Blooming Talent], I achieved results I had never gotten before.
And a few days later.
"Freshman Representative, Emil Tier."
I received the top score for admissions and participated in the entrance ceremony as the freshman representative.
'Things are flowing quite interestingly…'
The processes I thought would be utterly boring because it was the sixth time.
They flowed quite interestingly.
…
*Clap clap clap clap clap—*
As numerous applause echoed, I stood from my seat and walked towards the platform.
Then, murmurs became audible from my surroundings.
"Wow… that person is the top student…?"
"Doesn't he have a good vibe about him?"
"He's handsome."
"Huh? He's not handsome, he's cute."
"Hmm~, he's quite charismatic, isn't he…"
Whether it was the influence of the [Blooming Talent] trait, or just the freshman representative event.
The murmuring voices were clearly audible.
…Handsome, cute, charismatic.
These were modifiers I had never once heard in previous rounds.
'Just how much easier has it gotten?'
It was almost absurd.
"Amidst the breath of spring, where new life sprouts…"
I read along with the freshman representative's speech, subtly glancing towards the audience.
The distance made everyone look similar.
Yet, some people were clearly distinguishable among them.
The five heroines, the five male leads.
And finally.
The protagonist of this game, Sierra.
'…Huh?'
But Sierra's expression, visible from afar, was somehow strange.
Clearly, the other heroines and male leads were looking at me with indifferent or curious gazes.
Only she was staring at me with a somewhat sullen expression.
*Clap clap clap clap clap—.*
'…What is it?'
In the previous five rounds, she had never looked at me with such eyes.
In the first place, I had no significant contact with Sierra, as I was focused on the villainess heroines.
Therefore, even as I descended from the platform, I was conscious of Sierra.
She still looked at me sullenly.
Afterward, once the freshman welcoming ceremony ended.
"Hello."
"...Huh?"
Suddenly, she spoke to me.
Not any of the other five.
Sierra, the protagonist of the original story.
"Do… you know me?"
"What? You just read the representative's speech at the welcoming ceremony."
"Ah, right."
Flustered, I ended up blurting out a foolish question.
In this round, where many things had changed.
For a moment, I thought that Emil's past, whom I had possessed, had also slightly changed, making me an acquaintance of Sierra's.
…But if that wasn't it, then why was she greeting me?
Her approaching me first was the very first time across all rounds.
In previous rounds, I only became acquainted with her the moment she became involved with the heroine I was targeting.
But now, she stood before me, arms crossed, facing me haughtily.
The Emil Tier whom she had never shown any interest in during the past five rounds.
That Emil Tier.
"Anyway, I listened well to your speech. You did great without shaking."
"…Thank you."
"I'm Sierra. You're Emil, right? And the top student this time."
"That's right."
"I'm the second-place student."
Sierra said that and held out her hand to me.
"...Huh?"
"The second-place student, I mean. The person who would have been first if you weren't here."
"No, I know that, but…"
"So what? Here."
Sierra said that and waved her hand again.
Meaning, to shake hands.
I gently took her hand and shook it, falling into a daze.
'My being the top student in the entrance test connecting me with Sierra…'
This was a completely unexpected development.
'…But I'm not interested in you?'
"Hehe, anyway, let's get along well in the future. It seems we'll be seeing each other often."
However, Sierra showed a reaction completely opposite to mine, waving her hand in front of me as she walked away.