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Chapter 29: Advanced Praise Techniques

Nia Cynthia.

Since childhood, Nia had been hailed as a prodigy in magic.

By the time he turned 10, the number of spells he could wield exceeded 1,000.

This was a talent that could be counted on one hand in the entire history of the Empire.

Thanks to this, the Cynthia Marquis family celebrated.

With an heir this exceptional, it was only natural.

Thus, Nia grew up with everything.

As a genius.

As the heir to the Cynthia Marquis family.

As the future Yellow Magic Tower Master.

His influence was so great that depending on which royal faction he supported, the political landscape could shift dramatically.

Nia rose to the highest position among the promising youth of his time.

‘And that was the greatest mistake of his life.’

The moment Nia sided with the First Prince, the delicate balance between the First Prince and the Third Princess shattered.

Although Nia's accomplishments were remarkable, they were not at the level of shaking the Empire's entire political sphere.

After all, he was merely the heir to the Marquis title, not the Marquis himself, and he was the successor to the Tower Master, not the current holder.

However, the power struggle for the throne between the First Prince and the Third Princess had already been ongoing for years.

Most figures in the Empire’s political world had already aligned themselves with one side.

The political balance had been precariously even for far too long.

Nia was the perfect figure to break that balance.

A promising asset with undeniable future value.

This potential alone tipped the scales.

‘That’s why Iris’ maternal grandfather, Duke Robliage, extended his influence to Zerion Academy.’

The plan of the Third Princess’s faction was to absorb promising youth, ensuring the throne would tilt in their favor when the time came.

But in this context, Nia, a promising figure with clear potential, suddenly sided with the First Prince.

For the Third Princess’s faction, it was akin to being struck by lightning.

Thus, they made a bold move.

Eliminate Nia Cynthia.

If they couldn’t have him, they would destroy him.

That was their plan.

And now, Nia was standing right in front of me.

“Oh, brother, have you changed your staff? It looks good,”

Nikita said, trying to ease the tension by changing the subject.

As she mentioned, there was a rather fine-looking staff secured at Nia’s waist.

“You’ve got a sharp eye. My old one was accidentally broken by an acquaintance, so I had to replace it,”

Nia replied graciously.

Seizing the chance, Nikita quickly continued on the same topic.

“Oh dear, I remember the previous one was quite an impressive piece.”

“It was, but the craftsman who made it had a recent accident involving a carriage. The replacement was made by another craftsman recommended by the acquaintance who broke it,”

Nia explained with a gentle smile.

“And now, Nikita, would you care to explain this situation?”

The conversation looped back to the original issue.

His gaze turned chilling—specifically, the way he looked at me was cold enough to cut.

‘Nia Cynthia dotes on Nikita immensely.’

This line was written in his character description.

Until now, I had no way to verify the truth of this.

The Slayer: Flame Butterfly Arc focused on incidents within Zerion Academy.

Nia was entirely an external figure to the academy.

Whenever he was mentioned, it was always in relation to his death.

So, it was a bit surprising.

This was my first time seeing him alive.

“Well, that’s...”

Pressed by Nia, Nikita’s face grew troubled.

It was understandable; she didn’t know how to explain the current situation.

Nia, watching her in silence, sighed deeply.

“Nikita, I want you to have healthy romantic relationships.”

Then Nia turned his gaze toward me, and his eyes were dead cold.

Healthy romantic relationships?

It seemed like he had misunderstood the situation between me and Nikita.

Well, to be fair, the scene he walked in on wasn’t exactly normal.

A younger sister under the desk, with a male student deliberately blocking the view in front of her.

Yeah, it sounded pretty strange.

I was just teasing Nikita a little because she looked cute.

This is unfair.

“Not with some random guy who rolled in from who-knows-where.”

That’s harsh.

For the record, even Hannon has a connection to the Robliage family.

‘Ah, so that’s why.’

