The World After the Bad Ending-Chapter 158

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Chapter 158: Constantly Getting Caught

Zerion Academy.

Before the mock battle, students were gathered in small groups, chatting amongst themselves.

"I heard Assistant Professor Vinesha suddenly took a leave of absence."

"Professor Ororia actually approved that?!"

"She seemed really flustered… Maybe Vinesha has some powerful connections?"

"Isabel went on a field trip with Duke of Whitewood. I'm so jealous."

"When will the Saintess show herself again?"

Amid the chatter of the martial arts students—

Clang!

A boy was engaged in a sparring match.

Hannon Irey.

A boy with a wandering spirit and a love for archaeology.

In the main storyline, he was a rather mysterious character, a short but reasonably handsome young man.

However, in this place—Zerion Academy in the present—he was vastly different from his usual depiction.

Lightning bastard.

Scoundrel.

He was called many things and was often seen as an enemy of women.

Yet, no one could deny his achievements.

The feats Hannon had accomplished were astonishing enough to shake the world.

Because of that, Zerion Academy had been thrown into chaos more than once.

And now—

Hannon, acting completely unlike himself, was here.

"Wahahahaha!"

Hannon laughed loudly as he dodged attacks, moving nimbly.

His opponent, face flushed with rage, swung their weapon furiously.

Yet every attack was effortlessly evaded by Hannon's outrageous dodging skills.

Observing this quietly was a red-haired girl with bangs swept back—Seron.

She rested her chin on her hand, staring intently.

"So, you're telling me that’s the real Hannon?"

"Apparently so."

Beside her, Eve sighed and replied.

The fake Hannon, Vikamon, had discreetly informed those who knew the truth beforehand—

that someone else would be taking his place for a while.

For Eve, this was critical information.

While Hannon was gone, she had to personally handle Iris’s nightmare care.

The rest had only vaguely heard that "another Hannon" would be coming—

and that this information was directly from the real Hannon himself.

"The real one?"

"Oh yeah, this appearance is fake, by the way."

Hearing Hannon say that so nonchalantly left Eve utterly dumbfounded.

She had always known he was unpredictable, but this was something else.

"……That guy, I really can’t figure out what he's after."

No doubt, he was off doing something dangerous again.

"I just hope he doesn’t do anything reckless."

Seron sighed, expressing her concern.

She knew Vikamon had a personal mission.

Something important enough to grind down his emotions to accomplish.

She didn't know what it was,

but whatever it was, it drove him relentlessly forward.

It was agonizing to watch.

But besides that—Seron had another concern.

‘Isabel went on a field trip with Duke of Whitewood, huh…’

Duke of Whitewood had taken Vikamon under her wing.

Seron knew this.

And now, Vikamon and Isabel were both gone at the same time.

‘They're probably together.’

Seron bit her thumbnail, feeling uneasy.

She had been the first to acknowledge her feelings for Vikamon.

Because of that, she had become highly sensitive to the emotions of others.

And lately—

Isabel’s attitude toward Vikamon had changed.

That change had started after they spent a long time alone together.

Longer than the rescue team had spent in their mission.

Long enough for something to happen.

Seron’s expression darkened with anxiety.

There was already Sharin, a formidable rival.

Not to mention Nikita, another troublesome contender.

She didn’t need another rival in this mess.

‘Ugh, why do women keep flocking to that stupid sweet potato?’

Seron pouted in frustration.

It felt like every time he disappeared, he came back with more admirers.

‘I have a feeling he's surrounded by women right now, too.’

She clenched her fist.

This time, when he came back—

she was going to tackle him.

"Azure Flame, more importantly…"

Breaking through Seron’s thoughts, Eve suddenly spoke up.

Recently, people had started calling Eve "Azure Flame."

Though she had been given many titles, this was the first time she had a nickname just for her.

Strangely, it didn’t feel bad.

"If that’s really the real Hannon, isn’t he going to get caught by Iris?"

The real Hannon might look the same on the outside—

but his personality was completely different.

Vikamon, for all his antics, was fundamentally serious and composed.

But this Hannon?

All over the place.

Seron pointed this out, and Eve glanced back at Hannon.

"If his cover gets blown, won’t the Crown Prince Sweet Potato get executed?"

Eve’s lips opened and closed.

Technically, Hannon had deceived the imperial princess.

That was a capital offense.

"……Well, maybe not? Iris does have terrible insomnia. His intentions were to help her."

"Yeah, but let’s not forget—a strange man has been hiding in her bedroom under a false identity."

Eve and Seron exchanged glances.

Then, in perfect sync, they turned toward Iris.

Iris tilted her head slightly as she observed Hannon’s battle.

She seemed to sense something was off.

Then—

Their eyes locked with Hania.

Hania had been staring at them with half-lidded eyes.

Then, she whispered something to Iris—

and suddenly, she started walking straight toward them.

"Uh, uh oh—she’s coming!"

"……This is bad."

Seron tensed, while Eve felt an ominous chill.

But running away wasn't an option.

Hania stopped right in front of them.

