WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Picked Up the Protagonist’s Heroine ◈
Chapter 3: They Say No Tree Can Withstand Ten Strokes of the Axe, Right?
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The atmosphere among the students gathered around the old school building grew solemn.
Ester felt their gazes pierce her like arrows.
Pitying looks came flying at her in volleys.
The other students had seen the girl known as the Goddess of the Academy fall apart.
‘He... rejected me?’
Ester repeated blankly.
No matter how often she replayed it, she could not understand the situation she was in.
“I find you disgusting.”
It was more than a simple rejection.
She had said she was interested in him as a man, and he had answered that he found her disgusting.
The exchange rate was terrible.
The numbers did not add up.
‘...This isn’t right.’
It had been her first confession.
Before that, she had never even felt drawn to a man.
Men had always trailed after her and confessed on their own if she simply stood still.
Yet when she finally showed her feelings to the first man she had ever liked...
“You would do well not to let me see you again.”
Laward had been nothing but cold.
He had poured out sharp words with obvious disgust.
It was cruel, as though he were telling her to stay there and be stabbed to death.
‘That can’t be right. Something must have happened to Laward today. That’s why... he acted that way.’
Ester shook her head.
There was no way she lacked charm.
There was no way she could fail to win over a man.
She denied reality.
‘T, tomorrow I’ll speak to him again.... Something unpleasant must have happened today....’
And so, the next day.
Ester slowly approached Laward as he reviewed swordsmanship theory in the classroom.
At the very back of the room.
Even during the noisy break, Laward was immersed in his studies alone. He looked wonderful today as well.
Seeing him work tirelessly and focus on his clear goal drew Ester in once again.
“Laward, I’m sorry I suddenly said that yesterday. If you have time, could we talk again today...?”
Abruptly.
Laward rose from his seat with his textbook in hand.
“Excuse me? I was talking to you...”
Ester called after him, but Laward left the classroom with a frown.
He ignored her completely.
“...Ah.”
She froze on the spot again.
And once more, other students were watching.
‘I won’t... give up.’
A second rejection.
Her stubbornness had now carried her past her shame.
Some time later, Ester finally decided to resort to seduction.
It was Ester’s surest method, since she had confidence in both her face and her figure.
Her last resort.
Her secret weapon.
In short, her ultimate move.
She subtly loosened the front of her uniform to emphasize her curves.
Normally, she buttoned her uniform all the way up and tied her tie snugly. But today, she had undone no fewer than two buttons.
Someone might say it was only two buttons, but for someone as proper as Ester, it was a rebellion great enough to deny the life she had lived until now.
Even though she knew it broke school rules.
At this point, Ester had stopped caring about anything else.
Forbidden techniques were always more powerful.
“Ah, it’s hot.... It’s so hot today.... Don’t you think?”
She fanned herself near her chest and glanced sideways at Laward.
Laward looked at her.
“...Lowly lump of flesh.”
He muttered it with a grimace.
“W, what?”
Even after that, she refused to give up.
She constantly tried to show Laward her charms.
Her methods became even more blatant, but the results remained disastrous.
Meanwhile, there were male students at the Academy who called themselves Ester’s fans.
They followed behind Ester and secretly watched her from the rear.
They still followed Ester as they had before the confession incident, but...
“Now then, Ester. What kind of defeat will you show us today?”
At some point, they began to feel an inexplicable thrill whenever Ester was humiliatingly rejected.
They had awakened a taste from which there was no returning.
“Shh, be quiet. It’s starting. Her tenth confession.”
“What’s today’s concept?”
Today’s confession concept was the domestic type.
That morning, Ester found Laward practicing swordsmanship at the training grounds.
He would not be able to ignore her today.
She had personally prepared a lunchbox for him.
Clutching the cloth-wrapped lunchbox tightly, she approached Laward from behind.
Even Ester thought preparing a lunchbox was the perfect idea.
Men were naturally weak to domestic women.
She had prepared a healthy meal herself for the man who worked hard every day, creating the image of a woman who looked after his meals.
‘Hehe....’
Above all, it was a strategy that would leave a deep impression that Ester, who was cold to every other man, considered only Laward special.
A lunchbox took a great deal of work. It also implied that she had risen early and carefully prepared it while thinking only of him.
The lunchbox was an unbeatable strategy and the key to victory.
Thrust.
Ester confidently held out the lunchbox.
“Laward, you’re working hard from the morning.”
Laward turned to look at her with annoyed eyes, but that was not enough to discourage her.
She had already been rejected nine times.
A contemptuous stare had become as ordinary as a morning greeting.
“When you’ve been exerting yourself since morning, you need a hearty lunch. This is... I had some left over while making mine this morning, so I brought it for you....”
She had wanted to honestly say that she had worked hard for Laward, but she was too embarrassed and swallowed the words.
“I’m fairly confident in my cooking, you know? I prepared five side dishes, all good for your health. You won’t be disappoint...”
Ignoring Ester, Laward rummaged through his bag.
