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The Royal Court’s Chief Mage, Arcadium.

It had already been three weeks since I started observing him closely.

The Demon Dungeon had once again returned to its usual seasonal schedule.

As such, the Spring Demon Dungeon event was now practically right around the corner.

And in that time, I’d learned just one thing:

Arcadium is an incredibly good person.

He’s kind to the students, gets along well with the professors, and is always the first to step in when problems arise among the students.

“Professor, there are way too many assignments these days! Give us a break!”

“I once injured my magic circuit, so I don’t have much talent for offensive magic, but I’m solid when it comes to theory. I’ll make sure to teach you thoroughly so that you can survive the Demon Dungeon. Which means... expect more assignments.”

“You’re a demon, professor. A demon in the flesh.”

Laughter from the students rang out.

Perhaps because of that, the first-years were especially fond of Arcadium.

So much so that even the assistants would go to him first whenever something came up.

“My eyes are going to pop out.”

Seron grumbled as she sat by the window, watching me.

She was always following me around.

So naturally, she knew I was keeping an eye on Arcadium.

“What’d that professor do, anyway?”

“Just a hunch for now.”

And he was too dangerous a man to approach based on a hunch alone.

If my suspicion turned out to be true, he had joined hands with the Celestial Grace.

And being the chief mage of the court was no small position.

If I recklessly stuck my neck out, it might get bitten off.

“You’re usually all about charging in headfirst. What’s with all this cautious watching?”

Seron asked, curious.

I only ever charged in when I had enough of a basis to move.

Like during the Flame Butterfly arc.

That arc gave me the confidence to take action.

But the current situation?

It was far more intense than the Flame Butterfly arc.

The information I’d gathered back then had long become irrelevant.

This world no longer gave me the certainty I needed to act.

So I chose to wait quietly this time.

Card and Solvas were working hard to track down the mystery of the vampires.

The White Wolf Order was doing the same, and even Duke of Whitewood was lending her strength.

Duke of Whitewood, in particular, was also searching for clues about the ancient dragon’s mage.

That was what made me hesitate the most.

My gut told me that Arcadium was likely the ancient dragon’s mage—but the dragon’s hunger remained dormant.

“Oh look, it’s your sweet potato princess’s little sister.”

While I was caught in thought, Seron pointed below.

There stood Xenia, chatting with Arcadium.

I froze.

It was Xenia—my younger sister.

Seeing her with Arcadium made me uneasy.

Especially after what she’d said recently:

‘Hannon-oppa, is Professor Arcadium really a bad person?’

Xenia, the top student among the first-years in magical theory.

Whether she liked it or not, she’d be seeing a lot of him.

And from her perspective, Arcadium didn’t seem like the bad person I described.

He genuinely cared for his students and taught them with the intention of guiding them on the right path.

I could understand that, at least from what Xenia had told me.

“So basically, you need more intel, right?”

“That’s about right.”

“Then why not just sneak into his office or something? You’d find out quick.”

“Seron, you think the warding on a professor’s office is that easy to bypass?”

“What, back during the boycott we just slipped right in.”

Well, that’s true.

“Back then, we caused a big enough ruckus to draw all eyes away.”

“We’ve got that again. A distraction. The professors will all be preoccupied.”

Ah.

“...The Demon Dungeon.”

During the Demon Dungeon event, both students and professors gather in front of the dungeon.

They need to be ready to respond if anything happens.

Which means the academy itself will be practically empty.

But for that to work, I’d have to skip the Demon Dungeon.

Seron and I locked eyes.

Then she stared at me silently for a moment before raising her hand to her mouth.

“What, are you worried about me, sweet potato prince?”

Seron wiggled her lips teasingly.

It was starting to get annoying.

But it was true.

She nearly died during the last Demon Dungeon event.

The terrible feeling I had back then still lingered like a scar.

I didn’t want Seron to go through something like that again.

Noticing the look on my face, Seron grinned from ear to ear.

“I’ve gotten stronger since then, okay? You think this Seron is gonna get taken down again?”

She puffed up her chest and threw a punch at the air.

But maybe my expression was too serious, because she stopped mid-motion and shrank back a little.

Then she fidgeted, glancing up at me nervously.

“That was a one-time thing. You don’t need to worry so much.”

She liked that I worried about her, but she also didn’t want me to.

That conflicting emotion was written all over her.

That honesty with her feelings was just like her.

“There’ve been too many unpredictable variables at the Demon Dungeon lately.”

At that, Seron reached out and pinched my cheeks.

As my head was pulled close, her eyes came into sharp focus.

“Sweet potato prince, I’m also a student of Zerion Academy.”

She was right.

She had entered Zerion Academy fully aware of the risks.

“I’m here to prepare for any problems that happen at the Demon Dungeon. I’ve trained for it. I didn’t come here just to rely on you.”

Then she flashed a bold smile.

“So don’t worry. And if you’re really that worried, give me a kiss before I go. That’d be—”

And just like that, I stole her lips.

As our lips parted, Seron looked up at me with a dazed expression.

Like she couldn’t believe that just happened.

Then her face slowly turned red, starting from the neck up.

By the time her whole face was flushed, steam was practically coming out of her head.

“Y-you…”

“You asked for it.”

“T-that was just a figure of speech!”

“Then I shouldn’t have done it?”

Seron flinched and grabbed the hem of my clothes, timidly.

Then, still bowing her head, she peeked up at me.

“...Maybe just one more.”

So greedy.

“I-I’m good with even ten times.”

That’s more than just a little greedy.

