The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 30

The magic of becoming younger.

I instantly understood why Nia came to serve as an associate professor in magical studies.

‘If adults could become younger, they too could enter the Demonic Palace.’

Only students who haven’t reached adulthood can enter the Demonic Palace.

So, while the world may not have much choice, it does result in sacrificing students under the noble duty of protecting the world from the Apostles.

Naturally, this cannot sit entirely well with the world either.

Indeed, remarkable individuals fitting the title of ‘hero’ do emerge among the students.

But history is unpredictable.

To the eyes of the elderly, the young seem endlessly vulnerable and prone to danger.

They respect the younger generation, but the anxiety that arises after entrusting them with a task is hard to hide.

Above all, adults carry a sense of responsibility.

It’s the duty of adults to pave the right path for the young to grow into a better society.

So, the adults contemplated how they, too, might face the Demonic Palace.

Though it’s a painful tale, even the current third-year generation has earned the reputation of being the weakest.

If the next generation, and the generation after that, continues to fall short without producing talent, they won’t be able to stop the Apostles, who will break open the gates of the Demonic Palace.

To prevent this, they created the magic of youth.

‘Seems like they got the idea from the same method I used for the Veil Bandage.’

Vikarmern is currently in the third year.

By next year, he will no longer be able to enter the Demonic Palace.

But the Veil Bandage solves that problem.

The Veil Bandage is a unique item, a one-of-a-kind mystical artifact.

Anyone who uses the Veil Bandage can transform into anything.

This includes the ability to make one’s physical age younger.

‘With the Veil Bandage, anyone could theoretically enter the Demonic Palace.’

This is something only the player knows.

You might think it’s as simple as having a promising imperial knight captain wear the Veil Bandage and enter the Demonic Palace.

But if it were that easy, I wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble.

‘Besides, Duke Robliaju would interfere.’

The Duke of Robliaju has already joined hands with the Apostles.

There’s no way he’d sit idly by.

The knight captain would be killed somewhere along the line, and the Veil Bandage would be disposed of.

Even considering this, giving the Veil Bandage to a capable person to descend into the Demonic Palace was impossible.

‘But the magic to make one younger is different.’

Since it’s a magic actively researched worldwide, even Duke Robliaju has no way around it.

If successful, it would be possible to send the entire knightly order into the Demonic Palace.

For the empire, there was no reason not to research such magic.

Nia was in charge of this research and achieved some success.

And clearly, he temporarily came to the academy as an associate professor to test it.

‘So, why didn’t Nia come to the academy in the game route I usually play?’

It would make sense for him to come for tests in other routes too.

Why didn’t he, and why was he ultimately assassinated?

‘I can’t figure out where things went wrong.’

I knew there’d be a lot of variables after Lucas died, but the sudden appearance of a completely new character complicates things.

‘Complicated or not, I have to push through.’

“Princess Sweet Potato, what’s got you so deep in thought while eating?”

Seron, across the table, stirred her spoon and spoke.

“I envy you for always seeming so thoughtless.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Do you think you could win if you tried?”

“As long as I don’t self-destruct, I’ll win!”

Did she forget about last time when she didn’t self-destruct and still lost?

“Look over there, it’s that troublemaker crew.”

“Birds of a feather flock together.”

Then I heard the sneering voices of some students passing by.

I didn’t pay much attention, but Seron scowled fiercely.

“They don’t even realize we saved their lives.”

Were they talking about the Forest Keeper?

Since the professors themselves had discussed this recent Demonic Palace upheaval, the other students also knew about the Forest Keeper.

But appreciating it was another matter entirely.

People don’t understand the severity of an event until they experience it themselves, even if it was something that saved their lives.

Their perception changes depending on whether they were saved directly or indirectly.

So, even though the professors praised us for handling a major crisis, the students who didn’t understand how dangerous the Forest Keeper was were indifferent.

Some students even scoffed, asking what the fuss was about catching just one low-level Apostle.

“Aren’t you even mad?”

“Getting mad here won’t change anything.”

My reputation was tarnished by my own actions, anyway.

I’ve done countless things just to draw out Isabelle’s wrath.

If I had a good reputation, I’d feel it was undeserved.

“Heh, don’t worry. For every student like them, there are others who respect you more after this.”

At that, Card, who’d been listening nearby, added his two cents.

As Card mentioned, some of our reputations did improve after this incident, particularly among the higher-level students who fully understood the risks of the upheaval.

“It’s just annoying to see those brats acting superior.”

Seron grumbled.

If that’s the case, they could just avoid hanging out with us.

But I guess they don’t want to be alone.

“Hey.”

Just then, I noticed the sudden quietness around us.

Seron froze, fork in hand, mid-grumble.

When I turned to see what it was, I too froze in place.

There stood a familiar face.

Long, flowing black hair and eyes gleaming crimson red.

A captivating woman, hard to look away from, and one of the most feared figures in the Empire.

