Protagonist Preempted [I'm The Heroine, but my Isekai'd Friend Solved the Plot Before I Ever Met Her] (2025)

Marlene took a deep breath, stepping off the carriage and gathering her suitcase before her nerves could take over her again. She joined the young nobles around her in looking around the courtyard, taking in the manicured grounds, and like many of them her eyes lingered on the statue of Queen Sharleen the First, lifting the regal magestaff in one hand while extending the other toward the crowd with a warm expression. It was almost like something from a novella, she couldn't help thinking--the peasant girl granted a chance to rub shoulders with the highest born in Skaulordine, and for a moment she allowed the wonder of her situation to envelop her, letting her thoughts and concerns wash away under a wave of awe.

Then she strode forward, the press of students leading her inextricably to her destination--the grand Mageinarum, an elegant palace festooned with banners of all twelve of Skaulordine's high houses. Portraits of famous mages lined the walls, all of them peering down at her and her fellows as they made their way to the central hall. She noticed a few familiar faces in the crowd--Duke Garland, the nobleborn who would one day rule her own province, and Duchess Pauhlean, the prodigy responsible for inventing the aeromatric formulas. But even with those well-known nobles, Marlene couldn't help but gasp when she caught sight of Princess Darlein, not a few feet away. The princess! Here! Yes, it was the Mageinarum, it was only to be expected, but still... still!

"Ahem."

The deep and powerful voice echoed throughout the grand hall as they entered, calling everyone's attention to the grizzled man on stage. He put his hands on either edge of the ambergrown podium, leaning forward and taking in the crowd with a collected, unimpressed gaze.

"Welcome students, to the Mageinarum. You are here to learn the practical applications of magic--not mere flash and flare, but how you can best use your abilities to contribute to the society you have already benefited so much from." The man's expression and face were both very, very stern. "I am headmaster Bayleef, and I am responsible for providing you lot with the teachers and materials you need to actually become worth the fancy titles you bear. Understand this: Not a single one of you is going to coast along based on your family name. If you are failing in a class, you must make the effort to improve yourself. However, you will generally find your professors either able to assist in your studies if reasonably asked, or willing to point you toward somebody that can help you with your own issues. Your future is in your hands. Don't squander it."

Marlene swallowed, nodding nervously alongside a few others.

"Now then, most of you have sent in a cutting, so you should have your dorm room ready. The treeminders will guide you there, and you can unpack and return for your schedule. If you didn't send in a cutting, I'll need you to come up here and talk with me about it. Can't have homeless students galavanting about the campus, after all." Headmaster Bayleef let them absorb the instructions for a moment, before stepping back from the podium. "This is going to be your home for the next five years. Settle in as soon as you can. We have a lot of work to do."

The students began to break off, some forming small groups as they wandered out of the hall. Only a small portion remained after a few moments, Marlene--embarrassingly enough--one of them. She hadn't had time to prepare a cutting--not while she was busy preparing everything else that she'd needed for her trip from Holcarn. Would people notice her more when she walked into her dorm tree? She was already nervous about committing some sort of unforgivable faux pas because of her low birth, this would only bring more eyes upon her--

"Aaaaand there you are."

Marlene did not squeak, but she did spin around suddenly, meeting the gaze of a black-haired girl with amber eyes, a plain but elegant dress, and an amused smile. "Ah, hello. I'm terribly sorry, do I know you?"

"Nope."

Marlene waited politely for her to introduce herself.

She continued to grin.

Marlene cleared her throat. "Then, perhaps, may I ask your interest in me?"

"Well, now, there's a question," the girl said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "The real question is, how honest should I be?"

Ah. Marlene had been warned of these sorts of nobles by a well-meaning guard. The ones that saw people as toys, to jerk around for their amusement.

She straightened up, ready to snip the vine before it strangled. "My lady, I recognize that I am likely of much lower birth than you, but I must inform you that I am here to educate myself and learn how to apply my talents properly. I do not have time for court antics and games."

