Chapter 68: Chapter 68

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: A Familiar Stranger

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The beach promenade of Aalon Sea.

"Who are you?"

Isabel's low voice resonated.

Standing before her was a boy.

He was rather short for a male, and as he faced Isabel, he blinked his eyes.

"Who am I? I'm Hannon," the boy replied.

Hannon stared at Isabel with an uncomprehending look.

A sharp aura emanated from Isabel.

"Don't lie."

Isabel glared at him, her face serious.

Hannon, looking troubled, rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, this is strange. I *am* the real Hannon, but you're saying I'm not."

To be treated like an imposter after stating his name clearly.

Hannon let out an incredulous laugh.

"Alright, let's assume that's the case."

Hannon looked at Isabel with a loose, easy smile.

"How did you know?"

All he had done since arriving was call out to Isabel.

Yet, the moment Isabel saw Hannon, she realized he wasn't the person she knew.

It was quite astonishing for Hannon.

After all, their appearances were identical.

"He doesn't make an expression like that."

"An expression, you say."

Hannon touched his own face.

Even a slight change in expression can alter one's impression.

Though the face might be the same, the marks of time leave their trace.

Isabel had precisely discerned that difference.

"From the start, your eyes are different. Do you think he would look at me with such a teasing gaze, like yours?"

The Hannon Isabel knew was always a serious person.

Though he sometimes engaged in exaggerated actions.

He was fundamentally upright and considerate of others.

He would never display such a frivolous attitude as this.

"Besides, your posture is different."

Unlike him, who always stood tall and proud with a straight back.

The Hannon before her was slouched, standing with one leg bent.

After hearing everything, Hannon was impressed.

"I see. It's not easy to impersonate someone else. I've learned something new," he said.

He admitted his mistake.

"Of course, even considering that, your observational skills are abnormal. What exactly is your relationship with him?"

Relationship.

At that question, Isabel fell silent.

If asked about her relationship with Hannon.

Isabel couldn't quite define it.

Isabel considered him something of a rival, yet, separately, she found herself constantly relying on Hannon psychologically.

It was a complex emotion that Isabel herself couldn't define.

"Are you perhaps in love with him?"

Hannon asked, grinning broadly.

Unrequited love.

The moment she heard those words, Isabel felt a deep pressure in her chest.

"…No."

Isabel laughed self-deprecatingly.

"It's not something so beautiful."

Swoosh—

The sea breeze swept past Isabel.

Perhaps due to the tree's shadow cast by the sun.

No light seemed to dwell in Isabel's eyes.

"Complicated, indeed."

Hannon couldn't fathom Isabel's emotions.

He only knew that the emotional chasm that shrouded her was very deep.

This was not a good situation to meddle in.

Hannon decided to stop teasing for now.

Instead, he resolved to extract the information he wanted.

"Then, tell me. Before he appeared, did you have any dealings with anyone? Anyone who declared they would help you?"

"...What are you talking about?"

Isabel stared at Hannon, her face showing her incomprehension.

"He wouldn't have come to the academy without any purpose.

But on the very first day, the first thing he did was run into you, Isabel."

Hannon had made his own deductions based on the information he had gathered.

So, when Hannon asked about this, Isabel stood still without answering.

But Isabel's eyes were wavering.

Because she, too, had subconsciously thought the same thing.

That person had constantly insulted Lucas and tried to provoke her.

It was as if he was forcibly trying to draw out her anger.

At first, believing Lucas was being insulted, she had confronted him without thinking.

But as time passed, and leading up to today, Isabel had continuously observed him.

He wasn't the type to recklessly slander others.

In fact, he had many similarities to Lucas.

That such a person would insult Lucas was something she couldn't easily accept either.

But.

What if.

Just *what if* he had insulted Lucas to save her?

Upon hearing Lucas's insults, Isabel had revived, fueled by rage.

She had desperately clawed her way back from the pit of death.

Isabel felt no emotional stir unless it was related to Lucas's insults.

Even looking back, that was the only thing that could move her.

Who was the person who insulted Lucas in such a way?

'It was him.'

In that process, Isabel realized that what she had done was, in fact, an insult to Lucas.

And so, Isabel had crumbled miserably once again.

Then, who was the person who came to Isabel's side and lifted her up again?

'It was him.'

Isabel's eyes trembled violently.

At the same time, yesterday's events came to mind.

The fear that had bloomed in her heart the moment she heard he was dating Hania.

Like her brother and Lucas.

He might leave forever.

He might no longer pay any attention to her.

The moment she thought that, she was plunged into an unspeakable fear.

Possessiveness and obsession.

It was another form of separation anxiety.

Then, he appeared before her once again and comforted her.

Thump—

Isabel felt something thudding in her chest.

She didn't know what it was yet, but one thing was certain: whenever Isabel was about to break, he always lifted her up again.

Isabel's lips parted and closed repeatedly.

If this were true.

'Why?'

Why would he try to lift her up like this?

Isabel had first seen Hannon in the first semester of her second year.

Naturally, she had no connection to him until now.

Did such a person recognize her state the moment he first saw her and then slander Lucas?

'That makes no sense.'

Even if a series of coincidences occurred.

His actions had many strange aspects.

'More than anything, he seemed to know a lot about Jerion Academy from the very beginning.'

He had known everything about Jerion Academy since his very first day there.

Not only that.

He knew detailed information about the second-year students.

That would be impossible unless he had deliberately researched the second-year students beforehand.

Someone who knew Jerion Academy in detail and could investigate second-year students.

