The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 119

Barkov was brought to the disciplinary hearing as he was.
There was nothing I needed to do.

All this time, the female students who had wanted to take Barkov down had been steadily gathering information.
At just the right moment, when it came to light that the source of the baseless rumors was Barkov, the female students all rushed to the professor’s office.
There, they reported every single one of his misdeeds.

Even among his fellow professors and teaching assistants, voices of criticism against Barkov emerged.
Normally, Barkov would have used his connections to somehow escape punishment in the hearing.
However, this time, he messed with the wrong person.

“Puhaha! He dared to slander a hero candidate that I recognized?”
Baek Mok-gong, having heard the news from somewhere, personally reported the matter to the headmaster.

“Isn’t that the same as mocking me?”

With just those words from Baek Mok-gong, Barkov, who had been so arrogant thanks to his noble family’s backing, was immediately discarded like a used tool.
Even the Count of Devilridge didn’t dare to make an enemy of Baek Mok-gong.
Doing so would mean permanent exile from the political world.

And so, Barkov was properly brought before the disciplinary hearing and was dismissed from his associate professor position.
He insisted on his innocence until the very end, but no one listened.

With that, I was able to bury the rumors slandering me.
I pinned everything on Barkov, making it seem like he had spread all the rumors.

Some students even began to feel a little sympathy for me.
Since Barkov was such an irredeemable person, the contrast made my own notoriety diminish somewhat.

Fighting fire with fire.
Defeating barbarians with other barbarians.
I countered infamy with even greater infamy.

Of course, considering how many women had been entangled with me so far, my notoriety wouldn’t decrease by much.
So, I decided to be a little more mindful of my behavior from now on.

“Good. Seron, keep that distance.”

First, I tried to widen the gap between myself and Seron, who was always stuck by my side.

“Where do you get off treating me like a dog?!”

Of course, it was a meaningless effort.
Seron immediately lunged at me and started gnawing furiously at my head.

‘Now that I think about it.’
While there had been plenty of rumors involving other female students, nothing had really come up about Seron.
Seron still remained outside of everyone’s usual perceptions.

“Seron, I guess it’s fine for you to stay close.”

“Prince Sweet Potato, I’m starting to feel worse and worse. Are you seriously trying to pick a fight?”

“Think you can win?”

I effortlessly dodged as Seron lunged at me again.
Thanks to her, my evasion skills were improving by the day.

“Hanon, dust is flying everywhere.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

But at Hania’s next remark, I obediently sat back in my chair.
Seron gave me a strange look, then poked my shoulder with her fist.

“Prince Sweet Potato, you know… I’ve noticed this for a while, but why do you listen to Hania so well? You two are over now.”

“Because Hanon was once captivated by me.”

Surprisingly, it was Hania who answered Seron’s question.
She glanced at me with a playful smile.

For some reason, my ex-girlfriend seemed incredibly sly.

Annoyed for no reason, Seron started smacking my shoulder even more.
My shoulder is not a punching bag.

Screech—

Just then, Professor Beganon entered the martial arts classroom.

“Alright, we have a new transfer student today.”

Following her words, all the students turned their eyes toward the classroom entrance.
A moment later, the person who walked in was none other than Eve.

Having finally completed the formal transfer process, Eve was officially starting at Zeryon Academy today.

The second-year martial arts students began murmuring among themselves.
Eve’s reputation was well-known, even within Zeryon.
Some students, excited by the arrival of a new powerhouse, had their eyes gleaming with interest.

Following Baganon’s lead, Eve stepped forward to the center.
Then, keeping her hands clasped behind her back, she spoke.

“I recently heard about the state of Zeryon Academy, and I was disappointed.”

At her next words, the students hesitated.
This was because something similar had happened about six months ago.

“A life of debauchery, disturbing the order of the academy.
Such a sight is utterly unacceptable for a prestigious institution like Zeryon Academy.”

The students exchanged odd glances.

“How pathetic.”

Eve’s blue eyes burned intensely.

At this moment, everyone felt a sense of déjà vu.

“I—”

Her gaze locked onto me.

“I have come here to set things right.”

I could feel her firm resolve—
Her determination to reform me, no matter what.

“I am Eve. I look forward to your cooperation.”

At her introduction, the students half-heartedly raised their hands and clapped with reluctant expressions.
Because everyone knew exactly who those words had been directed at.

