Page 229

When I opened my eyes again, a familiar ceiling greeted me.

The moment I saw it, I immediately knew where I was.

‘The infirmary at Zerion Academy.’

A faint pain throbbed in my head.

Maybe it was because I awakened too much of the ancient dragon’s remnants to speak with it.

The aftereffects still lingered.

But what I was more curious about was how I had ended up back at Zerion Academy.

‘if I had to guess, this is the closest place to the Dragon RIdge with proper medical facilities.’

Honestly, there probably wasn’t much that needed treatment.

I had just passed out from exhausting all my energy while activating Dragon Form.

Lately, the frequency of me losing consciousness seems to be increasing.

Not exactly a good trend.

Outside the infirmary door, it was quiet.

The curtains on the windows were drawn shut.

Seeing the Veil Bandages next to me, it seemed someone had gone to the trouble of hiding my identity.

Since Vikamon is technically dead, after all.

Now, it was time to check the suspiciously bulging blanket.

Even I couldn't make the blanket puff up like that.

In other words, it wasn’t my doing.

I could already guess who it was.

As I lifted the blanket—sure enough, it was Sharin.

She was curled up on top of me, deeply asleep, breathing softly.

Strangely enough, she always went to bed earlier and woke up later than me.

She, too, had used up an unprecedented amount of mana.

It must’ve been her first time experiencing true mana exhaustion.

Best to just let her sleep.

‘What about Duke of Whitewood?’

She wasn’t around.

She must’ve left right after bringing me here.

The Blue Tower Master already knows the rough situation, so he probably told Duke of Whitewood.

If anything new comes up about the vampires, I’m sure she’ll let me know.

Causing unnecessary fuss would be unwise.

Waiting quietly is the smart move.

Above all, resting is the right thing to do now.

Throb—

A sharp pain pulsed behind my right eye.

The cost of awakening the ancient dragon’s remnants was heavier than expected.

But since I’d gained enough from it, I decided not to regret the past.

Tap, tap—

At that moment, I heard footsteps outside the infirmary.

Light, but with a slight bounce.

I think I know who it is.

Since there were no other presences nearby, I slowly got up and approached the door.

Then I opened it.

“Seron.”

“Wah!”

Seron, who was carrying a bunch of stuff in her arms, flinched and looked startled.

Duke of Whitewood had brought Sharin and me to the infirmary.

Even if my situation had been kept a secret, she would’ve informed them about Sharin.

Which explains how Seron knew I was back.

“Prince Sweet Potato, how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. Just overdid it a bit this time.”

I had merely passed out from bearing a power my body couldn't fully handle.

There wasn’t anything seriously wrong with me.

Seron let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that.

Then she rummaged through the paper bag she’d brought and took out various foods.

“I figured you’d wake up looking for food, so I bought all sorts of stuff. This is tomato juice—supposed to be good for your body, so be sure to drink it.”

I stared quietly at Seron.

She looked exactly like a wife taking care of her husband who just returned from a business trip.

Maybe that’s why... I started to feel something strange while looking at her.

Her pale skin kept catching my eyes.

“W-Why are you looking at me like that?”

Seron looked at me with a startled expression.

I shook my head to dispel the odd feeling that had crept up.

“I must’ve been too happy to see the food, since I’m hungry.”

“Hehe, no one like me, right?”

“As a reward, I’ll give you a kiss.”

“H-Huh? R-Really?”

Seron’s eyes widened, sparkling with anticipation.

Then she half-closed her eyes, subtly inviting it.

As if saying I could do it anytime.

I hadn’t expected her to respond to a joke like that.

I must’ve underestimated how she felt.

Then suddenly, I remembered something important.

“Seron, what about Isabel?”

It felt odd to say this, but in times like this, Isabel always showed up without fail.

When I mentioned her absence, Seron hesitated.

Then, I sensed her subtly avoiding my gaze.

What’s going on? Did something happen?

“Seron, did something happen to Isabel?”

“…Well, the thing is…”

Seron hesitated for a moment before finally opening her mouth.

“Lucas’ grave… it’s been dug up by someone.”

“What?”

Lucas.

The original protagonist of the Flame Butterfly arc and the one who wielded the Flame of Resolve.

And now, his grave had been disturbed.

My face twisted in shock.

At the same time, a recent event flashed through my mind.

Sharin’s mother, Sharen.

She had returned from the grave.

It could be the work of vampire mysticism.

Lucas’s body had been torn apart by an Apostle, to the point where it was deemed unrecoverable.

But he had died protecting others.

The Empire acknowledged his heroic deeds and sent more personnel to search for his remains.

Thanks to that, they managed to recover some parts of his body.

Since the Apostle’s traces remained strong on the corpse, magical beasts didn’t consume it.

With those remnants, the church and a few mages painstakingly reconstructed his body over several days.

It was a tribute befitting a hero who fought in the Demon Dungeon.

Thus, the hero who returned—however barely—was buried in the Zerion Academy’s tomb grounds.

A place known as the Hero’s Rest.

And now, Lucas’s grave had been dug up.

There was a chance that he, too, had been resurrected by the same mysticism.

“What about Isabel? What happened to her?”

Isabel had been devastated by Lucas’s death.

To her, he was not only a dear friend but a kindred spirit.

His death had shattered her.

A death that left not even a corpse behind.

When Isabel saw Lucas barely return as a corpse, her heart must have been utterly shattered.

