16

Barrett Fromarrow, the daughter of Baron Bird, is thrilled to be in the same class as Arc.

She basically enrolled to meet him.

Baron Bird's family is poor, so she couldn't afford the tuition.

She got a partial exemption, like commoners do.

Plus a scholarship on top of that.

For a noble to rely on that is pretty embarrassing.

But she didn't care if it meant getting to see Arc.

When she realized they'd be in the same class, she almost jumped for joy.

Barrett secretly likes Arc.

But she can't talk to him; she's too shy.

So she just watches him from the sidelines.

"Sigh… Arc was incredible again today," she whispers.

In Modern Magic Theory, the class was already way too advanced for a first lesson.

That's because the duke's daughter kept throwing questions at Embra.

Honestly, Barrett didn't get any of it.

Probably no one else did, either.

It was clearly beyond first-year material.

Still, Embra went along with Ruine's questions.

Then Arc joined in, and that shocked Barrett.

She didn't understand what they said, but she knew Arc was on their level.

She felt a bit ashamed.

Her family's poor.

They've got nothing.

They're just low-level nobles with nothing but a silly pride.

Barrett herself has no special brains or talent.

Meanwhile, Arc has it all.

He even revived a small domain that might be smaller than hers, but he still succeeded.

She'd sort of given up on her own life.

But now she feels embarrassed and wants to improve herself, so maybe she can stand next to Arc.

In the original story, Barrett wasn't even at the Magic Academy.

She was supposed to be part of the Dark Hand and fight the protagonists.

But in this world, she likes Arc and wants to work hard to change her situation.

Who knows how this little twist will affect everything.

◇　◇　◇

Putting that duke's daughter in her place was so satisfying.

Once again today, I go to the commoners' cafeteria and eat a fancy meal in front of them.

Hahaha.

Everyone's staring!

They must be so jealous!

It's the best feeling!

"Hey, Arc. Mind if I join you?"

A blond guy starts talking to me.

He's a commoner, but he's being all casual, even sitting down before I say yes.

Does he know who I am?

I'm Count Garm!

"I never said you could sit."

"Oh, relax. Let's get along."

He even takes a bite of my fancy meal, like it's no big deal.

Who the heck is he?

So rude.

He keeps talking while I'm trying to eat.

"So what's your name, anyway?"

"That's harsh. Oh right, I never introduced myself. I'm Lost. Nice to meet you."

"I don't plan on being friends with someone who steals my food."

"Wow, you're stingy."

Should I knock this guy out?

I'm a person with money, power, authority.

"Why do you always come here, Arc?"

"Hah, isn't it obvious? I like it better here."

It's filled with commoners.

I can stand over them while I eat.

"Got it."

He doesn't seem too interested, mumbling as he snags another piece of my food.

I'm about ready to punch him.

"Looking forward to hanging out, Arc."

Hmph.

Who wants to hang out with you?

Keep dreaming.

◇　◇　◇

Lost Finn F. Nuaza.

He's a friend of the main character in the original story—more like a big-brother figure.

He's a second-year at the Magic Academy.

He's from a special forest tribe with a unique power they call "Druid," or spirit-craft.

They can use mysterious abilities outside normal magic.

One of those is prophecy.

A long time ago, Lost got a divine message:

"You will have a fateful meeting at the Magic Academy. Stay with that person, and you'll reach your goal."

Lost has an urgent goal.

He enrolled in the academy just to find that person.

He's been waiting for this fateful encounter.

Then Arc showed up.

Lost watched him for days.

He wanted to see if Arc was "the one."

After a while, he was sure.

He decided Arc must be the chosen one.

It was basically a process of elimination—no one else fit.

Arc is top-tier in wealth, power, smarts, charm—everything.

And Lost also liked how Arc seemed so heroic.

With Arc, Lost believes he can achieve his mission.

―Yes, his mission of revenge.

That's what Lost thinks. But actually, Arc isn't "the one" at all.

Normally, Lost should have met the real protagonist in the commoners' cafeteria.

They would have teamed up to fight the Dark Hand.

So the destined person was really the protagonist.

But Arc stood out so much that Lost got the wrong idea.

No one knows how this changed destiny will affect things.

All we know is that Arc is breaking the story.