Lord of Perverted Ladies

The others were still arguing as we left the club room.

Ryan insisted the mystery would be ten times better if the culprit escaped through an underground tunnel. Marcus reminded him for what felt like the fifth time that the club room was on the third floor. Daniel suggested making the tunnel metaphorical, which somehow turned into a ten-minute debate about whether a metaphorical tunnel was still a tunnel. Ethan eventually gave up trying to understand the conversation altogether, while Noah quietly locked the club room door behind us with the expression of someone questioning every life decision that had led him to founding this club.

"I still think my idea was good," Ryan muttered as we walked down the hallway.

"It wasn’t," Marcus replied without missing a beat.

"You didn’t even let me explain."

"You said the culprit would escape through the ventilation system."

"So?"

"The vents are fifteen centimeters wide."

Ryan thought about it for a second.

"...He’s flexible."

Daniel laughed so hard he nearly missed a step.

"Maybe the culprit is a cat."

"No," Ryan replied seriously. "That would make the mystery too easy."

Ethan looked at him.

"You know what? I’m not even going to ask."

The six of us walked through the academy corridors as students slowly filtered out of classrooms. Clubs were already gathering in different parts of the campus, carrying boxes, sports equipment, paint supplies, instruments, and stacks of decorations for the exhibition. Everywhere I looked, someone was preparing for something.

The academy felt more alive than usual.

Large banners had already appeared along the main buildings announcing the upcoming Inter-Club Exhibition. Members of the Art Club were painting wooden signs near the central courtyard while the Drama Club rehearsed scenes on an outdoor stage that hadn’t been there yesterday. Even the Gardening Club had transformed a section of the campus into a colorful display of flowers and decorative arches.

Ryan stopped walking again.

"See?"

He pointed dramatically toward a booth under construction.

"The Cooking Club."

Marcus sighed.

"You’ve been staring at food all day."

"They’re testing recipes."

"So?"

"...They’re giving out samples."

Daniel followed Ryan’s gaze.

"They actually are."

Without another word, Ryan changed direction.

"I’ll be back."

Marcus caught him by the collar before he’d taken three steps.

"No."

"But..."

"No."

"What if they’re giving away cake?"

"You’ve already eaten enough for three people."

"I burn calories by thinking."

"You definitely don’t."

Ryan let out a defeated sigh.

"This academy suppresses creativity."

Noah ignored the entire exchange.

"We should separate here."

Everyone looked toward him.

"I’ll reserve materials from the storage room tomorrow morning."

He glanced at Daniel.

"Can you check whether the Drama Club has any spare props we could borrow?"

Daniel nodded.

"Sure."

"Ethan."

"You’re good with crafts."

"Can you help build the evidence board?"

"No problem."

"Marcus."

"I’ll handle the furniture."

Ryan immediately raised his hand.

"What about me?"

Noah adjusted his glasses.

"...Please don’t accidentally create another problem."

"I feel insulted."

"You should."

The conversation earned another round of laughter before everyone naturally began heading toward their respective dormitories and apartments.

Ryan walked beside me for a while in comfortable silence before speaking again.

"You really okay?"

I looked at him.

"...Yeah."

"You’ve asked me that three times today."

"Because you’ve answered differently every time."

I smiled awkwardly.

"...Have I?"

"The first time you were tired."

"The second time you were thinking."

"The third time you were fine."

Ryan stuffed both hands into his pockets.

"I don’t know what’s going on."

"You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to."

He shrugged.

"But if you’re carrying something heavy..."

"...You don’t have to carry it alone."

For a second, I forgot how to respond.

Ryan wasn’t particularly observant.

He wasn’t the smartest person in our group either.

But sometimes...

He noticed the things that actually mattered.

"...Thanks."

He grinned.

"There he is."

"What?"

"That sounded like the Adrian I know."

Before I could ask what he meant, he waved casually and turned toward a different path leading to his residence.

"See you tomorrow."

"Don’t stay up all night writing our mystery."

"I’ll try."

"And don’t make me the killer."

"No promises."

Ryan pointed at me dramatically.

"If I’m the killer, I’m filing a complaint."

"You’ll have to solve the mystery first."

"I hate that you’re making sense."

He laughed before jogging away, disappearing into the growing crowd of students.

I continued toward my apartment alone.

The afternoon sun had already begun sinking lower behind the academy buildings, painting the campus in warm shades of orange and gold. Students laughed as they walked past, some discussing homework while others excitedly planned exhibition activities. It was peaceful.

Too peaceful.

My apartment wasn’t far from the academy, and before long I unlocked the front door and stepped inside.

Silence greeted me.

After everything that had happened over the last few days, the quiet almost felt unfamiliar.

I tossed my backpack onto the sofa before making myself a cup of instant coffee. The apartment was exactly as I’d left it that morning. Nothing had been moved. Nothing had changed.

I stood by the kitchen counter for a while, staring absently at the steam rising from the mug.

"...System."

The familiar blue window appeared almost immediately.

______

[System Online]

Awaiting instructions.

______

I took a sip of coffee.

"You’ve been unusually quiet."

A brief pause followed.

______

[Response]

The host has not requested assistance.

______

"...That’s not an answer."

______

[Response]

The system is observing.

______

I frowned.

"Observing what?"

Another pause.

Longer this time.

______

[Response]

Story convergence.

______

I read the words twice.

"...Explain."

______

[Response]

Insufficient permissions.

______

I sighed.

"Of course."

The window remained floating in front of me.

"Earlier you said someone had already entered the stage."

"Who?"

______

[Response]

Information restricted.

______

"Are they dangerous?"

This time, the system didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, another window slowly unfolded beneath the first.

______

Current Main Characters Active

Adrian Cross

Noah Walker

???

______

Three names.

Or rather...

Two names and one blank space.

I stared at the question marks.

"...There’s another main character?"

______

[Response]

Confirmed.

______

"When did they appear?"

______

[Response]

Recently.

______

"Who are they?"

______

[Response]

Unknown to host.

______

The blue windows faded before I could ask anything else.

I stood alone in the apartment, coffee growing colder in my hand.

In the game...

There had only been one protagonist.

Noah Walker.

If the system was calling someone else a main character...

Then the story had already begun changing.

And if the story was changing...

Everything I thought I knew about the future was becoming less reliable by the day.

Outside, the evening sky continued to darken.

Somewhere beyond my apartment walls, another player had already stepped onto the board.

I just didn’t know whether they would become an ally...

Or the next disaster waiting to happen.