The World After the Bad Ending - Chapter 53



52 – Even the Top Student of the Magic Department Gets Bullied

Sharin Sazarith.

I froze as soon as I ran into her in the hallway.

“What are you doing here?”

Sharin’s eyes narrowed.

Over time, Sharin and I had built a precarious relationship that could be called a friendship.

But even so.

A male friend sneaking into the girls’ dormitory dressed as a girl.

It was naturally an unacceptable situation.

So I was at a loss for words.

No matter what I said now, it would be an excuse to Sharin.

The only one who could save me now was Iris.

Since I kept my mouth shut.

Sharin stared at me for a moment and then let out a small sigh.

“What is it this time?”

Sharin asked in a languid tone.

Hearing this, my eyes blinked.

I disguised myself as a woman and sneaked into the girls’ dormitory.

Instead of pressing me, she asked about my situation first.

“……Sharin, are you an angel?”

“Now you know.”

Sharin slightly straightened her shoulders and revealed a smug expression.

Sharin was more compassionate than I had imagined.

“Really, even if it’s not like that.”

“She’s hiding something again!”

At that moment, the voices of other girls echoed from the hallway.

Hearing the voices, Sharin walked towards me.

“I’ll listen inside.”

There’s no need to show that I’m talking to other girls.

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

Then she plopped down on a chair, barefoot.

Why does this girl never wear socks?

Even though it’s not her room, she looks incredibly free.

“So why are you in that state?”

There’s no point in hiding it now that I’ve been caught.

I sat on the chair opposite Sharin and roughly explained the situation.

“To protect Lady Iris.”

Of course, I glossed over Nikita’s matter.

Sharin didn’t bother to pry either.

She knew that the parts I didn’t mention were the parts I couldn’t talk about.

From the beginning, I was suspicious from head to toe to Sharin.

There was nothing new about it now.

“So that’s why you didn’t put me on the team?”

This summer’s Magic Palace Hanon team.

Because of what I did in the last magic class.

The magic students didn’t join our team as backup.

So Sharin had offered to join our team.

But this time, I refused.

As much as I wasn’t really there.

It was to avoid unnecessary attention and getting caught when Sharin was brought in as a new member.

So, I hinted to the team members that I wouldn’t be the real me this time.

But I hadn’t managed to hint to Sharin, who wasn’t part of the team.

“Do the Hanon team members know?”

“I didn’t tell them explicitly, but they know I’m not the real one. They’re understanding about such things.”

Seron kept pestering me for reasons, which was a bit annoying.

I solved it by giving him a few snacks.

“Hmm, so you told them but kept it from me.”

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

“…Sharin, are you angry?”

I asked cautiously, and Sharin smiled as usual.

“No.”

She’s angry.

“Sorry, I couldn’t just go around telling everyone when I ended up like this.”

Sharin stared at my face blankly.

Her gaze was very burdensome.

“I just thought it would be a bit funny to see Hanon in a skirt.”

Sharin’s lips curled up slightly with a teasing smile.

It seems like she’ll keep teasing me about this for a long time.

What a bad taste.

“But why Hania, of all people?”

Sharin seemed to have something on her mind.

“Why, is there something about Hania?”

“Well, should I say there is, or there isn’t…”

I don’t know what it is, but it feels very unsettling.

“I have to stay like this until tomorrow. Tell me exactly what’s going on.”

Sharin finally seemed to have made up her mind and whispered to me.

“Hania recently got a stalker.”

Yes?

＊＊＊

Stalker.

A crime that involves following someone without a valid reason, creating anxiety and fear.

Naturally, for the person being stalked, it’s an extremely unpleasant act.

They say Hania is being stalked.

“……Who dares to do that?”

As mentioned earlier, Hania is the second in the martial arts department.

Moreover, she is the daughter of the knight commander.

She is in a position where she can bring someone to ruin if she wishes.

“Not everything in the world can be solved with force.”

“Even so, I don’t think Hania is the type to stay still.”

As seen earlier, Hania is not the type to stay quiet when being stalked.

If she wanted to overturn it herself, she would have done so long ago.

“I didn’t hear the details either. I just heard Isabel talking about it.”

Well, Sharin doesn’t have many close friends to begin with.

She wouldn’t have heard it directly from Hania.

She must have heard it from Isabel.

I think Hania will handle the problem on her own.

“The problem is, now I’m Hania.”

Am I going to be stalked for the next two days?

“Yes, that’s why I told you.”

“Will there be any problem?”

Today, I plan to stay in my room after finishing the academy.

Tomorrow, I will be in the demon palace all day.

Once the demon palace is over, I plan to return to my original form.

There won’t be any time for the stalker to follow me.

“Who knows?”

Sharin just told me in case.

She didn’t seem too worried.

From the beginning, I was not the stalker.

There was no particular reason to worry.

“I just hope no unnecessary commotion arises.”

