I Become a Secret Police Officer of The Imperial Academy

Chapter 28

What would you feel if you realized one day that you’d fallen into the world of a game?

I’m not sure how others would answer, but for me, it felt a bit horrifying.

I’d probably been sitting in front of my computer, clutching my chest, collapsing to the floor in an undignified heap, trembling all over, and then dying.

I likely didn’t even realize I was dying when it happened.

When I opened my eyes, I was literally being cradled by an unfamiliar human.

Of course, it wasn’t my mother—it was the midwife.

There were probably a lot of people at my funeral.

I had met so many people in my life.

Close friends, my parents, my younger sibling… Ah, and maybe the person I broke up with right before my death came too.

Though I’d rather that person didn’t show up.

They would have gathered a little later than the day I died.

My parents and sibling lived in the countryside, and I didn’t contact my ex after we broke up.

To be precise, I chose not to.

At first, I thought I had been born into some 19th-century European setting, but it didn’t take long to realize I was in the world of the game I’d been playing before my death.

After all, it was an absurd world where people used magic, flew through the air, and swung swords around.

Maybe I was dreaming.

Or perhaps a god with a twisted sense of humor had shoved me into a monitor and was watching until I reached the game’s ending.

That thought crossed my mind.

And simultaneously, I wondered if I might be able to return to my world when everything was over.

I used to laugh to myself, imagining what I’d look like if I returned.

I’d probably be lying on the floor in a T-shirt and track pants, looking ridiculous.

The pants would probably have some absurd cartoon graphic on the seat.

I missed things like Mountain Dew more than plain soda and mozzarella cheeseburgers from Lotteria near my house.

Though this world had delicious food, most of it was the type you’d find at fancy restaurants, and I was growing tired of it.

Running around town, using magic, and sparring with swords were fun, but I missed lying in bed, scrolling through novels or comics on my phone, laughing to myself.

There’s nothing like sinking into a comfy bed, surrounded by pillows, and wasting time.

Watching cabaret performances in grand theaters was nice, but I wanted to listen to idol songs I’d been forced to memorize in the military.

It felt like something out of Moulin Rouge, a movie I used to enjoy.

By the time I grew up and entered the Academy, those thoughts had faded.

Life here had played out like a game.

There might have been small differences in detail, but I was born into a harmonious family, with a talented body and mind, and eventually enrolled in the Academy.

While I wasn’t a failure in my previous life, I certainly hadn’t been this competent.

Even at the Academy, nothing particularly troubling happened—aside from the occasional major event I already knew about.

Since I anticipated most of it, nothing spiraled out of control.

For some reason, I obtained the legendary sword hidden in the cave behind the mountain, just like in the game.

I coincidentally learned magic from a great wizard who was my father’s friend.

Before I even got to school, I saved someone from being threatened by thugs on the roadside—turns out she was a princess.

But why was a princess even there in the first place?

Though something felt off, I even became close to Ellen, a duke’s daughter I often encountered at my favorite café.

I experienced countless fortuitous events.

I met many people, grew close to talented kids, caught the headmaster’s attention, and even bonded with his daughter. 

I defeated the leader of the rebel demons, vanquished a ghost-possessed count, and more.

At some point, I started enjoying this world.

I started believing I was the protagonist—righteous, virtuous, and heroic. A ridiculous delusion.

Sure, there were pompous nobles strutting around, but I didn’t pay them much mind.

This was a world where power justified everything.

No matter how monstrous someone was, they died just like anyone else if you separated their head from their neck.

This wasn’t a rational society—not when individuals could be stronger than armies.

I would grow even stronger, and there weren’t many who could beat me even now.

Titles like nobility were just a centuries-old game played by the highborn.

What truly mattered was ability.

Well, that wasn’t my belief—it was the headmaster’s.

The Emperor was a puppet controlled by wealthy low-ranking nobles, and the Empress was cavorting with some pseudo-mystic every night.

This country looked fine on the surface, but underneath, it was rotting, overgrown with weeds.

The Academy, however, was different.

It was like a small nation within the capital, established by the headmaster.

That’s why commoner students with talent could rise and shine here.

Of course, that talent often caused problems.

Sometimes, people tried to threaten me using my family. 

Most of the time, simply reminding them that their families could disappear just as easily solved the problem.

Those who valued their families were usually devoted enough to understand the importance of family.

Maybe it was because I only lived within the Academy, but I thought I was leading a life without major problems.

That was, until the demons, vagrants, and beggars gathered to wreak havoc.

At first, I thought it was just another game event.

A simple mission: protect my family through the night, find the villain, and take care of them.

But I realized it wasn’t. That’s when this world began to feel real.

Up until then, everything I had seen and experienced had mirrored the events I’d watched unfold from behind a screen.

Everything except meeting Ellen had been predetermined encounters with heroines or event triggers.

It felt vivid at times, but every time the exact same situations from the game unfolded, it chipped away at me a little.

It made me wonder if there were no real people here—only numbers moving as programmed.

The loving parents, the devoted siblings, the friends who showed interest in me, the people at the Academy who looked at me with trust, my teachers…

I started to think they might all be fake.

That thought began to eat away at me.

That is, until something happened that would never occur in a game!

Gradually, the villains I was supposed to kill stopped looking like faceless antagonists.

Whether they were from the lowest depths or the highest peaks of society, I started to see the suffocating weight of their lives.

Even the ghost-possessed count I had slain had only dabbled in dark magic in a desperate attempt to save his dying daughter.

The demons who caused chaos inside and outside the Academy started looking like people.

People starving to death, pouring out their resentment and hatred at the powerful.

But their methods, targets, and actions were undoubtedly wrong.

I could not forgive the slaughter of innocent citizens that night.

So, the vagrants, the slum dwellers, and the demons who took part all deserved punishment.

But not like cattle being slaughtered. Not so brutally.

If someone committed a crime and no longer had the will to resist, they should at least be given a summary trial before being executed.

I didn’t insist on finding evidence to process them—that would have been ridiculous.

That night, there was hardly anything left unburned. Before anyone could even start searching for evidence, the citizens would have set fire to everything, leaving nothing behind.

Besides, there was no need to look for evidence.

What people needed was a target to vent their anger about what happened that night.

Even so, women and children who had done absolutely nothing wrong should have been spared.

Despite witnessing the horrific events unfolding in the basement, I decided to talk to Ellen.

Most misunderstandings and problems can often be resolved simply by facing one another and having a conversation.

And Ellen was someone particularly special to me.

Excluding my family, Ellen was the only person who approached me first—I didn’t make the first move.

At a time when I was thinking even my parents might just be numbers following a set script, Ellen seemed like she might be the exception.

The first problem, though, was finding Ellen.

Even during class, she would disappear somewhere the moment break time arrived.

I never figured out why.

It wasn’t until after all the classes were over that I could finally go looking for her.

As usual, Ellen appeared ordinary and composed.

Just like a normal girl, as if she weren’t the same person who had done such horrific things to the demons in the basement. As if she knew nothing at all.

When I approached her, it felt like she already knew what I was going to say.

Her characteristic teasing jokes, her mask-like expressions, her calm demeanor even in tense situations—she carried herself with ease.

There was no heroine like her anywhere in the game.

Ellen seemed to embody the idea that this world was real.

And because of that, the thought crossed my mind: if Ellen were a terrible person, wouldn’t that mean reality itself was terrible?

If so, I hoped she could change, even if just a little.

Perhaps that was nothing more than my arrogance.