Sometimes, not seeing is a blessing.

Isabel had only just barely freed herself from Lucas's death and begun to spread her wings again.

There was no telling how this incident might affect her now.

“…For now, she went with Rina to find Lucas’s corpse. Whether they succeeded or failed, they said they’d be back today.”

Seron pressed the back of his neck with a complicated expression.

“I figure they must be back by now.”

“I should check the dorms.”

I quickly wrapped the Veil’s bandages that were on the drawer.

“Seron, I’ll borrow your appearance.”

“Okay.”

This time, Seron didn’t protest.

She, too, had seen how much Isabel had suffered in the past.

“Right now, what Belle needs most is Prince Sweet Potato.”

Seron smiled.

That smile made her, who had always been a precious child, look mature.

“I’ll really give you a kiss as a reward next time.”

“Ugh—wait, huh?”

As Seron flustered, I quickly walked off.

The sky had grown dark—it was evening.

I saw several students heading home.

Passing them by, the girls’ dorm soon came into view.

Maybe because I ran at full speed, I felt breathless for the first time in a while.

Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I stepped into the dorm.

Thanks to looking like Seron, no one really tried to talk to me.

The abysmal communication skills of Red Badger were, for once, a blessing.

“Seron?”

As I climbed the stairs of the girls’ dorm, I spotted a familiar face.

A calm woman with peach-colored hair.

“Hania.”

When I called her name, Hania looked around and spoke.

“Vikamon.”

Perhaps because of the different atmosphere from Seron, she recognized me right away.

“You’re here to see Isabel, right?”

“That’s right.”

“She should be back in her room by now, resting. Go on.”

“Thanks for letting me know.”

“I should be thanking you. You looked into Lady Iris for me. Though this doesn’t quite feel like enough to return the favor.”

Hania smiled awkwardly as she spoke.

She had also realized that something was wrong with Iris.

And she’d understood that Iris not contacting her was because Iris didn’t want her to get involved.

“Hania, I’m going to stop Iris from becoming Emperor.”

Hania paused, surprised.

She hadn’t expected me to say that.

“I think Iris was happier being our friend than being Emperor. I take back what I said in the past—about supporting her if she chose to become Emperor.”

I smiled at Hania as I said that.

“Let’s bring Iris back.”

Let’s bring back our friend that the Celestial Grace took from us.

Hania stared blankly at my declaration, then let out a dry laugh.

Still, her face looked less troubled now than before.

“Really, you’re as fickle as Lady Iris.”

“Well, we’ve been cousins all this time. I guess we’re alike.”

“Maybe so. I’d been feeling uneasy with Iris gone, but now that Vikamon is back, I feel a little better.”

“Perks of being the ex-boyfriend.”

Hania giggled.

She gave me a sideways glance with a smile in her eyes.

“There is one sure-fire way to bring Lady Iris back, actually.”

“What is it?”

If such a method existed, I’d do it right away.

“You and I should really start dating.”

Huh.

“Day one, starting today?”

“Nice to meet you, current boyfriend.”

“Nice to meet you, current girlfriend.”

After that lighthearted exchange, I turned around.

“Then I’ll go see Isabel now.”

“You’re going to meet another woman, leaving your girlfriend behind? I’m disappointed. Let’s break up.”

“Ow, my heart. Dumped twice now.”

Hania, the two-time champion of being my ex-girlfriend.

I had now dated twice in total.

After saying goodbye to Hania, I walked quickly again.

Before long, I came to a stop in front of a room.

Room 316.

Isabel and Sharin’s room.

Sharin was still asleep in the hospital, so only Isabel should be inside.

Knock, knock—

I knocked twice on the door.

Soon, I sensed movement from inside.

“Isabel, it’s me.”

When I quietly called to her, the door slowly opened.

“You?”

There stood Isabel with a surprised look on her face.

She seemed to have just washed—her face was still damp.

Her expression looked fine, at least.

“Can I come in?”

“Oh, yeah.”

Isabel opened the door, and I stepped inside.

Following her in, I saw a neatly organized room.

Sharin probably hadn’t arranged it, so the tidiness must’ve been Isabel’s doing.

“If I’d known you were coming, I would’ve cleaned up a bit.”

Isabel looked a little embarrassed as she straightened a slightly messy blanket.

There wasn’t really anything left to clean here.

“I was actually planning to come see you, but I didn’t expect you to beat me to it. Did everything go okay with Rin?”

Isabel smiled brightly as she spoke.

Her expression was completely different from what I’d imagined.

I thought she’d still be in a rough state like before.

Something felt off.

“Isabel.”

I called her name carefully.

“They said Lucas’s corpse disappeared.”

At that, Isabel blinked.

Then she gave a bitter smile.

“So you heard. Some bastard dug up Lucas’s grave. We went looking for it, but unfortunately, we haven’t found it yet.”

Isabel let out a short sigh, then smiled brightly again.

“But it’s okay. We’ll find it soon! You don’t have to worry too much!”

Hearing that, I just stared quietly at Isabel.

Her face still looked cheerful.

That face was exactly like Isabel’s usual expression, but she couldn’t fool me with a smile.

‘This is rage.’

Isabel’s face might have been smiling, but I could feel the blazing fury burning inside her.

Someone had desecrated Lucas’s corpse.

And Isabel felt deep, scalding anger toward that someone.

She was simply wrapping it all up in a smile.

Isabel was truly pissed.