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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 204
The Kingdom of Panisys was burning.
Everyone watched in silence.
The Panisys civil war.
With the royal forces trapped at the entrance by the Apostle’s assault, the noble faction clearly took the opportunity to stage a coup.
The world was on the brink of devastation due to the Apostles.
And yet, the noble faction of Panisys started a civil war.
Selfishness and ambition.
For them, Panisys was the entire world anyway.
Thus, they prioritized their own power over the threat to the world.
It was disgusting.
Some risked their lives to protect the world by fighting the Apostles, while others ignored the world's peril, seeking only to satisfy their lust for power.
No matter what justification they had, it was a vile decision.
But thanks to this, I realized one thing:
‘My recovered anger isn't complete yet.’
The anger I felt toward those who shirked their responsibility was not the blazing fury I once knew.
I was angry, but it was more of a faint ember.
‘Because two other emotions are still missing.’
Lucas had only lost the emotion of love.
But I had lost three emotions.
Emotions don’t function properly when just one is present.
Thus, even though I had regained anger, it didn’t pour out as deeply and fiercely as it should have.
My current anger was still far from normal.
Right now, it was merely a force that fueled hostility toward others.
Anger is a complex emotion.
Sometimes it becomes a sense of justice against unfairness, or a driving force to endure for the sake of loved ones.
‘Perhaps…’
Even regaining the two missing emotions might not be enough.
It had been far too long since I lost my emotions.
To fully restore them, I would need another catalyst.
A spark needs fuel to become a full flame.
And after using the Veil bandages, regaining emotions was no easy task.
‘To think I’d realize this while watching another country's civil war.’
I looked at Panisys with a bitter heart.
And it seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling this way.
Everyone wore dissatisfied expressions.
“Trash.”
Eve, with her strong sense of justice, openly expressed her displeasure.
She was from the fallen Kingdom of Frelliz and knew well how her homeland had collapsed.
The selfishness of those who seized power.
It was always the common citizens who suffered.
Solvas, a noble from Panisys, showed deep despair.
He clearly hadn’t expected the noble faction to resort to such dirty tactics.
Originally, the Demon Dungeon defense forces should have been at the entrance, but they had all been recalled to protect the royal family.
When the noble faction attacked, they scrambled back too late.
If we hadn’t stopped the Apostles, a true catastrophe would have occurred.
“At this point, it would be best to head to Aquiline Academy,”
Saint Sirmiel spoke up.
Everyone — Seron, Hannon, all of us — needed rest.
Fortunately, Aquiline Academy was outside the kingdom's heartland.
There, we could avoid getting entangled in the civil war and recover.
“Agreed. Better to save our strength than waste it here.”
We had no idea how the civil war would unfold.
Recovery had to come first.
As we prepared to move, Solvas stayed behind, gazing at the burning Kingdom of Panisys.
No one called him.
He was the only one here from Panisys.
Naturally, he needed time to sort out his feelings.
* * *
Later, we arrived at Aquiline Academy.
Though we could breathe easier, I couldn’t help but think of Musika and Vinesha, the reincarnations of Aquiline.
And Grantoni, who had left the academy to aid them.
Were they safe?
Even though I could no longer feel sadness, I still thought of them.
And there was also Card.
Card, whose profession was always that of a spy.
He was surely caught up in this civil war too.
‘He's the type who survives anywhere, but…’
In extreme circumstances like these, you never know who might die.
If possible, we would have to search for everyone later.
Fortunately, Aquiline Academy welcomed us without issue.
Most nobles and those associated with Panisys had already fled.
Even among professors, there had been many nobles.
Now, only those who truly cared about the Demon Dungeon or had nowhere else to go remained.
These people wouldn’t neglect a group that had just returned from slaying an Apostle.
The wounded were moved immediately to the infirmary.
Although Sirmiel had managed to heal them somewhat, everyone’s stamina was greatly depleted.
Thus, they were hooked up to IV drips and soon fell asleep.
I watched the sleeping Seron for a while before leaving the infirmary.
Compared to the others, Seron was less skilled.
But because of that, she fought without sparing herself.
She acted without hesitation, even risking her life.
It wasn’t hard to guess who had influenced her.
‘It was probably me.’
I had always rushed headlong into danger without regard for my own safety.
And many had worried about me because of it.
Seron had been one of those people.
She was often prickly, but she always worried.
This time, Seron had acted just like me.
That fact made me feel both proud and bitter.
Maybe this was how the others had felt watching me.
"You."
As I stepped out of the infirmary, I found Isabel and Sharin sitting on the waiting chairs.
Sharin was fast asleep, leaning against Isabel.
She had exhausted herself, shattering several of her staves and pouring out her magic.
Naturally, she was worn out.
“She should sleep in a hospital bed.”
“She insisted she wanted to stay with you. Then she fell asleep.”
