Chapter 83: Prince Sweet Potato

Seron Parmia.
At her sudden appearance, Van and I stopped fighting and stared at her silently.

“……Seron?”
When Van called her name, Seron flinched.

“I’m… I’m not Seron, though?”
If you’re going to hide it, do a better job.
That sparkling forehead under the mask was unmistakably Seron.

“Seron, what are you doing right now?”
Recognizing her, Mina also shouted.
She was asking why Seron was on that side.

Seron looked even more flustered but bit her lip, gripping her two axes tightly.
“I don’t know! Just come at me already!”
Seron directed hostility toward Isabel’s group.

“What is she even saying? Does she understand the situation right now?”
Mina, seeing this, reacted in disbelief.

“She’s not Seron, huh.”
At that moment, Van’s sword exuded an ominous, cold aura.
It was so chilling that even Seron flinched.

“It doesn’t matter who’s standing in my way.”
Van made it clear that he’d break through anyone who blocked his path.

However, Seron didn’t back down and raised her axes.
“…Try me, then.”
A honey badger facing a lion bared its fierce teeth.

I found the situation a little absurd.
I hadn’t expected Seron to suddenly show up.

‘Was she watching from somewhere all this time?’
It seemed she thought I was in danger and came out because of that.
I appreciated her sentiment, but this way, Seron would also get entangled with the boycott.

It was the moment I raised my hand to stop her.
“I came here of my own will.”
There was a firm resolve in Seron’s tightly shut lips.

She had come here by her own decision.
Watching her back, I lowered my raised hand.

“Can you stop Van?”
“Of course I can.”
Seron clashed her axes together with determination.

Alright.
I’ll leave her to handle Van.

Now then.
Rumble—
Suddenly, flames began to whirl around us.
My gaze landed on the one controlling the fire.

The contractor of the highest-ranking fire spirit and the top spiritologist in her field.
Beakiring Monem.

The highest-ranking fire spirit she controlled began to manifest, spewing flames.
The enormous spirit, reminiscent of a giant lizard, flicked its tongue.
Even I, with my high resistance, could feel the heat.

Moreover, the two eyes of the supreme fire spirit were fixed solely on me.
‘Did it sense the Flame’s essence?’
I had the corpse of the Fire Spirit Lord within me.
It was highly likely that the supreme fire spirit had sensed something.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but—”
Beakiring, as if she’d been patient long enough, flicked her hand.

“With Sharin and Mina here, you’re getting far too cocky.”
Sharin, who was standing next to Beakiring, glared at me disapprovingly.
Then, with a sigh, she raised her staff with a smooth motion.

“It’ll sting a bit, Vikarmern senior.”
Sharin had come here today at Isabel’s request.
That meant she had no intention of holding back.

Facing a battle against a top-tier spirit user and the head of magical studies.
And Isabel wouldn’t just keep watching forever either.

As I braced myself for the grueling fight—

Whooosh!
A gust of wind surged in, sweeping away the raging flames.

“What?”
A startled reaction came from Beakiring’s side.
When she quickly looked up, a massive jade-colored bird was descending from the sky.
It was so enormous that its majesty could be felt even from a human’s perspective.
Its transparent wings spread wide, sending gusts of wind that shook everyone around.

“Is that… a Spirit Lord?”
Beakiring’s voice was filled with confusion.

The bird’s identity was none other than a Spirit Lord, a spirit bound by a contract with Poara Silin.

Thud!
A boy riding the wind landed next to me.

“Ughh!”
He landed in an awkward posture, flailing a bit before managing to stand straight.
Then, he pushed up the glasses perched on top of his mask.

“R-reporting for support!”

“Poara Silin, why are you here?”
At Beakiring’s question, Poara frantically shook his head.

“I-I’m not Poara! Just a passing spirit user!”

“What nonsense is that?”
Beakiring’s expression turned incredulous.
Then she frowned, as if wondering if she was being mocked.

‘Judging by the situation, he must’ve sensed the spirit’s power and come here.’
I could guess why Poara was here.
He must have sensed the energy of a high-ranking spirit and decided to play his part as a member of the boycott.

“I-I’ll handle the spirit!”
Poara, unable to meet Beakiring’s sharp gaze, spoke while deliberately avoiding eye contact.

Fine.
This was becoming quite manageable.

“As I said before.”
I raised my fist toward Isabel’s group.

