“W-Where are we… going now?”

“To a café.”

“A café?”

The final destination of the day was <Hideout>, the regular café of my favorites.

“The kind of café where you just drink coffee, right?”

“Yes.”

“Hahaha! A café! So that’s it! A café! Hahahaha!”

Watching the secretary burst into laughter in the middle of the street, I felt a little guilty.

I guess I’d pushed him too far.

I should hurry to the café and buy him something delicious.

Finding the <Hideout> café wasn’t difficult.

I’d already spotted its sign on the day of the awakening test.

The café was located on the top floor of a dark building in the plaza.

With no elevator, we had to climb five flights of stairs.

At the end was a wooden door that gave off an old-fashioned, elegant vibe.

I calmed my racing heart and opened the door.

Jingle!

The cheerful sound of a chime bell rang out.

It was described in the story as sounding like marbles shaken in a glass cup, and that description was spot-on!

Having finally set foot in the café I’d dreamed of, I glanced around.

Not a single customer was there.

‘Why is it empty?’

That was strange.

According to the original story, Gyun Junhwi should’ve been here.

After the awakening test, he visited this café every day.

He would plan his next steps here, then head out for dinner when mealtime came.

It was currently 5:30 PM—right on time.

So why wasn’t he here?

‘Well, there must be a reason.’

I decided to accept the situation quickly.

After all, there’s a phenomenon in this world called Deokgae-mot.

It’s short for “a fan can’t win the lottery,” meaning the harder you fan over something, the harder it is to encounter it.

It’s fine.

Even if I couldn’t meet Gyun Junhwi, just coming here was meaningful.

That’s the essence of “fan pilgrimages.”

‘I wanted to try the pumpkin tart my favorites raved about!!! While sitting in their usual spot!!!’

It didn’t take long to find their usual spot.

By the window. With a sunflower plushie and a lion cushion.

That’s the one!

“So-ra, it’s just the two of us. Do we really need to sit at such a large table?”

“It’s fine. There aren’t any other customers, anyway. What will you have?”

“Pumpkin tart and mugwort latte!”

“Make that two of each, please.”

In less than five minutes, the long-awaited items arrived.

A bright yellow tart the size of my palm, topped with a dollop of whipped cream and sprinkled with fresh green herbs.

Exactly as described in the story.

Controlling my pounding heart, I took a bite of the pumpkin tart.

‘!!!’

I was so moved that a tear welled up in the corner of my eye.

It was PERFECT!

The sweet pumpkin, the cinnamon whipped cream, and the fragrant herbs formed a holy trinity in my mouth.

The pumpkin was so finely pureed that it melted smoothly in my mouth and absorbed right into my body.

This… was the king of pumpkin tarts!

If the world’s pumpkin tarts held an annual assembly to elect their leader, this one would win by a landslide.

Its overwhelming flavor would make all competitors bow in submission!

Now I understood why even the stoic Ki Hyunmin would flinch his eyebrows if someone stole a bite of this tart.

“Incredible!”

The secretary was also in awe of the taste.

“So-ra, how did you know about a place like this?”

“I read about it somewhere.”

That wasn’t a lie—I’d read about it in <Doomed Academy.>

For a while after that, the secretary and I were too busy savoring the tart to talk.

Once our plates were clean, the secretary, his face weary with fatigue, looked at me.

“So-ra, can I close my eyes for a bit?”

He looked utterly exhausted.

If he were a smartphone, the battery icon in the corner would be blinking red at 1%.

“Go ahead and rest. I’ll just read for a bit.”

“All right. Let me know if anything happens.”

The secretary crossed his arms and closed his eyes, while I casually picked up a random magazine and opened it on my lap.

The magazine was just for show.

If you want to avoid suspicion while doing something else, it’s best to pretend to be reading something serious.

As I absentmindedly flipped through the pages, I manipulated my device.

[Opening Notepad]

A holographic notepad appeared, visible only to me— the most secure notepad in the world.

❏ Fan Pilgrimage Sites.txt

❏ Major Plot Threads.txt

❏ Must-See Scenes.txt

❏ My Favorites’ Preferences.txt

❏ Key Academy Locations.txt

❏ Foodie Spots.txt

…

I’d made quite a lot of files.

These were all things I’d created during the three days I was confined at Yeon So-ra’s house.

While I still had <Doomed Academy> trivia fresh in my memory, I thought it’d be wise to document as much as possible for the future.

Now, it was time to create a new file.

[Creating file: How to Prevent the Apocalypse.txt]

During the earlier session with Ha Sunwoo, I’d had a major revelation.

I finally understood why I’d been brought into this novel.

And what I had to do going forward.

# 

From the beginning of my time in this novel, I’ve had one lingering question.

Q. Why did the author reincarnate me into this world? Why me, specifically?

Not that I’m complaining.

The moment I saw Yeon So-ra’s goddess-level specs, I immediately cut ties with Seo Ju-young and switched over to Yeon So-ra.