He pulled out a roughly formed rice ball and chewed it like an animal.
“I’ll take care of myself.”
Laward passed up Ester’s carefully prepared five-dish lunchbox and stuffed the barely edible rice ball into his mouth.
“I thought I told you not to let yourself catch my eye.”
...Ester turned away, swallowing her tears.
“As expected of Ester. Rejected again today.”
“Ahh... I’m burning up.... That teary face makes me so hot....”
The self-proclaimed Ester fan club had become a gathering of perverts who observed proud Ester being effortlessly rejected by Laward.
* * *
I set out for the Academy.
It was far from my home, House Hasgard, but it was time to meet the heroines.
I thought Laward had grown distant from the heroines while training to become a Paladin, but I could not relax until I saw it with my own eyes.
The thirtieth ending, Paradise.
It was the route where Laward conquered all five heroines.
I had experienced that worst ending.
I could not let my guard down.
While I was among men who preserved their chastity so they could go to Paradise after death, I was the bastard who had tasted true paradise.
The game my junior had made had thirty-one endings in total.
There were thirty-one of them, as though it were an ice cream shop with thirty-one flavors.
Each of the five heroines had five endings.
Five times five made twenty-five.
There were also five harem routes.
That made thirty.
Then there was one hidden ending.
That was how it reached thirty-one.
Laward would meet the female characters one by one.
Not just any women, but women who would come to like Laward.
Since this world was a beautiful-girl dating simulation, it was only natural that the heroines would fall for the protagonist.
Each loved for their own reasons.
The story unfolded according to the developers’ intentions.
With a carefully designed story and illustrations filled with soul, it asked the player:
Look. There are five heroines here, each with her own charms.
They like you.
What do you think? Aren’t they cute? Aren’t they pretty?
So, who will you pursue?
Oh, right.
You can pursue all of them, too.
That was the idea.
Besides, Ester’s confession event should have happened around this time.
The first heroine, Ester.
As the first heroine, Ester was designed to seize the player’s attention and draw them into the scenario.
In other words.
She was a character the developers had put effort into.
Her beauty was too magnificent for any words to adequately describe, enough to steal your heart.
Brilliant eyes.
Silver hair that radiated a mysterious, dreamlike atmosphere.
A figure fit for a sculptor’s masterpiece.
A tsundere classmate who always spoke formally.
Could that protagonist bastard, who loved women enough to clear the harem route in one try, really have resisted falling for Ester?
Judging from the letter, he seemed interested in nothing but the Goddess, but I could not know what was in his heart.
I would go myself.
I had to go and see with my own eyes.
* * *
I was an extra, and I did not have the status to become an Academy student or teacher.
Even so, there was a way to watch the heroines closely and intervene.
A scholarship.
In other words.
I would become a sponsor.
“You wish to provide scholarships for our students?”
The Academy teacher asked.
She was the only character I had liked while playing the game, that Academy teacher.
Unlike the heroines, whose ages were hidden as “XX years old,” she was a female teacher explicitly set in her thirties.
I was lucky.
Today, I almost felt like acknowledging the existence of the Goddess.
Long, straight red hair.
An air of maturity that the girls could never attain.
Her wrinkle-free skin made her look younger at a glance, but her whole atmosphere was different.
I could confidently say I had a radar for detecting the particular allure of older women.
Had I mentioned that succubi transformed into the ideal type of their prey?
......She looked exactly like that succubus.
More precisely, the succubus had transformed into this Academy teacher, but remembering the suggestive air from that day made me feel a little heated.
It would not have been surprising if Chris appeared and cut off my head right then.
Before that, though, perhaps it would be fine if I got charmed.
I should finish the business quickly and make my move.
First, I should ask her name.
Her name had never even appeared in the game.
Avoiding ruin and preventing my house’s destruction were important, but I deserved happiness in this life too.
When I was a Paladin, I had one, but lived as though I did not.
This time, for certain.
“Yes. House Hasgard intends to sponsor five students.”
I calmly invoked the count’s house name.
Father had already given his permission regarding the money, and I had saved more than enough to cover five students.
The head of House Hasgard, my father, had always said that giving was the noblest thing a noble could do.
He had also been happier than anyone when I told him I wanted to support students.
“I see. Then... shall we base it on grades?”
The Academy teacher asked as she tucked her long hair behind her ear.
The question aside, that small gesture released a fragrance mixed with spring flowers, grass, and fresh soap.
Damn it. Calm down.
Do not let every little gesture toy with all five of your senses.
No matter how purely I had lived as a Paladin, what was I, a middle schooler?
“No.”
I pulled myself together and answered firmly.
“Actually, I looked into the students a little. The student I want to sponsor is Ester.”
And the other heroines.
“Lucia, Amelia, Veronica, and Rebecca. Those five.”
“They are all... female students?”
Oh.
The teacher’s gaze changed sharply as she looked at me.
Did she think I was some ordinary wastrel from a count’s house?
Did she see me as trash who used his rank and wealth to covet beautiful girls?
