I returned to the Pandemonium Academy. If I accumulated too many unexcused absences, I’d lose my cadet status, so coming back was inevitable.

If nothing else, being far from the story’s core would only make me anxious.

No one’s going to take care of me except myself.

I’ll grow stronger no matter what it takes and ensure my survival. It doesn’t matter who falls behind—my own life is the most precious thing.

“Hey, isn’t that the guy who got ‘interrogated’ this time?”

“Yeah, that’s him… I heard he proved his innocence and countersued.”

“So what does that mean? The Ingrid family’s got him marked now. Poor thing…”

Let me make it clear: I won’t save anyone, even if they’re dying. Especially punks like them—they’ll make perfect meat shields.

Who’s pitying who here?

“Hey… doesn’t it feel like he’s glaring at us?”

“Just look away. He’s that crazy mutt who even stands up to dukes.”

Bark, bark, you little bastards.

Ignoring them coolly, I entered the lecture hall.

Yuto belonged to Class C. Why? I had no idea. His entrance scores were average, and that’s where they placed him.

As for his talents? Swordsmanship.

It’s a common skill where the line between the strong and the weak is brutally clear.

Why did Yuto choose the sword?

Of course, I don’t know. I don’t know anything about this guy.

The only thing I do know is that his growth is fueled by one thing: obsession.

I still have no clue who dropped me into this place or why. But since I’m here, I might as well live well and eat well. To do that, I need to grow strong enough that no one can touch me.

Let them all obsess over me instead.

Thud.

“Ah! I’m sorry! I wasn’t paying attention…”

Someone bumped into my chest.

I was about to respond politely, but when I saw their face, I changed my mind.

Why bother caring if they’re not a protagonist?

“No, I should’ve been watching where I was going. Take care.”

“Oh… I thought you were an instructor, but you’re Yuto?”

“You know me?”

“We’re in the same class, that’s all. You’ve been absent the entire time since enrollment, right?”

That’s because I was detained, thanks to a certain heroine.

‘Thinking about it again makes me angry.’

“Nice to meet you. Took us long enough to talk, huh? I’m Danika.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Danika. I look forward to working with you.”

After shaking hands with Extra #1, I started looking for a seat.

It wasn’t until I was halfway there that I realized something.

In this insignificant gathering of extras,

there was an Irregular among them.

“Whoa...”

I spotted a woman seated by the window. Just like with Ellie Ingrid , it seemed like all the main characters carried an unapproachable aura with them.

A sculpture? A doll?

There was no way to describe her.

Her jet-black hair fell smoothly, exuding an air of calm. Yet, beneath that serene elegance was a cynicism that added an unmistakable layer of mystery.

Laura Freeze .

This woman was the protagonist of Pandemonium Academy. Ellie Ingrid was no small threat, but Laura Freeze was on a completely different level.

After all, she wasn’t just a protagonist—she was a regressor.

Regressors: selfish individuals who use their knowledge of future events to monopolize hidden opportunities.

You could call them the root cause of broken balance in this world.

“How should I make her obsess over me?”

It wouldn’t be hard to disrupt a regressor’s plans. Just a slight twist in the future she thinks she knows, and she’d spiral into chaos.

The problem was…

If I pushed too far, I’d end up on her radar as a threat.

What I wanted was a careful balance: just enough to irritate her, just enough to build rapport, and just enough to make her obsess over me.

That’s the kind of cooperative relationship I was aiming for.

“Everyone, take your seats—”

As my gaze met Laura Freeze’s, the instructor entered the room. Despite her sharp and professional demeanor, there was a subtle gentleness in her voice that left an impression.

“Oh? A familiar face. Yuto, was it? I’m Julia, the Class C instructor.”

“I look forward to learning from you, Instructor Julia.”

“A polite cadet. Let’s begin the lecture.”

With a slight bow, the lecture began. It seemed I had already missed a good chunk of the theoretical lessons.

Flipping through the handouts, I noticed today’s syllabus included “Space-Time Exploration.”

“Space-Time Exploration?”

Perhaps the chance to manipulate the regressor’s plans would come sooner than I thought.

