Chapter 226: Poprity


    The end of the semester assessments. It was the final stretch of the Year 2 Semester 1


    The academy was eager to end the suspension of sses as soon as possible for the students.


    So, immediately after my discussion with Emperor Carlos ended, it was decided that sses would resume the following day.


    Before ss, I contemted.


    Considering the Heavenly Beings, Fairies, and the EX-level variables, consistent training and growth were still vital.


    This time, I had hastily learned the 7-star spell, [Icebolt], in preparation for the Abyss, which resulted in a somewhat superficial mastery of the spell.


    It was necessary to delve deeper into each magic as an intensive course. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to pursue mastery over other 7-star ice spells, and I also needed to hone my rock magic.


    In this respect, instead of solely focusing on training, taking advantage of the prestigious lectures at M?rchen Academy was beneficial.


    This was why I had been diligently attending sses and became known as a model student.For the record, I didn’t enroll in courses that didn’t help me with my training such as Magic Beast Ecology.


    Considering the future, it would be good to take such courses, but I had to deal with the immediate challenge of the Evil God first.


    The periods for courses I didn’t sign up for were considered free time.


    In other words, I only took courses that were practical magic courses. It was all about selection and concentration.


    “I’ve finished something huge…”


    In Elma Hall Dormitory.


    I sat on the floor and leaned against the bed to relish the aftermath of 「Act 9, Alice Subjugation」, which had finally concluded.


    The thought that I didn’t need to be wary of Alice or the Phantom Cat Cheshire was a relief.


    <em>Now… no one can stop me.</em>


    However, the realization that I still had a long way to go pulled me back to reality. It seemed my mind couldn’t fully rx yet.


    I leaned my head back andid it on the bed. Always looking down at books, the ceiling somehow seemed unfamiliar.


    It was quiet.


    Suddenly, Alice’s face came to mind.


    “I ended up kissing her…”


    I was caught off guard.


    I had noticed that Alice saw me as a man, but I hadn’t expected her to actually end up kissing me.


    Due to her unique trait, [Red Queen’s Paradox], I was unable to read her psychology. Even though the effect had weakened since she became my subordinate, it was still difficult to read.


    The stimtion from the kiss was stronger than I had anticipated. Perhaps it was because it was my first sober kiss despite a doubtful kiss with Dorothy.


    Maybe because Alice hadpletely be my ally, I felt a deep affection built up from the time we spent together. That made the aftereffects of the kiss even more intense.


    The blissful sensation of Alice’s smiling face lingered in my mind. It was the scenario I had feared the most. This would definitely disrupt my concentration during training.


    With no other choice, I sang the national anthem in my mind to calm myself. It was better to keep this as just a pleasant memory for now.


    When the time came, I grabbed my books, writing tools, and bag and left the dorm.


    <em>The time hase.</em>


    Finally, the moment to face the ufortable stares had arrived.


    And as soon as I stepped out of my dorm, the situation I had dreaded urred.


    <em>“Hubh…!”</em>


    <em>“Gasp…!”</em>


    As befitting the scale of the middle-high ranked Elma Hall, there were many students in uniform leaving the dorm.


    They were all chatting and heading towards the gate, but it suddenly fell silent when I appeared.


    Only the asional nervous breath could be heard.


    The students, sweating, looked at me as if they were seeing someone frightening.


    Despite the wide path, like the parting of the Red Sea, the students split to the left and right, opening a clear way to the gate of the dorm.


    “…”


    I continued on my path, feeling a tremendous amount of pressure.


    As I exited the dorm gates, I locked eyes with a female student with rose-gold hair standing in front of the roadside trees holding her bag.


    She had a dainty, gracefuldy demeanor, but there were dark shadows around her eyes. Her stern gaze made me stiffen up.


    “Hello, Isaac.”


    “Hello, Luce… Are you feeling better now?”


    ***


    As we walked towards Orphin Hall of the Magic Department, I exined my situation to Luce.


    It wasn’t much different from what I had told the Emperor. I had exined that I came to M?rchen Academy because of the demons and that I nned to continue protecting the people.


    Going into more detail would onlyplicate things. I thought this exnation should be sufficient for Luce to understand and support me.


    However…


    I had umted a lot of karma over time. I knew perfectly well that Luce liked my disguised appearance, yet I pretended not to notice.


