The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 37

Since the incident at the city walls, Isabel has changed.

First, she apologized to her friends for getting angry at them.

Her friends also apologized, admitting that they had been too hasty in their words.

This was a warm scene, made possible by Isabel’s usual good conduct.

Isabel’s training intensity increased a bit compared to before.

However, although the intensity increased, she began to avoid overstraining herself.

Her perspective has broadened.

Instead of focusing on short-term gains as she did before, she decided to look farther, wider, and over a longer time.

Van commented that Isabel’s growth potential had expanded as a result.

Moreover, there was one particularly notable change.

Her face, which had been losing its liveliness recently, became considerably brighter.

Though perhaps not as much as before Lucas’s death, she regained her characteristic brightness.

She resumed her role as the bright heroine who uplifted everyone.

But there was just one person.

One person she did not greet so brightly.

“You, if you keep acting like that, the kids around you will get scared!”

“If they get scared over something like this, they’re unfit to be students at Zeryon Academy.”

“There you go again. You’re too strict.”

“The other students are just too soft.”

That person was me.

It had been about a week since the incident with Isabel.

Isabel, who had avoided my gaze for a while, now charged at me whenever she thought I was up to something.

In a way, it seemed even worse than when she fiercely criticized Lucas.

“Guess I’ve earned her complete dislike.”

When I returned from a spat with Isabel, Seron clicked her tongue at me.

I had scolded some kids for messing around during the morning class, which led to Isabel confronting me like that.

“Princess Potato, why do you keep provoking Isabel?”

“I didn’t provoke her. Isabel was the one who charged at me.”

“Potato, it’s because you’re especially harsh with her compared to everyone else.”

“Maybe we’re just incompatible.”

“Is that so?”

Seron tilted her head.

By the way, has this girl really decided to stick by my side from now on?

“Why don’t you go and make up with the other girls?”

Seron is still in a cold war with the girls.

When I suggested she try reconciling, Seron scoffed.

“I’m not interested in the other girls.”

“Sorry, I’m not interested in you either.”

“Crazy, what are you even saying? I just realized it’s more comfortable like this.”

Seron crossed her arms and leaned against her desk as she spoke.

“When you’re among the girls, you have to be careful whether you like it or not. It’s hard having to hold back everything you want to say.”

“Since when do you hold back?”

The head-butting dinosaur Seron, holding back?

What kind of world do the girls live in?

“At least, with you, I don’t have to do that.”

“I wish you’d hold back a bit with me, too.”

“I’d rather bite my tongue and die.”

She says some pretty harsh things.

Seron has tasted the true solitude of a lone wolf.

She ought to learn how to rejoin the pack—it’s unfortunate.

Just as I clicked my tongue and looked up, I happened to meet Isabel’s gaze.

Isabel returned my look with a determined gleam in her eyes and then turned away.

If it were before, the moment our eyes met, we’d have looked ready to start a fight at any second.

Her attitude toward me had changed a lot.

To the others, it probably still looked like we were bickering.

But there was definitely something other than anger in it.

I can’t completely understand her feelings, but I knew what emotion I sensed from Isabel.

‘A sense of rivalry.’

Isabel resolved to save everyone in order to carry out Lucas’s will.

I, on the other hand, aimed to save everyone to clear the stain left on Zeryon Academy by Lucas’s death.

Our reasons are different, but the goal is the same.

From there, Isabel’s sense of rivalry emerged.

‘Not bad.’

If my role is to fuel the fire inside her, then that’s enough.

Her brightness will attract many people in the future.

After all, most of those who had been close to Lucas had gathered because of her light.

I’m sure Isabel will fulfill that role splendidly this time, too.

‘Isabel has found some relief.’

However, there was someone heading in a completely different direction from Isabel.

That person was none other than Nikita Cynthia.

She was wriggling with ambition to become the Dragon Girl of Calamity.

Screeech—

At that moment, the classroom door opened.

It was Professor Beganon, the second-year martial arts instructor who had just left after the morning class.

“Oh, right. I forgot to mention something.”

Professor Beganon scratched her head in a lazy manner and let out a yawn.

“There will be a team competition exam soon.”

Act 3, Scene 5.

The team competition was about to begin.

“For this team exam, it’s an observation test, and high-ranking officials from the Empire will be attending.”

Zeryon Academy, with its rigorous training, is an academy established by the Empire.

Thus, the observers are also prominent figures holding key positions in the Empire.

‘Interaction with other academies begins in Act 4.’

All Zeryon Academy students are effectively citizens of the Empire.

The mention of an observation stirred up murmurs among the students.

It was a reaction to something that hadn’t happened last year.

“Try not to bring shame upon yourselves. I’d rather not see another budget cut for the academy.”