Belatedly, Marlene realized just how hostile her words were, and stiffened in anticipation of retaliation--

"Ha! Haahahaha, aha, oh man." The girl shook her head with a gleeful giggle. "You really are something else, Marlene. Good to see you're able to stand up for yourself." She turned to go, waving her off idly. "Well, I'll see you around--"

"Wait. How--" Marlene paused, then decided to take the plunge. "How did you know my name?"

The girl paused, not looking at her for a moment. Then she looked at the ceiling, murmuring a word that Marlene would frankly be surprised to hear outside of a bar, let alone from the mouth of a noble.

"Do you really want me to answer that? Because it requires, like, a boatload of context."

Marlene frowned. "To be honest, that makes me much more concerned."

"Of course it does." The girl sighed, rubbing her temples. "And you're not going to let up, are you... great. Got so far and tripped at the finish line... whatever, it's not like it'd change anything."

She turned back to Marlene, crossing her arms. "Does the phrase 'World as Myth' mean anything to you?"

"...not particularly," she replied. World as Myth? Was this girl some sort of cultist?

"What about Multiverse?"

"I assume that's some sort of musical terminology."

"Right." The girl took a breath. "Universe. Sun, stars, moons, Vesper, you, me, them, past, future, everything. All in one universe. A multiverse is a whole bunch of universes--some are very alike and some are very different. Like there's a universe out there where people fly across the ocean in metal birds, or a universe where you were born as a boy, or one where I didn't come over to talk to you just now and we're not having this conversation, and those are all part of the multiverse. With me so far?"

"...It's an interesting concept," Marlene allowed, now thoroughly baffled. "But it doesn't explain how you know my name."

"You'll get it soon enough. Anyway, so let's say there are a bunch of universes, and a ridiculously expansive multiverse. Infinite possibilities, which means everything happens somewhere. The concept of World as Myth says that if everything happens in some universe, then anything imagined--anything fictional--must by some cosmic coincidence actually happen somewhere in the vast multiverse."

"That's... certainly a belief."

"Yeah, I know, it's a lot. Anyway, my point is--What would you do, Marlene, if you found yourself suddenly transported into one of your favorite stories? If you were near the start, and you knew all the good and the bad things that would happen in the future? What, exactly, would be your priority?"

"I..." Marlene frowned. "I... suppose it would depend on the kind of story. And what resources I had at hand... none of this explains how you know my name, though. I mean, it's not as if I could possibly be... a character in... any... sort of..."

Her voice petered out as she swayed on her feet, trying to fight off the sudden faint feeling in her head.

"Hold up, whoa." The girl grabbed her shoulder. "Stop that. No existential crisis, capiche? Remember: World as Myth. The story matches because of coincidence. Just because some guy somewhere is writing words about what's happening now, it doesn't mean you're not real."

"I--"

"Say it with me now: I am real, and my choices matter."

"I... I am real, and my choices matter."

"There, see? Anyway, yeah, so that's how I know your name." The girl shrugged. "Weird as heck to wind up here, but what can you do?"

"Uh... I..." Marlene shook her head. "Well, q-quite a lot, I'd imagine! I mean, stories require events to happen, conflicts and stakes and--"

"Already took care of it."

"...what?"

"Yeah, I actually got here years ago," the girl explained. "Walking down the road, got ran over by, uh, let's call it a horse because I don't want to explain cars, woke up here and I was a little girl. Spent my years growing up putting out small fires and nipping conspiracies in the bud." She rolled her eyes. "You'd be amazed what a letter to the right people at the right time can change."

"That... I... well." Marlene tried to regain her balance at the casual admittance. "I must beg your pardon, are you saying you died?"

"Yes. Yes I did. It was very painful."

"...Yes, I'd imagine it would be." She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, I'm... sorry for your... ah... loss...?"

"Eh, had a good life, now I'm having another." The girl stuck out her hand. "I'm Francine, by the way."

"...Marlene," she replied, awkwardly taking the hand.

Francine shook it firmly. "Good to meet you. Anyway, I've got some flower cultists to talk to about getting a bedroom at magic college." She broke off with a casual wave. "See you around, Marlene! Have fun with your love septagon!"

Marlene startled. "My love what--?!"