Chapter 36: Chapter 36

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: A Sister's Grief

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Shocking news spread throughout Jerion Academy.

Nia Cynthia, the heir to Duke Cynthia and the future Yellow Archmage, had gone missing in the Magic Palace while experimenting with magic.

The one who discovered this was Sharin Sazaris, who had been assisting Nia with his research.

As the daughter of the Blue Archmage, she and Nia often exchanged ideas.

It was during one such exchange that she noticed a peculiar aspect of Nia's magic and entered the Magic Palace to meet him.

But she could not find Nia.

Instead, she only found Nia's staff and the necklace bestowed solely upon the heirs of the Cynthia family. These two items were all that remained.

For a mage to lose their staff in the Magic Palace—while it was called a disappearance, it was tantamount to death for a magic-user.

His younger sister, Nikita, swiftly led the student council to investigate the Magic Palace. The results revealed traces of a new type of apostle having been born within the palace.

Ultimately, Nia's body was not recovered.

Several more searches followed, but Nia was nowhere to be found.

Convinced of Nia's death, the world fell into chaos over the horrific outcome in the Magic Palace.

This was the second Magic Palace incident, following another death just a year prior during a student team's exploration. This reignited awareness of the Magic Palace's inherent dangers worldwide.

Furthermore, those who questioned Nia's death began to investigate.

As the world reeled in confusion, I slowly closed the morning newspaper I had been reading.

'It was a good idea to use the back entrance.'

I had told Sharin to enter through the main entrance.

But I had taken a secret back path into the Magic Palace that others didn't know about.

The Magic Palace's entrances appear and disappear daily. Because I understood this, my presence fortunately remained unknown.

'And Sharin actually had contact with Nia several times, so there's nothing suspicious about her story.'

Nia was the future Yellow Archmage.

Naturally, he had conversed with Sharin, the daughter of the Blue Archmage, on several occasions.

This fact lent credibility to Sharin's account.

It had been a week since Nia's disappearance was announced.

Fortunately, Nia had joined the First Prince without being detected by anyone.

'My news will surely reach the First Prince's side as well.'

I had played a significant role in saving Nia's life.

Nia would undoubtedly have spoken of me to explain the situation.

Naturally, the Prince would question my existence.

'Things might accelerate a bit, but…'

It couldn't be helped.

It was my choice.

Sharin, who had accompanied me to rescue Nia, said nothing specific about the incident.

Instead, she definitely kept her silence.

Given Sharin's personality, she wasn't one to gossip.

She also knew well that if she let slip a single word about this, she would be in trouble.

So, I decided to trust Sharin.

'At any rate, the world believes Nia is dead.'

More precisely, not just the world.

'Nikita must believe Nia is dead.'

The path for her to become the boss of Act 4, the Calamity Dragon Maiden, was clearly established.

No matter what, the story would undoubtedly progress towards its canon ending.

A complex expression settled in my eyes.

For the sake of the canon, Nikita had to be broken and experience sorrow at least once.

That fact was not welcome to me.

'I certainly hold Nikita in high regard.'

Nikita was originally a character I adored.

Her unwavering determination and effort, no matter what situation she faced, truly appealed to me.

However, separate from that, I also felt an unusual weakness for Nikita.

'Could it be…?'

Was it the influence of Vicarmon, the original owner of this body?

Vicarmon held feelings for Nikita.

All the evil deeds he committed against Lucas were done out of his affection for Nikita.

I had taken this place, pushing aside Vicarmon's soul, which had gone who-knew-where.

Perhaps the emotions Vicarmon felt still lingered in this body.

A sigh escaped me.

The real Vicarmon was no longer in this world.

I had tried to learn about Vicarmon on my own, but all the information was already known.

'Vicarmon, you don't want Nikita to fall into sorrow, do you?'

I looked up, having asked Vicarmon, wherever he might be.

Nevertheless, this was something that had to happen.

Unless Nikita became the Calamity Dragon Maiden, Act 4 could not proceed.

I folded the newspaper and placed it back in the newspaper stand.

It was a stand placed near the entrance for students to read on their way to school in the morning.

I walked down the morning corridor.

Summer seemed to have arrived, as a humid rain began to patter down.

