The World After the Bad Ending

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Chapter 74: Huh?! What’s Wrong with Seron…?

It was the morning commute time.

As I headed to the girls' dormitory to meet Hania, she walked out as usual with Iris.

Iris looked particularly tired these days, perhaps because her insomnia had worsened.

She raised her hand the moment she saw me.

She looked like the Empress of Steel, chasing warmth.

But, once again, I remind myself that I cannot let her hug me here.

When I shook my head, Iris wiggled her fingers as if disappointed.

“Hannon.”

Hania approached me quietly.

“Can you do that transformation thing from last time one more time?”

I blinked.

“You mean when I turned into your appearance?”

“Yes, that one.”

“It’s possible, but…”

My gaze turned to Iris.

“It’s because of Iris, isn’t it?”

“…Yes. She hasn’t been able to sleep properly lately.”

The last time she held onto me, Iris slept well.

It seems like she wants to rely on that again.

“Alright.”

I must manage Iris’ nightmares as well.

If she falls victim to them, things could get very troublesome.

“Wait, I’m coming too!”

At that moment, Isabel appeared.

She approached us, her legs trembling slightly.

“Isabel, why do you look like that?”

Hania asked curiously, and Isabel glanced at me briefly.

Then, with a slightly awkward expression, she scratched her temple.

“I had… um, a morning session with Hannon.”

As a member of the Martial Arts, it must have been embarrassing for her to be this worn out from training.

She cleared her throat repeatedly.

Hania stared at the two of us with a blank face.

“…I always thought something was strange between you two. When exactly did you become that kind of pair?”

Hania’s gaze felt a bit odd.

“It just happened, kind of.”

Isabel looked at me for support as she fumbled for an excuse.

“But we’re going to keep doing it!”

When Isabel showed her resolve, Hania’s face turned faint with confusion.

“…Shouldn’t you stick to the duties of a student? What if something comes of it?”

“Hmm? Isn’t that a good thing?”

What Isabel meant by ‘something’ was muscle.

What Hania meant by ‘something’ was far more precious and delicate.

“Well, I mean, it’s nice, but still….”

Hania stammered with a flushed face, trying to explain herself.

Eventually, she bit her lip, unable to find the right words.

“…Isabel, you’re bolder than I thought.”

“Am I?”

Their conversation wasn’t lining up at all.

“You were training with Hannon this morning, huh?”

To bring their dialogue back on track, Iris intervened as the voice of reason.

Hania whipped her head toward me, and I simply shrugged.

I had figured out what the conversation was about halfway through, but it looked fun, so I left it alone.

Hania’s gaze grew sharp.

I might get a jab to the side later.

“Oh no, we’ll be late. Let’s hurry.”

With that, I quickly started walking.

* * *

After the morning’s commotion, Isabel’s strange behavior continued.

First, Isabel sat next to me.

As a result, Hania was on my left and Isabel on my right.

Seron was pushed all the way to the far corner.

She stared at me, her face showing disbelief.

Sitting between the two most beautiful girls in the class—it was only natural for her to react that way.

“Isabel, why are you suddenly sitting next to him?”

“What got into you?”

During the break, the girls gathered around Isabel, trying to uncover the truth.

Isabel glared at me briefly before answering.

“Well, you have to help someone who’s hurting.”

Before I knew it, I had become ‘the hurting person.’

“…Isabel, you really do have a soft heart.”

“Well, he is pretty hurt in a lot of ways.”

For some reason, the girls seemed to accept that.

Why are they understanding this?

Are they trying to pick a fight with me?

In any case, Isabel continued her antics throughout the day.

She came straight to me first during sparring class to ask for a match.

At lunchtime, she stuck by my side, guarding my spot.

When I got distracted and missed a part of the lesson, she even shared her notes with me.

She was enthusiastic, to say the least.

Is this what it feels like to have a childhood friend who looks out for you?

I think I understand a bit of what Lucas’ life was like now.

It’s clear that Isabel played a huge role in Lucas’ scatterbrained tendencies.

But it wasn’t just the girls who began reacting to Isabel’s actions.

“Hannon.”

As I came out of the bathroom, a group of guys blocked my path.

They were fellow second-year Martial Arts students.

Normally, since I was already notorious for being hated by the girls, no guys ever bothered me.

They simply looked at me with pity, watching as I was constantly hounded by the girls.

But today was different.

For the first time, they confronted me.

All of them had serious looks on their faces.

“You being in a relationship with Hania—we can understand that much. We respect your skill and effort, after all.”

“But Isabel is another story.”

Wait.

These aren’t angry faces.

Their expressions were full of sorrow and grief—

And barely restrained fury.

“Isabel, too? Seriously?”

“What did you do to her? You two were rivals not that long ago.”

“Even so, there are boundaries, man. This is just too much!”

I looked at the group of guys, who were practically wailing, and let out a bitter smile.

Their tear-filled eyes felt strangely relatable.

Martial Arts students are boys in their prime.

Most of them had never formed any close relationships with girls before.

As children of noble families, they spent every waking moment training hard to earn their place at Zerion Academy.

They didn’t have time to chase romance.

And yet, in class, they were constantly surrounded by beautiful girls.

