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

After the recruitment of Code Name, Boradori.

We held daily meetings to prepare for the inevitable downfall of the original story.
"Our goal is twofold."
And as a result, we began preparing plans focusing on two main objectives. One was the Empire Academy Romance Manipulation Team.

If the foundation of this world is a romance fantasy, then the most important thing is romance. So, if we can just successfully pair up the couples, we’ll be able to control the events that will happen in the future. Of course, this isn’t an easy task.
"So, what’s the possibility?"
"Based on the first-year academy part, this is it!"
We had a competent informant who knew the future, Code Name Boradori.

Prince Esid 55%
Swordmaster Aslan 25%
Prince Arwen of Dale 15%

The remaining 5%
So, it seems the overwhelming favorite is Prince Esid?
"...Without bias."
"Tch."

This bastard, pulling rookie tricks like this. Even though the main male lead exists in the romance fantasy, if one of them had clearly pulled ahead, the latter half of the plot would have turned into a mess, and there’s no way it would have stayed intact.
Of course, Violet said it had turned into a mess. But she also mentioned that there were a decent number of demon king faction readers. In other words, the original dry whatever was the result of the author masterfully manipulating the male lead coin market when the main male leads were at stake. When the new coin and demon king coin appeared, some even shouted "Not delisting, we're going to the moon!"
Prince Esid 45%

Swordmaster Aslan 35%
After Boradori’s bias was removed, Prince Esid’s share slightly dropped. Swordmaster Aslan’s share slightly increased.
"Is this for real?"
"I bet my salary on it."

Hmm. Seems like they’re serious about this.
"Is there really that much of a difference?"
"There have been some events, but most of them are internal incidents of the Empire. The main focus is the chaotic academy politics with Prince Esid. The combat parts are mostly dealing with the always-failing Aslan and his attempts to take down Ellen."
Some parts related to magic are handled by the Magic-using Prince, but he doesn't really have much presence in the first-year part. He only starts to show his presence when the dark magician formally appears in the third-year section. So, if the Fire Prince wants to compete, they’ll have to act before the third year.
"Not good."

In countless literary media, childhood friends are symbols of defeat. But, in terms of conditions, it’s impossible for the childhood friend to lose. They have a strong advantage just by being the first to meet the protagonist. They’ve shared more memories than any heroine, and the families know each other so well that they act like one family, so it seems impossible for them to lose in the heroine competition.
But, conversely, if you think about it… Despite having all those conditions, they still couldn't date until a new woman appeared. They met a long time ago, shared so many memories, and the families treated each other's children like their own, yet suddenly, a new woman is there to steal him away!
"What the hell do I have to do to win?"

Honestly, isn't it just better to lose? Damn it. The Fire Prince. Before you try to burn the world, you should have ignited your prince's heart first.
"Hmm. That part is a bit frustrating."
Boradori, whose words were getting shorter as I agonized, nodded and erased the male lead’s share. Then, he wrote down the names of Arwen and Marie side by side.

"First of all, Prince Arwen lived a life focusing only on magic before coming to the academy. Marie helped him focus on magic by respecting his wishes!"
Even with just a brief explanation, I could understand. It wasn’t someone else’s problem.
Prince Ellen, too, seemed to prioritize swords before entering the academy. From the Fire Prince's perspective, that must have been a blow.

"Here, the romance fantasy heroine perfectly fits."
"Ha. Our Daisy is just overflowing with charm."
"Our Daisy," huh. That sounded way too familiar, but since it was true, I decided to let it slide.
"But Marie is a shadow of the royal family. She can't act openly."

The Guardians of Dale and the Kingdom of Leon's educators were fundamentally similar. Both worked to protect the royal bloodline and to help it grow.
But if you dig deeper, the two groups were completely different. We were, literally, educators. Teachers who moved for the royal education. But Dale's Guardians were literally protectors. Shadows who moved secretly to guard the royal family.
For example, if Ellen were to die due to some situation, I would be kicked out of the educator's role and could face serious consequences. But if there was an unavoidable reason for my actions during that process, it could be brushed off as an unfortunate incident. Of course, disgraceful rumors would follow, but at least I wouldn't die.

However, Dale's Guardians ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) are different. According to the information, they were like spare lives for the royal family. Therefore, if the person they were guarding dies, regardless of the reason, they too must die. This wasn’t up for the royal family's decision to make; it was automatically triggered by the contract signed right before becoming a Guardian.
With such restrictions, the Guardians had huge authority and influence, different from the educators.
"You're not going to use that, right?"
"Yeah. We're going to try to resolve it with magic, without using that..."