The Third Princess, Iris Hyserion.

She stood behind me.

“Th-Th-Third Princess, Your Highness—”

“Enough.”

As Seron and Card hurried to show their respects, Iris stopped them.

She glanced down, then looked directly at me.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

The Third Princess wants to talk.

There was no way I could refuse her.

“Gladly.”

I asked Seron to clear my tray and stood up.

I had just finished eating, so Iris must’ve been waiting for that.

Even though the whole dining hall had turned to look, she didn’t mind at all.

After all, wherever she went, all eyes followed her.

“Let’s go somewhere quiet.”

After a short while, Iris arrived at a quiet park.

It was still lunchtime for most of the students, so the park was mostly empty.

Iris sat down on a bench.

As I started to stand respectfully in front of her, Iris tapped the bench beside her.

“Sit down.”

“Yes, Third Princess.”

When a princess asks you to sit, you don’t refuse.

I willingly sat beside her.

“Nia Cynthia.”

Then, an unexpected name left her lips.

“Do you know why he came to Zeryon Academy as an associate professor?”

What could she mean by that?

She asked without looking at me, so I couldn’t read her expression.

“Yes, I heard it’s to test the magic of becoming younger.”

I decided to be honest and tell her what I knew.

It would do me no good to play games with the Third Princess.

“An interesting magic, isn’t it? If that were possible, Academy students wouldn’t need to be sacrificed anymore.”

“It’s less a sacrifice and more a noble duty.”

“Even when dressed up, sacrifice remains sacrifice.”

Iris didn’t seem pleased with the students’ current situation.

“The magic of becoming younger—do you think it will succeed?”

“Honestly, it’s nearly impossible.”

The Veil Bandage is an item imbued with mystical power.

That’s why it allows such transformations, but magic alone is different.

Sure, magic can make the impossible possible, but there are limits.

“Transformation magic is quite dangerous. If not careful, it can cause a person to identify with their transformed form, leading to mental collapse.”

As she said, transformation magic is tricky.

It’s not just a shell; you fully become that entity, which has a lot of hidden adverse effects.

The Veil Bandage is no exception in that regard.

“And the magic to become younger would be even worse.”

“You seem extremely skeptical.”

“It’s a waste of time to invest in such magic.”

Honestly, I was just as skeptical about this matter.

If something like that were possible, they would have long ago conquered the world and defeated the Apostles.

The fact that they haven’t done so yet suggests there’s a reason.

‘Even up until the end of the game, that magic was never completed.’

So, chances are high it won’t be completed this time either.

“Is there a reason you’re telling me all this?”

The question was whether there was any need for her to share this with me.

I don’t have any significant ties with Iris.

We’re connected by blood in various ways, but this wasn’t the kind of conversation to have in private.

“Someone is targeting Nia Cynthia’s life.”

My eyes widened slowly.

It was hard to believe something like that was coming from Iris.

Iris has lived aiming to become the Emperess under the protection of Duke Robliaju.

Yet here she was, bringing up the subject of an assassination against Nia Cynthia, a supporter of the First Prince.

Moreover, the plot to assassinate Nia comes from the Third Princess’s side.

“…Once again, may I ask why you’re telling me this?”

“I thought you might be able to stop it.”

What on earth did she mean by that?

I couldn’t make sense of it.

I stayed silent for a moment.

“Do you wish for Nia Cynthia to live, Your Highness?”

“He’s a valuable talent for the country. Of course, I don’t want him assassinated.”

With that, she stood up from the bench.

“So, if it’s possible, I’d like him to live.”

I was surprised.

Iris cared about the Empire more genuinely than I had thought.

She didn’t want Nia Cynthia—a promising talent who would one day be a great asset to the Empire—to be cut down due to political rivalries.

This must be why, no matter how much Duke Robliaju supports her from behind, Iris still has a loyal following in the Third Princess faction, drawn by her genuine dedication to the Empire.

“If it’s true, I’ll do my best.”

I don’t know how the assassination will take place, but Iris didn’t provide any details on that.

She turned to leave, then suddenly looked back at me as if something had come to mind.

“I liked what you suggested last time. Got anything else?”

She was talking about her ongoing struggle with insomnia.

“In the western part of the Empire, there’s a plant called ‘Suryucho.’ Burned as a candle, it emits a dawn scent that helps with sleep, so it may be of use to you.”

“Thank you.”

With that, Iris left.

Nia Cynthia had come to Zeryon Academy, but the forces targeting him weren’t finished yet.

Originally, in the Blazing Butterfly route, Nia Cynthia’s assassination was unavoidable, no matter what actions were taken.

Yet now, perhaps, there was a single chance to prevent it.

If Nia Cynthia survived, Nikita’s path of corruption would also disappear.

But the moment I stopped it, the world would stray further from the original plot.

‘What should I…’

What choice should I make?

My gaze turned to the sky.

Lucas, what would you have done?

I miss him, though I’ve never even seen his face.