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The blond elf bit her lower lip.

It would have been hard for an ordinary person to see from that distance, but with her ability to wield mana, she could clearly see the sword aimed at Rime’s neck.

"Are you finally ready to have a rational conversation?"

"Shut up! If you hadn\'t killed the Branch Manager...!"

As she shouted, the human stomped on Rime\'s back. Rime gasped and collapsed like a corpse.

"Stop, please stop!"

The elf covered her mouth in shock. Only after the surroundings grew silent did the human nod in satisfaction.

"I will be the one asking the questions, and you only need to give me an answer."

"..."

"Answer."

"...Alright."

The human\'s golden eyes swept over her body coldly.

"Name."

"Miridith... Miridith Ipp Marx."

As soon as he heard that, the human frowned.

"Marx?"

Having the family name Marx only meant one thing: it signified kinship with Demerond Ipp Marx, leader of the World Tree Revolutionaries.

"...So, you are a princess?"

The human spoke while stroking his chin; whether it was mockery or admiration, his tone did not make it clear. And although his hand had been pierced by a sword, not a drop of blood flowed from the back of his hand.

"Miridith, why were you pursuing the Branch Manager?"

"...I had something I needed to ask him."

"Ask? About what?"

"That is..."

Miridith paused as she looked past the human. Behind him, she saw two glimmers of light that were only visible to her.

Leon, Lelrin. Not yet. Just wait a little longer.

After whispering to the glimmers in her mind, Miridith continued.

"...I wanted to ask him about the elves who had recently died in Incheon and what happened to their bodies."

"Oh, that incident... So you were chasing after the Janitor Guild? And it has nothing to do with the Branch Manager being a government official?"

"Government? He was a government official?"

Miridith asked back, but the human continued speaking without pause.

"So, why are you looking for the bodies of the elves?"

Miridith took in the cold night air. For a brief moment, she thought of the two elves who were no more.

Rhe and Rhegon— her very reliable older brothers.

They had willingly left the forest and followed her to Earth; they were her family.

"...Do I need a reason to retrieve the bodies of my family?"

"..."

"That was the only reason we were chasing that Branch Manager. So... please step back. I swear we will not pursue you. I do not want to lose another family member."

Even though she said this, she gathered her mana and sent it to the two glimmers of light.

Leon, Lelrin.

Using all her mana, she began preparing her magic with all her heart. It was a once-in-a-lifetime spell where even the smallest mistake would not be tolerated.

One strike, just one attack to take down that cowardly human and save Rime... That was the only thought that filled her mind.

However, the next moment, the human suddenly raised the sword in his hand.

No way, did he perceive…?

But before the startled Miridith could even say a word, the man thrust the sword.

"No!"

Thunk.

Not having the courage to face the end of her family, she squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of the sword sinking in.

After a moment, the trembling Miridith opened her eyes. And…

"Huh...?"

She let out a dazed exclamation.

Contrary to her fears, Rime was not dead. The human had simply plunged the sword into the ground right next to Rime.

He dusted off his now free hands and looked at the bewildered Miridith.

"Miridith, first, let me extend my condolences. Secondly, although it is unfortunate, your family\'s bodies are no longer in this world."

"What do you mean...?"

Seeing her confused face, the human paused briefly before continuing.

"The Korean government has been collecting corpses from this land and selling them to a Necromancer. That was the case for your family\'s bodies. They were also stored in the government\'s corpse warehouse."

"Necromancer...? Could it be…?"

Miridith bit her lip as she thought of the worst possibility. Not only was it not possible for her family\'s bodies to return to their homeland, but they might have been used by Necromancers.

However, the human’s following words exceeded even her worst fears.

"I burned down that corpse warehouse."

"...What?"

"The bodies of the two dead elves must have burned and vanished along with the warehouse. Although it wasn\'t my intention, I must apologize to you."

Looking genuinely regretful, the human placed his hat over his chest and bowed his head. Miridith was stunned as she took in the sight.

Could this be true? Or was it just a lie to get out of this situation?

And before her doubts could even be resolved, the human approached her at an incredible speed, so fast that she could feel the mana fluctuating.

Standing in front of Miridith, he silently took out a note and a pen from his pocket, jotted something down, and handed it to her.

"This is the location of the ruined warehouse. If you plan to see it yourself, head to the address written on the note."

The note had a rough map and an address scribbled on it. Miridith, blinking at his sudden change in attitude, accepted the note without protest.

"I hope that you can at least find your family\'s keepsake."

With those words, the human turned to leave. Or at least, he tried to.

"Wa-wait a moment!"

Miridith instinctively grabbed the hem of his clothes. Why? What was she thinking? She didn\'t even understand that herself, so she remained silent for a moment.

What should she say... Ah, yes.

"Y-your name! What is your name?"

The man replied with a reluctant expression.

"Dung Beetle."

