The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character-Chapter 45: Sacred Flame [2]

In Velcrest Academy, the classes were divided into five: Sacred Flame, Sacred Stone, Sacred Tides, Sacred Grove, and Sacred Blade.

As a longtime reader of the original novel, I had once asked the author why the classes had names that sounded like some kind of fantasy RPG starter packs.

His response?

"What's wrong with the names? Aren't they cool?"

Of course, that was the answer of a true otaku—completely delusional.

I tried to convince him to change them, maybe give them more serious or thematic names. But he wouldn't budge. So eventually, I just gave up and kept reading his cliché-filled passion project.

Still, I was genuinely surprised when Leona told me she'd been assigned to Sacred Blade.

Why?

Because in the original novel, she was in Sacred Flame.

That change meant something. A ripple caused by my interference. Maybe it was because no one died during the opening ceremony this time, unlike in the novel.

Yeah, in the original timeline, that incident reshuffled a lot of class placements.

But here we were—alive and well. And Leona was now part of a different class.

I guess I had to accept that.

As I walked beside her, still turning things over in my mind, she spoke.

"Anyway, class placement doesn't really mean much, right? Since most of them are electives."

I glanced at her and nodded.

"Yeah, that's true."

Velcrest wasn't like a traditional school. The academy followed a system closer to a university's—students picked the subjects they wanted to take, and more often than not, they chose based on the professor or the content rather than their assigned class.

Putting mages, swordsmen, and clerics in the same space and giving them all the same foundational lessons? That would be ridiculous. It was all too specialized for that.

So, aside from homeroom sessions, exams, and a few special events, your assigned class didn't really matter much.

That said, it was a bit different in my case.

Professor Lena—the homeroom teacher of Sacred Flame—was secretly my friend.

I didn't know how often I'd be seeing her, or how far we could take our "secret connection," but I figured this was still better than having her be in charge of another class entirely.

We continued walking toward the main academy building, the buzz of new students around us growing louder.

After spending a month living in the same dorm, Leona and I had grown closer than I expected.

We shared snacks, had late-night conversations, and even snuck in some delivery food past the ever-watchful dorm supervisor.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Yeah. Not a bad start to academy life. Not bad at all.

Now, I was actually starting to look forward to today more than I expected.

I was still nervous, sure—but nowhere near as tense as before. Something about having someone to talk to helped ease the weight pressing on my chest.

Leona and I chatted casually on the way down—random, meaningless stuff that two seventeen-year-old boys might talk about. Classes, uniform discomfort, breakfast rumors... that kind of thing.

It felt normal. Easy. Natural.

.

.

.

...Wait a second.

Did I just mentally refer to her as him?

Damn it. I almost forgot.

Leona was a girl—cross-dressing as a boy.

And the scary part? She was really good at it.

Her posture, voice, mannerisms—if I didn't already know the truth, I'd be completely fooled. Honestly, I still was kind of fooled. She was that convincing.

I had to remind myself not to slip up.

This wasn't some rom-com. I wasn't about to get caught ogling a 'guy' and end up with some ridiculous misunderstanding.

Mental note: max out my defense stat immediately.

No unnecessary eye contact.

No suspicious stares.

No slipping up.

"Alright, I guess I'll head this way now," Leona said, stopping at the corridor where our paths split.

I nodded. "Yeah. See you around, Leon."

"Mm. See you, Rin."

With that, we went our separate ways, and I took a deep breath.

Okay.

Time to officially step into Velcrest Academy life.

Let's see what this world's got for me.

***

Sacred Flame.

The class where all the important characters—aside from Ryen and Leo Taylor—gathered. It was basically the training ground for the main cast.

After checking my seat number on the glowing holographic screen in the hallway, I made my way toward it.

But as I approached... someone was already there.

"Seriously...?"

A girl was sitting on my desk. Not at it—on it. Legs crossed, laughing with her friends like she owned the place.

Annoying? Yes.

But I couldn't get mad right away. Students messing around and being inconsiderate wasn't exactly rare. It's all part of that magical "school memory" experience or whatever.

Besides, I considered myself a patient man.

I wasn't going to stand the entire homeroom period, so I stepped forward and spoke up—calm and polite.

"That's my seat. Could you move, please?"

No reaction.

Not even a glance.

Weird. Was my voice too quiet?

I looked around—and sure enough, a couple of students seated further away had turned to look. So yeah, my voice was definitely loud enough.

Which meant—

I was deliberately ignored.

And just to confirm it, I caught the faintest smirk on her face as she pretended to glance in every direction except mine.

Tch. This kid.

Alright, Rin. Deep breaths. You're not a teenager anymore—you're a grown man in a borrowed body. She's just a first-year student trying to look cool in front of her friends.

Act like the adult you are.

Let's give her one more chance.

I cleared my throat and tried again—firm, but still polite.

"Excuse me. I don't think you heard me earlier, but that's my seat. I'd like you to move."

There. Polite. Clear. Perfectly reasonable.

No way that could be taken the wrong way, right?

"Ahh! Seriously! Could you just shut up for a moment?"

...Wait, what?

Was I wrong for asking for my own seat now?

Buddha, God, Jesus, ancient spirits of wisdom—anyone out there—please lend me the strength not to explode right here in homeroom on day one.

I took a deep breath. Then another. Centered myself. Calm. Inner peace.

"Look, why don't—"

"Excuse me, what's going on here?"

Before I could finish, a third voice cut in.

My expression twitched slightly.

I recognized that voice all too well.

"Ahh! Leo!!! How are you today?"

Yup. Called it.

Leo Taylor. The second protagonist of World's Greatest Hero. A cold hearted Protagonist who just ignored anyone decided to come here.

Something is strange here for sure.

The moment he stepped into the room, the girl sitting in my seat jumped up like she'd just been caught stealing. Her entire attitude shifted instantly. Gone was the sharp tongue—replaced by sparkly eyes and a smile so fake I thought I could hear plastic stretching.

She practically beamed at him, her tone flipping like a light switch. "You look amazing today, Leo!"

I held back a sigh and muttered under my breath, "Of course he does."