Chapter 151: Even So, the Scenario Flows On

News of the Saintess’s visit.
Because of this, Zeryon Academy was thrown into chaos.
The Saintess was a figure whose name was known not just across the Empire but throughout the world.
In the Empire, there is a Saint.
As such, for those living in the Empire, seeing the Saintess was exceedingly rare.
Most matters related to the Holy Order were handled by the Saint, so there was rarely any need for the Saintess to appear.
A visit from the Saintess was an extremely unusual event.
Moreover, not long ago, the Unyielding Azure Flame had transferred in.
Famous figures from other academies were visiting Zeryon Academy one after another.
With Zeryon Academy’s reputation rising greatly, the headmaster was grinning from ear to ear.
The students of Zeryon Academy were just as excited.
People feel uplifted just by a sense of belonging.
The rise in Zeryon Academy’s prestige was a point of pride for the students as well.
‘So she’s coming in that way, huh.’
In truth, the visit would not last long.
At most, it would probably be limited to about a month.
Acrede would soon have to return.
‘Still, when it comes time to directly strike against the Mysticism, Acrede’s help will be necessary.’
The Saintess’s power has the ability to nullify parts of Mysticism’s strength.
Thus, whether Acrede was present or not would greatly change the situation.
‘I want to somehow keep Acrede tied to Zeryon Academy.’
I might need to hurry along the handling of Mysticism a little more.
‘More importantly,’
I worry about whether she will be able to endure as the Saintess until then.
It is true that she is the Saintess, but it’s also true that Narea had been taking care of things on her behalf until now.
It was clear that she must be under considerable stress trying to act as the Saintess properly.
More than anything, Acrede is even less able to withstand the pressure on her chest compared to Narea.
That kind of stress must also be no joke.
“Everyone’s been slacking off since the Autumn Demonic Palace Tournament, right?”
While I was lost in these various thoughts, Professor Beganon spoke up.
As always, she was disheveled and reeked of alcohol.
“It’s time for mock battles again, to loosen up our stiff bodies after the break.”
Mock battles.
It was already that time again.
With everything that had happened, I had forgotten, but everyone here was still a student.
Students who had to regularly take tests and produce results.
And so, just like during the Spring Demonic Palace Tournament, the time for another round of mock battles had come.
This would be different from individual matches—it would be fights between Zeryon Academy students.
“This time, the Saintess herself will be observing, so do your best.”
“WAAAAAAAHHH!”
At that moment, the boys all roared in unison.
The intensity of their fighting spirit could be felt just from their eyes.
Acrede, if nothing else, possessed incredibly outstanding looks.
Moreover, she bore the symbolism of being a Saintess.
It was no wonder she was the face of the Holy Order.
The girls glanced at the boys with a hint of exasperation.
But whether they cared or not, the boys didn’t stop their frenzy.
Still, among the girls too, the Saintess’s presence was immense.
These were children who had grown up hearing fairy tales about Saintesses and heroes.
Naturally, they too wanted to show their best side to the Saintess.
“Hanon doesn’t seem particularly excited, huh?”
Just then, a voice laced with a smile was heard.
However, there wasn’t a shred of emotion behind that smile.
“……Lady Iris, I have repeatedly told you that it’s a misunderstanding.”

“Yeah, you did.”
Iris rested her chin on her hand and smiled.
However, her eyes weren’t smiling in the slightest.
“Huh? Prince Sweet Potato, what misunderstanding?”
At that moment, Seron, who had been quietly listening, tilted her head.
If this reached Seron’s ears, it was bound to become annoying.
“Lady Iris.”
“Alright. I won’t tease anymore.”
Iris also knew that the scene she had seen earlier was a misunderstanding.
Thus, her anger right now was nothing more than a petty complaint.
“Still, I don’t want my little brother to get completely wrapped around a girl’s finger just because of her body.”
It seemed even to Iris that Acrede’s figure was shockingly overwhelming.
“She’s just in a good mood because she’s been getting a lot of sleep lately, so please go along with her.”
Hania, unaffected by everything, remained solely focused on Iris.
After that, even though Seron kept pestering from the side asking what it was about, I just ignored her.
More importantly, it was already time for mock battles again.
Last time, I think I ranked 14th.
This time, I should probably aim to rank a little higher.
“Hey.”
While I was thinking about how to raise my rank, Van spoke to me.
A genius student like Sharin, he glanced at me and then smirked.
“This time, I’m going to win.”
Because of everything that had been happening lately, Van and I hadn’t been able to properly face off; things always ended up fizzling out.
Finally, the long-awaited showdown was here.
“Sorry, but I’m moving up again this time too.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be right on your heels.”
He meant he’d chase me down and challenge me again as soon as I lost.
Such persistent determination.
But I’m curious too.
The current me is very different from who I was back then.
If someone like me now fights Van, how far could I go?
It seemed like it would be a very exciting battle.
‘Old habits die hard.’
Getting fired up like this makes me miss the days when I stood in the ring.
But it’s fine.
Even now, I’m still stepping into the ring.
“You.”
Then, following Van, Isabel approached.
She kept glancing at me and then finally cleared her throat and spoke.
“Make sure you climb higher this time.”
She hadn’t given up on our match yet.
I smiled warmly at Isabel’s words.
“Yeah, I will.”
“Ugh, huff, you better keep that promise.”
Seeing my smile, Isabel flinched for some reason.
Then she quickly turned around and fled as if running away.
“Huh?”
Seron, who had been chattering beside me, frowned while looking at Isabel.
Then she quietly threw a question at me.
“Prince Sweet Potato, did you do something with Isabel?”
“Not really?”
If I had to say, I did reveal my true identity to her not long ago.
Other than that, not much.
At that, Seron raised her eyebrows and tilted her head.