"...Dung Beetle?"

Was that an alias? Miridith unconsciously inspected her translation magic with her mana, but it was working perfectly.

"That’s... quite a unique name."

"I get that a lot. So, do you have any more questions?"

"N-no. I don’t have any more questions, but... that’s..."

And that was the end of their conversation. When Miridith let go of his clothes, he gave her a slight nod. It was a brief farewell.

Dung Beetle walked past her and disappeared toward the bridge as Miridith stared blankly at his retreating figure. A few moments later, thinking of Rime, she summoned the two glimmers of light.

"Lelrin, Leon. Carry Rime. First... let\'s head to the warehouse drawn on this note."

The \'Author\' frowned as he came across a headline while browsing through online news.

『Shocking News!! Extremist Elf Announces Enrollment at Lord Howe! Controversy Ignites: \'What Is An Elf Doing In The Academy?』

When he clicked on a sensational news headline, an article from a rather reputable news outlet—rather than a third-rate tabloid—appeared on his smartphone screen.

『Numerous testimonies secured from the Kaesong Dimensional Portal.』

『Dead Spirits of the Fallen World Tree Cross the Dimensional Portal.』

『U.S. Department of State \'Neither Confirms Nor Denies,\' Sparking Controversy!』

『Is This The Signal of Peace Treaty? Elixir Prices Are Changing Rapidly.』

『Some Worry About the Safety of Academy Students.』

At a quick glance, he saw that the article had already amassed tens of thousands of views, quickly approaching a million.

At this rate, it would become international news in just a few days.

What? This shouldn\'t be known yet.

The Author rubbed his forehead as he thought of the subject of the article.

Miridith Ipp Marx, an elven princess... or the Commie Canf¹.

As with any heroine in this universe, she was a character you either loved or hated considerably. Her true identity was supposed to be revealed at the end of the first chapter at the earliest, after the entrance ceremony.

The fact that a commie elf— one of princess-level rank particularly—hostile to Earth, had enrolled in the academy was a major plot point leading into Chapter 3...

But now, her enrollment was already public knowledge, even before the entrance ceremony.

What changed?

He scoured news from months ago, trying to find any clues, but found nothing significant that could be considered as a turning point.

He couldn\'t even take a guess as to where things went wrong.

Should I consider it fortunate that only her enrollment has been revealed, and not her identity?

Tsk. He clicked his tongue briefly.

Being stuck here meant that the speed and quality of information he could get were both terrible. Regardless, the story needed to progress beyond the entrance ceremony quickly for anything to move forward…

If only I could establish connections with the Blue Rat or the Secret Society, I wouldn’t have to worry about this.

He licked his lips, thinking about the various information guilds that existed in the universe. But knowing their identities was of no use when they were out of his league.

As the Author sighed, lost in these thoughts, someone knocked on his door.

Knock, knock.

Who the hell is that, showing up at this hour?

The Author quickly hid his smartphone under the blanket before getting up to open the door.

"Huh? Jeon Yunseong? What brings you here?"

Standing on the other side of the door was a handsome—an incredibly handsome boy, the protagonist from the novel the Author had written.

"Just because. I happen to have some free time."

"At this hour?"

The Author gestured towards the clock on his wall with his eyes. 5:30 AM—It was still a long time before the 7 AM dormitory wake-up call.

"I simply figured that you wouldn\'t be sleeping anyway."

The boy said this with a bright smile. His looks alone were enough to make any girl fall for him, but the Author was not a woman, nor was he homosexual.

In fact, the Author was one of the few who really disliked Yunseong\'s appearance. Having him around made it nearly impossible to date any of the female supporting characters.

But he hid his true feelings with much difficulty and acted like that boy’s classmate.

"Really? Well, I\'m bored too, so your timing is good. What do you want to do? Play a game?"

"Let\'s spar."

"...Spar?"

"You did ask me to teach you martial arts before, didn’t you? It\'s difficult to do so during the day, but I can help you for at least an hour early in the morning."

The Author barely managed to prevent his expression from contorting.

He had indeed asked Yunseong to teach him martial arts, but it wasn\'t a sincere request. It was merely a means to keep the conversation going.

However, this boy, who had spent his entire life bearing the brunt of the hatred of Koreans, seemed so awkward in social interactions that he didn’t understand the concept of speaking out of courtesy.

...I\'m screwed.

At this point, he couldn\'t just say it was something he said on a whim. He couldn\'t afford to lose his connection with Yunseong. After all, he was one of the protagonist candidates he could think of.

The Author swallowed a sigh and forced a smile.

"Ah, right. I did say that. I forgot about it as I didn\'t expect you to actually take me up on it."

"That\'s what friends are for, right? Of course, I can do it for you if it’s only this much."

The Author screamed with frustration internally. However, outwardly, he said something entirely different.

"Thanks for thinking of me, /genesisforsaken