It felt like a prelude to the coming monsoon season.

This indicated that the first semester of the second year, Act 3, was gradually drawing to a close.

It was also the time when the main story of the Flame Butterfly Arc would truly begin.

My footsteps echoed down the corridor.

I heard the children passing by, chattering about Nia.

Nia's death was a major topic of conversation even for the students.

I walked past them and arrived at a familiar door.

The Student Council Office.

I knocked twice on the door and slowly opened it.

*Creak—*

As the door opened, a girl came into view.

Unlike her usual self, she was staring blankly out the window, watching the rain hit the pane.

Seeing her, I slowly stepped inside.

"Nikita Senior."

At the sound of her name, she belatedly turned her gaze towards me.

A faint light returned to her lifeless eyes.

Tear stains remained around her eyes, as if she had cried all night.

Even after a week, the tear marks showed no sign of fading.

As soon as Nikita heard the news of Nia's disappearance, she led the student council to the Magic Palace.

And she scoured the Magic Palace as if searching for a needle in a haystack.

In the end, she could only confirm one thing:

The death of Nia Cynthia.

Her brother, whom she loved dearly as family, was dead.

Her brother, who had been perfectly fine just that afternoon, was gone.

It was a loss so immense that even Nikita, with her strong mental fortitude, crumbled.

Nikita, whose face had grown gaunt in just a week, managed a slight, belated smile.

"Junior, there isn't much student council work recently, so you don't need to come in so early."

"No. It's not about work; I simply came to see you, Nikita Senior."

Hearing my words, Nikita didn't argue as she usually would.

She simply fell silent.

Nikita continued to come to the student council office every day, even when there was no particular work.

Perhaps, in her grief over losing her brother, the student council office was simply the place she instinctively sought out.

"Right, I see."

Her reaction was much weaker than usual.

*Boom—!*

A clap of thunder echoed, as if the sky was reflecting Nikita's heart.

Nikita said nothing further and sat down in her chair, beginning to move her pen.

Watching her silently, I followed suit and sat down as well.

*Scratch, scratch—*

Only the sound of our pens moving echoed between us.

This was the first time I had spent time with Nikita without exchanging a single word.

But I didn't dare open my lips.

I knew the whole truth.

Nikita's brother, Nia Cynthia, was alive.

I had personally saved him and even set a direction for what he should do next.

Nia was likely with the First Prince by now, diligently investigating the inner workings of things.

So, was it right to hide this fact from Nikita, his family?

Was it right to hide it when Nikita was grieving so deeply?

I bit down on my lip.

The world was progressing according to its fitted canon.

I had saved Nia Cynthia.

Therefore, the future had certainly changed in some ways.

But it wasn't the canon.

The future that would change due to Nia Cynthia's death would only come after the predetermined scenario reached its end.

Currently, only Nia Cynthia's death remained.

'At least for now, it's progressing according to canon.'

That was why I had willingly decided to save Nia Cynthia.

I would save everyone I wanted to save and guide the canon in a direction that didn't deviate.

This was the realization and first step of that firm resolve.

My eyes fell upon Nikita.

'To truly save Nikita…'

Nikita Cynthia had to become the Calamity Dragon Maiden.

Only then could she be excluded from the canon and live the life she truly desired.

Therefore, I had to hide Nia Cynthia's survival from her.

"Nikita Senior."

So.

"If anything happens to you, Nikita Senior, I'll be the first one to rush to your side."

This was all I could say at the moment.

Nikita's gaze met mine.

The corners of her eyes, still stained with tears, curved into a slight smile.

It was the biggest smile she could manage.

"Well, that's a kind thing to say."

And it was a smile that remained deeply etched in my memory.

***

Time continued to flow even after Nia Cynthia's death became known.

Nia had surprisingly influenced the academy quite a lot during his two weeks there. Some children cried, missing him.

They were children who had fallen in love with Nia at first sight and secretly adored him.

Of course, there were also those who were indifferent to this.

Even if they had heard his name once, he was ultimately a stranger.

There were always those who felt no sorrow at a stranger's death.

And so, time passed.

Summer had already arrived.

The cicadas clinging to the trees chirped piercingly.

