The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 4

The Dragon Girl of Calamity.

Nikita Cynthia is the final boss who exits in Act 3.

Therefore, to give her a dramatic exit, Acts 1, 2, and 3 are all centered around her.

Nikita is also the character with the most significance.

The early part of the game scenario is the most focused.

This character, believed to be the heroine, leads to a shocking tragic narrative.

Due to the developer’s obsessive intent to drag the player into despair, Nikita’s character traits are maximized from the beginning.

So, who am I here?

A veteran who cleared the 29th playthrough of Blazing Butterfly.

If you include the times I deliberately checked the bad endings out of curiosity, my total playthroughs are far more than that.

In other words, I know everything about Nikita, from the trivial things to her life and achievements.

I have countless routes to praise Nikita from every angle.

So, right now, I am a Nikita praise machine.

“I praise Nikita-senpai for carrying the injured examinee to the infirmary herself while she was assisting with the entrance exam.”

“Ahem, uhm, that’s just what a senior should do.”

“I praise Nikita-senpai for sometimes wanting to eat snacks but choosing tofu snacks instead, worrying about gaining weight.”

“Uh, that, that’s just because tofu snacks taste good!”

“I praise Nikita-senpai for falling asleep in the student council room and, when the doors got locked, just deciding to finish the remaining student council work.”

“How, how did you know that?!”

“Nikita-senpai…”

“Stop!”

Nikita is a dear one.

She deserves praise.

Nikita, dazed by my barrage of compliments, showed a faint expression of confusion.

“Why? I’m not done yet.”

“Please, I’m begging you, stop.”

She looked at me with a faint gaze, holding her forehead with her hand.

“……It’s a little creepy how much you know about me.”

Did I overdo it?

I got carried away teasing her halfway through.

I acknowledged my mistake honestly.

“I respect you that much, Nikita-senpai. I meant every word I said, and you’ve worked harder than anyone else.”

That’s the truth.

Nikita may be weak to compliments and strong against criticism, but more than anything, she’s someone who works incredibly hard.

This is also the reason I remember Nikita so fondly.

“Nikita is tragically untalented.”

The Dragon Girl of Calamity, Nikita Cynthia.

Despite being born into the Cynthia family, a prestigious house known for its magic, she has no magical talent whatsoever.

The magic power in her body is almost zero.

Because of this, she was not viewed favorably within her family from an early age.

On the other hand, Nikita’s older brother, Nia Cynthia, was born with extraordinary magical talent.

As a result, Nikita has lived her whole life in comparison to him.

“Nikita, you’re not as good as your brother.”

“It’s fine. Luckily, Nikita’s a girl. It doesn’t matter if she has no magical talent.”

“Nikita, take care of your appearance. That’s your only strength.”

Her family had no expectations for her.

They only saw her as a tool for an arranged marriage, leveraging her natural beauty.

They never once listened to her wishes.

Normally, someone might have fallen into despair.

No, in fact, Nikita did feel discouraged.

However, she didn’t stop at discouragement.

If you lack talent, then you simply need to develop talent in another area.

She made countless efforts to discover where her talents lay.

And she faced numerous disappointments.

Nikita Cynthia is ordinary.

She has no magical talent.

She doesn’t possess an exceptionally sharp mind.

Her naturally small frame was a hindrance even in combat.

She excelled at nothing.

Just a pretty doll.

The prestigious background of being from a powerful marquis family and the fame of coming from a distinguished magical lineage were merely burdens that crushed the ordinary Nikita.

Yet, even so, Nikita did not give up.

She acknowledged that she lacked talent.

So she changed her approach.

If she had no talent, she would nurture it herself.

She would plant the seed of talent in barren ground.

Magic is a problem that cannot be solved without innate magical power.

So she set that aside and poured all her effort into studying and swordsmanship.

No matter what her family said, she did what she could.

This is why she could remain strong in the face of criticism.

Moreover, because she worked harder than anyone, she developed a fierce desire to overcome any dismissal of her efforts.

She cultivated a will to win.

She worked hard.

Through sheer effort, she rose to the position of vice president at Zeryon Academy, where geniuses and prodigies gathered, and she tenaciously maintained a top ranking at the academy.

Her body wasn’t naturally strong, so she would often get nosebleeds from staying up all night studying.

Every time she swung her sword, her hands would blister, and she would suffer from severe muscle pain.

Despite the hardships she faced daily, she never spared her efforts.

Perhaps because her life was like this,

she was particularly vulnerable to praise.

Her family treated her as nothing more than a pretty doll.

At the academy, people believed her high grades were simply due to her family’s influence.

She always worked diligently.

Even if no one acknowledged her, she always made an effort.

I really like this about Nikita.

So I wanted to tell her.

“Nikita-senpai is someone who deserves respect and praise.”

The person she is today is a testament to her perseverance and the life she has built on her own.

Nikita’s lips moved slightly.

She stared at me in a daze.

Judging by her flushed ears, it seemed my heartfelt compliment had reached her.

“…Thank you.”

Nikita expressed her gratitude.

Instead of the lofty expression she wore when I first met her, a soft smile, one that only Nikita Cynthia could wear, appeared on her face.

“I’ve never been praised this much in my entire life. I’ll make sure to live up to your compliments and respect from now on, junior.”

