When I was transported, my clothes changed. The secondhand suit I'd polished so carefully that morning was gone. In its place was the same uniform everyone wore: a small red cape draped over the shoulders and Hirus Academy's signature navy blue uniform with silver trim.

  I materialized right in front of the main gates.

  None of the students walking past seemed to notice my magical arrival. They just kept moving, their capes billowing dramatically in the wind, impeccable leather briefcases swinging at their sides. The buildings were so vast you had to tilt your head all the way back to see them fully — towers that disappeared into the clouds, marble spires that defied gravity.

  I entered with a crowd of nobles. Most already knew each other. Despite it being the first day, groups had already formed — tight circles of friends from prestigious prep academies, heirs who'd grown up moving in the same social circles, students who shared important surnames.

  This is worse than high school...

  The thought hit me with a depressing familiarity. At least in high school I'd had a couple of acquaintances. Here I was literally nobody. A character without a backstory. A last-minute creation of a capricious goddess. I walked toward a small door, the cat perched on my shoulder.

  It must be the first day, so nothing major should happen yet... okay. Wait — where are the textbooks? I didn't appear with anything other than—

  A tall, broad-shouldered guard with an impressive mane of hair stopped me, gripping my shoulder — the one the cat wasn't sitting on.

  "Excuse me, young man. Are you lost?" he said.

  "Huh? Why do you ask?"

  "This entrance is for faculty."

  I had nothing to say to that. After apologizing, the guard pointed me toward the student entrance, which was, of course, right through the enormous gleaming arch I'd walked past. The academy's massive hallways were lined with white marble columns that gave every corner an almost celestial quality. A subtle floral scent drifted through the colossal arches — intoxicating, like roses mixed with something more exotic I couldn't name. The sound of hundreds of shoes striking the polished floor created a constant symphony. Murmurs and fragments of conversation floated through the air, brushing against my skin like—

  "Hey, so what are we doing now?" said the cat, glancing back at me.

  The deep voice cut through my poetic appreciation of the surroundings.

  I looked down at my shoulder. There he was — my new companion. A cat, standing on two legs like it was the most natural thing in the world. His fluffy coat was an immaculate white, and his eyes — far too intelligent for an animal — stared at me with impatience.

  "Let's go get food," he added, licking his nonexistent lips.

  "Give me a minute," I replied quietly, trying not to draw attention while attempting to cover his mouth with my hands. "I'm trying to get my bearings. It'd be easier with a map."

  "Don't play dumb with me," the thing said, pulling away easily and crossing his tiny front paws like arms. "I was sent here to look after you, so technically I'm like an extension of Nicole. Call me Niki, Emperor of the Heavens."

  "Alright, Tocino," I said, letting my arms fall in defeat.

  Tocino. What a great name.

  "Actually, that's your name now," I said, pointing at him. "I'm calling you Tocino."

  The good news was that nobody seemed to find it strange that an animal walking on two legs could talk. Summoned creatures were fairly common in this world. In fact, a girl walked past with what appeared to be a three-tailed fox floating around her head, and a boy strolled by with a dog-sized lizard walking obediently at his side.

  "Hey, I didn't say—" Tocino started to protest.

  I cut him off by placing a hand over his tiny fluffy mouth. It was surprisingly soft — like touching a cloud of cotton candy.

  "We don't have time," I said, scanning the crowd with urgency. "It's about to start."

  Tocino wriggled free of my hand, shaking himself off with indignation.

  "What's about to start?" he asked suspiciously.

  I adjusted my imaginary glasses — a nervous habit I'd kept even without actually wearing any — and fixed my gaze on my feline companion.

  "Act One," I answered in the tone of someone who had definitely never had a girlfriend. "Amanda enters Hirus Academy as the most outstanding student of her generation. On the first day, she runs into her best friend Eliz — and also into the main villain's group, Fior. After that, she gets harassed until her childhood friend James rescues her. That sets up the initial romance dynamic and—"

  "You're insane, man," Tocino interrupted, looking me up and down like he was assessing my sanity.

  I took that as a compliment and started walking toward where I figured the scene should unfold — a hallway near the gardens. I had to make sure the main story played out exactly as it was written.

  My strategy was simple in theory: befriend one of the main characters without getting too tangled up in the key events. And I already had a target in mind — Sua, the first-year prodigy. She'd be enough to get me some social footing.

