Mana pressed in on me from every direction, distorting space itself.
The air was thick with tension, dizzying and uncomfortable.
Rose, Seo, and Alice stood their ground, each one radiating an intense aura that seemed to battle for dominance.
They all understood the implications and potential consequences of their actions, yet none of them showed any sign of backing down.
By now, the academy staff should have noticed the overwhelming pressure these three were generating, yet there was no sign of interference.
‘Where the heck are they?’
If these three clashed now even the principal would have trouble stopping them…
Amidst the escalating turmoil, a specific CG from the game flashed through my mind.
[Bad End No. 67: A Cat’s Wanderlust~]
It was one of the more unpredictable bad endings, a death that occurred after being subjected to life-threatening pranks and being toyed with in increasingly dangerous ways.
The source of this particular bad end? The floating cat beside me, laughing heartily as if the chaos unfolding before us was the most entertaining thing he’d ever witnessed.
“НАНАНАНАНА!”
Cheshire, despite his usual calm and collected demeanor, was in truth a being of pure, whimsical chaos.
His true nature was that of a maniac who delighted in the unpredictability and havoc he could
cause.
He was a cat who would do anything in his power to amuse himself, regardless of the consequences for those around him.
Of course, Cheshire, despite his playful nature, had his limits-especially when it came to matters involving Alice, his master.
Everything else, though, was merely a toy for his amusement.
Judging from his face It was safe to say that he wasn’t going to properly help me in this situation.
‘I need to stop this!’
“Rose! Please stop! Seo, you too, and Senior, this is just a misunderstandin—”
“Silence!”
“Be quiet, Riley…”
“Shut it, Junior!”
They all spoke in unison, each with their own commanding tone, but the effect was the same: I was instantly silenced.
“See? This is exactly why I need to keep you safe, Riley. If I leave you out here alone, look at how many bitches cling to you!”
‘B-Bitches?’
This wasn’t the kind and whimsical Rose I knew from the game. Sure, she had a peculiar personality, but it never escalated to the point of calling others with such harsh slurs.
“She’s just spouting nonsense again, Riley…. If you wanted to kiss Riley that badly, you should’ve waited for your turn!”
“E-excuse me, Seo?”
“Isn’t that right, Riley?”
“Huh?”
What the hell was Seo talking about right now? And why did she look at me with that expectation, as if I’d say yes to any of this nonsense?
The whole situation was becoming increasingly surreal as it is, and I had no idea how to defuse it.
‘Please don’t add oil to the fire!’
“K-Kiss? Waiting for turns…?” Senior Alice muttered, still floating above with her summoned knights, glared down at me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.
Her golden eyes, which seemed to flicker between deep red and pink, pulsed dangerously as they locked onto me.
“What is Miss Seo talking about, Junior?” Red Lighting danced behind her as her mana condensed….
Scary!!!
None of this is even my fault!
Why am I always the one caught in these situations? At this rate, I’m going to die of a headache… Shit!
“Like I told you, Senior, this is just a misunderstanding. What Seo said just now was—” Before I could finish, Cheshire’s fluffy tail suddenly wrapped around my mouth, muffling my words.
I tried to yank it off, but with my limited mana, there was no way I could overpower a familiar of his level with just brute strength. I could feel my frustration bubbling up as I struggled in
vain.
Cheshire’s smirk widened as he looked at me, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
With a wink, he twisted his body around, his form becoming shrouded in mist.
When the fog cleared, he reappeared fully dressed in an investigator’s outfit, complete with a fedora and a cigarette in hand. He patted down the hat, looking at me with mock pity.
Gulp…!
‘What the hell is he up to now?’
Cheshire took a drag from the cigarette, exhaling a plume of smoke that twisted into the air.
His eyes narrowed as he gave me a slow, deliberate once-over.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here? A case of misunderstandings, or perhaps…
something more?”
His voice was smooth, almost teasing, as if he were enjoying every second of my discomfort.
This was bad.
Really bad.
Senior Alice’s glare intensified, and I could practically feel the weight of her suspicion bearing down on me.
If I didn’t find a way to clear this up soon, I was going to end up in an even worse situation
than before.
