I Became the Male Lead who was Clinging onto the Female Leads

TL/Editor: Raei

Schedule: N/A

Illustrations: Posted in discord.

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“Ugh, I'm going to die. I'm dyinggggg.”

The next morning at dawn, Eugene awoke feeling as if his whole body had been smashed to pieces.

No matter how exhausted he was, he had to continue with his daily training.

He settled into a half-seated position and began to meditate.

Although meditation's primary purpose was to increase his mana, it also had the effect of circulating it through the body, aiding in the recovery of fatigue and muscles.

It couldn't replace sleep, but he could achieve the recuperative effects of long rest through a shorter period of meditation.

For Eugene, who had rigorously trained his upper and lower body for two hours each, followed by additional swordsmanship training, and then only slept for three hours: meditation was essential.

“Whew, I feel like I'm coming back to life now.”

After two hours of meditation, Eugene got up, looking somewhat rejuvenated.

“Next is the sword.”

He immediately left the dormitory and headed for the empty training ground.

He still had two hours before attendance, and he couldn't afford to waste that time.

“I've wasted this talent all this time, till the age of 16.”

He needed to train even harder, without wasting a single moment.

Eugene picked up his sword and repeatedly practiced three specific actions: a horizontal cut, a vertical cut, and a thrust.

Although he knew several types of sword techniques, his top priority was to hone the basics to perfection.

‘The basics are, literally, the foundation of everything.’

Intuitively, Eugene felt that this body could reach great heights simply by training the basics to the utmost.

And even beyond that level, his current practice routine would be of absolute benefit.

‘After all, all sword techniques are just variations of these three basic actions.’

There may be countless swords in the world, but what elevated them all was ultimately the basics.

Eugene focused solely on the sword before him and put all his energy into training, fully dedicating himself to the task.

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Raei Translations

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Around the time when students started passing by on their way to school, he sheathed his sword and returned to the dormitory to wash up.

After brief meditation, he headed to school.

“The Holy Lucia Empire was founded by the Great Emperor, Lucia von Ed, and…”

The usual continued.

Eugene listened to the classes, cramming knowledge about the world into his mind.

When the morning lessons ended, and it was lunchtime,

‘I'll eat in the cafeteria today.’

Unlike yesterday, when he went hungry to save a bit of money, Eugene went straight to the cafeteria to eat, not wanting to waste time and energy.

Thanks to the money saved on lodging, his financial situation had improved, and he decided that it was better to have lunch in the cafeteria and spend the remaining time in the library, absorbing knowledge.

'The library is really big.'

After eating, Eugene arrived at the Royal Academy's library and found the section with the swordsmanship books.

There, he sat down and read through the basics and theories of the sword.

Swinging a sword doesn't need instruction, but it's good to have background knowledge about various sword techniques in the world and their prerequisites.

‘For the next week or so, it would be good to make time for the library.’

Since it was nearly time for the afternoon class, Eugene closed the book he was reading and headed to the 'Wind Magic Practice Field.'

His afternoon lesson for the day was wind magic practice.

In the Royal Academy, where students had to complete the full basic curriculum, they were allowed to choose the attribute for magic practice, since attributes that could be learned were innately determined.

Eugene was unique in that he could master all attributes, but normally, students would learn two, and mastering three was seen as exceptional.

Thus, students could choose from 1 to 3 magic practice attributes, and Eugene had taken three: water (水), fire (火), and wind (風).

The reason Eugene had to attend these uninteresting lessons was,

‘He sure signed up for a lot, ugh.’

Because the body's previous owner had done so to interact with the three heroines.

Once enrolled, attendance was mandatory, and exams had to be taken.

Those grades affected the annual evaluation.

Because of the body's previous owner, Eugene had to attend wind magic practice and not the lightning (雷) attribute practice he was most interested in.

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Raei Translations

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Entering the practice field, many students were already there.

A young man, too young to be called a teacher, more like a student teacher, was there to conduct the class, surrounded by many students.

Eugene casually found an empty seat.

Whether it was by coincidence that he sat next to one of the three heroines, Yerina von Bliss Beruz, or due to a lingering habit of the body's previous owner, he didn't think much of it.

He had no particular interest in Yerina, so it didn't matter.

‘This guy again...’

Yerina, however, felt differently.

‘Again, right next to me.’

With her cherry blossom-pink hair and clear blue eyes, she looked slightly uncomfortable.

This Eugene, who was again standing next to her, had been strangely following her around like a fool, expressing affection, ever since he coincidentally saw her on the first day of school.

She was aware of her beauty's effect on men, but this man was over the top.

‘Honestly, doesn't he have any tact?’

Many men had been attracted to her looks.

But they were kept at bay by the enormous prestige of the Beruz family, the continent's top magic lineage, and by her own top-tier magic skills.

‘He's utterly shameless.’

Yet Eugene didn't know when to leave.

