The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 158

Zeryon Academy.
Practice before the mock battle.
Students were gathered in groups here and there, chatting.

“I heard Associate Professor Vinesha suddenly took a leave of absence?”
“Professor Ororia actually approved it?”
“She looked seriously flustered. Maybe Vinesha has some serious connections behind the scenes?”
“Isabel went on a field trip with White Wood Duke, I’m so jealous.”
“When will the Saintess show herself again?”

Among these martial arts students chatting—

Clang!

A boy was dueling nearby.

Hanon Airei.
A boy with a wanderlust and a love for archaeology.

He was a mysterious figure, a decent-looking boy of short stature.

But that was only true in the original story.
The Hanon currently attending Zeryon Academy was very different from that portrayal.

A troublemaker.
A womanizer.

He was called many things and often seen as an enemy by the girls.
Yet, no one could deny his achievements.

All of Hanon’s feats were astounding enough to shake the world.
It wasn’t rare for Zeryon Academy to be thrown into chaos because of him.

And now—
A completely different Hanon was here.

“Wahahahaha!”

Hanon laughed as he darted around playfully.

His opponent, red-faced with frustration, swung their weapon at him furiously.
But each time, Hanon dodged effortlessly with outrageous agility.

Watching quietly was a girl with red hair and a visible forehead—Seron.
Her chin resting on her hand, she gazed at the scene intently.

“So that’s really Hanon?”
“Seems like it.”

Beside her, Eve sighed and replied.

The fake Hanon — Vikarmern.
He had subtly informed those who knew his secret that someone else would be showing up in his place.

For Eve, especially, this was important.
In Hanon’s absence, she had to handle Iris’s nightmare care herself.

Others had vaguely heard that a different Hanon would be coming.
And not from Vikarmern himself—but from the real Hanon.

「The real one?」
「Yeah, this form is fake, you know.」

Eve had been baffled hearing Hanon say that so casually.
She’d always thought so, but—this man was completely unpredictable.

“…That guy’s motives are a total mystery.”

Surely, he was off doing something dangerous again.

“I just hope he’s not doing anything reckless…”

Seron sighed, voicing her worries.
She knew Vikarmern had a personal mission.

One that required dulling his emotions just to see it through.
Whatever that goal was, it kept pushing Vikarmern forward relentlessly.

From her perspective, watching from the sidelines, it was incredibly nerve-wracking.
And on top of that, another worry lingered.

‘They said Isabel went on a field trip with White Wood Duke…’

White Wood Duke was someone who looked after Vikarmern.
Seron knew this well.

Now, both Vikarmern and Isabel happened to be away at the same time.

‘I bet they’re together.’

Seron bit her thumbnail slightly.
She had been the first to acknowledge her feelings for Vikarmern.

That made her highly sensitive to the feelings of others as well.
Lately, Isabel’s attitude toward Vikarmern had clearly changed.

That change kept nagging at her heart.

‘I really, really want to think it’s not what I suspect…’

Seron knew full well just how strained the relationship between Isabel and Vikarmern had been.
Judging by Vikarmern’s past remarks, there was no way anything could have happened between them.

But the time the two of them spent alone—
Since then, Isabel’s demeanor had changed drastically.

They had been together much longer than the rescue team.
Long enough for something significant to have happened.

Seron’s face showed subtle unease.

As if that wasn’t enough, Sharin was already a formidable rival.
And then there was the other wildcard—Nikita.

She’d rather not deal with more rivals at this point.

‘Why do girls keep flocking around that damn sweet potato?’

Seron’s lips pouted in irritation.
It felt like every time he disappeared, more and more women ended up around him.

‘I don’t know why, but I just know he’s surrounded by girls again this time too.’

Her fist clenched.
Once he returned, she was definitely going to lunge at him.

“Blue Light… more importantly.”

Just then, breaking through her tangled thoughts, Seron opened her mouth.

Eve—who had recently gained the nickname ‘Blue Light’—felt a strange flicker of joy.
Aside from her codename, no one had ever really called her by a personal nickname before.

“If that’s really Hanon, isn’t he going to get caught by Lady Iris?”

The real Hanon might look the same, but his personality was quite different.

Vikarmern, though occasionally flippant, was fundamentally grounded.
But this version of Hanon—he was nothing but flippant.

When Seron pointed this out, Eve looked at Hanon again.

“If he gets found out here, isn’t Prince Sweet Potato going to get executed?”

Eve opened and closed her mouth, struggling to form words.
It really was the kind of situation where getting executed for deceiving a royal wouldn’t be surprising.

“…Still, I don’t think it’ll go that far. Lady Iris is struggling with insomnia. It’s clear he’s trying to help with that.”
“And yet, it’s still true that a strange man disguised himself and snuck into her bedroom.”

Eve and Seron’s eyes met.
Then, slowly, both turned their gaze toward Iris.

Iris tilted her head slightly as she watched Hanon fight.
She seemed to be subconsciously aware that something was off about him.

At that moment, both girls locked eyes with another presence.

Hania, who had been watching them the whole time, met their gaze.

With her half-lidded eyes, Hania glanced at the two and said something to Iris—
Then, without hesitation, began walking toward them.

“Uh-oh, Hania’s coming this way.”
“…I have a bad feeling about this.”

Seron was flustered, and Eve felt a chill run through her.
Still, they couldn’t just run away.

