Chapter 143: The Main Heroine and a Third-Rate Extra

The Autumn Demonic Palace Expedition, full of rumors and trouble.
I returned alive and well, and underwent additional tests through a doctor.
“It’s almost a miracle—there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. No signs of psychological aftereffects at the moment, either.”
And then came the diagnosis of a full recovery.
I felt like I needed to thank the Saint and Saintess several times over.
‘Maybe because I was careful about my emotional defects, they didn’t get exposed.’
It probably helped that the doctor was only focused on aftereffects.
Wouldn’t want to cause unnecessary worry, so I should keep being careful going forward.
“You’ll have an interview with the professors tomorrow, so don’t forget.”
After that, Iris really did talk to me like a caring older sister.
Anyone would’ve thought she was my guardian.
“So you two, let Hanon rest now.”
Iris gave a final warning to Seron and Sharin.
Neither of them said much, maybe because they didn’t want to burden me any further.
“Prince Sweet Potato.”
Still, Seron seemed to have something left to say.
She approached me and whispered so no one else could hear.
“R-remember the date.”
Ah, right. That was a thing.
When I nodded, Seron looked at me primly for a moment, then spun around.
Her face looked like she had resolved herself for a final stand.
I hate to admit it, but… she was kind of cute.
After many twists and turns, I safely left the hospital.
‘Come to think of it, I forgot to ask about Isabel.’
Given everything going on, it slipped my mind.
But I soon realized I didn’t need to ask.
On the path back to the boys’ dormitory—
I saw honey-blonde hair shining in the moonlight, far in the distance.
The sun, rising under the moonlit night.
That’s how beautifully Isabel was glowing.
Of course, she wasn’t the main heroine for nothing.
“Isabel.”
Anyone could see she had been waiting for me.
When I called her name, Isabel turned toward me.
Her eyes trembled for a moment.
I could feel a flurry of emotions pass through her in an instant.
But she quickly composed herself and opened her mouth.
“I’m glad you got up safely.”
“I’m kind of sturdy, after all.”
Isabel went silent after hearing that answer.
Then she bit her lip hard and shook her head.
“………You’re not sturdy.”
My sturdiness had been denied.
“You’re not made of steel, you’re a person.”
Not steel, but a person.
In this fight, I lost one arm and one leg.
‘There’s no helping the max physical penetration power of a Dark Insect Marksman.’
That one, they need to send Sharin after.
“Then I’ll just have to get even tougher.”
“Why is that the only thing you ever think about?”
Durability is key, no matter what.
“………I won’t say you didn’t have to go that far.”
Thanks to struggling, I survived.
That much, I couldn’t deny.
“But even so, it shouldn’t have come to this.”

Isabel came to a stop in front of me.
Her eyes were already filled to the brim with tears.
Her gaze landed on the scar hidden beneath the Veil Bandages.
“If you keep going like this, you’re going to die.”
Her hands clenched tightly onto my collar.
As if she couldn’t bear to lose anyone else, both her fists trembled.
Fallen leaves scattered in the fading autumn breeze.
The leaves that had died could no longer bloom green—they had withered away.
She had lost her real brother and Lucas.
After losing both, Isabel had completely broken down, pushed to the brink of collapse.
The one who helped her back on her feet was me.
I know it too.
That Isabel leans on me more than anyone else.
I had hoped that one day she would become independent, but that’s not something that happens overnight.
“Isabel.”
That’s why I have to tell her.
“I have no intention of dying.”
It’s true that I don’t take care of my body.
What the Veil Bandages truly erase—by removing love, anger, and sadness—is me as a person.
To not be able to love, to not be able to get angry, to not be able to feel sadness.
And that tendency is often aimed more at myself than others.
But even though I’ve already lost one emotion, and now others are fading too, I can still say this.
“I will never die until I accomplish my goal.”
Even if I don’t cherish myself, I won’t deny my goal.
In reality, I’ve already experienced a complete collapse once before.
Back then, my goal had already crumbled.
And what remained after that was only emptiness.
I hate that emptiness.
That crushing hollowness that can utterly destroy a person—I never want to feel it again.
At the same time, I know the joy of moving toward a goal.
‘Even if the Veil Bandages erase all three of my emotions—’
I still have joy.
I still have the strength to smile brighter than anyone.
The joy of running toward a goal.
As long as I have that one thing, I can keep going without ever giving up.
That’s why—I absolutely will not die.
Because if I die, I can’t complete the scenario.
“This world helped me stand again, and now it’s become my goal.”
The day I was crushed by training.
The tiny refuge I ran away to.
And now, it has become everything to me.
“That includes you too, Isabel.”
Isabel is the main heroine of Blazing Butterfly.
Even without Lucas, I refuse to allow her life to be destroyed.
Because Lucas—he would have done whatever it took to save Isabel.
“So, Isabel.”
Her tear-streaked face came into view.
She was desperately looking at me.
“I’m not going to die.”
The one you lean on will stay right here, no matter what happens.
Whether it rains, snows, or storms, I’ll hold this place steady.
So, Isabel—
Even if you one day stand on your own, it’s okay.
Because I’ll always be here, making sure you never fall.