There was a shared thought written on their faces.

She’s mad because her confession got rejected.
She’s here for revenge because she got turned down.

I could already hear the hushed whispers forming.

As I silently observed the scene, I glanced to my side.

For some reason, Isabel was covering her mouth, trying to suppress a laugh.
It was an expected reaction—after all, Eve’s actions and words were almost identical to what I had done not too long ago.

Is this what they call mirror therapy or something?

“…That’s right. That’s exactly how it was.”

Isabel glanced at me, still trying to hold back her laughter.

“You were the same way.”

Her gaze, warm and knowing, rested on me.

Lately, I hadn’t insulted Lucas in front of Isabel.
Since the international individual tournament, Isabel had changed a lot.

It was as if she had come to some realization—
The frantic, desperate way she had been running forward had disappeared.
Instead, she now moved steadily, step by step, with purpose.

I couldn’t fully grasp the changes in her emotions,
But one thing was clear—
The feelings she once held toward me, once a mix of love and hate, were transforming into something else.

Isabel no longer saw Lucas and me as the same person.

“What’s with that smug grin?”

“Nothing, just my own thoughts.”

Even though I responded curtly, Isabel simply smiled and said nothing more.
A stark contrast to how she had been fuming about Eve just a while ago.

“So, what’s your relationship with Eve now?”

She was still smiling.

“Recently, who was it again? Wasn’t it Associate Professor Vinesha? I’ve been hearing strange rumors about her, too.”

She was definitely smiling.

But why—

Why did I suddenly feel a chill deep in my chest?

This—
This was an even sharper, colder sensation than when it was about Vinesha.

“You never seem to run out of rumors, do you?”

“Hanon.”

Just then, Hania suddenly interjected into our conversation.

Isabel briefly glanced at Hania with an expression devoid of laughter.
But it was only for a moment—soon after, she took a small step back.

“What are you planning for the Fall Demonic Palace expedition?”

I immediately realized why Hania brought this up at this timing.

‘Thanks, Hania.’

I sent her a silent look of gratitude.
She had just saved me from further trouble before things could get worse.

Hania merely gave a small gesture, as if to say it was nothing.
My ex-girlfriend is way too competent.

“You two have gotten really close.”

Then, Iris, who had been sitting between Hania and me, spoke up.

“Are you getting back together?”

I turned to look at Hania.
She was glaring at me with an expression of pure disgust.

I never even confessed, but I still got rejected.

‘More importantly, the Fall Demonic Palace, huh.’

The Fourth Act, Fourth Chapter—the Fall Demonic Palace—was approaching.
And I knew of one person who was absolutely essential for this expedition.

There was a particularly troublesome floor in this Demon Palace.
Moreover, this person was one of the most important figures in this episode.

‘I need to find him by today.’

It was time to start preparing for the expedition.

* * *

After Eve’s whirlwind of an introduction, lunchtime arrived.

I was eating with Seron and Card in the cafeteria.
While I usually suffered in the martial arts classroom, stuck between Iris and Isabel, today was different.
Neither of them were here.

They were both busy making preparations for the upcoming Fall Demonic Palace expedition.

Last time, I had gone to the Demonic Palace with Iris’s team.
But up until the Fourth Act, Iris could handle things on her own without me.

As for Isabel—
Now that she had awakened the Wings of the Goddess, she was almost as strong as Iris.
She had no issues exploring the Demon Palace.

So, I needed a team that could move independently.
That’s why I had politely declined team offers from both of them.

“So, what exactly is your relationship with Associate Professor Vinesha?”

At that moment, I looked up at the voice coming from across the table.
Seron was watching me while chewing on her sandwich.

So, this girl’s finally asking too.

“Why? Are you curious?”

“Obviously.”

Seron answered confidently.

“Guys, I’ve been feeling left out lately.”

Then, Card, who had been eating with us, voiced his disappointment.
Seron and I both ignored him.

“It’s… a complicated relationship.”

“A c-complicated relationship?!”

Seron’s eyes wavered.

After spending time with her, I had come to realize one thing—
Seron had the most naïve mind among our peers.

I wouldn’t be surprised if she still believed kissing could make someone pregnant.
Her knowledge in that area was practically nonexistent.

“Seron, please just stay that way forever.”

