Chapter 88: Chapter 88

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: International Individual Competition

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Before that time arrived, a new schedule was added for me.

Helping Iris overcome her nightmares through training.

Iris followed my advice and trained every day.

As a result, the frequency of her nightmares had genuinely decreased recently.

"…I didn't have one again."

Early in the morning, after her training.

Iris stared at me with a dazed expression, having had no nightmares again today.

"How did you do it?"

"Lady Iris merely trained diligently and dissipated the power of her nightmares."

In truth, it was all Iris's effort.

I didn't do much at all.

Iris faithfully followed my words, actively using her aura to consume the nightmares.

This was by no means an easy feat.

It was purely Iris's hard work.

"…Is it like, 'if you exercise hard, you sleep well'?"

"It's similar. A majority of insomnia cases are due to the body having too much energy left to fall asleep."

However, this isn't a complete solution either.

The more Iris uses her aura, the stronger she will become.

And eventually, she'll grow to a point where it's difficult to exhaust all her aura in a single day.

'Because Iris is a genius.'

Her growth rate is on a different level compared to ordinary people.

Eventually, this method will be outpaced.

But even so, it's not a bad temporary measure.

More importantly, I will resolve her nightmares before she reaches that point.

"What do you think? There's no harm in listening to me, right?"

"Yeah."

Iris replied without denying it.

But a question lingered in her eyes.

"Hanon, how did you know I had nightmares?"

Iris's nightmares originated from the Demonic Lord.

She vaguely recognized this herself.

However, this wasn't something she could tell others.

Iris also had no desire to lose her life.

So, she had lived desperately until now, thinking of herself as selfish.

Then, someone appeared who knew about the nightmares she had kept hidden until now.

Iris had never once mentioned that the cause of her insomnia was nightmares.

But since I knew that the source of her insomnia was nightmares, it was only natural for her to be curious.

I smiled faintly, looking at Iris.

"Is that the only thing you're curious about?"

"…"

Of course not.

My actions so far had been unfathomable even to Iris.

Someone whom even the Third Imperial Princess's intelligence network couldn't grasp.

That was me.

To Iris, I must be a person full of mysteries.

"Didn't Lady Iris say before that what I did wasn't for her sake?"

Iris's eyes met mine.

That day, Iris's face had been unusually somber.

Iris remembered that day too, nodding her head.

"As Lady Iris said, I didn't act solely for Lady Iris's sake."

A hint of regret flickered in Iris's eyes as she heard my reply.

"However, among the reasons I act, there is certainly the intention to help Lady Iris."

I wish for Iris's nightmares to be resolved.

She had to suffer her entire life, manipulated by the Demonic Lord, never getting a proper night's sleep.

A life where, in the end, she would become the Demonic Lord's puppet as the final villainess.

I didn't want her life to end that way.

I hoped Iris would live a life where she could enjoy what she wanted, like any person her age.

If she wished, I wanted her to enjoy her life without being bound by her title as a princess.

"Lady Iris, I wish for you to live a comfortable life, free from nightmares."

A gentle smile had unconsciously appeared on my lips.

"Because Lady Iris certainly deserves to live such a life."

Iris stared at me with a dazed expression.

One thing was certain: she must have sensed my sincerity.

I like all the heroines and characters that appear in the 'Flame Butterfly' arc.

Even though Lucas, the protagonist, isn't here, I would gladly do anything if it meant leading all of them to a happy ending.

"Helping Lady Iris live such a life. That is also my goal."

That was both my purpose and my goal.

"…I haven't really done anything for you. And I don't know what I can give you in the future."

She was the Third Imperial Princess.

And the final villainess who rose from the youngest position to the imperial throne.

For someone like her, unilateral help didn't exist.

Everyone wanted something from her, expecting a return for what they gave.

"That doesn't matter at all."

But I didn't wish for such things.

"Simply for Lady Iris to be free from her nightmares is enough."

I took Iris's hand, which had gotten scratched during today's training.

The scratches were from overexerting her aura.

Aware of this, I took out ointment and applied it to her hand.

Since it was something I specifically brought from the Zeryon Academy infirmary, its effectiveness was outstanding.

"So, just in case."

I carefully applied the ointment to the scratches on Iris's hand.

"If Lady Iris does not wish to become Emperor, then please tell me."

A resolute smile graced my lips.

"I will help you with that too."

It was a very disrespectful thing to say, but if the listener didn't feel that way, then it didn't matter.

"…"

Iris looked at me in silence.

Her eyes held a mix of bewilderment and various other emotions.

I couldn't read all her emotions, but I knew it was something she had wanted to hear at some point.

Iris had only risen this far because of Duke Roblia.

She herself was not a person who particularly desired to be Emperor.

That's why she made that choice in the end.

Lucas couldn't have said such words to Iris.

He too was a citizen of the Empire, living within the 'Flame Butterfly' arc.

Someone raised with the common sense of the 'Flame Butterfly' arc could never utter such words.

But I am different.

I was merely a player of the 'Flame Butterfly' arc.

Any modern person would know that the position of Emperor is not as happy as people wish it to be.

The immense weight of responsibility is enough to drive a person mad.

So, I conveyed words to Iris that only I could say.

"Having a classmate with a lot of secrets is quite interesting, isn't it?"

