The World After the Bad Ending

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Nia Cynthia.

From a young age, he was considered a genius in magic.

By the time he turned ten,

the number of spells he could wield exceeded 1,000.

This was a talent in magic that was among the best in the history of the Empire.

Thanks to this, the Cynthia Marquis family found themselves in a celebratory mood.

With such a talented heir,

it was only natural.

So Nia grew up with everything one could desire.

As a genius.

As the heir to the Cynthia Marquis family.

As the future Magic Tower Lord.

Depending on which imperial bloodline he supported, the political world would be influenced,

and he had climbed to the highest position among the promising future candidates.

‘And that was the biggest mistake of his life.’

The moment Nia sided with the 1st Prince,

the delicate balance between the 1st Prince and the 3rd Princess was shattered.

Though Nia’s actions were impressive,

they were not enough to shake the political landscape of the Empire as a whole.

He was only the heir, not the Marquis himself, and the Tower Lord was yet to come.

But the power struggle between the 1st Prince and 3rd Princess had already been going on for a long time.

So most figures in the imperial political arena were already aligned with one faction or another.

The political landscape of the Empire had been precariously balanced for far too long.

Nia was the perfect person to disrupt that balance.

A high-value stock with guaranteed future potential.

This is what broke the equilibrium.

‘Even Iris’s maternal grandfather, Duke Robliju, reaching out to Jerion Academy was for that reason.’

To gulp down promising future candidates and tilt the imperial throne in their favor when the time comes.

That was the plan of the 3rd Princess’s faction.

In such circumstances, the future promising candidate Nia suddenly sided with the 1st Prince.

For the 3rd Princess faction, it was akin to a sudden disaster.

Therefore, they took drastic measures.

They would eliminate Nia Cynthia.

If they couldn’t have him, they would break him.

That was their plan.

And now,

Nia stood before my eyes.

“Oh, brother, did you change your staff? It looks great,”

Nikita said, trying to diffuse the situation.

As she said, a quite nice-looking staff was nestled at her waist.

“You have a good eye. The one I originally used was accidentally broken by an acquaintance, so I replaced it.”

Nia thankfully responded well.

Nikita hurriedly continued the topic.

“Oh dear, I remember the original one being quite a fine item too.”

“Unfortunately, the craftsman who made the staff was injured in a carriage accident not long ago.

So a craftsman introduced by my acquaintance made this in a pinch.”

Nia said while smiling brightly.

“So, Nikita. Now explain the situation.”

The conversation had returned to square one.

His gaze had shifted to an intimidating sharpness.

More precisely, his look at me was chilling.

‘Nia Cynthia is someone who cherishes Nikita quite a lot.’

This was what had been written in Nia’s character description.

Until now, there had been no way to confirm the truth of this statement.

The Magung Academy Slayer: Flames Butterfly arc only dealt with events happening inside Jerion Academy.

Nia was completely outside the Academy.

Whenever he was mentioned, it was always only about his demise.

Perhaps that’s why it felt a bit miraculous.

It was the first time I had seen this person alive.

“Uh, uh…”

Due to Nia’s urging, Nikita had a troubled look on her face.

Understood. It was because she had no clue how to explain this situation now.

Nia, staring silently at Nikita, let out a long sigh.

“Nikita, I want you to have healthy romantic relationships.”

And the look Nia turned to me was lifeless.

Healthy romantic relationships.

It seemed Nia misunderstood the relationship between me and Nikita.

Considering what he had seen, it was understandable.

The sight of my younger sister hiding under the desk with a male student intentionally blocking the way.

Stating it like this made it sound quite odd.

I just thought Nikita was cute, so I teased her a bit.

How unfair.

“Not some random brat rolling in from who knows where.”

That’s too much.

Hanon is also technically a part of the Robliju bloodline.

‘Oh, that’s why.’

Since he sided with the 1st Prince, Nia had effectively made the Robliju Duke family his enemy.

The Hanon I was disguised as had the black hair and red eyes characteristic of the Robliju family.

It would have been impossible for him not to notice the bloodline connection.

‘By the way,’

Did Nia know that Hanon was originally a card he intended to use for the 1st Prince?

Not knowing about Nia, I had no way of knowing.

“W-what do you mean by romantic relationships! That’s a misunderstanding. Me and my junior have no such relationship at all.”

Nikita vehemently denied it, her face turning pale.

Nikita was well aware of her position.

For now, she could be free during her time at Jerion Academy, but once she graduated,

she would undoubtedly be used for a political marriage.

Thus, she couldn’t allow any labels of romantic relationships to stick to her.

Such labels would be a heavy blow in a political marriage where purity was critical.

She didn’t want to bring shame to her family.

“Is that so?”

Nia’s face brightened a little.

“Then we should probably ask how the other side feels about it.”

Nia turned to me with cold eyes.

He, too, possessed remarkable looks, much like Nikita.

While some might find such an appearance attractive,

I had no interest in men.

“Nikita-senpai is the most respected senior in the world to me.”

“Ugh.”

Seemingly caught by surprise by my blatant compliment in front of Nia, Nikita flinched.

“Diligently fulfilling her duties as vice-president, and even taking on others’ tasks shows her generosity.

Though sometimes she hums a tune due to stress from excessive workload, she seems to have talent in singing as well.

Including that part, I respect her.”

My words spilled out like a rapid-fire.

Nikita stared at me with her mouth agape, as if questioning how I knew all this.

Nia slowly furrowed his brows.

“…Is there anything else?”

And for some reason, he demanded something more.

“There’s plenty. The other day, she attempted to eat a dish with eggplant that she usually doesn’t like.

