The Transmigrated Author

[Pinnacle Academy, The Presentation Hall - Backstage]

"You said he had the finishing blow?!"

Camila's eyes widened, her body swaying precariously on her chair.

While creating a barrier to protect the civilians, her view was limited, but she was certain she saw Jan deliver the final blow, not Rel.

However, Camila wasn't entirely sure if she could trust Jan's version of events.

Though surprised, Camila glanced at Valencia, noticing her lack of reaction to Jan's claim.

This spoke volumes about Valencia's trust in Jan's vouching for Rel.

Jan, his arms crossed with a smug grin, replied, "Well, of course! The monster was already dead after the arrows struck."

Valencia's brow furrowed in disbelief.

"You can't be serious," she challenged, her gaze fixed on Jan, demanding an answer.

"Dead serious," Jan insisted, pointing a finger at Valencia.

"I thought you saw it too. Those arrows that saved you?"

"...!"

A single word triggered a flood of memories for Valencia, freezing her in place.

"...Again?" she muttered.

Images of Rel, always there to rescue her, flashed through her mind. Every time she'd been in trouble, he was there.

"—That scarf suits you."

She even wondered if he had been the one to save her that night.

But in the end, she didn't know what to feel.

"No... I didn't see," Valencia murmured, her eyes falling to her lap.

"—Don't worry, I'll... forget everything that happened."

Her grip tightened on her thighs as more memories surfaced—all the little things he'd done for her.

Then, a specific memory came to mind: a time before she knew the Rel she knew now.

He stood before her in a hallway, offering his hand.

"—Can't we be friends?"

The image blurred, but the past couldn't be changed.

"Hello everyone, looks like I found our missing culprit!"

Amara's voice cut through Valencia's memory, snapping her back to reality.

Jan and Camila turned towards the door as Amara walked through, followed by a massive bodyguard.

Tap...

"...?"

Camila and Jan exchanged confused glances before looking back at the Vice President.

Tap...

"Where's Rel?" Jan asked Amara, raising a hand in a respectful gesture.

Amara glanced at her watch with a smile.

"Don't worry, he'll be here any second."

Tap!...

As a small shadow appeared at the door, Jan's eyes lit up. What followed was a tired-looking person with black hair and blue eyes.

His expression and appearance remained unchanged from the last time the three had seen him.

"Sorry for making you guys wait," Rel spoke, bowing apologetically before them.

As he looked up, Jan gave him a smug smirk.

Rel's face twisted in disgust, realizing Jan had set him up for this entire ordeal.

"Heh..." Jan crossed his arms, nudging his head toward Valencia.

Rel followed his gaze to see the last available seat was, of course, right next to her.

He gritted his teeth, but ultimately took the seat.

"Haah... this guy..."

***

[Rel's POV]

[8:50 AM]

I'd hate to ask how I got here, but at this point, I didn't even know.

The ceremony for our contributions to the France Incident should have been Jan's time to shine. But somehow, that idiot managed to mess up the plot even further.

It was really starting to piss me off.

The presentation was set up as usual, with four seats (meant for three) aligned with the main podium where Vice President Amara would speak.

The four of us would be facing the audience, and I would have the dubious honor of receiving an award I didn't deserve.

We were given a quick rundown of the expected etiquette – simple courtesies like receiving the award and shaking hands.

Luckily for Jan, he had some common sense in these matters, even though he hadn't received many awards in his past life, except for the recent one from the scouting invitational tournament.

As I waited, I couldn't help but feel slightly bothered by how uncomfortable Valencia seemed sitting next to me.

Seriously... is my presence so bothersome that you have to fidget every three seconds?

And it felt like every time she glanced at me, she would quickly look away when I turned around.

I wished I knew why she was acting this way towards me.

Although, I suppose I had an idea. She hated me, but I didn't think I was that much of an eyesore. Was I?

Honestly, I blamed Jan for this entire "setup." If it were me back then, I would have killed him out of pure hatred for his actions.

DING!

My watch vibrated, and I looked down to see the notification.

[You've received a message from: Jan.Ates]

Seriously... this guy can't just say whatever he has on his mind to my face?

Click!

[Jan.Ates <8:53 AM> How's the view, you like it? (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)]

My eyebrows furrowed with each word I read.

Either Kolek told him what I had said, or it was about Valencia sitting beside me. Either way, I was well aware of both.

Click!

[You <8:54 AM> The view of you being an eyesore? Not much.]

[Jan.Ates Liked Your Message.]

[Jan.Ates <8:54 AM> It's like what the gamers on the internet say! "Don't hate the player, hate the game."]

"Yuck..."

My face contorted as the message popped up on my screen.

Pffft...

I heard laughter and turned to see it came from Camila.

Her head was hovered over Jan's shoulder, the two chatting closely like a couple teasing a child.

That damned bastard Jan.

Curse him... I'll never forgive him.

And to make matters worse, I was told the ceremony wouldn't begin until 9:30 AM. This only fueled my frustration, making me wish I had an ability to fast-forward time or skip unskippable cutscenes.

Then again... that actually seemed like a good idea.

Maybe I'll invest some BP into creating an ability like that.

You never know when those oddly specific abilities might come in handy.

________________

Authors Notes

- Each year group has an average of 700 students with 3rd years having the lowest amount of students.