‘Is my situation really worse than a ghost’s?’

I felt like crying from the sheer injustice of it all, but I held back.

Because the light had finally returned to Twin-braid’s golden eyes.

She blinked a couple of times, then flashed a cocky grin.

“Professor, you’re really too much.”

Well. I had used original-story cheat keys to pry into someone’s secret, so it was admittedly underhanded.

Sorry, but for the sake of my omniscient strongest teacher roleplay, it couldn’t be helped.

Still, I pretended not to notice the slight moisture in Twin-braid’s voice.

“To say the words I’ve wanted to hear so desperately but never once did, of all moments, now? I’m going to cry from the emotion~”

Twin-braid wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and stepped forward.

Then she looked straight up at the monster.

Powerful water magic soon gathered in both of Twin-braid’s hands.

It was the harbinger of a tsunami.

“Alright, everyone? I’m sorry for dragging you into my family issues~ I’ll definitely repay this debt—”

I let go of the worn sword’s hilt. I’d thought about sneaking in a hit to reinforce my roleplay, but it seemed unnecessary after all.

“Hold onto something tight so you don’t get swept away!”

I could already see the outcome.

This sisterly quarrel goes to the younger sister.

* * *

This harvest is better than expected.

‘Though the area around the pond was left in ruins, and the campus gardener screamed in despair.

I should leave some apology hardtack in front of that person’s room later.

The X-Class kids had quite a struggle in their fight against the giant toad.

We only learned the reason after taking it down—the toad had consumed more than one Magic Stone.

Besides the Soul Stone, low-to-mid grade Magic Stones were glowing inside its belly.

The fact that they were already refined suggested someone had deliberately fed them to it.

No wonder it was so stable without exploding like the one that had swallowed me, despite having consumed a premium-grade Magic Stone. The reaction from mixing with the other stones must have interfered with proper mana absorption.

When I wondered who could have done this, one face came to mind…

‘Bandage, perhaps.’

Or it could be another member of the Demon Lord’s Army.

They say Bedallua Academy is the safest place in the world or whatever, but since the Protagonist attends here, the security is essentially nonexistent.

After all, if it were truly safe, the Protagonist of <Hero Rampage> would have lived at level 1 for three years, only to be murdered the moment he graduated and left the school.

Then readers would have flooded the comments with complaints about the story fizzling out after a strong start.

Anyway, more Magic Stones are always better, so I pocketed some and distributed them among the kids.

Wait, no. Not pocketed—I discovered them and X-Class caught the monster, so they’re legitimate spoils of war.

‘Our odds of winning the tournament just went up a bit.’

The students can handle their own training… Now I should do my job as a professor.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you need not fear a hundred battles. In other words, I need to scout out our rival tournament favorites.

And if possible, scheme up some underhanded—no, strategic plans.

‘None among the freshmen. Among the third-years, Nika’s brother and his friends are the only ones worth worrying about.’

Surprisingly, the one I really need to watch out for is a second-year.

A supporting character who served as the Protagonist’s rival and mentor in <Hero Rampage>.

Ryan the second-year. Also known as the Lion.

There’s just one problem. First, he’s got the ‘delinquent’ trait, constantly getting suspended and skipping school, so opportunities to meet him don’t come easily.

And even when I do meet him, there’s another issue…

“Kukuku, so this is the rumored X-Class that took down the garden monster?”

…I’m not confident I can hold a proper conversation or extract any information from him.

Because.

“Who might you be? The creature claiming to be the strong.est.here…! Would you not test your mettle against me, Ryan the King of Legend?! Staking our 『heart(RED heart)』against each other…!”

This bastard is a chuunibyou Roleplay Addict.

That’s right. The Lion isn’t just the Protagonist’s rival—he’s my roleplay rival as well.

‘This battle between two prideful Roleplay Addicts might come before the tournament itself.’

Let me make this clear: I’m different from that guy. I never had any intention of copying him.

Assuming all Roleplay Addicts are the same is an insult to roleplay artists like myself.

As if I’d lose to that kind of casual hobby roleplay. I’ll show him the dignity of the real deal.

Without changing from my book-covered napping posture, I moved only my lips.

“Noisy.”

“…! I see, so you’re the one I heard was unusual, leading these stormy freshmen!”

“‘You,’ huh.”

