Chapter 90

“As I said before, there are five kingdoms and an empire in this world.”

Strangely enough, the empire and the five kingdoms share their borders around a central point.

At the heart of that border is a statue symbolizing the World Alliance.

A great hero who once brought an end to the seemingly endless world war.

Olfraim.

Next to that great hero, Olfraim, stood five companions who followed him.

They each hailed from different countries.

Thus, after the war ended, each went back to their homeland to establish academies for peace.

These academies bear the names of the six heroes.

However, Olfraim’s nation was the first to be wiped out during the war.

That was because his nation was central, sharing borders with every other country in the world.

As a tribute to the great hero Olfraim, the world designated the central region—his homeland—as a sanctuary.

This has become the location for the upcoming meeting.

In Olfraim’s sanctuary, no matter what happens, peace will be preserved to honor his heroic deeds.

This narrative is universally acknowledged among the empire and the five kingdoms.

If anyone were to break that peace, it would mean turning the entire world against them.

Moreover, it would strip them of all social justifications.

So, it was perfectly suitable as a meeting place for members of the academy who will one day become key figures in the world.

‘After all, the international individual competition will take place here too.’

The international individual competition happens every three years.

For this, my group and I arrived at Olfraim’s sanctuary.

“Welcome, members of the Jerion Student Council. We have been waiting for you.”

As we stepped out of the carriage, an old gentleman and several waiting maids greeted us.

Even the emperor of the empire pays respects to the great hero Olfraim when visiting his sanctuary.

Thus, the staff here are very experienced in accommodating guests.

“Lady Iris Haishirion, Lady Sharine Sazarith, Lady Isabel Luna, and Sir Hanon Irey. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Monoriji, your guide.”

“Nice to meet you, Monoriji. I look forward to working with you.”

Iris responded with the grace befitting a princess.

Those who work in Olfraim’s sanctuary put aside their own identities to honor the great hero.

Therefore, it’s only right to show respect and courtesy to them, even as royalty.

“Yes, the pleasure is mine.”

With a smile, Monoriji began to guide us.

Of course, Isabel and I were just staring at Iris’s back.

You’d hardly guess Iris had just been playfully tossing glares at Isabel a moment ago.

“I didn’t know Lady Iris had such a personality.”

As Isabel said, Iris rarely reveals her true self.

She always presents her strongest and most dignified form as a princess.

It’s rare for her to show such private desires like she did today.

But lately, Iris has been changing quite a bit.

Her restrained true nature has occasionally bubbled to the surface unexpectedly.

Even today, in the carriage, she rarely showed any possessiveness toward anyone.

“That’s probably thanks to you.”

Isabel’s eyes lingered on me.

Iris often reveals her true self when I’m around.

“Since you’ve been sleeping well, you must be in a good mood.”

It doesn’t help that these days, Iris’s hobby is sleeping.

She tries to sneak in some sleep whenever possible.

Of course, she still struggles to get decent rest unless I’m right beside her.

“So, that’s your doing.”

This was true, I couldn’t deny it, and for some reason, Isabel looked slightly sulky as she followed behind Iris.

“Hanon.”

At that moment, Sharine head-butted my back.

“I think I know one thing about Hanon’s future.”

“What is it?”

“You might get stabbed.”

I tugged on Sharine’s cheek as a punishment.

Don’t say such things even as a joke.

“Ugh.”

As Sharine cradled her flushed cheek with both hands, I followed the other two.

Inside Olfraim’s sanctuary, we stepped into a meeting room with a pure white marble floor.

The meeting room was obviously built with luxury in mind.

Rather than feeling extravagant, it gave off an aura of elegance.

‘That must mean the architect put a lot of thought into it.’

This building was said to have been created by the finest architects of the time.

With my admiration still bubbling, I walked along a path carefully designed to make use of natural light and soon arrived at a grand plaza.

There stood a round table.

Six chairs symbolizing the empire and the five kingdoms could be seen, along with decorations of white doves representing the harmony of peace.

Behind it, dozens of seats were arranged around the round table, meant for representatives from each nation.

It was customary for the representative of each nation to sit together when they arrived.

In fact, this was a place you rarely see even in games.

The international individual competition only occurs once every three years.

So, I had to raise my affinity with Iris significantly up to this second semester, Chapter 4, not to mention complete various quests and tasks linked to it before reaching this place.

It wouldn’t be easy to simply come here just because one wanted to.

“Looks like someone’s already here.”

Isabel scanned around the round table and said that.

It’s polite for representatives to wait until everyone from each country has arrived before sitting down at the round table.

So, while no one was at the round table yet, there were some people seated elsewhere.

They were all students from another academy, around our age.

Students from the five kingdoms, but from different academies than Jerion.

