Demona chattered on and on about the rumors circulating around the school.
"So, apparently, the principal has hidden a ton of dark magic books in the basement of Harden Hall."
"I know."
"Oh, do you want to go get them together?"
"Go by yourself."
"That's so mean..."
Roan cut him off sharply. Harden Hall was the university's main building. While it was true that there were dark magic books in the basement, they were all just basic or theoretical materials that Roan already knew about. Even if he was interested, Harden had placed flawless tracing magic on them.
Plus, there were also Kaina's alarm spells scattered throughout the archive. Unless he planned on killing himself out of sheer disgust with the world, there was no reason for Roan to ever show his face over there.
'Wait a minute, so was the Elont Grand Library left unguarded on purpose…?' Roan suddenly felt a sense of doubt overcome him.
"Huh?"
He turned his head toward the faint gaze he felt coming from outside the cafeteria window.
It was clear that someone was watching, specifically watching him and Demona.
At the spot where the gaze came from, a girl was staring at him and Demona.
'Isn't that...?'
It was a face Roan recognized well.
However, putting aside why she was at the dormitory, he couldn't figure out why she was staring at them like that.
Whoosh —
As soon as their eyes met, the girl quickly turned her head and disappeared.
"What's wrong, Roan?"
Demona looked out the window, but that was after the fact.
"There was someone outside…"
"Well, of course, there's going to be someone. Why wouldn't there be?"
"… Shut up and just eat your bread."
"How can I eat if I shut my mouth...?"
Roan glared fiercely at Demona for a moment, but he wasn't exactly wrong.
It was a weekend morning.
A time when the entire school bustled with energy from early on.
'Yeah, it was probably just someone passing by and glancing over by chance.'
Roan decided not to think too much about it.
Just then, Riel and Rafia arrived at the cafeteria.
"You're a bit late."
"It's the weekend, so I slept in a little. Hehe."
"Good morning."
"... Hello."
Their roommate, Sion, also quietly took a seat with them.
If it had been other students, they would have made a fuss over Sion, who was a candidate for sainthood.
However, in this party that included Roan and Demona, they didn't seem to think much of her.
'It was a good choice to join this group!'
Sion was secretly pleased.
… Though it was a bit unfortunate for her, the reason they were so indifferent was because they had actually met the true saint, Yusina.
Anyway, Demona shared the rumors about the fallen angel with the three of them.
"Is that true?"
"Really?"
"A fallen angel!"
Their shocked reactions made Demona beam with pride.
'It seems like they've all become friendly with Demona… No, wait.'
Meanwhile, Roan, who had been silently watching, furrowed his brow.
Seeing Demona chatting happily with the girls brought back some unpleasant memories to the surface.
And for some reason, the image of that girl from earlier kept flashing in his mind…
'Come to think of it, this feels really unsettling.'
'I really don't want to ruin the life of some poor woman!'
Although he didn't plan on ending Roan's life in such a way like the one he saw in the Garden of Dawn, this was definitely something he had to address.
"Demona."
"Yes, what is it?"
Demona looked back at Roan with an innocent expression on his face.
'For sure, if you just look at his appearance, he seems perfectly fine.'
Roan had to admit that much.
He had the classic features of an aristocratic young man, exuding elegance.
Furthermore, with the backing of the Wickron family, he could be considered a good match for a fine young lady one day.
… That was, if you ignored the fact that no one who knew him would ever think that way.
Roan spoke with a genuinely concerned expression.
"If marriage is something you want in the future, make sure you tell me."
"Ro-Roan, what are you suddenly talking about?"
The first ones to react to this out-of-the-blue talk of marriage were the girls sitting across from him.
Having never experienced a proper relationship, the topic of marriage was quite an embarrassing one for the young girls.
But Roan was steadfast in what he wanted to say.
"Got it? Even if it's a political marriage, it doesn't matter."
Hector made a displeased face and interrupted.
"Are you saying I'm going to get married later than that heretic, Roan?"
