Raising the Heroine with Praise
Countless bad endings exist within the Flame Butterfly Chapter.
If I had to name one of the absolute worst among them, one that easily ranks in the top tier of disasters...
It would undoubtedly be the Ancient Dragon.
The northern region of Jerion Academy.
The Ancient Dragon Mountains.
The Ancient Dragon that nested there was an entity the developers designed to be completely unbeatable.
That was why the sight of Jerion Academy, frozen solid under the devastating blast of the dragon's breath in that ending...
...evoked an indescribable sense of overwhelming dread and utter helplessness.
Therefore, whatever happens, the Ancient Dragon must never, under any circumstances, be made an enemy.
This was a fact I knew better than anyone, having played Flame Butterfly countless times.
So.
Right now, in this world that had already slid into a bad ending, who was the most dangerous person?
The one destined to be defeated in Act 3 of the protagonist's narrative—the very individual who could trigger a direct route to the 'Ancient Dragon' bad ending.
The woman who would eventually wield the magic of dragons. Known to players as the Calamity Dragon Girl.
Currently, she was a third-year student serving as the Vice President of the Student Council.
Even back in Act 1, Chapter 1, she had been a member of the Student Council, attending the entrance exams as an assistant instructor.
But by a cruel stroke of misfortune, she suffered a defeat during those exams at the hands of Lucas, who had just awakened his Flame of Fighting Spirit.
From that moment on, she clashed with Lucas at every turn, cementing their status as bitter rivals.
Actually, the reason Bika-meon—the guy whose body I possessed—hated Lucas so passionately was largely because of her.
Bika-meon had been deeply in love with the Calamity Dragon Girl.
Now that I was in his shoes, I didn't harbor a shred of those feelings, but it was an open secret that the original Bika-meon had carried a torch for her.
Of course, she had absolutely no intention of returning his affection, and Bika-meon had been painfully aware of that.
Because of this, Bika-meon never dared to confess. Their relationship was nothing more than his pathetic, one-sided crush.
What a coward. He could have at least tried confessing to the girl he liked. I suppose a petty, narrow-minded nature was just part of the package for a minor villain.
And now, that guy is me. I've never loved her, yet I've inherited a history of unrequited pining. I should count my blessings that I didn't enroll under Bika-meon's name.
If I had re-enrolled as Bika-meon, rumors about me being the Calamity Dragon Girl's pathetic stalker would have dogged my every step.
Anyway, back to the point. Bika-meon had despised Lucas simply because Lucas was on bad terms with the girl he loved.
The enemy of my beloved is my enemy. Driven by that simple-minded logic, Bika-meon had relentlessly harassed Lucas.
Eventually, however, Bika-meon crossed the line. He made the mistake of targeting Lucas while the latter was grouped with the Princess in the Demon Palace.
Things went sideways, and Bika-meon found his own life hanging by a thread. Yet, true to his nature as the protagonist, Lucas saved even the very man who had tried to ruin him.
It was a sequence that perfectly illustrated Lucas's character. He saved Bika-meon, his relentless tormentor.
Moved by this, Bika-meon had bowed his head in deep contrition, apologizing for his past misdeeds. He had promised:
He had vowed to become a reformed villain and repay his debt.
But the crime of interfering with the Princess's group was too severe to be overlooked. As a consequence, Bika-meon was expelled from the academy and disowned by his own family, cast aside like a severed tail.
In the original game, Bika-meon never appeared again after that point. There were only passing rumors that he was living out his days somewhere as a worthless playboy.
No one could have guessed that I would return to Jerion Academy like this.
It was Bika-meon's past, but it was my history now. Since the past couldn't be erased, I would have to make sure my stories aligned perfectly if I ever had to operate under his identity again.
But enough about Bika-meon. The real problem right now is the Calamity Dragon Girl.
She was a character whose narrative had been deeply intertwined with the protagonist's from the very beginning.
They started as bitter rivals, but familiarity breeds a strange kind of affection. Through various trials and tribulations, Lucas and Nikita had eventually grown quite close.
Yet, that bond was nothing more than a cruel trick by the developers—a device designed solely to maximize the tragedy of her eventual downfall.
Unable to escape her tragic fate, the Calamity Dragon Girl was destined to die as the final boss of Act 3.
Through his tragic connection with her, Lucas would finally grasp the terrifying scale of the political storm brewing within the Empire's struggle for the throne.
Lucas had a connection with her from day one, all thanks to that entrance exam.
His path had been set from the very first step. But what about me?
I was merely a transfer student who had arrived at the start of the second year, right as Act 3 was commencing.
Naturally, I had no shared history with her, and under normal circumstances, our paths would never cross.
Even so, I had to find a way to steer this broken world back onto the path of the true ending.
The world might have already suffered one bad ending, but I had to prevent the ultimate catastrophe—the awakening of the Ancient Dragon, which would bring about the literal end of the world.
Which is why I must join the Student Council.
She was currently the Vice President. If I wanted to establish contact with her, joining the Student Council was my only viable option.
With that goal in mind, I headed straight toward the Student Council headquarters the moment my martial arts class concluded.