“This area is off-limits to unauthorized personnel.”

* * *

The clash between the top-tier spirit and the Spirit Lord echoed with deafening roars.
Caught in this unexpected calamity, ordinary students were thrown into chaos.

Amid the turmoil, Seron and Van charged at each other, becoming entangled in a fierce clash.
Seron’s desperate axe techniques had improved to the point of surprising even Van.

Beyond the two, the radiance of magic painted the battlefield.
Every time Sharin’s light magic descended, the surroundings were devastated.
It was practically a meteor shower.

Clang!
At that moment, cutting through the afterimages of the light, Isabel’s friend Mina appeared.
She skillfully wielded her sword, trying to pin me down.

But I was someone who had matched evenly with Van.
My sharpened reflexes caught every move of her blade, allowing me to evade all her strikes.

“How can a mage be this fast?!”

Mina let out a ragged breath, screaming in frustration.
Sorry, but I’m no ordinary mage.
I feinted by pulling my body back, then abruptly lunged forward.

In an instant, the distance between Mina and me closed.
Taking advantage of her moment of surprise, I drove my fist toward her wrist.

Boom!
A burst of magic from my elbow powered the punch, propelling it forward with explosive force.

Crack!
“Kyah!”
Mina couldn’t react in time and took a direct hit to the wrist holding her sword.

As her grip weakened, I sent a faint current coursing through the blade.
The electricity, drawn from the storm magic embedded in my hand, made her flinch and drop the sword.

She’d witnessed what happened to Paladin Pasen earlier, so she let go the moment she felt the current.

Clang!
The sword fell, and I kicked it hard, sending it flying.
With that, Mina was disarmed.

But Mina was never the real problem to begin with.

Whoosh!
Cutting through the smoke left behind by the light bullets, Isabel emerged.
Her crimson eyes glowed with sharp, beast-like slits.

In a flash, her sword streaked toward my neck.

This one—I couldn’t dodge.
I raised my hand instantly and swung it.

Clang!
Using the edge of my hand to block her sword, I disappeared with Isabel into the smoky haze.

Within the blurred, dust-filled air, I quietly heightened my senses.

As I held my breath, Isabel’s silhouette became visible.
Before her figure fully appeared, her sword pierced through the smoke.

Clang! Clang!
My swift, unwavering hand strikes clashed repeatedly with her blade.

Her swordsmanship was alive and precise.
‘When it comes to sharpness, she’s almost as good as Van.’

I couldn’t help but realize how much Isabel had been training.
Come to think of it, this was my first time fighting Isabel directly.
A fight long delayed—who’d have thought it’d happen here?

Sometimes, you just have to roll with life’s surprises.

As I dodged another soaring blade, I suddenly felt my back press against a wall.

Ah, damn.
I’d been so focused on Isabel’s sword that I’d neglected my rear.

As her blade came thrusting toward my chest, I swung both hands at once.

My fingers caught the sword edge aimed at my chest.
A technique I’d once used against Van—The Sword Breaker.

Crack!
Isabel’s sword shattered in my grasp.

But at that very moment, I caught sight of a glint from another direction.
A new blade was already streaking toward me.

Isabel had let go of her broken sword and was wielding another—
The sword I’d kicked away earlier, Mina’s blade.

‘I’ve been outplayed.’
Isabel had anticipated my Sword Breaker move, having witnessed me use it against Van before.
From the start, her plan was to discard her original sword and strike with Mina’s instead.

Her crimson eyes locked onto mine.
She was relentless, determined to defeat me by any means necessary.
I couldn’t help but let out an unintentional chuckle.

That’s right, the main heroine should be like this.

The magic inscription etched on the wall behind me suddenly ignited with a burst of light.
Isabel realized it, but it was already too late.

BOOOOM!

With a deafening roar, the wall collapsed entirely.

“You!”
I heard Isabel’s voice, but I quickly rolled backward, avoiding her pursuit.
Then, pushing off the ground, I sprinted away.

I had bought enough time.
That was all I needed.

Gripping the Lightning Magnet, I unleashed the remnants of Professor Barkov’s stored lightning at full capacity.

Magic Inscription · Lightning Catcher

Black lightning surged into my hand as I hurled it without hesitation toward Van and Seron.

Van, who had been aiming his sword at Seron, sensed it and stepped back immediately.
“Eek!”
Seron, startled, also dodged instinctively.

