I Became a Swordsmanship Instructor in a Romance Novel

Whiiiiing—

An eerie silence descended upon the Dave Continent after Zeke’s departure.

Of the thousand or so humans who had remained, all but five had perished.

Ironically, there was now an abundance of food, but what good was it?

No new life could be born.

Humanity was now facing nothing but extinction.

Five girls remained.

They were still children, not even adults, and had been under the Saintess’ care.

Because they were young, their Mana Holes were flexible, allowing them to maintain them amidst the drastic changes in mana concentration and survive in this world.

Now, leaning on each other, they awaited their inevitable demise.

They huddled in a dark cave around a single bonfire,

listening to the Saintess tell stories of a novel called “Romance Fantasy.”

“…Wait, hold on. Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Saintess.

Ugh… No, tell me again.

That hero, no, that hero bastard, took all the mana from here when he left, and that’s why this happened…!? ”

Iriel, a girl with fiery red hair roughly tied back,

She shouted, unable to contain her anger.

“No, he didn’t take the mana. It was the causality required for him to leave this place.”

The Saintess responded to her question with an impassive face.

“That’s the same thing!!”

“…So, in the end… the only ones who could adapt to this depleted mana concentration were us…”

A dejected voice cut in.

It was Yuri, with her long, flowing black hair that reached her legs.

“…What, he said he was going to save the world… Look… He ruined everything, that human…”

Tears of frustration streamed down Iriel’s red eyes.

The rage of losing everyone around her in an instant surged within her chest.

“…Still, if it wasn’t for him, we would have been destroyed long ago… I would be dead too.”

It was none other than Selena who had remained silent until now, defending Zeke.

She had been a fervent follower of Zeke since he was summoned to this world and began to make his mark.

Could there have been anyone among the humans who survived until the end who didn’t owe their lives to Zeke?

But in Selena’s case, she had been directly saved by him from the jaws of a monster.

“Hey, flower-brain. You still want to defend that guy in this messed up situation?

He’s got nothing but fighting in his head, he won’t even remember you.

If he did, he would have looked back at us at least once.”

Iriel vented her frustration, lashing out aggressively at Selena.

“…But the Saintess said he wouldn’t have known! That he had to pay the price of all the mana here to return!”

“Ha, don’t make me laugh.

Hey, wake up, flower-brain.

Whether that bastard knew or not doesn’t matter.

The bottom line is that he killed our families.

He killed my friends, my neighbors!

That murderer.

Am I supposed to understand him?

Oh, I didn’t know.

That could happen.

Should I just understand?”

“If you don’t understand, if you just keep cursing him, will that make you feel better?”

“Yeah, it feels damn good, bitch.”

Iriel’s icy voice pierced Selena’s ears.

“Have you finished now?”

At that moment,

“…Don’t…fight… Cough. Cough.”

A girl’s voice, faint as if about to fade away, tried to stop Selena and Iriel.

The five girls here had all seemingly adapted to the changed environment and survived, but in the end, one girl couldn’t get used to the wave of change.

Now, with her Mana Hole almost destroyed, she could only manage shallow breaths, wheezing with each one.

Soi Spoon.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Silence fell over the dark cave.

Only the flickering flames illuminated their faces in a yellow glow.

“Now, I think we can finally talk…”

The atmosphere settled, and the girls’ gazes turned to the Saintess.

“…There’s a way. A way to save this world again… I have a hunch, but I think we can turn things back…”

Even as she spoke, the Saintess hesitated to reveal the main point.

She knew better than anyone the heavy burden she would be placing on them the moment she uttered these words.

“What…? You’re saying there’s a way to restore this messed up world…?”

“Saintess, you don’t mean… bringing the hero back, do you? He said he had no intention of returning here when he left…”

“You’re talking about that bastard again!”

As Iriel and Selena questioned her, the Saintess slowly reached into her bosom.

“…To be honest, I had a reason for telling you those Romance Fantasy stories. I need your help… But…”

What she pulled out was none other than the 《Ancient’s Notebook》.

And on the very first page, it was written

‘Secret.’

It was a relic with robust durability and a functioning mana circuit.

In other words, it showed no signs of prior use.

“It’s called the Ancient’s Notebook… I don’t know how, but it was left behind where Zeke, that man, disappeared. If we use this, it can grant one person’s wish, once.

You knew… Zeke used this notebook to return to his original world.”

Iriel glared at the Saintess with eyes full of betrayal.

Even though she had presented a way to resolve this desperate situation,

Iriel’s anger boiled over, her eyes flashing with a cold light.

“…Why, now? If you had something this convenient, you should have taken it out before things got this bad…! If we had used it earlier, our families…”

“…I told you there were circumstances, Iriel. You can be angry, but please, just listen.”

Normally, the Saintess would have peppered her speech with colorful curses, but now she spoke with a pleading tone.

“…Fine, go ahead. What’s so special about this notebook?”

“This, according to Zeke, is a unique item dropped after defeating the final boss. It’ll be easier to understand if you see it yourself.”

The Saintess readily offered the notebook.

“Unlike the old notebook Zeke used, there are instructions written in it. Want to take a look?”

Iriel and Selena took the notebook from the Saintess and opened it.

Unlike the worn-out notebook Zeke had used when he left, this one felt crisp and new.

The pages inside were blank.

And on the very first page, there were kindly written instructions on how to use the item.

No.000

《Ancient’s Notebook》

【Item Description】

A worn-out notebook containing records of all past adventures.

━ A relic used by the Ancient Bard to reshape the world into his utopia.

A notebook imbued with power strong enough to bring about a revolution in the world, but its power has almost vanished with the death of its original owner.

However, with an appropriate price, it might grant one wish…?

━ Thank you for enjoying the roguelike game, 【Dark Persona】.

As a special offer to the first player to clear the game, we would like to incorporate your feedback into our next creation. Please write a story for us.

※ Precautions

* Good and evil must be in ‘equal proportions’ to confront each other.

* When a sentence is written, the Scales of Causality will tilt, measuring the causality required for it.

* A world that is not balanced will be destroyed.

* The author of the story must become the protagonist.

“Balance…? Confrontation? Causality? What does this even mean?”

“But… it’s already written in the front…?”

When they turned the page with the explanation, they found something already written in messy handwriting.

There were also traces of several pages having been torn out.

“…Yeah, after I found it, I wasn’t in the right state of mind to read the instructions…”

─ The Dave Continent, destroyed by the Ancient Bard, has once again become a peaceful world where humanity thrives.

[Causality 1:99]

─ Please ensure the plausibility of the worldview.

─ ‘Protagonist’ does not appear.

─ ‘Villain’ does not appear.

“What… is this…? So, you can’t just create a world that’s… peaceful…?”

Iriel frowned.

“Yeah, so… I tried writing a few pages as a test. That’s why… I have a favor to ask… You can think I’m selfish for saying this, but I really want to restore this world.”

***

Lillie’s steps towards Zeke Clayman’s office, where he awaited her, were heavy but not slow.

She had things to tell him, things she needed to see with her own eyes.

She had one last task to face.

And something she had to finish herself…

Her heart pounded as she stood before the large door.

She didn’t think her heart raced this fast even when she first saw the Demon King on the Dave Continent.

She took a shallow breath and knocked.

Knock— Knock— Knock—

“Come in.”

Zeke’s low voice came from inside.

Creak—

Slowly, the door opened.

What she saw was Zeke, twirling her necklace around his index finger.

“You bastard! My necklace!!! Give it back!!!”