Chapter 35

Shockwaves are shaking Jerion Academy!

The news is that Nia Cynthia, the heir to Duke Cynthia and the next Yellow Magic Tower Lord, went missing during a magic experiment at Magung.

Sharine Sazarith, who was helping Nia with her research, made the discovery.

As the daughter of the Blue Magic Tower Lord, she had been exchanging ideas with Nia.

In the middle of their conversations, Sharine found some questions about Nia’s magic and entered Magung, hoping to meet her.

However, she couldn’t find Nia.

All she found was Nia’s wand and the necklace that is given only to the heirs of the Cynthia family.

So, a magician lost their wand in Magung.

This might be called a disappearance, but for a magician, it’s almost like a death sentence.

In a rush, she sent the student council, led by Nia’s brother Nikita, to investigate Magung.

They found evidence that a new type of apostle had emerged within Magung.

In the end, they couldn’t locate Nia’s body.

Several searches followed, but Nia was nowhere to be found.

Ultimately, they became convinced that Nia was dead, and the world was thrown into chaos due to the horrifying events in Magung.

Just a year ago, the second Magung incident that followed a death resurfaced in the student team.

As a result, the dangers of Magung were highlighted again.

On top of that, those who doubted Nia’s death began to move for an investigation.

As the world sank into chaos, I closed the morning newspaper I had been reading.

‘Good thing I took the back route.’

Although I let Sharine go through the entrance, I moved along a lesser-known back path of Magung.

Magung shifts with different entrances appearing and disappearing daily.

Fortunately, my presence remained unknown because I was aware of this.

‘Sharine actually had a few encounters with Nia, so there shouldn’t be any suspicion.’

Nia is the next Yellow Magic Tower Lord.

So, she had several conversations with Sharine, daughter of the Blue Magic Tower Lord.

This fact lent credibility to Sharine’s account.

It’s been a week since Nia’s disappearance became public.

Fortunately, Nia managed to join the 1st Prince without being detected.

‘My news will surely reach the 1st Prince as well.’

I played a significant role in saving Nia’s life.

She must have shared my story with the explanation.

Of course, the prince is bound to question my existence.

‘Things might escalate a bit too quickly.’

But there’s nothing I can do about that.

This is the path I chose.

Sharine, who accompanied me this time to save Nia, didn’t say much about it.

Instead, she definitely kept her mouth shut about the matter.

Knowing Sharine’s personality, she wouldn’t talk about it anywhere.

She understood that saying the wrong thing could cause trouble in this situation.

So, I decided to trust Sharine.

‘In any case, the world thinks Nia is dead.’

To be precise, it’s not the whole world.

‘Nikita must believe that Nia is dead.’

The path for her to become the boss of Act 4, the Disaster Dragon Maiden, is surely set now.

Regardless of how things proceed, the story is clearly pushing toward the main narrative.

A mix of emotions welled up inside me.

For the sake of the main story, Nikita must go through a collapse and experience grief.

That fact isn’t pleasing to me.

‘I certainly hold Nikita in high regard.’

Nikita has always been a character I cherished.

No matter the situation she faces, her strong determination is something I truly admire.

However, on another note, I felt strangely vulnerable towards Nikita.

‘Could it be…?’

The influence of Bickamon, the original owner of this body?

Bickamon had feelings for Nikita.

All the misdeeds he committed towards Lucas stemmed from his affection for her.

I’ve taken over this position, pushing aside Bickamon’s soul, wherever it may be now.

Maybe the feelings he felt linger on in this body.

A sigh escaped me.

The real Bickamon no longer exists in this world.

I tried to gather knowledge about Bickamon, but it was all things I already knew.

‘Bickamon, why are you so unsympathetic towards Nikita’s suffering?’

I raised my head, asking the possibly wandering Bickamon.

Yet, this is something that must be endured.

As long as Nikita doesn’t become the Disaster Dragon Maiden, we cannot move towards Act 4.

I folded the newspaper and placed it back in the newspaper rack.

It was a rack set up at the entrance for the students to read on their way to school in the morning.

I walked through the morning corridor.

