The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 119



Isabel is Getting Scarier

Eve stared blankly at the charred Barkov.

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It was only natural, as she had burned an innocent person.

But I wanted to praise Eve instead.

“You saved a person. That guy, he was really about to die.”

I didn’t want to make Vinesha a murderer.

She still needed to be active at Jerion Academy.

“Sigh.”

Despite my praise, Eve let out a long sigh.

Then she returned her sword to her waist and looked back at me.

“……Hanon Airey, I really don’t understand what you’re thinking.”

To Eve, I was a person full of mysteries.

A person she could hardly grasp.

That’s why I probably seemed dangerous in her eyes.

A person who handles the magic of ancient dragons and whose reasons for being by Iris’s side seemed impure.

“And I still think the magic of the ancient dragons you possess should be erased.”

“Eve, you saw with your own eyes how I handle the magic of the ancient dragons.”

“Yes, that’s why I know it’s not perfect. Above all.”

Eve narrowed her eyes and looked at my hand.

“You’re not just dealing with the magic of the ancient dragon, are you? Starting from the divine weapon, to the mysteries and things similar to them.

There are quite a few unusual things.”

I finally realized why Eve had hurried her transfer.

“Hanon Airey, I don’t know what you’re doing this for, but you’re in a state more dangerous than you can imagine.

The powers you’re handling are all inherently dangerous.”

As she said, everything I handle comes with a price.

‘You’ve learned more about me.’

After experiencing things with me, Eve must have gathered information in her own way.

And she came to a conclusion based on the information she gathered.

All the powers I handle come with a cost.

Whether it’s today or later.

Eventually, it will come back to me like a boomerang.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do.”

Eve stared at me with her fists clenched.

“But you have to at least stay alive.”

From beginning to end, Eve worried about my life.

She was a consistently kind-hearted person.

“Eve.”

I smiled bitterly.

“I don’t particularly intend to die.”

The main reason I’m trying to prevent a bad ending is to stay alive.

My life is important to me too.

‘To be precise, it’s like walking a tightrope.’

The faint feelings of love through the veil of bandages.

That includes me too.

But for now, it seems my life is still barely important.

“Everything I’m doing is to stay alive.”

“…What on earth is that?”

“Saving the world?”

Eve shot a glare, telling me not to be so cheeky.

I was sincere, but she didn’t believe me.

It hurts.

“Say it straight this time. Depending on the situation, I might help you.”

As expected of a side story protagonist, she offered to help me despite everything.

“That’s tempting.”

I desperately need Eve’s help.

But I don’t know how much she’ll believe me.

‘The immediate thing to make her understand.’

Is to inform her of the existence of the evil force trying to engulf the world.

But there are too many eyes watching here.

Right behind me is Rozamin.

“I’ll explain soon. I need your strength too.”

Let’s try to explain it to her step by step.

“My lord!”

At that moment, I heard Vinesha’s voice from behind.

When I turned my head, there was Vinesha, running towards me.

She had noticed me through the evil spirit and came here.

“……My lord?”

At that moment, Eve’s eyes narrowed.

“Hanon Airey, I heard you were engaged to Sharin Sazarith?”

She looked at me with calm eyes.

In her eyes, I saw the reflection of a womanizer playing with women.

“No, this is.”

“My lord, you really are something. You killed that pig for me! You love me so much.”

Eve’s eyes began to grow more and more fierce.

“What is your name?”

Eve threw a question towards Vinesha.

Hearing the question, Vinesha blinked her eyes and then tightly hugged my arm.

“Seobangnim’s bride, Vinesha!”

Who is the bride?

But at this moment, denying it could lead to unpredictable behavior from Vinesha.

Since Vinesha is needed for the fourth act, her mental state must be kept stable until then.

So, as I remained silent, Eve let out an exasperated sigh.

When I asked for her name as a test, she called herself the bride.

In the meantime, I didn’t even deny it.

I could fully anticipate how I would appear in her eyes.

“Like a beast.”