This was troublesome.
For all that, I had been a Paladin.
A noble and chaste Paladin.
My comrades had respected me, and my superiors had recognized me.
“Haah, I am not the captain’s backpack. Please get yourself together, Captain. Do you not feel sorry for the person who gave you that famous sword? How many times has this been now that you have left your sword behind? Oh God, please watch over the Captain....”
“Daywin, if you wanted more food, you should have said so.... Because you used my name to get two bowls at the serving line, I went without dinner today. Daywin, would it hurt to show a little respect for me, your bishop?”
...Minor conflicts I had forgotten suddenly came to mind.
Sorry, Chris.
My apologies, Bishop.
“As you said, they are all female students, but... is there a problem?”
“Hmm.... Perhaps it is a matter of fairness. All the students you mentioned.”
She emphasized the word “all.”
“Have poor grades.”
That was true.
The heroines’ grades were dreadful.
It was the sort of story where the top student met girls competing for last place.
Laward had been first in his class since enrolling, while the heroines had formed ties with him from the bottom of the rankings.
Still, all of them had incredible potential.
It simply remained hidden until the player uncovered it.
Discovering that potential, drawing it out, and earning the heroines’ affection was the game’s central story and goal.
“So I would cautiously like to recommend Laward of the Swordsmanship Department, who took first place in this year’s entrance examination. Considering his home circumstances, Laward is the one who needs a scholarship, and his top score provides ample justification.”
She cleared her throat and continued.
For some reason, it sounded as though the succubus’s sticky voice overlapped with hers.
“Even so, are you saying you insist on sponsoring only female students with low grades?”
“...Yes.”
Faced with a question that felt like the finishing blow, I had no choice but to agree.
“Ah.... I see....”
The Academy teacher nodded awkwardly.
The glance she gave me grew harsher.
Ah.
She definitely saw me as a wastrel. She unquestionably saw me as trash.
The beautiful teacher and Daywin ending: Locked.
Impossible to pursue.
There was no save point to return to.
It could not be helped.
At this rate, I would not only fail to clear her suspicions, I might even become unable to get close to the heroines.
In the end.
“I am the one who recommended Laward to the Academy.”
I told her the truth.
“Ah... really?”
Her eyes widened.
Then she asked me to wait briefly and searched through various documents.
“It is true!”
Her expression changed as she fluttered a sheet of paper.
Her attitude visibly changed.
Of course it would.
There was a clear difference between someone who suddenly wanted to sponsor only five female students at the bottom of the rankings, and someone who had discovered a genius in the slums and recommended him for Academy admission.
“Then that changes things.... You must have an eye for talent.”
She glanced at me, then stamped the sponsorship certificate with a loud thunk.
“I will deliver this directly to the chairman.”
“May I meet them once?”
“The chairman?”
“No, the students.”
Why would I want to meet that old man?
“I would like to tell them about the scholarship myself.”
“Ah, yes. The students should know where the money comes from to feel motivated. Amelia will not be particularly happy about the scholarship, though. She may even take offense. It is just that...”
She subtly raised an index finger and pointed upward.
“She is one of our students now, but she was originally someone of very high standing.”
“I understand. I will meet them in order, beginning with the first-years.”
“Yes, then Ester is first. Ester is...”
The teacher’s expression changed halfway through.
Her face was filled with concern.
“...Of all people, Ester is first.”
What did she mean, of all people?
Was Ester not well regarded among both students and teachers?
Her grades might have been somewhat disappointing, but she was a proper and capable student.
I was sure that was her setting, but the teacher looked distinctly uncomfortable.
“Is there some problem with the student?”
“Ah, no.”
She hesitated with a small hum.
“...You will understand when you meet her.”
On the corridor to meet Ester, anxiety accompanied me.
The sudden worry made me forget to ask her name after all.
* * *
“Nice to meet you, Ester. I came to let you know that you have been selected for a scholarship.”
“Yes....”
Sitting on the sofa, Ester stared blankly at the ceiling.
“I... am a scholarship recipient....”
Her voice sounded as though her soul had been drained away.
“Why me? I am only a lowly lump of flesh....”
Huh?
Something felt off.
This was not the Ester I knew.
Ester had always been a confident character.
Sometimes excessively so, but it was confidence based on her ability, so she was never unlikeable.
Ester merely stared at the pattern on the ceiling with empty eyes.
Where had the tsundere gone?
“What do you mean, why? Your grades are a little...”
Hmm.
Telling her the truth too directly might hurt her.
“A little disappointing, but I heard the teachers think highly of you, and you are extremely popular with the students. It seems you even have a grand nickname. The Goddess of the Academy, was it?”
“Eek!”
She suddenly flinched violently.
“Why?”
Had I remembered her setting incorrectly?
“N, no.... It is just... suddenly....”
“Still, students can be so childish. Calling someone a goddess.”
“Aah!”
Every time I called her a goddess, Ester overreacted.
As though someone had pressed a button, she sprang up from the sofa.
What was wrong with her...?
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