Became the Academy Romantic Phantom Thief

310 – Another World

I couldn’t believe my eyes at the familiar yet nostalgic scenery.

“How…”

Did you teleport?

No, it is not such a simple situation.

That’s because the appearance of the academy classroom perfectly matched the scene that remained in my memory.

After the original work started, there were still a few years left before I could enter the academy.

So, there is no way that you can face the same scene as you do now just because you moved through space.

“Hey. Are you dazed again?”

A familiar voice coming from the seat next to me.

Yes. At this point, the fact that this red-haired girl, Rachel, was casually talking to me was telling me that this space was not real.

She wasn’t the only one. When I looked around, all the faces I saw were full of friends who were so friendly that I felt like tears would fall down my face.

“Cro? His expression is dark. Are you okay?”

Julia bent down from the front and looked at my complexion with concern.

Chloe Morris. It was a name I missed so much.

She vowed to give up that name and live as Raven, but her life at the academy, where she lived separately as Crow, was a precious memory that she could never forget.

That’s why she couldn’t help but feel even more sad.

Because I desperately realized the cruel truth that this beautiful place is not reality.

It wasn’t like teleportation. Goddess Fate is showing me a fantasy.

It gave me the sweetest dream.

Why…?

The doubt was quickly resolved. Because if you think about it a little, you can easily find the answer.

The intention is to keep me trapped in this fantasy and prevent me from returning to reality.

A dream that I want to dream for as long as it is sweet. However, it was clear that the deeper I got into this, the farther I became from reality.

You must not forget. The reality I was staying in was the Magic Engineering Association.

You must remember that when you go to regain your divinity with Eldina, you are faced with the goddess of fate and are tested.

I forced myself to cover my ears and ignore the voices of my friends next to me.

It’s all false. It’s the devil’s temptation to sway me!

But a question begins to creep up in a corner of my mind.

Are you really sure?

I was agitated even though I was shouting that it was obvious.

Yes, it has to be that way. Because the person who just asked me a question was none other than my inner self.

I have already experienced a similar phenomenon.

Continued for a long time, even close to eternity.

A story seen through a window in a dimensional gap.

It is the same as the commonly expressed Akashic Records. An omniscient space where you can perfectly observe the past, present, and future of this world. The most convincing proof that fate exists.

I was immersed in the story unfolding outside the window and saw the entire flow of fate.

The observation stage was a way to watch the story through a fantasy made up of reality, just like now.

So you can tell. That this is not fantasy but reality.

The more immersed you are in the story seen through the window, the more you lose your sense of self and assimilate into one of the characters, forgetting that this is a dimensional gap.

But this space is different.

I did not assimilate with the other characters.

From the beginning, the story began with ‘Chro Morris’, that is, myself.

Furthermore, I never forgot where I was originally.

I was in the Magic Engineering Association until now, and I know very well that this is nothing more than a stage to test fate.

But why…

Even though I remember everything, will I come to think of this place as reality rather than fantasy?

A fake so cleverly decorated…?

No, that can’t be true. Through the window, I also caught a glimpse of fate itself. No matter how much the space was prepared by the goddess of fate, there is no way I could be deceived as long as it is fake.

So this is reality? That doesn’t even make sense.

Have we turned back time? The Goddess of Fate can even control time?

I don’t know what it is. Her mind was filled with confusion and she felt like she was going to break down.

Someone else’s voice, not mine, rang clearly in my head.

[You seem very confused.]

At first I thought it was Eldina, but eventually I realized her identity and spoke to her while gritting my teeth.

‘Where on earth is this? ‘What do you want from me!?’

[Be calm. I don’t want anything in particular. I just watch quietly until you make your choice.]

‘Make a choice, what…?’

[Before that, let me answer the first question first. Did you ask where this is? As you may have already realized, this place is not a dream or fantasy. A stark reality. To be more precise, it would be better to call it another potential reality.]

Another possible reality.

When I realized what that meant, I took a deep breath.

‘That’s nonsense. ‘There’s no way something like that would be possible…’

[It is possible. I can do it because I am the goddess of fate. Because there is not one wheel.]

I know what a parallel world is. Because I had information about that concept in my memories of living on Earth in the past.

[This is a world line where there is a possibility that you have not met the goddess sisters. This is the world where Cro Morris lives as an ordinary academy student.]

‘···Nothing changes whether it’s a parallel world or not. For me, there is only one real world.’

[What is the standard for distinguishing between real and fake? Either way, it is definitely a truthful world from an objective perspective. In the end, what matters is the choice of the one’s will.]

The Goddess of Fate sneered at what she said and asked back.

‘It’s just as you said. Only the world I choose is real. So this world is fake!’

[Calm down. As I said, this is a test that determines fate. The moment of choice is not now, but tomorrow midnight.]

‘···Wait until midnight tomorrow!? ‘There is no time for that!’

[If you choose the original world, rest assured that time will not pass by even a second.]

She felt so uncomfortable that she couldn’t just feel relief after hearing those words.

In the first place, I had no idea what the other person wanted.

A grace period of approximately one and a half days.

What difference would it make to experience this fake world for just such a short period of time?

‘Is that really all there is?’

[Of course. Since this is just a test, it must be conducted according to fair rules, so there is no cheating. All you have to do is choose tomorrow at midnight which world you consider to be true.]

Goddess Fate said she would definitely test my ability to be uncertain.

In other words, the content of the test should be in the form of breaking a solid destiny with my will.

So, of course, I expected a terrible stage where fate was so heavy and strong that no one could resist it.

But my imagination has gone completely wrong, and I am forced to make a choice as I find myself in another parallel world, a world that seems to have a much more peaceful and better environment than reality.

What on earth does this have to do with destroying fate?

[Just one last thing to add. There is no right answer to this test. There is only a choice.]

With those words, the Goddess of Fate disappeared, hiding her presence within.

The world begins to move again.

“Isn’t something really going on?”

“Leave it alone. “He does that often.”

Julia and Rachel are chatting while I remain blankly in the middle.

After that, someone else appeared.

Shiny blonde hair and emerald eyes.

As expected, even the last character, Sharon, came to my place.

“Good morning! “What are you three talking about so interestingly?”

But for some reason, the feeling was quite different from the Sharon I remembered.

I should say that it looks much more easy-going and lively.

The Sharon in my memory would have been calmer and less talkative.

Moreover, her appearance seems to have changed slightly, but is it simply a matter of her mood?

Her skirt was shorter and the makeup on her face was a little darker.

And above all, it was my first time seeing her hair tied up in a ponytail instead of tied up.

Just as she was staring at the fresh look, another person appeared behind her.

“···I told you not to run alone.”

“Uh huh. Will you stop making excuses for me? “It’s just because your steps are slow.”

At the sight of two identical-looking people facing each other and bickering, Yulia smiled happily and said,

“I always see these two people getting along so well! “At times like this, you might be a little jealous of being twins.”

Then Rachel rested her chin and grumbled softly.

“You don’t know because you are an only child. Do you know how annoying it is to have sisters?”

“Rachel, who says that, gets along well with you, right?”

“Who’s good…!”

Slowly, I understood the meaning of the scene.

In this world, Juliet attends the academy with Sharon.

The differences did not stop there.

No, rather, the scene I witnessed next was enough to make me astonished.

“I am indeed. “It’s as noisy as ever today.”

A woman with her straight black hair hanging down to her waist, her captivating red eyes shining, folded into a half-moon, and smiling with her eyes.

It was my first time seeing her wearing the academy uniform, but she looked so natural and fit, as if she had been wearing it all along.

She is my own goddess who has always been by my side.

Eldina became a classmate at the academy and appeared before me.