Especially Hania and Isabel, who treated everyone kindly, regardless of gender.

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It’s only natural that these boys would fall for them at least once.

But here I was, sandwiched between the two.

It was no wonder the boys who had admired them from afar were drowning in despair.

But what was the reality of the situation?

My relationship with Hania is a thoroughly contractual one.

The most we do is hold hands and stick together.

Hania's expressions of affection are all directed toward Iris.

Isabel is my rival.

Right now, she's acting as though she's trying to heal the wounds I've received because of Nikita, but in truth, it’s far from what the kids imagine.

However, they don't see this reality.

To their eyes, I’m nothing but a scoundrel who managed to win over the school's two idols.

“...Yeah, I’m sorry.”

I had no choice but to apologize to them.

I also know how painful it is when fragile feelings of a crush are shattered.

At my sincere apology, the boys’ mouths opened and closed wordlessly.

They knew full well that pursuing this matter further would only embarrass them.

Perhaps for that reason, they swallowed their tears and said no more.

“...Be happy.”

“Since it’s come to this, you better make the both of them happy with everything you’ve got.”

“The day you make either one of them cry, you'd better be ready.”

With those words, the boys left.

They weren’t bad guys after all.

They simply wished for their crushes to be happy.

Geez, I’m the one who should be crying here, but everyone else is shedding tears for me.

“Lightning sweet potato.”

As I came out of the bathroom, having passed the boys, Seron called out to me.

As always, Seron’s forehead was shining bright.

She must wipe it diligently every day.

Come to think of it, the boys hadn’t even mentioned Seron’s name.

Did they not consider her a romantic prospect at all?

Feeling a sudden pity, I patted Seron on the shoulder.

“I’ll buy you a juice or something.”

“What the? Why does that make me feel worse?”

Seron swatted my hand away and curled her finger, beckoning me closer.

When I lowered myself to her level, she spoke quietly.

“Something weird happened to me recently.”

“You finally blinded someone with your forehead beam, huh?”

“You wanna die? Seriously!”

I should probably stop joking around.

“So, what happened?”

“You’re in the student council, right?”

“Yeah.”

“There are students planning a boycott recently.”

So the news had even reached Seron’s ears.

It must have seemed urgent enough for her to run to tell me, a student council member.

I tilted my head curiously.

“Seron, you don’t have friends other than me to hear stuff like this from.”

When I hit the mark, Seron’s lips pursed.

From that action, I figured something out.

“…You were recruited, weren’t you?”

“Uh, um, I-I didn’t join!”

Seron had unintentionally become a lone wolf.

She used to hang out a lot with me or Card.

But lately, Card had been busy playing spy on a mission and rarely showed up at the martial arts department.

As for me, well, let’s not even go there.

The two top-tier idols of the martial arts department are keeping close tabs on me.

Poor, shrinking Seron couldn’t even approach me.

When I gave her a pitying look, she scowled.

“Why are you looking at me like I’m pathetic? That’s really annoying, you know.”

“It’s okay, Seron.”

“Ugh, seriously, stop looking at me like you’re saying, ‘Oh, you poor soul who knows nothing about love.’ That makes me want to punch you.”

I patted her shoulder again.

And she pushed my hand away.

So heartless.

“Hah, maybe I should just get a boyfriend. This is ridiculous.”

“…You? A boyfriend?”

“Oh, please. If I put my mind to it, I could get a boyfriend in no time.”

“Sure, I’m sure there’s a world out there where that’s possible.”

A world where Seron Parmia is popular.

…Is there, though?

“There is! I’m telling you, there is! Besides, I’m waiting for my prince charming!”

“What prince?”

“Someone way cooler than you, Lightning Sweet Potato.”

“Wow, I’m amazed that your imagination is this creative.”

Seron started cracking her knuckles.

“Lightning Sweet Potato, it’s been a while since you last got hit, huh?”

Watching her, I shrugged.

“Can’t recall ever being hit by you.”

And then Seron lunged at me.

Of course, I dodged everything.

My dodging skills have been improving by the day.

I can now avoid Seron’s pathetic punches entirely.

“Ugh, just get hit already!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Why would I let you hit me?”

Breathing heavily, Seron eventually gave up trying to punch me.

Then, she glanced at my neck.

Where is she looking?

“What’s that pendant? I’ve never seen it before.”

Oh, I must have moved too much, and it slipped out briefly.

I tucked the pendant back in.

“It’s something like an investment for the future.”

“It looks expensive. Are you planning to sell it?”

“Something like that. I’ll use it for a trade with someone someday.”

Seron looked at me incredulously and sighed.

“Ugh, anyway, there are people planning a boycott. I don’t know the details, but just be careful.”

“Yeah, and don’t you get roped into it. Even if they say there’s a good-looking guy there, don’t follow him.”

“Hmph, do you think my standards are that low? You think I’d follow something like that? I’d have to be an idiot.”

The self-proclaimed high-standard Seron.

And then that day,

I witnessed an unexpected scene.

An abandoned building, the third-floor chemistry room.

There stood Seron, her face bright red, shouting at me in my disguise as Vikamon.

“I-I’ll join the boycott!”

Seron was an idiot.

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