Chapter : 13
I’ll Save You From the Bad Ending Route
The House of Darkness
Damian was unusual, even among dark-attribute mages.
His family—the House of Count Belfet—was the only noble family of dark magicians.
But Damian was not the legitimate heir. He was a bastard, born from a maid.
His mother was expelled the moment she gave birth to him.
With nowhere left to go, she ended up joining a heretical religious cult.
It was a cult that worshiped monsters—people who pledged loyalty in order not to be attacked by them.
To prove her devotion, she offered her child to the priest.
Damian was only eight years old.
During the sacrificial ritual, he lost one of his eyes, and under torture-like pain, his dark magic awakened.
It went berserk—and killed everyone present in the temple.
Including his mother, the one who had offered him up.
“This is the heretical massacre Professor Rivender mentioned.”
Damian fainted afterward and remembered none of it.
From that day, his right eye was permanently stained black, and he gained powerful dark magic.
The incident made headlines and reached the ears of Count Belfet.
Damian’s father had been despairing—he had no dark-attribute heir to succeed him.
Realizing that the woman who died in the incident was his own servant, Count Belfet recognized the boy as his son.
And so Damian became Damian Belfet.
“But… Count Belfet is insane.”
I wrote down: “Mad father.”
Count Belfet was proud that his son possessed powerful dark magic—especially that a child had slaughtered so many people.
Total lunatic. Absolute nuclear-level maniac.
But Damian didn’t remember the massacre, nor could he properly use dark magic.
So the Count forced him into abusive training until he could control it—while insisting it was because he loved him.
That was how Damian grew up sickly, anxious, and unable to control the darkness at all.
I reread the lore I gathered after countless playthroughs.
Dark mages fall ill under the new moon.
“Dark magic strains the human body, so when their power peaks on the new moon, they writhe in agony.
It’s called the Dark Sickness.”
Most adults gradually adapt, but Damian’s power was so strong that his condition worsened every year.
“Right—and that’s why he got obsessed with potion research.”
I opened a drawer and took out Tears of Laotis, a golden potion that gleamed in lamplight.
“So that’s when I’m supposed to use this. When’s the next new moon?”
I checked the calendar.
Next week.
I steeled my heart.
This world is not a game.
Characters aren’t going to swoon over gifts and fall for the protagonist just because I meet the right flags.
I had underestimated it.
I pictured my school days—how I made friends, how we shared time and space.
“I’ll start over by being friends with Damian. And apologize for last time.”
For that, I needed a natural encounter. Friends meet by coincidence, right?
So I headed to the library for a “coincidental” meeting.
The school library was so grand it could pass for a royal archive.
A massive celestial globe dangled from the ceiling, reminding me I really was at a magic academy.
I climbed silver-and-gold trimmed stairs and stared at the endless shelves.
Soon, I spotted a gloomy boy moving slowly between them.
Damian was teetering forward with seven books stacked in a tower on his arms.
As expected, he lost balance and toppled over.
“Eek!”
CLATTER CLUNK BANG—echoing across the library.
“Shhh—!”
The librarian pressed a finger to her lips.
“S-sorry… s-sorry…”
He scrambled to gather the books. One rolled down the steps.
I scooped it up and approached him gently.
“You dropped a book.”
“…Th-thank…”
But the moment Damian saw my face, he froze stiff like a wooden puppet.
He snatched the book from my hand and rushed to gather the rest.
“I—I wanted to apologize for last time. I didn’t mean it like that. I just…”
He flinched—a sign he was finally listening to me.
“…Don’t worry about it.”
And after that single line, he hurried away as if escaping.
I called after him anyway.
“H-hey! Wait! I have a favor—!”
But all I got in return was the librarian’s glare to be quiet.
Damian vanished from the library.
“Ran away again. He’s like Cinderella—always disappearing before I can get close.”
No glass slipper left behind either.
Too bad. That would’ve made our next meeting easy.
Natural encounters are way harder than in the game.
But I wasn’t giving up. I stretched and made my next plan.
“Three coincidences count as fate, Damian.”
But at lunch, and again that evening at the library—whenever Damian saw me, he flinched and fled.
“This is tough.”
