I Became the Second-in-Command in a Romance Fantasy Novel

“Why did I become Daisy’s lover?
To explain that, I have ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) to go back one day.
That morning was just like any other.
More precisely, it was a repeat of my routine since returning to the academy.

“Whimper!”
Thanks to the living alarm clock on the floor, I yawned, then heated up the meat I brought yesterday using a magic tool similar to a microwave before putting it in a bowl.
“Can’t you at least eat like a human when you have your meal?”

The small dog, happily gnawing on the nicely cooked chunk of meat, looked at me expressionlessly.
It seemed to say, roughly, even the dog stays away when I eat.
“Do as you please.”
Still yawning, I got up from my seat.
That dog was the beastkin girl who nearly became a sacrifice in the dark mage incident where Prince Ellen carried the day.
Why was that creature around me…?

Honestly, I don’t know either.
I treated her moderately and tried to send her home through the kingdom’s beastkin connections.
But she declared she wouldn’t listen to anyone weaker than herself and insisted on following me, who was stronger, so she came to the academy.
Of course, this dog-beastkin girl—
Let’s shorten it to “that dog-girl”—didn’t even listen to me, who was stronger than her.
She wouldn’t listen to weaker people, but sometimes listens to stronger ones?
Though she’s not even a cat, she behaved like she was choosing her master.
She claimed to be close friends with the self-proclaimed princess of the canine tribe, so I kept her for now.
If she’s friends with a princess, maybe she’d get some benefits.
Even if not material things, gaining the beastkin’s goodwill to open trade routes would be advantageous.

Of course, it could all be lies.
If so, I should find a real imperial black market and sell her off.
That thought crossed my mind just as I was about to head to school.
“Hey.”
I grabbed the dog-girl by the neck while she was eating the meat and lifted her up.

“It’s the weekend today.”
“……”
The dog-girl, meat still in her mouth, averted her gaze.
She must have forgotten that every day isn’t a weekend for her.
“Ugh.”

Yet she refused to drop the meat until the very end.
“You really are friends with the princess, right?”
She nodded, and I put her down again.
What’s she going to do now? Just go to the training grounds, I guess.

“Oh, right.”
Before that, I remembered what Boradori had asked.
“When are you going to tell me your name?”
“Yip!”
“If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll just keep calling you Dog-Girl.”
“……”
If she wants to keep a mysterious vibe, I can understand, but she’ll have to bear the consequences herself.
I wonder if our dog-girl is ready to deal with that.

“Bell.”
After struggling for a long while, she finally spat out that one word.
Looks like she couldn’t handle it after all.
Even if I go to the training grounds, I won’t be able to train anyway.
Because right now, I’m perfectly pretending to be a patient.

Still, I go to the training grounds for appearances.
I’m the kind of person who goes to train even while sick.
But when I get there, I’m too sick to do anything.
If Ellen were a decent guy, maybe someday when he does something, he’d remember me like this.
“Or not?”
Sipping coffee through a straw, I stood up in a warehouse where no one comes.
Even on weekdays, only a few people drop by, so it seems I can’t even rest on weekends.

“School starts next week.”
In this Western fantasy world using familiar Monday to Sunday days, today was Saturday, and school would start next Monday.
Once school starts, another classic incident is bound to happen, so I needed to share information.
“Did Mr. Aerin really get fired?”

Since he was from the Jeika Duke family, it’s possible he quit after hearing from senior Loreliya.
Officially, the engagement wasn’t broken yet, and he said he was backing Prince Acid and Daisy, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have an informant connected in the meantime.
“Looks like he’s really rolling in the dirt.”
Thinking about it, since he was straddling the royal family and the Jeika Duke family, his workload must be doubled.
I realized it was his own karma, and decided to give him a task as soon as he came back.

“It’s about time to meet Daisy.”
I’d avoided it so far, but pretending to be a patient until school started was a bit much, so I decided to get some healing.
Daisy is a legendary Pokémon-level saint now, so it’s hard enough just to meet her by chance, let alone keep an appointment.
But our elite agent Boradori had the ability to contact even such a saint, so she managed to arrange the meeting.
Now I’d get healed, hold a regular meeting with Boradori, have dinner, then hit the training grounds to celebrate recovery.
So, to not keep the busy saint waiting, I arrived early at the meeting place and waited.
Right on time, Daisy stumbled into the meeting spot.

“…Are you okay?”
Seeing how clearly unwell she looked, I asked out of courtesy.
“I’m not okay…”

Usually she’d say “I’m fine” at least as a white lie, but Daisy answered weakly.
“I feel like I’m going to die…”
Even the saint who overturned the Holy Nation over injustice seemed to find politics difficult.
Come to think of it, the political side in this fantasy world was mainly Prince Acid’s faction.
Rumor had it that Prince Acid was dragged back to the royal family by knights waiting at the empire’s border, so Daisy must be handling politics alone.

