Chapter 79

Before I knew it, autumn was in full swing.

After a long time, Jerion Academy was bustling with a bright atmosphere.

It was Foundation Day of the Haishirion Empire.

It was a regular holiday and festive day for the empire.

On this day, everyone in the nation was encouraged to take a break, with the royal family leading the festivities.

For that reason, taking a day off today was the duty of every citizen.

This also applied to the students of Jerion Academy.

The professors, too, were supposed to relax and take it easy today.

However, the organizers of the Foundation Festival at Jerion Academy had a different story.

The teaching assistants and the Student Council were working tirelessly.

In preparation for a party where students could participate, the assistants were running around like crazy.

The maids, who usually worked in the dorms, were lending a hand too.

Jerion Academy was an institution that nurtured heroes to prevent the imminent threat of the Magung.

While it couldn’t be as grand as the festivities in the homeland, Jerion Academy still couldn’t slack off in preparation for the young heroes.

“Ugh, I’m dying.”

A member of the Student Council, who had been running around like a chicken with its head cut off, finally collapsed from exhaustion.

Having already taken on an additional burden with Nikita’s situation coupled with the surprise of Foundation Day, the Student Council was going through an unexpected hell.

“Hang in there.”

“How do you put up with this, Hanon-senpai??”

“Stamina is national strength.”

I, Midra Fenin, the 1st Year Martial Arts Deputy, responded to his groans and strode purposefully through the chaos.

I had been dragged into hellish training with Aisha every single day.

Moving some festival supplies was nothing for me.

“Hanon, you look like you’re having fun.”

While carrying several items, a voice called out from the front.

Shifting my gaze between the supplies, there stood Sharine.

“Wanna join me?”

“Nah, I’m gonna do something much more fun.”

How sharp.

“Then go on ahead. Don’t get in the way.”

“I’m not a hindrance, just checking on the magic state of the remnants of the Ice Dragon.”

That was indeed an important matter.

I put down the supplies in a corner.

“Sit down.”

Leaning against the wall as per Sharine’s suggestion, she pinched my right eye with her fingers.

Suddenly, sparkling lights began to swirl within her pupils.

Sharine stared deep into my eyes while I kept mine wide open.

Each time I gazed into her sparkling eyes, I was reminded of their beauty.

The sight of galaxies flowing within her pupils never failed to dazzle me.

After a while of peering into my eyes, she scratched her chin.

“Hmm, I think your right eye might go blind.”

“…Don’t say things like that even as a joke.”

“I thought it was a funny joke.”

When Sharine joked, it didn’t feel like just a joke, which was even scarier.

“You mentioned using the Fire Element before.”

“Correct.”

“The Fire Element you used has permeated your steel skin, wrapping the remnants of the Ice Dragon entirely around, which seems to be quite settling for them.”

Somehow, I ended up containing the remnants of the Ice Dragon.

“Is there a chance of it going berserk?”

“I took measures last time too, so there shouldn’t be any for now. It was just about time for them to go berserk anyway.”

So she came to check on me intentionally, huh?

Anyway, I’m always indebted to Sharine.

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“I wonder if we should really be relieved.”

“Is there some other problem?”

In response to my question, Sharine casually pulled out a wand.

With a swift motion, she swung it, and a gentle breeze began to blow.

“Raise your arm.”

As I followed Sharine’s instructions and raised my arm, my skin was exposed.

“This will sting a bit.”

And then the spell Sharine activated became a blade that cut into my skin.

My body was now infused with steel skin.

Because of that, I wasn’t easily cut even by Sharine’s magic.

Considering that, she upped the intensity a bit.

Swish!

Suddenly, my skin was sliced, and blood began to ooze out.

At that moment.

Whoosh!

Pure white cold air burst forth from my skin.

The coldness froze the wind created by Sharine as well.

It unfolded in an instant.

My eyes widened in shock.

“This is…”

“Hanon, your insides are currently all imbued with the remnants of the Ice Dragon. So when you get an external wound, this is what happens.”

Sharine’s eyes half-opened as she looked at my skin.

“This is basically a walking ice bomb.”

“…So if I get seriously injured…”

Sharine smirked.

“The area around you would freeze solid from the remnants of the Ice Dragon.”

That was a troubling thought.

I’d turned into an ice bomb.

‘In a way, that’s not entirely a bad thing, right?’

If used cleverly, it could be beneficial.

“Just so you know.”

Sharine knocked lightly on my solidified skin.

“If you explode like that, you’ll be caught in the Ice Dragon’s magic too.”

Now that’s a problem.

I know better than anyone the power of the Ice Dragon’s magic, having experienced it with Nikita.

Ending up in that situation would mean saying goodbye to this world for sure.

“I need to find some solution to this.”

“Yeah, I’ve thought of one.”

“Sharine, she’s practically a goddess.”

Sharine puffed out her chest and let out a triumphant snort.

When I pressed her for the details, she started grinning mysteriously.

“Let’s learn the Flame Dragon magic.”

And then she dropped the truly ludicrous suggestion.

“Are you out of your mind? The magic of the Ice Dragon!”

“That’s a forbidden magic in the empire.”

As she said, the empire had deemed the dangerous magic of the Ice Dragon as forbidden magic.

This essentially meant that the magic of the Ice Dragon couldn’t be studied.

“But it’s not forbidden in the form of a Magic Seal.”

Magic Seal.

A type of magic that Sharine and I had researched.

