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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Foolish Seron
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I found myself facing that blockhead, Seron.
I replayed the events in my mind, trying to understand how things had come to this.
Seron had been spending a lot of time alone recently.
Naturally, a large part of that was my fault.
As I was unintentionally surrounded by other students, Seron had no opening to approach me.
It was Ailing, one of the initial members of the boycott, who had noticed Seron and persistently tried to recruit her.
Ailing's main reason for inviting Seron was simple.
Seron was close friends with me, a member of the student council.
So, Ailing wanted to draw her into the boycott, hoping to gain some information.
It was a reasonably understandable motive.
The problem was that Ailing was more persistent than expected.
Seron's personality isn't exactly gentle, so she could have easily shaken her off.
But it seemed Seron intended to use this opportunity to extract information about the boycott and report it to me.
So, she had pretended to be reluctantly persuaded and followed Ailing to the meeting place.
Considering just that, it was a truly commendable idea.
That is, until she ran into me, in my Bikarmen form.
Seron kept glancing furtively at me, standing in the corner.
And each time our eyes met, her face would flush crimson, and she'd duck her head low.
Her toes wiggling, she was unmistakably a girl in love.
Again, Bikarmen was handsome.
He was so handsome I had to emphasize it twice.
It wasn't for nothing that he'd swept women off their feet as a host in the pleasure district, even charming Vinessa, the Berserk Mage, with his face alone.
He was tall, and handsome.
On top of that, his inexplicably melancholic gaze had a captivating charm that entranced people.
It wasn't incomprehensible that Seron would fall for him at first sight.
Seron had always said she liked tall, masculine handsome men.
Compared to Nia, who was a delicate beauty, Bikarmen possessed a masculine handsomeness.
This perfectly matched Seron's ideal type.
The problem was, that was me.
A headache briefly washed over me.
'That blockhead.'
I didn't want Seron to get caught up in the boycott.
The boycott group would ultimately fail, and its members would be disciplined.
It was only natural, given they were causing a disturbance at school.
I had to get that girl out of here somehow.
But seeing her completely ignoring Rosamin, the boycott leader, and only looking at me, it wouldn't be easy.
"President!"
At that moment, during Rosamin's speech, a student burst in.
With spheres of light floating around them, they seemed to be a student from the Special Studies of Spirits department.
"The student council is on patrol! We need to get out of here quickly!"
The student council wasn't foolish.
As the number of boycott members grew, rumors reached the student council's ears.
Though they called themselves a boycott, the members were essentially a delinquent group harboring grievances against the academy.
As it was the student council's role to guide them, they immediately launched a patrol to do so.
"Those conniving student council bastards! Everyone, this meeting is adjourned for today. Scatter!"
At Rosamin's command, students who had been munching on snacks quickly began to flee.
I had warned them beforehand that patrols could happen at any time, so everyone moved in perfect order.
Just as I was about to quickly make my escape.
I saw Seron standing there, her face flustered.
That blockhead.
It seemed she had been so focused on my face that she didn't realize what was happening.
If I left her like that, she'd be discovered by the patrolling students.
I couldn't let Seron take the blame, so I quickly ran towards her.
*Thump!*
Then, I grabbed her wrist.
"Oh, uh."
"Let's go."
Pulling the flustered Seron, I quickly ran down the corridor of the abandoned building.
The corridor, already deserted by the fleeing boycott students, was quiet.
Running along a route I had previously thought of, I soon heard footsteps approaching from the stairs.
Damn it, to think they'd come this way.
Bad luck.
I stopped and looked around.
Then, I opened the door to an empty classroom and entered with Seron.
Inside, an old podium stood.
I quickly got inside with Seron and crouched down.
The podium wasn't very large, so Seron and I were pressed close together, but this was no time to worry about such things.
I felt Seron squirming, as if she felt stifled being held in my arms.
"Just bear with it for a moment."
I whispered into her ear, and Seron's body trembled slightly.
Soon after, she quieted down.
*Thump-thump-thump-*
Footsteps of student council members echoed from the corridor.
"Whoa, what a hassle, patrolling in the middle of the night."
"They say there's a delinquent group. As the student council, we have to act."
It was Midra Fenin, a first-year junior and the second-ranked student in Martial Arts.
And the voice of another second-year student council member.
It seemed that since it was still just a rumor, they weren't actively searching.
Indeed, if they were actively involved, they would have used magic to seal off the abandoned building.
The associate professors and teaching assistants would have moved with them too.
'Was the President not calling me to the patrol squad a consideration due to the Nikita incident?'
President Sylvester hadn't assigned me any student council duties since the Nikita incident.
He was being considerate, allowing me to rest, as I, who had assisted Nikita the most, might have been shocked.
'He might be incompetent, but he's not a bad person.'
It was merely unfortunate that incompetence seemed to be his inherent trait.
Meanwhile, the student council members' footsteps faded into the distance.
Realizing this, I let out a short sigh and turned my head.
And my eyes met Seron's directly.
Seron looked up at me blankly, her eyes completely unfocused.
