Chapter 70: After the Vacation, the Heroines Are Acting Strange

On the way back to Zeryon Academy by carriage, Iris tilted her head as she looked at me. Her long black hair flowed down.

“Hanon, you look more tired than before the vacation.”

“Do I?”

There was an issue with Isabel last night, and Hanon’s work in the morning.

Perhaps that’s why the fatigue had unknowingly accumulated.

“Rest your head here.”

Iris offered her seat in the carriage, patting her lap.

I’ve felt this before, but Iris completely treated me like a younger sibling.

‘Well.’

Iris was the youngest in the royal family.

She must have unconsciously wished for a younger sibling.

‘It seems like she’s doing everything she wanted to do for a younger sibling to me.’

Just looking at her like this, Iris was unmistakably a 17-year-old girl.

The problem was that even if I wanted to follow her wishes completely…

“What are you doing? Lady Iris told you to lie down.”

Hania’s glare from the side was intimidating.

But I couldn’t ignore Iris’s words either.

In the end, I laid my head on Iris’s thigh.

I felt the soft sensation of her thigh on my head.

I wondered if this was really okay, but Iris gently stroked my head.

‘It feels good.’

So I decided to stay like that.

And I fell asleep.

I wondered if Iris’s thighs were imbued with some incredible magic.

If her thighs were distributed nationwide, people suffering from insomnia would disappear.

With such thoughts, I opened the dormitory door, feeling like I had returned after a long journey.

Entering the dormitory, I stretched.

“Well then.”

I threw my luggage down and turned around.

There were about eight days left of summer vacation.

I planned to prepare for the next act during these eight days.

The first thing I had to do was…

‘The president who grants any wish once.’

I would fulfill the event conditions.

Finding the secret the president wanted to hide.

It begins.

* * *

During the summer vacation.

Vacations pass by in an instant.

The students who returned from vacation looked exhausted.

Thinking about the long academy life ahead, everyone already looked tired.

And among them, there was someone who looked particularly more exhausted than the others.

‘Hehe, this is killing me.’

With tanned skin and blonde hair, his large build exuded masculinity.

His name was Card Bellick.

He was a famous womanizer at Zeryon Academy.

He had flirted with most of the well-known girls at the school.

Card’s notoriety was well-known throughout Zeryon Academy.

Despite this, he often received confessions from women, proving he was a natural-born rogue.

However, the reality was different.

He belonged to the Shadow Knights of the neighboring country, the Kingdom of Panisis.

In truth, he was a spy who had enrolled in Zeryon Academy while hiding his identity and pretending to be an imperial citizen.

He was assigned two missions.

One was to observe and report on those who would become talents of the Hyserion Empire.

The other was to scout talents for the Kingdom of Panisis.

‘Why would anyone living in a superior empire want to be scouted by the kingdom?’

He thought.

Nevertheless, as a spy, he diligently carried out his duties.

Among his tactics was to seduce the daughters of key imperial officials.

Unknowingly, these girls, who were not yet discerning, would often divulge various pieces of information that their fathers or mothers had let slip.

Thus, Card went around flirting with different girls, gathering information about the empire from them.

Despite this, he never dated anyone, leading the angry girls to badmouth him.

However, Card understood human psychology well.

There was a peculiar mindset that, even if others didn’t, they believed they wouldn’t be treated the same way by him.

This expectation often caused women who initially ignored Card to eventually fall for him.

Moreover, Card had an uncanny ability to pick out such women.

Card had a natural talent for seeing through people.

The problem was that, while engaging in spy activities, he also had to maintain decent grades at Zeryon Academy.

For Card, it was exhausting in many ways.

During this summer vacation, instead of resting, he had observed the empire’s movements and even visited the Kingdom of Panisis.

As a result, Card’s stamina was completely drained.

‘Just kill me already.’

He thought as he looked up and saw the kids chattering in the dormitory hallway.

They were eagerly boasting about what they had done during the vacation.

Watching them, Card couldn’t help but smile wryly.

While some enjoyed a happy life during the vacation, he couldn’t even go home and had to work.

It was truly an unequal life.

‘That girl he liked.’

Card thought, feeling a brief pang of jealousy, but he soon dismissed the thought.

He never touched girls who were already taken.

Doing so would get him stabbed at the academy.

“Did you hear? They say there’s a ghost in the dormitory.”

“Come on, there’s no such thing.”

“It’s true! They say it came out at the pool at night.”

Listening to the kids’ trivial chatter, Card passed by them.

Creak—

Card opened the door to his dorm room.

He needed to rest a bit before tomorrow came.

Just as he was thinking that, he noticed someone had already entered the room before him.

It was Hanon Airei.

Hanon was the only boy whose thoughts Card couldn’t read, despite his talent for seeing through people.

The problem now was that Hanon’s shadow was so long it touched the floor.

Moreover, he was covered in dust from head to toe.

“Hanon?”

“Oh, Card.”

Hanon roughly threw off his dusty clothes and pulled out new ones.

There was an unfamiliar pendant around his neck.

The small sword-shaped pendant looked quite expensive.

To Card, Hanon seemed like someone who never rested. He always had so much to do.

Even at the academy, he was constantly busy, and after the academy, he would come to the dormitory, study until night, and then sleep.

Hanon was managing a schedule that even Card found insane.

But now, Hanon didn’t seem to have rested at all during the vacation.

