The World After the Bad Ending

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Nia Cynthia was assassinated.

This is the tale that unfolds during Act 4 of the Fire Butterfly arc as it progresses.

Act 4 is a light episode featuring various characters mingling, primarily filled with antics involving the heroines.

And this is where the problem arises.
The method of Nia’s death is not documented anywhere in the game.

Naturally.
What matters is the fact that Nia was assassinated and the reason behind it.
How she was assassinated was of no importance at all.

And that means.

“I don’t know how Nia was assassinated.”

If it had vaguely been that an assassin was sent, I could consider poisoning.

However.
Nia is a skilled martial magician active in the royal court.
The idea of her falling to an assassin is simply hard to imagine.

She must know that her position is dangerous and is always on guard.
She must always cast at least some magic to protect herself.

So, if she were to be assassinated,
what method could possibly have been used?

It has already been two weeks since Nia arrived at the academy.
And I still find myself in the dark regarding her assassination.

To prevent it, I need to know how it could occur.
What can I do when I don’t know anything?

Moreover, Nia is the associate professor of Magic Arts.
As a martial artist, my interactions with her are nearly nonexistent.

“But still.”

Why did Iris tell me that Nia would be assassinated?

“What does she believe in?”

The only conversation Iris and I have had was when we were in the hospital.

Iris stands as the final boss in this scenario.
Right now, I still lack much to engage with her.

“Considering Hanon’s environment, perhaps she said that.”

Even that doesn’t make much sense.

Hanon belongs to the 1st Prince’s faction.
If Iris knew this, it would almost be like revealing the weaknesses of the 3rd Princess’ faction.

That would be a bad move for Iris.

“Then, it must mean she reached that conclusion based on my actions thus far.”

The more I think about it, the more confused I become.

I feel like I should just run up to Iris and ask her directly.
But Iris is not someone easy to approach.

To begin with, I doubt she’ll even answer.
“If Iris had her own calculations that I could prevent the assassination.”

I can’t grasp what that could be.

Am I perhaps forgetting something related to Nia’s assassination among the actions I’ve shown at the academy?

“At least let me know when she might be assassinated.”

The vague hints she dropped are only making my head hurt.

[Swish!]

In that moment, a wooden sword struck my chin.
As I hurriedly leaned back and stepped away, the boy in front of me let out a loud yawn.

“If you stay dazed like that, you’ll end up getting hit.”

The lazy genius, Ban.
Ban was currently my sparring partner.

Today was free duel training.
Everyone had to accept any challenges as per this lesson.

I asked Ban for a duel.
I’ve gained enough experience from enduring Ban’s sharp swordplay that I could handle it somewhat.

That’s why I asked him.
“Sorry, I had something going on, so I couldn’t focus.”
“Hmmm, you’re usually serious during training. There must be something big going on.”

Ban, thankfully, understood my circumstances.
He’s a genuinely kind fellow.

“By the way, Ban, I heard you’ve been training with Isabel lately.”

I gathered my stance properly and struck at Ban with my hand.
With skill, Ban parried my strike with his wooden sword.
“Yeah, she asked me personally.”
“How’s it going? Is she showing any progress?”
“Isabel was already skilled. She had a few bad habits, but she’s corrected a lot of them recently.”

So, Isabel is getting significantly stronger.

“And her determination has changed.”

Ban stared at me intently.
It felt like he was hinting at who had caused the change.
“I’ve been thinking that maybe you deliberately said something to Isabel.”
“It was just something I said out of discontent.”
“Even so, you’ve been especially hard on Isabel.”

Why is it that geniuses are all so sharp?
Ban, who seems to observe from a step back compared to everyone else, reached such a conclusion.

“Were you originally acquainted with Isabel?”
Ban thought I had no reason to hold a grudge against someone like Isabel, whom I had no ties to.
“Not at all.”

There is a connection, though.
A long-standing bond built through the game.

But I can’t explain that.
“I see.”

Ban and I distanced ourselves from each other.
Since that day, after fighting with the forest keeper,
I’ve become more accustomed to using my body.

I am increasingly amazed by Bickamon’s innate talent.
If he hadn’t touched magic from the beginning and focused on his physical skills, Bickamon might have achieved great success as well.

It means I have also gotten used to physical training.
I’ve now surpassed my peak performance.

I don’t even know how far I can grow.

“I need to get stronger to take the lead in the story instead of Lucas.”

I’ll have to keep working hard going forward.
“Isabel will become very strong in the future.”

And the characters that will play a major role in the story will be the same.
“I feel bad for Isabel, but in a way, her talent was buried because of Lucas.
Now, it’s finally blooming.”

Isabel has so much potential that even Ban rates her highly.
After all, she’s one of the main heroines in the Fire Butterfly arc.
I hope she continues to grow smoothly without any issues.

“You also have to prepare so you don’t get caught.”

Isabel is living to get revenge on Lucas for defeating her.
For that reason, I absolutely cannot lose to Isabel.
No matter what happens, I must win and ignite the source of her rage.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

My duel with Ban came to an end.
Afterward, many kids began asking for duels with Ban.
He had recently started wielding his sword seriously again.

