A Most Auspicious Day

Vicinity of Jerion Academy.

Doubt clouded my eyes as I faced Nikita, the one I had told “See you next year”.

It was because I didn’t expect Nikita to reappear at this particular moment.

A coincidence, perhaps?

The thought crossed my mind, but one look at Nikita’s face dismissed it.

She had come to see me.

“Nikita, how…?”

“…Because I heard my *hoobae* was in danger.”

The news that Isabel and I had been transferred to the 9th floor of the Demon Labyrinth had spread some time ago.

Nikita must have heard it too.

Nikita said this, glancing at Seron who stood beside me.

She still doesn’t know what kind of relationship Seron and I have.

So, in front of Seron, she was calling me *hoobae*.

The fact that Nikita is alive is a problem for her as well.

But the fact that she rushed here so urgently meant she must have been quite worried about me.

“I suppose so. Well, if I heard Nikita had been transferred to the 9th floor, I would have rushed over too, panting.”

It’s incredibly heartwarming to have someone worry about me.

So, when I expressed my gratitude, Nikita gave a gentle smile.

“Pushing yourself again, huh?”

Nikita grasped my collar tightly and exhaled.

I must have shown her how much I overdo things in the past.

It seemed to be a foregone conclusion that I had pushed myself.

“You haven’t changed a bit, *hoobae*.”

“They say people die if they change suddenly. Of course, I have to live without changing.”

Laughter rippled from Nikita once more.

She seemed to be quite enjoying our conversation.

A beautiful woman’s smile is the ultimate reward.

A sense of accomplishment filled my heart.

Then I suddenly realized I had momentarily forgotten Seron, who was next to me.

I hadn’t been able to think of her because it had been so long since I saw Nikita.

“Seron, *Nikita-sunbae* is…”

It was the moment I turned to Seron to explain Nikita.

Seron had her fists clenched tightly, her head bowed.

“Seron?”

When I called her name, her shoulders twitched.

Then, quick as a whip, she snapped her head up, grinning like the dawn as she smacked me on the back.

“That’s great, Prince Sweet Potato! With Nikita-sunbae safe and sound, there’s nothing to worry about now, right?”

Seemed she hadn’t heard a single word of our conversation.

“We just reunited, that’s all. I’m fine, so the two of you go grab some dinner!”

With that, Seron spun on her heel and dashed off.

Her sudden outburst caught me completely off guard, leaving me standing there, mouth agape.

Why the sudden theatrics?

The thought barely crossed my mind when my eyes met Nikita’s again.

Nikita was watching Seron’s retreating figure.

“She… she seems to have feelings for you, aikoo-hubae.”

It finally clicked. I understood Seron’s actions from just a moment ago.

I, or rather, Vikamun, had been in love with Nikita.

Though he never confessed, everyone knew he harbored feelings for her.

Seron was actively showing me her affection.

How must my reunion with Nikita, whom she thought dead, have struck her?

It didn’t take much imagination to figure it out.

“Hubae, I’m sorry. I was intruding, wasn’t I?”

Nikita’s expression clouded with regret.

“Do you… do you have feelings for her as well?”

Feelings?

I fell silent at the question.

Through the bandages of the Veil, I had lost the ability to love.

No matter how much someone might care for me, my heart had stopped long ago.

‘What I’m doing now…’

It’s merely repaying kindness with actions gleaned from various media of the past.

The best I could manage, given my current state.

“I don’t know.”

But it wasn’t as if I didn’t *want* to love.

I was grateful for the affection Seron and Sharin showed me, and I wanted to reciprocate.

“So, I’m trying to reclaim it. I’m striving to.”

I’ll give it my all, then.

Since I’m just a simple, headstrong kind of guy.

I’ll give even this my all.

“Until the day I can repay every bit of feeling directed towards me. I must.”

Nikita looked at me.

Despite her small frame, the strength in her eyes shone even brighter than before.

“There are so many more things I want to ask, but I’ll save them for another time. I accidentally interrupted you, after all.”

A perfect smile bloomed on Nikita’s lips.

“You know, that’s why I like you, senior. Because you’re the kind of wonderful person who can pour their entire being into someone.”

I used to be the one showering her with praise, but somehow, I’m the one being complimented now.

“Throwing compliments around a lot, aren’t you? Who taught you that?”

“I learned it from a close junior. She was really good at giving compliments. My self-esteem went up a lot, thanks to her.”

We clicked perfectly.

It wasn’t for nothing that I’d diligently assisted Nikita for a semester.

“Just don’t forget this.”

Nikita nudged my shoulder, as if imprinting it on me.

“That I’ll return the feelings you’ve lost, just like you returned my life to me.”

A feeling of fullness welled up inside me.

“So, hurry and go after him.”

Nikita saw the urgency in my desire to follow Seron and said to me.

“Nikita, don’t worry. I have no intention of dying until I graduate from the Academy, ever.”

“Since you’re a junior who crawled out of the 9th floor of the Demon Labyrinth, I’ll believe you. Still.”

Nikita quietly gazed at the place where Seron had disappeared.

“I’m only conceding this year. There’s no next time.”

What in the world did that mean?

Nikita didn’t seem inclined to explain, only smiling faintly.

“Really, see you next year.”

Nikita waved her hand at me.

Her face was filled with regret, but I couldn’t leave Seron alone any longer.

“Yes, see you next year.”

Nodding a quick greeting to Nikita, I hurried after Seron.

Emerging onto the street, the bustling crowd came into view.

But Seron was nowhere among them.

“Excuse me, have you perhaps seen a girl with red hair?”

