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The topic I assigned for the group project to the students was Monsters.

They were to investigate monsters in groups of four, dividing roles among themselves. They had the freedom to choose which monster to research.

From the monster’s habitat, weaknesses, means of attack, and broadly speaking, even their breeding methods.

But they were to exclude common monsters like Goblins or Slimes.

How dare they try to take the easy way out!

Still, I gave them plenty of time. The deadline was the day before the Competition.

If they finish early, it’s because I have other classes to attend!

‘I hope at least one of them finds information on another S-Rank Monster.’

I plan to hunt S-Rank Monsters later, but no information aside from the Volcano Dragon has been mentioned in the main storyline until it’s completed.

Since it’s something I have to do anyway, I wish someone would take the initiative to do some thorough research for me.

The group project was announced not just for Class A but for all classes, one day apart. So, I had nothing to do no matter where I went.

But once I got into it, I understood why professors assign group projects.

It’s practically just them getting students to gather the information they need! If they’re too lazy to teach, they can just use group projects as a workaround.

From a student’s perspective, you’d want to pluck every hair out of the professor’s head and leave them bald, but among the first-years, there’s no one who would dare stand up to me.

I’m the one who crushed their beloved professor, and I’m also the one who wiped out Class A’s pride.

Now, who would dare confront me? Of course, they’ll do as I say.

Thus, my role is to casually answer the students’ questions while slacking off and collecting my paycheck.

In the end, I just have to listen to their presentations and rank them.

“Ugh…”

Thanks to that, the classrooms I enter are filled with gasps from all around.

The group projects in this world have their distinct pros and cons.

First, the advantage is that no one gathers information from places like KnowledgeIn or TreeWiki. The downside, as mentioned, is that without the internet, it’s tough to gather materials.

The only way to search for information is through books.

If they’re lacking information, they might even have to go interview adventurers from the Adventurer’s Guild who have hunted that monster themselves—a thing they despise!

So the students gasping at the moment aren’t those who didn’t decide on a monster; they did decide but found the information too sparse to research effectively.

Naturally, due to the nature of group projects, overlapping topics are undesirable, making it advantageous for those who secure monsters with abundant information first.

Using the constant sounds of sighs as my lullaby, I pulled out my pillow, laid it down, and closed my eyes.

*

After class, what caught our eyes while heading to our lodging was a long line of students in the garden.

I had seen students gather before but usually only to watch fights. They wouldn’t form such long lines like a fan signing event.

Having experienced being a monkey in a cage, I can assure you.

So, what is this line for?

Curiosity halted my steps, and naturally, Luna and Yui’s steps halted too.

“Luna, was there anything on the academic calendar about an idol having a fan signing event today?”

“…I don’t know what an idol is, but there’s nothing scheduled for today.”

“Yui, do you… no.”

“Yes?”

It’s pointless to ask Yui something like that; she wouldn’t know anyway.

“Luke, just in case, is this some kind of event too?”

Luna subtly asked, wondering if this was perhaps a sign of something.

But could something so trivial really be an event?

If this is an event, then all those standing in line have been brainwashed.

“I have no idea.”

And the problem is, I don’t know what it is either.

Maybe it’s an out-of-season event like the recent Mirror event, or perhaps due to a butterfly effect, a new event not in the original has come about—just like Arthur’s hanging situation the toilet saw before.

“But Luke, don’t you think there are a lot of guys in this line?”

In response to Yui’s comment, I glanced at the line. At first glance, I hadn’t noticed, but there were indeed more guys than girls.

And another common trait is that most are still recovering from injuries, wearing expressions of sheer delight for some reason.

“If you’re unsure, we could always check.”

Finding out what this line is for is simple.

We just need to walk to the front and see who’s there.

I moved to the front of the line.

“Is everyone done?”

As I advanced, I heard a melodious voice that seemed to belong to the source of this line, but I couldn’t identify whose voice it was.

Novels only exist in written form, devoid of sound.

What’s certain is that the speaker is female.

At the end of the line, there was a woman seated against a backdrop of vividly blooming flowers.

She had white hair and white eyes, seeming to heal a male student sitting across from her.

Seeing her, my impression crumpled to its limits.

“Ugh, what the hell.”

“Why are you acting like that all of a sudden?”

“Why is she here?”

“Do you know her?”

Do I know her?

“Of course I do.”

Until just a moment ago, I had my doubts.

Characters like supporting heroines might fade quickly from a reader’s memory due to their lack of significance.

But I recognized her right away from the magic she used to heal the male student in front of her.

Aside from Arthur, she’s the only character in this world who can use Light Magic.

The Saint.

That’s the title she was supposed to debut in this Competition.

What a truly fantasy-like nickname, don’t you think?

In a previous life, if you talked about saints and heroes like this, you’d be labeled as a chuuni or a wannabe. But in a fantasy world, those words are allowed.