She had given clues that anyone would notice, and her discomfort was obvious.

If it had been any other man, he would have long since left her alone.

'Some might see it as persistence, but...'

It's just foolish.

That was Yerina's evaluation of Eugene.

A foolish and pathetic man.

Knowing that he would be staring at her today, lost in thought as usual, Yerina sighed and looked at Eugene.

'Hmm?'

Her eyebrows narrowed slightly.

She had expected him to be the same as always, but Eugene wasn't looking at her. And that wasn't all.

'Something feels different.'

It was hard to describe, but something had changed.

From the usually pitiful and unimpressive Eugene, a strange dignity was emanating.

'What is this?'

Yerina's lips parted, her face expressionless.

"Eugene, has anything strange happened to you recently?"

She had never drawn lines like Tina or Celine had.

Asking like this wasn't unusual.

"Change? Nothing in particular."

"You seem a little different than usual, though?"

"I don't know. It could be your imagination."

"......?"

'What?'

Really, what?

The Eugene that Yerina knew would have been beside himself just from her starting a conversation.

That was the Eugene she had seen all this time.

But what was with that response and his curt way of speaking?

'If he has changed, it's fortunate, but...'

The man who had been an endless annoyance had, for unknown reasons, withdrawn his interest.

That in itself was a good thing, something to be happy about.

'But...'

Why did it feel so unsettling?

She felt an inexplicable discomfort.

'Am I just another noble?'

Unable to pinpoint the cause of her unease, she attributed it to the aristocratic mindset that had formed while growing up as a high-ranking noble.

'I must not become such a noble.'

Yerina subtly bit her lip as a form of self-punishment.

The image she needed to portray was of a noble who would elevate the esteemed name of the Beruz family, not one who would live a life steeped in vanity without actual ability.

'In any case, it's a good thing.'

I can finally stop paying attention to that man.

With that final thought, Yerina shifted her attention from Eugene and looked forward.

The class had already begun without her noticing.

“Since the teacher who was supposed to teach today's class couldn't make it, I, a student teacher, will be taking over. I had no time to prepare, so I'll be giving a task for everyone to work on independently. Is that alright with everyone?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“We don't mind.”

“Thank you. Then!”

Snap─

The student teacher flicked his finger as he chanted.

Small rocks sprouted from the ground.

His display of high-level earth magic drew gasps of admiration from all around.

“Haha.”

The student teacher smiled and cast additional enhancement magic on the risen rocks.

Once that process was over, he spoke.

“Alright, today's task is to cut through these rocks, which I have enhanced with magic, using only wind attribute magic. You need to find the hidden black orbs within the rocks. The one who finds the most wins. Of course, the rocks are very sturdy, so you'll have to put your all into breaking them, but it wouldn't be fun if only those with strong magical power win, right?”

“So how do we do it?”

“Simply, if the rock is completely shattered, you get a ‘zero score’. That way, even those with less magical power can have an advantage if they use their magic with greater precision and skill.”

“Ooh…”

‘He said he didn't have time to prepare, but the lesson seems well thought out?’

Eugene's eyebrows twitched.

That student teacher seemed more capable than he let on.

“Then, since I didn't have enough mana to create enough rocks, let's do it as a group task! It's not a test, so don't feel pressured, and form groups of up to six.”

Huh?

“We'll begin once you're all ready.”

Wait a minute.

Teacher?

I... don’t have any friends?

Given that Eugene's previous body owner had lived such a lackluster school life, Eugene had no friends.

Other students, oblivious to Eugene's presence, formed their own groups.

“Yerina! Pair with us!”

“You will, right?”

“No, wait, hang on... just a bit slower…”

Most students flocked to Yerina's spot.

She was at a loss, surrounded by numerous female students asking her to form a group.

Why did her confusion feel so enviable?

Before he knew it, everyone had grouped into six, leaving Eugene alone.

“Are the groups all set? Then let's start... oh.”

Just as the student teacher was about to signal the start of the task, he noticed Eugene standing alone and approached him.

“You... Eugene, don’t have a group?”

“...Yes.”

“I see. What should we do.”

The student teacher pondered briefly.

“Shall I join you, Eugene?”

“No, I'll do it alone.”

“It's a difficult task to do alone. I'll help you, so...”

“I'll do it alone.”

“Don't be like that, together we...”

“Alone.”

‘Please don’t make me any more miserable!’

When Eugene glared and insisted on being alone, the student teacher seemed to understand and nodded, bowing his head.

"I see. I was thoughtless."

Then, as if making a great resolution, he chanted with a stern face.

“Haaaaaah!”

With a desperate expression, the teacher was wringing out every last drop of mana left to create a rock for Eugene, despite having barely any mana left after making the initial rocks.

‘Teacher.’

I'm sorry.

‘You bastard, Eugene…….’

Recalling the original owner of his body, long gone to heaven, Eugene gently closed his eyes.

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