Asking around, I moved forward, when suddenly, a few drops of rain began to fall.

*Swaaa-*

And just like that, the rain started to pour, fierce and relentless.

Just moments ago, the sky was clear, but now this? It felt like the heavens held a grudge.

My steps quickened, even more desperate to find Seron.

After searching for a while, I noticed a cluster of people seeking shelter from the downpour.

And standing alone in that street, was a girl.

Her carefully styled red hair, now soaked and limp, hung down.

Her clothes, also drenched, were stealing away her warmth in the autumn air.

“Seron!”

At the sound of her name, her shoulders gave a small, startled jump, and she turned my way.

Then, startled again, she raised her hands to cover her face.

It seemed her makeup was running in the rain.

“Why…why did you come!”

Her outburst stopped me in my tracks.

“Why did I come? I’m here for our date, remember?”

Today was for a date with Seron.

There was no other purpose.

Seron knew this, of course.

She must also know I followed her.

But Seron couldn’t meet my eyes.

The rain intensified, falling harder still.

“Seron.”

“…”

At my call, Seron’s shoulders trembled again, just once.

Then, biting her lip hard, she lowered her head.

“Nikita-sunbae, Nikita-sunbae was the one Prince Sweet Potato liked, wasn’t she?”

As I suspected, Seron was clearly bothered by the past.

“You met Nikita-sunbae again. So, there’s really no need for me, is there?”

Her self-esteem felt especially low today.

Was it because of what happened with Sharin during the day?

No.

Seron was always a girl with low self-esteem, to begin with.

The misfortunes that had befallen her tormented Seron terribly, and it was only natural that her self-esteem plummeted as a result.

The way she acted sharply towards others was proof of this underlying lack of confidence.

She struck out first before others could look down on her, protecting her fragile ego.

And that low self-esteem had reached its peak today.

The person she liked, liked someone else.

Nikita’s appearance had pushed Seron’s low self-esteem to its absolute limit.

And in the end, she was retreating.

She knew that backing down was less painful than confronting things head-on.

Seron’s body trembled slightly.

Not from the cold.

She was trembling, afraid of what I was about to say.

Even a stray puppy abandoned on the street wouldn’t look as pitiful as she did.

“That’s right.”

Seron’s face crumpled at my answer.

Bikamon had loved Nikita.

That much was an unshakeable reality.

And the repercussions could still linger even now.

It was true that I cared for Nikita more than others.

But that was only a fact of the past.

“Seron, I told you before, didn’t I.”

I had made a promise with Seron previously.

“To help me recover my feelings someday.”

The day we graduated from Jerion Academy.

I had asked Serone to help me regain the emotions I’d lost, to untangle them from the bandages of the veil.

“That promise… is it just gone now?”

Serone paused.

Her gaze slowly lifted to mine.

Serone looked at my face.

I couldn’t be sure what expression I was wearing.

But Serone’s eyes were definitely trembling with a pained sort of longing.

“Of course not!”

Serone cried out.

Even as her body shook, she suppressed her emotions and continued.

“That’s a promise between you and me. I will get them back for you, without fail.”

It was Serone’s honest truth.

“Serone, it was you I asked.”

I saw her wide, crimson eyes grow even larger.

“Not someone else, it was you.”

It wasn’t just anyone; it was Serone specifically that I had tasked with this.

As I said before, if someone harbors feelings for me, I will respond with all my effort.

Whether the ending is a rejection or acceptance, I believe it is the respect due to that affection.

Now, having lost love, this is all I can do.

To speak my mind straightforwardly and definitively.

So that, when I reclaim that love, she above all others can understand my answer.

It was my best.

Tears streamed down Serone’s cheeks.

Whether they were truly tears or just the rain, I couldn’t be certain.

“…I just thought… maybe there wouldn’t be a place for me next to Prince Goguma.”

The people who stay by my side each possess dazzling talents.

Serone has also been working desperately hard lately, but there is such a thing as talent in this world.

The gap of talent is not easily bridged.

I know that fact better than anyone.

Because after all, I’m just a third-rate villain, Bicamun Nippleheim, whose only talent is perhaps… endurance.

Keeping pace with geniuses is a brutal task.

Even I, barely scraping by with every lucky chance I can seize, am pushing my body to its limits to keep up.

For Seron, who lacks even my prior knowledge, it must be far more difficult.

“Everyone is so dazzling, pretty, and cool. I figured I wouldn’t even catch Prince Sweet Potato’s eye.”

A person’s worth isn’t decided by such things.

I found a lot of solace in Seron.

We’re always joking and bickering, but those little things are important to me.

“But now, none of that matters.”

Seron shook her head and looked at me.

Her eyes held a resolve, firm and unwavering.

“Prince Sweet Potato, I like you. I like you so much it’s driving me crazy.”

She confessed her heartfelt feelings.

“So if there isn’t a place for me, I’ll make one. If the others are dazzling, I’ll be more dazzling than them.”

Seron came closer to me.

“You’re the only person I’m truly greedy for.”

The rain is beginning to cease.

“Today is the luckiest day of my life.”

Seron reached out her hand to me.

“And that day was the luckiest day of my life for me too.”

I took the hand she offered.

“Hah, shall we dance?”

Before, it was under the moonlight; today, it’s under the most dazzling sun as the rain ceases.

Seron invited me to a dance.

“With pleasure.”

The street is empty thanks to the sudden downpour.

And so, we moved our feet, embracing each other.

A waltz danced in drenched clothes, without a lavish hall or brilliant lighting.

But following the sunlight streaming through the clouds, she smiled.

She was, without a doubt, more radiant than anyone in the world.