Her face had already turned beet red, and her mouth was slightly agape.
I gazed at Seron for a moment before opening my mouth.
"Hey."
"Oh, hot!"
*Wham!*
Seron, belatedly regaining her senses, tried to stand up and hit her head on the podium.
"Ughhh!"
Seron clutched her head, groaning as if in pain.
But she seemed more embarrassed by her clumsy display in front of me than by the pain itself, not knowing what to do.
"Are you okay?"
I almost blurted out 'you blockhead.'
Managing to hold back, I checked Seron's forehead.
I was worried it might have cracked, like a mirror.
"Ah, yes, yes, I'm fine."
Seron, using polite language she normally didn't, acted primly.
Well, I suppose her head's hard enough not to crack.
"That's good."
I kept my true thoughts in check as much as possible and stepped out from behind the podium.
Then, I extended a hand to Seron, who was still inside.
Seron flinched at my every move, then took my hand and stepped out.
The way she emerged, subtly pressing down her skirt, made her look like a delicate girl to anyone who saw her.
Moonlight streamed in through the window.
Today was a clear night with a visible moon.
Seron, who had followed me out, stared at me as if enchanted.
Then, she gasped and snapped back to reality.
"Um, excuse me, what's your name?"
Seron, with a shy expression, asked for my name.
It seemed Seron didn't recognize Bikarmen, who was a year above her.
'Still, I would have thought she'd at least heard the name.'
Given Seron's personality, she probably just wasn't interested enough to look him up.
More importantly, I was Bikarmen.
What would Bikarmen have said in this situation?
If she didn't know my name already, there was no particular reason to tell her.
I intended to prevent Seron from coming to the boycott meetings starting today.
"It's a name you wouldn't particularly want to hear."
"Oh."
Seron let out a soft gasp.
It seemed she had decided on her own that I must have some personal circumstances.
"More importantly, don't come here again starting today."
"What? Why?"
"It's not a place that will do you any good."
Seron hesitated.
"But, but…"
She glanced at my face, acting as if she had a lot more to say.
She really doesn't listen. I felt like flicking her forehead.
"Then, where can I see you again?"
Then, she finally managed to utter the words she had chosen so carefully.
She bit her lip, seemingly embarrassed by what she had just said.
Where could she see me again?
She could see me when she came to school tomorrow morning.
I stopped myself from instinctively looking at Seron with disdain and opened the window.
"It's better if we don't see each other again. It won't do either of us any good."
If she ever finds out I'm Hanun later, Seron will definitely be devastated.
While it would be fun to tease her about it, I didn't want things to become awkward between us.
For better or worse, Seron was my friend.
I wanted to maintain a good relationship with her in the future.
So, I decided to willingly turn a blind eye to Seron's behavior today.
What are friends for? As for your first love, I saw nothing today.
***
The next day, I went to school as usual in the morning.
No, wait.
To be precise, it wasn't exactly as usual.
After returning to the dorm last night, I immediately went to the girls' dorm.
Then, in Hania's form, I went to Iris's room.
Iris had the sound of Argol playing and was leaning back in her chair, as I had told her to.
And then, as our eyes met, she offered a faint smile.
That smile was the same one Iris had worn in the Demon Palace.
Her exhaustion had reached its limit.
I gently carried Iris and laid her on the bed.
Then, I quietly let her embrace me.
We talked about a few things until Iris fell asleep.
It was nothing particularly special.
But it was the right kind of conversation to help Iris fall asleep.
Iris quickly drifted off, her breathing becoming steady.
When Lucas put Iris to sleep, it was with a lap pillow.
I don't know how I ended up in this situation.
Still, as long as Iris could sleep, it was fine.
After thoroughly fulfilling my role as her comfort doll, I finally managed to detach myself from Iris in the morning and switch with Hania.
Thanks to that, Iris was vibrant today.
Walking confidently without any signs of fatigue, she truly exuded the dignity of an imperial princess.
"I want to sleep with Hanun every night."
"Lady Iris, please, never say such things in front of others."
Iris casually said something that would make anyone jump out of their skin.
If the Third Princess Pha had heard that, she would have been utterly appalled.
And I would be executed for daring to touch a princess.
"Please do it again next time."
But Iris had no intention of letting me go.
It seemed she planned to use me again if she couldn't sleep.
As for me, I had no choice but to endure until Iris was freed from her nightmares.
If only she were freed from her nightmares, I wouldn't have to do this.
Amidst my ever-growing worries, I arrived at school.
And there, I saw Seron's back, who had arrived earlier than usual today.
Judging by her reaction, she didn't seem to notice I was there.
Thinking back to yesterday, I decided to tease her a little and quietly approached from behind.
"Haaah."
Seron, still unaware of my approach, let out a long sigh.
Her eyes, glistening wet, gazed out the window.
"My Prince…"
And she murmured to herself.
I quietly stared at the back of Seron's head.
I realized who she was thinking about.
Just yesterday she was calling him a burnt sweet potato. That girl.