Nikita held a rather proud smile on her lips.

She is someone strong enough to keep going just knowing that someone has recognized her efforts.

“You said you wanted to join the student council, right? Some of the miscellaneous tasks have opened up since the third-years graduated. I was originally planning to recruit some first-years to fill those roles.”

“I’ll apply. I’ll work sincerely, so please choose me.”

“Hmm, we do need someone who will work hard. I’ll consider it positively.”

I somehow managed to get myself into the student council.

“Well, I have some business at the martial arts department. I’ll see you next time, junior.”

With those words, Nikita crossed the bridge and walked away.

I quietly watched her retreating figure.

Nikita Cynthia is someone who works tirelessly.

I hoped, to the very end, that her efforts would not be in vain.

Maybe that’s why, as someone tasked with leading this world to its true conclusion, I found myself deep in thought while watching her walk away.

Nikita Cynthia is the Dragon Girl of Calamity.

She’s the boss of Act 3, the one I must defeat in the scenario.

* * *

After many twists and turns, the day finally came to an end.

I made an enemy of Isabel.

I gained favor from Nikita.

‘Is it okay to live such an extreme life?’

I went with it for now, but it’s true that this is a tough road.

Most importantly, Nikita and Lucas are enemies, yet she seems to have grown fond of him.

She probably didn’t take Lucas’s death too well.

If she finds out that I’ve been undermining Lucas, her favorability towards me could drop.

‘Thankfully, Nikita isn’t very in tune with the gossip at the academy.’

With all the student council work, studying, and sword training she does every day,

Nikita’s social circle is quite narrow.

Because of that, she’s not as up-to-date on the academy’s rumors as others.

Unless it’s something big happening among the third years,

it’ll take a while before the rumors from the second-year students reach her.

And since she knows the Cynthia family has aligned with the First Prince, her attention will be focused on that, leaving her too preoccupied.

So I should build up her favor while I can.

‘Act 3, Scene 1 has already begun.’

The fact that Nikita’s brother, Nia Cynthia, has sided with the First Prince marks the beginning.

From now on, there will be no shortage of things to prepare for, especially in Lucas’s absence.

‘Hang in there, me.’

As I consoled myself, I suddenly stopped in my tracks.

Where exactly am I standing right now?

This is none other than the male dormitory of Zeryon Academy.

But the building in front of me didn’t look like a dormitory at all.

It looked more like a hotel, a luxurious one at that.

Zeryon Academy is a prestigious institution.

Given that many of the students come from noble families, these families contribute a lot to the academy.

It’s their way of ensuring their sons and daughters are well taken care of.

Thanks to the overflowing funds, Zeryon Academy has put great effort into the dormitories.

“Master Airei, we have been expecting you. I am Marie Emaris.”

As soon as I stepped through the entrance, a servant bowed to greet me.

She was a middle-aged woman wearing a long black skirt with an apron.

She is Marie Emaris, the head maid in charge of the dormitories at Zeryon Academy.

“Your belongings have already been moved to your assigned room.”

“Thank you.”

“Master Airei, we are merely servants, so there’s no need to speak so formally to us.”

As a Korean, it’s hard for me to treat elders that way, but I guess I’ll have to adapt.

“Got it. I’ll be in your care for the next two years, Head Maid.”

“Yes, we will do our best to assist you so that you can focus on your studies.”

She said that and immediately began to guide me around.

As I followed her, I realized something anew.

‘This puts five-star hotels to shame.’

Why on earth does a dormitory have a swimming pool, hot springs, and a massage room?

Although I questioned this in my mind, I didn’t say anything out loud.

After all, I’d seen it many times in the game.

Nothing was particularly surprising.

‘Wasn’t there a ghost event here, involving a water spirit?’

Instead, I checked off all the events that took place within the dormitory.

‘I need to collect everything I can.’

I’m not Lucas.

Naturally, I don’t have his unique trait, Flame of Determination.

‘Flame of Determination is pretty much essential for advancing the true ending of the game.’

But since I don’t have it, there’s nothing I can do about it.

So, I need to find another way to compensate for this.

‘This is the biggest issue.’

I do have a plan for it, though.

The problem is, the most promising person who could help is at another academy.

‘If I want to transfer them here…’

I’ll have to figure out how to make that happen.

Little by little, I’ll give it a try.

And if all else fails, there’s always the ‘The Dean’s Secret Friend Who Grants One Wish’ event.

“This is the room you’ll be staying in, Master Airei.”

Room 316.

Looking at the room, I paused to think.

‘Second-year room, 316…’

Given that Blazing Butterfly arc is full of irrelevant side characters,

I was trying to recall if anyone important stayed here.

As I was pondering, Head Maid Marie knocked on the door.

“Master Card, are you inside?”

Card.

When I heard that name, I blinked.

‘Oh.’

And just as the name popped into my head, creak—the door opened, revealing a flash of short, golden hair.

At the same time, tanned skin and a face that looked like trouble were visible as his shirt hung open.

So much for a quiet dorm life.

“Marie, you really took your time getting here alone.”

A cheeky grin spread across the guy’s face as he flirted openly, even with middle-aged Marie.

This was none other than Card Bellick.

The blonde troublemaker character who messes with the main heroine and then gets put in his place by the protagonist.