Chapter 117: Eve’s Transfer

The Oblex Bridge of Zeryon Academy.
A woman stepped out of a carriage that had just crossed the bridge.
Beneath her flowing blue hair, her piercing blue eyes gleamed.
Her appearance leaned more toward sharp and calculating than delicate.
Unyielding azure flame.
It was Eve.

Standing before her was an assistant professor from the martial arts department who had come to greet her.
His name was Barkov Deblijeux, an assistant professor in charge of second-year martial arts.
A wide, foolish grin stretched across his face, accompanied by the trembling flesh of his cheeks.
He had a habit of grinning instinctively whenever he saw a beautiful woman.
It was a particularly unpleasant smile, but Eve didn’t spare him even a glance.

Because there was someone else who infuriated her far more than Barkov’s unsettling grin.
The man who had framed her by spreading the rumor that he had confessed to her during the International Individual Tournament meeting.
The man who provoked her throughout the tournament, only to unleash an ancient dragon’s magic and get himself captured.

Hanon Airei.

Just thinking about him made Eve grind her teeth in frustration.
Because of this transfer, she had been burdened with a humiliating label.

A love-struck fool chasing after romance all the way to a foreign academy.

Love?
She had never felt such a thing in her life.
Eve didn’t particularly like men.
To be precise, she didn’t particularly like people—men or women.

Her status was that of a commoner.
Zeryon Academy was filled with nobles overflowing with aristocratic pride.
It was obvious how she would be treated there.
She had lost count of how many times she had been subjected to demeaning remarks simply because of her good looks.
There was nothing more infuriating than being judged for her appearance rather than her abilities.

‘Of course, there are good people, but…’
Eve had always received more envy than recognition.

And now, people believed she had fallen in love?
Ridiculous.
She had no intention of living a life of such naive romance.
Being branded as a lovestruck fool was the greatest humiliation she could imagine.

A sigh escaped Eve’s lips.
‘Was this a reckless choice?’

Of course, it would be a lie to say that Hanon had no influence on her decision to transfer.
Her anger toward him had played a significant role.
But that wasn’t the only reason she transferred.

The true reason Eve chose to come to Zeryon Academy—
It was because of Iris.

That day, when she crossed swords with Iris, Eve had seen something terrifying lurking beyond her.
It was only an intuition for now, but Eve was the kind of person who acted on such instincts.

And so, she willingly transferred to Zeryon Academy.

‘Honestly, I thought Ordo Academy would try harder to keep me.’

Surprisingly, Ordo Academy let her go with little resistance.
This was largely due to the influence of the martial arts professor.

「Eve, as you know, Prellis is in decline. Because of that, Ordo Academy’s support has also been reduced.」

The martial arts professor at Ordo Academy was someone Eve personally respected.
Though his words often lacked authority, leading others to dismiss him, he was always devoted to his students.

「Before long, Ordo Academy will merge with Zeryon Academy anyway. If that’s the case, I’d rather see you spread your wings in Zeryon than stay here in a place that’s fading away.」

He had always hoped for Eve to step into a broader world.
The kingdom of Prellis was too small for someone like her.
And so, he willingly arranged the transfer process for her.

Eve thanked her professor countless times for his sincerity.

‘The one regret I have…’

Among the students she had spent time with, not a single one seemed to regret her transfer.
In fact, when she left, they looked rather relieved, as if a burden had been lifted.
That realization left Eve with a bitter feeling.
She had tried, in her own way, to get along with them, but apparently, her efforts had been meaningless.

‘Will things be any different at Zeryon?’

The thought lingered as a faint trauma.
Would she be able to get along with the students at Zeryon Academy?

But Eve quickly shook her head.
She hadn’t lived a life where she could afford to be concerned about relationships.
She decided to prioritize the reason she had come to Zeryon.

“Wow, I never thought I’d see the Unyielding Azure Flame in person! Nice to meet you! I’m Barkov Deblijeux, the greatest assistant professor of martial arts!”

Lost in thought, Eve was brought back to reality when Barkov suddenly thrust out his thick hand toward her.
Even though his hand was greasy, Eve didn’t avoid it and shook it firmly.
Barkov grinned widely and subtly tried to tighten his grip.

Eve immediately withdrew her hand and glared at him with distaste.

“…Ah, sure.”

Before she was a swordswoman, she was a woman.
She was sensitive to the way men’s eyes glistened with desire.
She had hoped an assistant professor of martial arts wouldn’t be like that, but Barkov’s gaze was blatant.

“Haha! I’ve got the martial arts department under control, so as long as you get on my good side, you’ll be fine!”

Barkov laughed boisterously, glancing at her suggestively.
Eve’s mood was about to take a turn for the worse when—

In the distance, she spotted a boy kicking up a cloud of dust as he sprinted toward them.
His figure seemed oddly familiar, and just as her eyes began to widen in recognition—

The boy suddenly soared into the air.

A person was flying.

Eve stared blankly, and in the next moment, the boy’s feet landed squarely on Barkov’s face.

“Guh!?”

With a scream, Barkov was sent flying and crashed into the ground.
His head was buried in the dirt, and the boy landed on top of him effortlessly.

Casually lifting his foot, the boy spoke with a bright grin.

“Wow, Professor Barkov, I didn’t expect this from you. You’ve really been spreading rumors about me everywhere, huh?”

He put more strength into his foot.

“I wonder how you planned to deal with the consequences.”

Then, without a moment’s hesitation, he stomped down toward Barkov’s head.