    Fortunately, I was now stronger than Luce.


    I wasn’t too worried anymore, but if Luce were to suddenly enact the bad ending「Bird Cage」, it wouldn’t be too big of an issue.


    Yet, Luce seemed very calm even after hearing my story.


    “You don’t seem too surprised.”


    “Yeah, actually, from the beginning… no, I waspletely shocked.”


    Luce maintained her poker face and hurriedly changed the subject. Her tone was awkward as if she was reading from a textbook.


    It seemed like she was avoiding saying, “I had suspected from the start,” because it would mean admitting she had liked me, Isaac, from the beginning.


    “Is that so?”


    She looked adorable. It helped ease my tension, making me smile.


    “I heard you slept a lot these past few days? What did you do after waking up?”


    “I confronted Galia. I asked why he hadn’t told me about your identity. He yed dumb.”


    <em>I’m sorry, Galia.</em>


    “Anyway… why did you train so hard if you were that strong, Isaac? It always seemed like you were pushing your limits. It didn’t seem like an act…”


    “I have my reasons. I’ll exin when it’s just the two of us.”


    Exining things like ?Magic Knight of M?rchen?, possession, or the status window might be too difficult to understand.


    So, it seemed better to vaguely tell Luce that I had a unique constitution to make it believable.


    The difficult parts could be ignored just as Galia had done… with a dismissive attitude.


    <em>Anyway, it’s not like anyone can stop me from training if I don’t exin.</em>


    People would naturallye up with their own reasons that made sense if I just lived as usual.


    “Just the two of us…”


    Meanwhile, Luce seemed pleased at the thought of being alone with me.


    Soon, we arrived at Orphin Hall of the Magic Department.


    Even as we passed through the corridors, students nced at me out of the corner of their eyes, holding their breath. They were either scared of me, admired me, or thought I was cool… all their thoughts revolved around me.


    Luce, generally indifferent to people’s stares, didn’t seem to care. I tried to ignore it too.


    “Isaac, you can’t sleep in ss just because you don’t need to study.”


    “Why would I doze off?”


    Luce tossed a yful joke and giggled.


    Since we had different ssrooms, we had to part ways here.


    Usually, Luce liked to stay by my side until ss started.


    However, for the time being, I had told her I needed some time to exin things to my ssmates, so we couldn’t hang out together.


    Luce seemed displeased but tried to understand. I could tell she had grown in her own way.


    “Luce.”


    “Yeah?”


    It was awkward, but it seemed the right time to speak my mind.


    “I heard about what happened when I was swallowed by the demon.”


    “Yeah.”


    “Thanks, I’m sorry for making you worry.”


    “Umm…”


    Luce seemed unsure of what to say, then she came closer and gently tapped the back of my hand with her finger.


    Her head was slightly lowered, and through her cascading hair, I could see her cheeks flushed a subtle red.


    “...Then, return the favor. When it’s just the two of us.”


    Luce whispered then turned around and headed towards the ss A room.


    “What favor?”


    Luce didn’t answer my question and went into her ssroom.


    It seemed like she was hoping for something romantic that could cross the line of friendship. Unfortunately, it was still too early for that. I’d have to find something nice to give her instead.


    I entered the ssroom of ss B. The ssroom, which had been noisy, fell silent as soon as I entered.


    Tristan Humphrey, who often picked fights with me, Mateo Jordana, who I was close with, and Amy Holloway, who had always been affectionate towards me.


    All of them just looked at me with tense faces without saying a word.


    I walked robotically to an avable seat in the middle.


    <em>This is so ufortable…</em>


    As I reached my seat, I reflected on how I had lived in the academy.


    <em>Am I a deceiver?</em>


    To them, I might have seemed like nothing more than someone pretending to be a student.


    Of course, I had been protecting the academy, so everyone should understand my situation.


    I just hoped this suffocating vibe would dissipate soon.


    I sat down and pulled out a book from my bag.


    “Tsk.”


    Tristan, sitting at the front, nced at me, then clicked his tongue and turned his head toward the professor’s desk.


    He was someone who aimed to surpass me. I knew well that he had been tirelessly training to catch up to me.


    But now that it was revealed I was the Nameless Hero, he seemed to be experiencing a myriad ofplex emotions.


    I was quietly observing the back of Tristan’s head as he was lost in thought, when…


    “Uhm…”


    A female student approached me.


