Strange Behaviors After the Break
On the carriage ride back to Jerion Academy, Iris tilted her head as she looked at me. Her long, black hair cascaded over her shoulders with the movement.
"Hanon, you look even more tired than you did before the break."
"Do I?"
Between the incident with Isabel last night and the matters concerning Hanon this morning, fatigue had crept up on me without my realizing it.
"Here, lie down." Iris patted her lap, making room for me on the carriage seat.
I had noticed this before, but Iris treated me entirely like a younger brother.
Well, it makes sense. Iris was the youngest in the imperial family. Perhaps she had secretly always wanted a younger sibling.
It feels like she's doing everything for me that she wished she could have done for a little brother.
In moments like this, she looked exactly like any other seventeen-year-old girl. The problem was that even if I wanted to indulge her...
"What are you waiting for? Lady Iris told you to lie down," Hania said, her sharp glare practically drilling holes into me from the side.
But I couldn't just ignore Iris's offer either. Ultimately, I gave in and rested my head on her lap. The soft, gentle warmth of her thighs cradled my head. I wondered if this was truly appropriate, but...
Iris gently stroked my hair with a tender touch.
Well, it does feel nice. I decided to just stay still. Before long, I drifted off to sleep.
I wondered if Iris's lap possessed some sort of incredible magical property. If her thighs could be distributed nationwide, insomnia would probably be eradicated overnight.
With those idle thoughts lingering in my mind, I opened the door to my dormitory room. After such a long journey, it felt like ages since I had last been here. Stepping inside, I stretched my arms high above my head.
"Well then."
I tossed my luggage aside and turned around. There were about eight days left of summer vacation. I planned to use these eight days to prepare for the upcoming Act 4. To do that, the very first thing I needed to accomplish was...
The Student Council President's One-Time Favor. I had to trigger the event conditions.
Finding the secret the Student Council President wanted to hide. It was time to begin.
Summer vacation. As always, break flew by in the blink of an eye.
The returning students trudged back one by one, looking utterly exhausted. The realization that they had to endure another long semester of academy life was already written all over their weary faces.
And among them, there was one person whose face looked exceptionally drained compared to the rest.
Ugh, I feel like death warmed over.
With tanned skin, golden hair, and a broad, muscular build that exuded masculinity, his name was Card Belikman. He was Jerion Academy's notorious playboy.
His reputation preceded him; he had flirted with almost every prominent girl in the academy, spreading his infamous name far and wide. Yet, despite his scoundrel-like behavior, he still frequently received confessions from women, proving he was a natural-born charmer.
But the reality was quite different. He actually belonged to the Shadow Knights of the Panisis Kingdom, the nation bordering the empire. His true identity was that of a spy who had infiltrated Jerion Academy under a false imperial identity.
He had been given two primary missions: first, to monitor those who would become the future pillars of the Highsirion Empire and report back; second, to scout talented individuals for the Panisis Kingdom.
Though I doubt anyone living in the prosperous empire would ever want to be scouted by our kingdom.
Still, as a spy, he carried out his duties diligently. The method Card chose was to seduce the daughters of high-ranking imperial officials. These girls, still naive and easily swayed, would often let slip valuable pieces of information their parents had carelessly discussed at home, spilling secrets under the influence of Card's smooth talking.
Thus, Card flitted from one girl to another, gathering imperial intelligence through his flirtations. Because he never actually committed to a relationship, the spurned women would often slander him out of spite.
But Card understood human psychology all too well. He knew how to exploit that peculiar hope in women—the belief that "he might be a playboy to others, but he'll be different with me." Driven by that expectation, even the women who initially kept their distance would eventually let their guard down.
Above all, Card had an uncanny knack for identifying exactly which women would fall for his charms. He possessed a natural talent for reading people.
The problem was that while juggling his espionage duties, he also had to maintain decent grades at Jerion Academy. For Card, it was an exhausting double life.