“Hanon, what you have inside is the remnant of the Ice Dragon.”

Magic of the Ice Dragon isn’t just one type.

Flame Dragon, Ice Dragon, Earth Dragon, Sky Dragon.

It’s broadly divided into four types.

The remnants connected to Nikita are those of the Ice Dragon.

“If we engrave the Flame Dragon magic as a Magic Seal, we can offset and control the remnants of the Ice Dragon inside you.”

While the Magic Seal had a lower performance compared to existing magic, Sharine intended to utilize this fact.

The power would weaken as it was engraved, but the chances of it going berserk would drastically decrease as well.

By engraving the magic of the Ice Dragon as a Magic Seal, we could manage and control the remnants of the Ice Dragon in my body.

“Is that even possible?”

“Who do you think I am? I’m Sharine!”

The brilliant magic arts top student suggested this idea.

Indeed, doubting her was a pointless endeavor.

“Above all, the remnants of the Ice Dragon are merely suppressed within me, and it’s still a ticking time bomb.”

Eventually, it could explode at any time.

Sharine had implied that.

“I think it’s better to have at least one more safety measure.”

If it was true, I couldn’t live with a self-destruct bomb stuck to me.

Sharine said this with a hint of a sly grin.

“Besides, the magic of the Ice Dragon was handled by the transcendent sage Jerion. I’m interested too.”

The founder of Jerion Academy and the transcendent sage, Jerion.

According to her, Jerion was the only one who had handled the magic of the Ice Dragon without incident.

Sharine’s thirst for magical knowledge was apparent.

It seemed like she wanted to surpass Jerion someday.

“Alright. If that’s the case, I’ll ask for your help.”

Sharine had come to help me out of consideration for me.

Feeling the desire to experiment hidden behind those eyes made me want to smack her.

But I couldn’t just leave the remnants of the Ice Dragon be.

“Yeah, if something happens to Hanon, I’d be in trouble too.”

Now, that’s a bit touching.

“Isabel right now can’t do without Hanon.”

Was it really just because of Isabel?

I wish she would return the sentiment.

“Isabel has brightened up thanks to Hanon.”

I was still quite worried about Isabel today.

Previously, she just needed to be an object of anger as my rival, but now she’d turned into someone I had mixed feelings about, and I didn’t know how to control her emotions.

“And I hope Hanon stays safe as well.”

Sharine answered as I expected and smiled slyly.

She was quite the trickster.

I picked up the supplies I had set aside.

“Thanks. I’ll be careful not to get hurt for a while.”

With that, Sharine waved her hand and left.

She really was an unpredictable troublemaker.

On the day Foundation Day begins.

I decided to work hard until then, as I intended to be a thorn in the side of the Student Council.

* * *

On the day of the Haishirion Foundation Day.

Iris quietly stared out the window.

As it was a periodic festive holiday for the empire, everyone was buzzing with excitement.

However, among them, there was one person who couldn’t feel the joy.

On the day of the foundation, she would invariably become gloomy.

The 3rd Princess Iris Haishirion.

The reason she felt gloomy was simple.

It was the day her mother passed away.

Her cause of death was Nightmare Disease.

A peculiar illness that even modern healers could not cure.

Iris’s mother was thus trapped within a dream and could not return.

And from that moment on, Iris started having nightmares.

Joyful children celebrating Foundation Day chatted with bright smiles everywhere.

Watching them, Iris quietly wrapped her arms around herself.

For some reason, today felt particularly cold.

“Princess Iris.”

At that moment, Iris turned her head at the voice calling her name.

There stood Hania.

“Everything’s ready.”

Today was the day the Student Council would execute their boycott plan.

It was a day to carry out the Duke of Robliju’s orders.

They planned to tarnish the Drepan Duke’s reputation by bringing down Sylvester, the Student Council President and the youngest member of the Duke’s family.

On the glorious Foundation Day.

A day when the inept Student Council would become the subject of ridicule.

It was a day set to imprint that image onto him.

Iris let out a reluctant breath.

Sylvester was indeed an incompetent person.

He might not be particularly good-natured, but he certainly wasn’t overly rude either.

A gray area between black and white.

Just an individual existing within that spectrum.

One flaw was his lack of ambition in life, but he wasn’t the kind of person who would be sacrificed like this.

Iris knew well what kind of treatment Sylvester would receive from the Drepan Duke’s family due to this incident.

It would be fortunate if he wasn’t cast out from his family.

However, Iris lifted her head and displayed the dignity of a princess.

She had sacrificed countless individuals to reach this point.

Even if it was the will of the Duke of Robliju, the actions she had taken would not disappear.

She was the ultimate villain.

The 3rd Princess who would someday ascend to the throne.

“Let’s get started.”

“Yes.”

As soon as I conveyed the words to Hania, she quickly disappeared.

Watching Hania disappear, Iris stared blankly out the window.

Today, for some reason, felt exceptionally lonely.

Since her mother’s death, Iris had not felt the warmth of family.

Only those around her were either people she could use or people trying to use her.

Excluding Hania, no one else remained.

That realization struck her deeply with loneliness.

‘Family.’

At that moment, a person flashed through Iris’s mind.

A boy with black hair and red eyes, just like her.

Though they had different faces, they shared many similarities upon closer inspection.

A boy who, despite showing his dislike, would listen to her requests.

That boy’s warmth came to Iris’s mind vividly.