"Hey. Where are they?"
I wandered through the school halls, glancing around for my next class. Not a single trace of any potential love interests. I started second-guessing the idea that they would stand out as clearly as I'd imagined. The system was silent, unresponsive as always when it came to these topics.
'I suppose you don't want to disclose the detopics' I muttered under my breath with a pout.
Speak of the devil. My eyes caught an exceptionally handsome man in the distance. He stood out from the crowd effortlessly, his presence magnetic. A group of girls surrounded him, giggling and vying for his attention.
"Eugh. Average male lead. " I scoffed, rolling my eyes. My first instinct was to turn and walk away, but I hesitated. If I want to progress in this game, I need to meet all the love interests, I reminded myself grudgingly. I paused mid-step. To be honest, I've never finished an isekai novel. so, then… How do they end?
I took a moment to assess him. The most remarkable thing about his appearance was what seemed to be an overgrown mullet, followed by long,soft and thin underlayer hair, which somehow suited his sharp, angular features perfectly. His eyes were a basic brown. Nothing that much extraordinary. But on him, they carried an inexplicable charm. The aura of a male lead.
My mind wandered to all the romance novels I'd read. In most cases, just passing by a love interest was enough to trigger some sort of event. Maybe I didn't need to do anything.
Then a thought hit me. What if I'm not the main character?
It was a ridiculous, baseless idea. If I weren't the main character, I wouldn't have the system, I reasoned, brushing off the thought with a wry smile. Pfft. I'm just overthinking.
Thinking about the system, I couldn't help but reflect on my first impressions of it. At first, it felt like just another feature of this world, something mechanical and automatic. But now… it seemed almost too intuitive, too aware of my actions and thoughts.
It was as if… a human controlled it. I was sure of it. Though, it was weird. Like, really weird. The fact I didn't think of this before … was really weird. Then, I felt a headache. "Urgh…" this was… random. Surely, it didn't mean anything,well i hoped. I walked past the charming guy. Someone who, based on my intuition, was almost certainly one of the love interests. As I did, nothing happened. No dramatic encounter, no sudden spark, no clichéd event to push us together.
Hmph. He was far too engrossed in the beautiful girls fawning over him. Not that I could really blame him. It's human nature to enjoy attention like that, I suppose. I mean, if I were in his shoes, I'd probably be just as engrossed. Maybe more.
Still, I couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of annoyance as I kept walking.
I felt like I couldn't last another second. Apparently, there are no phones here. None.
For someone like me. Someone completely addicted to their devices. This was a disaster of epic proportions. I missed my phone. No, I craved it. If I had it right now, I'd probably spend the entire day glued to the screen, ignoring the world around me and refusing to move.
But even so, this felt like cruel punishment. Darn you, system…!
And on top of that, I'm shy. Not the usual quiet, reserved kind of shy … more of a chaotic extrovert trapped in a bubble of awkwardness. Overflowing with energy and ideas, eager to connect with people…only until the moment comes. And I'm standing there like a glitching NPC, unsure of what to say or do. I know how to interact, not approach.
It's like living on a pendulum, constantly swinging between "I want to befriend everyone in this room!" and "Please don't notice me, I'll combust." A confusing, exhausting existence, but hey. It's mine.
Continuing with the theme of tiredness, I must admit that today was especially striking in the sense that I experienced a very strange and somewhat disturbing feeling of drowsiness. Perhaps, this was caused by big and rapid changes around me. The new environment engulfed me, the new faces surrounded me, and I found myself standing in front of quite a new world which I was sincerely trying to find my way through.
I looked up, briefly forgetting the weight upon my shoulders, and really took in my surroundings. Striking architecture, intricate, almost too beautiful for a school, the style recognizable because I'd seen it in my history book-the ornate arches, the sweeping columns, the grandiose detail swirled into every corner. It was like stepping into a living piece of hidetails 'Wow, I guess whoever is behind this game development team really indulged in the details…'
The next class was literature. As I walked toward the classroom, something odd struck me. Ever since I got here, well, since today, really, I'd been hearing a language I'd never learned, yet I understood it perfectly.
I mean, I was in that place where I couldn't put my mind around how this miracle was happening with that wonder. It was like those words themselves suddenly clicked into place somehow in a manner that made sense to me, like my brain was rearranged in one night to accommodate this new, unknown language. And if I'm being utterly honest with myself? I was simply disinclined to waste any precious time trying to reason or argue about how such an amazing transformation had occurred. Obviously, there are much greater and more pressing things to be worked out, like getting across campus to class on time and, much more importantly, the prospect of at least seeing one of those interesting love interests who had captured my attention during my day. I couldn't help but nurture in my belly a tiny spark of hope. It was as if the universe chose that moment, the best possible one, to have fate bring in something unexpected, or maybe even somebody.
As was expected, I was in class, of course, not paying attention to a single thing that was going on around me. Then, out of the blue, the combination of words "group project" escaped my teacher's lips. 'Group… project?' I was thinking, astonished at such a thing.
"You will be assigned to a group containing other students within your department. There's a reason for this: the nature of the project allows you to research and engage in materials specifically pertaining to that major. Understandably, the project itself does not tie in directly with the material I am covering in the class, but again, that is not really its purpose; it is much more experimental in nature.",
Indeed, I became overly obsessed with conceptualizing my love interests rather than using my energy to learn about my major. "I really don't believe how stupid I am.",
" Stupid?",
I suddenly felt a sudden unwanted sensation of somebody's finger firmly tapping me on the shoulder from behind my back.