Cheshire, still in his investigator persona, leaned closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper that somehow everyone could still hear.
“Looks like our little prince here has been… busy lately~”
‘This can’t be good!’
“My Queen, according to what my clones have investigated so far, it seems our dear Prince is currently going around tongue kissing the princess in public!” Cheshire shouted with all his might, his voice practically echoing across the field.
-For the love of God, WTF???
I never did such a thing!!!
“Hooooh~” Alice’s voice was laced with a dangerous calm, but I could feel her mana surging,
barely restrained.
“Tongue kissing…?” she repeated, her tone icy, as if trying to process the outrageous claim.
The other girls began to murmur among themselves, each reacting differently to the news.
Rose’s eyes widened in disbelief, her usual composed demeanor shaken by the scandalous
accusation.
Seo, on the other hand, looked intrigued, her curiosity piqued by the mention of such an
intimate act.
“MHHMMM!!!”
I struggled, desperately trying to explain the truth, but Cheshire had his tail firmly lodged in my mouth, preventing me from uttering a single coherent word.
Frustrated, I tried biting down on his tail, hoping to make him release me, but Cheshire,
being the creature that he was, seemed completely unfazed by my efforts.
Instead, he trembled slightly, clearly holding back laughter at my predicament.
‘Can’t Alice see what was going on?’
No…
I shook my head.
just looking at her it was clear that she wasn’t in the right state right now, she mentioned the white pawns earlier so she was probably in the fantastical world cleaning things up.
It would make sense why her mind is in a sort of daze right now; her tired eyes were the very
evident of it.
With my options dwindling, I focused whatever mana I had left, attempting to break free
from Cheshire’s hold.
But it was no use.
My energy was depleted, and I couldn’t even summon my familiar for assistance.
[Light Magic]
[Lampioge]
FLASH!
In an instant, a blinding light enveloped the area, so intense that it disoriented everyone
within its reach.
Rose had made her move, and before anyone could react, a field of celestial magic wrapped itself around me, its radiant glow blurring my vision.
As my eyes struggled to adjust, I squinted against the overwhelming brightness.
The air was thick with the sound of crackling electricity, like thunder booming across a stormy
sky.
In the midst of this sensory overload, I saw a brilliant blue flash—a sharp, slicing force that
tore through an orb of light and made its way toward Seo.
Two powerful explosions followed, shaking the ground beneath us.
[Spade Spear: Mana Severance]
[Clover Knives: Mana Disruption]
SWOOOSHHH!!!!!
The red celestial magic that Rose had so carefully woven around me began to crack,
splintering as if struck by an unseen force.
I barely had time to process what was happening before I saw two of Alice’s knights cutting through the magical barrier with precise strikes from their spear and daggers.
My body was suddenly lifted off the ground, weightless and suspended in mid-air.
The heart wizard, one of Alice’s trusted companions, had taken hold of me using its
telekinesis ability.
I could feel the force pulling me away, but before I could fully grasp the situation, another
flash of light joined the fray.
KWAHHHH!!!!!
CRACKLEEE—!!!!
SIZZLE-!!
Blue, gold, and red-the three colors clashed violently across the field, their brilliant hues
intertwining in a chaotic dance. Spells erupted from every direction, filling the air with explosive energy. The sheer force of the magic being unleashed caused rips in the very fabric of space, and the resulting shockwaves reverberated through the ground.
It was chaos-pure, unbridled chaos.
“Oh my~ I did not expect the three of them to actually fight. That Golden lady sure is feisty~,” Cheshire commented, his voice filled with a mix of surprise and amusement.
His eyes widened as he floated beside me, covering his mouth with one of his paws. “At this
rate, won’t they destroy the entire academy?”
Before he could react, I grabbed his floating head, trying to rip it apart. “You think?” I
growled, my anger simmering just beneath the surface.
Even with my mouth finally free from his tail, I knew that no words I said would have any
effect on the girls, who were now caught in their heated conflict.
“Please let go of me, Riley. That tickles, you know,” Cheshire purred, seemingly unfazed by
my attempt to dismember him.
‘This fucking…’ My frustration peaked as I realized the gravity of the situation. “Fix this, you dumb cat!” I shouted, my voice filled with urgency and rage.