  Easy, right?

  While these thoughts drilled through my head like an industrial jackhammer, Tocino grabbed my eyelids with his tiny paws and forced them open.

  "Look over there," he said, nodding his snout toward the front.

  Right in the middle of the main hallway, surrounded by students who kept a respectful distance, was her.

  Amanda Syhr.

  My breath lodged in my throat.

  Four years. Four years reading about her. Four years imagining what she'd look like, what her voice would sound like, what it would be like to be in the same room as her. Thousands of fan arts saved in folders on my computer. Passionate forum debates about her character development. Fanfics I never dared write but certainly read.

  Nothing — absolutely nothing — had prepared me for seeing her in person.

  Her blonde hair fell in perfect waves over her shoulders, catching the morning sunlight streaming through the arched windows. Each strand seemed lit from within, creating an almost divine halo effect. Her pale skin carried that legendary, luminous quality people wrote entire novels about.

  But it was her features that truly left me breathless. Perfectly symmetrical — amber eyes that shone with intelligence and resolve, a delicate nose, heart-shaped lips that curved slightly as she listened to her friend speak. Her posture was upright but not rigid — confident without being arrogant.

  It wasn't just physical beauty. It was protagonist presence. That indefinable X-factor that certain characters simply have.

  "Watch the drool, kid," Tocino's voice snapped me out of my trance. I felt something wet on my chin and realized, with horror, that yes — I was actually drooling.

  Tocino wiped it off with his fluffy paw, and the contact restored some of my dignity.

  "By the way, who's that?" Tocino was pointing with his little paw toward the girl standing next to Amanda.

  "That's Eliz," I said.

  Tocino could tell what was coming — I was about to launch into an encyclopedic breakdown of every detail of her character — because he immediately covered my mouth with one of his little paws.

  "Just stop," he said, but his eyes were fixed on Eliz. "She's cute. That chestnut hair and those long lashes definitely complement her delicate features and—"

  "Bwmuahbwuah," I tried to speak through the fur.

  "What? Oh, right." He pulled his paw back quickly, looking at me like he expected me to say something important.

  "How old are you?" I asked, staring at the cat with mild horror.

  Tocino blushed — something I didn't know cats could do — his fluffy cheeks turning a faint shade of pink.

  "I didn't mean it like that, idiot," he protested, blushing harder when I pretended to take a step toward Eliz. "Can't a celestial summoning appreciate beauty?"

  "Sure you can," I smiled, taking some satisfaction in watching him squirm. "It's just a little weird coming from a talking cat."

  "Drop it. I'm leaving." Tocino leapt off my shoulder with agility that seemed impossible for something so fluffy, and began disappearing between the legs of passing students, hissing at anyone who tried to pet him.

  I considered following him for a second but immediately dismissed the idea. Every action here had consequences. A butterfly flapping its wings could cause a tornado on the other side of the world.

  I positioned myself strategically behind Amanda, blending into the cluster of background students — extras, like me — surrounding her. Nobody paid me any attention. I was invisible. Just another face in the crowd.

  Perfect.

  Exactly what I needed — to be a ghost.

  Amanda and Eliz were talking about topics I could barely hear from my position — something about their expectations for Advanced Summoning and Arcane Theory. Their voices blended with the general murmur of hundreds of nervous students on their first day.

  I watched Amanda carefully, looking for any signs that something was off. Was she acting the way she should? Did her dialogue match what I remembered from Chapter One?

  For a moment, I thought she was looking at me. Her amber eyes moved in my direction, and a chill ran down my spine.

  But no. She was looking through me, toward something beyond. Maybe a window.

  I drifted further from the group, slowing my pace as I watched them move ahead.

  And then, as I observed and waited, I heard the shift.

  The murmurs around us changed in tone. The lively conversations turned cautious — almost whispers. Students began stepping aside, creating a path through the hallway.

  I knew what it meant before I even saw them.

  Fior's group had arrived.

  Even from a distance, their presence was like a temperature drop in the room. The air felt colder. Tenser. Like a predator had entered a field full of prey.

  They walked with the absolute confidence of royalty. They didn't move for anyone — everyone moved for them. Their footsteps rang with authority on the polished marble.

  And leading the group was her.

  Fior Kelvast.

