I Became the Second-in-Command in a Romance Fantasy Novel

Like a flower blooming on dry land.
This world was a romance fantasy novel.
It was the moment my doubts were proven true.
“Is it really a romance fantasy novel?”
“Yeah.”

Unlike me, this testimony came from someone who had commented on the original work, so I couldn’t help but believe it.
“So, like, there are terror attacks at the academy? And wars breaking out?”
“Of course.”
Well, that’s what happens in a romance fantasy novel, so I couldn’t exactly argue.

“Is the culprit really Belian Erik?”
“What are you talking about?”
I had mentioned the name of the culprit, someone who immediately came to mind, but the response wasn’t quite what I expected.
“He’s the head of the flower arrangement club, isn’t he? Isn’t he the one behind the academy terror attacks?”
“Not at all.”
“Why?”
“Why?”

There was no understanding in his expression. I probably had the same look on my face.
“He’s the head of the flower arrangement club, right? Isn’t he the one causing the terror at the academy?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“Why?”
I mentioned a name that came to mind immediately, but his reaction didn’t exactly hit the mark.

“He’s the club president for the flower arranging club. Isn’t he the mastermind behind the academy terror?”
“No, not really.”
“Why?”
“Why?”
The person’s face was completely lost.
I probably looked just as confused, too.

“Isn’t he the head of the flower arrangement club? Isn’t he the one causing the academy terror?”
“No, not at all.”
“Why?”
“Why?”
The confusion didn’t seem to be clearing up.
Anyway, let’s go back.

“Isn’t he the one with the squinted eyes?”
“Just because someone has squinted eyes doesn’t mean they’re a villain.”
“Isn’t that usually how it works?”
“Hmm… that’s true.”
See, my suspicion was reasonable. Anyone who had read a novel would agree with it.
“But Belian is really just an ordinary person.”

Don’t lie. How could someone with that face be ordinary?
“I checked, and last year, he earned all the required credits, including compulsory subjects. That means, usually, the 4th-year students have a relaxed year, right?”
“Right?”
“But this semester, he’s still taking a full course load. Does that make sense?”
“That doesn’t seem right.”
Look, even someone who had transferred into this world from the original novel would agree this was suspicious.
“Even though he takes so many classes, he doesn’t have any close friends.”
“Isn’t that a bit extreme? People can be without friends.”
“But then he’s really into flower arranging? A nobleman?”
“People can have flower arranging as a hobby.”

There were so many suspicious points, yet people seemed too willing to believe things that weren’t even mentioned in the original work. We weren’t even characters in the original story, to begin with. So why trust the original so blindly?
“But a guy with squinted eyes shouldn’t be like that.”
“Why are you judging people by their looks?”
I may seem like the bad guy here, but looks are important. Even the same confession will yield different results depending on whether the person is handsome or not. How a person dresses can completely change how they are perceived.

Especially in a romance fantasy novel with a guy with squinted eyes.
The moment his eyes opened, he could become a monster capable of defeating Prince Ellen.
Even Prince Ellen would probably lose at some point, considering the usual progression in a romance fantasy.
“Wait, how did he do that?”
Apparently not.

“It was only once though?”
Right after hearing about the original story from Violet, she asked me for details about past events. She wanted to know where the original plot had gone off-track. I felt it was a reasonable question, so I shared most things, excluding royal secrets.
When I told her that I had managed to defeat Prince Ellen about once in every thirty tries, she was absolutely stunned.
“Do you know what Ellen’s nickname is, based on current standards?”
“What’s that?”
“God of the Sword.”
“Wow.”

If it means what I think it does, that’s terrifying.
The God of the Sword.
The scariest part is that I can understand why this nickname fits him.
“Do you know who he lost to, the first time after mastering the sword?”
“First of all, what do you mean by mastering?”
“When Princess Heastia got completely wrecked.”

Ha, when was that?
Ellen had a record of losing shortly after learning the sword, and he continued to lose from time to time, so pinpointing an exact time was difficult. Based on what I heard, he hadn't lost for quite some time, though. It felt like it had been fairly recent.
“When exactly was that?”
“When Princess Heastia gave up the sword.”
“...?”
The guy obsessed with swords?

“Was there such a day? When was that?”
“It happened before the academy entrance, but I don’t know when exactly. It was a flashback, so it wasn’t specified.”
From the vague flashbacks I heard, Princess Heastia had given up the sword in despair, realizing the overwhelming gap in talent. And when Ellen broke his sister’s sword, he became even more brooding.
“But why didn’t he quit?”
“If it was because of me, I’d apologize to Lucia, but it sounds like he had the chance to enter the social scene like the older instructors I was so envious of.”

“You lost to him too, didn’t you? After getting beaten by two people, wouldn’t you think maybe you’re just weak?”
“Maybe?”
I think I managed to stop that. It wasn’t intentional, of course.
“This isn’t something that’s fully explained, so I don’t know for sure. But what’s important is not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“Are you suffering from young-onset dementia? I asked who Ellen lost to after he realized the sword.”
“Right?”

I started thinking of people who might have beaten Ellen.
Aside from the headmaster and sword master, I couldn’t really think of anyone.
“Did he lose after entering the academy?”
“Yeah.”
“Then it’s only the sword master.”
“Right.”
If even the sword master is permanently at the bottom, it’s clear that the only person who could have defeated Ellen at the academy is the sword master.

