Translator: Nox

1 - I Healed the Male Lead's Trauma

Episode 1

1. The Male Lead Doesn't Need Trauma (1)

Crack! Cracks!

The sound of thin glass cracking echoed.

It would be chilling even in a normal situation, but it was especially eerie now.

And for good reason.

This was a kind of warning that I might die soon.

'No, it's not just a warning. At this rate, I'm definitely destined to die.'

Nothing more than an extra in the original story,

A B-grade death that was ambiguous to the extreme was, after all, just an unfortunate incident to kick off the original story.

Even though it was just a fleeting episode, I reached out. At the same time, the Control Stone Bracelet on my wrist, sensing the Transcendent Being's magic, shattered mercilessly.

"Akteon."

After swallowing hard, I grabbed his collar and pulled him close. His clouded eyes looked down at me.

A gaze so darkly sunken that I couldn't even guess what had brought him to this state.

As I thought, this guy definitely hasn't come to his senses yet.

If he were even a little bit sane, there might have been a glimmer of hope. But it seemed hopeless.

I was angry about everything that had happened, but at the same time, I found it hard to understand myself for jumping headfirst into danger.

If I had just ignored him and not bothered with such meddlesome nonsense, I wouldn't have had to die such a dog's death.

…Why did he have to do something that caught my eye?

Overcome with unfairness, I whispered to the guy who probably couldn't even hear me right now.

"You… if you really kill me, I won't let you get away with it. If I die, Hiakin will be all alone. He'll resent you, and you'll fall apart even more than you are now, burdened by that hatred."

So please, even now, realize that I'm here in front of you.

Clenching my teeth, I touched his magic, and even though I had just made contact, I could feel the unstable, tangled flow.

At the same time, I could clearly see his expression twisting violently. He was clearly trying to shake me off.

But I couldn't back down.

I strengthened my grip on his collar and forcibly initiated Guiding.

It was the Guide's job to stabilize the Transcendent Being's magic.

But had I ever so desperately wanted the Transcendent Being in front of me to come to his senses as I did now?

The terrifying magic, as if it would tear me to shreds at any moment, wouldn't subside. Rather, as the Guiding progressed, it materialized like shards of glass and flickered even more ominously.

It felt like I was holding a time bomb with my whole body.

The moment I let go, it would swallow the entire school.

With the magic not stabilizing with just a grip on his collar, I now had only one choice.

I pulled the familiar face towards me with all my might and said,

For something I might greatly regret.

"If you later ask me to take responsibility for our first kiss or whatever, I won't let you get away with it."

Soon, rough lips met mine.

* * *

Why did I have to remember that this place was a novel now of all times?

"...This is driving me crazy."

Numerous Control Stones, embedded in a gaudy display to prepare for any potential danger, sparkled painfully before my eyes.

I usually just thought of it as a pretty and luxurious place, befitting the amount of money that had been poured into it, but I couldn't bring myself to think that way now.

This was the Garden of Oaths, one of the three symbols of the academy.

It was used as a place to measure the grades of Transcendent Beings and Guides, and it was where I would die.

Standing frozen in the middle of it, holding the hand of a classmate, I felt the professors and several officers outside looking at me strangely.

But I couldn't afford to care about such gazes.

'This is driving me crazy…. I wouldn't mind if it were any other extra, but why Liliop?'

The reason I was here today was to help a classmate with their Second Manifestation.

Evolved Beings and Awakened Ones.

Those who had undergone the First Manifestation were called 'Evolved Beings' and entered the academy as individuals with the qualifications to become Transcendent Beings or Guides.

And after undergoing the Second Manifestation, they were finally divided into two categories: 'Transcendent Beings' and 'Guides'.

These two were collectively called Awakened Ones….

'Transcendent Beings, who transcend the bounds of humanity and wield wondrous abilities through magic. Guides, who control or stabilize the magic of those with a high risk of going berserk…. That was the basic setting, right?'

After summarizing the basic settings of this world that came to mind, I let go of the hand of the classmate I was holding.

At the same time, the researcher announced the measurement results through the voice amplifier.

"Didier Till, C-grade."

The professor seemed to have thought that my classmate's grade wouldn't be very high. Still, he couldn't hide his disappointment when the expected result came out.

