NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 79
As autumn began to ripen,
Jerion Academy was bustling with a bright atmosphere after a long time.
It was the foundation day of the Haishirion Empire,
a regular holiday and festival for the empire.
On this day, everyone in the empire would take a break together, as the royal family directly organized the festivities.
Thus, resting today was the duty of every citizen.
This applied to the students of Jerion Academy as well.
Even the professors took a leisurely break today.
However, those responsible for the foundation festival at Jerion Academy —
the assistants and the student council — were a different story.
The assistants were running around diligently to prepare a party that students could participate in.
Even the maids who usually worked in the dormitory helped them out.
Jerion Academy was an institution that trained heroes to combat magic beasts.
While it couldn’t be as grand as the festivities back home,
Jerion Academy couldn’t neglect preparations for the young heroes.
“Ugh, I’m dying,”
one student council member collapsed, unable to withstand the workload.
Having faced the explosive challenge of the foundation day alongside Nikita’s duties,
the student council was suffering in unexpected hell.
“Hang in there!”
“How do you manage to endure this, Hanon-senpai??”
“Stamina is national strength.”
I was a 1st Year Martial Arts Deputy, Midra Fenin, and I responded to the moans coming from my fellow students as I marched forward.
Being constantly summoned for hellish training with Aisha,
shifting festival supplies was no big deal for me.
“Hanon, that looks fun!”
As I dashed ahead, carrying several supplies, I heard a voice from in front.
Shifting my gaze between the items, I saw Sharine there.
“Then do you want to join?”
“I’ll do something even more fun.”
“Sounds sharp.”
“Then go ahead and enjoy. Just don’t be a nuisance.”
“Being treated as a nuisance is hurtful. I came to check on the magical state of the magic beasts.”
That was indeed an important matter.
I set the supplies down in a corner.
“Sit down.”
Following Sharine’s words, I leaned against the wall and sat down as she opened my right eye with her thumb and index finger.
Then, sparkling magic began to swirl in her eyes.
Sharine stared deep into my eyes,
and I kept mine wide open as well.
Every time I saw the glimmer in Sharine’s eyes, I felt its beauty.
The sight of a galaxy flowing within her irises had me gasping in awe time and time again.
After staring into my eyes for a while, she soon rested her chin on her hand.
“Hmm, it seems your right eye might go blind.”
“…Don’t say that even as a joke.”
“I thought it was a funny joke.”
When Sharine said it, it didn’t seem like a joke at all, making it even scarier.
“You said you used the Ember of Fire.”
“Yeah.”
“Back then, the steel skin infused with the Ember of Fire completely enveloped the remnants of the magic beast. It seems the remnants themselves are quite satisfied with that.”
Somehow, I ended up containing the magic beast’s remnants.
“What about the possibility of going berserk?”
“I made adjustments last time, so there shouldn’t be any immediate danger. It was about time for a potential outburst, anyway.”
So she came here on purpose to check it out.
In any case, I was always indebted to Sharine.
“Well then, that’s a relief.”
“Is it truly a relief?”
“Is there some other issue?”
At my question, Sharine smoothly pulled out a wand.
Then, with a flick, a small breeze began to blow.
“Show me your arm.”
As I followed Sharine’s instruction and raised my arm, my skin was revealed.
“It might sting a little.”
Then, the spell that Sharine cast turned into a blade and touched my skin.
My body now had the steel skin infused within it.
Perhaps that’s why I couldn’t be easily cut by Sharine’s magic.
Considering Sharine, she raised the intensity a bit more.
Pshhh!
Suddenly, my skin was sliced open, and blood began to seep out.
Then,
whoosh!
A white chill gushed out from between my skin.
The cold froze the wind that Sharine had summoned as well.
What happened in an instant,
and witnessing it made my eyes widen.
“What is this?”
“Right now, your insides are completely infused with the remnants of the magic beast. So when an external wound occurs, it happens like this.”
Sharine looked at my skin with half-open eyes.
“This is essentially like a walking ice bomb.”
“…If I get seriously hurt…”
Sharine smirked.
“Then that area will freeze entirely due to the magic beast’s remnants.”
That was quite a troublesome matter.
I had become an ice bomb.
‘If you think about it, that’s not all bad, is it?’
There was nothing that couldn’t be used here.
“I’ll say this in advance.”
Sharine tapped on my skin that had turned ice-cold.
“If it explodes, Hanon will get trapped in the magic of the magic beast as well.”
That would be a problem.
I knew best the power of the magic beast’s magic from my experience with Nikita.
If that happened, I would definitely say goodbye to this world.
“I need to find some solution.”
“Yeah, so I thought of one.”
“Sharine, she’s like a goddess.”
Sharine puffed her chest out and let out a triumphant sound.
When I urged her for details, she began to laugh suspiciously.
“Let’s learn the magic of the Fire Dragon.”
And then she said something completely absurd.
“Are you out of your mind? The magic of the magic beast.”
“It’s a forbidden magic in the empire.”
As she said, the empire prohibited the dangerous magic of the magic beast.
This meant that the magic of the magic beast could not be researched, naturally.
“But it doesn’t mean it can’t be in the form of a magic seal.”
Magic seal,
a magic that Sharine and I had researched.
“Hanon, what lies within you is the remnants of the Ice Dragon.”