Then he quickly shook his head from side to side.
“Nah, probably not.”
I really wished she would share what exactly wasn’t the case.
But Seron soon got lost in her own thoughts, leaving me no chance to ask.
Watching Seron like that, my mind wandered to the upcoming mock battle.
Originally, after the mock battle, Vinesha’s scenario was supposed to follow.
‘Somehow, I ended up finishing Act 4’s scenario early.’
Since the flow of the scenarios sped up, it’s making me a little worried in several ways.
‘The scenarios in between ended up getting skipped.’
All that’s left now are the mock battle and the Winter Demonic Palace Tournament.
Maybe it’s because I pushed too hard, but I started to feel a small sense of regret.
‘No.’
This is the time to hurry and prepare the next scenario.
Clearing scenarios always favors those who are prepared.
Let’s keep pushing forward.

* * *

With that determination, it was now lunchtime after the morning classes.
“Prince Sweet Potato, why do you look so drained?”
“My face always looks like this.”
“You look like a shriveled sweet potato.”
I moved my fork as I answered Seron, who sat across from me in the cafeteria.
“True, you really do look especially lifeless today.”
Then the guy sitting next to me, Card, chimed in.
When I waved my fork at Card, he dodged lightly.
For a mage, his evasion skills are way too good.
Maybe my complicated thoughts about the scenarios were showing on my face.
“Probably just overthinking it.”
This time, Eve, who was sitting beside Seron, spoke up.
I stared at her for a moment and then suddenly asked,
“Come to think of it, Eve, don’t you have any other friends?”
Eve flinched.
Maybe it was because she was putting a piece of cake with powdered sugar into her mouth and some powder got into her throat.
“Cough, cough!”
“Good grief, how clumsy.”
“Wh-Whose fault do you think that is!”
Eve barely managed to lift her head while coughing.
Then she glared at me fiercely with a thoroughly scrunched-up face.
Why is she taking it out on me?
Eve fidgeted for a moment, then lowered her head deeply.
“…No one… comes.”
“What was that?”
Her voice was too small to catch clearly.
Bang!
Then Eve suddenly slammed the table and stood up.
“I said no one comes near me!”
Because of her outburst, all eyes in the cafeteria turned toward us.
Feeling embarrassed, Eve quickly sat back down.
I stared blankly at her and tilted my head.
“How could that possibly…”
Then suddenly, a certain memory popped into my head.
The day she first arrived at Zeryon Academy — how that first impression was set.
“Ahem, Prince.”
At that moment, as if driving the point home, Card let out an awkward cough.

Then Card looked at me and told me with his gaze whose fault it was.
I had framed it as if Eve had confessed to me.
Even though it had happened at an international solo exhibition meeting, it was still quite a commotion.
This fact would have spread to all the sharp-eared students.
On the very first day of such a situation, Eve declared she would set Zeryon Academy straight.
The martial arts students weren’t fools.
Everyone instantly realized who she had followed to the Academy.
And so, Eve ended up with this frame around her.
A transfer student who abandoned her own academy to chase after a boy.
And the one who caused that frame was none other than me.
Realizing this fact late, I turned to look at Eve.
I did feel responsible for her.
It made sense — after all, it was because of me that Eve came to Zeryon Academy.
“Eve.”
“…If you say something weird again, I’ll come at you.”
“Is it hard making friends?”
Eve threw her fork at me.
I dodged it lightly.
“Sorry, it’s my fault. I didn’t take care of you.”
“If you keep babbling just a little more, I’ll officially declare a duel.”
“But you can’t live without any friends forever, right?”
Eve flinched again.
Then, after glancing briefly at her own toes, she quietly spoke.
“…Am I not your friend?”
I blinked.
So did Seron and Card, who were eating like it was a normal everyday thing.
All our eyes turned to Eve at the same time.
Embarrassed to her core, she lowered her head deeply.
“Of course you’re our friend.”
“Definitely our best friend.”
Card and I spoke in perfect unison.
Then we both turned to look at Seron.
Startled by our stares, Seron frantically shook his head.
“Y-Yeah. You’re a friend. Totally.”
Eve’s face quickly began to brighten.
And just like that, Eve became our friend.
Eve was no longer lonely.
Good, good.
But Eve didn’t know.
That even though my reputation had been improving lately, we weren’t exactly treated that well by others around here.
‘Next time, I should introduce her to Isabel.’
After all, it’s never a bad thing to expand your social circle.
If it’s power-influencer Isabel, she could definitely get Eve lots of friends.
“Eve, if you ever want to get closer with the martial arts girls, just talk bad about me a bit.”
When I sneakily offered that tip, Eve sighed.
“I don’t think relationships built on badmouthing others are beneficial.”
“What a fine adult you are.”
As expected of a side-story protagonist.
“Hanon, is there a Hanon Airei here?!”
At that moment, the door burst open and a teaching assistant ran in.
He looked like he was from the 3rd year department and wore a very urgent expression.
“I’m Hanon Airei.”
I raised my hand and answered, and he shouted in a hurry.
“Baek Mokgong, Baek Mokgong has come to visit! You must go to the Zeryon Academy’s guest room immediately!”
Huh?