The Perfectionist Sister, Episode 156

Holding Xenia close, I glared at the false Vikamen.

My current appearance was neither Vikamen nor Hanon, but the unique form only I remembered.

Here, in this region dominated by Western features, my appearance was rare.

If anything, I looked like a dark-haired outsider.

Recently, Hanon had been involved in many affairs.

Especially his connection with the White Arbor was significant.

‘During the Centriole incident, there’s a high possibility that Mysticism also learned of my involvement.’

It was always best to move with caution.

The fact that Hanon was present here might have already alerted Mysticism to something.

Therefore, I avoided giving them any further clues by appearing as Hanon.

However, showing myself to Xenia as Vikamen was also problematic.

Xenia and Vikamen were blood relatives.

I, by some twist of fate, had seized Vikamen’s body.

As Vikamen’s blood kin, she might notice something amiss.

To prevent such a troublesome situation, I was forced to appear in my past guise.

The smoke hung thick in the air.

I raised my hand, palm facing forward, in a cutting motion.

Regardless, the younger sister who had become my kin had suffered this ordeal.

Yet, strangely, no visible rage flared within me.

It was a stark reminder that the shroud of bandages had completely extinguished my anger.

Now, not even the faintest ember of fury remained in my heart.

Instead, I felt relief.

‘If I had been even a moment later, it could have been a disaster.’

The blue gem the false Vikamen had used moments ago was a Mystic Soul Hunter.

She’d nearly lost Xenia’s soul there.

‘That was close.’

It was worth relaying the situation to the White Wood Artisan and rushing to Niflheim.

‘To think he’d approach disguised as Vicarman.’

The false Vicarman, once pinned to the wall, was now rising to his feet.

His face and body were half-collapsed, a grotesque sight.

He was a puppet made of clay.

That too, was a form of Mystery.

Figures it’s him. Can’t get enough of the esoteric .

He seems to have a monopoly on all things mystic.

Moreover, Xenia’s wounds came into focus.

Xenia’s complexion was visibly darkening in real time.

She gasped for breath.

The bleeding worsened, and her body temperature was plummeting.

Her injuries were severe, too.

If I didn’t act quickly, it would be dangerous.

Xenia came before any battle.

“You, too, harbor a Mystery within you.”

At that moment, the voice of the false Vicarman reached me.

“Why does one who holds Mystery oppose us?”

“Forget the foolish notion that all those who possess Mystery will embrace mysticism.”

I directed the declaration toward Vulkan, who surely lingered beyond the false Vicarman.

The false Vicarman stared at me in silence.

Then, he took a step forward.

He was coming.

Thinking that, I moved my hand in a knife-hand strike, the instant I realized that.

Crack!

The false Vicarman crumbled to pieces.

He clearly decided there was no point in lingering.

As he had reckoned, a carriage was waiting in front of the Niflheim barony.

A special express carriage with the authority to enter any Imperial territory.

It was the White Wood Artisan’s carriage.

‘Besides, even if he pretended otherwise, he couldn’t have fully endured the Saint-rank spell.’

The Saint-rank spell wasn’t Jerion’s exclusive spell for nothing.

No matter how much of a puppet Vulkan had created, there was a clear limit.

‘To shamelessly move about in someone else’s guise…’

Though I wasn’t really in the position to talk.

With the false Vicarman gone, I could finally breathe again.

Hurriedly, I retrieved a high potion for temporary measures from my mini-bag.

“This will hurt. Just bear with it for a moment.”

There was no time for answers.

The instant Xenia clamped her lips shut, I poured the High Potion over her side.

*Tssssssss!*

Then, with a sound like searing flesh, Xenia seized my clothes, her body trembling violently.

High Potions regenerate flesh, literally, during the healing process.

In exchange, considerable pain accompanies it.

Having experienced that pain myself, I was impressed by Xenia’s endurance.

After a moment, I saw her stabilize.

The bleeding had stopped, at least for now.