Before I knew it, summer was approaching, and the rain was drizzling, saturated with humidity.

It seemed to herald the upcoming monsoon.

This signified the nearing end of the first semester of the second year, with Act 3 drawing to a close.

It was also the time when the main story of the Fire Butterfly arc was about to unfold.

The sound of my steps echoed through the corridor.

I could hear whispers among the passing kids about Nia.

For them, Nia’s death was a huge topic.

I passed by those kids and arrived at a familiar door.

The student council room.

I knocked twice and slowly opened the door.

Suddenly—

A girl appeared, gazing blankly out the window at the rain, unlike her usual self.

Upon seeing her, I stepped inside slowly.

“Nikita-senpai.”

When I called her name, she finally turned to face me.

A bit of light returned to her eyes which had been void of it.

Her eyes bore the marks of tears, indicating she had cried all night.

Even after a week, those tear tracks hadn’t faded away.

As soon as Nia’s disappearance was known, Nikita led the student council to Magung.

They searched high and low in that place.

The only thing they could conclude was one thing.

Nia Cynthia was dead.

The brother she had loved dearly, who had been fine just a day before, was gone.

Even for someone as mentally strong as Nikita, this was a tremendous loss.

Within a week, her face had lost half of its brightness, but she managed a slight smile.

“Freshman, it’s fine if you don’t come in the morning since there’s not much to do in the student council recently.”

“No, I came to see you, not for work, Nikita-senpai.”

Nikita didn’t argue but simply fell into silence upon hearing that.

Even without specific student council duties, she had been here consistently.

Perhaps, overwhelmed by the loss of her brother, she subconsciously sought out a place to be.

“I see.”

Her reaction was far weaker than usual.

Crash—

A loud thunderclap echoed.

It was as if the sky mirrored Nikita’s heart.

Nikita didn’t say much and sat down to start writing with her pen.

I quietly took a seat next to her, watching her work.

Shhh—

The sound of our pens was the only thing resonating between us.

This was the first time I had spent this much time with Nikita without speaking.

But I didn’t dare open my lips.

I knew all the truths.

Nikita’s brother, Nia Cynthia, was alive.

I saved him with my own hands and defined the direction he should take going forward.

Nia was surely joining the 1st Prince and investigating things vigorously by now.

Then, is it right to hide this from Nikita, who is family and in so much grief?

Should I withhold this truth while she suffers?

I pressed my lips together, questioning my thoughts.

The world is advancing with a narrative that fits together.

I managed to rescue Nia Cynthia.

Consequently, the future must have changed partially.

But it’s still not the main story.

The future altered by Nia Cynthia’s death won’t materialize until the forecasted scenario reaches its conclusion.

For now, only Nia Cynthia’s death remains.

‘At least for now, everything is proceeding according to the narrative.’

So, I willingly resolved to save Nia Cynthia.

I will save everyone I want to rescue and guide the story in the right direction without going off course.

This was the firm determination I made and my first step.

My eyes locked onto Nikita.

‘If I truly want to save Nikita…’

Nikita Cynthia needs to become the Disaster Dragon Maiden.

Only then can I exclude her from the main story and allow her to live the life she genuinely desires.

That’s why I must keep the truth about Nia Cynthia’s death hidden from her.

“Nikita-senpai.”

So,

“If something happens to you, I promise I’ll be the first to rush to your side.”

This was all I could say at this moment.

Nikita’s gaze met mine.

The tracks of tears under her eyes slightly curled into a smile.

It was the best smile she could muster.

“That’s quite a kind thing to say.”

And that smile became deeply embedded in my memory.

* * *

Time keeps flowing even after Nia Cynthia’s death became known.

Nia had impacted the academy surprisingly much during her two-week absence.

Some kids were crying, missing her dearly.

They were kids who had secretly fallen in love with her after seeing her at first glance.

Of course, there were also those who were rather indifferent towards it.

Even if they had heard the name once, they were still strangers.

Some people simply don’t feel sad about another’s death.

So time passed.

Before long, summer was upon us.

The cicadas clung to trees, their sounds piercing my ears.