Isabel explained on her behalf.
I looked at Isabel for a moment before letting out a small, helpless laugh.
“You two were fighting so viciously before entering the dungeon.”
“That feels like forever ago, doesn't it?”
“But it hasn’t even been that long, objectively speaking.”
“Well, it feels like it has.”
Isabel said this while gently stroking Sharin’s hair.
It was nice to see the two of them making up.
I walked over and sat down next to Isabel.
Then Isabel gently lowered her head and leaned it against my shoulder.
"How’s your body?"
"The Saint healed me. I'm tired, but I can't seem to fall asleep."
"It's because of Seron, isn't it."
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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She was right.
It was because of my slow judgment that Seron almost died.
This newly ascended Apostle had to relearn everything from scratch.
That's why mistakes happened along the way, and Seron nearly died.
The fact that my judgment almost cost Seron’s life weighed heavily on my mind.
"Everyone did their best. You don’t have to blame yourself."
Isabel comforted me a little.
"And you, about your feelings, maybe..."
"Yeah, I've regained a bit of my anger."
After returning to Aquiline Academy, I had undone the Veil Bandages.
Thanks to that, I could feel the emotion of anger more clearly.
Isabel looked at me and gave a bittersweet smile.
"I’m glad you regained something, but of all things, anger had to be the first."
It was an emotion recovered through Seron's sacrifice.
Maybe that's why it felt all the more precious.
"Honestly, I wanted love to be the first thing you learned."
Isabel gazed at me intently.
Then, avoiding my eyes, she shyly crossed her legs.
"Truthfully, I wanted to be the one to teach you anger too."
She was a woman full of desires.
"Next time, I won’t lose the lead."
"Don’t push yourself too hard."
"You're the one to talk."
Fair enough.
Isabel let out a small sigh and looked up at me.
"It would be nice if you could understand a little better now. Even if you've regained anger, let's build it up slowly."
It seemed Isabel had also realized that my anger wasn't complete.
The anger Seron had sparked in me was a very faint flame.
It was up to me to nurture it.
"Husbaaand."
At that moment, Sharin woke up.
Still half-asleep, she called out to me and whimpered.
When I approached her, she naturally clung to me, resting her chin on my shoulder.
Isabel's eyes sharpened slightly but she didn’t make an issue of it.
"Sharin, let’s go sleep inside."
"Nooo."
Still half-asleep, she was even clingier than usual today.
"At this rate, the others who came with us are probably aware of who you really are."
"I figured the ones I was already close to would know. The rest are probably still unsure."
There wasn’t anything new about my identity being exposed now.
This time, I hadn't even had the opportunity to hide it.
We had to fight with everything we had.
I didn’t particularly care about being exposed.
After all, the reason I had hidden my identity as a Vikamon was simply to attend the Academy.
Now, I could remain at Zerion Academy regardless of my status as Hannon.
There was no need to cling to the name of Hannon anymore.
‘Though, it wouldn’t be great if it became known that I had pretended to be Hannon.’
But it also wasn’t such a big loss if it did.
The only concern was Dorara.
Dorara was also a mage.
He surely realized that the magic I used was the same ancient dragon magic I wielded when I was Hannon.
Though he hadn’t said anything so far, he definitely knew.
And he was probably wondering how to deal with me from now on.
I’d have to talk to him about it when the chance came.
Knowing him, he might just pretend he didn’t notice and let it go.
I gently picked up the now-sleeping Sharin.
Even though she seemed to eat a lot of bread, she was still so light.
I had no idea where all that food went.
I laid Sharin down on an empty bed in the infirmary.
Once I covered her with a blanket, she finally let go of my shirt.
"You need to rest too."
"And you, Isabel, should rest as well."
Both Isabel and I had pushed ourselves too far.
So we decided to rest without pushing ourselves any harder.
At least, until the hurried footsteps outside disturbed the peace.
I opened the door at the sound of rapid footsteps in the hallway.
There, someone was running toward me through the dark corridor.
It was Solvas Umbra.
"Solvas?"
When I called his name, he let out a small "Ah."
He hesitated for a moment, then came up to me.
"Um, you’re Assistant Instructor Vikamon Niflheim from Zerion Academy, right?"
He must have seen me use the ancient dragon magic too, so he probably guessed my true identity.
But since I hadn’t confirmed it myself, he seemed intent on treating me as Vikamon for now.
"The prince of the Panisys Kingdom has arrived at Aquiline Academy."
At those words, my eyes widened.
The Panisys Kingdom was in the middle of a civil war.
And yet, the kingdom’s most important figure, the prince, had come to the Academy.
What did that mean?
‘He ran away.’
The prince had fled from the noble faction that instigated the civil war and sought refuge at Aquiline Academy.
Which also meant—
The noble faction would soon come crashing through Aquiline Academy's doors.
There really was no end to the trouble.
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[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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