I Became a Veteran Heroine in a Harem Story

“…”

It’s morning. A peaceful and quiet morning.

The warm morning sunlight streaming through the window and the dewy air characteristic of dawn tickle my senses as I slowly open my eyes.

The peculiar sense of disconnect that comes from this scenery—so contrary to the battlefields where the intense scent of blood and ash always lingered—remains unfamiliar even after considerable time has passed.

But I like this feeling. Because it reminds me of where I am now.

This is a world where a relatively peaceful daily life is possible, unlike the terrible battlefield that originated from the war started by the Constellations, accompanied only by death, pain, and loss.

Although it wasn’t the return to my homeland that I so desperately wanted, I’ve somewhat adapted now and think this place, where I’ve been reincarnated for the second time, is quite nice. It wasn’t a completely unfamiliar world, after all.

“—, –.”

The noise of others outside my room gradually grows louder. Yawning with disheveled hair, I get up from bed and head straight to the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, equipped with facilities as good as those in modern Earth—running water, toilet, shower—I naturally look at myself in the mirror.

“I’m getting used to this appearance now.”

With a wry smile, I idly touch my face. What’s looking back at me in the mirror is a girl with long flowing black hair and red eyes.

The face, still retaining some youthfulness, is objectively very beautiful. This face, which initially shocked and horrified me due to the change in gender, is now my face for this second possession.

“Students should assemble without delay. There will be consequences for tardiness.”

After washing up in the bathroom, I hear the dorm supervisor’s voice urging students outside.

The time is certainly ample, but the reason for this pressure is probably to establish discipline among the new students. That much is clear from the atmosphere I’ve observed over the past few days.

‘How amusing.’

While other students might hurry out of fear of the supervisor they regard as godlike, I honestly can’t help but sneer. Even if I try to go along with it to a reasonable extent, it naturally appears ridiculous compared to the experiences I’ve had over the years.

Of course, there are actual consequences for being late. I brush my hair skillfully without hesitation now and put on the academy uniform. After pulling up the black thigh-high socks that apply just enough pressure on my legs, I wear my shoes and exit the room.

“You… still so relaxed.”

“I won’t be late even if I walk, so don’t worry.”

The supervisor, whose distinctive strictness is evident even in her appearance, including her perfectly styled hair with a few gray strands, made a comment seeing me walking slowly, unlike other students rushing down the corridor.

If I were truly just a clueless new student, I might not have reacted, but with her initiating the provocation, I couldn’t help but respond with a barb.

“After a week, I believe everyone should be fully adjusted by now.”

A large auditorium with hundreds of people gathered.

After arranging the uniformed students in orderly rows, the old headmaster ascended to the highest platform for the first time since the entrance ceremony when I first opened my eyes in this body, and began his speech.

With daily roll calls like this and emphasis on military discipline disguised as school rules, this academy is thoroughly infused with the author’s military experience. It’s almost like a military academy.

‘That’s the setting, after all.’

Though it’s called an academy, like most of its kind, there’s very little actual academic learning. This is a place run by the nation to train warriors for battle.

“Now that the adjustment period is over, it’s time to focus on learning and training. You are all knights of the state who will be deployed on various missions. In real combat, you must first protect yourselves.”

The headmaster mentioned real combat to intimidate the students. And it seemed to work, as all the new students gathered here had tense, rigid expressions.

‘Is that all?’

But my thoughts were different. Unlike others, the headmaster’s attempt to scare us by mentioning real combat didn’t resonate with me.

The “real combat” he speaks of would at most involve fighting against human armies or battling demons that crossed over from the demon realm.

That was the level of enemies appearing in this work.

Because this work wasn’t a fusion fantasy where transcendent beings called Constellations and chosen humans fight across dimensions for the fate of the world—it was an academy harem story.

What’s the use of talking about the fear of orcs to someone who has fought against god-warrior soldiers wrapped in the blessings of Constellations?

“Your instructors and seniors will guide you. I hope you pass the exams without issues and become official knights to earn rightful and glorious honor. That is all.”

“Salute the Headmaster!”

Fortunately, the headmaster’s sermon ended quickly. I too raised my hand in a casual salute along with the other students who were performing a unified salute following the instructor’s command.

‘He’s not wrong.’

In truth, I empathized somewhat with the headmaster’s words.

In that moment when I sensed the end, when I witnessed the conclusion of that unwanted fusion fantasy at the cost of my life—a second possession I couldn’t even have imagined.

I had no intention of throwing away this second life.

From a mere reader, to starting as a rock-bottom extra with nothing, only rolling and rolling while getting hurt until the end—I intended to be compensated for my first possession.

And the method was to once again rise to the position of the strongest in this world too.

The stage was already set, so I planned to advance and advance to be compensated for everything I couldn’t enjoy.

“Now everyone go to your respective classrooms and wait. It’s best to move quickly without being late.”

“Hello? Fancy seeing you again.”

But right after the Monday roll call announcing the start of a new week ended, someone approached me and spoke amid the confusion of instructors dismissing the new students.

“…”

I looked at him with half-open eyes. I knew who he was. But I had no desire to get involved, nor any interest.

‘Maybe I should have let him win back then.’

My entanglement with him was entirely due to an accident on the first day. If I had known his name, I would have avoided him first.

* * *

“This life will be different.”

The Kingdom of Laus’ 1st Academy. The most prestigious among academies, an elite training ground that accepts only nobles and royalty as new students.

He was admitted there. Unlike others who were nervous, his face was full of composure.

Regardless of the fact that he was the protagonist of the work, there were sufficient grounds for this. He was already a reincarnator who had lived for decades before being reborn in this body.

Starting as a street urchin who became a low-ranking knight, now reborn as a child of a respectable noble family, he was confident he could become the strongest at the academy and achieve everything he couldn’t before.

“The entrance examination will begin soon. When your number is called, come forward and prepare to fight.”

‘This is somewhat unfair to the other kids, but it can’t be helped.’

Of course, he didn’t know, but this was the fate and path he had to walk. The entrance examination of this military academy, which matched randomly met students against each other in duels, was quite clichéd in many ways.

As befitting a protagonist and reincarnator, he was going to overwhelmingly defeat other inexperienced students and pass the entrance exam with the best record of 5 wins and 0 losses.

“Number 165, Number 24. Come forward and face each other.”

‘Hmm, an extraordinary beauty. But that black butterfly ornament… Could it be the Adenberg family?’

His next opponent was a girl.

With a delicate body and pale white skin that seemed far removed from fighting, he, now familiar with noble families, let out a small sigh when he saw the family crest she was wearing.

“Excuse me. I hope the daughter of a great family won’t be upset about a duel according to regulations?”

In this tense moment of having to fight someone he’d never met before, he smiled and spoke first while holding his practice sword. It was an action born of confidence.

Here, ‘originally,’ she was supposed to be extremely timid, not knowing what to do and unable to respond.

“Hold your sword properly. You seem somewhat trained, but your posture is off-balance.”

“…Pardon?”

However, the response coming from her with indifferent, cold, half-open eyes was something he couldn’t have imagined.

“Ugh?!”

And then her practice spear struck his body.

With a powerful and controlled strike targeting only his vulnerabilities, he was instantly cornered, and eventually hit in the side by the shaft of the spear, causing him to roll on the ground.

‘How, how is this possible…’

In the dozen or so years since starting his second life, and even adding the decades of memories from his previous life, he had never been so overwhelmingly defeated.

He stared blankly at her retreating back as she walked away while he remained fallen.

Though no one knew it yet, fate had just twisted. Simultaneously, it was the moment when the presence of the heroine who would have been entangled with him regardless was strongly imprinted in his mind.