Roan and the others around him looked at Hector with baffled expressions on their faces.
Setting aside why the conversation had taken such a sudden turn, they didn't say it out loud, but the meaning was clear.
'Isn't that obvious?'
Unlike Demona, who was a popular, handsome young man, Hector had the stiff and stern look of a stone.
Furthermore, being an inquisitor was a job so unpopular among men that even renowned matchmakers gave up trying to finding them future prospects.
As a result, it was common for inquisitors to marry amongst themselves.
'At least Demona could live off his looks…'
Naturally, Hector understood the meaning behind his friends' looks.
Thud —
He focused on eating his bread with a deeply hurt expression.
Meanwhile, Demona himself just laughed and waved his hand around.
"Are you crazy, Roan? Me, getting married? Do you think that's even possible?"
His friends looked relieved.
'He knows it himself...'
However, Roan was still serious.
"... I figured as much."
"???"
You figured as much?
'Had he seen the future or something?'
The group seemed to be more than surprised – they appeared to be shocked.
Although they thought it was impossible, Roan's serious tone made them wonder, 'Could it be…?'
"..."
Roan, Demona, Hector, Rafia, Riel, and Sion all quietly ate their bread, each with a somewhat troubled expressions on their faces.
After some time had passed, Roan finally spoke, feeling somewhat uneasy.
"So, don't get too close to Demona."
"Um… Huh? Oh, don't get too close?"
It was his determination to cut off any path leading to a bad ending in advance.
***
As the girls who had arrived late were finishing their meal…
'It's the weekend, so it'll start soon.'
Roan was deep in thought.
The power he needed to cast the "Gray Life Shackles," the "Administrator of the Forbidden Archives," was almost prepared using the Holy Spirit's tears and materials brought from the 'Sunset Hill.' He was planning to wrap things up soon.
But if he missed the upcoming event, it would all be for nothing.
'I'll make sure to seize the advantage right from the start.'
While Roan was formulating this important plan…
"Riel and I are going to the shopping district since it's the weekend. Do you want to come, Sion?"
"Sure!"
"How about you, Demona?"
"I have to clean the bathroom because of a fine…"
"... Sorry."
Other students were each imagining their first weekend after entering school with happy thoughts.
It was natural since it was their first weekend.
However —
"We've barely studied anything this week, and you're already slacking off?"
At Roan's sharp remark, his friends instinctively stiffened up.
'What the —? Is he a discipline professor or something?'
The 'discipline professor' was akin to a head teacher in South Korea, responsible for student oversights.
In any case, it was hard to believe that such strict words were coming from a fellow freshman!
Roan didn't stop there, continuing his storm of scolding.
"Plus, elective courses start next week. If you slack off now, it'll be hard to keep up with the pace."
"…"
"If you waste a few weeks idly before you know it, midterms will be here, and if you start preparing then, it'll be too late to catch up."
"St-Stop it."
"And that's not all. If you join a club or something, you'll have even less time to study —"
"Y-You study monster!"
In the end, Demona, who couldn't take Roan's scolding anymore, suddenly stood up and yelled.
— Oh wow, that's Wickron for you!
Demona was immediately cheered by not just Roan's friends, but also all the other freshmen and even some upperclassmen who had been quietly listening in on their conversation.
It was a frustrating world where saying the right thing made you unpopular, but saying what people wanted to hear made you more popular!
"Yeah, Roan. This time, Demona's right."
Even Rafia quietly took Demona's side.
She had also planned to spend this weekend leisurely at a famous dessert café in the shopping district.
In the end, realizing the public sentiment, Roan sighed deeply.
'It's their loss, anyway.'
He was trying to give advice out of friendship, but instead of being grateful, they were upset!
"Fine. Do whatever you want. Just don't assume that weekends at Akerandir are meant for resting."
— Ahem.
— Well, that's true.