    We had hardly spoken in ss. She was just a regr NPC in ?Magic Knight of M?rchen?.


    But her nervous demeanor with hands sped together was unusual. It seemed she felt a mix of admiration, guilt, and affection towards me.


    “How should we address you from now on…?”


    <em>I see. She must be torn.</em>


    <em>Whether to use informal or formal speech</em>.


    <em>What to address me as.</em>


    <em>Just calling me Isaac might seem too casual now that my status has risen.</em>


    I knew what being an Elemental King entailed. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Elemental Kings were the central force of this world.


    Since the students’ attention was focused on me, it might be a good time to rify things.


    “Just do as you usually do. Call me Isaac.”


    “I-Isaac… Then, uhm… I’m really sorry, no, I apologize… I’ve wanted to say this for a while… I didn’t recognize youst year and ignored you, I’m really sorry.”


    She stammered a lot.


    I didn’t realize she had been part of the group that ignored me during the first semester of my freshman year.


    I wasn’t particrly bothered by it.


    “It’s okay. And don’t bother speaking formally, it’s too burdensome.”


    Her expression gradually brightened as I treated her normally.


    She handed me a small gift as an apology, telling me it was cookies that she made herself.


    Suddenly, I remembered Luce trying to sneak into my room to leave cookies and couldn’t help butugh.


    It was a gift that clearly contained affection, so I thought I shouldn’t ignore it. I thanked her and epted it, and she was filled with joy.


    “Isaac.”


    This time, a male student I was somewhat friendly with approached.


    He was one of the guys who used to hang around Mateo’s group during the first semester of my freshman year. After Mateo’s group disbanded, he seemed to have gained some insight and matured.


    “The demon that appeared in the sky, the Starry Sky Demon… You were swallowed by that demon but you were able to defeat it.”


    The students seemed very tense.


    The Empire referred to the Abyss as “Starry Sky”, simr to the “Floating Ind”. Since the inside of the Abyss was unknown, it was named based only on its appearance.


    “What happened then?”


    The students hesitated to approach me but showed great interest.


    I was thankful they asked.


    “Are you curious?”


    “Y-you don’t have to tell us…!”


    “I might be able to tell you guys a little bit.”


    I said smugly as I pushed up my sses. Encouraged by my approachable response, the students gradually let down their guard and slowly gathered around.


    I mentioned the inside of the Abyss as much as it was safe to share.


    Before I knew it, all my ssmates from ss B, except for Tristan, had gathered around me, bombarding me with all sorts of questions.


    The atmosphere gradually softened. Everyone seemed to be letting go of their reservations about me. Some students praised my fighting prowess.


    Questions about the Nameless Hero, my secrets, and demons came one after another. However, I refused to answer questions about sensitive information, stating they should be discussed with the Empire and the academy. They seemed to understand.


    “Hey, Isaac, is the academy still in danger?”


    A serious question from a female student got everyone’s attention.


    For them, now that the traitor was exposed and major incidents were resolved, whether the academy was safe was their most pressing concern.


    <em>Well.</em>


    Viins would emerge outside of the academy, unlike before.


    <em>The main bosses of the Semester 2 Year 2…</em>


    Vuel the Treacherous Celestial.


    Rachnil the Iron Fairy.


    Calgart the Necromancer.


    Thanatos the Ruination.


    I n to find and defeat the final boss of Semester 1 Year 3, Mephisto the Contractor.


    The Abyss was supposed to be with Mephisto during our junior year, but I’d already dealt with him, so if I could just get the dangerous bosses from the second semester of our sophomore year taken care of, there would be a few scenario gaps during our junior year.


    It was uncertain whether the Evil God would fill those gaps. It might be starting to prepare for its resurrection, so maybe I should save up my mana…


    But, I’d dly ept more EXP to take down the Evil God.


    I shook my head and reassured everyone that demons wouldn’t be popping out of the academy anymore.


    Of course, there was still the Evil God, but that wasn’t something to mention here.


    The students cheered. They must have been quite anxious.


    Finally, the atmosphere turned into one of praising my greatness.


    <em>I’m enjoying the poprity I never had in my past life…</em>


    Recalling my quiet school days in the past brought a new sense of nostalgia.


    It wasn’t a bad /genesisforsaken