In an instant, I was treated like an animal.

Eve looked at me with contempt and then turned around and left.

“Is Seobangnim a beast-man?”

I really wish Vinesha would be quiet.

＊＊＊

Afterward, we dragged Professor Barkov along with Vinesha and Eve into the academy.

Dorara quickly left as soon as he saw the grim situation.

Anyway, he was always good at taking care of his own life.

I planned to bring Professor Barkov to the disciplinary meeting as he was.

Barkov had committed an irreversible act.

It was because I am currently being promoted as a hero candidate by Baekmokgong.

By slandering me, he had tarnished Baekmokgong’s reputation.

No matter how much Barkov had the backing of the Count of Debliju, he couldn’t do anything to Baekmokgong.

It was clear he would be discarded like an old shoe.

Before dealing with Professor Barkov, I first guided Eve to the women’s dormitory.

Originally, it was Professor Barkov’s job, but he ended up in this state.

So, I decided to show her the location of the women’s dormitory instead.

Of course, Eve remained silent throughout the guidance.

Occasionally, she didn’t forget to show me a look of contempt.

Because Vinesha was clinging to me all day, whispering love.

It was natural since the guy who was engaged to Sharin was playing around with the professor.

However, I couldn’t let go of Vinesha.

Vinesha is an important character in the remaining four acts.

If my relationship with her went wrong, I couldn’t predict what might happen in the future.

I felt wronged in many ways, but there was no other way.

“Eve, this is the girls’ dormitory.”

Under Eve’s piercing gaze, I safely arrived at the girls’ dormitory.

After guiding her, Eve glanced at me and then walked away without a word.

“See you in martial arts class.”

I tried to speak to her warmly as she walked away, but there was no response.

It seemed like I was being treated as a beast.

“Master, why do you keep paying attention to that girl?”

Then Vinesha spoke as if she was jealous.

“I want to be friends with her.”

“Isn’t it enough to have a girl who is both your lover and friend?”

Seeing it this way, I wondered why Vinesha liked me so much.

After all, my relationship with Vinesha had only lasted a week.

‘No matter how much she lacks affection.’

Vinesha’s affection seemed too excessive.

“Vinesha.”

I was about to call her to ask a question.

“Why don’t you go around telling everyone that you hang out with girls all over the place?”

A familiar voice reached my ears.

When I turned my gaze, there was a girl with hair that captured the sunlight.

Isabel Luna.

She had come out of the girls’ dormitory at just the right time.

Judging by her outfit, she seemed to be planning to train in the afternoon.

Still, she didn’t seem to be overexerting herself.

It looked like she was steadily training at her own level.

Isabel’s eyes met Vinesha’s.

Then Vinesha, who had met Isabel’s gaze, hugged my arm even tighter.

I feel like my arm is going to break soon.

Isabel has caused some worrying incidents in the past.

Maybe that’s why my body tensed up for some reason.

Isabel stared at Vinesha for a while, then turned to look at me.

Then she smiled faintly.

“Yes, it should be fine.”

What does this mean?

I had a puzzled expression.

“Don’t feel empty after giving your heart later.”

Isabel said something meaningful and hinted at Vinesha.

“Even if Professor Vinesha tries to fill what can’t be filled, it will only be futile.”

Vinesha’s shoulders flinched.

Usually, Vinesha would show her teeth to any woman approaching me.

But for some reason, Vinesha avoided Isabel’s eyes and quietly hid behind me.

It felt like Isabel was very uncomfortable.

“Well, I’m busy with training.”

Isabel walked away like that.

I watched her leave blankly and shook my head.

I pondered over what Isabel just said, but no clear answer came out.

“Husband, that girl, she feels, she feels unpleasant.”

Then Vinesha shivered.

Vinesha had a very uneasy expression.

She seemed to have only a kind smile, but I couldn’t tell.

“Vinesha, what do you like about me?”

I decided to ask what I was going to say earlier.

Hearing my question, Vinesha clasped her hands and her eyes sparkled.