“Hanon, what did you do during the vacation to look like that?”

Hanon turned to look at him upon hearing Card’s question.

Hanon’s eyes often seemed to pierce through Card.

Even though Card had the talent for seeing through people, Hanon’s gaze made him feel like he was being thoroughly examined.

“I was just a bit busy. Card, you seem the same.”

Card briefly laughed, thinking that maybe Hanon was also a spy from somewhere.

“Yeah, it seems we’re both in the same boat.”

“Right?”

Hanon wasn’t the type to pry into things.

So, it seemed he wouldn’t need to use the excuse he had prepared about what he did during the vacation.

“We have to go back to the academy tomorrow, so I should rest today.”

“I agree.”

Card nodded at Hanon’s words, threw his luggage down, and flopped onto the bed.

Card was suddenly glad to be sharing a room with Hanon.

* * *

Second year, second semester.

The time when Act 4, Scene 1 begins.

As usual, I finished my morning training with Aisha today.

“Senior, it seems you’ve been training steadily even while I was away.”

“Of course. Now, if I don’t train, I get restless.”

My training mate Aisha smiled brightly at my words.

“As expected of you, senior. I’m very proud of you as my training mate.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Aisha.”

Aisha and I looked at each other, our strong friendship as training mates shining through.

“By the way, what did you do during the vacation, Aisha?”

“I went back to my family home.”

Aisha’s family home was the Viscountcy of Bizbell, known as the northern warrior tribe.

Aisha had visited Bizbell.

“I met my older sisters and brothers after a long time and trained with them. I’m stronger now.”

Aisha had become even more reliable.

“You’ll join me for the next Demonic Palace expedition, right?”

During the last summer’s Demonic Palace expedition, I had informed my team in advance that I had other matters to attend to, so there would be a different team member.

As such, Aisha wanted to go with me for the next expedition.

A smile spread across my face.

“Yes, we’ll go together next time.”

This Autumn’s Demonic Palace expedition is preparation for the winter expedition.

I also planned to actively descend into the Demonic Palace.

After finishing my training with Aisha, I returned to the dormitory and took a thorough shower. Then, I changed into my uniform and started walking.

I still had to pretend to be in a relationship with Hania. It was a bit bothersome, but it was best to stay close to Iris for a while.

It wasn’t a bad thing for me either.

‘Besides, it’s about time for students to start rebelling against the student council.’

The student council boycott incident in Act 4, Scene 1.

The main players of this incident were starting to move.

And it was Iris’s role to instigate the commotion from behind.

She had been ordered by Duke Robliaju to take control of the student council, so she would surely carry it out.

When I arrived in front of the girls’ dormitory, I saw students busily preparing for the second semester.

Some students glanced at me, but I didn’t pay any attention.

“You’re early.”

After waiting for a while, Hania came out just in time.

“I always do morning training. What about Lady Iris?”

“She’ll be out soon.”

Hania said this with a short sigh. Soon, I saw Iris walking out. Unlike her usual self, who loved to sleep in the morning, she wasn’t sleepy at all today.

‘She stayed up all night.’

Iris only stayed up all night when she received orders from Duke Robliaju. She must have been ordered to take control of the student council in time for the start of the second semester.

“Good morning, Lady Iris.”

When I greeted her, Iris looked at me.

She flicked her black hair and suddenly reached out both hands to me.

Startled, I instinctively took two steps back.

Iris blinked her eyes with her hands still outstretched.

Realizing what she was about to do, she clenched and unclenched her hands.

During the academy vacation, I was often called to help Iris sleep.

Because of this, she had developed a habit of wanting to hug me whenever she saw me.

Especially since she hadn’t slept at all today, her body instinctively wanted to hug the stuffed toy she used to sleep with.

“Lady Iris, I’m supposed to be Hania’s boyfriend at the academy.”

Hania grabbed my hand and smiled.

Iris realized her mistake and slowly lowered her hands.

She looked at me with a very disappointed expression, like a puppy deprived of its favorite toy.

No means no.

No matter what, if I hugged Iris in front of the students, it would be irreversible.

“Hello, good morning everyone.”

At that moment, a familiar voice was heard.

It was a voice I didn’t expect to hear in front of the dormitory.

When I turned my head, there stood Isabel.

She was smiling brightly, with a sleepy Sharin beside her.

“Good morning to you too.”

“Uh, yeah.”

I was dumbfounded to receive a morning greeting from Isabel.

She tilted her head as she looked at the three of us standing still.

“If we stay here any longer, we’ll be late for the academy. Aren’t you going?”

Hania blinked and tilted her head.

“Isabel, are you coming with us?”

“Yes, is that a problem?”

“Not really.”

Hania glanced at me.

It was well known that Isabel and I were rivals.

It was strange that she wanted to go to school with me.

“Oh, it’s fine. I heard about the situation last time.”

Hania raised an eyebrow.

She glared at me, and I shrugged as if I had no choice.

“So, don’t worry about it.”

Hania looked back and forth between Isabel and me.

“It’s not about not worrying…”

Hania seemed to have a lot to say, but as Isabel said, if we delayed any longer, we’d be late.

“Alright, let’s go.”

So we started heading to school.

Iris, Hania, Isabel, Sharin, and me.

The problem was that everyone except Sharin was looking at me with a strange expression.

…What kind of combination is this?