But right now, I couldn't care less about the grade measurement results of my classmate, who had just awakened as a Transcendent Being.

I had only just found out myself, but.

It seemed I had possessed a character in a book.

An extra Guide who dies because she can't withstand the power of the S-grade Transcendent Being male lead.

As Liliop Ortiz.

The male lead, Akteon, was the illegitimate son of a family that had produced the most Transcendent Beings in the country, and he grew up suffering from severe trauma due to an incident in his childhood.

Akteon, the protagonist who was going insane, living a life as dry as dropping a single drop of water on a barren wasteland due to his unstable Transcendent Being nature and trauma.

He then becomes infatuated with the S-grade Guide Milia, engaging in intense acts disguised as Guiding….

This was the plot of 『Taming a Calamity-Level Transcendent Being』.

It would have been nice if it had started as a romance and ended as a romance.

But as with any story, there was a mastermind and villain in this novel.

'And that's my younger brother? Damn it.'

The villain, who lost his only blood relative, tries to kill the female lead by intentionally causing the Transcendent Being male lead to go berserk, only to die miserably like a villain should.

Even though he's a younger brother with a bad personality, he dies.

I know my death has a big impact on the original story, but is that what's important right now?

It was only natural that my complexion was pale after remembering all this.

"Liphy, are you okay?"

Guides are valuable personnel.

The professor in charge asked, worried that something might have happened to my body during the Guiding.

"Ah, I'm fine. All I did was hold his hand during the Guiding."

"That's a relief then…. Didier, you should go in now that she's okay."

I snapped out of it at the professor's words and exchanged a nod with my classmate Didier, who had just been confirmed as a C-grade, and saw him off.

And I was relieved.

'If I hadn't remembered this, I would have just died….'

The Liliop of the original story dies because she can't handle Akteon's Second Manifestation.

Was that why?

'To suddenly remember these memories during the Guiding of a classmate's Second Manifestation.'

It felt strangely unsettling to have learned about my future in a similar situation, but I was relieved for now.

'If I hadn't known anything, I would have tried to handle Akteon's power and died a premature death.'

My confusion was brief.

After the memories of my past life and my life as Liliop swirled like a storm in my head and completely mixed together, I became calmer.

Exhausted, I smiled bitterly and thought positively.

I was lucky to have found out now, yes.

'As the head of the family, I can't die and leave my clever but lovable younger brother behind.'

As I was secretly sighing, the professor in charge, who had checked my condition, gave me permission to leave.

"Just in case, come back immediately if you experience any aftereffects, even belatedly."

"Yes, I will."

"Besides, the number of Guides is significantly smaller than that of Transcendent Beings, so don't forget that your body is not just your own."

And you're a B-grade.

I stifled a hollow laugh at the professor's addition.

Even though this world treats even children who aren't adults as potential weapons.

Aren't you being too blatant?

Even though national power depends on how many high-ranking Transcendent Beings you have, the fact that protests for the protection of human rights are gaining traction suggests that I am indeed very upset about this situation.

And the permission to go back.

I was about to turn around because the professor and the researcher were busy talking among themselves when the professor grabbed me again as if training a hunting dog.

"Liphy! You have to leave a Guiding record before you go."

"Ah, right. I forgot."

When I held out my hand, the date and time of the Guiding were recorded on the Control Stone Bracelet that proved my identity as a cadet.

"Good. You can really go rest now. It must have been quite physically demanding, so it's best not to overdo it."

"Thank you for your concern. Then I'll be going."

After giving a habitual greeting as I was accustomed to, I started walking faster as soon as I got outside.

'What should I… change first?'

My head was spinning with the unexpected situation.

The original story?

Who cares. I'm about to die.

Trauma?

The male lead doesn't need trauma.

Being healthy is always better.

Fortunately, there are about six months left until Akteon's entrance.

That means there's enough time to handle a lot of things. As I walked urgently, I quickly set a few goals.

First, bring my younger brother with me first.

Second, find our female lead and create a connection with Akteon in advance.

Third, make the lovely S-grade Guide, Milia, Guide Akteon at the entrance ceremony six months later instead of me.

Then I wouldn't have to die, and Akteon wouldn't have to suffer from even more severe trauma.

To this end, what I did after entering the main building was.

"Um, I'd like to go home for a while."

Submitting a leave of absence application.