“Everything.”

Her eyes are scary.

“But if there’s a better part, it’s that you’re the only one who filled the girl’s emptiness.”

Vinesha placed her hand on her chest.

The long nails with nail art caught my eye.

“The girl had always felt empty inside. But after meeting you, for the first time, she felt like that emptiness was filled.”

“All we did was talk and eat together.”

I knew well that Vinesha had a preference for younger men.

Above all, with Vika’s face, I thought it would be easy to dig into her affection deficit.

There was nothing particularly special about how she and I met.

Vinesha had been pickpocketed by a passing man.

I saw it as a good opportunity and ran after the man to retrieve her bag.

There was a scuffle in the process, but I had some experience in physical training.

I managed to dodge everything and tire the man out first.

The man must have sensed that I was no ordinary person and ran away.

I returned the bag to Vinesha.

“Y-you got my bag back, would you like to have a meal with me?”

And before I could say anything, Vinesha offered me a meal.

At that moment, I realized the power of a face.

But Vinesha fell for me faster than I expected.

So much so that a week later, I felt it would be dangerous to stay any longer and made my escape.

“There were many men who approached the girl in this world.”

Vinesha had a naturally attractive face.

A face that could captivate any man at least once.

So, many men approached Vinesha.

“But you, sir, seemed to want nothing from the girl.”

At that time, my mind was very complicated.

I was filled with the thought of preventing a bad ending.

So, even before I used the veil bandage, I had no time to harbor personal feelings for her.

I had already seen Vinesha’s face every day in the game.

Above all, I had a preconception that she was a mad sorceress.

However, this ironically became a great advantage for Vinesha.

“Moreover, you listened to all of the girl’s boring stories.”

Vinesha is a mid-boss character in the game.

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I knew her situation, but I didn’t know much about her personal story.

So, listening to her story was more interesting than I thought.

It felt like seeing the background of a game I liked.

“It was the first time. To the girl, all men were just beasts busy drooling. They were everywhere, only looking at faces or chests.”

Sorry, but I’m not much different from an average man.

Before I used the bandage of the veil, my mind was too complicated to have time for that, and now it’s just.

‘Damn.’

Suddenly, I felt a bit melancholic.

The sadness still lingered well.

“So the girl thought! I must marry this man!”

Vinesha happily hugged my arm tightly.

The soft feeling was comforting.

“So, I decided to become your wife.”

Vinesha smiled with her eyes and wagged her tail.

Even after hearing Vinesha’s story, I still doubted her love.

Then, I suddenly recalled what Isabel had left behind.

‘…Trying to fill what can’t be filled is just futile?’

My gaze returned to Vinesha.

She was still looking at me with loving eyes.

‘What can’t be filled.’

At the same time, I gradually realized one thing.

Vinesha doesn’t want to be loved.

What she wants is not to receive love, but to give love.

She knows that no matter how much she is loved, she cannot be fulfilled.

The love she wants was already shattered and gone by early evening.

That’s why she rather distanced herself from those who gave her love.

But on the contrary, she turned her eyes to those she could give love to.

The human mind is unstable.

That’s why sometimes, even when one loves oneself more than anyone else, they self-harm.

Such is the self-harming behavior of a narcissist.

People sometimes act in ways that completely contradict what they desire.

Knowing that it cannot be filled, they self-harm by giving instead.

Scraping out the emptiness, they are self-harming.

I, who did not seek love from Vinesha.

I was the most suitable to scrape out my insides for her.

‘Ah.’

What mattered to her was not a week’s love.

She just needed a target for her unfillable affection deficit.

Vinesha and I locked eyes again.

She smiled happily.

But I know now that the emotion in her eyes is no longer purely love.

Yet, I still couldn’t detach her.

Because she is a key figure in this scenario.

‘Now I understand.’

Why Isabel advised me not to get too attached.

I quietly stroked my arm.

‘Isabel, how did you see through it all at once?’

Isabel, who becomes more and more fearsome as time goes by.