As a student at Jerion Academy, getting strong is the most important thing, and there’s no better opponent than this.
So now, everyone was trying to challenge Ban.
Among them was Isabel.
Recently, she hasn’t even made eye contact with me, but she asked Ban for a duel.

“Don’t those two look good together?”
“Isabel might have another chance at love.”

From a distance, I heard girls whispering.
As Sharine said, it seems Ban and Isabel have been getting close lately.

“Spring, huh.”
Maybe if Isabel likes Ban, things might improve a little.
As long as she has a reason to live, I’ll consider it fortunate.

“Princess Sweet Potato, let’s go one round. Today, I’ll show you who’s top dog.”
Just then, Seron charged in.

He’s quite the complicated character.
Let’s just throw him off while I’m at it.

*

I taught Seron a lesson until he cried and then left school feeling refreshed.
Watching Seron storm out, promising revenge, made me feel at ease.

For the sake of my mental health, how about I make it a point to make Seron cry at least once a day?
That sounds pretty good.
Familiar steps took me to the student council room.

I opened the door with a click and found two familiar faces inside.
“Junior, you made it.”
The vice president, Nikita, greeted me with a bright smile.

In front of Nikita was another familiar face.
And that face frowned as soon as she saw me.
Nia Cynthia.
She was Nikita’s older brother.

“Does it look like Professor Nia Cynthia is joining the student council this time?”
I casually asked because I had the impression she had been coming to the council room almost every day lately.
“I just came to see Nikita.”

To say so confidently that she came to see her little sister.
Now that’s some serious sisterly love.
I walked over to Nikita and collected today’s tasks from her.
Nikita was now accustomed to assigning me work.

Nia’s eyes pierced through me.
It seemed she disapproved of the natural flow of my conversation with Nikita without any words exchanged.
“Staring so hard, I might just get a hole in my face.”
“Getting a hole isn’t that bad.”

She still seemed displeased with me.
“By the way, Professor, have you felt like someone is watching you or sensed any threats lately?”

I casually probed about the assassination, and Nia tilted her head.
“Being watched is a constant thing, and if it’s a recent threat, it’s just that I received some love letters and a doll made out of hair.”

I shouldn’t have heard that.
Love is indeed terrifying.
Do noblemen go through such things?

“And there’s always that one guy who makes me feel threatened.”
Nia looked at me and smiled sweetly.
Was the assassin actually me?

“Brother, why do you always act like that around juniors?”
Nikita scolded Nia.
I couldn’t take it anymore as she nitpicked everything I said.

“N-Nikita?”
Nia looked shocked as if someone had defended me instead of her.
“Junior is always helping me with my work. Even though she must be busy with her training, she makes a special trip to come help.”

That was a hint to ease up on the teasing.
But Nia couldn’t hide her shocked expression.
Nia turned to me with a trembling face.
“That girl has impure intentions regarding you.”

In a grudging manner, Nia spoke.
Nikita blinked her large eyes and turned to me.
When I made eye contact with Nikita, I cheerfully gave a thumbs up.
“Yes, I’m still very much interested.”
“See!”

As Nia shouted with a flushed face, Nikita let out a long sigh.
“Junior always says things like that, but it doesn’t mean he truly feels that way.
Besides, Junior isn’t my type anyway. I might consider it when Junior grows a bit more.”

A four-part confession in an instant.
“W-what?”
But Nia seemed to be lost in thought.
I bowed my head respectfully toward Nia.
“Brother, please consider Nikita.”
“Shut up!”

I was scolded.
Nia stood up.
She didn’t want to leave just the two of us, and her face looked like she couldn’t stay here any longer due to the shock.
“I… well, I’ll be going.”

Nia staggered out the door.
Seeing her back, Nikita let out a short sigh.
“He used to be such a cool brother. Lately, he’s been acting strange.”
“Isn’t it because you cherish Nikita so much?”
“That’s true. Even though my family doesn’t regard me highly, it’s largely thanks to my brother that I’ve been able to do what I want.”

Originally, Nikita was meant to grow up simply as a pawn for a political marriage.
But later, Nia, the heir to the duke’s house, took it upon herself to look out for Nikita.
She even went so far as to confront the elders of her house to ensure her little sister had the freedom to pursue her dreams.
To that extent, Nia cared deeply for Nikita.
Nikita recalled the past and slightly smiled.
“It was probably because of the responsibility my mother told me about before she passed.”

Nikita’s mother died shortly after giving birth to her.
So at that time, her mother told her to take good care of Nikita.
Nia promised to uphold those words for life and became devoted to looking after Nikita.
“What a good brother.”
“Yeah, sometimes it goes a bit overboard.”

Nikita said that and then resumed working.
As much as Nia cherished Nikita, I could clearly see how much Nikita also cared for Nia.
Watching them, images of Nikita’s endless downfall after Nia’s death came to mind.
I wondered if I could remain silent while witnessing that.
It was an unknown.