Hania came to a stop right in front of them.

“Seron. Eve.”

She pointed with her long finger at the fake Hanon.

“Who is that?”

Eve and Seron froze on the spot.
They never expected Hania to catch on so quickly.

Even if her relationship with Hanon had been a fake one, she was still in the position of an ex-girlfriend.
She had seen enough of him to be sharp—maybe not as sharp as Isabel, but sharp enough.

As a result, she’d realized that this Hanon wasn’t the same one she’d known.

“Ah, um, that’s…”

Seron couldn’t hide her panic and mumbled, lips parting awkwardly.
Eve tried to cover Seron’s mouth, but it was already too late.

Hania’s brow furrowed—she had already figured it out.

“So Hanon set up a decoy and went outside the Academy with Isabel?”

Eve and Seron exchanged a glance.
Hania was one of Iris’s closest aides.

Anything she heard would inevitably make its way to Iris.

What could they possibly say now?

“Not long ago, Lord White Wood Duke came to visit, didn’t she? It’s related to that, isn’t it?”

Very much like Hania—
She had quickly pieced together the general outline of the situation.

But there was one thing she hadn’t noticed:
That the person there right now was the real Hanon, and the one she had always known was the fake.

Eve and Seron’s faces grew complicated.

Should they keep Vikarmern’s secret?
Or should they confide in Hania and try to steer the situation in a new direction?

Both of them agonized over it, thinking from Vikarmern’s perspective.

Then Hania, sensing their hesitation, asked.

“Why do you both look like that? Don’t tell me… the one over there is the real Hanon, and the one I’ve known all this time was fake?”

She said it with a joking smile.

But the moment she spoke, even Eve froze completely.

That reaction—too stiff to be unintentional.

Someone as perceptive as Hania couldn’t possibly miss that.

She tilted her head, confused by their response…
And then her eyes began to widen—slowly.

“Don’t tell me he really is—!”

Just as Hania was about to shout, Eve and Seron lunged at her.
They clamped their hands over her mouth and quickly dragged her away while everyone else remained focused on the match.

Hania, pulled into the hallway, stared at them blankly in disbelief.

Eve and Seron exchanged troubled glances.
They hadn’t expected they would be the ones to blow Vikarmern’s cover.

“…Is it true?”

When Hania finally asked, catching her breath, both girls reluctantly lowered their heads.
Hania opened her mouth as if to speak but couldn’t get any words out.

Then, she slowly brought her hands up to cover her face and let out a deep sigh.

“…He really fooled us all this time, didn’t he.”
“Hania, he didn’t do it out of malice—”
“I know that much.”

Eve tried to explain, but Hania wasn’t interested in placing blame.
If Vikarmern had had any bad intentions, she would’ve sensed it long ago and stopped him.

Hania was particularly sensitive to people’s emotions.
There was no way she wouldn’t have noticed if someone had ulterior motives.

More than anything, she’d seen how Vikarmern treated Iris.
He truly wanted to rid her of her nightmares.

That sincerity—Hania was well aware of it.

And so, she didn’t immediately condemn Vikarmern.

Still, the deception was a fact.
And she couldn’t pretend she liked that part.

“So if he’s not Hanon, then who is he, really?”

Seron and Eve hesitated.
They weren’t Vikarmern, and they didn’t know if it was their place to reveal his identity.

Hania narrowed her eyes, then exhaled quietly.
She had already guessed they wouldn’t tell her.

But there was a bigger issue.

“What exactly is he planning to do from now on?”

What would happen if Iris found out Hanon had never been Hanon?
Vikarmern had become a far more important figure to her than anyone expected.

Even Hania couldn’t predict what her reaction would be.

“We’re worried too.”

Eve admitted, clearly distressed.

“H-Hania, can’t you do something? Sweet Potato didn’t mean any harm. He’s the kind of guy who would confess everything when the time is right!”
“Right. You know better than anyone that he genuinely wants to help Lady Iris.”

Hania was silent for a moment.
Then she let out a long breath and looked between them.

“I understand what you’re both saying. And I don’t dismiss Hanon’s efforts. But lying to Lady Iris is a separate matter entirely.”

Hania was both Iris’s knight and her attendant.
As someone that close to her, she simply couldn’t lie.

“Still, I won’t be the one to bring it up.”

She would stay quiet, at least for now, out of respect for everything Vikarmern had done up to this point.

“But aren’t you two forgetting something?”

Hania pointed behind her.

There, Iris was still staring at the real Hanon without blinking.

“Do you really think Lady Iris hasn’t noticed something’s off?”

Iris wasn’t oblivious.
She had likely sensed long ago that this Hanon was someone else entirely.

“It’s up to you two to smooth that over.”
“We will.”

Seron said firmly.

“Prince Sweet Potato better be ready to pay me back double for this.”

Though she grumbled, she was clearly ready to help Vikarmern more than anyone.

“As an ex-girlfriend, I must say… what a ridiculous scene.”

Her ex-boyfriend, popular as ever.
With a dry chuckle, Hania shook her head.

More than the fact that he’d kept it from her—
She just couldn’t believe he’d actually gone through with it.

‘Honestly, what is he thinking?’

Letting out a sigh as she thought of Hanon, Hania couldn’t help but worry about how he’d clean up this mess later.