By siding with the First Prince, Nia had effectively made an enemy of the Robliage Ducal family.

The Hannon I was pretending to be had the signature black hair and red eyes of the Robliage bloodline.

Of course, Nia must have noticed.

‘Now that I think about it.’

Does Nia know that Hannon was supposed to be a card for the First Prince to use?

I couldn’t tell, as I didn’t know much about Nia.

“R-Romantic relationship? That’s a misunderstanding! There’s nothing like that between me and the junior!”

Nikita vehemently denied it, her face pale.

She understood her position well.

While she could live free of family restrictions at Zerion Academy,

After graduating, she would inevitably be used in a political marriage.

The label of a romantic relationship would be unacceptable for her.

In political marriages, chastity was crucial, and such rumors could deal a significant blow.

Nikita didn’t want to cause trouble for her family.

“Really?”

Nia’s face brightened slightly.

“Well then, let’s hear what he has to say.”

Nia’s cold eyes landed on me.

He, like Nikita, possessed striking features.

Some might find his look appealing, but I wasn’t into men.

“Senior Nikita is the senior I respect most in this world.”

“Ugh.”

Nikita flinched, clearly not expecting me to openly praise her in front of Nia.

“As Vice President, she performs her duties diligently and even helps with the responsibilities of others. She’s exceptionally generous. Although she sometimes hums a little when stressed, I think it shows she even has talent in music. That’s another reason I admire her.”

Words about Nikita poured out of my mouth like a rapid-fire cannon.

Nikita stared at me with her mouth agape, looking utterly dumbfounded.

Her expression screamed, How do you know all that?

Nia slowly furrowed his eyebrows.

“...Anything else?”

For some reason, he demanded more.

“There’s plenty. Just yesterday, she attempted to eat eggplant, which she usually dislikes. Though she failed, isn’t the attempt itself what truly matters?”

Nikita’s lips quivered as if to protest.

Nikita’s lips moved slightly.

“Nikita, you’ve really grown so much,”

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Nia said, looking at Nikita with eyes full of pride.

I was starting to understand how to deal with Nia.

“So, is there more?”

“Yes, of course, there’s more. Just the other day…”

Squeeze—

Suddenly, my body was pulled slightly downward.

When I turned my head, I saw Nikita glaring at me, her teeth clenched tightly.

Nikita’s body trembled.

If this continued, she’d explode.

“…Both of you, get out.”

No.

She’d already exploded.

“Get out!!”

And so, Nia and I were kicked out of the student council room.

The two of us stood awkwardly in the hallway, with the door to the student council room shut behind us.

“…That’s the first time I’ve seen Nikita yell like that,”

Nia murmured, his expression filled with various thoughts.

“It’s probably because, in the family, Senior Nikita never allowed herself to express her emotions.”

Nia glanced at me.

“I know. That’s why I sent Nikita to Zerion Academy.”

I didn’t know that.

It seemed that Nikita had been able to come to Zerion Academy thanks to Nia’s influence.

Now I understood why Nikita had been so furious at Nia’s death and why she had gone so far as to confront an elder dragon.

Nia genuinely cared for Nikita.

Knowing this, Nikita must have suppressed her jealousy and sincerely followed Nia.

“What’s your name?”

Nia suddenly asked for my name.

What should I do?

If Nia knew about Hannon, things could get complicated.

According to my plan, the news of Hannon transferring should reach the First Prince’s ears in about six months.

But with Nia’s appearance, that timeline had been accelerated.

‘For now…’

I might as well throw the dice.

“Hannon Irey.”

“Hannon, huh.”

Nia repeated the name, then said,

“I’ll remember it,”

And turned to leave.

Judging by his lack of reaction, it didn’t seem like he knew anything about Hannon from the First Prince.

I exhaled a small sigh of relief.

Luckily, my plans wouldn’t be too disrupted.

‘I wanted to ask why he came to the academy.’

Oh well.