Even during this summer break, instead of resting, he had been busy monitoring the empire's movements and making a secret trip back to the Panisis Kingdom. As a result, his physical stamina was completely depleted.
Just kill me. Seriously, kill me, Card groaned inwardly. Looking up, he saw students chatting noisily in the dormitory hallway, eagerly bragging about what they had done over the break. Seeing them so carefree brought a bitter smile to his face.
While others his age enjoyed their youth and lived happy, normal lives, he couldn't even go home to rest, spending his entire vacation working. Life was truly unfair.
Maybe I should go after that girl he likes... Card felt a brief flash of mischief, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He made it a rule never to touch a woman who was already taken. Doing so at the academy was a surefire way to get stabbed.
"Did you hear? They say a ghost appeared in the dorms."
"Oh, come on. There's no such thing."
"I'm serious! Apparently, someone saw it by the pool at night."
Card walked past the students, ignoring their idle gossip.
Creak. Card pushed open his dormitory door. He needed to get some rest before tomorrow arrived. Or so he thought.
There was already someone inside the room.
Hanon Airey. He was the only person whose mind Card, with his exceptional ability to read people, could never decipher.
The issue right now was that Hanon looked so exhausted his dark circles practically reached the floor. On top of that, he was covered in dust from head to toe, as if he had been rolling around in dirt.
"Hanon?"
"Ah, Card." Hanon casually tossed off his dusty clothes and pulled out a fresh set. Around his neck hung a pendant Card hadn't seen before. The small, sword-shaped pendant looked quite expensive.
To Card, Hanon was someone who simply did not know how to rest. He had no idea what kept the guy so busy. Hanon would run himself ragged all day at the academy, keep running around even after classes ended, and then return to the dorms to study late into the night before finally sleeping. Even Card, with his own hectic schedule, thought Hanon's routine was borderline insane.
And yet, even after a designated vacation, Hanon showed absolutely no signs of having rested.
"Hanon, what on earth did you do over the break to end up looking like that?"
Hearing Card's question, Hanon turned to look at him. His gaze often felt as though it was peering straight through Card. It was a bizarre sensation; Card was the one with the talent for reading people, yet whenever Hanon looked at him like that, he felt completely exposed, as if his innermost secrets were being laid bare.
"Just... a bit busy. It looks like you've had a rough time too, Card."
Is this guy secretly a spy too? Card chuckled softly at the thought.
"Fair enough. I guess we're in the same boat."
"Right?" Hanon wasn't the type to pry. Card felt relieved that he wouldn't have to use any of the excuses he had prepared to explain his whereabouts during the break.
"Since classes start again tomorrow, I should get some rest today."
"Agreed." Card nodded in agreement, dropping his bags and collapsing onto his bed. Once again, he felt glad to have Hanon as his roommate.
The second semester of the second year. The curtain was rising on Act 4, Chapter 1.
As always, I finished my morning training session with Aisha.
"Senior, it seems you didn't slack off on your training even while I was away."
"Of course. At this point, my body feels itchy if I don't work out."
Aisha, my training partner, beamed at my response.
"I expected nothing less from you, Senior. As your training partner, I am incredibly proud of you."
"It's all thanks to you, Aisha."
We exchanged warm smiles, our bond as training partners growing stronger.
"By the way, what did you do during the break, Aisha?"
"I went back to my family's estate."
She had returned to the Bizvel Margraviate, her family's territory. Known as the home of the northern warrior tribe, Bizvel was a harsh but proud land.
"I sparred with my older sister and brothers for the first time in a while. I've gotten much stronger now."
Aisha indeed looked more dependable than before.
"You'll be joining us for the next Magic Labyrinth battle, right, Senior?"
During the previous Summer Magic Labyrinth battle, I had informed my team in advance that I wouldn't be able to participate due to personal circumstances. Because of that, Aisha was eager to tackle the next one by my side.
