Chapter 9: The Main Character (3)

"What are you hiding, Haruki?"

Damn it, when did he get behind me?

Haruki ran out of the dormitory, with Philip immediately chasing after him. The two of them continued running until they left the dormitory grounds.

Eventually, Haruki stopped at the training grounds—the very same place where he had taken the academy entrance exam.

"Huff... Huff... Let me explain, Philip."

Haruki took a deep breath before trying to begin a conversation he had no idea how to approach.

Once both of them had caught their breath, they stood motionless, staring at each other like statues. Eventually, Haruki broke the silence.

"So... you’re really that determined to find out, huh?"

"Obviously."

Haruki honestly had no idea how to talk to Philip in this tense situation. He clenched his fists tightly.

"I... actually know that you hate the Arcane Kingdom..."

After hearing those words, Philip’s gaze sharpened. A flash of blue light appeared in his hand, and a dagger materialized, which he immediately gripped.

Without hesitation, Philip launched a swift attack against Haruki. Having already anticipated what would happen, Haruki quickly summoned his own dagger from the system.

"How do you know that, Haruki?"

"Why should I tell you?"

They exchanged questions as Philip attacked with overwhelming force. The impact of his strikes caused Haruki’s dagger to develop cracks, forcing Haruki to retreat several steps.

"So, you refuse to tell me? Fine... Then just die."

---

Within this kingdom, which was filled with nobles, everyone deeply respected and adored the Arcane King. To them, he was like a god who had brought peace and prosperity to their families.

But... that was only true for the noble families.

What about the commoners?

Obviously, the Arcane King paid no attention to them. Instead, they were treated as slaves, forced to endure the cruelty and torture inflicted upon them by the nobles.

Regardless of their circumstances, the commoners living within this kingdom had nowhere else to go. Beyond its borders, the world was plagued by endless wars, with countless casualties.

The Arcane Kingdom was the only place where people could find some semblance of peace. It rarely involved itself in other nations’ conflicts, largely because its army possessed formidable magical abilities.

This was precisely why other kingdoms were afraid to declare war against Arcane.

"Wait! Philip!"

"Huh?"

Philip stopped for a moment.

"I know you hate the Arcane King... and that’s exactly why I want to ask you to join me in bringing him down."

"What? You’re asking me to help you overthrow the Arcane King?"

"Do you hate the Arcane King too?"

"Y-Yes... I hate him because of the injustice inflicted upon the people living under this kingdom’s rule."

That was enough to convince Philip.

Haruki knew that Philip despised the Arcane King because of the injustice suffered by the commoners. He also knew about Philip’s tragic past.

"If that’s the case... I’ll trust you. But there’s one more thing. Tell me, Haruki, how did you know that I hated this kingdom?"

"I’ll tell you everything once we succeed in bringing down the Arcane King."

"How troublesome. But fine... I’ll wait until that day comes."

Philip’s dagger vanished into thin air, signifying that he genuinely trusted Haruki. He then turned around and walked out of Haruki’s sight.

At the same time, Haruki’s cracked dagger finally shattered into pieces.

"Ahhh, damn it... Does Philip seriously have no idea how to hold back?"

Haruki stored his broken dagger back into the system before attempting to claim his daily login reward.

He received 400 coins, which he decided to save for future use.

After closing the system, Haruki made his way back to the dormitory.

"Ugh... Would Philip even believe me if I told him this world is actually a novel I read, and that I somehow ended up inside it?"

"Ah... there’s no way that serious but stupid guy would believe something like that."

"But, only fools like him can cooperate, let’s take down the Arcane King together, Philip"