The World After the Bad Ending

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Inside the Magic Arts classroom.

Sharine, having finally devoured the sweet red bean bread, was cradling her forehead.

“I really got hit.”

“Well, you asked for it.”

I genuinely thumped Sharine. Not knowing when to stop, I faced the consequences of my joke.

Sniffling, Sharine rubbed her forehead and shot me a sideways glance.

“Keep it a secret, okay?”

Finally, we’re communicating.

“Sure.”

Upon hearing my response, Sharine flopped over her desk.

“So, who are you?”

Here it comes.

Sharine’s eyes, shimmering like the Milky Way, fixed on me intently. I had no clue what those lazy eyes were thinking.

One thing was for sure—it wasn’t goodwill.

“Sharine is Isabel’s best friend.”

The Sharine who has been friends with Isabel for a long time. I am the person Isabel dislikes the most.

Sharine probably feels the same way about me.

“Recently, Belle has been talking about you all the time.”

“Gossip? That’s a bad hobby.”

“Yeah, more accurately, she’s been venting her anger unilaterally.”

Sharine began twirling her hair with her finger.

“Ever since Lucas died, Belle’s always had a long face. And it got worse by the day.”

Isabel was falling apart. Lucas’s death left an irretrievable emptiness and pain in Isabel’s life.

In a world without Lucas, Isabel couldn’t find the meaning of life.

“She regrets every day, cries, and hardly sleeps. At some point, she stopped talking to me.”

It suddenly hit me how serious Isabel’s situation was.

“She seemed to care less and less about her surroundings.”

As she recalled that day, sadness filled Sharine’s eyes. It seemed painful for her that she couldn’t help her friend.

“But ever since you showed up, Isabel has changed a bit.”

Sharine’s eyes turned back to me.

“She’s angry every day and insists she won’t let you ignore Lucas, acting up about it.”

Anger consumes the most energy. To be angry, one needs to eat three meals, sleep, and move their body.

Without that, the body cannot express anger normally.

Isabel was currently living to unleash her anger on me.

I had settled into her meaningless life as her source of anger.

“That’s something I can’t do.”

No matter what form it takes.

Sharine hadn’t become the meaning of life for Isabel.

“But you did.”

Now I understood why Sharine had called me alone.

“I had no intentions. All I did was badmouth Lucas.”

“Yeah, and that’s keeping Belle alive.”

Sharine stood up from her seat.

“Honestly, I don’t care who you really are.”

She stepped closer, leaning right in front of me.

“Because Belle couldn’t find a new meaning in life, she was slowly sinking. But then you appeared, and Belle started to rise again.”

Sharine edged closer still, her jasmine scent tickling my nose.

Before I knew it, her soft white hand was overlapping mine.

“I hope you’ll stay by her side until she finds a different meaning in life.”

“…Anger doesn’t last forever.”

“I know. So until then, I’m asking you. If you do that, I’ll do anything for you.”

I stared at Sharine quietly. She wasn’t much shorter than me, in Hanon form.

That’s how her petite face came into clearer view.

Her overall lovely features, imbued with languid eyes, composed a pretty picture.

I had no clue what was going through her mind, but the gaze fixated on me held a peculiar feminine allure.

And I’m sorry, but not long ago, I encountered a woman who exuded even more allure right in front of me.

“That request is probably the condition for keeping my secret.”

I had picked up on that already.

“…Ah.”

At that moment, a voice escaped Sharine’s lips. She rolled her eyes as if realizing something.

“…Did you really intend to do anything?”

Sharine pulled away from me. As her jasmine scent faded, I found myself yearning for it.

A woman who knows she’s attractive and uses that is dangerous. I took note of it inwardly.

“Promise?”

Sharine, looking embarrassed, held out her pinky finger.

I stared at it for a moment before speaking up.

“Sharine, I need to achieve a high score in this mock exam.”

Sharine tilted her head, confused about why I was suddenly bringing this up.

“In order for Isabel’s anger to persist, I need to be scoring higher than her, right?”

Sharine’s eyes widened.

Seeing that, my smile crept up.

Finally, I had taken the initiative against Sharine.

“You’re pretty good at magic.”

“Yeah, I’m the best.”

So arrogant.

But it was actually true. Sharine had an innate talent, her unique trait.

“Myriad Stars”

Her eyes sparkled like the Milky Way whenever they caught the light.

She had a knack for understanding the principles and logic of magic. Thanks to this talent, Sharine held the top position in the second-year Magic Arts class.

So I had hopes.

“Then how about magic engravings?”

Sharine blinked.

Her head tilted slowly.

“…That’s a magic technique that’s been long abandoned.”

Just as she said, magic engravings predate the very concept of magicians.

Magic engravings can occasionally be found in items within the Magic Arts Academy.

“So you know how to do it. Don’t you?”

Sharine slowly brought her arms forward, her upper body flexing a bit with her eyes widening.

“I can do it.”

It was only natural for her to exude utmost confidence in magic.

Indeed, I thought she could pull it off.

“But magic engravings aren’t very efficient.”