  Hair white as freshly fallen snow, so pale it almost seemed to glow with its own light under the windows' sunbeams. Her lashes, the same white, were long and dramatic, framing eyes so pale a blue they nearly looked silver.

  Tall — easily five-foot-nine — and slender, with a posture that screamed nobility in every inch of her spine. Her uniform was identical to everyone else's, yet somehow it looked... more. More elegant. More immaculate. As though the uniform itself felt honored to be worn by her.

  On the Arcane Hearts forums, readers called her "The Ice Queen."

  Behind her, her three friends walked in perfect formation.

  Jess — navy blue hair cut in an elegant chin-length bob. A permanently bored expression, as though nothing in the world could impress her. In the novel, she was described as the group's strategist, planning every social move with surgical precision.

  Kayle — blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail that swayed with every step. Fior's childhood friend. The most loyal — the one who would follow Fior into hell without asking questions.

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Jaden — straight black hair that fell like a silk curtain over her shoulders. The one who'd been "returned" to her family for being considered a burden. She always had something to prove. Her loyalty to Fior came from gratitude — Fior had rescued her from that family.

  The group moved directly toward Amanda and Eliz. The general student chatter began to die down to a tense silence. Some people stepped back further, creating a wide human corridor around the scene about to unfold.

  Everything is going exactly as in the novel. Exactly?

  Fior stopped less than two meters from Amanda, her cold eyes traveling over her from head to toe in an assessment that probably took under three seconds but felt like an eternity.

  "So you're the 'prodigy' from Lynnwood?" Fior said. "How... ordinary."

  Amanda lifted her chin. She didn't shrink. She didn't look away.

  "And you must be Fior Kelvast," Amanda replied, her voice calm but steady. "Your reputation precedes you."

  Good, Amanda. Exactly the right line.

  Tear her apart, hehehe.

  I watched the scene unfold with the fascination of someone seeing their favorite film on an IMAX screen. Every gesture, every word, every microexpression...

  "Oh, really?" Fior smiled, but there was no warmth in it. It was the kind of smile a cat gives a mouse before playing with it. "I hope yours is exaggerated. It would be so disappointing if the academy accepted someone mediocre simply because of their financial situation..."

  "That's none of your concern, Fior." Eliz's words cut through the air. Amanda opened her mouth, clearly about to defend her merit-based admission herself.

  Wait. Something's wrong.

  The scene was playing out, yes — but there was a different energy. Fior was taking a step closer to Amanda. Too close. Invading her personal space in a way that...

  That wasn't in the novel.

  My mind raced through the memorized chapters. In the version I'd read a thousand times, Fior was cruel but verbal. Everything was psychological intimidation — veiled insults, social humiliation. But never physical. Not in this scene.

  Then Fior extended her hand.

  No. What is she doing?

  And placed it on her shoulder.

  Amanda gasped, her hands instinctively going to Fior's grip. Eliz stepped forward, but Kayle blocked her with an outstretched arm.

  My brain short-circuited.

  Where is James? WHERE THE HELL IS JAMES?

  He was supposed to show up NOW. Right at this moment. To interrupt the confrontation before it escalated. This was his hero introduction moment — the first event that planted the seeds of the romance.

  I frantically scanned the crowd of watching students. Golden blonde hair. Slender build. Immaculate uniform. Nice-guy-with-a-hero-complex expression.

  I couldn't find him.

  And then, like a slap of reality, a translucent blue window appeared directly in my field of vision:

  ??◇?

  ?? READER SYSTEM ??

  ? ALERT ?

  ORIGINAL FIDELITY: 100% → 98% (Descending)

  SECONDARY MISSION ACTIVATED: "Restore Original Fidelity"

  OBJECTIVE: Ensure the canonical event completes correctly

  REWARD: +100 EXP

  TIME LIMIT: 5 minutes

  ??◇?

  Message:

  Nicole °■°: Seriously? It's only been 20 minutes.

  Damn. DAMN. DAMN!

  I was already changing the story without even trying. Just by being here, something had shifted. And that infuriating goddess was already mocking me.

  I dismissed the window with a mental gesture and kept searching desperately. I stepped away from the ring of watching students, moving carefully through groups, making sure not to bump anyone and cause more disruptions.

  First side hallway. Nothing.

  Second one. Empty.

  The corners weren't cooperating either.

  Where is he? Where is he?