After I delivered my final joke, Iris stared at me for a moment before slowly shaking her head.

"It's not interesting."

Not to her taste, I guess.

As I clicked my tongue, Iris carefully clasped the hand I had applied ointment to.

"Still, thanks to Hanon, I think I understand one thing."

A gentle smile appeared on Iris's lips.

A red rose bloomed.

Perhaps it was because Iris had been sleeping so well lately.

Her smile was the most beautiful I had ever seen.

"The reason I sleep so well when Hanon is by my side."

Iris had, at some point, reached out and lightly touched my chest.

"It's because Hanon is a warm person."

Physically, I am warm, as I possess the Flame of Fire.

But Iris's words touched upon something more fundamental than that.

"Thank you. Maybe I always wanted to hear something like that from someone."

Iris left for her dormitory after saying that, telling me she'd see me later.

She seemed a little relieved, nonetheless.

＊＊＊

Training, classes, training, classes, training, classes.

Every day, I trained to strengthen my combat power, which would become increasingly necessary.

Before I knew it, the International Individual Competition was just around the corner.

The International Individual Competition was a friendly match held to uphold the prestige of each nation.

The students preparing for it had faces full of tension.

And there were others whose faces were, in a different sense, completely wrecked.

These were the members of the student council.

"Kill me. Just kill me already!"

One student council member, overwhelmed by work, screamed and had a breakdown.

The other student council members silently continued their work, despite his screams.

After the last boycott incident, the student council also couldn't escape inspection.

Thankfully, this student council, under Nikita's leadership, had not committed any corruption.

Thus, the current student council was able to avoid punishment.

Instead, the inspection team went as far as to seek out graduates, holding them thoroughly accountable.

Zeryon Academy was one of the Empire's symbols of prestige.

Since corruption had occurred in such a place, they intended to root it out completely this time.

Furthermore, it was revealed that Sylvester, the former president, had actually used the backing of the Draffen family to subtly prevent pressure from corrupt activities.

Although Sylvester resigned as student council president, taking full responsibility, his reputation within the student council soared vertically.

Only after a flower withers do you appreciate it.

The moment the two flowers, Nikita and Sylvester, faded, only darkness remained for the student council.

The vacant positions of president and vice-president.

The work that had piled up on the student council due to the absence of assistant instructors for a while.

And the International Individual Competition, which was about to begin.

The student council was truly being battered by a tsunami of work.

"Gah, ugh."

Poara, sitting next to me, muttered some incomprehensible sounds as she sifted through documents.

"Hmm."

Next to Poara, Midra, the first-year combat studies second-ranker, calmly organized the documents.

He subtly had a talent for such secretarial work.

But among them, there was one who was in a particularly dire state.

While everyone was busy, the mentally exhausted secretary was quietly staring out the window.

Third-year Literature Department valedictorian, Nivolans Panima.

In the student council, the secretary traditionally held the third-highest position.

However, currently, both the president and vice-president positions were vacant.

As a result, he had to take on the roles of both the president and vice-president.

Zeryon Academy Student Council's first-ever triple crown winner: President, Vice-President, and Secretary!

It was a glorious position, but only sadness filled his eyes.

"…I can't do this anymore."

At that moment, Nivolans clenched his fist tightly.

He pushed up his glasses and looked around at everyone.

"At this rate, we'll be so swamped with student council work that we won't be able to properly live our academy lives. No matter what, there's just too much work being piled on us!"

No one replied to his outburst, but everyone's faces showed agreement.

"Reinforcements! We need reinforcements to prepare for the International Individual Competition. The meeting is tomorrow!"

He gnashed his teeth and clutched his face.

The academy student councils had a preliminary meeting scheduled for tomorrow.

Nivolans didn't have the confidence to attend as a secretary, not a president or vice-president.

Moreover, if he left, the student council would be completely engulfed by the wave of work.

As expected of the Literature Department valedictorian, he was handling one-third of the student council's duties.

"Hanon Airey."

"Yes, Secretary Senior."

My name was called out of the blue, making me stop writing the document and look up.

Then he looked at me with desperate eyes.

"I heard you often spend time with the Third Imperial Princess."

What sharp ears he has.

I roughly understood the situation.

"The Third Imperial Princess is expected to be appointed as Zeryon Academy's president next year."

This wasn't an expectation, but a certainty.

Iris lacked nothing in terms of martial arts, literary arts, dignity, or status.

It would be stranger if she didn't become president.

"There would be no problem if she took on the presidency early, would there?"

This meant he wanted me to suggest the interim presidency to Iris.

Iris lacked nothing in terms of qualifications.

Above all, she herself intended to become president, so she would likely agree.

"Moreover, the vice-president position is also vacant."

Originally, they had planned to recruit an interim vice-president, but due to the successive boycott incidents, the vice-president had still not been chosen.

"You're also close with Sharin Sazaris, the second-year magic studies valedictorian, aren't you? The daughter of the Blue Magic Tower Lord."

Oh, this isn't a good turn of events.

Even if Iris went along with it, Sharin would never cooperate with something like that.

"Take the Third Imperial Princess as interim president and Sharin Sazaris as interim vice-president to the World Academy meeting tomorrow! No matter what!"

Our secretary has gone mad.