Chapter 91: Caught Already?

Slayer Academies of the Demonic Palace: Side Story – Rise of the Azure Flame

The Rise of the Azure Flame arc focuses solely on Eve’s first-year life.
The reason is simple.
This arc serves as an epilogue to the earlier installments of Slayer Academies of the Demonic Palace.

The Slayer Academies of the Demonic Palace series comprises three main arcs.
The two arcs preceding Blazing Butterfly are set in different time periods, both involving older generations compared to Blazing Butterfly.
I haven’t played much of the first two arcs because one is a puzzle game and the other is a bullet-hell shooting game.
Since I prefer pixel RPGs, they weren’t really to my taste.

Perhaps because of this, the Slayer Academies of the Demonic Palace series had different fanbases for each arc.
Among them, the Rise of the Azure Flame arc is an appendix to the second arc.
The game company released it as an RPG-style epilogue to promote the third arc, Blazing Butterfly.
Because of this, Rise of the Azure Flame isn’t very long.
Eve’s first-year life at Ordo Academy is the entire focus, which proves its brevity.

‘In other words, Eve right now is…’
A character whose story has already concluded.

It’s also the only arc I’ve played apart from the first two.

Eve entered confidently, her blue hair fluttering behind her.
“Azure Flame.”
“The lone star of Ordo.”

Eve’s feats in the Ordo Kingdom were widely recognized.
So, it wasn’t surprising that the other students seemed to know of her.

“…So that’s Azure Flame?”
Isabel muttered while staring at Eve.
It seemed Isabel had heard of her too.
‘Well, she was mentioned a few times even in Blazing Butterfly.’

Eve was one of the six stars who made a name for themselves during her generation.
The reason I decided to play Rise of the Azure Flame was my curiosity about her.

The game developers likely intended this, using intrigue to entice players into buying the previous arcs.
Though it’s a devious tactic, it gave me the chance to meet the protagonist of another arc.

I could feel the heat radiating from within her.
That alone convinced me.
‘I must transfer Eve to Zeryon Academy.’

I had already completed the dean’s event over the summer vacation.
The dean agreed to facilitate Eve’s transfer as long as she consented.

‘I really went through hell to prepare for this.’
That was why I barely rested during the break.
All that remained was Eve’s decision.

However, this was the hardest part.
Eve wouldn’t lack attachment to Ordo Academy, even if others there envied or resented her.

“Finally, we’ve arrived.”

Among the six stars, the only kingdom without a recorded star for its generation was the ordinary nation of Zebra.
The president of Rosli Academy, representing Zebra, stood to approach the roundtable.
One by one, the other academy presidents also stood.
Even the acting president, Iris, rose and moved to the roundtable.

Soon, those seated at the roundtable began their meeting.
I didn’t pay much attention to their discussion.
After all, they were just talking about the proceedings for the international individual tournament.

‘The influence of student council presidents in academies can’t be ignored, but…’
Events of the scale of the international individual tournament are supervised by deans and professors.
Thus, this meeting was more of a formality than anything substantial.

What really mattered was the party that would follow, where connections with future key figures could be formed.

‘But precisely because of that…’
The participants engaged in the meeting with unwavering intensity, leaving no ground unclaimed in their discussions.
Everyone here was fully aware that they were future representatives of their respective nations.
To falter here was akin to failing in the future.

This was a meeting bearing the weight of national honor.
A fierce and relentless battle of wills.

“Haaaahhhmm.”
Sharin, seemingly uninterested, let out a loud yawn.
Though Isabel scolded her for it, Sharin was soon nodding off, half-asleep.

My eyes, however, were on Eve.

Eve stood apart from the Ordo Academy students.
While they chatted among themselves, not one of them spoke to her.
Their behavior made it obvious—they were keeping their distance.

Eve had made a name for herself beyond the borders of her country with her remarkable achievements.
This made her an alien figure among the Ordo students.

Ordo Academy hailed from the fallen kingdom of Prellis, often mocked for its decline.
The students, steeped in their nation’s collapse, were riddled with crushed self-esteem and a pessimistic outlook.
With a collapsed economy and no visible future, the people had sunk into despair.

Prellis had once been the brightest of the five kingdoms.
But the rapid growth of the kingdom outpaced the development of its people.
As the nation struggled, suicide rates climbed, and birth rates plummeted.
Amid this decline, the royal family and nobility grew corrupt.
The current king, despite inheriting a broken nation, was widely criticized as the most incompetent monarch in history.

Thus, Prellis could never shed its stigma as a fallen kingdom.
This burden extended even to its children, the supposed assets of its future.
The children of Prellis no longer dared to hope.
No matter how hard they tried, they believed they could never be happier than the broken adults who had ruined society.

Even basic survival was fraught with uncertainty.
Dreams became a luxury they could no longer afford.
Amid this desolation, where everyone had abandoned their dreams—a star was born in Ordo.

The unyielding Azure Flame.
Eve.

For those who had already lost their light, her brilliance was too much to bear.
Instead of embracing and amplifying her light, they chose to look away.
It was easier to avoid the star than to try to shine beside her and risk being consumed by her fire.

