The World After the Bad Ending

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Barcob was experiencing the pain of unrequited love.

Hania suddenly shoved me away.

Hania and I were face-to-face.

If it were Hania’s original face, it might have been different.

But since Hania was currently in Hanon’s form, I quickly stepped back.

I had no interest in getting close to a male face.

“…I was wondering why Lady Iris suddenly called for you. Talk about timing.”

Hania let out a sigh with a pained expression.

It seemed Iris was the one who sent Hania here.

I was grateful to Iris.

I almost ended up as a corpse today.

“Hania, so Barcob has been your stalker all this time.”

When I asked, Hania shot me a glance.

“Yeah. And he was quite persistent.”

With the influence of the professor and his affluent background,

Barcob was a challenging opponent, even for Hania.

“I was waiting for him to slip up. What a man who can’t get his timing right.”

Hania shook her head with a thoroughly exhausted look.

“More importantly, it’s been decided that I’m dating you now. What are we going to do about that going forward?”

Recently, things had flipped upside down before any confessions were made.

Now, we were dating before the confession.

Truly, my life is dynamic.

“…Barcob might look like that, but he has a useless level of tenacity.”

“You’re saying he’ll immediately switch back to being a stalker once he finds out we’re not dating.”

“Yeah, that seems likely.”

I understood the situation.

Having been attacked by Barcob’s confession, I could empathize with how painful it was to be pursued by such a guy.

“How long do you think it will take for Barcob to understand and give up?”

“…Probably a few months.”

“Then let’s just pretend we’re dating for a few months.”

Hania’s eyes lit up.

“Since it’s already spilled milk, we might as well make the most of it.”

“…Don’t you genuinely want to date me?”

I frowned.

“I was just joking.”

It seemed she was trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

“Though this happened, I’m sorry for dragging you into it.”

Hania offered a surprisingly honest apology.

She was just in a bad mood because of the team event with Iris.

Her nature wasn’t really bad at all.

“It’s okay. This isn’t your fault.”

It’s all Barcob’s mistake.

I don’t think Hania has anything to apologize for.

“Hanon Irey, you’re quite alright, more than I expected.

Maybe it’s a little due to your blood relation with Lady Iris?”

“My earlier high opinion of you just got knocked down a peg.”

“I’m curious how far it can fall. But if rumors start circulating that I’m dating you, wouldn’t it be troublesome for Hanon?”

“Do you think adding such rumors to my already existing reputation would cause trouble?”

Hania pondered for a moment before understanding.

I’m the so-called lightning freak.

If I was said to be dating Hania, it would just elicit pity for her.

It wouldn’t really affect me much, now or ever.

“More importantly, we’ve wasted enough time. Let’s return to our teams.”

“You’re right.”

Hania turned around and told me,

“Take good care of Lady Iris.”

The corners of my mouth lifted.

“Sure, leave it to me.”

“Hah, come on, who do you think I’d leave Lady Iris with?”

What was that supposed to mean?

Hania chuckled briefly as if it were a joke and departed to her team.

It seemed I had made a good impression on Hania with this incident.

“There’s nothing bad about getting close to the Martial Arts Deputy.”

I only needed to worry about Isabel being at odds with me.

As I stepped out of the forest, I spotted the gathered people next to Iris.

Iris stood with her arms crossed and glanced at me when our eyes met.

“Hania.”

“I’m back.”

As I stood next to Iris, she looked around before lowering her body towards me.

“What happened?”

“Hanon’s here, and it’s all settled well.”

Iris let out a short sigh of relief.

Then her red eyes glinted ominously.

“…I’ll need to cut him soon.”

…Is she talking about cutting him from the professor position?

I felt chills crawl up my spine.

“Hey, Hania.”

At that moment, a familiar voice called out to me.

I shifted my gaze to the owner of the voice.

Short, chestnut hair and rings dangling from his hand.

At that sight, a wave of disdain washed over my face.

The 2nd-year Martial Arts Deputy.

Dorara Korajin.

He was there, a rear guard of Iris’s team.

“I saw that punk Hanon coming out of the forest earlier. Were you with him?”

“Yeah, and so?”

As I answered, Dorara’s expression darkened.

His teeth ground together.

“Hania, let me warn you—don’t associate with that punk.

He’s someone you’ll gain nothing from.”

Dorara had a major loss to me not long ago.

Maybe that incident had him holding a grudge, his teeth gritted.

“Hahaha, you must have had it rough, just as the rumors say!”

A big man behind Dorara chuckled at him.

Dark skin and thick lips.

A large man tightly gripping a Bible.

The Holy Studies Deputy.

Joachim.

The muscles visible beneath his robes were far from holy studies.

Of course, that’s expected.

He’s a combat priest.

