The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 70



69 – Are you a Reincarnator?

“Thank you.”

“Yeah, get home safe.”

After taking Isabel, who seemed somewhat subdued, to her room,

I went to the place where Sharin had taken Hanon.

It was an empty room in the inn.

Whether they rented it or sneaked in, I didn’t know.

I just let it be.

“Playboy, you left me with work and went to play with another girl.”

Sharin protested absurdly.

“With Isabel and me?”

“I’ve always wanted to say that once in my life.”

Wish granted.

I left Sharin and looked down at the unconscious Hanon.

“Hanon, you’re awake.”

“Oh, caught me?”

Hanon sprang up.

I thought he’d get up soon, given his good recovery.

“I didn’t mean to make things go this far. Sorry.”

No matter what, I didn’t intend to subdue him with the magic of an ancient dragon.

“`

When I offered him an honest apology, Hanon scratched his head.

“Well, as I said before, I don’t care what you do with my status.”

He then smiled brightly, standing with his legs slightly apart.

“More than that, I was just curious about your identity. But I ended up seeing something more interesting than I expected.”

Hanon glanced at Sharin, who was next to him.

“That just now, it was the magic of the ancient dragon, wasn’t it?”

There was no point in making excuses since we were already caught red-handed.

Hanon took our silence as confirmation.

I don’t know if the magic of the ancient dragon is interesting or not.

I turned to Sharin at this point.

Sharin shrugged and left the room.

She left to make it easier for me to talk.

I decided to buy her another ice cream later and sat down in front of Hanon.

Hanon no longer seemed to think about running away.

He probably didn’t want to freeze again while trying to escape.

“Hanon, as I said before, I can be of great help to you.”

I understand why Hanon doesn’t trust me.

I used his status without his permission.

I can’t apologize enough for that.

But that’s why I needed to gain Hanon’s cooperation even more.

So that he could understand my actions.

“So, I’ll give you one reason to trust me.”

I didn’t want to say it out loud if I could avoid it.

But it seemed like the only way to persuade Hanon.

“The Duke of Roblia has joined hands with Akjon.”

This is something even the first prince doesn’t know yet.

If the first prince knew, everything would have been overturned already.

But there is one person.

The one in front of me, Hanon, knows.

Hanon’s eyes widened more than anything else he had seen today.

He looked at me with eyes filled with astonishment.

Hanon cannot tell anyone that the Duke of Roblia has joined hands with Akzon.

Because he is bound by constraints.

If he tries to reveal anything about Akzon, he cannot take any action.

So I spoke on his behalf.

“Of course, we haven’t yet captured any evidence that can be publicly announced. And that goes for you too, Hanon.”

The Duke of Roblia is more thorough than we thought.

He left no evidence that could harm him.

So only Hanon and I know about this.

“I came to Jerion Academy in your guise for that reason.”

Information that no one else knows yet.

When I directly informed him of this, Hanon looked at me with a blank face.

It was a shocking story for him too, so it was a natural reaction.

Hanon stared at me in silence for a long time.

Eventually, he parted his lips as if he had finished organizing his thoughts.

“My hobby is exploring ruins.”

Hanon has an archaeological inclination, enjoying legends and exploring ruins.

His wanderlust also stemmed from this inclination.

“…It’s just my vague guess.”

Hanon began to sway his body back and forth.

It was a habit that emerged when he felt extremely interested.

“Suddenly appearing at Jerion Academy.

The power to change appearances at will, the acquaintance with the daughter of the Blue Tower Lord.”

Hanon’s eyes sparkled more and more intensely.

It was a conjecture that started from the fragmentary information he got from me.

“Lastly, the magic of the ancient dragon. This keeps reminding me of a certain prophecy.”

Hanon clenched his fists tightly and shook his arms vigorously.

He looked like a child watching a superhero show on TV.

“The prophecy of the reincarnation of heroes. It’s an incredibly old prophecy.”

And it was a prophecy I knew too.

“Among them, Jerion was said to have handled the magic of the ancient dragon.”

The founder of Jerion Academy and the pinnacle of magic.

One of the six heroes who once served under the great hero Wolfram.

The transcendent sage, Jerion.

Hanon mentioned him.

There are a few prophecies and legends in this world.

One day, when the world is in crisis.

The reincarnations of the heroes will protect this world once again.

These were the words spoken directly by the goddess who honored their achievements.

Now, it’s an old prophecy, so no one pays much attention to it.

But recently, there have been rumors in the archaeological community about the reincarnations of the heroes being in the present time.

Hanon is also a person who is very interested in archaeology.

Naturally, he knew about this.

And in fact.

“Jerion has reincarnated.”

But no one knows this fact except me.

Even the person himself doesn’t know that he is the reincarnation of Jerion.

Moreover, that person is not at Jerion Academy.

To be precise, he is someone who will enter Jerion Academy next year.

“The problem is.”

Right now, I am suspected to be that person.

Hanon thought that I deliberately handled the magic of the ancient dragon to catch him.

“Handled, my foot.”

The remnants of the ancient dragon reacted to the mystery and went on a rampage on their own.