I used the opening to grab her by the waist.
“Kyaa!”
Seron screamed again, this time for a different reason, her face turning crimson.

Carrying the flustered Seron, I shouted,
“Poara, retreat!”
“Ah, y-yes!”

Poara, who had been locked in combat with Beakiring, immediately disengaged and began to withdraw.
“Stop right there! After what you did to Ring!”
Beakiring yelled furiously after the fleeing Poara, but she didn’t chase.

Even as a contractor of the highest-ranking spirit, there wasn’t much she could do against a Spirit Lord.
Grinding her teeth in frustration, Beakiring looked utterly defeated.
It seemed Poara would face severe consequences later.

As I ran, I spotted Sharin in the distance.
She was glaring at me with a slightly disgruntled look, her expression saying, ‘You could’ve warned me if this was going to happen’.
I’d have to apologize to her later, too.

For now, the best plan was retreat.

* * *

After running for a while, Isabel and her group stopped chasing us.
While Isabel might have wanted to, their primary goal was to mediate the chaos caused by the Boycott group at the academy.
They had no reason to follow me further.

Finding a secluded building, I ducked inside and caught my breath.
Even with all the hellish physical training I’d endured with Aisha, all that running and fighting had taken its toll.

Boom! Crash!
From a distance, the battle between the student council and the Boycott group raged on.
Even from afar, I could see everyone fighting desperately.

“Ah.”
Seron suddenly let out a small gasp.

Realizing I’d forgotten about her, I set her down gently.
But Seron wasn’t looking at me—her gaze was fixed on the window, her eyes trembling.

“Seron?”

When I called her name curiously, Seron bit her lip tightly.
“Prince—no, Vickerman senior.”
So, she figured it out in the end.
Amidst all the chaos, Vickerman’s name had echoed countless times.
There was no way she could’ve missed it.

As I let out a wry smile, Seron lowered her head.
“This… it’s all because of Nikita, isn’t it?”
Vickerman had feelings for Nikita.
Because of that, he lashed out at Lucas, crossed the line, and ended up expelled.
Even if Seron hadn’t known my face, she must have heard the story somewhere.

To Seron, this must have felt like heartbreak.

“It’s okay. I might have done the same.”
She said in a faintly sorrowful voice.

Seeing Seron’s teary, bittersweet smile, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

“But this is as far as I can help.”
Seron’s gaze remained fixed outside the window.
“I have a somewhat lacking friend in the student council.”

Only then did I realize what Seron had been looking at through the window.
There stood Hania, disguised as Hanon.

“I can’t betray my friend any further They’re the only precious friend I have.”

Seron smiled faintly as she said this.
“A bit of a troublesome friend, but still.”

My fists clenched tightly.
Seron turned her body.

“That day, thanks to you, Vickerman senior, I realized I wasn’t entirely unlucky.”
She spoke with sincere gratitude.
“Thank you.”

With those words, Seron left.

I stood there blankly, watching her retreating figure, biting my lip hard.

Because of the Veil’s Bandages, I had lost the ability to feel love.
But I understood the meaning of the friendship Seron had shown.

Seron was my friend.
She is now, and she always will be.

How long will I keep deceiving a friend like her?
Could I ever reveal my true self to Seron, knowing these misunderstandings persist?

Something told me this was the only chance I had.

“You battered tomato!”

This was nothing more than an impulsive act.
I was an outsider in this world.
Yet, even someone like me had been accepted as a true friend by Seron.

Impulsive or not, it didn’t matter.
For once, I wanted to stir up this stifling world.

So, I smiled as brightly as I could.
Calling out the nickname I’d once given Seron, I pressed the Veil’s Bandages.

Under the moonlight streaming in through the window, my appearance transformed in an instant into that of Hanon.

The pendant Seron had seen before dangled from my neck.
The same pendant she had mistakenly thought I’d given to Vickerman.
Gripping the pendant tightly, I held it high above my head.

“Huh?”

Seron turned around and let out a startled voice.
Her wide eyes showed she couldn’t make sense of what was happening.

Looking at her dazed expression, I gave her a mischievous grin.
“Let’s talk again tomorrow.”

And with that, I bolted.

I had no idea what would happen next, but I’d done it.
I left the rest to tomorrow’s me.

Good luck, tomorrow’s me.

【Act 4, Scene 1: ‘Boycott Chaos’ concludes here.】