Tears streamed down Isabel’s cheeks.
The tears fell onto the fallen leaves.
The leaves, already met with death, could no longer regain life through water.
But it’s okay.
The water that flowed along the leaves will give birth to new life elsewhere.
Her tears will become a guide toward a new life.
I smiled.
Because joy alone had not disappeared, I smiled brightly.
“Why?”
Isabel asked at that smile.
“Why am I part of your goal?”
Isabel had wanted to ask again and again why I was helping her so much.
She had mulled over this question and held it back.
She held it in so she could ask after I returned alive from the Demonic Palace.
“We made a promise, remember?”
Night had fallen before we knew it, and the sky was gradually turning blue.
“To reveal my identity.”
I don’t know if this will be the answer she’s looking for.
But maybe, just maybe, it was the will of the world that I came to possess Vikarmern.
Someone with a reason—someone with the motivation—to save Isabel.
Because that’s who I ended up becoming.
「If you ever find yourself in danger, I’ll repay the debt of you saving my life by helping you.」
That was a promise Vikarmern once made to Lucas.
Though he tried to hurt Lucas, in the end, Vikarmern owed him his life and swore to repay it.
But he never kept that promise.
Because Vikarmern failed to save Lucas.
Even so, I inherited that vow.
I couldn’t save Lucas—but I would save Isabel, no matter what.
The bandages I had pulled unraveled.
My hair turned white.
Before I knew it, I had grown taller and broader than Isabel, and even my eyes had turned amber.
Scars from lightning and various other wounds became visible across my body.
They were the result of everything I had worked for.
Isabel’s eyes widened.
This form—she had seen it once before.
To her, I might have been the very enemy who tormented Lucas to the bitter end.
Vikarmern Niflheim.
That was me.
The wheel of fate turns.
And tomorrow’s sun rises.
As the sun rose, Isabel’s hair shone like the sun itself.
“It… it was you.”
Isabel spoke with overflowing emotion.
“Disillusioned?”
She gripped my clothes tightly with both hands.
As if to say she’d never let me go again.
“Of course not.”
She looked up at me with a tear-streaked face.
And before I knew it, she was smiling with me.

“There’s no way I’d feel disillusioned with the person who saved my life.”
I trusted Isabel.
I believed she would believe in me.
That’s why I revealed who I was.

Fortunately, the Isabel I had come to know was just as I expected.
As I finally let out a small sigh of relief, Isabel exhaled as well.
“You saved me because of your promise with Lucas, right?”
She already knew about the promise Lucas and I had made.
“Lucas told me once. He said you weren’t such a bad person after all.”
“I’m just… a rough-edged person.”
“Yeah, you really are rough.”
Isabel agreed without the slightest denial.
It hurt a little.
Then, Isabel’s head gently rested against my chest.
“Really… really rough.”
Tears continued to fall uncontrollably from Isabel’s eyes.
Amidst the swirling morning leaves, I gently stroked her hair.
It was praise for everything she had fought through until now.

* * *

After finding out that Hanon was Vikarmern.
Isabel had cried her eyes out in front of him and, embarrassed, hurriedly ran away.
Vikarmern didn’t bother to stop her.
Isabel fled straight back to the dorm.
Maybe because she ran too fast,
Her heart was pounding a bit too hard.
‘Feels like I can’t breathe.’
Isabel quickly pulled out some water and gulped it down.
Cold water flowed into her body, but for some reason, her racing heart wouldn’t calm down.
This was bad.
Maybe something had gone wrong because of the last battle.
“Isabel, where’d you gooo~?”
Just then, Sharin’s voice came from inside.
She peeked her head out the door, staring at Isabel.
Isabel had assumed Sharin would be fast asleep by now, so she hadn’t expected her to be awake.
She slapped both her cheeks and replied,
“Ah, um, I went to see… him. I needed to thank him.”
Then Isabel suddenly remembered—
She hadn’t actually thanked him.
Her eyes darted around in a panic.
Should she go back now, just to say thanks?
But he was probably exhausted too.
She couldn’t just keep clinging to him.
And yet, for some reason…
Isabel felt like she wanted to see him again right away.
Her heart was pounding again, on its own.
Her face grew red all on its own.
It must’ve been really embarrassing, what happened earlier.
She’d cried her eyes out in front of a guy—
At her age, it was only natural to feel ashamed.
“Isabel?”
Then, Sharin called Isabel again.
Isabel quickly turned her head toward her.
Sharin was staring at Isabel with a blank look in her eyes.
There was a complicated emotion flickering behind her gaze.
Isabel couldn’t quite figure it out, but her face was so hot, she couldn’t bear to keep looking.
“S-sorry! I’m gonna go wash up real quick!”
She definitely needed to dump cold water on her head.
With that thought, Isabel rushed into the private bathroom.
Sharin, still watching her blankly, slowly began to puff out her cheeks.
“I’m gonna scold herrr.”
Soon, the sound of Sharin’s shadow-boxing filled the quiet room.