Thud.

A comrade collapsed, pierced through the chest, and fell lifelessly to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

It wasn’t just one. Every single sacrifice my comrades made to protect me had been in vain.

“…It’s all over.”

Clang.

I no longer had the strength to hold my weapon. My mace slipped from my hand and crashed to the floor.

My cracked lips quivered with shallow, fragile breaths. There was no one left to support Laura Freeze.

She would soon follow her fallen comrades into the void.

Guilt weighed heavily on her for failing those who had given their lives.

Anger burned at her own inadequacy for being unable to stop the world’s end.

Her chest tightened. Her vision blurred with heat. Yet, her heart remained freezing cold, as if iced over.

The cost of Laura Freeze’s signature magic, Cryostasis Synchronization, was slowly devouring her life force.

Thus, the curtain fell on Laura Freeze’s life.

…Or so it should have.

“Why… am I back at the academy?”

The end of the world.

Her comrades’ deaths.

Her own final moments.

Everything was etched vividly into her mind.

And yet, Laura Freeze had returned to the past.

And not just any day—she had returned to the very first day of her enrollment at the academy.

“Am I trapped in an illusion barrier?”

No, that wasn’t it.

If that were the case, her Hyper-Instinct the sixth sense she had possessed since birth—would have triggered.

This unique ability was Laura Freeze’s greatest asset, a gift she had used to overcome countless challenges.

Hyper-Instinct was a rare power capable of discerning anything that posed harm to her. If it wasn’t activating, it meant this was no illusion. This was real.

“This is an opportunity.”

A chance to start over.

This time, she could stop the end of the world. With her Hyper-Instinct and knowledge of the future, the synergy would be unmatched.

Laura Freeze spent the next week reorganizing her thoughts.

Returning to the past required time to adjust, and she needed to compare the information she knew against the current timeline to be certain.

As she adapted to her new reality, a troubling rumor began circulating within the academy.

“Ellie Ingrid .. filed an interrogation request?”

“And got countersued in return?”

It was just as she thought—Ellie Ingrid, her former ally, had become a variable.

“This isn’t how it was in the past.”

It was too early to draw conclusions.

During her initial enrollment, she had distanced herself from others and paid little attention to what was happening around her. There could have been events she simply hadn’t noticed.

“Let’s wait and see.”

Rushing would only ruin everything. Laura Freeze calmed herself and sorted through her thoughts.

“…For now, I need to focus on the Space-Time Exploration class.”

On the surface, it seemed like an ordinary lecture.

But she knew better—this was when the first Impurity would appear within the academy.

Unfortunately, in her previous timeline, she had failed to overcome this crisis.

Though she had returned to the past, some of her powers were still restricted.

“So… even this… my abilities only return under certain conditions?”

If that were true, dealing with the Impurity would be impossible for her alone.

“No matter. There are other ways to avoid it.”

Facing every crisis head-on would be foolish. She would use the information she had to navigate the danger without confronting it directly.

“That aside…”

“Why is that man following me?”

Even back in the lecture hall, his gaze had lingered. The man named Yuto  had been following her ever since the Space-Time Exploration class began.

“I thought that name sounded familiar.”

He was the one who countersued Ellie Ingrid  No matter how she looked at it, he was suspicious. The aura of trouble around him was impossible to ignore.

“Looks like I have no choice.”

Clink.

“Come out. I know you’re there.”

Rustle—

Laura Freeze gripped her mace tightly as a figure emerged from the bushes nearby.

“You caught me. I thought I was being pretty stealthy, though,” the young man said, stepping forward with a sheepish smile.

His jet-black hair and golden eyes stood out, making him seem even more peculiar.

“So,” Laura asked, her tone cold, “what’s the reason for following me? It’s not something trivial like a confession, is it?”

“Actually, it is a confession.”

“What?”

A joke?

But the expression on Yuto’s face was entirely serious.

Then, in a low, steady voice, he said:

“I confess… that I know you’ve regressed, Laura Freeze .”

“What?”

Laura Freeze pinched her cheek hard. The sharp sting left her reeling.

This wasn’t a dream.

“What the hell…?”