Thud!

But his foot was blocked—by a sword.

The boy’s red eyes flicked up, and reflected in them was Eve.
She had stopped him, her gaze twisted in anger.

“Hanon Airei.”

The very reason she had been so infuriated that she transferred to Zeryon Academy.

“And what exactly is this sudden act of violence supposed to be?”

The person she had been dreading to meet again had appeared right before her.

* * *

In front of the entrance to Zeryon Academy, I saw Eve stopping me from punishing Barkov.

I had expected her to transfer soon, but I didn’t think it would be today.
Since we were now at the same academy, I figured it would be best to start getting along with her.

So, I flashed her a friendly smile.

“Eve, it’s been a while. Now that we’re fellow students at the same academy, we can talk more casually, right?”

“Do whatever you want.”

She gave me permission to drop the formalities.

Looks like we’re going to be good friends from now on.

“More importantly, I’d like you to explain this situation.”

Eve wanted me to justify why I had just crushed Barkov.
I understood her perspective.
Right now, in her eyes, I had just attacked an innocent man without reason.

“Attacking someone without cause like this is not right.”

“I agree. I remember how unfair it felt when I was attacked at the party.”

I had been on the receiving end before—when I was attacked because of the ancient dragon’s magic.
Eve’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“Still, Assistant Professor Barkov isn’t innocent.”

My gaze drifted to the unconscious Barkov.

“Honestly, he’s probably better off getting punished by me. Otherwise, he might end up dead soon.”

Vinesha had discovered the source of the rumors spreading through the academy.
She had the mindset that I was the only person she would ever care about in her lifetime.
For someone like her, the idea of me having another lover was the ultimate humiliation.

She was coming to kill him.

If it was Vinesha, she would definitely come to kill him.
So before she could stain her hands with blood, I came to take care of Barkov myself.
Besides, he was bound to be expelled from Zeryon Academy sooner or later, so I figured I’d just speed up the process.

“Kill him? What are you talking about?”

Eve, unaware of the situation, couldn’t understand my words.
Still, I clenched my fist and stepped away from her sword.

“I’ll explain soon. But we need to finish this quickly—she’ll be here any minute.”

Just as I moved to finish off Barkov once and for all, a blue flame ignited along Eve’s sword.
I immediately pulled back, avoiding the flames just in time.

I looked at her, stunned.

“Eve?”

“Hanon Airei, you’ve always lied to me.”

Eve pointed her flame-covered sword at me.

“After everything you’ve done, don’t you think it’s a bit much to expect me to believe you just like that?”

Somehow, it now looked like Eve was protecting Barkov.
Her words were clear—she wanted solid proof before taking action.

But that didn’t mean I could just say, ‘Alright, I understand’ and let it go.

“Out of everything, this time I’m telling the truth—”

“I can’t stand how shameless you are.”

“Barkov spread those disgusting rumors just because the woman he liked had feelings for me.”

I had no choice but to explain the situation.
Eve’s eyes shifted toward Barkov.
She didn’t believe me right away, but she seemed to recall what kind of person he was.

Her lips pressed together hesitantly.
She was struggling to decide what to do.

Even Eve could tell that Barkov was not a good man.

“Hey! Hey, hey, hey! That damn thunder freak is coming—SHE’S COMING!”

At that moment, I heard Dorara’s urgent voice.

In the distance, I spotted him sprinting toward us, carried by the wind.
And behind him—

A pitch-black figure was charging forward at full speed.

Its elongated arms stretched unnaturally, revealing its true nature—an evil spirit.
Through the long strands of its black hair, hundreds of glowing red eyes were embedded in its face.

Just from the sight of them, it was clear how deep its malice ran.

It was a vengeful spirit, sent by Vinesha to kill Barkov.

“Are we too late?”

I let out a sigh.

Eve’s eyes widened in shock at the horrifying sight.

“A… a ghost?”

Her face turned completely pale.
Despite her strong and imposing demeanor, it seemed she was weak against occult things like ghosts.

“Ugh… Ughhh…”

At that moment, Barkov’s eyes fluttered open.
His swollen face twisted as he shakily raised an arm.
Then, he grabbed Eve’s pale ankle.

“P-Please… save me…”

“Eek!”

Already startled by the spirit, Eve instinctively swung her sword when Barkov suddenly grabbed her.

Fwoooosh!

“GYYYAAAARGH!!”

A pig-slaughtering screech rang out as Barkov burst into blue flames.
He rolled across the ground, screaming in agony.

Eve, stunned by what had just happened, quickly retracted her sword.
The blue flames that had clung to Barkov flickered out.

A moment later, Barkov lay motionless, completely charred, his eyes rolled back as he passed out.
He was thoroughly cooked.

The vengeful spirit that had been charging toward us suddenly halted.
It stared at Barkov for a moment before silently dissolving into smoke and vanishing.

“Hahh… D-Did we… did we take care of it?”

Dorara wiped the sweat from his brow, looking visibly shaken.
That idiot always says the one thing he absolutely shouldn’t.

Still, even though Barkov was barely human in terms of decency, Dorara had come all the way here to save him.
As a student of Zeryon Academy, he had a strong sense of duty when it came to protecting lives.

Leaving Dorara to his own devices, I turned back to Eve.
She stood there, utterly dumbfounded by what she had just done.

Seeing her expression, I gave her a warm, easygoing smile.

“Well, we’re partners in crime now.”

Eve’s face crumpled slightly, on the verge of tears.