A smile tugged at the corners of my lips.
"Yes, I'll be going with you next time."
The upcoming Autumn Magic Labyrinth Battle was a stepping stone to prepare for the winter one. I intended to actively participate in conquering the labyrinth floors this time.
After wrapping up training with Aisha, I returned to the dorms to wash up. Once I had changed into my school uniform, I headed out.
I still had to maintain the pretense of being in a relationship with Hania. While it was a bit troublesome, staying close to Iris for the time being was the best course of action. It wasn't entirely a bad thing for me, either.
Besides, this is around the time when students will start harboring resentment toward the student council.
The student council boycott incident in Act 4, Chapter 1. The ringleaders of this commotion were slowly beginning to make their moves.
And the one pulling the strings behind the scenes to instigate the boycott was Iris. Having received orders from Duke Robliaju to seize control of the student council, she would undoubtedly carry them out.
Arriving in front of the female dormitory, I saw students bustling about in preparation for the second semester. A few of them glanced my way, but I paid them no mind.
"You're early." After waiting for a short while, Hania stepped out of the building.
"I always train in the morning. Where is Lady Iris?"
"She'll be out shortly," Hania replied, letting out a soft sigh.
A moment later, Iris walked out. Unlike her usual self, who struggled to wake up in the mornings, she didn't look sleepy at all today.
She stayed up all night.
The only times Iris went completely without sleep were when she received directives from Duke Robliaju. He had undoubtedly ordered her to secure her grip on the student council in time for the start of the second semester.
"Good morning, Lady Iris," I greeted her. Iris turned her gaze toward me.
With a flutter of her black hair, she suddenly reached out toward me with both hands. Startled, I instinctively took two steps back.
Iris blinked, her hands still suspended in midair. Realizing what she had just tried to do, she slowly clenched and unclenched her fists.
During the vacation, I had been summoned frequently to help Iris sleep. Because of that, she had developed a habit of trying to hug me whenever she saw me.
Having not slept a wink, her body was acting on pure instinct, craving rest. She had naturally reached out to hug me, treating me like the favorite plush toy she always held to fall asleep.
"Lady Iris, remember that I am his girlfriend while we are at the academy," Hania said with a pleasant smile, taking my hand.
Acknowledging her slip-up, Iris slowly lowered her hands. Yet, she kept her eyes fixed on me, looking incredibly disappointed. She looked like a puppy that had just had its favorite toy snatched away.
But I had to draw the line. If I let Iris hug me in front of other students, things would quickly spiral out of control.
"Hello, good morning everyone." At that moment, a familiar voice rang out. It was the last voice I expected to hear in front of the dormitory.
When I turned my head, Isabel was standing there. Wearing a bright, cheerful smile, she was supporting a half-asleep Sharin by her side.
"Good morning to you, too."
"Uh, yeah. Morning," I stammered, caught off guard by her greeting.
She tilted her head, looking at the three of us standing frozen in place. "If we stay here any longer, we'll be late for classes. Aren't we going?"
Hania blinked, tilting her head in confusion. "Isabel, you want to walk with us?"
"Yeah, is there a problem?"
"Well, not exactly..." Hania glanced at me. It was common knowledge that Isabel and I were bitter rivals. She found it baffling that Isabel would offer to walk to school with me present.
"Oh, don't worry about it. I heard about the situation the other day."
Hania's brow twitched. As she glared at me, I could only shrug my shoulders helplessly.
"So you don't need to worry about it."
Hania looked back and forth between Isabel and me. "The issue isn't whether we should worry or not..."
She looked as though she had a mountain of questions, but as Isabel pointed out, any further delay would make us late.
"For now... yes, let's go."
And so, our walk to school began. Iris, Hania, Isabel, Sharin, and me.
The only problem was that, with the sole exception of the dozing Sharin, everyone was staring at me with incredibly strange expressions.
...What on earth was this bizarre combination of people?