I’d find out soon enough.

‘Since I’m banned from the student council room for today…’

I might as well return early and focus on some physical training.

A week had passed since Nia Cynthia joined as an associate professor.

Thanks to him, the girls at the academy were in an uproar.

Nia had the kind of charm you’d call the "princely noble" type.

On top of that, his speech was kind and accommodating, and he answered students’ questions with genuine care.

To the girls, there couldn’t have been a more ideal man.

As a result, even the female students in the martial arts department were chatting excitedly about Nia.

“Tch, what’s so great about someone who looks like a foppish playboy?”

The girl next to me grumbled, glaring at the other girls with a look of disdain.

She flipped her fiery red hair like a whip and turned to me.

“Don’t you agree, Princess Sweet Potato?”

“Why are you casually sitting next to me and chatting?”

Her name was Seron Pharmia.

She was someone I’d teamed up with during the last dungeon raid.

Ever since then, she seemed to think we were close.

Recently, she’d started sitting next to me during martial arts classes.

To be precise, she’d been ostracized by the other girls and, unwilling to be alone, decided to sit next to me instead.

“And what’s with the ‘Princess Sweet Potato’ nickname now?”

Last time it was "Burnt Sweet Potato," and now it’s "Princess Sweet Potato."

“Well, last time, Aisha carried you like a princess, remember?”

I didn’t.

I’d been too out of it from the explosion.

For some reason, I’d become known as a lunatic who blew himself up to kill an Apostle.

Technically, I did blow myself up.

But I’d calculated that there wouldn’t be any collateral damage.

Who could’ve predicted that my steel skin and magic engravings would synergize so explosively?

But to everyone else, I looked like some nutcase who’d gone on a suicide bombing spree.

As a result, most people avoided me.

They didn’t want to provoke me and risk me “exploding” again.

Oh, the loneliness.

“Burnt Sweet Potato seems to be retired now.”

“…I won’t call you that anymore,”

Seron replied, turning her head away with a sour expression.

If that’s the case, why call me Sweet Potato at all?

Whether I was burnt or royal, the name Sweet Potato didn’t matter to me.

“If you keep hanging around me like this, the girls will never accept you back.”

“Whatever. I’m tired of trying to please them.”

She was a girl herself, and yet this was her attitude.

“I think I get along better with the guys.”

Coming from someone who’d left the girls’ group to blend in with the guys’ group, that was a pretty bold statement.

I could see Seron’s bleak future unfolding—becoming the sole object of everyone’s unrequited love, the queen bee of the boys’ group.

“Seron, you need to reconcile with the other girls right now.”

“What? No way.”

“I’m saying this for your own good. I don’t want to see you turn into a queen bee.”

“…Did you hit your head again? Maybe that explosion fried your brain and left it empty.”

She didn’t understand my sincerity.

“Hey, Sweet Potato, let’s grab lunch.”

While I was bickering with Seron, a familiar voice called out.

Pushing Seron’s forehead back as she lunged at me, I looked up to see Card.

Same as always, he wore his carefree smirk.

Judging by the timing, he’d just finished his magic class and come over.

Lately, the three of us—me, Seron, and Card—often ate lunch together.

I was getting used to it, even though we’d started to be known as the “problem child trio.”

Honestly, my reputation couldn’t get any worse, so it didn’t bother me.

“Card, what do you think of Associate Professor Nia Cynthia?”

As we walked out with Seron, I asked.

Card shrugged.

“I feel a sense of rivalry.”

“Not that nonsense. Don’t you know why he came to be an associate professor here?”

Card, being a magic student, must’ve heard something.

“Oh, it’s kind of an amusing reason.”

I knew it.

If anyone knew, it’d be him.

“What is it?”

“Well, get this.”

Lowering his voice as if sharing a secret, Card continued.

“He came here to test an anti-aging spell.”

And with that, I was hit with a reason I hadn’t anticipated.

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