Creak—

Just then, the door to the martial arts classroom opened.

Since it was lunchtime, all the students had gone out.

So I already knew who it would be.

Standing there were Eve and Card, both carrying piles of bread.

They had lost at rock-paper-scissors, so they were stuck with the bread run.

Card glanced between Seron and me, then smirked.

“Eve, looks like we’ve walked into a weird moment.”

“Hmph.”

Eve looked at us with a face full of disapproval.

“S-Shut it! Just get in already!”

Seron barked at them for no real reason, hurrying them inside.

Card shrugged his shoulders, and Eve walked over, setting the bread down on the desk.

“Hannon Irey, if you’re worried about the Demon Dungeon, don’t be.”

What sharp ears.

She must’ve heard me in the hallway on the way here.

She brushed her blue hair aside casually.

“I’ll make sure nothing happens to Seron.”

So this is what the protagonist of a side story feels like.

You can just sense the dignity.

“I’ve got a dependable friend.”

“Ahem.”

Eve cleared her throat and averted her gaze.

She really liked being called a friend.

“Husbaaand~”

Just then, another familiar face appeared.

Sharin peeked her head through the door to the martial arts room.

Like a fox drawn in by the scent of bread.

“You slept through lunch, didn’t you?”

“Husband knows everything about me~ I must be real special to you.”

Sharin walked right over and sat on my lap.

As I silently tried to hand her a piece of bread, she opened her mouth.

A clear sign she wanted me to feed her.

Eve gave me a strange look, but I tore the bread and put it in Sharin’s mouth.

She chewed happily with a satisfied face.

Then Sharin’s eyes drifted toward the window.

Probably because I kept glancing out there.

Outside, Arcadium was still surrounded by students.

Looks like he plans to stay there all through lunch.

Sharin tilted her head slowly.

By the time her head leaned gently against my chest, her brows furrowed.

“Hmm... that mana color’s kinda like my dad’s.”

Her words made me blink in confusion.

“Like his? How?”

“Just what I said.”

She took a bite from the bread in my hand as if it was no big deal.

“Sometimes people have similar mana colors. We’ve all been mixing bloodlines for ages, you know.”

In other words, nothing too special.

Still, unless it was Sharin’s Mirinae or Xenia’s Celestial magic, no one could tell mana color apart.

“I like my husband’s mana color the best~”

Sharin snuggled in a bit deeper and grinned sweetly.

Something about it felt off, but I was being charmed by this sly fox.

At that moment, Card, dodging Seron’s punches in the distance, pointed over at us.

Seron blew up and shouted at Sharin.

Eve just sighed and shook her head.

To anyone watching, it looked like peace.

If I want to protect this moment, I’ll have to work for it.

I quietly gazed out the window.

Let’s see what you’ve got.

＊＊＊

And so, the Spring Demon Dungeon Battle finally arrived.

Students rushed toward the dungeon, determined to stop whatever was coming.

Originally, the first-year special class was supposed to participate too.

But recently, a string of incidents had occurred in the Demon Dungeon.

Even a teaching assistant had been killed.

Because of that, Zerion Academy decided to exclude the special class from this spring’s battle.

They may have been called a “special class,” but they were still first-years.

Too inexperienced.

It was a reasonable safety measure.

The academy didn’t want more casualties for the time being.

As the students made their way toward the dungeon...

A small group moved together.

The third-years, known as the Generation of the Golden Flame.

Among them were the elite of the elite.

Isabel Luna, Warrior of the Goddess.

She looked at the boy walking ahead of her and spoke.

“So that guy insisted on staying behind at the academy again?”

“Told you so.”

Seron, walking beside her, replied with a sigh.

The boy ahead of Isabel was Hannon Irey.

The real Hannon Irey.

No Vikamon here this time.

“Geez, seriously, that guy...”

Isabel looked like she had more to say but held it in.

“Well, at least he’s not with anyone this time.”

He was alone at the academy.

So this time, at least, there shouldn’t be anything to get jealous over.

‘More importantly—’

When she returned, she and he would set off together again to search for Lucas.

The thought made Isabel flinch.

Wasn’t that basically using Lucas?

She silently apologized to Lucas, brushing her face as if to clear her head.

No matter how strong the desire, this wasn’t right.

Still, it wasn’t entirely her fault either.

When she’d searched for Lucas, Vikamon had supported her like no one else.

She had been so grateful—so moved—that her heart just kept melting.

Even now, when she remembered how he would hold her kindly as she cried, her hands and feet trembled.

“Beeel~”

Then Sharin called out to Isabel.

She made it painfully obvious she hated going to the dungeon without Vikamon.

“H-Huh?”

Isabel, flustered by her earlier thoughts, fanned herself and turned around.

“There’s someone with him at the academy.”

“Huh?”

Isabel blinked, confused.

Then Sharin narrowed her eyes, looking behind them.

“That girl’s still there, at the academy.”

At those words, Isabel’s eyes slowly widened.

Even Seron, who had been disinterested, suddenly whipped her head around.

Their faces froze.

She was there.

Just like Sharin said, she was at the academy.

A silver marten.

A marten that could devour dragons.

“This Demon Dungeon battle—”

Sharin slowly raised her staff.

“—let’s finish it in record time.”

Neither Isabel nor Seron said a word of disagreement.

The eyes of the three girls burned with terrifying intensity.

Eve, watching from the side, quietly turned her head away.

Maybe the one who needed protecting wasn’t Seron... but Vikamon.

Whatever future awaits him, she couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry.

Well, he should’ve known better than to flirt around.