WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Dionysus

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◈ I Picked Up the Protagonist’s Heroine ◈

Chapter 8: A Vulgar Lump of Flesh

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The next morning.

Squeeze.

“Um... my patron.”

Ester suddenly grabbed my sleeve.

Not my wrist, just my sleeve.

“C-could you come with me for a moment?”

“What is it...?”

Squeeze.

Instead of answering, Ester tugged my sleeve a little harder.

For some reason, she reminded me of a puppy begging to go for a walk.

She led me to the old schoolhouse.

It had transformed so beautifully that I almost wondered whether this was really the place I knew.

“T-ta-da...”

Ester spread both arms in an awkward attempt to unveil it.

She said something else afterward, but honestly, I couldn't hear it.

I was too busy taking in the sight of the old schoolhouse.

Flowers fluttering in the wind drew my gaze.

And it wasn't only the flowers.

Fresh green vines stretched across the old schoolhouse, warmly filling the cracks in its walls.

Ester had breathed life into the crumbling building.

Success.

This brought me one step closer to the hidden ending.

No, it had happened even earlier than it did in the hidden ending.

A huge success.

For her first attempt to turn out this well, it exceeded my expectations.

“...I did it.”

While I had been lost in thought, Ester finished what she had been proudly saying to herself.

I had only half listened, but it sounded as though she had intended to revive just one flower, only for the entire flower garden to come back to life.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“D-don’t expect too much...”

Of course, I had expectations for Ester as well, but I meant the chairman.

Shall I collect my reward from the bet?

* * *

I had learned this last time, but the old schoolhouse was clearly visible from the chairman’s office.

The chairman didn't seem to like that fact.

“...It seems you can see the future, Lord Daywin.”

From here, the flower garden Ester had revived was easy to see as well.

“I never imagined that a student near the bottom of the entire school could possess such ability...”

The chairman spoke as they watched the view beyond the window.

“That is understandable. Wouldn't it be stranger if you knew every student individually, Chairman? I was more surprised by how well you knew Laward.”

“...”

Perhaps my words had made the chairman reflect on their favoritism toward Laward. The chairman remained silent for quite a while.

“Do you believe the other students possess talents like Ester’s as well, Lord Daywin?”

“You already know her name.”

“...I looked into her a little.”

The chairman really was transparent.

The way the chairman pounced on anyone who seemed talented proved it.

“To answer your question, yes. Laward and all five female students have sufficient talent, in my eyes.”

“Hmm... Is that so? One of them was even suspended.”

The chairman moistened his dry lips with hot tea before carefully continuing.

“I am sorry about last time.”

I met the chairman’s steady gaze.

“I doubted your discernment, Lord Daywin. I should have trusted you completely from the moment you sent Laward to us...”

The chairman trailed off with a bitter smile.

“It is shameless of me to ask, but please take good care of the other students as well. The Academy will support them as much as we can.”

“Very well. Though I believe it is only natural for the Academy to support its students.”

“Th-that is true.”

“Then may I ask one favor?”

“Ah, yes. I will keep my promise.”

“I understand that Academy rules require students near the bottom of the grade rankings to attend remedial classes during break.”

Remedial classes had been an important event in the game as well.

The heroines’ routes diverged depending on how they spent their vacation.

“I heard that while other students return home for break, students assigned to remedial classes must remain in the dormitory and attend special lessons.”

Laward’s actions depended on the player’s choices, but his grades were usually high, so he didn't remain at the Academy during break.

Therefore, to begin the “Spend Time with the Heroine” event during vacation, the player could only choose heroines exempted from remedial classes.

If there was a heroine the player wanted to become closer to, they improved her grades and had her exempted from remedial classes.

That was one of the game’s objectives.

However, Laward, having become a fanatic, had not grown close to or helped any of the heroines.

As a result, all of them were confirmed for remedial classes.

“That is correct. Through special vacation lessons, we hope to improve the students’ academic achievement and their desire to improve...”

“Make every student I sponsor an exception.”

I intended to make the most of that break.

I couldn't simply let that time pass when I didn't need to come to the Academy and the heroines were free.

