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The academy’s festival was reminiscent of a college festival in Korea.

Just as students lead various events and businesses, the academy students also held events or set up stalls.

As a result, there were several festival booths scattered throughout the academy.

Beautiful female students dressed in costumes would try to attract customers, while the head chef stepped outside to offer sliced marinated meat, showcasing the deliciousness of the dishes.

Of course, besides food stalls, various “event stalls” were also thriving.

Shooting games, lottery games, talent shows, palm reading, fortune-telling, and so on.

The event booths were bustling with people.

And this was all thanks to the academy opening its doors to the public.

The academy administration granted free entry so that every noble could enjoy the festival.

Though, of course, commoners and those of lower status were excluded.

Only a select few commoners with connections to nobility were allowed to participate in the festival.

“Come to the play~! ‘Descendants of the Sea God’ premieres at 4 PM!”

Amid all of this, a play called ‘Descendants of the Sea God’ was gaining popularity.

It humorously depicted the duel between Edgar Fix and Leon Clendor, intriguing nobles who had only heard stories about their clash.

“What!? How is it possible to be unscathed after facing the judgment of the Sea God?”

“Because I am the academy’s strongest student.”

“No way!”

However, the play’s lead, Ed, ran out during the performance.

His face was flushed, unable to endure it any longer.

[The Final Showing of ‘Prosecutor Baldos’ is in high demand!]

Instead, his directed film ‘Prosecutor Baldos’ was quite watchable.

The person holding the megaphone was Ed himself, who had stripped away the awkwardness and delivered the script straightforwardly.

[Ugh! Saber. You must survive····.]

The film was a tale of vengeance.

It followed young ‘Saber’, who had his family murdered by the strongest swordsman, ‘Kaya’, as he trained for about eight years to take down Kaya’s organization and ultimately kill him.

[Well, well. A little lady? Quite a looker, huh?]

When Saber finally emerged after eight years of training.

The first villain he cut down was David, the president of the obnoxious club.

David, while flirting with Enya, perfectly played the role of the one sliced away in one blow and exited.

[How dare you kill my brother?]

Next came Anthony, another villain from the obnoxious club.

He too performed well, showcasing the strength of the now-trained Saber (Enya) before exiting.

[Oh ho ho. You’re quite something, aren’t you? But I, Jenny of the Chain Scythe, won’t be so easy.]

As Saber cut through the lower ranking members of Kaya’s organization, the mid-boss, Jenny of the Chain Scythe, appeared.

Jenny was played by Claire, who was a close friend of Enya.

Having been friends since childhood, their chemistry was impeccable.

[Ahh! My Chain Scythe broke!]

Perhaps because of this, Jenny played her role perfectly, looking down on her opponent before exiting.

[Hehe. This is as far as you go.]

Afterwards, Lucas appeared as ‘Lucius, the Master Swordsman’.

[You will never pass through this forest.]

Next up was Charlotte as the ‘Witch of the Woods’.

[So you’ve managed to come this far?]

Finally, Clarice appeared as the ultimate boss, Kaya.

Originally, this role was suggested to Isabella, but since she ultimately refused, Clarice took it on.

[So this… is your sword… The one that holds everything… the single strike.]

Thus, Clarice cornered Enya, and with the buff “Arise, Duhan!” Enya awakened and used her sword techniques to defeat her, bringing the movie to a close.

Ed’s first film, ‘Prosecutor Baldos’, achieved immense popularity.

The clean narrative and the condensed 30-minute runtime were major factors in its success.

Additionally, the children of dukes played the actors’ roles, and the most popular student within the empire, Edgar, played the role of Enya’s mentor, contributing to its success.

‘This… could be profitable.’

As Ed watched the bustling small theater, he began to conjure business ideas.

What if he established screening rooms nationwide so even commoners could watch the movies?

‘That sounds good. Filming is relatively easy as well.’

There was considerable potential in this idea.

After all, this world had ‘magic techniques’ that allowed for any weather manipulation, as well as easy implementation of various flashy effects.

Thanks to mana enhancing physical capabilities, dangerous scenes could also be shot without any constraints.

‘We made it in just two weeks.’

An evidence to this was the fact that it took only two weeks to shoot and produce the film.

The ‘magic techniques’ that didn’t exist in the real world made filming easier.

‘Should I build a set?’

Thus, Ed considered the idea of creating a professional set.

Just as Hollywood is the holy land of film, he aimed to make his territory the hub of the movie industry.

Many nobles suffered in poverty like Charlotte, so if he promised them incentives or high salaries, they would likely be willing to appear.

‘Once the infrastructure in the territory is somewhat set up···· I should push for this idea.’

However, it was still premature to launch the film industry.

Right now, the priority was to establish urban infrastructure and build battleships, so reviving the movie industry to draw money into the city would be a task for the future.

‘For now, I’ll just keep this in mind… Let’s have fun today.’

Thus, Ed decided to fully enjoy the festival.

First, he moved to a nearby tavern.

***

Class B’s 27th ‘Charlie’ sat at a table with a rapidly beating heart.

The academy student serving at the ‘Moonlight Tavern’ was the girl he had a crush on.

‘Ah… Esther… You’re so beautiful again today.’

Charlie’s crush’s name was Esther.

Her delicately braided blonde hair and slender neck drew attention.

The smile that had made him fall in love lingered beautifully today as well.

Even with an apron on, the line of her ample chest was enough to set many men’s hearts ablaze.

“Charlie! Did you come alone?”