Living as a beauty while going to school with my favorite characters?

What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Sure, the school is a death trap filled with assassinations, massacres, and impending doom, but hey, nothing in life is free.

I genuinely feel happy to be reincarnated here.

But that happiness isn’t the reason I was reincarnated.

If I had to guess, reincarnation is probably a complicated process.

Why would the author go through all that trouble just to make some random reader happy?

There’s only one reason I was transmigrated. 

The author must have thought I was necessary.

And if that’s the case, another question arises.

Q. Why would I be needed when Gyun Junhwi is already here?

It’s definitely not because of my abilities.

In terms of skill, Gyun Junhwi far surpasses me.

As the real protagonist of <Doomed Academy>, Gyun Junhwi is the epitome of a brilliant strategist.

He memorized all the novel’s settings and skillfully used that knowledge to achieve his goals… or rather, to crush obstacles in his path.

Admittedly, his methods often crossed the line (more than a little), but he always managed to resolve every crisis with flair.

That’s why I never expected this story to end in ruin.

A quick 3-line summary of the apocalypse:

1. The world’s destruction is caused by nine main villains, collectively referred to as “The Dark Cabal.”

2. Gyun Junhwi dealt with six of them but failed to eliminate the last three, leading to the end of the world.

3. His failure wasn’t due to a lack of ability—it was because the rules suddenly changed in the final episode.

Hmm, summarizing the last part isn’t so simple.

Let me add some more context.

The villains wield a power called “Demonic Authority.”

It’s a game-breaking ability that disrupts the balance of the world.

However, to maintain some semblance of fairness, the author introduced a balance system:

“Demonic Authority can only be used one at a time.”

Throughout the story, the villains abided by this rule, using their abilities one at a time.

Gyun Junhwi and his allies methodically defeated each villain one by one.

But then.

In the final episode, the rules suddenly changed.

Our brilliant regressor, Ki Hyunmin, underwent a third awakening and acquired his own “Demonic Authority.”

Not just any authority—a transcendent-level one.

This shattered the balance between good and evil.

The remaining three villains attacked all at once.

If the battle was purely based on strength, Ki Hyunmin had the upper hand.

After all, his authority was transcendent-level.

But villains never fight “fairly” when facing a powerful protagonist.

If brute force doesn’t work, they turn to dirty tactics.

So the villains resorted to taking hostages.

“Will you save all of humanity, or will you save your comrades?”

Ki Hyunmin was forced to make an impossible choice.

If he abandoned his comrades, humanity would be saved.

Logically, the right choice was clear.

But Ki Hyunmin… couldn’t bring himself to decide.

“You must think I’m bluffing.”

While he hesitated, the villains killed one of his comrades.

Someone dear to him was gone forever.

The thread holding Ki Hyunmin’s sanity snapped.

“You idiot! What are you waiting for?!”

Another comrade took their own life, refusing to be a burden.

Two comrades gone, just like that.

And Ki Hyunmin… did something completely unexpected.

He ended his own life.

“Hahaha! What a fool! What’s the point of dying with everyone?!”

The villains laughed mockingly, but Ki Hyunmin had his reasons.

He was a regressor.

For six lifetimes, he had fought alone.

This was the first time he fought alongside others.

And he didn’t hate it.

He believed that by resetting, he could ensure everyone survived in the next timeline.

But he didn’t know.

There wouldn’t be a next time.

This was the only timeline where Gyeon Junhwi’s soul had been reincarnated.

This was his one and only chance.

Unaware of this, the regressor perished, and the world met its end.

The end.

Ugh, just thinking about it again brings tears to my eyes.

Author!

Did you seriously think ending the story with mass annihilation for dramatic effect was a good idea?!

You could’ve at least given us a warning!!!

After taking a moment to grieve and rant internally, I composed myself.

I had to stop that ending.

As the second reincarnator and a dedicated fan, I swore I would change that fate.

Regaining my focus, I typed the first line into my notepad:

❖ How to Prevent Apocalypse:

1. Eliminate the three remaining hidden villains.

Formula: 6 + 3 = 9.

Preventing ruin is surprisingly straightforward.

While Gyun Junhwi takes care of the first six villains, I just need to deal with the final three.

The problem is… I have no idea who those three are.

In their sole appearance, they all wore masks, so I don’t know their faces.

They only appeared under code names, with no real identities revealed.

One of them used “Demonic Authority,” but the other two didn’t even display their powers.

However, during the awakening test, I noticed something strange.

The grasshopper.

A grasshopper firing spells left and right?

No matter how you look at it, that screams villain vibes.

So I’ve formed a hypothesis:

◉ Hypothesis 1: The person who sent the grasshopper (hereafter referred to as “Grasshopper Boss”) is one of the final three villains.

That’s right.

From my first day in this world, I’d stumbled upon a lead regarding the final three villains!

But that’s not all.

I came to realize something even more important:

I had been operating under a major misconception.