“Are you seriously treating me like a kid?!”

Seron growled as if she was about to lunge at me.
It seemed like she had been in a bad mood lately.

As I handed Seron a cookie to calm her down, I noticed a familiar face in the distance.

She looked uncomfortable, probably because there wasn’t a single familiar person around her.

To help her out, I raised my hand high.

“Eve.”

At the sound of her name, Eve’s gaze shifted toward me.

The moment she saw me, her face twisted into a deep frown.

A strong reaction.

But Eve had nowhere else to go.

Sitting with a group was better than eating alone.

In the end, she walked over and sat down at our table.

“Oh, the transfer student! Nice to meet you.”

Card greeted her with a sly grin.

Seron, on the other hand, just stared at Eve in silence.

She looked like a wary puppy meeting a stranger for the first time.

Her lack of communication skills was a little unfortunate.

“So, Eve, how’s life at Zeryon Academy? Getting used to it?”

I asked casually.

Eve was twirling her pasta around her fork but paused to answer.

“It’s just okay.”

“Not lonely without any friends?”

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if asking, Are you teasing me?

“Don’t worry. You’ll make some soon.”

Eve might be a bit stiff, but at her core, she’s a good person.

It wouldn’t take long for people to recognize that.

“You already have one friend sitting right here.”

“I don’t see any.”

“Oh no, maybe you should get your eyes checked?”

Eve shot me a sharp glare, clearly telling me to stop talking.

No sense of humor.

‘Is it because I insulted Lucas in front of Isabel too much? Or because I spent too much time with Seron?’

This was bad.

I had no idea how to get along with people anymore.

At first, I had provoked Eve a lot just to draw her out.

But now, fixing things wasn’t easy.

‘With Isabel, things smoothed out naturally.’

That made it even harder to figure out what to do now.

“Eve, what should I do to become your friend?”

So, I just asked her directly.

Her gaze turned deadly.

Maybe that was the real reason people didn’t approach her.

At that moment, Seron nudged my arm.

“Prince Sweet Potato, what the hell did you do to her?”

Come to think of it, Seron had no idea how Eve and I got tangled up in the first place.

She hadn’t been at the pre-meeting for the International Individual Tournament.

“Nothing much.”

Eve’s fork suddenly stopped twirling.

Her glare turned even sharper.

It felt like she was about to bore a hole straight through my face.

“She’s literally stabbing you with her eyes, and you call that ‘nothing much’?”

Seron recoiled.

In the end, we finished our meal without finding a way to get closer to Eve.

* * *

After lunch, we wrapped up our afternoon classes.

I had somewhere I needed to go immediately.

Vinesha, the newly appointed associate professor in the Department of Magic.

There was one person who would definitely have a strong reaction to that name.

A small sanctuary.

Second-year Special Studies student—Grantoni.

He had a deep-seated grudge against Vinesha, so he must have already heard about her.

That’s why I was heading to the Special Studies department for the first time in a while—to meet Grantoni.

‘Grantoni is unpredictable.’

When Vinesha first appeared in the game, Grantoni’s actions were always impossible to predict.

The developers had packed him with so many quirks and gimmicks that his behavior followed an absurd number of patterns.

So I had no way of knowing what he’d do this time.

‘I just hope it’s nothing troublesome.’

Knowing Grantoni’s eccentricities, I was slightly worried.

‘But really, what’s the worst that could happen?’

Grantoni wasn’t supposed to take center stage in the scenario until Act 4, Chapter 4.

Until then, he should stay relatively quiet.

I decided to stay optimistic.

“Grantoni.”

At least, until I opened the door to his classroom.

A colorless, ashen world stretched before my eyes.

A hidden realm where the dead wandered.

And beyond that hidden realm, something pitch-black loomed.

In front of it—

Grantoni stood with an expression of pure ecstasy, arms outstretched toward the dark entity.

“What the—?! Are you insane?!”

A curse escaped my lips as my body instinctively lunged forward.

But before I could reach him—

Grantoni was seized by the shadowy entity and pulled into the hidden realm.

THUD!

In an instant, the hidden world vanished, and the ordinary classroom returned.

Sunlight streamed through the now-rustling curtains, illuminating an empty room.

Standing frozen on the spot, I muttered blankly.

“…I’m screwed.”

Grantoni had been abducted into the hidden realm.