“Hard to believe he’s younger than me when he was a Bickamon, right?”

Joachim’s face looked no different from that of a seasoned mercenary who had seen it all.

Even professors bowed their heads involuntarily when met with Joachim.

He was a natural beauty.

“Urgh, talking badly about others will get you punished.”

Just then, a face peeked from behind Joachim.

Unlike the bulky Joachim, this one was incredibly petite.

Wearing a robe pulled low over her head, her gray bangs obscured her eyes.

Her appearance might seem weak, but that’s quite deceptive.

Special Studies Deputy.

The Curse Mage.

Valentina Kays.

This was Iris’s team.

“Looking back, they’ve certainly gathered quite a remarkable group here.”

It’s not that I had someone like a saint or Sharine on my side.

Iris essentially assembled the best available team.

And at the center of it all was Iris herself.

“You guys wouldn’t get it! If you knew how insane that guy truly was, you’d swallow your words right back.”

Dorara seemed utterly unable to bear the recollection of that incident.

His face looked like he was about to foam at the mouth.

“Until just now, you couldn’t leave Sharine alone, and now it’s Hanon. Truly, the Dorara brothers are consistent.”

“That guy is worse than Sharine!”

I was being compared to Sharine for the first time.

I felt a bit proud of that.

“Ahem, cough.”

During this, Iris turned her head slowly while covering her mouth.

Seeing Dorara badmouthing in front of him without a clue,

It seemed challenging to maintain her facial expressions.

“Iris, this isn’t a laughing matter.”

I poked Iris’s arm playfully.

Iris briefly smiled apologetically.

It was a captivating smile that could charm anyone.

“Tsk, if I’d truly faced him, he’d be the one bleeding. I was just careless in the beginning.”

Dorara began to grumble.

At that moment, he must have completely forgotten about the time he got knocked out by me.

‘Well then.’

I should remind him of that opportunity someday.

I quietly clenched my fist.

“Team Iris.”

Just then, it seemed all the 3rd years had entered, and Team Iris was called.

Even if they were second in the group battle,

Considering the overall scores, Team Iris was ahead of everyone else.

As Iris stepped forward at the call,

Dorara and the other two, who had just been grumbling, now shut their mouths.

Instead, they walked confidently beside her.

As Iris advanced, admiring gazes radiated from the crowd of kids.

Their eyes followed her, saturating this scene with a multitude of glances I had never received before.

The weight of their gazes hung heavily.

Admiration, jealousy, yearning, resignation.

Mixed emotions were pouring out of the children’s eyes.

I finally understood why Team Iris always walked with such confidence.

To stave off the gazes of the children, they needed to be strong.

And this was directly tied to their confidence.

An absolute belief that they could accomplish anything.

‘This is the currently strongest team—Team Iris.’

The aura radiating from Iris at the forefront was something no one could dare approach.

“Team Iris.”

The weary Professor Veganon looked everyone over with a glance.

“Come back safely.”

He didn’t say much.

What the strongest team needed was trust over advice.

Soon, Team Iris entered the Magung Academy.

The unique nauseating sensation of the Academy swept over us.

After a moment, my head slowly lifted.

“Looks like it’s the Iron Dust Desert today.”

Magung’s first layer.

The Iron Dust Desert.

A desolate desert of iron stretched out before me.

As I licked my lips, I could taste a hint of iron in my mouth.

That meant iron dust lingered in the air too.

At that moment, the wind stirred around us.

The iron dust, seeping into our clothes and lungs, was all blown away by the wind.

“First the Gray Forest and now the Iron Dust Desert. I wish the upperclassmen had tidied things up before leaving.”

It was Dorara’s magic, with a staff in hand.

“Ugh, the seniors are in a hurry to descend even a layer deeper.”

The Curse Mage, Valentina, spoke while holding her bangs.

And her statement was correct.

Kuuuuuuuuung!

Below the Iron Dust Desert,

A massive rumble began to resonate.

Kuwuung!

Soon, breaking through the iron dust, a gigantic serpent emerged.

With steel blades attached all over its body, it looked dangerous at first glance.

A beast summoned by a demon.

It was a being that couldn’t become a dragon.

Kaaan—

Before I knew it, Iris had drawn her sword.

The seniors seemed to have judged that facing a lesser demon would waste too much time and decided to avoid it.

But for the strongest noble, that didn’t seem to matter.

“Team Iris.”

With Iris’s call, a red aura surged from her sword.

The aura, resembling roses, was beautiful enough to capture everyone’s attention.

Iris walked through the iron dust.

With each of her steps, the ground trembled like the strides of a giant.

“We’re hunting a giant beast.”

The team leader declared.

“Yes.”

In that case, everyone would follow suit.