“But do you know what’s more important?”
Violet furrowed her brow, clearly thinking something was more important.
“What else is there?”
“After losing, there was a description of Ellen’s emotions. He was incredibly disappointed.”
“Isn’t it normal to be disappointed after losing?”
“Not really. The reason he was disappointed wasn’t because he lost, but rather the opposite.”
“The opposite?”
“He lost, but he felt like he could catch up soon. That the gap wasn’t that big.”
Ugh, damn.

“...The sword master?”
“Yeah. And that feeling was correct. He actually defeated the sword master right before graduating from the academy.”
That means there were only four years left before Ellen would defeat the sword master.
“No, why?”

Ellen, Ellen...
If you can do it, I have to, too...
Even if I can’t beat you, I need to catch up...
If you defeat the sword master, then that means at the very least, I need to be on par with him...
“Because that’s the kind of character he is.”
Right now, I didn’t like calling someone living and breathing a “character,” but at the same time, it was the most reasonable explanation for Ellen’s talent.
That’s how he was made.
Without it, Ellen wouldn’t have reached the level he’s at.

“Ellen is a really important character. He’s a secondary male lead, but he’s like the cheat key that clears things up whenever the plot gets stuck.”
With that, Violet summarized what would happen in the future developments. She explained the events and how Daisy would get involved with a male lead in those situations. Ellen’s role in all of this was extremely clear.
“Truly a cheat key...”

During a crisis, taking advantage of the sword master’s brief absence, a terror group invades.
Daisy finds herself in danger, but she and the male lead become the focal point of the students, fighting against the terrorist group.
They win a small-scale skirmish, but the academy is still in big trouble!
… And then Ellen comes and sweeps away all the remaining enemies!
“Was Like a Flower Blooming on Dry Land a popular novel?”
“Sadly, yeah...”
“The plot was like that?”
“It’s a romance fantasy novel. Fighting isn’t really that important. If you want to focus on fighting, why even bother reading romance fantasy? Just watch a martial arts novel where they fight non-stop.”
The important thing is the unfinished romance, which sounded absurd, but at the same time, it was also a perfect description of the essence of romance fantasy.

“Even after Ellen really starts to shine post-academy, there’s almost no combat description. Whenever Ellen moves, the fight’s over.”
In other words, the author officially made him the power finisher.
“So, what about the Demon King?”
“He’s not just about swords, but also uses magic and curses. Of course, even then, he couldn’t defeat Ellen.”

That’s why the Demon King avoids direct confrontation with Ellen and targets Daisy, the focal point.
“Damn, he even targeted a virgin.”
I almost choked on my own breath, but I managed to hold back, suppressing the fury that wanted to burn the world.
It didn’t feel like harassment, more like someone calmly stating the truth.

“Anyway, that’s all I’ve seen. I don’t know what happens after that. So I tried to snowball things from the start.”
Violet frowned at me.
Her expression already didn’t make sense when talking about the Demon King, but her frown deepened, and honestly, I got a little scared.
“It’s an emergency.”
“What is?”
“You ruined everything with your actions.”

I was wronged.
What did I even do?
“First of all, Ellen’s become a different person.”
“I’m wronged.”
I just worked hard.
Didn’t he say it himself?
The future God of the Sword. I’ve been struggling to catch up with him.

“You even beat the sword master. That’s why the relationship dynamics collapsed.”
“That’s also unfair.”
It was just that the sword master was weak.
If I hadn’t been around, he would’ve always been at the bottom. He probably hadn’t been putting in enough effort.
“There were so many variables because of those two things, but the biggest one is that Ellen is running now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ellen was originally like a cheetah. In the academy part, he felt like the secondary male lead, but honestly, he was the final boss of the Aslan route!”

But now, Ellen’s personality has completely changed, and he’s actively pursuing things.
“This isn’t a bad thing for you, right? You won’t have to worry about the Demon King NTR’ing you anymore.”
“The previous story is completely ruined! The main leads in the academy part are Prince Acid and the sword master Aslan!”
Seeing Violet talk like this, I could tell Ellen was being very assertive.

“If this keeps up, other male leads will have less screen time than I remembered. And Ellen’s position as a secret protector of Daisy’s will be vacant.”
From the midterm exams of the first semester onward, the true romance fantasy story is expected to progress.
“Even though he’s not as important as {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Ellen, the sword master’s growth might also face issues.”

The advantage of knowing the future might soon vanish.
Looking at Violet as she spoke, I held up two fingers.
“I can handle the two things.”
“What things?”
“The gap left by Ellen. If you explain the original story more, I’ll be able to handle it.”

If the academy is destined for trouble, my scope for action widens.
I’m not just any student here; I’ve got a hidden identity as a royal-appointed instructor.
Other kingdoms have sent their prince-level figures here, so there must be agents like me around.
If I can coordinate with them, I can protect the academy even better than Ellen did in the original.
“And the sword master issue, I can handle it too.”
“Really?”
“Are you suffering from young-onset dementia? What did I tell you about the sword I learned earlier?”
The defeat sword.
A swordsmanship created solely to lose.
It became useless once Ellen’s talents awakened.
But my skill in that swordsmanship has always been superior to even Ellen’s.
I’ve even managed to create tense matches against new instructor juniors!

“I’ll leave Ellen to the sword master. I’ll train the sword master myself. You just handle the rest.”
In the land of knights, Leon Kingdom, I was about to reveal a royal secret swordsmanship at the academy.