Huh?! What's Wrong with Seron?
It was morning, time for classes. When I went to the front of the girls' dormitory to meet up with Hania, she walked out with Iris, just as she always did. Iris looked exhausted, her insomnia apparently worsening lately. The moment she saw me, she slowly raised her hand toward me. She looked like the Empress of Steel seeking warmth.
I'll say it again, but I couldn't let her hug me here. When I shook my head, Iris wiggled her fingers in disappointment.
"Hanon." Hania quietly approached me. "Could you transform into me again, like you did last time?"
I blinked. "Transform? You mean when I took on your appearance last time?"
"Yes, that."
"I can, but..." My gaze drifted toward Iris. "Is this because of Lady Iris?"
"...Yes, that's right. She's barely been able to sleep lately."
Iris had slept soundly last time while holding onto me. It seemed Hania wanted to rely on that again.
"Alright."
I had to manage Iris's nightmares too. If she fell into a nightmare, things would get incredibly complicated.
"Wait, let's go together!"
Just then, Isabel appeared. She wobbled over to us on trembling legs.
"Isabel, what's wrong with you?" Hania asked, sounding puzzled.
Isabel glanced at me, then scratched her temple with an embarrassed look.
"Well, Hanon and I were... doing that this morning."
As a member of the martial arts department, she seemed embarrassed that a mere training session had left her in this state, so she cleared her throat repeatedly.
Hania stared blankly, looking back and forth between Isabel and me.
"...I did feel like something was strange between you two. But when on earth did you become that close?"
There was a strange glint in Hania's eyes.
"It just kind of happened," Isabel mumbled, glancing at me. "But we're going to keep doing it from now on!"
When she declared her resolve, Hania's expression turned utterly dazed.
"...Don't you think it's better to focus on your duties as a student? What if... something happens? What if you end up with one?"
"Huh? Isn't getting it a good thing?"
What Isabel meant by "getting" was muscles. But what Hania meant was something far more monumental and precious.
"W-Well, yes, it is a good thing! But still..." Hania stammered, her face turning bright red as she tried to find the words. Ultimately losing her train of thought, she bit her lower lip. "...Isabel, you're much bolder than I thought."
"Am I?"
Their conversation was completely missing each other.
"You had morning training with Hanon."
Iris stepped in as a relief pitcher to align their wavelengths. Hania whipped her head around to glare at me, and I simply shrugged.
I had realized halfway through what they were misunderstanding, but I had let it slide because it was amusing. Hania's gaze grew sharp. I felt like I was going to get poked in the ribs later.
"Ah, we're going to be late. Let's hurry."
With that, I quickly picked up my pace.
After the morning commotion, Isabel's bizarre behavior continued. First of all, she sat right next to me. Thanks to that, I ended up with Hania on my left and Isabel on my right. Seron was pushed all the way to the far corner. She stared at me with a face that screamed she couldn't comprehend this situation at all.
I was flanked on both sides by the two most famously beautiful girls in the class, like a flower in each hand. Her reaction was only natural.
"Isabel, why are you suddenly sitting next to a guy like him?"
"What got into you?"
When recess came, the girls swarmed Isabel, eager to clear up their confusion. Isabel glanced at me and said, "Well, we have to help those who are sick."
Somehow, I had become a sick patient.
"...Isabel, you really have a soft heart."
"Well, he is hurting quite a bit."
The girls, for some reason, nodded in understanding. Why were they understanding this? Were they trying to pick a fight with me?
In any case, Isabel's strange antics continued. Whenever we had sparring class, she was the first to come and challenge me. During lunchtime, she followed me and guarded the seat next to me. If I lost track of the lecture because I was lost in thought, she would slide her textbook over to show me. She was incredibly enthusiastic.
Is this what it feels like to have a childhood friend taking care of you? I could understand a little bit of what Lucas's life must have been like. The fact that Lucas was always a bit clumsy was undoubtedly largely Isabel's doing.
But it wasn't just the girls who were reacting to Isabel's behavior.
"Hanon."
As I was about to leave the restroom after finishing my business, a group of guys blocked my path. They were my fellow second-year martial arts students.
Perhaps because I had such a bad reputation among the girls, none of the guys had ever bothered to mess with me. They had only looked at me with pity as I got pushed around by the girls. But today, for the first time, those very boys blocked my path. And every single one of them had a grim expression on his face.
"We understood when you and Hania became a couple. We've always highly valued your skill and effort, after all."
"But still..."
No, those weren't grim expressions. It was sorrow, grief, and unbearable rage.
"But Isabel too?! That's crossing the line!"
"What on earth did you do? You two were at each other's throats until just recently!"
"No matter how you look at it, there has to be a limit! This is just too much!"
I let out a bitter laugh as I looked at the shouting boys. The tears of blood flowing from their eyes felt all too relatable. The boys gathered in the martial arts department were young men in their prime. Moreover, most of them had never even held a girl's hand.
Ordinary noble heirs might be different, but the noble children who entered Jerion Academy had spent their lives training desperately, with no time to spare for girls. Boys their age could fall in love just by making eye contact. And yet, these boys had to face the beautiful girls in our class every single day.
