Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 12, Forced Choice
Forced to choose between two options.

According to the Bathing Goddess, this is an important system that will run through all eight semesters of "Star Emblem".

To put it simply, two characters appear in each semester, and the plots of these two characters are often in conflict.

It could be a conflict in terms of stance, camp, etc., or a conflict in terms of time.

In short, the final result is that the protagonist can only choose one side.

The chosen party will join the protagonist's team. As for the unchosen party, although not all of them will face death, there is no possibility that they will join the protagonist's team in the same round.

Moreover, unlike the side plots that can be triggered by a choice but not triggered, the forced binary choice appears in the main plot of each semester.

According to the Bathing Goddess, the advantage of this system is that no matter how bad the protagonist is, he will still have some fixed partners when entering the battle, so he won't get stuck or lose speed in the middle or late stages of the game.

But there are really too many disadvantages.

On the surface, since it's just a choice between two options, you can experience all the main plots in the second round. However, it feels really bad that some of your good friends in the last round will become opponents that you must defeat in the next round.

However, maybe he didn’t want to be asked by Ritas again, “If it’s so bad, why do you continue?”

The goddess of bathing explained that the plots of those two choices were actually well written. Therefore, for the two choices in each show, it was more of a pity than disgust.

"Star Emblem" is a very special game. No matter how many times you play it, no matter what the ending is, people will still feel some regrets in the end.

And this regret may be one of the reasons why this game was popular for a long time.

"It seems that the production team of 'Star Emblem 1' has also been worn down by palace fighting. In the past, they would never have released an additional line that can make up for all the regrets. Well, this is a good thing for the players."

"Is that so? If the fact that there is always a bit of regret is the advantage of 'Star Pattern', and the reason why it attracts people and makes them keep playing, then isn't this so-called additional line equivalent to erasing these interesting parts?"

"."

Finally, the bathing goddess, who had been silent for a long time, gave Ritas the nickname "Li Gangjing".

Leaving the dormitory mansion, Ritas headed to the seminar area of the academy.

"The origin of the magic school seminar may be traced back to the time when the ancient Earls Magic School was established. In that era, the nobles' social methods were mainly various luxurious banquets and balls. In addition, because the power of the nobles reached its peak at that time, there was nothing that could restrain them. As a result, the content of those banquets and balls was often rather unsightly. The atmosphere in the aristocratic circle was also terrible."

"The noble children who were willing to leave their family's territory and come to the magic academy at that time were undoubtedly the ones who stood at the forefront of the times. Therefore, they hated the overall atmosphere among the nobles and wanted to make a clear distinction between their gatherings and those indescribable banquets and balls."

"So, as students, they set up gatherings and seminars for the purpose of academic exchange. As the number of seminars increased, the word 'seminar' gradually acquired the attributes of an organization."

"After that, a large number of seminars began to emerge in other magic academies. Magic academies also began to publicly support and recognize the positive significance of seminars. Some magic academies even made seminars a part of the academy system and required students to attend seminars."

"Hey~ I didn't know there was such a thing behind the seminar. I thought the seminar was just 'club activity' with a different name."

The bathing goddess said lazily,

"Eh? No, no, I clearly remember that there were some seminars that were clearly not academic activities."

"It's not uncommon for things to gradually deviate from the basics as they develop. I don't know what the situation is in other magic academies, but since Earls College abolished the school rule that 'students must participate in seminar activities' about fifty years ago, seminar activities are no longer limited to academics."

"Oh~"

The Bathing Goddess responded in a long tone, and then immediately changed the subject.
"But it's still so boring, Sato."

"."

Ritas's eyebrows couldn't help but twitch.

It was only because the goddess of bathing insisted on asking him to tell her about the origin of the seminar that he told her. In the end, the other party thought it was boring.

"How should I put it? When I played Star Emblem before, I always felt that there were too few things to do in the game in a day. There was basically only one option. Normally, how could you only do one thing in a day? However, when the game became really detailed and there were really many things to do in a day, it became even more boring! Just walking from the dormitory area to the seminar area takes more than ten minutes. What kind of cyber torture is this? Can't you fly or teleport or something?"

"If I could, I wouldn't have been so embarrassed when I was attacked before."

Ritas said calmly.

"That makes sense! Actually, being bored isn't your problem. Although once you start talking it's like you're giving a lecture, which is really hypnotic. My hope was to use today's day off to finish a few chapters in one go, or at least finish the first semester. But now it looks like I can't even get through a day when I close the game, let alone a semester."

“I don’t know if the production team is testing a new engine or system. This storyline is realistic, but it’s too realistic! If it’s so realistic that players have to go to another world to suffer, then what’s the point of making a game? If time really gets worse day by day, wouldn’t it take four years to complete the game? Whose game allows you to complete a game for four years regardless of weather conditions!”

"Aha."

Although Ritas always thought that the Bathing Goddess was a person who would lose interest in her life after only three minutes, he could understand what she was complaining about.

If the board game he played at the time took several months to complete a dungeon in sync with real time, and a whole game took four or five years, he would probably have collapsed.

"Since the Bathing Goddess can't stand spending years on a game, then isn't it okay to treat the game as reality instead of a game? Although I don't quite understand the words the Bathing Goddess used before, in my cognition, the world on my side has always been the real world, and I am not a character controlled by an additional line, but myself."

"What? Your side is the real world, and what is mine?"

"The real world of the Gods?"