Thus, Eve was an isolated island within Ordo Academy.
Afraid of being burned by the star, her peers all fled from her.

Then, as if sensing my gaze, Eve lifted her head.
Her blue eyes locked onto mine.

At first glance, her gaze seemed emotionless.
Yet within it, I could unmistakably feel her firm confidence.
Truly befitting of the unyielding Azure Flame.

Poke-
A sudden sharp sensation in my side startled me.
When I turned, I found Isabel with her finger prodding me.

“What are you staring at so intently?”
For some reason, there was irritation in Isabel’s eyes.
It seemed she had noticed me watching Eve.

“Where I look is my business.”
“And scolding you is mine.”

Isabel’s ability to retort was improving by the day.
Was she growing in this area too?

Under Isabel’s piercing glare, I had no choice but to shift my gaze away.
It didn’t matter.
I’d be speaking with Eve soon enough anyway.

* * *

The meeting concluded successfully.
The reason for its success was simple.
Though the other students worked hard, the meeting was led by Iris.

The princess of the Empire.
She was also a likely candidate to inherit the throne.
Even royalty found it burdensome to openly oppose Iris’s words.
Thus, Iris dominated the meeting as she pleased.

Watching her, one couldn’t help but be reminded that Iris was royalty.

“Hanon.”
But that thought quickly faded after the meeting, when she stretched out her arms to me in the room we were assigned to rest in.
Her outstretched arms were brimming with the clear intent for me to embrace her.

Isabel stared at me intently.
Her gaze conveyed a clear message: Are you really going to do this?

“Hanon?”
Iris tilted her head.
Her body language practically urged me to hurry up and come over.

I inhaled deeply and let out a sigh.
I could feel the tension rising between the two of them again.
This was getting out of hand. It was time to draw a line.

“Iris, your recent pranks have gone too far. Even for me, this is becoming a problem.”
I addressed her with the utmost politeness.
Then, I looked directly at her.

Perhaps realizing she had crossed a line, Iris repeatedly opened and closed her hands.
She wasn’t someone who couldn’t be reasoned with.
The fact that she was being overly playful lately was likely due to her possessiveness being provoked by Isabel.
But if she wanted to, Iris was fully capable of controlling herself.

“I’ll gladly help you rest comfortably, Iris. However, if you continue acting like this, it will tarnish your reputation. And frankly, it’s troubling for me as well.”

Isabel and Sharin weren’t the type to gossip.
But if someone else were to see this behavior, it would cause significant trouble.

No matter how close we were as cousins, it wasn’t proper for an 18-year-old man and woman to behave this way.
Especially not when the woman in question was Iris, a princess.
Even a small slip could spark harmful rumors.
There were always people eager to exploit even the tiniest flaw in her otherwise perfect image.

“…Fine. I’ll only do it when we’re alone.”
Not quite a promise to stop, but at least she agreed to restrain herself.

Satisfied for now, I turned to Isabel.
She nodded in agreement, as if to say I’d spoken the obvious truth.

Isabel, you’re no different.

“And Isabel, you’ve been meddling with me a lot lately.”
Isabel flinched, her shoulders jerking slightly.

Ever since Isabel began harboring mixed feelings of affection and frustration toward me, she had been behaving just like an overbearing childhood friend.
While I understood her insecurities and had let her behavior slide, her obsession was becoming excessive.

“I know you hate it when I badmouth your friend, but stop.”
I reminded Isabel of the time I’d criticized Lucas, a subject that still seemed to bother her.

While I hadn’t brought it up recently, it was worth noting that Isabel and I had originally been rivals.
After many twists and turns, our rivalry had turned into mutual respect.
But this didn’t mean we were close enough to behave this way.

“…….”
Isabel dropped her gaze to the floor.
Hopefully, this reminder would keep her in check for a while.

“And lastly, Sharin.”
I called out to Sharin, who had, at some point, made herself at home in the room, munching on popcorn.

“If you keep watching with that entertained look, I’ll German suplex you.”
“Mmfff…”
Her mouth was stuffed with popcorn, so her reply was muffled and unintelligible.
Her puffed-up cheeks were practically begging to be pinched, but I held back, knowing full well she might retaliate with magic.

“Alright, take a break, everyone. I’m going out for some fresh air.”
I had no intention of staying in this stifling atmosphere any longer, so I quickly made my exit.

Thankfully, no one followed me.
Once I stepped out of the room, I let out a sigh of relief.

Today, I learned something important.
Isabel and Iris were an absolute worst-case pairing.
I’d have to make sure to keep them apart in the future.

With that thought in mind, I continued walking down the hall.
That’s when I saw it.

By the corridor window, blue hair fluttering in the air.
The sight made my eyes widen slightly in recognition.

It was Eve.

The moment Eve spotted me, she strode directly toward me.
It was as if I had been her destination from the very beginning.

Her unwavering gaze locked onto mine, exuding an intense aura befitting the protagonist of a side story.

“You.”
Eve addressed me directly, her words leaving no room for ambiguity.

Then, my body froze in place.

“You’ve been afflicted by the magic of an Elder Dragon.”

This… was entirely unexpected.