Heroic Hearts Academy was, at its core, an otome game.

  The primary objective was to build relationships with a variety of handsome men, experiencing all the sweet and agonizing facets of romance.

  Wealthy heirs, elite clan successors, famous peers... Simply navigating daily life at the Academy naturally drew these exceptionally talented and attractive men to the heroine, like bees to a sweet flower.

  But put yourself in their shoes for a second.

  Imagine the girl you've fallen for is constantly hanging around some random guy. Would you just smile and nod while he gets special privileges and enjoys her company solely because they share childhood history?

  Of course not. It would be impossible to accept.

  You would be infuriatingly jealous watching a talentless, weak guy from an unremarkable background monopolize the girl of your dreams.

  And why is that so dangerous?

  Because, as I mentioned earlier, this isn't a wholesome, fluffy romance. It's a reverse-harem visual novel heavily laced with toxic themes like obsession, possessiveness, and vicious jealousy.

  That is the grim reality of Heroic Hearts Academy.

  The male leads in this game have downright terrifying personalities.

  Each of the capture targets possesses a massive ego. While they might hide their jealousy initially, their resentment and obsession inevitably fester as the plot progresses. If a player fails to manage their affection meters perfectly, these men will eventually classify me—Lily Pierce's official boyfriend—as an "enemy" to be eliminated.

  Because they technically play the "good guys," they wouldn't stoop to bullying me directly. Instead, the real threat comes from the countless mob characters desperate to earn the male leads' favor. They would gladly torment Oliver just to get on their good side.

  Vicious rumors, complete social isolation, relentless bullying, and sabotage—all executed covertly and maliciously.

  Honestly, the more I picture my future at the Academy, the more hopeless it seems. Because my character was literally designed to be a sacrificial lamb, my fate is exceptionally cruel.

  However, there is one surefire way to avoid this. A very simple solution.

  Think about it. If being Lily Pierce's boyfriend is the root cause of all the harassment and death flags, then breaking up with her solves everything.

  That was exactly why I told Lily we needed to break up.

  "......"

  "......"

  A heavy silence settled in the room, filling the space with an awkward tension.

  "Ah."

  But it only lasted a second.

  "Always with the jokes... whatever."

  Lily muttered under her breath, intentionally loud enough for me to hear, before looking up with a pout.

  Instantly, she shifted into the role of a heartbroken soap-opera heroine, clearly messing around.

  "How could you do this..."

  She whimpered, acting like a playful kitten.

  "Is there someone else?"

  She forced a fake sob, her voice trembling dramatically.

  "Oliver... how could you betray me like this...!"

  She even threw her hands over her face, pretending to bawl.

  I figured she wouldn't take it seriously, but to go this far...

  This reaction was standard for us. We were so close that we constantly pulled pranks on each other—hidden cameras, elaborate April Fool's jokes, you name it.

  "Yeah... you caught me," I played along, deciding to match her energy to keep the mood light.

  "Huh?"

  "I found someone else. She's way prettier and much sweeter than you."

  "Sniff. Leaving me for another woman? You're the worst~."

  We chuckled at our own ridiculous banter.

  "Wait, did you seriously fall in love at first sight during the entrance ceremony?"

  "Maybe."

  "Oh, come on~. Don't be like that! Won't you spill the gossip to your best friend?"

  Lily nudged me in the ribs with a wicked grin.

  She didn't look remotely like a girl who had just been dumped. But that made perfect sense. Lily and I weren't actually dating.

  "Jokes aside, though."

  "Aw~"

  "Lily."

  "Okay, okay. So, what's the big news, Mr. Oliver?"

  Noticing my slightly more serious tone, she sat up straight and shrugged playfully, ready to listen.

  "What I just said."

  "Oh, the breakup thing?" Her eyes widened slightly in realization.

  "Yeah. I figured since we both made it into Vanguard Academy, it's a good time to call it off."

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  "Is that so?"

  "Yeah."

  I stared at her seriously.

  She met my gaze and slowly nodded.

  "I see."

  Letting out a long, exaggerated sigh, her previously stiff expression melted into a relaxed smile. She playfully swatted my shoulder, just like always.

  "Man, you had me worried! I was wondering what you were going to say."

  "I just wanted to be the one to say 'let's break up' for once."

  "Must be nice~ Tossing a gorgeous girl like me to the curb without a second thought."

  Breaking up was treated as a casual joke between us. To an outsider, our reaction would seem bizarre, but the truth was simple: Lily and I were strictly a "fake couple." It was a sham relationship.

  Fake dating. It sounds like a generic trope ripped straight out of a rom-com or an anime.

  It's such a staple of romance fiction; it would honestly be weird if it wasn't in a game like this.

  "Since our Academy years are basically the peak of our youth, shouldn't we both try experiencing real romance?" I asked.

  "Wow. Barely enrolled and you're already hunting for a girlfriend?"

  The origin of our fake relationship wasn't anything dramatic. Growing up, Lily's striking looks earned her a relentless flood of confessions from boys. Finding it utterly exhausting, she begged me to pose as her boyfriend to fend them off.

  Unable to say no to my overwhelmed childhood friend, I agreed—and instantly became public enemy number one to every boy in our school.

  But that arrangement ended today. I needed to cut this superficial tie.

  "I had no idea you were so desperate for a relationship, Oliver," Lily giggled, flopping back onto her bed. "I guess it's true what they say. All men are wolves~ Hahaha..."

  I watched her laughing quietly. She seemed exactly like the usual Lily. Ending our fake dating pact didn't seem to faze her in the slightest.

