The Real Hanon Appears

A coastal path along the Aron Sea, where we had come for summer vacation. I was running alongside a boy—one who looked exactly like me.

"Seeing you up close is amazing. You really look exactly like me." The real Hanon Airey smiled at me, looking thoroughly fascinated.

"I've heard all kinds of rumors about myself. Apparently, I'm some kind of lightning bastard?"

I paused. Well, I felt a bit bad about that. I had essentially dragged his reputation through the mud.

"Pfft, it's fine, it's fine. I don't really care what people call me. Honestly, it was pretty fun living vicariously through your exploits. Maybe that's why..."

Hanon's red eyes stared straight into mine. "I'm dying to know who you really are."

With that, Hanon began to pick up his pace. Realizing his intention, my brow furrowed deeply.

I reached out to grab him. But with incredible flexibility, Hanon easily slipped past my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠arm. *Damn it, this max-level evasion bastard!*

Hanon's unique trait was Evasion. An insane reflex that allowed him to dodge even magical attacks. If he set his mind to it, even I would have a hard time catching him.

"So, I'm going to find out for myself! Just for today, I'm going to enjoy living your life!"

"Wait—"

Before I could even finish my sentence, Hanon dashed into the crowd of students doing their morning training. If I chased him in there, things would get incredibly messy.

Damn ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it. Left with no choice, I turned and slipped into the nearby bushes. Then, I unwrapped the Bandage of the Veil. My original face was revealed.

As I re-tied the bandage, my face shifted rapidly. Soon, I transformed into someone who wouldn't look out of place anywhere in this world. It was my appearance from my original world.

In this form, it wouldn't matter who saw me. I quickly threw on a beach staff uniform I had on hand and sprinted forward, kicking off the ground.

In the brief moment it took to adjust the Bandage of the Veil, Hanon had vanished. He wasn't a guy with all his stat points dumped into agility for nothing. He was incredibly fast.

Hanon must know what I've been up to. Since he said he was going to live my life, he would undoubtedly seek out the people I was involved with.

There were four people at the Aron Sea deeply connected to me: Isabel, Sharin, Hania, and Iris.

It won't be Iris. Hanon wasn't acting completely without thought. He knew going to Iris could trigger disaster. Besides, Hanon harbored a subtle fear of Iris.

Then it won't be Hania either. Hania stayed by Iris's side all day long. She was naturally ruled out.

That leaves... Only Isabel and Sharin. I hurried toward the rooms where they were staying.

Arriving outside their room, I caught my breath. Hanon was nowhere to be seen nearby. In fact, the surroundings were eerily quiet. That only made it more unsettling—like the calm before a storm.

Tense, I raised my hand. *Knock, knock.* I rapped twice on the door.

"Yes?" A voice answered from inside, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps. The door clicked open, revealing a familiar face. It was Mina, Isabel's friend. Seeing me in a staff uniform, she tilted her head. "Can I help you?"

Hanon wasn't inside. If he were, Mina wouldn't be standing there so casually.

"I have a message for student Sharin Sazaris. It's an urgent contact from the Blue Magic Tower."

"The Blue Magic Tower?" Mina's eyes went wide. "H-Hold on a second." She dashed back inside. Soon, I heard her trying to wake someone up. "Rin, Sharin! There's a message from the Blue Magic Tower! Wake up!"

"Ughhhhh..." Sharin, who was notoriously bad with mornings, was dragged out by Mina. Half-asleep, Sharin stared blankly at me. Looking at her face, she didn't seem to have a hangover. Well, she had thrown up everything last night, so of course she wouldn't.

After staring at me blankly for a long moment, Sharin tilted her head. "...Hmm?"

Through her unique magic, Mirinae, Sharin could see right through the Bandage of the Veil. While she might not be able to see my actual face underneath, she would instantly recognize my presence. And with her sharp intellect, she would have realized something was amiss.

Sharin rubbed her eyes, stared at me for another second, and then turned back inside. "Wait hereee." It seemed she was going to change. Sharin disappeared back into the room. With her help, we could catch Hanon, no matter how maxed-out his evasion was.

"Sharin, don't fall asleep while putting on your clothes!" ...We could catch him, right?

Thanks to Mina's help, Sharin successfully changed and came back out, looking at me with a drowsy expression. "Is that... your real faceee?"

While it technically was my real face... "It's a fake." In this world, I was Vikaman. Therefore, this face was a fake.

Sharin stared at me with a disappointed pout, then leaned her head against the wall. She still looked half-asleep. "So, what brings you here so early in the morning?"

Sharin gave a lazy smile. "Did you miss meee already?"

"The real Hanon Airey has appeared."

Sharin's eyes sharpened slightly. She knew I had a specific reason for wearing this disguise. "Then what happens?"

"I don't know. That's why I need to catch him." I had no idea what Hanon might do. I had to stop him before he did anything.