Barging into someone else’s classroom and that’s what comes out of your mouth?

As someone from the Land of Eastern Courtesy, I couldn’t just let that pass.

I let out a deep sigh as if thoroughly annoyed, then rose from my seat.

“Professor…! You don’t need to step in yourself! He may be a senior, but he’s still a student!”

“Isn’t he here to spy on our strategies? Just give me permission, Professor, and I’ll chase him out.”

“Isn’t it class time right now? Second-years sure have it easy~ Did you want to die that badly?”

Thank you, students, for each adding your own quip. My roleplay-building efforts have been paying off.

Thanks to that, the Lion’s face grew a bit tense.

“To show such attitude to a professor… I can’t understand it…”

The Protagonist, who for some reason was seething… the Healer will handle calming him down, right?

If you breathe fire right now, my clothes will burn. Why haven’t you returned the coat I gave you during your Rampage and keep wearing it around? Do you even wash it?

Anyway, as ‘Chris,’ I wasn’t about to extend the courtesy of walking over to him.

Instead, I arrogantly flicked my fingers to summon him.

The Lion’s face was painted with shock.

“…! H-How arrogant! But there is no one in this 『world』 who can order Ryan the King of Legend to come or go—!”

“Tsk.”

“…But, as a special exception, I’m curious about you, so I shall graciously come!”

The ‘Chris’ brand tongue-click, meaning ‘that’s annoying, should I just kill him,’ had worked.

The Lion moved his steps and entered the classroom.

Skyward-spiking purple hair. Sharp eyes. A bandage on the bridge of his nose—the very symbol of a ‘delinquent.’

Though most people had to look up at his height, as they say, the small pepper is the spiciest—his skills were the real deal.

‘Though he’s destined to get wrecked by the Protagonist later.’

That’s what a rival and mentor is. In the first place, no one in this world can beat the cheat-level Protagonist.

Of course, the Lion is no match for me either. In the exact opposite sense, that is.

But as ‘Chris,’ it’s a different story. I openly looked down at the Lion with arrogance and opened my mouth.

“Who are you.”

“I-Is there still someone in this school who doesn’t know me?! How pitiful! Kukuku, this body is the one and only savior of this rotten world…”

“Formal speech.”

“Huh?”

“You use formal speech with professors. Do you not know that?”

Did ‘Chris’ have a nitpicky senior trait? Well, I can just add one now.

It was admittedly nitpicking. But ‘Chris’ stubbornly does things his own way, and besides, the most important thing in a battle is momentum.

You can only win by pulling the momentum to your side.

Every Roleplay Addict has their own ‘world.’

For example, mine is the ‘world of the indolent strongest true teacher,’ and his is something like the ‘world of the delinquent rebel who happens to be the strongest.’

You start getting your roleplay recognized by dragging others into your world.

When someone says something like, ‘Ah, so that’s his roleplay. So Chris doesn’t recklessly reveal his power because of trauma?’—that’s success.

In other words, when two Roleplay Addicts meet, it’s nothing less than the collision of two solid worlds.

“Hah! I’ve never cared for boring things like manners…!”

“What do you even know? Aren’t you ashamed to call yourself the strongest?”

“N-No, that has nothing to do with this… sir!”

“One’s attitude speaks volumes.”

Half-measures won’t work.

If I don’t push my roleplay to the point of almost being excessive, I’ll get swept into his. The moment you get caught in someone else’s world, your roleplay wavers, and it’s nothing but defeat.

‘No matter how impressive a Roleplay Addict he is, he’s still a student. There’s no way ‘Chris’ would lose.’

I slowly scanned the Lion from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes.

It was an openly appraising gaze.

Then, striving to speak as coldly and dispassionately as possible, in stark contrast to his excited opponent, I let out:

“Kid.”

“…!”

“Not worth my time. Get lost.”

The Lion’s face flushed red. As expected of Bedallua Academy students. What am I supposed to do when they’re all this weak to insults?

However, the Lion was far more patient than Princess.

He seemed to stagger for a moment, but soon shoved both hands into his pants pockets and retorted with his chin raised high.

“Don’t tell me you’re 『scared』, old man? Posturing like that won’t work—I see through everything! Nothing can deceive this 『Emperor’s Eye』!”

Wow, how many brackets is this bastard using right now?