"Tsk tsk. Okay, let me tell you the truth, Xiao Li. Although I also feel that the technology of the main game of 'Star Mark' and the additional circuit you are in has made great progress. I also think that you are too smart for an AI. But, I have finally regained my interest in playing games and have things I want to do in the world of 'Star Mark'. So, in order to continue 'playing', I can only treat these as just games, and not some strange things happening to me, understand?"

Compared to the previous noise and frivolity, the Bathing Goddess's voice seemed to have a bit more seriousness.

"Can I ask why?"

"Why? Come on, of course it's because it's scary!"

As if the previous solemnity was fake, the Bathing Goddess's tone returned to normal, and was accompanied by a strong tone of "I really can't do anything about you".

"Scary." Ritas repeated the word spoken by the bathing goddess and couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly.

Unconsciously, he became like the goddess of the bath, clinging to his first impression and deliberately turning a blind eye to other places.

Just like the Bathing Goddess stubbornly believed that he was in a "game" world, he was actually also stubbornly believing that the Bathing Goddess was a "god".

The difference is that the Bathing Goddess can see more things, which means she has more things she ignores. On the other hand, Ritas has nothing to see, but can only "hear", so she has fewer things she ignores.

Ritas stopped and thought for a moment, and roughly conceived a way to get along with the Bathing Goddess more appropriately in the future.

Amid the Bathing Goddess's endless complaints, Ritas arrived at the seminar area of the academy.

Even on a weekend, you can still see a lot of students active in the seminar area.

In addition, since the school had just started two weeks ago, it was the time to recruit new members. Therefore, the seminar area was much busier than usual.

"Speaking of which, I also need to set up a new seminar."

"Oh? I'd like to hear more about it."

"Because the facilities of the 'Tree Witch Research Institute' are outside the academy. And every time I help Mercy control her power and study the 'Star Mark Emblem', it would be troublesome to leave the academy and go to the facilities. Therefore, we need to set up a seminar in the academy similar to the research institute base."

Ritas explained.

He thought it would be better to tell the goddess of bathing something about Merci. After all, although the goddess of bathing only spoke but did not do much, she did have some credit in saving Merci. Moreover, Ritas also saw the goddess of bathing's love for Merci.

"Also, taking on the role of consultant in this newly established seminar will also reduce the number of other seminars bothering me."

Ever since Ritas was confirmed as the tutor of Yew Fir Class, the mailbox in his dormitory mansion has been filled with invitations to seminars of all sizes.

If Ritas's original dormitory had not burned down, the seminar members who wanted to find him as a consultant would not be able to find his new residence. Otherwise, within three days, the situation would be similar to the previous one.

"Come to think of it, the seminar system does have such a setting. If the 'person in charge' and 'advisor' are genuine instructors, a lot of attributes and activity funds will be added."

"After all, including the six senior students in the advanced department, there are only thirteen tutors in the academy. Therefore, having a tutor in the seminar will be very convenient for all parties."

Although the Bathing Goddess said some words that Ritas could not understand, this did not hinder the communication between the two.

"Since I keep talking to myself in front of the disc, it would seem strange. So, when there are other people around, I will reduce the conversation with the goddess of the bath. When I have to talk, I will also communicate through ventriloquism, ah, ah, ah."

"Wow, your mouth isn't moving at all. You really are a person who doesn't show your true colors. You have a lot of talents. And why are the sounds made by your ventriloquism so disgusting?"

"It's mainly through the movement of the body and internal organs that the sound is produced. That's what it does."

Ritas replied with a voice that sounded as if it was covered in a jar.

"Why do you know ventriloquism? Never mind. Let's go to the Magic Ball Seminar. Do you know where the seminar is?"

"If the academy's schematics are correct, then I should know."

Ritas has a good memory and can remember most things after just one look.

"But, will student Engri Wilvedo really be there?"

"If what's written in the guidebook is correct, then he should be there."

The Bathing Goddess imitated Ritas' tone perfectly.

Ngeri Wilvedo, and Cecilia Windsor.

These two people are the two people that the hero Miriam must choose from in the first semester in the normal timeline of "Star Emblem".

Among them, Engri Velveto is a student of the Yewwood School, and one of the six current students of Ritas.

Ritas' first impression of Engri was that he had the same black hair as him and had a very low presence.

As for Cecilia Windsor, Ritas also knew who this student was. Among the 132 students enrolled this year, Cecilia was currently the head.

Moreover, the Windsor family that Cecilia belonged to was a great noble family in the Holy Brosoros Kingdom. The Orange Brilliance class that Cecilia belonged to was a class that only students from great noble families could enter.

"In the first semester, the person who was not chosen in the forced choice between the two will fall and eventually appear as a general of the Demon King's Army, right?"

“Yes. However, since I have always chosen Cecilia as my wife, I have never personally triggered the plot where Cecilia becomes a general of the Demon King’s Army. I have only seen screenshots from others.”

"Then what was the reason for the fall of Engel to the Demon King's Army? It is very strange that someone who could have saved the world in the team of heroes in another timeline became a leader of the Demon King's Army just because of one choice."

The thing that Ritas finds most incomprehensible about the world of "Star Emblem" is the different "futures" that appear based on the choices made.

These futures include plots, characters, organizations and many other things.

Take Ritas’ current situation as an example.

The goddess of bathing believed that the real culprit of the attack might be the "Trickery Society", because "the monster looked very powerful."

However, depending on the decision of the hero Miriam, the Trickery will not appear in the plot of "Star Emblem". And the murderer of Ritas will become another organization.

If this were in a game, this might not be surprising.

But in reality, this is completely illogical.

Because, in a sense, the brave man’s choice is not so much about determining the future as it is about changing the “past”.

(End of this chapter)