As she mentioned, magic engravings aren’t very efficient.

They can only offer about one-tenth of the effectiveness of spells.

Moreover, most of the usable magic is of a lower level.

“On the other hand, even beginners can use it. Plus, someone else can engrave it for you.”

I didn’t know how to use magic.

Magic is a technique based on knowledge.

How could someone devoid of knowledge like me wield magic?

Moreover, Bickamon, the persona I had inherited, was utterly talentless at magic.

I had recognized this fact and shifted my focus to physical training alongside Aisha.

“Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t even bother with magic.”

However, magic engravings were a different story.

If beginners simply know how to infuse mana and how to engrave it, they can use magic engravings.

Bickamon had trained in magic for a long time. Thus, he possessed at least the minimum qualifications to do magic engravings.

“This world is full of more variables than I thought.”

To counter those variables, having a means to use even a single thing would be good.

“Are you thinking of learning it yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“Just bring a weapon. I’ll engrave it for you.”

“Sorry, but it’s not a weapon.”

She tilted her head, wearing a perplexed expression as if to ask what else it could be.

Seeing that, I smiled slyly.

“If you’re curious, I’ll tell you after you watch my mock exam later.”

I was about to show her something totally unexpected.

“Hmm? Look, it’s Sharine and Wang Non.”

At that moment, I heard a familiar voice.

Looking towards the door, there was Card, that guy.

He still looked nothing like someone from the Magic Arts Department.

“What a surprise! Have you come to charm Sharine after Isabel?”

“Yeah, I’m almost done charming her, but you messed it up.”

As I casually replied, Card let out a whistle.

How frivolous.

“Why Wang Non?”

Sharine seemed more curious about the nickname Card called me than my joke.

Card glanced at me before grinning.

“Han is hiding a big secret.”

Sharine glanced back at me.

“What is it? I want to see.”

Not a chance.

“Sharine, come to the study room after dinner. I’ll teach you there.”

I conveyed my message to Sharine and left.

Staying any longer might get me caught up in the pace of Sharine and Card, so I left quickly.

The secret weapons were gradually starting to prepare.

“Mock exam.”

Get ready.

I’m going to stir things up quite a bit.

*

Time flew by.

After adding the schedule for magic engravings with Sharine to my day-to-day routine, I started living a slightly more intense life.

And I couldn’t help but praise Bickamon’s stamina once again.

Stamina is national power.

So on a usual lunch break, as time flowed like always, I was busy working on paperwork with Nikita in the student council.

Usually, I wondered if this much work would even land in the student council.

The student council happens to have a lot of tasks at the beginning of the first year.

In about a month, I’d be relieved of some of this workload, and Nikita said she’d have a more comfortable student council life then.

“Thank you again, junior.”

“What do you mean? It’s you, senior Nikita, who works every day. It’s admirable.”

“You have such pretty words.”

Genuine praise is always well received.

At that moment, a commotion erupted outside the student council room.

“Is this going to be moved to Building A?”

“Uh, yeah, there are a few more in the back. Let’s move fast before lunch break is over.”

The voices belonged to the teaching assistants and members of the student council.

They were helping to prepare for the mock exam happening after lunch.

Nikita often works more than the other student council members, and everyone pushed her into the room, saying to rest.

I just lucked out from winning rock-paper-scissors.

Men go with fists.

“Should be done soon.”

Nikita had a look of eager anticipation for the mock exam.

The mock exam is the time to showcase all the efforts one has made thus far.

For someone like Nikita, who embodies hard work, it was a must-see event.

“This is your first mock exam, right?”

“Yes, it seems so.”

I transferred here this year.

So, naturally, this was my first mock exam.

“Did you prepare hard? You seem to be doing quite a bit.”

Hearing this made me subtly raise the corners of my mouth.

Nikita’s eyes widened in wonder.

“Looks like you’re quite confident?”

“After all, it’s those who prepare every day who achieve good grades in tests.”

“Sure, I know you work hard every day, junior.”

Nikita said this while tapping her finger on the table.

It was a habit of hers that surfaced whenever she was thinking of something.

“Hmm, efforts ought to be rewarded. Alright.”

Nikita smiled brightly at me, as if she had come up with an idea.

What a lovely smile.

“If you score high this time, I’ll give you a reward.”

What was that? A heavenly reward?

“I’ll definitely take first place.”

“Oops, I’ll be expecting that.”

“You’ll reward me with a marriage proposal, right? Naturally, I’ve got to get first place.”

“Huh? W-wait! That’s not the reward I meant.”

“Honeymoon in the southern resort, alright?”

“Junior!?”

As I enjoyed her flustered expression, she soon wore a slightly annoyed look.

“Enough with the jokes.”

“Still, I wouldn’t joke like this with anyone other than you, Nikita.”

Upon hearing that, a hint of annoyance on Nikita’s face quickly dissipated.

“I’ll win too, so you better win as well, junior.”

Nikita’s supportive encouragement continued.

If that’s the case, I’ve got to win.

The much-anticipated mock exam begins.