— This freshman is quite something…
As Roan gave his warning, the upperclassmen who had been listening turned their heads and cleared their throats awkwardly.
Sion, with a slight look of admiration, asked, "As expected… The weekend isn't just a day to finish the week, but a day to prepare for the next, right?"
As expected from a top student who was likely to be the valedictorian, she had a different mindset.
Sion, who had been diligent in her studies both in her former family and at the Vatican, resolved to learn from this attitude.
However, Roan, seemingly confused by what she was saying, responded, "I didn't mean it that way."
"?!"
"Anyway, you'll all find out soon enough."
"???"
Before his friends could ask what he meant, Roan's words soon became reality.
BAM —!
A third-year student barged into the cafeteria, yelling loudly.
"It's up! It's posted!"
The quiet murmuring in the room stopped instantly at that shout.
— What's going on? What's posted?
Only the clueless freshmen looked around in confusion.
Soon, a group of holy knights rushed into the cafeteria entrance.
Each holy knight was holding a scroll and shouting.
"Roxanna Hall basement cleaning duty! 150 Dalants per day! We need five people!"
"Professor Vulcan's animal pen cleaning duty! 350 Dalants per day! We need ten people!"
The upperclassmen, who were familiar with this situation, quickly lined up in front of the holy knights.
—150 for cleaning? That's an easy score!
—Hey, no cutting in line!
Chaos was about to break out in front of some of the holy knights as students tried to secure a spot.
"From here to that student! Follow me!"
— Oh yeah!
— Tsk!
Once the holy knight filled the required number of students, they immediately led them out of the cafeteria, and another holy knight quickly took their place.
By this point, even some of the sharper freshmen were beginning to understand what was going on.
"Repairing the school fence! 200 Dalants a day! First 20 people to sign up!"
— I'll do it!
— Me too!
So, this is how you make money on weekends!
However, that was just rookie-level thinking.
As the clueless freshmen rushed to line up here and there, the upperclassmen chuckled.
— Heh, fixing the fence for 200 Dalants?
— Those freshmen are in for some hard work.
Their tone sounded less like seniors and more like local thugs.
"Hey, guys!"
Just then, Beanin urgently pushed through the crowd toward them.
"Sorry, I didn't have time to explain, but you need to choose your weekend volunteer work carefully!"
Unlike the other seniors, Beanin was a genuinely helpful upperclassman!
If you chose the wrong task, you could end up toiling away all weekend, so freshmen needed to be especially careful when picking their assignments.
"In general, cleaning duties are decent. But there are certain jobs you absolutely must avoid…"
Beanin was about to quickly explain how to select the right volunteer work.
"Professor Kaina's interrogation assistant! 500 Dalants a day! First come, first served!"
"I'll dooooo ittttt!"
Before Beanin could finish, Hector jumped up and ran off.
"I can't pass up 500 Dalants for heresy interrogation!"
He seemed really excited by the prospect.
Beanin watched Hector running off with a hollow look and continued his sentence.
"Never sign up for interrogation assistant…"
But Hector was already standing in front of the holy knight.
"Uh, are you sure? You look like a freshman. Are you really going to do this?"
"Of course! Pride of Pabilto!"
"Well... alright, go ahead then…"
Even the holy knight in charge seemed bewildered by his eagerness!
Roan calmly remarked to Beanin, "But since he's from the Pabilto family, he should be fine, right?"
"Y-Yeah, maybe…"
Beanin still looked pitifully concerned.
Seeing that Beanin was the only reliable senior around, some of the female students approached him.
"Um, do you have any volunteer work you'd recommend?"
"Well, that's —"
Beanin nodded his head, preparing to explain, but then—
"Professor Atoga's research lab cleaning! 150 Dalants! First three people!"
"Baaaaah! I'm going! Sorry, guys!"
With that, another tempting volunteer job was announced, and Beanin ran off without looking back.
'In the game, I never raised Beanin to be like this!'
Roan clicked his tongue as he watched the disappointing scene unfold.