If I become a better magician, Prince, you’ll look at me. If I get stronger, the prince will notice me! But standing in the way of the Fire Prince’s thoughts was the enormous wall that is the romance fantasy heroine.
"But the Saint Awakening! A miracle beyond the laws of magic! And magical talent blooming all at once!"
Even recently, thinking of the punch, her close combat ability was overwhelming. Damn it, no matter how much I think about it, there’s no way the Fire Prince can win.

"Even if you beat her in magic, it’s still a fight you can’t win."
That’s… because it’s a romance fantasy.
In the first place, the Magic Prince didn’t fall for Daisy’s magical skill; once he decided he would focus on her magic again, the Fire Prince's defeat was sealed.

"...When it’s the third year, what’s the situation with the Magic Prince’s share?"
"Three-way split."
It’s roughly 30% for the prince, 30% for the swordmaster, 30% for the Magic Prince, and the remaining 10% for the supporting characters?
"Yeah, but by then, there’ll be a new underclassman character, so the number of supporting characters will increase."

I thought only female supporting characters would be added, but it seems like one more male lead will be joining too.
"Not good."
For the sake of world peace, I have to get rid of the ones who can be eliminated as quickly as possible. So, I needed to rethink my approach.

"...No, maybe we don’t need to do that."
Red-faced, the Fire Prince said he didn’t need our help, so I had to show him reality.
"Losers, shut up."
"What…?"
"Shut up and join us."

Even though he probably wouldn’t eat if I set the table, I had to shove it in his mouth by force.
After making him face reality, I made the Fire Prince cry about three times. He would probably spend the rest of his academy life brooding over his defeat, so three times was cheap. After recruiting a new member for the Academy Romance Manipulation Team, I wrapped up the plan to approach the villainous young lady candidates carefully. Then, I was handling the second goal of the academy life.
"So, are you ready?"
"Of course."

If the Academy Romance Manipulation Team was the first goal, the next target was the Safety Squad of the Imperial Academy.
This damn academy was going to keep getting attacked!
"From there to here, the security facilities we could see have been fortified."

So, I was being introduced to the additional security system installed after this incident by Aelun, who was in charge of this side. Aelun knew I wasn’t just a student but was officially checking the system as an unofficial representative of the Kingdom of Leon, so he did his best to explain it.
"Can you really block it with such obvious things?"
The more I listened to the explanation, the more unsatisfactory it seemed. I could tell something was off because I wasn’t really knowledgeable in magic, but it was obvious enough that I could see the flaws.
"Just a deterrent. This is all visible to the eye, so it's like, ‘If you’re not confident, don’t try.’"

My tone was full of suspicion, so Aelun hurriedly mentioned that there were things hidden, but the academy would still get infiltrated. It’s a romance fantasy academy, after all!
"Is the real stuff hidden elsewhere? Then you should tell me."
"That’s confidential."
"Confidential between us? How disappointing."
"I’m disappointed too, but if the higher-ups say something, there’s nothing I can do. If you defect to the Empire, everything will be open to you. Want to come?"
My abilities must be coveted by the Empire too. He said he couldn't reveal anything, but if I came over, he'd tell me in secret.

How popular this bastard is. Of course, it wasn’t a bad deal. If I told the leader at the next meeting, I could use this as leverage for salary negotiations.
"The Empire probably won’t offer more than my current salary."
"Come on, it’s our Empire. How much are you making?"
"Roughly this much?"
"...Huh?"
The huge generosity of the Leon royal family made even the great Empire amazed.

"Is there a vacancy there?"
"Unfortunately, it closed recently."
Seems like they used up all the budget for Boradori’s recruitment, so there wouldn’t be any additional hires for a while.
"Too bad."

He seemed genuinely disappointed, though it was probably just acting. Does the Empire have a salary that tight like Dale? Well, the Empire controls territories several times bigger than our kingdom, so they probably have more special personnel. Even the Empire would probably struggle to cover maintenance costs.
"That’s why terrorists are visiting the academy."
"No, this time it was an exceptional case. It won’t happen again."
...Even though he said Silence was exceptional, similar ones would keep knocking on the academy’s door, and the academy would keep welcoming them. Of course, they’d try to stop them, but with a rotten mindset like this, even the first barrier of the Empire is compromised.

"Why’s your face like that?"
"Uh, well... I picked up some info."
"What is it?"
"Well..."
It was just a small accident at the academy.
"This time, they’re going to the Adrian Mountains for swordsmanship practice, right?"
"...How did you know that?"

When I brought up a location for a practice session that hadn’t been disclosed yet, Aelun’s face stiffened, but our Code Name Boradori already knew something more important.
"They say there’s a dark magician there."
"...Really?"
"...Please take care of it."
"..."
A small incident, but I’m sure it’ll be handled.

"Ao, shit."
It was my fault for trusting Aelun.