Isabel's head lifted.

Her eyes met Hannon's once again.

Hannon had said with his own mouth that he was the real Hannon.

She didn't immediately believe his words.

But there had always been missing pieces in the thoughts she'd had earlier.

However, if Hannon wasn't the real Hannon.

If, instead, he had been an imposter from the very beginning.

Then the gaps that had been empty all this time were filled.

Isabel's pupils dilated as her thoughts reached that conclusion.

In response, Hannon grinned slyly.

Then who exactly was he?

'...Someone who knows me?'

And someone who would come directly to the academy to save her.

Isabel's lips trembled.

She didn't jump to conclusions.

There was no guarantee that everything Hannon said before her was the truth.

He might have fabricated the story to confuse her.

So, Isabel first shook off the many doubts that had surfaced in her mind.

"I don't know what your purpose is for saying such things."

Isabel slowly drew the training sword she had brought.

The blade glinted eerily in the sunlight, as if to confirm it was a real sword.

"I'm not going to entertain your nonsense any longer."

Whether what Hannon said was true or not.

His presence would clearly cause trouble for *him*.

The truth could be asked after Hannon was caught.

"Oh, how scary."

He didn't look scared in the slightest.

Isabel, with a slightly irritated expression, immediately pushed off the ground.

The distance between Isabel and Hannon closed in an instant.

She spun the sword in her grip and swung it at him without a moment's hesitation.

Her intention was to strike him on the jaw with the flat of the blade and knock him out.

Just before her sword connected.

Hannon bent backward to his limit with incredible flexibility.

She had expected him to dodge.

Isabel didn't stop, pursuing Hannon and swinging her sword.

But Hannon evaded all of her consecutive attacks.

'What footwork.'

Hannon displayed a perilous acrobatic evasion, using his reflexes and flexibility as if performing in a circus.

He was quick.

It was like fighting a squirrel.

That person relied on his body's strength, engaging in forceful clashes.

In contrast, Hannon had no intention of taking even a single hit.

Both fought in completely different styles.

Hannon repeatedly performed tumbles, landing back in place.

"Perfect score!"

His lighthearted actions were unnecessarily infuriating.

But Isabel conceded.

She wouldn't be able to catch him unless she got serious.

"Now, now, calm down. I have no intention of fighting. I just came to ask about something I'm genuinely curious about."

"It's too late for that after all the provoking you've done."

"Provoking? I was trying to get friendly!"

Isabel felt there was no point in further conversation.

Isabel took a deep breath.

A different kind of aura began to emanate from her than before.

Seeing this, Hannon tilted his head thoughtfully, then made a decision.

"Alright, I have something to do, so I'll be going now."

With those words, Hannon turned without hesitation and bolted.

Isabel immediately gave chase, but the distance between them widened in an instant.

Hannon's running feet were almost invisible.

"What."

Isabel wore a dumbfounded expression for a moment.

Even so, that was too fast.

She doubted if that was a speed a human leg could achieve.

"What in the world is going on?"

Isabel cast aside her complicated thoughts, sheathed her sword, and ran.

***

Above the beach promenade.

Hannon was running at an incredible speed, kicking up dust.

He seemed tireless at this speed, extending his legs in powerful strides.

'I originally intended to deceive her to get information.'

He never imagined his identity would be exposed so quickly.

He had picked the wrong first target, and picked her thoroughly wrong.

'Who should I try next?'

There was definitely the daughter of the Blue Magic Tower Master.

Just as he was thinking he should meet her.

Hannon suddenly realized that the space above his head had brightened.

He looked up, and a beam of light was pouring down.

"Oh."

Hannon, who had let out an involuntary sound, immediately changed direction.

The beam of light then crashed down where Hannon had been standing.

Boom!

The beam of light tore through the promenade.

The moment Hannon witnessed its power, he increased his running speed even further.

He dodged all the beams of light in a zigzag pattern.

As he did, Hannon's eyes fell upon the sky.

There, a girl holding a staff was gracefully flying through the air.

Sharin Sazaris.

The daughter of the Blue Magic Tower Master.

"It seems my identity was already revealed to her."

He should have gone that way from the start.

Hannon felt a pang of regret as he veered towards the forest.

The forest offered plenty of cover.

Sniping from above had its limitations.

Sure enough, Sharin's sniping magic stopped.

Hannon ran freely through the depths of the forest.

'Both Isabel and this Sharin girl…'

He wondered why Jerion Academy was so violent.

The information was unfortunate to lose, but with the Blue Magic Tower Master's daughter chasing him, he couldn't gather any more.

The moment Hannon decided to make his escape.

A tree beside him was pierced, and a hand abruptly shot out.

"Huh."

Could a tree really be pierced like that with a bare hand?

Hannon's expression went blank for a moment.

And beyond that tree.

A man with gleaming eyes stood.

Clutch!

Hannon was seized by the scruff of his neck, along with the shattered tree.

It was too late to break free.

His body instantly plummeted downwards.

"Guh."

Hannon's arms and legs, after being slammed into the ground, stretched upwards and then went limp.

The man who looked down at Hannon, Vikarmen, cracked his neck.

"Got you."

Vikarmen took a deep breath.

"I understand your position, and I apologize for using force. But I couldn't catch you any other way."

"What a shame. I wasn't done having fun yet."

Hannon, recovering from the impact of the fall, wore a smile on his lips.

Whatever Vikarmen did, Hannon seemed simply amused.

Vikarmen clicked his tongue briefly.

"Sorry, but business hours are over."

It was time to clock out.