Cheshire chuckled, his amusement only growing as he looked at me with his mischievous grin.
“Oh, Riley~ You should know by now that fixing things isn’t exactly in my job description,” he teased, clearly enjoying my distress.
“Tsk~ you’re really no fun, huh? Don’t you find this situation at least a bit amusing? They’re
all fighting because of you, you know?” Cheshire shook his head, sighing dramatically as he manifested his hands.
“But I guess I did push it a bit too far. A little teasing was too much for young maidens in
love~”
With a snap of his fingers, the world around us suddenly distorted, shifting into a whirl of different colors and shapes.
The vibrant hues swirled together, creating a kaleidoscopic effect that left me momentarily
disoriented.
[Skill: Wonderland (EX)] → [Activated!]
Before I could fully grasp what was happening, my surroundings changed entirely.
I found myself standing in front of a gigantic mountain made of mushrooms, their tops resembling massive chocolate caps.
In the distance, I could see sprawling fields of candy, with a brick road leading towards a towering castle made entirely of sweets.
Everything felt out of place, like a twisted, surreal dream.
The vibrant colors, the exaggerated landscape, the whimsical design-it all felt like
something straight out of a fairy tale. Or rather, something out of a game.
‘This place…’
I had only seen it in the game’s CGs…
It took a moment, but the realization soon hit me-I was in Wonderland, the bizarre and
unpredictable world that Cheshire had crafted.
[Wonderland]—a place where the rules of reality were bent, twisted to fit his whims.
The chaos and fighting from before had vanished, replaced by this surreal landscape.
I looked around and saw the three girls, each standing on top of a gigantic mushroom, their respective platforms reflecting the colors of their hair.
The mushrooms were a dozen meters apart, creating a strange, almost theatrical scene.
This wasn’t just any battlefield.
And now, we were all players in his game.
Cheshire twirled around, his form shifting as his feline body elongated into a human-like
figure, now clad in a suit.
The absurdity of it all was highlighted by the fact that despite the dapper attire, his head
remained distinctly cat-like, complete with the wide, mischievous grin.
His transformation wasn’t entirely convincing-if anything, the glasses perched on his nose made him look even more ridiculous.
With a puff of smoke, Cheshire suddenly teleported to the center of the three girls’ standoff, balancing effortlessly atop a large mushroom.
He winked at me, and before I could react, I felt my body constrict as mana chains coiled
around me, forcefully shutting down my ability to use magic.
Shit…
Cheshire cleared his throat with an exaggerated cough, his voice booming as he addressed the
girls.
“Ladies, ladies, I know you’re all excited, but going all out in academic fields is extremely restricted, you know? What will you do if you get expelled all because of a man-? While I do
get his appeal, rampaging like animals won’t do any good, you know~? You all need to calm
down~”
This fucking cat… Is he seriously lecturing them?
The irony was infuriating.
After all, half of this chaos wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t poured gasoline onto the fire
in the first place.
Yet here he was, acting like the voice of reason, while I was bound and powerless to intervene.
“But I can also understand your frustration; after all, anger is best when it’s expressed freely-
That’s why Riley and I just made a rather delightful proposal~” ‘I never-‘
What the-? My voice won’t come out!
As he circled around, Cheshire’s gaze was filled with a twisted amusement.
He looked at each of the girls with a smirk, clearly enjoying the chaos he was about to unleash.
“Riley only has one heart, so it only makes sense that only one girl gets to claim it, right? So
how about this: whoever wins in an all-out fight between you three gets to claim it~?”
The words hung in the air, their implications sinking in.
“In this place…. ~”Cheshire continued, his voice smooth and eerie, “the boundaries between
reality and imagination are blurred. You can go all out as much as you want… Don’t worry, none of you will actually die~”
With a snap of his fingers, mist began to envelop the room. It swirled around them, creating
an otherworldly haze.
The air grew thick with magic, and the surroundings shifted, becoming a surreal landscape
where the normal rules no longer applied.
“Now you’ve become temporal administrators in my world- The only limit in this realm is your own imagination~ May the best girl win!!!!”