  And then I saw him.

  Two hallways back, in a scene straight out of a comedy sketch.

  James Falkner — the hero of the moment, Amanda's savior, the first love — was standing like a soldier before a harsh general. His head was bowed in a deep, humiliated angle that exposed the back of his neck. His face was red as a ripe tomato, and he was muttering repeated apologies like a mantra.

  "I'm so sorry..." He bowed his head even lower. "I truly am sorry."

  And the "general" in question — the cause of this catastrophic narrative interruption — was...

  "TOCINO?" I hissed, my voice coming out higher-pitched than intended.

  The ridiculous fluffy cat was standing on two legs in front of James with a posture of complete and utter authority. He had one paw raised like a traffic officer stopping a car, and his expression — his expression — was one of offended indignation, like a nobleman whose foot had been stepped on at a gala.

  "What the hell are you doing?" I hissed, sprinting toward them, snatching Tocino up by his little paws and lifting him off the ground like a misbehaving stuffed animal.

  I apologized quickly and tried to leave with Tocino in the opposite direction. James was still offering me apologies.

  "Is that your summoning?" James asked.

  "Yes, I'm sorry he bothered you," I replied as the cat continued fuming. "I was looking for him."

  "It was my fault. He's so cute — I tried to touch him without permission. I can compensate you, for the trouble," James said, falling into step beside me.

  With what money, James...

  "Don't worry about it," I said, pointing down the hallway behind us. "Shouldn't you be heading that way?"

  James nodded. "Huh? Why do you say that?"

  I didn't let him finish. "I heard someone was looking for you over there. Good luck," I said, and took off at a run, leaving him behind.

  James stood there, hand raised in a half-wave to no one.

  As I ran, I looked down at Tocino.

  "What is wrong with you?" I caught my breath. "I know Nicole sent you, but I'm pretty sure she didn't send you here to ruin my life."

  "That guy walked into my path while I was heading to the cafeteria," Tocino replied, one paw waving dismissively in the air, his eyes half-lidded with the air of someone deeply wronged. As if James had committed an unforgivable crime.

  "Are you serious?" My tone was flat. Deadly.

  "Yep."

  "..."

  I sighed.

  There was no time for this. Absolutely none.

  With Tocino hanging from my hands — his little back legs kicking the air pathetically — I ran back toward the spot where I'd been watching the scene. Every second mattered. Every second James didn't show up, the story drifted further off course.

  I ducked behind the same marble column as before, setting Tocino down on the ground beside me.

  "Do. Not. Move," I hissed, punctuating each word like a military command.

  To his credit, Tocino seemed to understand the gravity of the situation. He nodded and sat down.

  The scene was still unfolding ahead of us. Fior now had her hand at Amanda's throat, though she wasn't really squeezing — it was more a gesture of dominance than actual physical harm.

  Amanda's eyes were open, her breathing controlled.

  Eliz trembled behind her, blocked by Kayle, fury in her eyes but too afraid to move.

  The watching students held their silence. Nobody intervened, nobody dared call for a teacher. Some stared in horror, others with morbid fascination, and a particularly unpleasant cluster seemed to be enjoying it.

  Come on, James. Come on, come on, come on.

  How did I get back here before you?

  And then — finally, thank every god in this fantasy world — I saw him.

  James was coming from the opposite hallway, still straightening his uniform after his encounter with Tocino. His face was still slightly flushed with embarrassment, but the moment he took in the scene in front of him, all that embarrassment transformed into something else entirely.

  Fury.

  "FIOR!"

  The shout cut through the silence like a red-hot blade.

  Every head turned toward him. Even Fior slowly turned, without releasing Amanda.

  James Falkner wasn't physically imposing. If anything, he was at least five centimeters shorter than Fior. His build was slender, almost slight. In a physical confrontation, he'd probably lose against half the students present.

  But there was something in his expression — in the way he walked toward them with his fists so tightly clenched his knuckles had gone white — that commanded attention.

  It was pure indignation. Righteous fury.

  He closed the distance quickly, every footstep ringing out on the marble. And without hesitation, without showing a flicker of fear, he swept Fior's hand away from Amanda's throat in a single fluid but firm motion.

  "What the hell do you think you're doing?" His voice was shaking. Not from fear — no, definitely not fear.

  Yes. Yes, exactly that line.

  Now arch your brow and look at him.