"Seron. Eve."

Then, she raised a long, slender finger and pointed—

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At the fake Hannon.

"Who… is that?"

Eve and Seron froze on the spot.

They hadn’t expected Hania to see through it so quickly.

After all—

Even if it was technically a fake relationship,

Hania was his ex.

She had spent enough time with Hannon to notice the subtlest differences.

Not as much as Isabel, perhaps—

but more than enough to tell—

That was not the Hannon she knew.

“Ah, well, that is…”

Seron couldn’t hide her panic and opened her mouth hesitantly.

Eve tried to stop her, but it was already too late.

Hania had already caught on and frowned.

“Did Hannon set up a stand-in and leave the academy with Isabel?”

Eve and Seron exchanged glances.

Hania was Iris’s closest aide.

Everything that reached her ears would inevitably be reported to Iris.

What should they say here?

The two of them pondered.

“A while ago, Duke Duke of Whitewood came to visit, right? This has something to do with that, doesn’t it?”

Typical of Hania.

She had quickly pieced together the situation.

However, there was one thing she hadn’t realized—that the person standing here was the real Hannon and that the one they had known all this time was a fake.

Eve and Seron wore complicated expressions.

Should they continue protecting Vikamon’s lie?

Or would it be better to reveal the truth to Hania and start changing the situation little by little?

Both of them put themselves in Vikamon’s shoes as they agonized over the decision.

Seeing their reaction, Hania became suspicious.

“What’s with you two? Don’t tell me that the one standing here is the real Hannon and the one I’ve known until now was a fake?”

She asked jokingly with a laugh.

But the moment those words left her mouth, Eve froze completely.

A reflexive reaction.

And Hania, with her sharp eyes, didn’t miss it.

She tilted her head, not fully understanding their reaction, but then her eyes gradually widened.

“No way…!”

Just as she was about to exclaim, Eve and Seron lunged at her.

Covering her mouth, they swiftly dragged her out while everyone else was watching the match.

Hania was pulled into the hallway, where she stared at the two in disbelief.

Eve and Seron both looked troubled.

They hadn’t expected Vikamon’s secret to be exposed because of them.

“…Is it true?”

Hania took a deep breath and asked.

The two had no choice but to lower their heads.

Hania opened her mouth slightly but couldn’t say anything.

Then, slowly covering her face with both hands, she let out a deep sigh.

“…He really fooled us completely.”

“Hania, he didn’t do it with bad intentions—”

“I know that.”

Eve tried to explain, but Hania wasn’t planning to hold it against Vikamon.

If he had any ulterior motives, she would have sensed them and stopped him long ago.

Hania was highly perceptive of people’s emotions.

There was no way she wouldn’t have noticed if something was off.

More than anything, she had seen how Vikamon treated Iris all this time.

He sincerely wanted to free Iris from her nightmares.

That sincerity was something Hania understood well.

So, she didn’t immediately criticize him.

But the fact remained that he had deceived them.

And that was something she couldn’t just overlook.

“So, if he’s not Hannon, then who is he?”

Seron and Eve hesitated.

They weren’t Vikamon—was it really their place to reveal this?

Hania narrowed her eyes, then let out a breath.

She had already expected they wouldn’t answer.

But there was an even bigger problem.

“What are you planning to do now?”

If Iris found out that the person she had known as Hannon was an imposter, there was no telling what would happen.

Vikamon had become more important to Iris than anyone realized.

Even Hania couldn’t predict how she would react.

“We’re worried about that too.”

Eve admitted with a troubled expression.

“H-Hania, can’t you help us? The prince… I mean, he didn’t do this with bad intentions. Besides, he’s the type to come clean on his own when the time is right!”

“Yeah, you know better than anyone that he sincerely wants to help Lady Iris.”

Hania remained silent for a moment.

Then, after letting out a long sigh, she looked at the two of them in turn.

“I understand what you’re saying. I won’t dismiss everything he’s done. But lying to Lady Iris is a different matter.”

Hania was Iris’s knight and attendant.

As her closest aide, she could never lie to her.

“That said, I won’t be the one to bring it up first.”

Still, out of respect for Vikamon’s efforts, she agreed to remain silent for now.

“But aren’t you two forgetting something?”

Hania gestured behind them.

There, Iris was staring at the real Hannon.

“Do you really think Lady Iris hasn’t already figured it out?”

Iris wasn’t someone who lacked perception.

She had likely already sensed that this was the real Hannon.

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“How you handle this is your problem.”

“…Yeah, we’ll deal with it.”

Seron clenched her fists and spoke firmly.

“That idiot prince is going to owe me double for this.”

She grumbled, but she was already preparing to do everything she could to help Vikamon.

“As his ex-girlfriend, this is really something to witness.”

Her ex-boyfriend sure was popular.

With a wry chuckle, Hania sighed.

Putting aside the annoyance of being deceived herself…

‘Seriously, what are you thinking?’

Hania thought of Hannon and let out another deep sigh.

She couldn’t help but worry about how he was going to clean up this mess later.

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