The magic of the magic beast isn’t just one type.
Fire Dragon, Ice Dragon, Earth Dragon, Celestial Dragon.
In essence, they are divided into four main categories.
The remnants connected to Nikita were of the Ice Dragon.
“If we carve the magic of the Fire Dragon into a magic seal, we could counterbalance and control the Ice Dragon’s remnants within.”
Magic seals have specifications that are inferior to existing magics.
Sharine intended to take advantage of this aspect.
While the power would be weakened due to being in the form of a magic seal,
the likelihood of a runaway occurrence would also drastically decrease.
From there, using the magic of the magic beast in a way that allows mutual counterbalance and control between the magic beast’s magic sealed into the magic seal and the remnants infused in my body.
“Is that really possible?”
“I’m Sharine, you know?”
This was a proposal made by the unrivaled genius, the Top Student in Magic Arts.
It was certainly pointless to doubt her words.
“Above all, the remnants of the magic beast are essentially just waiting to explode at any time.”
In the end, it’s uncertain when it will explode.
Sharine had said so.
“I think it’s right to have at least one additional safety mechanism.”
Indeed, one can’t live with a self-destruct bomb attached.
As she said this, Sharine smiled slyly.
“Also, the magic of the magic beast was handled by Jerion, the Transcendental Sage. I’m pretty interested in that.”
The founder of Jerion Academy and the Transcendental Sage, Jerion.
As she stated, the only one who handled the magic of the magic beast without incident was Jerion.
Sharine had a strong thirst for magical knowledge.
It seemed she wanted to surpass even Jerion someday.
“Alright then. If that’s the case, I’ll have to ask from my end.”
Sharine came to help me directly out of concern for me.
I felt a desire to test that desire behind those eyes, which made me want to smack her.
I couldn’t simply leave the remnants of the magic beast unattended.
“Yeah, if Hanon messes up, I’ll be in trouble too.”
That was somewhat touching.
“At the moment, Isabel can’t do without Hanon.”
Was it because of Isabel after all?
I wish for the sentiment to be returned.
“Isabel has brightened up largely thanks to Hanon.”
For me, I was still quite anxious about Isabel now.
I used to only serve as an object of anger as a rival, but now it had turned into a complex relationship, and I didn’t know how to manage her emotions anymore.
“And I hope Hanon stays safe too.”
Sharine smiled slyly, saying what I was hoping for.
Just like a fox.
I picked up the supplies I had set aside.
“Thank you. I’ll be careful not to get hurt for a while.”
With that, Sharine waved her hand as she left.
In any case, she had such an unpredictable and fickle personality.
On the day the foundation day commenced,
she would soon become a disruptor for the student council, so I resolved to work hard until then.
—
On the day of the Haishirion Foundation Day,
Iris was quietly gazing out the window.
As it’s a regular festive day for the empire, everyone was excited.
However, among them,
there was one person who couldn’t seem to share in the excitement.
On the day of the foundation festivities, this person would especially darken.
It was the 3rd Princess Iris Haishirion.
The reason for her somberness was simple.
On the day of the foundation festivities,
it was the day her mother had passed away.
Her cause of death was Nightmare Disease,
an unusual ailment that modern healers could not cure.
Iris’s mother was trapped in her dreams and could not return to the outside world.
And from then on, Iris began to have nightmares herself.
As the children, excited for the foundation festivities, chatted with bright faces here and there,
Iris quietly wrapped herself up.
For some reason, today felt particularly cold.
“Iris-sama.”
At that moment, Iris turned her head in response to the voice calling her.
There stood Hania.
“The preparations are complete.”
Today was the day the student council boycott group would act.
It was also the day they would execute the orders of the Duke of Robliju.
They were to topple Sylvester, the student council president and the youngest member of the Duke’s family, to smear the Drephen family.
On this glorious foundation day,
it was the day for a powerless student council president to be depicted as incompetent against the chaos caused by students.
Iris exhaled with an unpleasant expression.
Sylvester was ineffectual.
While his character wasn’t particularly good, he wasn’t outright bad either.
He was just a person who existed somewhere between black and white, a grey area.
One flaw, however, was that he had no motivation in his life, but he wasn’t the type to be sacrificed in this way.
Iris knew well how he would be treated by the Drephen family after this incident.
If he wasn’t kicked out of the family, it would be considered a miracle.
Yet, Iris lifted her head, revealing her dignity as a princess.
She had already sacrificed countless people to come this far.
Even if it was the will of the Duke of Robliju, what she had done would not disappear.
She was the ultimate villain.
The 3rd Princess who would someday ascend to the throne.
“Let’s begin.”
“Yes.”
As soon as I conveyed the words to Hania, she quickly vanished.
Watching Hania disappear, Iris stared blankly out the window.
Today, she felt inexplicably lonely.
Since her mother’s death, she had not felt familial affection again.
Those around her were either people she used or those who sought to use her.
Aside from Hania, there was no one else.
This truth struck her with profound loneliness.
‘Family.’
At that moment, a figure crossed Iris’s mind.
A boy with black hair and red eyes who resembled her in a way.
Although their faces might differ, they shared many similarities upon closer inspection.
That boy, who would show signs of dislike but would still help her when asked.
The warmth of that boy suddenly came to mind for Iris.