At that moment, Esther approached Charlie with a bright smile.

Unlike other customers who immediately began asking for the menu, she sat across from Charlie, greeting him warmly.

“Oh, yeah. I came to have some fun.”

“Hehe. Bring your friends too! It’ll boost sales!”

“Ah… well, they’re doing something for a bit. I figured it wouldn’t be fun, so it’s just me.”

“Hehe. Is that so?”

After that, Charlie and Esther sat across from each other and chatted about various things.

The two had become close friends after randomly pairing up during the entrance exam and had taken classes together for several months.

“Oh! A customer! I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”

So, when Esther was busy, she would serve, and when it was slow, she would come to where Charlie was.

During this process, whenever several male customers looked at him with envious eyes, Charlie often felt a strange sense of pride.

Especially when beautiful Esther would chat away right in front of him.

‘Today… I must confess.’

Thus, Charlie’s thoughts suddenly turned serious.

Perhaps Esther had feelings for him too.

She never glanced at the other male customers.

Every time she came to his spot during her free time, it felt significant.

“Is there a table free?”

Just then, three male customers entered the tavern.

One of the male customers had a strikingly radiant face.

His beauty was enchanting enough to leave others spellbound.

“Ed! There’s a vacant spot! I’ll take you there!”

“No, David. What are you being so formal about? Just relax…”

“I can’t do that!”

And along with Ed were his club members David and Anthony.

Currently, Enya and the Grand Duke’s group were out to greet family members at the festival, and Charlotte was using the festival to sell flowers, so David and Anthony were accompanying him.

– Wow, he’s really handsome.

– Hey! Look at him.

– Wow… this is amazing. I’ve never seen him this close.

The mere appearance of Ed changed the atmosphere entirely.

Soon, Ed sat at an empty table, flanked by David and Anthony, who were competing to serve him.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched the two try to outdo each other.

Surely, it wasn’t a good idea to bring those fellows along.

“Um, I’ll help you with the order…”

Just then, Esther stood in front of Ed, her ears flushed bright red.

Unlike her usual bright and cheerful demeanor while serving customers, she looked noticeably tense.

‘Es…ther…?’

Seeing Esther in this state, Charlie felt uneasy.

It was too different from the usual bright smile she wore.

“U-Um, this is a service…”

Then, after a brief moment, Esther presented steamed eggs as a service.

This was the first time she had ever given a service to any customer.

In fact, she had never even given Charlie a service.

“······.”

Furthermore, now she wouldn’t even come to his spot anymore.

She was merely glancing at Edgar Fix from the kitchen entrance.

“It’s, uh… the second service…”

Then she offered the menu Ed had ordered as a service.

When Ed said he was fine and offered to pay, she hurriedly shook her hands and said anxiously.

“It’s okay! It’s because I’m a fan. I’ve been cheering for you for a long time…”

Esther was clearly showing her affection, fidgeting her hands.

When Ed smiled and thanked her, Esther beamed back at him.

But that was about all; Ed didn’t seem to take much interest in Esther.

He was simply continuing his conversation with David and Anthony regarding physics.

‘Damn it…’

Tears streamed from Charlie’s eyes.

Esther, who had captured his heart whole, was just a mere girl to Ed.

Despite her beautiful smile aimed in Ed’s direction, all he could muster was, “Oh, I see. Thank you.” that bland response.

“Um, excuse me…”

At that moment, Esther gathered the courage to speak to Ed again.

Ed glanced at her with a slightly annoyed expression.

She held out a pen and said.

“Could I ask for your autograph… please?”

A sudden sensation pierced his chest.

She was asking for his autograph right on her back.

“Here?”

“Ah… yes. I don’t have any paper.”

Esther said and awkwardly bent down.

She stuck her backside towards Ed, presenting her white neck to him.

However, Ed wore a puzzled expression as if to say, “What is this?” and just signed without enthusiasm.

“Ugh…”

But when Esther felt Ed’s hand touching her back, a strange moan escaped her lips.

As Ed hurriedly wrote his name, she turned beet red with each stroke of the pen.

That face, blushing so bright, was utterly unfamiliar to Charlie.

‘Damn it…’

As Ed Fix carefully wrote every letter of his name, it was like marking his territory.

And there was Esther, red with embarrassment, feeling the pen’s touch on her back.

That day, Charlie witnessed Esther’s true feelings.

He realized what it meant to be genuinely in love.

‘Sigh…’

And Charlie wasn’t the only one feeling this way.

Numerous female students around them would glance furtively at Ed, revealing what it truly meant to have a “genuine affection.”

Many male students, mistaking their flirting for something more, swallowed their tears inside.

Every night, they had imagined confessing on the festival’s last day and having a sweet romance, but it turned out they were merely ‘acquaintances’ in Ed’s eyes.

They came to this realization thanks to Edgar Fix.

“Ahem. Um…”

In an instant, the mood shifted dramatically.

The male students silently drowned their sorrows in alcohol, while female students restructured their voices or feigned trips to the restroom to fix their looks, casually moving closer to Ed.

Before they knew it, the area around Ed was crowded with female students.

‘Hmm… I know that feeling all too well.’

David and Anthony, who noticed the completely changed atmosphere thanks to Ed, smiled nostalgically, recalling the past.

They had also developed their disdain for Ed in a similar way.

‘Edgar Fix deserves to have all the women.’

But now, it was different.

As his loyal followers now, their deepest affections belonged to none other than the Ed they served.

They had become victims of Stockholm Syndrome.

 

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