Chapter 165: Bet — Interlude

Chapter 165: Bet — Interlude

Bet Interlude

It seemed like todays events were vividly etched in my memory.

While feeling tense, I had difficulty understanding Alice Carrolls intentions. It was quite exhausting.

I parted with Alice without any issues. She didnt seem to have any tricks up her sleeve for me, nor did she subtly interrogate me.

Is it build-up?

Could it be a process of building a foundation to corner me?

For now I knew too little about Alice.

Perhaps because she was an enemy to fight against the player, it felt like her portrayal in the game was restrained.

Dorothy, who sacrificed herself using the 9-star spell [Last Light of a Dying Star] in Magic Knight of Mrchen.

At least from the beginning, she gave hints of Im going to die, allowing us to glimpse fragments of her mind.

For example,

Dorothys empty room It indirectly allowed the player to understand her gradual acceptance of death.

On the other hand,

There was no implication that Alice would commit suicide.

Alice, unlike Dorothy, was a character who never exposed her heart at all.

Because of that, I had no clue how to approach her.

I couldnt fathom what was truly in Alices heart, from start to finish.

Does she also want to travel to beautiful places?

Does she want to experience love?

Does she have dreams?

I shook my head.

Such thoughts were a luxury.

Anyway, Alice desired the death of Ian Fairytale, the being who posed the greatest threat to the Evil God.

Regardless of her circumstances, that fact remained unchanged.

As for me,

In order to defeat the Evil God in my third year, I just needed to extract whatever benefits I could from her.

In that context, it was necessary to delve into Alices personal affairs, as they could also be beneficial to me. Of course, I was also genuinely curious.

The sky was glowing with the hue of sunset. It was evening.

In a corner of the Hydrangea Garden.

While I was sitting on a stump, lost in thought, Princess Snow White and her escort knight, Merlin Astrea, arrived.

I stood up to greet them.

Hello, Whi-

Senior Isaac!!

Hmm?

Whats this all of a sudden? Why the sudden shouting?

White came running over with a surprised face.

Puhah!

Then, White fell forcefully in front of me, collapsing to the ground.

That must have hurt.

Princess White!

Ugh

Merlin rushed over, and White groaned in pain as she slowly raised her upper body.

I bent over and reached out my hand to White.

Are you okay? Are you hurt?

Im okay sniffle.

I helped White up and brushed off the dirt on her pure white hair and uniform.

She tried to act okay, but tears welled up in Whites eyes.

She seemed to be in a lot of pain.

Merlin scolded, Please be careful! Youll hurt yourself! but

White just apologized, saying, Im sorry

Her voice was faltering due to her sniffles.

More importantly, Senior Isaac! I heard that you joined the student council?!

The rumor had even reached the first years.

That makes sense.

Erin called me out too noticeably in the middle of the corridor of Orphin Hall.

And since I was seen walking around academy grounds with Alice Carroll It would have been odd if rumors didnt spread.

Moreover, through the mouths of the students, the news of me being summoned by the Student Council President turned into false information that Isaac joined the student council.

Also, an elite member of the Black Tiger? I heard such a strong person came looking for you, Senior Isaac!

An elite member of the Black Tiger?

The only Black Tiger I was involved with was Verga Rayphelt. Did he come looking for me?

That person was shouting in Orphin Hall, calling for you, Senior Isaac, to come out for a duel! Then, I heard he got defeated by a second-year senior! I wonder what happened?

I needed to cultivate more empathy.

* * *

[Why did you make such a bet with Isaac, Alice?]

The sunset light from outside the window penetrated the student council room.

Alice Carroll sat in the Student Council Presidents chair, gazing at the distant sky, feeling the cool breeze coming through the open window. She held a teacup filled with black tea in her hands.

The plump cat magic beast with a small fedora, Phantom Cat Cheshire, sat on the sofa, looking at Alice with a smiling face.

[You wouldnt have suddenly developed an interest in romance. Could you tell me what youre thinking?]

Phantom Cat Cheshire asked in a strange voice.

Indeed. Want to take a guess?

Alice replied playfully and took a sip of her tea.

Cheshire paused with a, Huh?

It then let out a strange, eerie laugh.

[A riddle! That sounds interesting!]

Caught off-guard by the unexpected riddle, Cheshire grinned broadly, lost in thought. It found the idea of guessing the answer quite entertaining.

Alice, ignoring the foolish familiar, took another sip of her tea.

[Ah!]

Eventually, Cheshire laughed as if it had an epiphany.

[So you can keep a closer eye on Isaac?]

Close enough.

[Im a genius!]

Cheshire wobbled its protruding belly, dancing with joy.

[But Alice, what if you develop affection for Isaac?]

Thats a pointless question.

[I think its an interesting question. What if you really fall for Isaac, and he turns out to be the Black Monster, and you have the perfect opportunity to kill him! What will you do? How will you kill him?]

[Will you cut his throat? Pierce his heart? Kill him with as little pain as possible? Or just leave him barely alive so he wont be a nuisance? No, you have to kill him. Yes, you should. Its right to kill him. Then will you cry? Grieve? Laugh in resignation? Will you answer me, Alice?]

Alice, almost unconsciously, gently fiddled with the black choker around her neck.

Due to endlessly scratching at it, the soft choker now felt slightly rough to the touch.

Well, who knows.

Alice uttered that one sentence, mixed with her breath, and then quietly removed her hand from the choker.

* * *

I had a conversation with the subordinates of Mateo, whom I was close to.

Verga Rayphelt appeared in Orphin Hall looking for me but apparently got severely beaten by Tristan Humphrey. The fight broke out because Tristan took issue with Verga messing with his subordinates.

Unexpectedly, Tristan scored an overwhelming victory over Verga.

Was he really at that level?

Tristan was known to be a hard worker with exceptional skills, but it felt odd to hear that he could already overpower Verga.

Anyway,

Fighting outside the sparring arena was a clear violation of academy rules, but Tristan and Verga did not receive severe punishment.

Students who witnessed the situation defended Tristan by submitting petitions.

The incident was lightly concluded with a few penalty points since Tristan and Verga reconciled and settled the matter amicably.

Of course, that reconciliation was probably not sincere on either part.

It was said that Verga was disheartened for some reason, leading to a smooth resolution.

Due to the few penalty points, Tristan looked sour all day, his face was filled with dissatisfaction and regret.

Trying to make up for the penalty points, he volunteered first when a professor needed help, driven by an obsession to achieve good grades.

Since his current goal was me, he didnt want to fall behind.

Haa.

Anyway, lets set that aside.

In a corner of the Butterfly Garden, I pulled up all my mana and shot a cold pale blue blast into the sky, which blossomed beautifully.

With the use of defrost, my ice magic crumbled into powder, falling like snowflakes.

In the cold breeze caused by the ice mana, my sigh turned into a white smoke-like cloud, flowing out from my mouth.

Wow!

In front of the oak tree,

Dorothy, a girl with light purple hair wearing a witchs hat, cheered.

I felt a surge of accomplishment and excitement. I wanted to satisfy my desire to show off. Luckily, there was someone there to witness it.

I grinned and gave Dorothy a V sign with my index and middle finger, a sign of achievement.

Did you see that clearly? Now I can handle 6-star spells with ease.

Hehehe. Yes, I saw it clearly! Well done, President!

Dorothy cheered me on, giving a thumbs-up.

6-star ice spell, [Frost Glitter].

6-star ice spell, [Frost Wave].

I had finally reached the level where I could properly utilize these spells.

Only two days were left until my duel with Miya.