Especially in the case of Hania and Isabel, both of them were gentle and kind to everyone, regardless of gender. Naturally, any guy would fall for them at least once.
Yet, somehow, I had ended up flanked by both of them. It was a situation where the boys harboring one-sided crushes had every right to feel utterly devastated.
But what was the reality? My relationship with Hania was strictly contractual. The most we did was hold hands and walk together. All of Hania's actual affection was directed toward Iris.
Isabel was my rival. Right now, she was only acting this way because she wanted to help heal my wounds from the incident with Nikita. The truth was light-years away from what these boys imagined. But they couldn't see that. To them, I was just a scoundrel who had seduced the school's two biggest idols.
"...Yeah, I'm sorry."
I had no choice but to apologize. It pained me to see their fragile, unrequited hearts shattered like this.
At my sincere apology, the boys stammered. They knew deep down that complaining about this was embarrassing. Perhaps because of that, they said no more, swallowed their tears, and turned around.
"...Be happy."
"Since it's come to this, do your absolute best to make them both happy."
"If I ever see a single tear in either of their eyes, you'd better be prepared."
With those words, the boys departed. They weren't bad guys after all. They just wanted the girls they loved to be happy. Good grief, I was the one who felt like crying, yet everyone else was weeping for me.
"Lightning Sweet Potato."
As I stepped out of the restroom, Seron, who had just passed by the boys, called out to me. Her forehead was shining brightly today as well. She must polish it every day.
Come to think of it, Seron's name hadn't come up once among the boys. Did they not even view her as a romantic prospect? Feeling a sudden wave of pity, I patted her on the shoulder.
"I'll buy you a juice."
"What's this? Why do I suddenly feel insulted?"
Seron slapped my hand off her shoulder and beckoned me with her finger. Seeing her gesture, I leaned down, and she whispered quietly.
"Something strange happened to me recently."
"Did you finally blind someone with the beam of light reflecting off your forehead?"
"Do you want to die? Seriously!"
I decided I should stop teasing her.
"So, what is it?"
"You're on the student council, right?"
"Yeah."
"Lately, there are students talking about a boycott."
So it had finally reached Seron's ears. It seemed she had rushed over to tell me, knowing I was on the student council.
But then, I tilted my head. "Seron, you don't have any friends besides me, so you wouldn't have anywhere else to hear such news."
When I hit the nail on the head, Seron pursed her lips. Her reaction made me realize something.
"...You were recruited, weren't you?"
"Uh, w-well, I didn't join!"
Seron had unintentionally become a lone wolf lately. Normally, Card or I would hang out with her often. But Card had rarely shown his face in the martial arts department recently, perhaps due to some spy mission. As for me, there was no need to explain. The two girls at the absolute top of the martial arts department's social hierarchy were guarding my sides. Poor, lonely Seron hadn't even been able to talk to me.
When I looked at her with pitying eyes, her face flared up.
"Why are you looking at me like I'm some pathetic creature? You're making me mad for no reason."
"It's okay, Seron."
"Aaargh, seriously! Stop making that 'I pity you because you don't know love' face! It's incredibly annoying!"
I patted her shoulder once more, only to be shoved away. How cold.
"Sigh, seriously, I need to go get a boyfriend or something. This is ridiculous."
"...You, a boyfriend?"
"Hey! If I set my mind to it, I could get a boyfriend in the blink of an eye!"
"Sure, I suppose a world like that might exist somewhere."
A world where Seron Parmia was popular... Did such a place exist?
"It does! It absolutely does! Besides, I'm waiting for my prince!"
"What prince?"
"The coolest person in the world, who doesn't look a single bit like a certain Lightning Sweet Potato."
"I'm amazed your poor imagination could conjure up such a figure."
Seron began cracking her knuckles.
"Lightning Sweet Potato, it's been a while since you got beaten up, hasn't it?"
Watching her, I shrugged. "I don't recall ever being beaten up by you."
Seron lunged at me. Of course, I evaded every single blow. My Evasion skills were growing sharper by the day. I could easily dodge her clumsy punches now.
"Ah, just let me hit you!"
"Why would I let you hit me?"
Seron huffed and puffed before finally letting out a long sigh. It seemed she had given up on hitting me. Then, she glanced at my neck. What was she looking at?
"What's that? I haven't seen that pendant before."
Ah, it must have slipped out while I was moving around so violently. I quickly tucked the pendant back inside my shirt.
"It's an asset for the future."
"It looks expensive. Are you planning to sell it?"
"Something like that. I'm going to use it for a trade."
Seron gave me an incredulous look and caught her breath.
"Whew... Anyway, there are people planning a student council boycott. I didn't hear their plan, but keep your guard up."
"Right. Don't you dare get tempted and join them. Don't go following them just because there's some handsome guy there."
"Hmph! Do you have any idea how high my standards are? You think I'd follow them for that? I'd have to be an idiot to do something like that."
Thus spoke Seron, the self-proclaimed woman of high standards.
And that very day, I witnessed an unexpected sight.
In the chemistry lab on the third floor of the abandoned building, Seron, who had followed Eiring inside, was shouting at me—currently in the guise of Bika-meon—with a face flushed bright red.
"I-I'll join the boycott!"
Seron was an idiot.