Training with Aisha in the morning.

After the morning classes, student council work during lunchtime.

Post-afternoon classes, magic seal training with Sharine in the evening.

Time zoomed by as I remained on this tight schedule.

During that period, I caught a glimpse of the 3rd Princess, Iris Haishirion, and our eyes met briefly.

However, she didn’t say anything particular about Nia.

Being perceptive, she might have already guessed Nia’s alive.

On the other hand, if Nia was indeed dead, she might just have regretted it.

She might not have any intention of engaging with me.

For me, it was a relief that I hadn’t got entangled with Iris yet.

Getting involved with her might be more suitable for the latter part of Act 3.

Before I knew it, it was the end of Act 3, Chapter 4.

It was the time when the episodes with the heroines were coming to a close.

And that’s when I was faced with a problem I hadn’t anticipated.

“What kind of absurd nonsense is that?!”

A heated voice rang through my ears.

Having just finished the morning lecture and heading for lunch, I spotted a gathering of people.

Among them stood a girl with honey-blonde hair resembling the sun.

But her face was contorted more than ever.

Her face was flushed with anger.

Isabel Luna.

She would become the main heroine of the Fire Butterfly arc.

I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

If she were directly accusing Lucas, that could be understandable.

But seeing Isabel get mad at someone else was a first for me.

“W-What’s wrong, Isabel? There’s no need to get so angry! We were just curious!”

The girls who asked the question appeared flustered.

None of them expected Isabel to snap like that.

“Well, looks like the cat’s out of the bag.”

At that moment, Seron, who was beside me, let out a snicker.

I shot Dan a glance, asking if he knew anything.

He shrugged lightly in response.

“Those girls are the ones who always link Isabel to stuff. They just like pairing her with someone.”

So that’s the source of the gossip.

“Lately, Isabel has been preoccupied with training and hasn’t bothered talking to anyone.”

“But it seems they mustered up the courage to ask her directly.”

However, my bewilderment didn’t fade.

‘Given Isabel’s usual personality…’

Even if she sighed internally, she would definitely clarify that this was nonsense.

There’s no way she’d get that angry.

“I think I get the gist of it.”

But Seron, with an insightful expression, spoke up.

Being girls, she likely understood what was going on.

“What do you mean?”

“Isabel was feeling down after Lucas died for a while. Following that, she regained her resolve, for better or worse.”

That was indeed according to my intentions.

Anger can also be a source of sustenance.

“But when was it? Was it after the Magung incident? Isabel underwent a bit of a change, becoming more sinister.”

Isabel hadn’t even glanced my way since that incident.

But it seemed it wasn’t just me.

Isabel had started distancing herself from everyone around her, focusing solely on training.

“She’s been obsessively training like this, so if someone brings up romance, it must really irritate her.”

Right as Seron mentioned that, Isabel turned around and stormed off.

The girls stared at each other in disbelief, trying to comprehend the atmosphere.

The boys were also tilting their heads, wondering about the situation.

I rubbed the back of my neck for a moment.

While anger can drive people forward, I was also aware of its other side.

If it burns too bright, consuming everything, then it could extinguish when there’s nothing left to burn.

‘I don’t know why Isabel has suddenly changed since the Magung incident.’

That means something must have significantly affected her mindset.

“I’m off.”

I moved forward, leaving Seron behind.

Seron asked, “What about lunch?” but I casually said I’d manage.

I knew where to find Isabel.

There was a place she often went when she was feeling down.

Leaving the Martial Arts building, I walked for a while and arrived at a park.

This park was surrounded by the walls of Jerion Academy.

Upon careful inspection, I noticed the workers who built the walls had left some stone steps among the rocks.

I lightly stepped on the stone steps and climbed up.

There she was, Isabel, sitting at the edge, gazing blankly at the sky.

“Isabel.”

When I called her name, she slowly turned to look at me.

She stared at me for a moment before letting out a long sigh.

“How did you know to come here?”

Her reaction wasn’t the same as before.

I understood then.

The anger that once blazed in her life now flickered and was beginning to extinguish.