“So, um…”
Daisy, who had been so down, looked at me full of expectation.
What is it? I’m totally clueless about internal politics.
I’m a blunt sword-wielding character.
I listened to what she asked.
“Could you play the role of my lover?”
“No.”
“……”

I dodged the sudden assassination attempt like a sharp blade.
I asked why after the sudden assassination attempt.
“I’m getting messages here and there about meeting, engagements, and marriage proposals.”

Even though the male leads of these fantasy novels glare fiercely, many still seemed to be attempting suicide.
“I get at least dozens of letters a day. If I just don’t reply to those letters, I think I could end the day happily.”
She complained with a pout, so I tilted my head.

“Can’t you just not send replies?”
Why does she reply to all of them?
“That’s just manners.”

That confident answer made me ask unknowingly.
“Isn’t a fake lover also a matter of manners?”
“…Honestly, it’s not a confession made from true feelings. So isn’t it okay?”
Unlike before, her expression was full of guilt.
She even avoided my gaze, clearly a little embarrassed.

“So you want me to heal your wounds, and in return, play the role of your fake lover?”
“Yes…”
“Is it okay to use holy power for such selfish reasons?”
“I got permission from the goddess!”
“Wow…”
I was momentarily speechless at that reassurance.
I was dumbfounded that Daisy actually got permission, but what kind of goddess happily granted it?
“So don’t worry. We’ll just pretend to date during the second semester, and during winter break say we drifted apart and broke up!”

I thought our saint still had a conscience left, even if the period was short.
“But why me?”
I didn’t understand why a woman with many men around her was doing this to me.

“If you asked the club, there would be plenty who’d do it.”
There were many guys who’d be eager to become her fake lover, then try to remove the “fake” label after a while.
So why was she asking someone like me who’d only ever greeted her once?
“Well… the people in our club like me.”
“Huh?”

That unexpected answer left me dumbfounded.
I thought there were two main types of Western fantasy novels.
One was the pure love story with a clearly defined male lead.
In those, sub-male leads were just spices to deepen the story with the main lead.
No matter what sub-male leads tried, they couldn’t beat the main male lead, so the main story kept rushing forward and usually ended just after around 100 chapters.

The other was a reverse harem style fantasy without a set main male lead.
Some ended quickly once the main male lead was decided, but many went into long serializations.
It was because multiple male leads took turns fighting, and the content was often repetitive.
It’s hard to hit once, but if a story hits, then long serialization is common in the web novel market, which aims for steady income.
Such novels kept throwing in sub-male leads, extending hundreds of chapters to secure that income.
That was the story called Like Flowers Blooming on Barren Land.
The very novel I and Violet got transmigrated into.

And such novels’ female leads usually had one thing in common:
They were terribly clueless.
It made sense.
Knowing all the male leads liked her, but if she didn’t pick one, wouldn’t she look like trash?
Pretending to be clueless or actually clueless in romance,
Just thinking all the affection around her was friendship,
The male leads would guard against each other, nobody confessing first, dragging on with frustrating storylines until readers dropped off, then occasionally training readers with sweet romance scenes—that was the charm of Like Flowers Blooming on Barren Land!
…Or so said the devoted reader Violet.
Definitely so.

“Fake lovers… can’t be asked from people who truly have feelings for you.”
Hey, Boradori.
You said Daisy was dull.
I’ve been so frustrated that I even gave her early education in romance…
“Ah.”

I suddenly realized.
The saint Daisy, whose only powers were a little magic and holy power,
And Violet, who amazed even me and our king, an infighter and swordmaster, by pulling out an insanely powerful holy sword.
If it’s Violet’s teaching, even a dull fantasy heroine could become an expert in romance.
…Actually, the best person to be an instructor might just be this bastard Boradori.
Once I graduate seriously, I’ll naturalize him and recommend him to the commander as the next instructor.
“Thank you for understanding.”

Seeing my expression as if I understood something, Daisy bowed and thanked me, mistaking that I accepted her request.
“I didn’t say I would do it…”
“Do you know why I’m asking you, Adam?”
Even after my refusal, Daisy said with eyes full of dark circles:

“First, I thought you’d never fall for me.”
That was true.
I didn’t have the guts to confess to a fantasy heroine, but I’d confess to an imperial princess any day.
“And then…”

   
  
   
A strange smile appeared at the corner of Daisy’s mouth.
It was utterly unfitting for a saint, somehow mischievous in a way Boradori might make.
“If it’s you, Adam, you wouldn’t refuse.”
“That’s not true.”

I was definitely going to refuse. What kind of misunderstanding was this?
“Ah.”
At my definite answer, Daisy blinked briefly.

“If you refuse, then I’ll ask Ellen instead.”
...She immediately started threatening me.