The World After the Bad Ending

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Sharine Sazarith.

I was frozen in place as I suddenly came face-to-face with her in the hallway.

“What are you doing here?”

Sharine’s eyes narrowed.

Given everything that had happened, Sharine and I had developed a fragile friendship of sorts.

But that didn’t change the fact that a male friend dressed as a girl and sneaking into a girls’ dormitory was obviously an unacceptable situation.

That’s why I found myself at a loss for words.

No matter what I said, it would just sound like an excuse to Sharine.

In truth, the only one who could save me right now was Iris.

Perhaps because I stayed silent,

Sharine stared at me blankly before letting out a soft sigh.

“What’s going on this time?”

Sharine asked in a lethargic tone.

My eyes blinked in surprise at her words.

Here I was, cross-dressing and sneaking into a girls’ dormitory, and instead of scolding me, she was concerned about my situation first.

“…Sharine, are you an angel?”

“Now you get it.”

Sharine puffed up her chest slightly, wearing a smug expression.

She was far more compassionate than I had thought.

“Honestly, it’s not like that.”

“You’re hiding something again!”

Just then, the voices of other girls echoed from the hallway.

Upon hearing the voices, Sharine walked over to me.

“I’ll listen in here.”

There was no point in showing off my conversation with the others.

Sharine entered Hania and Iris’s room and took off her shoes.

Then she plopped down into a chair, bare feet and all.

Why does she never wear socks?

She seemed incredibly comfortable, even though it wasn’t her own room.

“So, why are you in such a predicament?”

There was no point in hiding it now that I had been caught.

Sitting across from Sharine, I quickly explained the situation.

“It’s in order to protect Lady Iris.”

Of course, I glossed over the incident with Nikita.

But Sharine didn’t pry any further into it.

She understood that the parts I didn’t mention were things I simply couldn’t talk about.

From the very beginning, I was a suspicious character from start to finish for Sharine.

There was nothing newly shocking about that now.

“So that’s why you didn’t include me in the team?”

This summer’s Magung team for Hanon.

Because of the incident I caused in the previous Magic Arts term, the students there refused to participate in our team.

That’s why Sharine had offered to join our team.

But this time, I had refused.

It was because, without me, bringing in someone like Sharine would only draw attention and risk exposure.

I had hinted to the team members that I really wasn’t part of the team this time.

But I hadn’t informed Sharine, who wasn’t part of the team.

“Do the Hanon team kids know?”

“I haven’t explicitly told them, but they know I’m not you. They’re the kind of kids who understand that sort of thing.”

It was a bit of a hassle because Seron kept trying to pry into the reasons.

But I managed to distract him by giving him some snacks.

“Ugh, so you told them and hid it from me.”

For some reason, there was a sharp edge to her voice.

“…Sharine, are you angry?”

I tentatively asked, and she smiled with her usual expression.

“No.”

She was angry.

“Sorry, but since it ended up like this, it felt wrong to talk carelessly to others.”

Sharine gazed silently at my face.

Her stare was incredibly burdensome.

“I just thought it would be a bit amusing to see Hanon wearing a skirt.”

Sharine lifted the corners of her mouth, full of teasing.

It seemed like this was something that would be brought up over and over again.

Such bad taste.

“But of all people, it had to be Hania.”

Sharine seemed to have something on her mind.

“Why? Is there something going on with Hania?”

“Um, should I say there is or there isn’t?”

I felt something was off about it.

“Until tomorrow, I have to keep this appearance up. Tell me exactly what’s going on.”

Eventually, it seemed Sharine had decided to fill me in.

“Hania has recently gotten a stalker.”

Huh?

***

A stalker.

It’s a crime that causes anxiety and fear by following someone around for no justifiable reason.

Naturally, it’s an incredibly unpleasant experience for the victim.

And apparently, Hania was being stalked.

“…Who would be so reckless?”

As I mentioned earlier, Hania is the second-best in Martial Arts.

Not to mention, the daughter of the captain of the knights.

She was in a position where she could send anyone to the depths of despair if she decided to.

“Not everything in this world can be solved with brute force, you know.”

“True, but I didn’t think Hania would just sit by and let it happen.”

As we saw earlier, Hania doesn’t have a quiet personality when it comes to being stalked.

If she felt like it, she would’ve dealt with it already.

“I don’t have all the details either. I just heard it from Isabel.”

That makes sense; Sharine doesn’t really have a ton of close friends.

She probably didn’t hear it directly from Hania.

So, it must have been Isabel.

I thought it was an issue Hania could handle on her own.

“The problem is that right now, I’m in Hania’s position.”

Does that mean I have to deal with being stalked for the next two days?

“So, that’s why you told me.”

“Is there really a problem?”

Today, I planned to stay in my room after finishing classes at the academy.

Tomorrow, I would be at Magung all day anyway.

When Magung was over, I planned to return to my usual appearance.

There wouldn’t even be time for a stalker to follow me.

“Don’t you see?”

Sharine only shared this out of precaution.

She didn’t seem particularly worried.

Besides, I wasn’t the one directly involved in this stalker situation.

There was no real reason for me to be concerned.

