Chapter 116: Barkov Dies

Beganon was in front of the professor.

I was feeling incredibly wronged at this moment.

The reason for my first private meeting with the professor being a promiscuous lifestyle was beyond ridiculous.

As I mentioned before, the most promiscuous thing I’ve ever done was getting kissed by Seron on the cheek.

Me? Promiscuous? Nothing could be more unjust.

“Professor Beganon, I swear to the heavens, I have never lived a promiscuous life.”

From the very beginning, I lost my ability to love because of the veil’s curse.

At this point, even if I wanted to live promiscuously, I couldn’t.

I mean, who in their right mind would accuse someone who’s essentially a eunuch of being promiscuous?

Beganon leaned back against the sofa with a look of annoyance.

“I know that. I can see you have no interest in women.”

She was wearing a loose tank top that revealed the upper part of her undergarments. Naturally, I had never once paid any attention to it. The only thought I had was that if she was hot, she should turn off the heater.

It seemed like Beganon had taken note of that and formed her assessment accordingly.

I tilted my head, silently asking—if she knew that, then why call me here?

“But Hanon, the problem is that, regardless of what you claim, the impression you give to those around you is different.”

That was true.

No matter how much I insisted I wasn’t living promiscuously, people around me didn’t see it that way.

After all, a person’s reputation is ultimately shaped by those around them.

“Hanon, the reason people call you promiscuous is simple—there are too many women around you.”

I kept my mouth shut on that point.

Because she wasn’t wrong.

There were a lot of women around me.

But unfortunately, Blazing Butterfly is a game structured as a harem.

By design, female characters hold significant weight in the story.

I have to lead the main storyline.

So naturally, I end up interacting with high-profile characters.

Honestly, there wasn’t much I could do about it.

“Then the solution is simple—fix that.”

“Are you telling me to distance myself from them?”

That was something I had to avoid.

“Rather than that, wouldn’t it be enough to increase your interactions with the male students?”

A male student who hangs out with me…

Who was there?

At most, there was Card and Van.

And even then, I rarely saw Grantoni.

‘Van prefers to be alone, and Card is in the magic department.’

There were also some student council members like Poara, but we weren’t close enough to see each other outside of official duties.

‘Honestly, I do tend to keep my distance from the guys in the martial arts department.’

If I exclude the girls who hang out with me, most other girls in the academy dislike me.

It started with the bad first impression I gave Isabel on the first day, and I’ve had multiple clashes with groups of female students since.

At this age, boys are typically very interested in the opposite sex.

The last thing they want is to get on the bad side of the girls by hanging around me.

So, naturally, the guys in the martial arts department ended up distancing themselves from me.

“Honestly, as a professor, keeping track of students’ social lives is a hassle.”

Professor Beganon was brutally honest.

“Take care of your own reputation. The only thing students at Zeryon Academy should be focused on is stepping into the Demonic Palace and returning safely. Keep that in mind.”

“Yes, Professor.”

With that, the meeting ended, and I trudged out of the professor’s office.

Honestly, I had no idea how to fix this.

The main reason rumors of my promiscuity started this time was because of Sharin’s engagement and Vinesha’s aggressive pursuit.

Sharin’s engagement cannot be undone.

For the sake of my survival, I have to maintain my engagement with Sharin.

The same goes for Vinesha.

This is a critical period for the episodes related to Vinesha.

Keeping my distance from her and causing unexpected variables to arise was not an option.

‘Even if the minor details change, the major events need to happen for the scenario to progress.’

I couldn’t afford to distance myself from the key characters around me.

So that meant following Professor Beganon’s advice—raising the presence of male characters around me.

But that wasn’t going to be easy.

“Oh, Hanon.”

As I stepped out of the main building, Card appeared right on cue, raising a hand in greeting.

“At this point, I should pass the title of womanizer and playboy on to you.”

“I’d rather die than accept that. You can keep it.”

“Heh, no can do. Thanks to you, I’ve been enjoying some unintended benefits.”

Compared to me, Card was now being seen as the lesser evil.

That was incredibly frustrating.

“Hanon, thanks to you, life has been great lately. I really appreciate it. You’re a true friend.”

“Starting today, we’re not friends anymore.”

One thing was clear—I should definitely not be seen hanging around with Card.

No matter what other rumors spread, I needed to erase the one about being promiscuous, and Card was absolutely not the person who could help me do that.

If anything, people would just lump us together.

So, I quickly parted ways with him.

‘What do I do?’

I could tolerate other bad reputations, but this one was unacceptable.

There was still a long way to go in the scenario.

If a reputation for promiscuity got added to the mix, dealing with things would become even more complicated.

As I walked toward the dormitory, a familiar face appeared from the opposite direction.

I spotted dark brown hair, a face that always looked like the entire world was a disappointment, and fingers stacked with rings.

A student of the academy.

The second-year vice representative of the Magic Department.

Dorara Korajin.

One of the people who, after an incident with me, had become an outcast in the academy.

“Dorara.”

“Huh? Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

The moment he saw me, Dorara’s face twisted in rage.