She’s not called a saint because she was chosen by the goddess; it’s just something people say out of their own accord.

She’s simply being referred to as a saint due to her kind personality, beautiful looks, and light magic.

In conclusion, she’s not a real saint chosen or prophesized by the goddess but rather a façade based on her appearance and character.

As evidence, she was wearing ordinary clothes instead of the nun’s outfit commonly seen on saints in fantasy, which, considering she belongs to Zuwei Academy, might just be her student uniform.

You could view her as a supporting heroine akin to the student council president.

Not exactly the main character but still not entirely insignificant.

I recited information about her, much like reading from a book, to Luna and Yui.

“As the protagonist of the novel… she has an abundance of female fans.”

“That’s how people engage with stories.”

People are obsessed with harems. Specifically, men are.

This proves that the majority of the story’s readership is male, and honestly, I’ve enjoyed harems too.

“But Luke, didn’t you just make a face like you saw something you shouldn’t have when looking at her?”

As Luna remarked, I really dislike that saint.

“From what you said, she seems like a really nice person. Why is that?”

“Luna, how can you not know after seeing her? If someone lives purely in kindness, they must be a problem.”

She embodies the traits of a saint: treating everyone equally regardless of status, intolerant of injustice, and a kind personality that helps those in need.

Not a cheap saint like you see in contemporary fantasy with some sort of drug abusor saint but the quintessential definition you’d expect in a fantasy.

So why would I dislike someone so beautiful and kind-hearted?

Because she’s excessively nice.

When someone’s kindness stretches beyond their means, we decided to call it meddling.

In other words, she shouldn’t even be here, ditching her academy classes and coming here to heal students from other academies.

By the way, I dislike her even more than Arthur.

The only reason she ranks below Arthur is that the protagonist naturally appears more often than she does.

If she had appeared more than Arthur, she would have taken the top spot on my dislike list.

In one phrase.

“A female Arthur.”

“…Is that really all?”

“Wow…”

Both of them displayed their responses.

Though their reactions suggested it wasn’t a particularly pleasant nickname.

“Shall I list a few of her feats from the novel?”

There was the time she extended the possibility of repentance to subdued demons, wasting time and getting backstabbed, or the time she jumped in to heal others during a battle, only to get injured and become a burden, or when she sat still praying, believing the gods would save her instead of fleeing when in danger.

As I recounted each of her deeds, Luna and Yui shook their heads disapprovingly.

“It’s worse than I thought…”

“I think the nickname you gave her fits better.”

“Right?”

Now that I’ve recited it all, it does seem serious. Is that why everyone sticks with their tuned saint instead of a pure saint in stories?

At that moment, the Toilet sat across from the Saint.

The bruises from where I hit him yesterday were still visible; he seemed to think of using that as an excuse to be healed.

“A meeting of the Toilet and Female Arthur…”

My heart swelled.

What a ridiculous lineup this is!

A sweet potato farmer meeting a sweet potato factory. Just seeing it left me breathless, and I unconsciously pounded my chest.

“Haah… Luna, why don’t you get treated too?”

“I’d prefer not to get involved either…”

Luna, having seen through the facade of the saint, seemed reluctant to engage.

But they’ve come to volunteer for free; should we really drain them to the bone?

Since they’re doing it because they like to, we can shamelessly absorb it all.

While we were talking, the saint was emitting light from her hands, healing the Toilet.

I overheard their conversation, and it was quite a sight to behold.

“A demon came, and I took it out with a single swing of my sword!”

“You must have gone through a lot. I’m sure the other classmates will appreciate it as well.”

“Hehe… it was really tough.”

The way he exaggerated his feats was amusing, and the saint’s serious responses made it even funnier.

“Look at that Toilet’s dopey grin. So irritating.”

At that, the gazes of the students lining up turned to me.

Not just theirs, the saint’s and the Toilet’s eyes were also on me.

The Toilet’s eyes widened when he saw me, and then he quickly pointed at me, changing his tone.

“Saint! It was that guy! He’s the one who did this to me!”

The Toilet seized his opportunity.

With his personality which doesn’t tolerate injustice, he threw me under the bus for the abuse I had inflicted that left him in such shape.

She immediately rose from her chair and walked towards me, bowing as if she recognized my status as a professor, but then she noticed Luna, who was wrapped in bandages beside me, and her eyes widened.

She kept alternating her gaze between me and Luna.

‘That’s not me, you crazy girl.’

At this point, I could tell she was weaving a narrative in her head.

A storyline where I was abusing Luna and not offering her any treatment.

And then she switched into her lecture mode.

“Professor, violence is never good. While parents or teachers may resort to discipline through violence, it can never be justified.”

So, I slapped her cheek with a bored expression.

-Slap!

“Yikes!”

 

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