“I just hope it doesn’t cause any unnecessary commotion.”

What troubled me was why Hania hadn’t dealt with the stalker problem earlier.

“Maybe there’s a reason for it?”

I mulled over the details about the Fire Butterfly incident.

Hania is a side character who follows Iris around.

Her martial arts skills are surely good.

Overall, she’s a well-balanced character.

But due to Lucas rising up from below with fearsome speed,

Eventually, she ended up playing the role of the one who got her position taken away.

“She was quite popular due to her looks and her pure admiration for Iris.”

But just like side characters always are.

Information about Hania was limited.

Moreover, she ended up suffering injuries while being around Iris in the later stages and became a character that was no longer usable, which made her contributions very few.

“Nothing particularly comes to mind.”

I don’t know.

Creeeak—

In that moment, the door opened.

“Ugh.”

Iris had finished bathing and returned.

With her hair still damp, Iris was wiping it with a towel when she lifted her head.

She sensed my presence besides me.

Iris locked eyes with Sharine.

Iris slowly tilted her head and then turned to look at me.

“Still, it’s a shared room with me, so please refrain from bringing your girlfriend over.”

Girlfriend, huh.

“This is a misunderstanding. I brought her because I was caught and needed to explain my situation.”

Before it became awkward, I hurriedly clarified.

Then Sharine gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

“How could you! I thought Hanon was sincerely dating me!”

Change your expression and say that, at least.

“You better take responsibility.”

Iris chimed in, joining the teasing.

Caught in between the two, I swallowed my frustration quietly.

The top students of Martial Arts and Magic Arts were bullying me.

One day, I would absolutely take my revenge on both of them.

Grrroowwwl—

At that moment, my stomach let out a sound.

The hunger I had momentarily forgotten while meeting Sharine returned.

“Hania doesn’t make sounds like that.”

Iris pointed out my stomach clock.

This isn’t something I can control!

***

After a late dinner, suffering under the teasing of both Sharine and Iris, the next day came.

I stretched widely and jumped out of bed energetically.

‘I’m so tired.’

Maybe it was because I wasn’t sleeping in my usual place.

I must have been a bit tense while sleeping.

‘I wonder how everyone else is doing.’

I had told my roommate Card about Hania.

‘Card isn’t the type to overstep boundaries.’

Surely he won’t mess things up by crossing lines with the captain of the knights’ daughter.

“Ugh.”

At that moment, I could see Iris fidgeting in her bed.

She hadn’t appeared to want to come out from the covers.

Instead, only her long black hair peeked out a bit.

Iris hadn’t slept well into the night.

She had been sitting at the window, lost in thought until late.

Because of her insomnia, she found it hard to fall asleep easily.

That might be why Iris was very fragile in the mornings.

Sometimes she spent sleepless nights, while other times, she would sleep too late and struggle to get up in the morning.

Hania was responsible for waking up Iris during such times.

I could see the honey tea I had previously recommended on Iris’s desk.

Next to it, the wax candle was burnt out, leaving a scent that was good for sleep.

It seemed she had been following my advice to sleep better.

“Lady Iris, it’s morning.”

Today, I was Hania.

So I approached Iris’s bed, wanting to fulfill my role, and called out to her.

But Iris showed no intention of getting up.

Knowing how painful her insomnia was, I wanted to let her sleep more.

However, today was the day of the summer Magung.

If I let her continue sleeping, it would become a problem.

“Lady Iris, you really need to get up now.”

Reluctantly, as I pulled back the blanket, her pale face was revealed.

Long eyelashes and rosy lips.

And the shadows beneath her eyes gave her an oddly decadent vibe.

How does her unique charm activate even when she’s asleep?

Even upon a second glance, her beauty was breathtaking.

Besides, she was in comfortable pajamas and not her usual uniform, leaving me with no place to direct my gaze.

If knights were to barge in, I would have nothing to say.

“Lady Iris…”

In that moment, I felt a grip on my wrist.

Turning my head, I found Iris’s hand tightly holding onto my wrist.

My instincts were screaming at me.

To pull my wrist away right now.

Power surged through my body in an instant.

I would show off the training I’ve gone through.

And just like that, I got pulled in.

The wall that was Iris, the greatest royal, was high.

The little strength I had trained over a few months was no match for Iris, who could handle her aura even while half-asleep.

In a flash, I was pulled into Iris’s embrace, and I fell silent.

Soft sensations enveloped me from her body.

Her unique gentle scent drilled into my mind, dizzying me.

Is this some kind of mental magic?

There was no way out.

In reality, the difference in strength between Iris and me was overwhelming.

No matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t escape unless Iris let go.

At that moment, Iris, who had been holding me tightly, slowly opened her eyes.

With drowsy eyes, she stared at me silently and then smiled lightly.

“Good morning…”

Thank goodness I was wrapped in the veil’s bandages and appeared female.

Surely, if I was in my male form, it would have caused all sorts of problems.

Right then, Iris began to close her eyes again as if she was about to fall back asleep.

This was beyond my limits.

“Lady Iris.”

I respectfully lifted my hand.

“Just look at me once.”

And then, I gave her a light slap on the forehead to wake her up.