Jerion Academy's architecture featured five massive towers surrounding a central main building.
Each tower represented one of the five academic disciplines: Martial Arts, Liberal and Martial Arts, Magic, Divinity, and Special Studies. Collectively, these towers were known as the Jerion Pentagon.
Sky bridges extended from each tower of the Pentagon, converging on a single, massive structure suspended in midair. This floating facility housed the Headmaster's office, the faculty offices, and the Student Council.
I stepped onto the sky bridge extending from the Martial Arts tower.
Just as I was about to cross toward the central building, a flutter of brilliant silver hair caught my eye, dancing in the wind that swept across the bridge.
I froze mid-step.
Through the shimmering strands of silver, the striking figure of a young woman came into view.
Though she was shorter than my current form—the remarkably handsome Hanon Airey—her proportions were exceptionally, almost impossibly perfect.
It was due to her remarkably small face, which somehow held a set of delicate, perfectly defined features that seemed almost too exquisite to be real.
Furthermore, despite her petite stature, her remarkably ample chest—a detail that would naturally draw any man's gaze—lent her an undeniable air of maturity.
I knew her inside and out. After all, she was the very person I had been on my way to find.
The Calamity Dragon Girl, Nikita Cynthia. The final boss of Act 3 herself.
Well, that was fast. I had been planning to seek her out, but I never expected her to materialize right in front of me. Caught completely off guard, I stood frozen.
Our eyes met. We were the only two people on the sky bridge, so it was only natural that our gazes would lock.
Nikita, walking toward me, spared me a brief glance before turning her head away with a cold, indifferent expression.
To an outsider, she might have seemed incredibly aloof, but knowing her true nature, I wasn't bothered in the slightest.
Her icy exterior only starts to melt and reveal her true self after she becomes rivals with Lucas.
She looked as cold and distant as her silver hair suggested, but in truth, she was fiercely competitive and possessed a surprisingly playful streak.
She was incredibly vulnerable to praise, yet remarkably resilient in the face of criticism. She also harbored a massive complex about her short stature.
This was the Nikita Cynthia I had come to know intimately through countless playthroughs as Lucas. Her current demeanor was nothing but a facade. Right now, she was undoubtedly screaming internally, trying her absolute best to look dignified and aloof in front of an underclassman.
"Senior Nikita Cynthia."
I called out, halting her in her tracks. After all, my real business was with her, not the Student Council itself.
Startled by the sudden call, Nikita turned back to look at me, her eyes filled with mild curiosity. The way her silver hair caught the light as she turned was so breathtakingly beautiful that it almost justified her haughty facade.
"Even before I enrolled, I deeply admired your achievements, Senior Nikita. I came here today because I want to join the Student Council and work by your side."
I delivered the line with theatrical passion, bowing my head deeply. Even without looking up, I could feel her flinch. It didn't take a genius to guess the flustered expression she was wearing right now.
I knew exactly how to play her. Admiration. I knew precisely what that word meant to Nikita Cynthia, and why she was so utterly defenseless against praise.
Peeking up slightly, I studied her reaction. Sure enough, while her face was a mask of polite bewilderment, the corners of her lips were twitching uncontrollably.
She was exceptionally weak to being admired. My words had landed a devastating, direct hit on her ego. Praise could make even the Calamity Dragon Girl dance! Already, a spark of intense curiosity was beginning to flicker in her eyes.
"...And what might your name be, junior?"
Curiosity had successfully transitioned into genuine interest. Now was the time to press the advantage. To avert the catastrophic 'Ancient Dragon' bad ending, I had to secure a connection with her at all costs.
By hook or by crook, as long as I can steer this world back to the true path, anything goes! With that resolve, I answered without a moment's hesitation.
"My name is Hanon Airey! I have just transferred into the second-year class as of today!"
The moment the name left my lips, Nikita's shoulders visibly stiffened. It was only natural—she already knew exactly who I was.
At the beginning of Act 3, a crucial piece of information reaches Nikita's ears: her older brother, Nia Cynthia, has aligned himself with the 1st Prince. This meant the Cynthia household was now in direct opposition to the 3rd Princess.
Meanwhile, Hanon Airey was a cousin to the ultimate villainess, the 3rd Princess. Though it was a distant, practically meaningless relation, one could never be too careful. Naturally, Nikita had been keeping a close eye on my transfer from the very beginning.
"Ah, so you are..." Sure enough, she recognized me. She was likely connecting my appearance to my ties with the Princess. Her eyes gleamed with a sharp, calculating light.
"Ahem. Well, I must admit, hearing such high praise so suddenly is rather... unexpected." Even so, she wasn't about to let her guard down easily. She had to consider the possibility that I was a pawn sent by the 3rd Princess to ensnare her. Yet, despite her caution, her eyes kept darting back to me, practically begging to hear what other compliments I had in store.
How adorable. Are you really that starved for validation? Well, brace yourself.
"In that case, allow me to explain exactly why I hold you in such high esteem, Senior Nikita." Prepare for a relentless barrage of compliments.