Their eyes were all directed toward us, newly arrived.

“That’s Jerion Academy.”

“Oh, so that’s who that is.”

“I’ve heard the rumors, but they really do look exceptional.”

The most attention was on Iris.

The 3rd princess representing the empire, who gained tremendous fame overseas due to her staggering skills.

It was only natural she’d be in the spotlight.

“Then, the one behind her…”

“They say she’s a magician who has awakened the Mirinae.”

“She’s the daughter of the Blue Magic Tower Lord.”

Next up was Sharine drawing attention.

Being the daughter of the Blue Magic Tower Lord and a genius magician known for her Mirinae awakening made her stand out as well.

Sharine, however, yawned lazily, uninterested in the attention.

She was entirely indifferent to other people’s evaluations.

“That one over there…”

“Has a completely different vibe than Lady Iris.”

“Like the sun.”

The third attention went to Isabel.

She had an appearance completely opposite to Iris’s.

If Iris was a dark night, Isabel was a bright day.

As the main heroine, she had striking looks that held their own against Iris.

In fact, the contrasting vibes between the two made their differences stand out even more.

Now, it was my turn.

“And then there’s this one behind her.”

“Who is that?”

“I’m seeing them for the first time.”

“Their hair and eye color are the same as the 3rd princess’s.”

“Could they be from the Duke of Robliju’s bloodline?”

I relaxed as I felt something easing in my back.

That’s fair enough.

While Hanon has decent looks, he can’t compare to the heroines.

Though they would likely take notice due to the same eye and hair color as Iris, they probably wouldn’t even know his name.

“Still, they look kind of cute.”

“Short, probably a first-year?”

“Could be.”

Crazy, who was the last one?

A chill suddenly ran down my spine.

If I found out who said that, I’d have to fight them for the sake of world peace.

Anyway, we entered amid several questioning looks.

As Iris and I took our seats, the murmurs faded away.

In the meantime, I quickly shifted my gaze.

One kingdom hadn’t arrived yet.

I planned to familiarize myself with the key figures from other academies during this time.

‘It’s not often I interact with students from other academies.’

But now, I’m in a world where the main character, Lucas, is missing.

I had to fill the gaps elsewhere.

My eyes scanned rapidly over the students.

They were the representatives who came as the president and vice president from their academies.

That’s why they seemed special in their own right.

However, among them, there were three individuals I needed to pay close attention to.

From the Fantasy Kingdom of Panisys.

The Son of Shadows.

Vice President, Solvas Umbra.

He wore a relaxed expression while chatting with those beside him.

He seemed quite sociable, his talent in handling people was evident.

From the Sacred Kingdom of Reum.

The noble Saint.

President, Akredes Narea.

The dignified saint remained quiet and composed.

But knowing her true circumstances, I sensed she would have her struggles without showing it.

How she managed to conceal that was beyond me.

From the Sky Kingdom of Paradon.

The only prince.

President, Ergo Paradon.

His face had an expression drenched in arrogance and confidence.

He maintained an air of superiority as if he was always the best.

These are the powerhouses of this generation, renowned even abroad.

Along with those three, Iris and Sharine would make up the six stars.

‘And from there…’

Though Lucas’s part would change the narrative to seven stars, that was now a story that wouldn’t come to pass.

But there was one more significant figure than these three.

One of the six stars not yet revealed.

‘Soon, perhaps.’

The most impoverished kingdom among the five, now on the brink of ruin due to consecutive policy failures.

The Fallen Kingdom, Preliz.

That was where I awaited someone.

Stomp-

Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed in the hall.

All eyes naturally turned toward the direction of the sound.

As I followed the footsteps with my gaze, four figures appeared.

From the Fallen Kingdom, Preliz.

A nation that has endlessly plummeted under its incapable king.

These were students from the Ordo Academy established there.

The figure leading the group walked with their body hunched, looking rather shabby.

It appeared as if they wanted to run away from the gazes of the world but had to lead because of their status.

Behind them, the expressions of two out of the three were quite dark.

They seemed very displeased to be in this place.

“Haha.”

“What an embarrassing sight.”

The children gathered here were still young.

Perhaps because of that, there were those who looked down on others, intoxicated by their abilities.

As expected, there were some laughing at the sight of them.

But among them, there was only one.

Someone who reminded everyone of blue flames.

No one could dare to laugh at her.

With her short blue hair and blue eyes.

And her upright posture.

She was radiantly shining amidst the crowd.

‘I’ve been waiting.’

The one who shares the power most similar to the extinguished flame of Lucas.

The Unyielding Blue Flame Eve

A side story from the game series, Magung Slayer.

Chronicles of the Rise of the Blue Flame, the protagonist.