  But is she actually fine with this? It's impossible to read her.

  I scratched my temple. There was a lingering concern I couldn't shake. Lily was always smiling, making her true thoughts a mystery.

  She's acting so casual... maybe it really is fine.

  Still, I remembered a tiny lore detail about Lily's character. It wasn't a massive plot point, but it was there: she supposedly harbored subconscious, unrequited feelings for her childhood friend.

  The developers only included that trait so that my eventual death would emotionally shatter her, fully pushing her into the "tragic heroine" archetype.

  If the real world adhered strictly to those settings, it meant Lily might genuinely like me without realizing it.

  ...Then again, who knows? She was constantly joking around. Plus, the word "subconscious" is so vague. How do you even measure that? Her complete nonchalance about our breakup only made it harder to tell.

  Does she actually have feelings for me?

  In the original game, Lily's inner monologue was rarely shown, even though she was the main character.

  Given her lore, it's possible. But her reaction is so flippant, I don't know how to handle it.

  That was part of the reason I had bluntly dropped the "let's break up" line—to gauge her reaction.

  "What about you, Lily?"

  "Me?"

  "Yeah."

  She blinked, pointing at her own face.

  "Don't you want to try dating someone for real?"

  "Nah, I'll pass."

  Lily toyed with the plush penguin's flipper, answering without hesitation. "Dating sounds exhausting."

  "You think so?"

  "Obviously. Looking like this, guys won't leave me alone anyway. Oh, Oliver, you're definitely going to regret letting me go, you know? When you come crawling back, it'll be too late!"

  "There really is no cure for narcissism, is there?"

  "Hey! Excuse me?"

  She pouted, glaring daggers at me.

  "But seriously, guys are so annoying. Even when everyone thought we were dating, people still tried to confess."

  "Oh, right."

  That happened back in middle school. Several guys had secretly confessed to her, arrogant enough to think they could easily bypass a "goalkeeper" like me. Honestly, objectively speaking, they weren't wrong; Lily and I were in completely different leagues.

  "They'd always trash-talk you, saying they were way better, asking why I was settling for you, promising to treat me like a queen... ugh, so lame."

  Because of her constant bad experiences with pushy guys, she had developed a pretty cynical view of romance. Sure, her bubbly personality meant she had plenty of male friends, but she showed zero interest in romantic entanglements.

  "Are you seriously swearing off dating?"

  "I just said I was, didn't I?"

  "You never know. You might meet an unbelievably amazing guy here."

  Like the incredibly talented, rich, and handsome male leads.

  "Wow, you really... Ugh. Fine. Go have fun with your own love life then."

  Lily shot me a disapproving look.

  Despite her complaints, for the sake of the future, Lily absolutely needed to build strong bonds with the male capture targets. They were her equals in talent and vastly superior in wealth, status, and raw power. They were essential allies for surviving the upcoming crises.

  Once the actual Academy curriculum kicks off, Lily won't be able to survive it all by herself.

  The difficulty scaling in this otome RPG was notoriously brutal. One wrong choice could easily trigger a horrific bad ending, plunging the entire world into ruin. A universe that loses its protagonist is doomed.

  And whether I liked it or not, I had to live in this world now. I couldn't just dump all the responsibility on Lily and walk away.

  That being said, I had zero intention of stepping onto the front lines myself. I might be a veteran player, but what good would that do against nightmarish, eldritch abominations? If a talentless, doomed mob character like me tried to play hero, I'd instantly be reduced to a bloody smear.

  Luckily, there was someone else destined to do the fighting. Lily Pierce, the chosen protagonist of this reality.

  Depending on how I subtly manipulate Lily and the male leads' paths, the future could change drastically.

  Alright. I admit it. I planned to use them.

  Lily and the elite male leads—the absolute strongest forces in this world.

  Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't view them as mere tools. Lily was my favorite character and my closest childhood friend. I would never throw her to the wolves. Rather, I intended to use my meta-knowledge to secure the best possible outcomes and power-ups for her behind the scenes.

  Obviously, the absolute fastest way to make her stronger would be for me to die tragically in front of her... but I wasn't quite ready to sacrifice my own life for a buff.

  Maybe I could just fake my death later...

  "Hello? Earth to Oliver?"

  "Ah. Sorry. Just feeling a bit sleepy."

  "You're falling asleep with your gorgeous girlfriend sitting right next to you?"

  "We literally just broke up, remember?"

  "Oh. Right."

  Lily twirled a lock of hair around her finger.

  "Well, if you're tired, you should probably go home and sleep. Tomorrow is our first official day as cadets."

  "Yeah... you're right."

  I nodded, getting up. I had accomplished what I came here to do.

  "Oliver."

  "Yeah?"

  Her voice suddenly stopped me at the door.

  "Thanks for putting up with my selfish request all these years. It must have been a huge pain for you."

  "It wasn't a big deal. We're friends, after all."

  "Friends, huh..."

  Lily offered a faint, unreadable smile.

  "I'll see you tomorrow, Lily."

  "Yup. Get home safe, ex-boyfriend Oliver."

  "Have sweet dreams about me, ex-girlfriend Lily."

  "Ugh, stop, that's so cringe~."

  We exchanged our usual playful banter as I stepped out.

  "......"

  Right as I pulled the door shut, I glanced back through the narrowing gap.

  Lily was staring blankly at my retreating back.

  The look in her eyes... was completely different from her usual bright self.

  It was dark, quiet, and deeply subdued.