More than anything, I needed Ester for the Subjugation Festival.

“...An exception?”

“Yes, exempt them all. Amelia likes studying, so I will leave it to her choice, but please make sure the other three are exempted.”

“However, if exceptions are made, the other students and their guardians...”

“I believe you said you would keep your promise.”

“That is...”

The chairman lowered their head and pondered for a long time.

After a while, the chairman finally spoke.

“If you insist... I will find a way.”

The chairman nodded reluctantly.

“Good.”

“Ah, Lord Daywin. I heard Laward intends to take an advanced course during break. The special class normally attended by third-years preparing to graduate. Should we send Laward home this summer as well?”

“What? No. Keep a close watch on him and make sure he goes nowhere except the Academy and chapel. It's not as if he has a home to return to anyway.”

“Ah, um... Yes...”

* * *

The closing ceremony arrived.

Seeing the students standing in rows inside the grand auditorium made Daywin feel rather nostalgic.

He had wanted to run away from the moment the principal began his boring speech, but as a sponsor, Daywin had promised to go onstage and offer words of encouragement.

Daywin maintained his expression as best he could and endured until the end of the ceremony.

He greeted the faculty partway through, and reuniting with a female teacher who was his type was at least some comfort.

Her name was Grace.

Then, from the moment Daywin took the stage with a reluctant expression...

‘Why is my mentor here...?’

Laward suffered one shock after another.

Daywin’s sudden appearance at the Academy without a word of warning had only been the beginning.

Seeing Daywin here had already surprised him, but when he was introduced as a sponsor who had generously donated scholarships to the Academy, Laward’s mind went blank.

‘A sponsor... Does that mean he supports students other than me too...?’

Questions Laward wanted to ask Daywin piled up like a mountain.

Yet above all else, one thought continued to circle in his mind.

‘There are others besides me... There are others besides me... Students my mentor cherishes...’

Laward had never disobeyed Daywin.

He had gladly accepted the honor of becoming a paladin, reported his every action, and diligently completed his assignments.

He had never doubted, nor ever wavered from, his goal of becoming the Goddess’s sword.

Laward didn't realize it, but by the time he came to his senses, he had clenched his fist tight.

‘I am still... far from enough.’

Laward nodded as he took a deep breath.

Once the ceremony ended, he would go see his mentor.

Just wait a little longer.

He kept repeating those words to himself as he waited for the ceremony to end.

For Laward, the closing ceremony lasted far longer than it did for the other students.

The ceremony ended with the principal reminding everyone to be careful while playing in the water during summer.

At once, Laward hurried after Daywin.

“Mentor...!”

The moment he called out to Daywin’s back,

Laward stopped breathing.

Daywin was not alone.

He was speaking with another student.

A neatly pressed uniform.

A first-year tie.

A ribbon on her sleeve.

Delicate silver hair.

A ponytail.

Knee socks wrapped around her calves.

A vulgar lump of flesh.

The girl who had bothered him throughout the first semester.

The girl who had openly displayed lust in a sacred place of learning.

‘Ester.’

Without realizing it, Laward hid behind a pillar.

Eavesdropping was irreverent.

But when he considered that Ester might be another student receiving Daywin’s support, he felt desperate to know what they were saying.

Even if he had to whip himself in repentance tonight, he had to know.

“Ester, do you have any plans for break?”

“Plans? Um, first, I need to read the magic tome you gave me...”

‘A magic tome?’

Laward felt as if his head were ringing.

A magic tome?

Had his mentor treated that woman so specially that he had even given her a magic tome?

Surely... it wasn't holy magic.

“Ah, and I have to attend remedial classes. Um, apparently they're mandatory because my grades aren't good.”

“I see. Then come to Hasgard with me.”

“...Pardon?”

‘...What?’

Laward reacted at the same moment as Ester.

“I only asked about your schedule. Ester, return to the dormitory and pack your things. We will leave soon...”

Daywin took out his pocket watch and checked it briefly.

“I will give you forty-five minutes.”

“P-pardon? No, no!”

Flustered, Ester waved both hands, saying everything twice.