My busy schedule continued relentlessly: training with Aisha in the morning, student council work during lunch after morning classes, and magic inscription training with Sharin in the evening after afternoon classes. Time flew by.

I did make eye contact with the Third Princess, Iris Haisirion, at one point.

But she didn't say anything specific about Nia.

She was quick-witted, so perhaps she already suspected he was alive. Or, if he were truly dead, she might simply regret it but have no intention of speaking to me about it.

For me, it was fortunate not to get entangled with Iris just yet; it was fine to get involved with her from the latter half of Act 3.

The time was now nearing the end of Act 3, Chapter 4.

It was when the heroines' episodes were reaching their climax.

And I encountered a problem I truly hadn't expected.

"What in the world is that nonsense?!"

A voice, thick with anger, echoed in my ears.

After my morning lecture, as I was heading to lunch, I saw a group of people.

Among them was a girl with honey-blonde hair reminiscent of the sun.

But her face was more distorted than ever.

Her face was flushed with intense heat.

Isabelle Luna.

She was the main heroine of the Flame Butterfly Arc.

A look of bewilderment crossed my eyes.

After all, if it were me, who had directly provoked Lucas, I could understand her anger.

But this was the first time I had ever seen Isabelle get so angry at someone else.

"B-Belle, what's wrong? Is it really something to get so angry about? We just asked because we were curious."

The women who had asked the question exchanged bewildered looks.

They, too, had not expected Isabelle to react so violently.

"It was bound to happen."

Just then, Seron, who was beside me, snorted.

Seeing that, I gestured to Seron with my eyes.

It was a silent question, asking if she knew something.

Seron met my gaze and lightly shrugged her shoulders.

"Those girls are the main culprits who keep trying to link their class with Isabelle. To be precise, they're the kind of kids who love linking anyone with anyone."

The center of rumors.

Was that it?

"Recently, Isabelle has been so focused on training that she hasn't really paid attention to talking to others. But it seems those girls directly questioned her."

Still, my bewilderment didn't dissipate.

'Given Isabelle's original personality…'

She would have sighed inwardly, yet she would have definitely corrected them, saying it wasn't true.

No matter what, she wouldn't have gotten so heated.

"I kind of get it."

But Seron spoke with a look that suggested she understood the situation.

Perhaps because they were both women, she seemed to know something.

"What is it?"

"Isabelle was deeply disheartened after Lucas died, right? Then, whether she liked it or not, she regained her strength when you, a sweet potato, picked a fight with her."

That was my intention.

Anger, too, can be a form of sustenance for life.

"But when was it? Was it after the Magic Palace incident? Isabelle became a bit more venomous."

After that, Isabelle hadn't even made eye contact with me.

But it wasn't just me.

Isabelle had distanced herself from everyone around her.

Instead, she focused solely on training.

"When she's training as if possessed, of course, she'd get furious if someone asked her about dating or anything like that."

The moment Seron said that, Isabelle turned and walked away.

The girls looked at each other with bewildered expressions, trying to grasp the atmosphere.

The boys also tilted their heads, wondering what was happening.

I briefly rubbed the back of my neck.

Anger can certainly be a sustenance that drives a person forward.

But I also knew the other side of anger.

If it burns too fiercely and consumes everything it possesses, then there will be nothing left to burn, and it will simply extinguish itself.

'I don't know why Isabelle suddenly changed after the Magic Palace incident.'

It meant that something had greatly affected her psyche.

"I'm going ahead."

I left Seron and started walking.

Seron asked, "What about lunch?" but I vaguely told her I'd figure it out.

I already knew where Isabelle would be.

There was a place she habitually went when she was feeling down.

After leaving the Martial Arts building and walking for a long time, I arrived at a certain park.

It was a park surrounded by Jerion Academy's walls.

Looking closely at the wall, I saw stone steps that laborers had left between the bricks when building the wall, probably for their own use.

I lightly stepped on the stone steps and climbed up.

And there, on top of the wall, I saw Isabelle sitting at the far end, staring blankly at the sky.

"Isabelle."

When I called her name, Isabelle belatedly turned to look at me.

She looked at me silently, then let out a long breath.

"How did you know I was here?"

Her reaction wasn't like before.

Seeing her, I realized.

The anger that had once fiercely reignited her life.

That anger was now fading.