WAS ENZO Fenton really crazy enough to feed his schoolmates Sea Monsters?

[Yep,] Zirkus thought to himself. [It exactly sounds like something Enzo Fenton would do.]

In the original novel, the First Disaster was known for his bizarre crimes. It was emphasized that before summoning the Cataclysm into the world, Enzo Fenton had never hurt innocent people. The villain’s crimes consisted of destroying evil organizations for fun.

[But that doesn’t matter since many innocent people still died when Enzo Fenton and the other Disasters summoned the Cataclysm into the world.]

That was the beginning of the apocalypse, after all.

[Yep, a person with thoughts of ending the world “just because” couldn’t be good.]

Plus, Rivo Creswell mentioned that Enzo Fenton killed a certain ‘Klaus Irvin.’ That happened during their academy days, so Klaus Irvin must be a schoolmate.

[I already checked our class list. Klaus Irvin isn’t there so he must be from another class.]

Zirkus let out a long sigh when the realization hit him. “I must also stop that crazy bastard from committing murder.”

But for now, he must stop the food poisoning incident from happening first.

“Aigoo,” he complained while punching the combination in the keypad attached to the package he received. “This is pretty high-tech for a fantasy novel.”

Zirkus was already back in his room.

The package that he received was similar to a small vault with a keypad attached to the mini door/lid. Fortunately, the password was easy, and it was within Zirkus Huxford’s memories.

[1131XX.]

It was Zirkus Huxford’s birthday.

[This poor bastard was born on Halloween Day, huh? No wonder his face looks scary.]

He opened the vault and found a vial full of red jelly-like capsules inside.

[That looks ominous.]

He picked up the letter under the bottle first and read the content.

[“Young Master Huxford, congratulations. The shell-changing capsules you requested last year are finally completed. One capsule will change your appearance for an hour. Attached is the photograph of the face you chose. Your humble servants wish you happiness, our lord.

PS: Don’t worry, Young Master. The capsules will appear as normal energy-replenishing capsules to other people. The shell-changing property will only activate once you consume them.”]

Zirkus then flipped the letter to find a photo attached to it.

[Wow, so pretty.]

The boy in the photo had rose-gold hair and crimson eyes which were a little different from Rivo Creswell’s dark red eyes.

[If this boy were born in Korea, he’d probably become an idol. He has a face that makes him the ‘puppy type.’ Plus, his looks are so gentle that he almost looks feeble. But it only makes you want to protect him.]

So, this was Zirkus Huxford’s style, huh?

“Zirkus Huxford probably spent a fortune on these capsules,” Zirkus said, feeling a little bad for the original owner of his current body. Then he stared at his face in the mirror. He was already used to his new look, so his blood pressure didn’t increase anymore out of anger. “Dude, you must probably hate your face so much. Don’t worry, I won’t judge you.”

Even as Park Suho, he didn’t have any problem with people who went under the knife to change their appearance.

[That’s their money, anyway. Moreover, as long as it makes them happy, so be it.]

“Having said that, I won’t use these capsules,” Zirkus said, then he let out a sigh. “I’m busy, since I need to stop Enzo Fenton from feeding Sea Monsters to our schoolmates. It’s not like I can report him. If he found out I was the snitch, he would probably kill me. I wish someone else would miraculously discover the Sea Monsters and report it to the teachers…”

Wait.

‘Someone else?’

Zirkus looked down at the vial of red capsules in his hand. “If I changed my appearance with the help of these capsules and reported Enzo Fenton, then wouldn’t it be fine? Because even if Enzo Fenton looked for the snitch, he would never find him.”

Since Zirkus’ real appearance would return to normal after an hour.

[Plus, this fake face looks trustworthy because it’s pretty.]

Sadly, the “pretty privilege” was real.

<“You have an ugly face, but at least you have a good head on your shoulders, Shittyhead.”>

Zirkus scoffed at the rude System’s taunting. “Don’t state the obvious, Blob.”

***

ZIRKUS thought it would be hard to deceive a teacher, so he decided to use the most trusted student in Holy Sword Academy.

Of course, it was none other than Rivo Creswell.

[Nixie Winslet is also an option, but it’s difficult to sneak into the Heroine Dormitory. So, let’s just put the hero of the original novel to work.]

“Who is that?”

“Do we have a schoolmate who’s as good-looking as that?”

“He’s tall, but he seems young?”

“A Freshman?”

Zirkus belatedly realized that the male students he encountered were actually talking about him.

[Aigoo!]

He was surprised when he saw his reflection in the glass window.

Zirkus saw a gentle-looking boy with rose-gold hair and crimson eyes.

Yep, it was his face.

[Amazing. I only took one capsule and my appearance completely changed.]

He wore a black tracksuit with the Holy Sword Academy’s crest. And yes, the shoes that he found in his closet were definitely sneakers.

[This fantasy world isn’t based on the medieval setting, thank goodness.]

Now Zirkus looked like a handsome teenager who was on his way to exercise.

<“Kekeke! Is it your first time to have a handsome face?”>

Blob the rude System taunted him again.

[Of course not. Park Suho, my previous self, was handsome. I could have been an actor if I didn’t have a bad experience with the agency that scouted me. Since I was young and dumb back then, I got into more debt instead of debuting as an actor.]

“Forget it,” Zirkus whispered to himself as he walked to his target destination again. “I have a food poisoning incident to prevent.”