Further measures were needed, but the immediate triage was complete.

“Lady Xenia!”

“What on earth–”

In that moment, the servants reached Xenia’s side.

As they buzzed with concern, I saw the Count’s personal physician hurrying over.

Just as I was about to relinquish Xenia to their care, she looked at me with faintly open eyes.

“…Who are you, benefactor?”

Currently, I appeared in the guise of a man long gone from this world.

Thankfully, Xenia didn’t recognize me at all.

“A pleasure to meet you, Lady Xenia.”

Therefore, it was necessary to fabricate a story, appropriately.

Straightening my posture, I placed my right hand over my chest and bowed with courtesy.

A noble’s greeting.

“I am Ryu, belonging to the ranks of Lord Baekmokgong.”

I casually dropped my given name, using only the surname.

“Lord Baekmokgong’s ranks…”

Xenia was well aware of the tales surrounding Baekmokgong and his vanquishing of the mysterious cult.

So, she didn’t particularly find my appearance here suspicious.

“…I must extend my gratitude to Lord Baekmokgong.”

“He has an eye for promising young individuals. He will surely be pleased.”

“…Promising?”

At that moment, Xenia let out a hollow laugh.

I felt her expression darken instantly.

“Promising… for someone caught off guard, like myself.”

Had this incident diminished her confidence?

‘Her inherent traits remain the same, I see.’

Xenia was an unprecedented Saint-level magic user.

But like everyone else, she possessed a unique trait.

[Perfectionism] [Self-Criticism]

The inherent traits that always clung to Xenia.

Perfectionism.

A creed to pursue perfect achievement and capability.

She is a perfectionist.

Specifically, one inclined towards self-oriented perfectionism.

When she fails to meet her own expectations, she subjects herself to extreme self-criticism.

That was the reason Zenia was dogged by self-reproach.

Truthfully, I don’t know this Zenia well.

‘After all, Zenia is supposed to be an incoming freshman at Jerion Academy next year.’

The point at which Lukas and Zenia first meet, and the player as well, is that very moment.

Right now, it is before Zenia’s entrance.

Naturally, it’s impossible for me to really know what she’s thinking.

‘The perfectionist tendencies are still there, it seems.’

At the Jerion Academy entrance exam.

A tremendous number of applicants gather.

Therefore, the Academy hires additional staff to help administer the exam.

They draw from the student council, and also from the third-year students.

There are benefits to assisting with the entrance exam, so third-years scramble to lend a hand.

Lukas, through his connection with Iris, who became president, participates to assist her.

And the person Lukas encounters at the entrance exam, where he is working as a teaching assistant…

That is Zenia Nifleheim.

Act 5, Scene 1: The Freshman Entrance Exam.

A 3-on-1 match with a teaching assistant, assessing the teamwork of the freshly formed teams.

Naturally, there are three students and one assistant.

Lukas, thanks to his accomplishments and high grades in his second year, was more than capable of the teaching assistant role.

The one who faced Lukas here was none other than Zenia.

‘Zenia puts up a good fight, but loses to Lukas.’

Zenia is a prodigy.

As the reincarnation of Jerion, that is to be expected.

However, Lukas is a character imbued with his own genius, enough to be the protagonist in the Ember Butterfly Arc.

Even as the reincarnation of Jerion, one cannot best the protagonist.

The mortification and frustration of being outdone by her peers.

That feeling, interwoven with her perfectionist tendencies that demanded she never lose, resulted in an eruption of extreme self-criticism.

It was Lukas who stopped that self-criticism.

Lukas, who had built up numerous achievements by his second year.

By acknowledging Zenia, Lukas caused her to halt her self-reproach for the first time.

From that moment, Zenia became conscious of Lukas.

Furthermore, after learning what Vikamen had done to him…

Her loathing for Vikamen only increased.

That is the entrance exam scenario of Act 5, Scene 1.

And now.