One thing that bothered me was why Hania hadn’t resolved the stalker issue earlier.

‘Is there some reason behind it?’

I pondered over the fiery butterfly episode.

Hania is a supporting character who follows Iris around.

Her combat skills are undoubtedly good.

Overall, she is a balanced character with decent stats.

But as a result of Lucas’s fierce rise from below,

She eventually loses her second-in-command position.

‘She was quite popular, both for her looks and her pure love for Iris.’

But as with all supporting characters,

Hania’s information was limited.

Moreover, in the latter part, she gets injured while being by Iris’s side, becoming an unusable character with little to no achievements.

‘Nothing particular comes to mind.’

I don’t know.

Creak-

At that moment, the door opened.

“Hoo.”

Iris had returned from her bath.

With her hair still damp, Iris was drying it with a towel when she looked up.

She sensed another presence besides mine.

Iris’s eyes met with Sharin’s.

Iris slowly tilted her head and then looked back at me.

“Even though this is a room we share, please refrain from bringing your girlfriend here.”

Girlfriend?

“It’s a misunderstanding. I brought her here to explain the situation after being discovered.”

I quickly explained the situation before it got any more complicated.

Then Sharin covered her mouth in shock.

“How could you do that? I thought Hanon was genuinely dating me.”

Change that blank expression and say it.

“Take proper responsibility.”

Iris chimed in, matching the tone.

Caught between the two, I quietly swallowed my resentment.

The top student in martial arts and the top student in magic studies are bullying me.

Someday, I will definitely take revenge on both of them.

Growl-

At that moment, a sound echoed from my stomach.

The hunger I had momentarily forgotten while meeting Sharin returned.

“Hania doesn’t make such noises.”

Then Iris pointed out my stomach clock.

This is something I can’t control.

＊ ＊ ＊

After being tormented by Sharin and Iris while having a late dinner, the next day.

I woke up energetically, stretching out.

‘Tired.’

Maybe it’s because it’s not the usual place I sleep.

From noble mtl dot com

I must have slept a bit tensely.

‘Is that side okay?’

I did inform Card, my roommate, about Hania.

‘Card isn’t the type to cross the line.’

He wouldn’t mess things up by bothering the daughter of the knight commander.

“Ugh.”

At that moment, I saw Iris squirming in bed.

She had no intention of coming out from under the blanket.

Instead, only her long black hair peeked out.

Iris couldn’t sleep until late last night.

She was sitting by the window, lost in thought until late hours.

Because of her insomnia, she couldn’t fall asleep easily.

Perhaps that’s why Iris is very weak in the morning.

There are times when she spends the night wide awake.

Sometimes she falls asleep too late and can hardly wake up in the morning.

Hania is in charge of waking up such Iris.

On Iris’s desk, I saw the honey tea I had recommended to her before.

There was also a candle with a soothing scent for sleep, extinguished.

It seemed she was trying various things to sleep as per my advice.

“Iris, it’s morning.”

Today, I am Hania.

So, to faithfully perform my role, I approached Iris’s bed and called her.

But Iris showed no sign of waking up.

Knowing indirectly how tormenting Iris’s insomnia is.

I also want to let her sleep more if I could.

But today is the day of the summer palace.

If I let her sleep more, it will be troublesome.

“Iris, you must wake up now.”

Reluctantly, I pulled back the blanket, revealing Iris’s pale face.

Long eyelashes and rosy lips.

And the dark circles under her eyes gave a somewhat decadent feeling.

How can her unique charm be activated even in her sleeping appearance?

It was a stunning face, even upon seeing it again.

Moreover, she was in comfortable pajamas, not her usual uniform, leaving nowhere to look.

I feel like I wouldn’t have any excuse if the knights barged in and took me away right now.

“Iris…”

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

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

Instinct tells me.

To pull my wrist away immediately.

Strength surged through my body momentarily.

I will show the results of my training.

And then I was dragged away.

The wall that was Iris, the strongest of the royal family, was high.

The power I had trained for only a few months was no match for Iris, who could handle aura even in her sleep.

In an instant, I was pulled into Iris’s embrace, and I remained silent.

A soft sensation enveloped my face and body.

A unique, soft fragrance that penetrated my mind made me dizzy.

Is this some kind of mental magic?

There’s no way to escape.

The difference in physical strength between Iris and me is overwhelming.

No matter how much I struggle, I can’t break free unless Iris lets go.

At that moment, Iris, who was holding me, slowly opened her eyes.

She looked at me quietly with eyes still heavy with sleep and then smiled softly.

“Good morning…”

It’s a relief that I appear as a woman wrapped in the bandages of the veil.

If I had appeared as a man, there would have been all sorts of problems.

Just then, Iris began to close her eyes again, trying to fall back asleep.

I can’t take it any longer.

“Lady Iris.”

I raised my hand politely.

“Please, just this once.”

And I flicked her forehead to wake her from her morning slumber.