Ever since I completely crushed him, he had been the subject of relentless ridicule within the Magic Department.

A vice representative losing to someone from the Martial Arts Department?

The humiliation was unbearable.

Of course, thanks to my growing reputation for achievements, people had started to reconsider.

At this point, they figured it was inevitable that he lost.

That was how most people rationalized it now.

But that didn’t change the fact that Dorara’s pride had taken a massive hit.

So, whenever he saw me, he would always grind his teeth in anger.

“I heard about you, bastard. You got engaged to that bitch Sharin, huh?”

Dorara sneered at me the moment he spoke.

“I knew it. You two were probably sneaking around behind everyone’s backs.”

He must have misunderstood my involvement with Sharin.

I looked at him with mild disappointment.

“Must be nice, hanging around a whore’s daughter.”

Before I even realized it, my fist was already flying toward his face.

BAM!

Dorara barely managed to activate a magical barrier in time.

Looks like getting his ass kicked before had at least improved his reaction speed.

But who the hell does he think he’s up against?

Kugggggggg!

Dorara’s defensive magic began to crumple under the pressure of my grip.

I had grown stronger through the many experiences I had gone through.

Especially when it came to fighting against magic—I had a clear advantage.

The remnants of an elder dragon slumbered within me.

The chilling aura it exuded gave me an edge against magic.

My frozen grasp extended that frost to Dorara’s defensive spell.

And the moment I applied more force—

CRASH!

Dorara’s magic shattered into countless fragments.

“You… you crazy bastard!”

Dorara swallowed hard, stunned by the power of the ancient dragon’s magic—something he had only seen in individual combat matches.

He clearly hadn’t expected it to be this overwhelming.

I grabbed him by the collar.

“What the hell are you playing at?”

Dorara struggled to push me away, but my body had been forged through intense training with Aisha.

I was practically made of muscle.

There was no way a frail magician’s strength could break free.

“Sharin is my fiancée, for now.”

No matter how it came to be, Sharin was my betrothed.

Who in their right mind would stand by and watch their fiancée be insulted?

At least, I had no intention of letting it slide.

“If you keep running your mouth, I’ll make sure you never open it again.”

At my chilling warning, Dorara flinched.

His fingers, which had been gripping his staff, trembled and refused to lift it.

He knew that if he made one wrong move here, I really would turn him into a pulp.

I let go of him with a shove.

Dorara looked utterly humiliated, steam practically rising from his head.

“You never change. Don’t you think it’s about time you grew up?”

“Grow up, my ass! And whose fault do you think it is that I’m being treated like this?!”

His eyes burned with fury.

It was no secret that he was ostracized in the Magic Department.

And, well… I had played a significant role in that.

But his own actions hadn’t helped either.

“If you care so much about that bitch Sharin, maybe you should fix your own behavior first. It’s not like you’re content with just one or two women.”

Ah, this again.

Coming right after Professor Beganon had called me promiscuous, it was giving me a headache.

And then—

He said something I did not expect.

“And on top of that, you’re the kind of guy who steals other people’s lovers.”

…What the hell?

I turned to him, my face a picture of disbelief.

“Steal someone’s lover? Me?”

“Vinesha, the Assistant Professor of Magic. There are rumors that she was actually dating one of the other assistant professors. So quit playing dumb.”

Vinesha… was someone’s lover?

What kind of nonsense was this?

Rumors always had a way of twisting the truth, but this was a stretch even by those standards.

Then—

My expression started to change.

Because suddenly, I had a pretty good idea where this rumor was coming from.

Not just this one.

I was starting to suspect who had been spreading all these slanderous rumors about my promiscuity in the first place.

I had heard something from Hania not long ago.

‘Assistant Professor Barkov.’

He had recently fallen for someone new.

That someone was none other than Vinesha, the newly appointed Assistant Professor of Magic.

And the person Vinesha was showering with affection?

That would be me.

Barkov had been rejected twice now—first by Hania, and now by Vinesha.

The real reason for his repeated failures?

His own pathetic nature.

But a man who could accept that would never have been considered pathetic in the first place.

So Barkov must have convinced himself of one thing—

‘The reason I was rejected is because of Hanon Airei.’

And so, he had resorted to the only thing a petty, cowardly man like him could do:

Spreading vicious rumors to drag me down.

A flood of baseless slander.

My reputation had already been dubious, so those rumors spread like wildfire.

He must have thought that if he could ruin me, Vinesha would abandon me.

I let go of Dorara and rolled my shoulders, cracking my neck.

Being ambushed with that confession had been annoying enough.

But now?

I think it’s finally time I dealt with this guy.

BOOOOOOM!

At that moment, an explosion rang in my ears.

I instinctively looked up—just in time to lock eyes with something passing by.

A towering figure, nearly eight feet tall, with long, jet-black hair.

And between the strands of that hair, dozens of glowing red eyes gleamed menacingly.

Dorara and I froze at the same time.

And we realized—

That was a demon from the Otherworld.

One that Vinesha had summoned.

‘Barkov…’

That man was about to die.