  Fior looked at him with one brow raised, more amused than threatened. Like a puppy had just barked at her.

  Yes, yes, just like that.

  "This is none of your business, paper noble," Jess spat from behind, crossing her arms and leveling a gaze that could melt steel.

  "Exactly," Jaden immediately added, positioning herself beside Jess in backup formation.

  But before the group could fully encircle James, Fior raised one hand, calling for silence.

  And like well-trained dogs, both friends stopped immediately.

  Fior stepped toward James. So close their faces were nearly touching. The height difference forced James to lift his chin to hold her gaze.

  "This isn't your concern," Fior murmured at James's ear, her voice dangerously soft. "Walk away now, unless you want your family's situation to get considerably worse."

  It was a veiled threat, but absolutely clear. The Falkner family was bankrupt — a crucial part of James's backstory. Fior knew it. Everyone knew it.

  I watched James's hands tremble. I watched his legs seem like they might buckle under the weight of the threat. I could see the sweat forming at his brow, the internal conflict playing out behind his eyes.

  Come on, James. Say it. Say iiit.

  For a second that felt like an hour, I thought he might actually back down. That he'd take a step back.

  But then his lips moved.

  "I-I'm not going to let you keep harassing Amanda."

  YES!

  I threw my arms in the air and pulled Tocino into a bear hug.

  A strangled meow escaped the cat from the force of my grip.

  The canonical line. Word for word. The moment that established James as the first serious romantic interest, the loyal friend, the brave hero despite his circumstances.

  Amanda, who had been looking down ever since James had freed her, jerked her head up. Her cheeks were tinged a faint rose — barely visible but absolutely there. She opened her mouth as though about to say something, but no sound came out.

  Eliz, standing in front of Amanda, was trembling but trying to hold herself together. Her loyalty to her friend overpowering her obvious fear.

  Fior studied James for a moment.

  Finally, with a dismissive flick of her hand, she pushed James backward with a single finger to the center of his chest.

  James stumbled but stayed standing. Barely.

  "Tch." Fior clicked her tongue with contempt, then spun on her heel in a movement so dramatic her white hair fanned out like a cape. "Let's go. This is boring."

  Her three friends followed immediately. Kayle shot one last glance at James before turning away.

  The moment Fior's group vanished from sight, the sound of normal conversation gradually returned. The watching students began to disperse, whispering to each other about what they'd just witnessed.

  James immediately turned to Amanda, his expression shifting from fury to concern in the space of a heartbeat.

  "Are you okay?" His hands trembled slightly as he gently touched Amanda's neck, checking for any real injury.

  Amanda still had her gaze downcast, her fingers brushing her flushed cheeks.

  Then James turned to Eliz, who finally allowed herself to breathe normally.

  "What about you? Are you hurt?"

  Eliz shook her head quickly, her eyes bright with unshed tears of relief.

  James took a deep breath — probably his first complete breath since he'd shouted Fior's name. With a gentleness that stood in stark contrast to his heroic explosion just moments ago, he rested his hands on both girls' shoulders.

  "I'm sorry," he said, and there was genuine pain in his voice. Pain at not having arrived sooner. "I should have been here. A summoning held me up in the hallway, but I should have—"

  I turned my head very slowly — very, very slowly — toward Tocino, who was sitting in my arms.

  I leveled the most murderous glare I could manage.

  He smiled.

  I'm turning you into a coat.

  Both girls finally exhaled. Amanda murmured a barely audible thank you. Eliz briefly hugged James in gratitude.

  The Act One scene was wrapping up exactly as it should. Well — with a five-minute delay caused by a cat with a diva complex, but it had ended correctly.

  I let out a sigh of relief so deep it felt like my lungs had completely emptied. I slipped silently out from behind the column, Tocino now on my shoulder where I could keep an eye on him, and began moving away before anyone noticed I'd been watching.

  But then, like a cherry on top of this absolutely chaotic day, another blue window appeared:

  ??◇?

  READER SYSTEM: REN AMEL

  ? MISSION COMPLETE "Restore Original Fidelity"

  REWARD: ? +100 EXP ?? LEVEL UP!

  Level 1 → Level 2

  You've earned: Nothing! :D

  ORIGINAL FIDELITY: 97% → 99%

  ?? NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED: ? Reader Comments

  ...Huh?