It seems he didn’t see Sharin subdue the rampage after I fainted in the middle.

“The misunderstanding is leaning in a strange direction.”

My eyes met Hanon’s sparkling eyes.

“One of Hanon’s habits is to link situations to legends.”

Having encountered too many legends.

When something similar to a legend happens, he tends to think it’s related.

And he is stubborn in strangely subtle ways.

“That’s a ridiculous misunderstanding.”

I hurriedly corrected Hanon’s misunderstanding.

But Hanon’s excitement showed no signs of diminishing.

“Really? I don’t think so.”

Hanon’s stubbornness suddenly reared its head.

“Even heroes would have crossed the river of oblivion to reincarnate. They might not remember their past lives.”

Hanon, who loved legends, was already an unstoppable runaway train.

“So, they might not know they are the reincarnation of Jerion. But your actions clearly come from Jerion’s reincarnation.”

“I just happened to find out that the Duke of Roblia was colluding with the villain and tried to stop it.”

“Ha, happened to?”

Hanon’s eyes curved into crescent moons.

“Do you think something even the Emperor of the Empire doesn’t know can be dismissed as a coincidence? You said it yourself. There’s no evidence.”

The question of how I knew without evidence.

I couldn’t answer that question.

Because what I knew about Jerion came from playing the Flame Butterfly episode.

“Do you know? The goddess’s revelation is engraved without the recipient’s awareness.”

Hanon smiled brightly.

“It’s a kind of fate.”

Fate.

Hanon mentioned that grand flow.

“When the goddess judges that the world’s flow is dangerous, she implants a revelation in her chosen one. This is something we, as creatures, cannot perceive.”

At that moment, for the first time, my body hesitated.

Implanting a revelation in the chosen one.

A vague thought, but.

I was in a similar situation.

‘I suddenly possessed Vicar’s body.’

If this is the goddess’s intention?

As soon as that thought crossed my mind, my head started to get complicated.

And Hanon read my reaction.

It was my mistake, unable to manage my expression for a moment.

“Right? There’s something similar in the fragments of memory, isn’t there?”

“Hanun, just now.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to make excuses!”

Hanun’s eyes were already not willing to hear any of my excuses.

“You know, I want to bring down the Duke of Roblia, just as you said.”

A deep grudge was revealed in Hanun’s eyes.

“So, I’ll do anything for that.”

His obsession with legends and relics was also due to the Duke of Roblia.

There are old records saying that heroes drove out the evil lord to the demon palace.

Relying on that, he has been searching for information.

And now, in front of Hanun.

One of the heroes who prevented the great war and sealed the evil lord.

The reincarnation of Jerion appeared before his eyes.

Of course, that’s just Hanun’s wild guess.

‘A person who can resolve his grudge and trauma all at once.’

Maybe Hanun just wants to believe that I am Jerion.

Living a life chasing relics and legends to resolve his grudge also makes him desolate.

Seeing a chance to escape that pain, he would want to grab even a rotten rope.

“Hanun.”

It’s a misunderstanding that I am the reincarnation of Jerion.

But one thing is certain.

“I also want to deal with the Duke of Roblia.”

The Duke of Roblia is a character that must be defeated to prevent the bad ending.

The final villain.

To defeat him, I will also do anything.

In this part, Hanun and I were in agreement.

My hand reached out to Hanun.

“So, how about we help each other until then?”

Hanun, who was staring at my hand, smiled faintly.

Then, he firmly grasped my hand.

“It’s like a royal road. It feels like being invited as a companion by a hero!”

…Is this guy really doing this out of resentment?

I felt a sense of unease, wondering if he was just a legend enthusiast who lost his mind and decided to help without thinking.

“So, what you want is to keep your identity hidden, right?”

It seems he still makes rational judgments.

“Yes, there’s still a lot I need to do.”

“In that case, I’ll cover for you with the First Prince’s faction. There shouldn’t be any problem with me acting as you.”

“Should I avoid saying that I’m the reincarnation of Jerion?”

If I did such a thing, who knows what kind of ridiculous misunderstandings might arise.

Hanon then looked at me in silence.

As my eyes grew intense, Hanon smiled as if it were a joke.

“Knowing a secret makes your mouth itch like this.”

He’s someone who makes people uneasy.

I hope the politics don’t get too twisted.

“Well then, I’ve finished my business, so I’ll be going!”

I had no reason to hold onto Hanon any longer.

Just as I was about to let him go, I suddenly remembered something I hadn’t asked.

“Hanon.”

“Yes?”

“…How is Nikita doing?”

Hanon is with the First Prince’s faction.

At the time he came to see me, he must have heard something about Nikita.

“Nikita Cynthia is dead.”

Hanon added what everyone already knew.

“So, in heaven, she must be awakening new talents, studying magic with her brother, and helping with his magic research.”

Hearing those words, I found myself smiling.

That would be enough.

I looked out the window.

The summer sky was truly blue.

May Nikita soar freely, spreading the wings of the talent she never possessed.

That is how I wished for Nikita’s future to be filled with happiness.