"Isabel isn't inside, is she?"

"Bel is so diligent. She probably went to train."

"Then he definitely went to find Isabel." I sighed and turned around. There weren't many places suitable for training around the Aron Sea. If we searched, we'd find them.

"Sharin, help me catch Hanon."

Hearing that, Sharin stepped closer and grabbed my collar. She grinned playfully. "Caught youuu."

I felt a sudden urge to flick her forehead, but she was cute enough that I let it slide. "Anyway, we just have to catch him, right?"

"Since we're catching him, you can rough him up a bit too."

"Sounds fun." Sharin's eyes lit up with interest. With this, his capture was guaranteed. Just wait, real Hanon. The fake Hanon is coming for you.

A coastal path away from the Aron Sea. A young woman was walking along the path connected ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the nearby beach park. The breeze fluttered her honey-blond hair. Her name was Isabel Luna, a student at Jerion Academy.

After a light morning training run, she was taking a leisurely stroll along the shore. Her eyes drifted to the crashing waves. While she didn't particularly care for the salty scent of the sea, it brought a distinct summer vibe that wasn't entirely unpleasant.

But separate from that, Isabel's emotions were sinking. Ever since Lucas's death, she often found herself falling into these heavy, melancholic moods whenever she was alone.

Still, she was much better than before. At first, her mood would plummet endlessly, leaving her body entirely drained of strength. It felt as if she were bound to a massive weight at the bottom of the deep sea, sinking with no hope of escape. That suffocating, horrific sensation had mostly faded now. At the very least, she could now keep her head just above the water.

...Am I forgetting Lucas? They said time heals all wounds. Isabel had never been able to comprehend that saying, but lately, she realized it wasn't entirely wrong.

Lucas had been her most precious friend. As fellow nobles from the frontier, they had grown up together, and she had believed they would always walk the same path.

Lucas was... more than a friend; he was like family to Isabel. And there was a specific reason why Lucas had become like family to her.

During Isabel's childhood, she had an older brother who was a year older than her. He was a mischievous boy, but he always looked out for her. One day, however, misfortune struck, and her brother was involved in a carriage accident. Though he barely survived the initial crash, his injuries left him weaker by the day, until he finally passed away.

Her mother wept every single day, consumed by the grief of losing her eldest son. Her father spent his days trying to comfort his grieving wife. In the process, neither of them had any room left to care for Isabel. Though she was far too young to lose such a significant figure as her older brother, her own sorrow was buried beneath her mother's overwhelming grief, and no one was there to comfort her.

And back then, the one who had looked after her was Lucas.

I must have leaned on Lucas to cope with the shock of losing my brother. And that reliance had cost her dearly once again with Lucas's death. Unlike in her childhood, Isabel had grown up too much. She could no longer bring herself to lean on anyone.

No. The truth was, she was terrified of leaning on anyone. Having already lost those she relied on, she lacked the courage to lean on another soul. And so, Isabel had broken. She had begun walking toward death, just like her brother and Lucas.

But then... Isabel's gaze drifted back to the sea. They said that those who resolved to end their lives lost the ability to see color. No matter what they looked at, everything turned monochromatic, leaving them unable to perceive even a fraction of the world's beauty. Yet, the sea before Isabel's eyes shimmered in a brilliant emerald hue, breathtakingly beautiful. It was as if the ocean itself was telling her to live.

"..." Who was responsible for her being here like this now? Isabel stared blankly at the water. There was no need to ask. A single person was already rising in her mind.

She recalled the words Hanon had spoken that day while fighting her friends.

And she remembered the day on the castle wall when Hanon had snapped her out of her self-destructive path.

To her, those words had sounded like a promise—that he wouldn't vanish, that he would stay by her side until the very end.

Last night. She remembered rambling incoherently under the influence of alcohol. In the process, she had inadvertently revealed a portion of her true feelings. Even if she had been drunk, it was an embarrassing display. And yet, because of that, she had come to a realization.

...I thought I could never lean on anyone again. Yet, she was repeating the exact same pattern. A heavy, squeezing ache pressed down on her heart. It was anxiety—a deep-seated fear born from losing someone precious twice already. The terrifying dread that she might lose someone again. She knew this was dangerous, but she had absolutely no idea how to shake it off.

"Lucas," she whispered the name softly. "Am I broken?" Perhaps on the day her brother died, she had lost some vital, irreplaceable piece of herself.

Just then. "Isabel." A familiar voice reached her ears. The moment she heard it, Isabel's eyes widened. The anxiety weighing on her heart vanished instantly, and her face lit up without her even realizing it. It was an emotional shift so rapid ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she wasn't even conscious of it.

"You..." Just as Isabel was about to call out to him as she always did, she froze. Standing there was a boy with black hair and red eyes. The face was undeniably familiar, yet Isabel's bright expression instantly turned ice-cold. "Who are you?"