He was about to head to the top floor reserved for the top ten male students (similar to a penthouse in the modern world) when he noticed a figure sitting in the corner. You know, the triangle space under the staircase.

[Is that… the hero?]

“Hello, student,” Rivo Creswell, who was sitting on the corner while hugging his knees (coincidentally, the hero was also wearing the same tracksuit), greeted him with a depressed look on his face. “I’m sorry, but only the top ten students are allowed in the Penthouse. You can’t enter without the special pass anyway.”

Of course, Zirkus knew that.

He was actually ready to put his acting skill to use. Luckily, he met the person he was looking for.

“Hello, Senior.”

“Oh, are you a Freshman?” Rivo Creswell asked, his voice still sad. “No wonder I don’t recognize you. But what are you doing here?”

“Can I sit beside you, Senior?”

“Go ahead.”

Pfft.

[Look at Rivo Creswell treating me well because of my face. Well, I shouldn’t expect him to be kind to me because I used to bully Enzo Fenton.]

Anyway, Zirkus sat beside Rivo Creswell and handed him a chocolate candy. He didn’t particularly like sweet things. But chocolates in the school dining hall were expensive, and he kind of liked spending on luxuries lately. “Here, Senior. You look sad, so please have one.”

“Thank you,” Rivo Creswell said, smiling kindly at him. “How did you know I like chocolates?”

[I read it in the original novel…?]

“I didn’t,” Zirkus said, lying with a smile on his face. “I just thought chocolates could help you feel better, Senior.”

Rivo Creswell chuckled while shaking his head. “Is it so obvious that I’m sad?”

He just nodded because he didn’t want to give a sarcastic reply.

[I mean, the hero looks like an abandoned puppy.]

“To be honest with you, I was actually supposed to go on a date today.”

Zirkus didn’t expect that.

[That’s TMI. Is it okay to share that with me? Or perhaps, he’s not hiding his relationship?]

Did everyone in the academy know that Rivo Creswell had a girlfriend?

“But I stood her up because Nixie and I accidentally witnessed an accident this morning. We had to go and bring some seriously injured people to the hospital.”

Ah, right.

<“<Nerd for Life> in use!”>

A few lines from the original novel flashed in Zirkus’ mind.

[“Rivo used to have a girlfriend back when he was a student. But their relationship didn’t work because he was too busy helping and saving people to have time to date.”]

Moreover…

[“And most of the time, Rivo required Nixie’s help. Hence, the misunderstandings.”]

“Senior, I’m sure your girlfriend will understand why you couldn’t make it to your date.”

“That’s the problem,” Rivo Creswell said, smiling bitterly. “She’s too understanding.”

Huh?

Zirkus was confused, but he didn’t care enough to ask.

[They’re going to break up later anyway.]

“Forget it. I’m sorry for ruining the mood…”

“Blob,” Zirkus said when he realized Rivo Creswell was asking for his name. “My name is ‘Blob,’ Senior.”

<“Pfft.”>

Of course, Zirkus ignored Blob the rude System.

“You have a unique name, Blob.”

[Bullshit.]

Zirkus smiled anyway. “You’re too nice, Senior.”

Rivo Creswell smiled back at him. “So, what’s your business here?”

It was time for Zirkus to put his acting prowess to good use. He acted like he was nervous and hesitant. Of course, that included looking around nervously and fidgeting with his fingers. “Senior, I was actually looking for you.”

“Me?” Rivo Creswell asked while observing him closely. “Why?”

“Because you’re the top student in the entire academy, Senior. That means you’re the strongest here.”

“Blob, calm down,” the hero said in a serious tone, then he put a hand on Zirkus’ shoulder. “It’s alright. I’m listening, so take your time explaining.”

Zirkus let out a deep sigh. Of course, he was just acting. He was so ready to snitch on Enzo Fenton. “Senior, I can’t tell the teachers because I have no evidence. And yet, I can’t ignore what I heard. Hence, I decided to tell you about it first because I trust your strength.”

And because Zirkus knew the teachers trusted Rivo Creswell.

“What did you hear for you to get this scared, Blob?”

Zirkus felt bad that Rivo Creswell looked genuinely worried about him, but he had to continue his acting. “I was alone in the storage area earlier while looking for my package. I was crouching down, and there were big boxes around me. That’s probably why the two delivery men who entered didn’t notice me there.”

His original plan was to name-drop Enzo Fenton right away.

But he realized that Rivo Creswell wouldn’t believe him if he outright said he saw Enzo Fenton receive boxes that contained Sea Monsters.

[After all, Rivo Creswell considers Enzo Fenton as his best friend.]

Hence, he was being vague.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but their conversation was alarming,” Zirkus said, his voice sounded anxious even to his own ears. “Senior, I heard them say that a student bought two boxes of Sea Monsters.”

Rivo Creswell’s eyes opened wide. “Sea Monsters?”

***

WOW.

[I actually pulled it off.]

Zirkus was so proud of himself.

Right now, he was in the biggest training hall in the dormitory along with eleven other students.

All of them had something in common: they received a package today.

Obviously, the teachers who summoned them to the training hall wanted to check the packages they received. Hence, there was a package in front of each student.

Zirkus wasn’t nervous.

[The letter assured me that the capsules I received will only appear as vitamins to other people.]

On the other hand…

Zirkus turned to Enzo Fenton who was standing at the other end of the line.

Aigoo.

[It’s annoying how he still looks so calm.]

Zirkus wondered how Enzo Fenton would get away with it.