The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 71



70 – After the Vacation, the Heroines Are Strange

On the way back to Jerion Academy by carriage.

Iris tilted her head as she looked at me.

Her long black hair flowed down accordingly.

“Hanon, you look more tired than before the vacation.”

“Do I?”

There was Isabel’s matter last night, and Hanon’s matter in the morning.

Maybe that’s why the fatigue has unknowingly piled up.

“Rest your head here.”

Iris offered her seat in the carriage and patted her own lap.

I’ve felt this before, but Iris completely treats me like a younger sibling.

‘Well.’

Iris was the youngest in the royal family.

She must have unconsciously wished for a younger sibling.

‘It seems like she’s doing everything she wanted to do for a younger sibling to me.’

Just looking at it this way, Iris was unmistakably a 17-year-old girl.

The problem is, even if I want to follow her wishes completely.

“What are you doing? Lady Iris told you to lie down?”

Hania’s glare from the side is scary.

But I couldn’t ignore Iris’s words either.

In the end, I laid my head on Iris’s thigh.

I feel the soft sensation of her thigh on my head.

I wondered if this was really okay.

Iris gently stroked my head.

‘It feels good.’

So I decided to stay like that.

And I fell asleep.

Iris’s thigh might actually be imbued with tremendous magic.

If her thigh were distributed nationwide, people suffering from insomnia would disappear.

With such thoughts, I opened the dormitory door, feeling like I had returned after a long journey.

I stretched as I entered the dormitory.

“Well then.”

I threw down my luggage and turned around.

There were about eight days left of summer vacation.

During these eight days, I planned to prepare for the next Act 4.

The first thing I had to do for that was:

‘The president who grants any wish just once.’

Achieve the event conditions.

Find the secret the president wants to hide.

It begins.

* * *

During the summer vacation.

Vacations, by nature, pass in an instant.

The students who finished their vacation returned safely, all looking exhausted.

Thinking about having to endure the long academy life again.

Everyone already looked tired.

And among them.

There was one person who looked particularly more exhausted than the others.

“Heh, this is killing me.”

Bronzed skin and blonde hair.

A large build that exuded masculinity.

His name was Card Bellickman.

He was the famous womanizer of Jerion Academy.

He had flirted with most of the well-known girls at the school.

Card’s infamy was well-known throughout Jerion Academy.

And yet, he often received confessions from women, proving he was a natural-born scoundrel.

But the reality was different.

He was from the neighboring country of the empire.

A member of the Shadow Knights of the Panisis Kingdom.

His true identity was that of a spy who had enrolled in Jerion Academy while hiding his status and pretending to be an imperial citizen.

He was given two missions.

One was to observe those who would become talents of the Hyserion Empire and report the information.

The other was to scout talents for the Panisis Kingdom.

‘Why would those living in a superior empire want to be scouted by a kingdom?’

As a spy, he diligently carried out his duties.

Among them, Card’s chosen method was to entice the daughters of key officials of the empire.

Countless pieces of information that their fathers or mothers might have inadvertently leaked.

The girls, who were still naive, often fell for Card’s coaxing and told him various things.

Thus, Card went around poking this girl and that girl, gathering information about the empire from them.

Yet, he never dated anyone, which made the angry girls badmouth him.

However, Card understood human psychology well.

A peculiar mindset that, even if others did, they believed they wouldn’t do the same to him.

Because of that expectation, even the women who had neglected Card often crumbled.

Moreover, Card had an uncanny ability to pick out just such women.

Card had a natural talent for seeing through people.

The problem was that, while engaging in these spy activities, he also had to maintain decent grades at Jerion Academy.

For Card, it was a taste of death in many ways.

This time, instead of resting during the summer vacation,

he observed the trends of the empire and even visited the Panisis Kingdom.

As a result, Card’s stamina was completely drained.

‘Just kill me. Kill me.’

Thinking so, Card lifted his head and saw the kids chattering in the dormitory hallway.

They were eagerly bragging about what they did during the vacation.

Watching them, so carefree, Card couldn’t help but smile wryly.

Some people, at the same age, enjoyed their vacation and lived a happy life.

Meanwhile, he couldn’t even go home during the vacation and just worked.

It was truly an unequal life.

‘The girl that guy liked.’

Card felt a momentary spite.

But soon, he dismissed the thought.

He was the kind of guy who didn’t mess with women who were taken.

Doing so would get him stabbed at the academy.

“Did you hear? They say a ghost appeared in the dormitory.”

“Come on, there’s no such thing.”

“I’m serious. They say it came out of the pool at night.”

Listening to the kids’ idle chatter, Card passed by them.

Creak-

Card opened the door to his dorm room.

He thought he should get some rest before tomorrow came.

It was at that moment.

There was a guest who had entered the room before him.

Hanon Airey.

A boy whose thoughts Card, who was good at reading people, could never figure out.

The problem was now.

Hanon’s shadow stretched long enough to touch the floor.

Moreover, he was covered in dust from head to toe.

“Wangnon?”

“Oh, Card.”

Hanon roughly threw off his dusty clothes and took out new ones.

There was a pendant around his neck that Card hadn’t seen before.

A small sword-shaped pendant that looked quite expensive.

To Card, Hanon was a guy who never seemed to rest.

What on earth did he have so much to do?

At the academy, he was always running around, and even after the academy, he would come to the dormitory and study until night.

Hanon was someone who followed a schedule that even Card couldn’t handle.

But now.

Hanon didn’t seem to have rested at all during the vacation.

“Wangnon, what on earth did you do during the vacation to look like that?”