Is that something a professor should say?

Yet, the shameless Professor Beganon let out another big yawn as she turned and left.

‘Since it’s a team competition, we’ll need to form a team.’

This time, we can’t form teams with first-years as we did before.

As it’s a class-specific exam, we have to form teams with members from the same grade.

The team size for the competition is five people: two in the vanguard, two in the rearguard, and one healer.

Just then, my gaze met Seron’s.

Seron held up three fingers.

“For the vanguard, we already have you and me, Potato. We just need to find three more.”

“Where will I find four people?”

Of course, I wasn’t looking at Seron.

Seron, realizing the implication of my words, flushed red.

As she started to snap at me, I fell into thought.

It would be good to score high in this team competition.

One of the people coming as an observer, I must befriend this person and secure their sponsorship.

To do that, I need to lead our team to victory.

‘Though I’ll be leading the vanguard anyway.’

For the rearguard, I need someone with strong firepower.

The problem is, I don’t have a close connection with anyone suitable for the rearguard.

‘There’s one person, but…’

That guy is so carefree, it’s hard to say if he’ll join.

‘There’s also a girl, but…’

She’s even more unpredictable, so I’m not sure.

And for the healer role, I probably can’t rely on the Saint this time.

Last time, I had a significant reason to persuade him.

The Saint is like a hidden card.

A hidden card isn’t something you can use recklessly.

Even if I managed to recruit him for the team competition, he’d only fill a spot without adding much.

To keep things fair, he’d use power that isn’t much different from an ordinary follower.

‘Is there no other way?’

In the end, I stood up, determined to secure a victory.

“Where are you going?”

“Bread delivery.”

“Why bread?”

Seron looked at me, clearly baffled.

But this was the best move I had.

* * *

Nom nom—

In front of me, someone was eagerly munching on bread with a small mouth.

Her deep blue hair shimmered like starlight,

her ears adorned with dangling earrings, and a star-shaped beauty mark.

Sharin Sazaris.

She was the top student in second-year Magic Studies.

“Nom nom, so you want me to join your team for the competition?”

With her usual drowsy look, Sharine drawled out her words.

Having sampled the bread I offered, she licked her fingers.

“And why should I?”

She tilted her head, genuinely wondering why she should join my team.

“Put down that bread and let’s talk, shall we?”

“This bread’s from Hanon, and he gave it to me because he likes me.”

She was delusional.

Yet, even as she spoke, she didn’t let go of the bread, her lips curling into a lazy smile.

“Well then, give me a reason that will make me want to join your team.”

Sharin was the top student in second-year Magic Studies.

She’d probably received many team invitations for the competition already.

Sometimes, if she felt like it, she’d join any team on a whim, which was why everyone tried their luck.

And she always asked the same question:

What’s the benefit of her joining?

Their answer was always the same:

They promised to win first place in the competition.

Anyone could say that.

But I knew better.

“You don’t really care about the team competition, do you?”

The competition is part of the exam scores, so the students are desperate to score well.

But Sharin?

Even as the top second-year in Magic Studies, she couldn’t care less about her grades.

There’s only one reason she’s the top student.

The second-year Magic Studies professor, more than anyone else, recognized her innate genius in the field.

He’s a strict meritocrat, judging students purely on their magical aptitude.

Sharin, with magical talent seen once in a millennium, always receives the highest scores from him, regardless of her performance.

Some say his grading is biased, but anyone studying Magic Studies realizes the truth: Sharin’s talent is so exceptional that any score other than the highest wouldn’t do her justice.

Thus, even without caring about her grades, she’s the top student.

People unfamiliar with Sharin or the structure of Magic Studies mistakenly assume she works hard to boost her grades.

“So what benefit would this competition hold for someone like you?”

When I hit the mark, Sharin’s eyes narrowed.

“Hanon, you know too much about meee.”

“Which is why I’m proposing something different.”

Her eyes gleamed with interest.

“Your father.”

Then Sharin froze in place.

“I’ll teach you a way to get back at him.”

The moment her eyes widened in shock,

“Sharin!”

the door to the empty Magic Studies classroom opened, and someone entered.

A girl with honey-blond hair, reminiscent of the sun.

Isabel Luna.

Suddenly appearing, she looked at me and Sharin with wide eyes.

“Huh?”

Her expression asked why the two of us were together: her best friend and her rival.

Isabel froze, staring at us both.

‘Well, this is awkward.’

I hadn’t expected Isabel to appear at this moment, and I found myself momentarily at a loss.

Silence settled between us.

Sharin was frozen by my words.

Isabel was frozen by seeing us together.

And I was frozen by Isabel’s sudden appearance.

The situation had quickly turned into a complete disaster.

Chapter Name: Recruiting a Team for the Group Competition