I promised myself not to chase him, but watching him always run made me worry.
“As expected of the hardest character to win over with the strongest stats. Can’t even say hello.”
Exhausted before the next class, I flopped onto my dorm bed.
It struck me suddenly—Aaron and Freya only became friends with me thanks to Pina.
“How does the protagonist get close to Damian again?”
I retraced the route from the game.
Damian became friend-able in second semester.
If the protagonist patiently treated him kindly, he developed trust.
Then a key event in term two sealed the friendship.
Right. Patience. Don’t give up. This is good for both of us.
New content for a 2,000-hour veteran!
All right—time to befriend Damian for real!
I pumped myself up.
“Lana?! Is that true?!”
Suddenly Pina burst into my room without knocking.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“People say you’re chasing Damian around because you’re in love with him!”
……
This school is unbelievable.
I need to finish this route fast.
Shocked by the rumor, I laid low for four days.
If Damian hears this, he’ll avoid me 100%.
Unbelievable.
As if he’s not hard enough to approach already—now I have obstacles too?
Come to think of it… since Damian has no friends, the fact that I keep approaching him probably stands out…
This cursed school basically prevents anyone from interacting with him!
It’s ridiculous.
If anyone trying to befriend him gets blasted with rumors—how is he ever supposed to make friends?
Malicious behavior.
“But still, I’m above the other students.”
I smiled, checking today’s schedule.
Friday, last class—Potionry.
I would see Damian there.
Professor Mikey would be teaching.
“Alright, students. Today is practical potion brewing— cough cough!—I mean, koff!”
The bearded professor—Merlin-style—had ruined his lungs from a lifetime researching potions and coughed constantly.
You just had to treat it like ASMR background noise.
Students leaned back to avoid stray drops of spit.
Potionry was taught like real witchcraft. Cauldrons everywhere, students grouped around them.
Which led to something perfect.
“Let’s work hard today!”
“…”
Damian didn’t respond, eyes fixed on his notebook.
Damian and I were partners.
In this classroom, the only students without friends were me and Damian!
Not bragging, but I have no friends either, Damian!
Pina had chosen science electives instead, so she wasn’t here.
Which meant I sat proudly by his side.
Please, please don’t let him have heard the rumor.
“Now then! koff koff! Take the—koff wheeze koff!—ingredients and—hack hack!—start!”
Today’s potion: Ice Mist Elixir.
We had to fetch ingredients and brew it ourselves.
In my old world, this was basically magical dry ice—used on stage or against monsters.
Amazing—we actually get to make this ourselves.
“I’ll grab the ingredients.”
I offered, getting up first, but Damian stood without a glance and went alone.
I worried he wouldn’t bring enough for me too.
“Anyone partnering with Damian must be an idiot…”
A voice murmured behind me. My throat burned with anger.
“Guess she likes him.”
NO I DON’T, YOU RUMOR-SPREADING GOBLINS. STOP.
Damian returned with a tray full of herbs and reagents and set it down.
I beamed up at him.
“Thanks. I—I could’ve grabbed them.”
But I must’ve sounded awkward.
Damian still wouldn’t meet my eyes.
Time to brew together.
And bond.
Especially since Damian was a potion lover and genius, I had to play to his strengths.
I read the formula Professor Mikey wrote on the board:
『1. Peel the skin of a Frost Lizard’s tail.
2. Soak the skin in “Toad’s Breath” for 10 minutes.
3. Finely mince “Bone-Chill Leaf” and boil in a flask.
4. Pour the leaf extract into the cauldron and add 15g of Snow Crystals.
5. When blue smoke rises, toss in the soaked Frost Lizard skin and simmer 20 minutes.
6. Stir three times clockwise, twice counterclockwise, and bottle.』
What kind of nonsense—?
The unfamiliar terms scrambled my brain.
Frost Lizard tail WHAT?
I looked—and there it was: a severed lizard tail the size of my palm.
“Eek!”
I shrieked at the exposed stump.
Everyone looked at me.
“C-could you handle that part…?”
“…”
Damian silently took the tail and began peeling it.
My mind went blank.
We’re really putting THAT in a potion?
We’re… not drinking it… right?
