I Became a Veteran Heroine in a Harem Story

Erich Kaidel, the protagonist of this academy harem story, is undoubtedly a person with outstanding talent and experience befitting a protagonist.

The character and skills I remember about him made him worthy of winning over the heroines.

On the other hand, the current me, Kiina Er von Adenberg. In the original story, I was merely one of the less significant heroines.

I remember her entire character was based on the concept of a timid, fearful noblewoman who would grant any request. Probably that’s how she really was until a week ago. Of course, now that I’ve taken over her body, such a person no longer exists.

“Why do you keep acting like we know each other?”

“Well, because we have a connection.”

He smiled smugly. One week since the entrance exam, he would come to me whenever he had the chance and strike up a conversation.

“Do you plan to keep this up until I accept you?”

Each time, I expressed my refusal with disgust.

Although I’ve possessed one of the heroines and have now fully adapted to this body, I still have no intention of joining in the childish games of trying to appeal to the protagonist.

Rather, Erich the protagonist was essentially my competitor. As the future strongest person in the world, he is a star unto himself, favored by the world, not to mention the other heroines.

I, who aim to suppress even the protagonist and stand at the pinnacle, found it difficult to get close to him.

“There’s nothing to gain from associating with me.”

“It’s not because of your family, and I’m not after anything. I just… want to get to know you.”

“Fine. I’ll accept your greetings. So stop clinging to me now.”

Seeing his disappointed face, I finally had to take a step back. This was the best way to distance myself from his attention.

From what I saw in the original story, he had a subtle desire to conquer heroines. It was obvious that if I pushed back too hard and then gave an opening, it would become more troublesome.

‘What an unhelpful human.’

Afterward, I inwardly clicked my tongue at the sight of other students watching us and whispering.

As befitting a protagonist, he was the center of attention. After all, he achieved excellent results with 4 wins and 1 loss through his overwhelming skills in the entrance exam.

The problem is that the same applies to me. Still not fully adjusted and unable to properly control my strength, I thrashed all my opponents—except Erich whom I tried to hold back against—with a single strike and passed the test with a perfect score.

While showing off my skills and drawing attention aligns with my goal of advancement, I didn’t particularly want to be entangled with him and become the subject of others’ gossip.

“Welcome to your first placement after a week of adjustment. But the leisure time is now over. Qualification assessments will be held weekly, and only those who pass these tests can advance to higher-level classes.”

This academy was the epitome of centralized action, nationally gathering and educating talents who were previously taught independently by their families, martial schools, or academic institutions, to utilize them.

It was one of the efforts of each country to survive in a rapidly changing world.

Since the very purpose of its establishment was to strengthen national power, how harshly the students would be treated within was already a foregone conclusion.

Befitting a kingdom with the Empire, a superpower, right next door, this place was especially severe.

“The first test is a physical fitness evaluation. For those who go to the front lines to fight, physical strength is fundamental. Even operating mana requires physical strength.”

The instructor, wearing a stern expression, informed us about the first test, his sunglasses lenses gleaming. A terrible system where you couldn’t proceed to the next course without passing the tests held weekly, not even per semester.

Although it was relative evaluation, students had to work desperately not to be held back.

Given that the tests were not easy, passing would bring immense pride, and consequently, the treatment of those who failed was clear.

Knowing this, students became nervous and heightened their tension. Some looked uneasy at the mention of a physical fitness test.

‘Is she perhaps in class 2?’

At this moment, I was actually looking for someone else while scanning the other students. If my old memory serves me correctly, there was definitely one female heroine who, like me now, primarily used a spear.

She was one of the heroines, the first to appear in the work.

I hadn’t seen her during the past week and expected to see her this time, but it seems classes were divided differently.

“It doesn’t matter anyway. After all, my goal is to get good scores, advance quickly, go into actual combat, and advance my career.”

Having organized my thoughts, I followed the students who were rushing out at the instructor’s words.

“Only those who come in on time will be given opportunities to measure other items. Since you’re unlikely to pass right away, think of today as practice and keep running without stopping.”

‘These crazy people, starting with running laps around the training field.’

Befitting the Kingdom’s 1st Academy’s reputation, all new students are children of the upper class born with mana. However, the honor of graduating from the 1st Academy cannot be obtained by bloodline alone.

From the moment of admission, things like social status disappear, and they are simply labeled as trainees, students.

Absolute obedience to instructors and seniors, mandatory informal speech among peers. Strict corporal punishment awaits those who disobey.

It was a treatment not easy to adapt to for the preciously raised children of noble families.

“Look around you. Under the same rules and wearing the same clothes, aren’t you all the same? Here, we only look at your abilities. What’s the problem? Isn’t it fair?”

The instructor, seemingly aware of this, grinned at the frozen students. He was clearly provoking them. Breaking their spirit was fundamental to military training.

Indeed, the students dressed uniformly in black shirts and shorts looked the same whether they were heirs of great nobles or illegitimate children of minor nobles.

Some seemed shocked by this fact, but it didn’t apply to me.

“Everyone, calm down. Aden… I mean, Kiina is composed, isn’t she?”

“?”

At that moment, someone mentioned my name and spoke to the others.

Though the face was unfamiliar, I knew who this male student was. The second or first son of Count Serte. According to inherited memories, we had known each other from before admission due to interactions between our families.

I couldn’t be certain of his intention in mentioning me, but it had an effect. The stirring atmosphere among the students calmed slightly.

‘Since others don’t seem to know, I’ll let it slide.’

Seeing his peculiar eyes, I roughly understood his intention but didn’t speak up since the outcome was positive. Those who didn’t know what kind of person this body was before I possessed it followed along simply because I, a child of a great family, remained calm.

“It’s good to see you bonding tightly. It’s better for peers to stick together like that. Otherwise, it will be hard to endure. Now, run!”

The instructor’s eyes, invisible behind sunglasses, briefly turned toward me. I stared back without avoiding them.

Normally, such attention would be very uncomfortable, but I was different now. Rather, I needed the attention. It would be advantageous for growth and advancement.

“Huh?!”

The students beside me hastily increased their pace, startled by the sight of me instantly dashing forward.

‘They won’t be able to keep up, though.’

Unfortunately, I had no intention of acting as a pacer. Rather, if they tried to catch up with me, they would quickly tire out.

* * *

“…What is this?”

Dmish, the spear instructor in charge of new students, scratched his head in bewilderment.

As usual, he had subjected the new students to endless physical training to exhaust them, but one result stood out unexpectedly.

A female student who started with an all-out sprint from the beginning but never lost speed as she continued running.

Dmish couldn’t take his eyes off her as she extended her slender, white legs and ran. Though she was sweating, she didn’t even appear to be out of breath.

“This shouldn’t be possible…”

No matter how much physical training one undergoes, it’s impossible to meet the standard with pure physical ability alone. That’s because this is a place that trains superhumans called knights.

The reason men and women run together is in consideration of this fact. To satisfy the conditions, they inevitably need to strengthen their bodies using mana.

The purpose of this unsophisticated method of training is to educate those who are inexperienced in this, but for someone already proficient in body strengthening techniques using mana, this test would be incredibly easy.

“I’ve completed all twelve laps.”

“You made it within the time limit. For now… take a rest.”

“Understood.”

‘Kiina.’

He flinched as he watched her, who had finished several laps ahead of others without even catching her breath.

Too shocked to give her additional tasks as he normally would have, he silently marked the name tag in his hand while glancing at her as she wiped her sweat and recovered her stamina while standing still.