“Wait a moment! I told you that I'm assigned to remedial classes, so I have no choice but to stay at the Academy during break!”

“You are exempted. It was agreed upon before the closing ceremony.”

“...What?”

“Forty-four minutes. I suppose you don't have much luggage.”

“B-but still! If I have time during break, I should visit home too...”

“That has been settled as well. Your parents said that since you had received a scholarship far above your station, I should make as much use of you as I pleased.”

“Y-you exchanged letters with my parents too?”

“Yes, they were refined people. Questions are fine, but the time you have to pack will keep decreasing.”

“Then...! U-um...! Why do I have to go?”

“There is a subjugation campaign being held this year. It is a festival called the Subjugation Festival, and I need your power.”

“You need... my power.”

Ester hesitated with an awkward expression.

Then her face reddened a little.

“W-well, then I have no choice! This is sudden, but if you say you need me...!”

Ester put on a little bravado, then quickly turned around and ran toward the dormitory.

Click.

Daywin closed his pocket watch and watched her retreating figure.

And Laward, who had overheard the entire conversation from behind the pillar...

‘Ester is needed for the Subjugation Festival... For a battle against monsters... Not me, but Ester...’

He repeated the same words like a broken radio.

Laward had pushed Ester away merely because he found it offensive that her nickname was “Goddess.”

But from now on, it did not matter what Ester’s nickname was.

Laward simply came to hate Ester to death.

* * *

[Ending (2) Locked]

[Summer Time!]

『Laward grew remarkably close to Ester during the first semester.

As he attended the Academy, he seemed to form connections with other beautiful girls as well, but Laward did not particularly care.

For summer break, Laward was invited to Ester’s family home.

He was surprised by the sudden invitation, but it would be several times better than returning from the dormitory to the slums.

Laward hated summer break.

Fortunately, Ester’s parents welcomed Laward warmly.

Ester’s family home was so close to the sea that it might as well have been right beside it.

Was it because she had caused a great fire in the past?

Watch out for fire, waking or sleeping.

Keep fire close to water.

Every day, Laward ate warm meals made by Ester’s mother.

He even tried fishing for the first time in his life with Ester’s father.

Laward saw the sea for the first time.

“Is, is this outfit no good...?”

Of course, he saw Ester in a swimsuit for the first time too.

He also seemed never to have seen her look so innocently embarrassed, instead of concealing her true feelings behind sharp words.

Normally, she would have said, “It is not like I wore it for you to see!”

It seemed she really was embarrassed to be in a swimsuit.

Fishing, the sea, and a swimsuit.

They were all first experiences, but the most precious first experience was remembering what it felt like to find someone lovely.

Laward spent a summer he could never forget.

But the world was destroyed.』

Endings remaining until Stage 1 reward unlocks: 3

Huh...

Why was a message window appearing at this moment...?

The ending script and an illustration of Ester in a swimsuit suddenly floated before my eyes.

Even though I knew I was the only one who could see the window, it was somehow embarrassing enough to make me feel like I should cover it...

Ester’s second ending.

Locked.

Once again, an ending had been locked at a strange moment.

Looking over the ending script, it was an event that could only be seen during the summer break of the first semester.

This summer, I was taking Ester to Hasgard, so Laward and Ester would lose their time together.

That was presumably why the ending had been locked.

More than a change in Laward’s or Ester’s feelings, it was a matter of physical time...

“Mentor.”

The voice from behind startled me.

That voice.

And that form of address.

“...Laward.”

There was only one person it could be.

I hid my surprise and turned around as casually as I could.

Laward, whom I had not seen in a long time, looked strangely resolute.

“Mentor, after entering the Academy and maintaining first place, I thought I was doing well.”

Hmm.

What was this bastard suddenly talking about?

“But being first here is not enough, is it? To become the paladin you desire... I still have far to go.”

Laward thrust out his clenched fist.

“I will become stronger!”

What?

Wait a moment.

There was something strange about this bastard’s eyes.

“I will not stop training until you are satisfied! I will surpass not only the upperclassmen, but the Academy’s level itself! Please watch over me!”

Whatever...

Do as you please...

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