Although it was a failure, attempting it has the most value, right?”

Nikita’s lips quivered.

“Nikita, you’ve matured a lot.”

Nia looked at Nikita with immense pride.

I was starting to understand how to deal with Nia.

“So, is there more?”

“Yes, of course, there is more. The day before yesterday…”

Suddenly—

My body was pulled slightly downwards.

Turning my head, I saw Nikita grinding her teeth, glaring at me.

Nikita’s body was trembling.

If I went any further, Nikita was about to burst.

“…Both of you, get out.”

No, it’s already exploded.

“Get out!”

And then Nia and I were simultaneously kicked out of the student council room.

We stood in the hallway, leaving the closed student council room behind.

“…I’ve never seen Nikita raise her voice like that before.”

Nia muttered with a thoughtful expression.

“It’s because Nikita-senpai probably didn’t show herself at the family.”

Nia glanced at me.

“I know. That’s why I sent Nikita to Jerion Academy.”

I hadn’t known that.

So, Nikita’s chance to come to Jerion Academy was thanks to Nia’s influence.

I finally understood why Nikita had been so furious about Nia’s death and why she got involved with Goryong.

Nia truly cared for Nikita.

Knowing this, Nikita must have suppressed her jealousy in her heart and genuinely followed Nia.

“Hey, what’s your name?”

Then Nia asked for my name.

What should I do?

If Nia knows Hanon, things could get quite complicated.

According to my plans, the news of Hanon transferring schools would reach the 1st Prince’s ears in about six months.

However, with Nia’s appearance, that timeline had been significantly accelerated.

‘In this case.’

I might as well throw it out there.

“I am Hanon Irey.”

“Hanon, huh?”

Nia mulled over my name.

“Remember that.”

With that, Nia turned and walked away.

Given his lack of reaction to my name,

it seemed he hadn’t heard anything specific about Hanon from the 1st Prince.

I took a little breather.

Fortunately, it seemed my plans hadn’t been derailed too much.

‘I wanted to ask why he came to the academy.’

But I’d find out soon enough.

‘Since I’ve been banned from the student council room today,’

I might as well head back early and do some physical training.

＊＊＊

A week had passed since Nia Cynthia joined as an assistant professor.

As a result, there was quite the commotion among the girls recently.

Nia is what one would call a pretty prince type.

Moreover, his manner of speaking is very gentle, and he answers students’ questions with great care.

For the women, there was no more ideal man than this.

Perhaps because of this, the female students’ hearts were ablaze.

Even female martial arts students were blooming with stories about Nia.

“Seriously, what’s good about a guy who looks like a gigolo?”

At that, one female student next to me looked on disapprovingly at those girls.

With her hair, red like a pig’s tail, she turned her gaze toward me.

“Right, Princess Sweet Potato?”

“Why are you casually chatting beside me?”

Her name is Seron Parmia.

She was the one who teamed up with me during the last Magung tournament.

Since then, it seemed she thought we were friends.

So recently, Seron had been sitting next to me during martial arts class.

More precisely, she’d been cast out from the girls and didn’t want to be alone, so she sat beside me.

“And what do you mean by Princess Sweet Potato?”

Last time, it was burned sweet potato, and now it’s Princess Sweet Potato.

“Well, you were brought in by Aisha like a princess last time.”

I couldn’t remember because my mind was blank from the explosion.

For some reason, I’d ended up being a crazy person who exploded myself to kill an apostle.

It was true that I exploded myself, but I had estimated there would be no damage.

Who knew the synergy between my steel skin and the magic seal would occur?

But to others, I looked like a guy who blew himself up and charged like a bomb.

Because of that, the kids tended to stay away from me.

Most were worried about accidentally provoking another explosion.

Ah, how lonely.

“Seems like the burned sweet potato nickname has ceased for now.”

“…I won’t be calling you that again.”

Seron turned her head away with a displeased expression.

If she wasn’t going to call me that, she should have never called me sweet potato in the first place.

Regardless, being known as sweet potato, burned or not, I didn’t mind.

“If you keep hanging around me, the girls will never accept you.”

“Whatever. I’m tired of catering to the girls’ whims.”

I couldn’t understand her words since she was also a girl.

“I guess I’m better off hanging out with the boys.”

It seemed someone who had switched from the girls’ group to the boys’.

I could see a bad ending for Seron in the far future.

She would eventually become all the boys’ unrequited love, and the queen bee would be born.

That terrible ending.

“Seron, you should make up with the girls right away.”

“What? No way.”

“I’m saying this for your sake. I want to prevent you from becoming the queen bee.”

“…Did you hit your head again? Did your brain explode with that last explosion?”

She didn’t understand my genuine concern.

“Wang Non, let’s have lunch.”

As I was bickering with Seron, a familiar voice called out.

As I shoved Seron away, who had lunged at me due to my provocation, I looked up and saw Card.

He still had that lazy expression on his face.

It seemed he had just finished his Magic Arts class and had come over.

Recently, it had become a common occurrence for Seron, me, and Card to have lunch together.

Though we seemed to be labeled as the troublemaker trio among the kids,

My reputation couldn’t drop any further, so I was fine with it.

“Card, what do you think of Assistant Professor Nia Cynthia?”

As we walked out with Seron, I asked, and Card shrugged his shoulders.

“I feel a sense of rivalry, to be honest.”

“Not that nonsense; don’t you know why he came as an assistant professor?”

Card being a Magic Arts student should have picked up something.

“Oh, there was a rather interesting reason.”

I knew Card would know.

“What is it?”

“Apparently, he came to test a magic that makes you younger.”

And truly, an unexpected reason emerged.