Hanon turned to look at him at Card’s question.

Hanon’s eyes often looked as if they were piercing through Card.

In reality, it was Card who had the knack for seeing through people.

Card felt a strange sensation whenever Hannon’s eyes seemed to dissect him thoroughly.

“I’ve just been a bit busy. Card, it seems like you have been too.”

Could this guy actually be a spy from somewhere?

Card thought so and gave a short laugh.

“Yeah, it seems we’re both in the same boat.”

“Right?”

Hannon wasn’t the type to pry into things.

Because of that, the excuses Card had prepared for what he did during the vacation seemed unnecessary.

“Since we have to go back to the academy tomorrow, I should rest a bit today.”

“I agree.”

Card threw his luggage down and flopped onto the bed, agreeing with Hannon’s words.

Card was suddenly glad to be sharing a room with Hannon.

* * *

Second year, second semester.

The moment Act 4, Scene 1 opens.

As always, I finished my morning training with Aisha today.

“Senpai, it seems you’ve been training diligently even while I was away.”

“Of course. Now, if I don’t train, I get restless.”

My training mate Aisha listened to my words and laughed brightly.

“As expected of you, Senpai. I’m very proud of you as my training mate.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Aisha.”

Aisha and I looked at each other, our strong friendship as training mates shining brightly.

“By the way, what did you do during the vacation, Aisha?”

“I went back to my family home.”

Aisha’s family home, the Viscountcy of Bizbel.

Aisha had visited Bizbel, known as the northern warrior tribe.

“I met my older sisters and brothers after a long time and trained with them. I’m stronger now.”

Aisha had become even more reliable.

“You’ll join me for the next demon palace expedition, right, Senpai?”

Last summer at the Demon Palace.

I had informed the team members in advance that there were circumstances, and this time the team member would be someone else.

As such, Aisha wanted to go with me to the next Demon Palace.

A smile drew on my lips.

“Yes, we’ll go together next time.”

This autumn’s Demon Palace is a preparation for the winter Demon Palace.

I also intended to actively descend into the Demon Palace.

After finishing training with Aisha.

I returned to the dormitory and cleaned up neatly.

Then, after changing into my school uniform, I started walking.

I still have to pretend to be in a relationship with Hania.

It’s a bit annoying, but it’s better to stick by Iris’s side for a while.

It wasn’t entirely a bad thing for me either.

‘Besides, it’s about time for students with rebellious feelings towards the student council to emerge.’

The student council boycott commotion in Act 4, Scene 1.

It was the time when the main characters of this commotion were slowly starting to move.

And it was Iris’s role to instigate the commotion from behind.

Having been ordered by Duke Robliaju to take control of the student council, she would surely carry it out.

When I arrived in front of the girls’ dormitory, I saw students busily moving for the second semester.

Some students glanced at me, but I didn’t care at all.

“You’re early.”

After waiting for a while, Hania came out just in time.

“I always do morning training. What about Lady Iris?”

“She’ll be out soon.”

Hania said that and let out a short sigh.

Soon, I saw Iris walking out.

Unlike her usual self, who is not a morning person.

Today, she wasn’t at all drowsy.

‘She stayed up all night.’

Iris doesn’t sleep at all when she receives orders from Duke Robliaju.

It was clear that they had been ordered to take control of the student council at the start of the second semester.

“Good morning, Lady Iris.”

When I greeted her, Iris looked at me.

She flicked her black hair and suddenly reached out both hands to me.

Seeing this, I flinched and instinctively took two steps back.

Iris blinked her eyes while still holding out her hands.

Then, realizing what she was about to do, she clenched and unclenched her hands.

During the academy break, I was often called to help Iris sleep.

As a result, she had developed a habit of trying to hug me whenever she saw me.

Especially today, Iris hadn’t slept at all.

Her body, following its instincts, wanted to sleep and tried to hug the stuffed toy she used to sleep with.

“Lady Iris, at the academy, I’m your girlfriend.”

Hania grabbed my hand and smiled brightly.

Realizing her mistake, Iris slowly lowered her hands.

Even so, she looked at me with a very regretful gaze.

It was the look of a puppy that had its favorite toy taken away.

No means no.

No matter what, if I let Iris hug me in front of the students, it would be irreversible.

“Hello, everyone. Good morning.”

At that moment, a familiar voice was heard.

It was a voice I didn’t expect to hear in front of the dormitory.

When I turned my head, there stood Isabel.

She was smiling brightly and had a sleepy Sharin leaning against her.

“Good morning to you too.”

“Oh, right.”

I hadn’t expected a morning greeting from Isabel, so I answered blankly.

Then she tilted her head as she looked at the three of us standing still.

“If you stay here any longer, you’ll be late for the academy. Aren’t you going?”

Hania blinked and tilted her head.

“Isabel, shall we go together?”

“Yeah, no?”

“Well, it’s not that I can’t.”

Hania glanced at me.

It’s well known that Isabel and I are rivals.

It was surprising that she wanted to go to school with me despite that.

“Oh, it’s fine. I heard about the situation last time.”

Hania’s eyebrows twitched.

When she glared at me, I shrugged as if I couldn’t help it.

“So, you don’t have to worry about it.”

Hania looked back and forth between Isabel and me.

“It’s not about not worrying…”

Hania had a lot to say, but.

As Isabel said, if we delay any longer, we’ll be late.

“Anyway, yes, let’s go.”

And so, we started our way to school.

Iris, Hania, Isabel, Sharin.

And me.

The problem was that everyone except Sharin looked at me strangely.

…What kind of combination is this?