He heard me loud and clear. It was then that I realized it was this child who is very reserved and has this tendency only to do his work and respond in a very lackadaisical manner.
"You are literally calling yourself stupid. Haha. It does beg a question: what must my personality and intelligence be like if that is how you think about yourself?" ,
The moment I had turned my head and looked back, I found him utterly captivating because of his unusual striking and distinctive looks that were hard to turn a blind eye on. He had blonde hair and soft facial features that came together to give the image of an endearing-looking boy. Although he was my age, he managed to look way younger than he actually was. And even his voice seemed to be high pitched. Yet, despite all this, he could still carry off an air of confidence and nonchalance that simply made him look like a total bad apple. Pftt.
It was just then that the appearance of the system window suddenly caught my attention.
[ Conquer one of the <7 love interests> for learning more and gaining necessary knowledge about your elected course(major). ]
" … ! "
Of course. For one moment, I had forgotten that it would be only I who could see this particular system. 'It really loves torturing me, huh.'
"Uh, yeah, haha… what must it be!"
As expected of me, I blurted out the most awkward response possible. Not that I had much to work with– I hadn't prepared anything resembling a conversation starter, let alone an actual exchange. I silently prayed he wouldn't give me that look. You know, the one where someone questions every choice that led them to speaking with you. First impressions mattered, after all.
"You're mocking me, aren't you?" he teased, chuckling softly.
"N-no! Absolutely not. I'm sure you're not that stupid. Wait, no, I mean… you're not stupid at all!" I stammered, my words tripping over themselves in a frantic backpedal.
Brilliant. Truly, I was the one that was– no. Is and always will be, quite literally, the stupid one.
"I heard you're called Naomi, right? Naomi Wintz." He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands in an annoyingly casual way, as if he'd just cracked some grand mystery.
'So that's my surname…'
Heard? Really? My mind reeled. How? I haven't even spoken to anyone yet, and it's only the second day.
"A-ah… really? What's your name?"
I asked, trying to redirect the conversation before my awkwardness could completely bury me alive.
He tugged at his sleeves absentmindedly before replying, "I'm Eowyn. Eowyn Spade."
'Who the hell names their kid Eowyn?'
The thought flashed through my mind, but I kept it locked behind a polite smile. "Aha-… cool a–"
I bit my tongue mid-sentence. "I mean, that's a pretty decent name. Really matches your looks. Don't you agree?", I really am trying to make an effort to fit in with the 'fancy' english.
Nice save, I thought to myself, finally feeling like I'd secured some footing.
"There are a lot of rumors about you. That's how I knew your name. " His tone was casual, like he wasn't dropping a mini bombshell right there.
'Rumors?' My mind scrambled. 'What kind of rumors? And why me? I hadn't even done anything noteworthy, unless awkward social blunders counted as newsworthy.'
"Anakin Katz has been searching for you," he added, as if that clarified anything. "Oh and, there were rumors about a top student transferring here. They were describing your looks."
"Anakin… Katz?"
I repeated, the name tasting unfamiliar on my tongue. He nodded, his expression faintly amused.
"Mhm. From the prestigious, well-known Cobalt Guild."
That didn't help. I still had no idea who Anakin Katz was, let alone why someone from a supposedly famous guild would be interested in me. 'Well, a new note to myself. Apparently, guilds exist in this game.'
My head was tilted, and my expression gave him a hint to explain it to me. 'Please give me more intel, I'm desperate!'
My head tilted slightly, and the confused look on my face must have been enough to prompt him to explain further.
"You don't know?" he asked, raising a brow. "The organizations serving the Emperors of the Rushodovel? The heart of our united empire?"
He seemed almost eager as he began to lay it all out for me.
"There are five emperors. Rhode Rushodovel was the first emperor and the mastermind behind uniting the empire. He laid the foundation for everything. Each emperor after him has a guild devoted to specific functions, except for Rhode himself. He has a special team, not a guild, which makes it four guilds overall."
'Yes, yes! Go on!'
"Cobalt is the guild that serves the second emperor, Cobaine. They're in charge of political management and organization. Everything from running the government to handling diplomacy. As well as education.
Then there's Bastian, the guild of the third empress, Brienne. They oversee trade, food production, and the market. Basically, anything related to commerce and resources.
Loki is the guild serving the fourth emperor, Luwin. They're responsible for safety and security, ensuring the citizens are protected.
And last but not least, Desdemona, the guild serving the fifth emperor, Dougal. They focus entirely on health. Medicine, healing, and everything that keeps people alive and well. Securing that people are of well being.
The emperors united their lands. It all started with Rhode, of course. Since he was the origin of it all, the others agreed to take his surname, Rushodovel. To this day, every citizen of the empire is grateful for his vision. By combining the strongest and wealthiest lands, they created the most powerful united empire in history."
"And now," he concluded, leaning back with a faint smile, "all five emperors share the throne, ruling together as equals. Oh and,of course,the guilds have a lot of branches, and the branches have branches and– you understand well what I am stating. Everything is simply connected to the guilds.
I nodded slowly, still processing. So, the empire was this massive, complex machine, and someone like Anakin Katz, whoever he was, was part of one of its most powerful gears. "What's his position?"
"Representative. " he replied smoothly. "He's basically the face of the guild. Though, from what I've heard, he doesn't socialize much. So, all anyone really knows about him is his appearance and his title."
'Ah… so he's just the face for it all, ' I thought, suppressing a smirk. 'Well, that's something too.'