Zenia’s perfectionism, which should be vauntingly self-assured until the entrance exam, has soured into self-criticism.

She was, to begin with, one prone to self-criticism.

Left to her own devices, she’d burrow herself into a hole before the entrance exams even arrived.

Zenia’s perfectionist streak was a byproduct of her upbringing.

The looming pressure of one day leading the Niflheim Earldom.

The constant reinforcement that she was a genius, a pressure all its own.

And then, to witness her useless elder brother abandoned by their father.

It was only natural that perfectionism would bloom within her.

She had even used the Saint-level magic she so proudly possessed, only to be defeated so helplessly.

As things stood, this would likely impact her performance on next year’s entrance exams as well.

‘What to do.’

I was inhabiting Vikarman’s body.

Naturally, the duties incumbent upon an elder brother were also mine.

For Vikarman’s sake, I couldn’t dismiss Zenia as just another person.

Therefore, I couldn’t simply stand by and watch her crumble under the weight of her perfectionism.

Lukas, someone to serve as her immediate goal, wasn’t here.

If I couldn’t become another Lukas, I could at least try to lift her spirits.

“I was surprised. Had it not been for Lady Zenia, that opponent wouldn’t have fled so pathetically just now.”

“…Me?”

Perfectionism begins with the anxiety of not achieving.

Thus, one must focus on praising the accomplishments she *did* achieve and filling her with a sense of self-satisfaction.

To help her recognize that, realistically, meeting her raised standards to *this* degree is already a triumph.

The best thing would be praise from someone a perfectionist would actually acknowledge, but…

That was difficult for the moment, so I’d have to do.

“Yes, you bravely faced him alone. By the time I attacked him, he barely had any strength left in his body.”

She had already accomplished something remarkable.

I reiterate this fact to Zenia.

“This is, without a doubt, thanks to Lady Zenia.”

Zenia was a young lady raised with extreme care.

What the Niflheim Earldom gave her wasn’t praise, but pressure to strive for ever greater heights.

Therefore, recognition and praise from others were incredibly foreign to her.

As I fervently encouraged her, Zenia’s eyes darted about.

Then, she turned her head and visibly cleared her throat.

“W-well, yes. A talented person like myself couldn’t possibly fail to play an active role.”

Perfectionism finds its greatest satisfaction in being acknowledged.

This was true for Zenia as well.

“Indeed, you were the perfect mage to deal with that ambush.”

“…Perfect.”

I could see Zenia subtly suppressing a smile.

I had experience showering Nikita with endless praise.

This level of flattery was nothing.

Meanwhile, the servants all flocked towards Xenia.

Seemed her self-criticism had ceased; praise was surely sufficient now.

“You’ve suffered greatly. While a high potion was used, there might be unforeseen complications.

Please undergo thorough examinations. Your well-being is paramount.”

“Ah, yes, Ryu-ssi, I am grateful for you saving my life.”

Xenia politely bowed to me before leaving with her personal physician.

Her steps were lightly bouncing, almost buoyant.

Perhaps because her body felt lighter.

Would she have offered such gratitude had she known I was a Bikamön?

I couldn’t be certain, but it was probably best to keep my identity concealed.

‘The Vulcans are resorting to any means necessary.’

For them to move so aggressively meant they were undoubtedly becoming desperate.

Which left me little choice.

I had to crush the Vulcans as soon as possible.

‘Even if it disrupts the scenario earlier than planned.’

It was better than the damage the Vulcans could inflict.

My one concern was that the Vulcans wouldn’t easily give up on Xenia.

I couldn’t allow her to remain here.

From the start, Xenia was meant to target both Lukas and Mysticism.

At the very least, the canonical requirements had to be met.

I couldn’t leave things as they were.

‘What to do…’

I briefly tapped my folded arm.

After considering the options, a simple conclusion emerged.

‘I’ll ask His Excellency, the White Wood Duke.’

A child’s only ultimate move.

Time to throw a tantrum.