Just as modern chaebols hold parties and form alliances, the nobility maintained amicable relations—though things were different when it came to faction lines.
Stella Eritz and Aire Elnes were each daughters of the 4 Dukes and essentially leaders of their respective factions. With such distinct personalities and affiliations, the two seemed unlikely to ever become friends.
Or so Ian thought.
[Heh, how difficult can that be?]
‘Is that even possible?’
[Of course. It’s not that hard, is it?]
As Pink spoke, she emerged from the back of Ian’s hand.
A radiant summoning circle materialized, though it was rather small—just like the tiny summon it produced.
Unaware that she had even been summoned, Pink reached out toward the two girls—Stella Eritz and Aire Elnes.
“Yep.”
Pink specialized in buffs.
According to her design, she stimulated hormone secretion in the brain to relieve pain and boost aggression—essentially a chemically induced buff. In simpler terms, she could manipulate emotions.
“Huh?”
“What?”
Stella and Aire locked eyes—and suddenly, an overwhelming sense of love flooded their expressions. When you think about it, love is just chemistry in the brain, so it wasn’t too surprising.
With her tiny chest puffed out in pride, Pink declared, “How about that? Now they like each other so much they could die!”
But when she pointed toward the two girls, she paused—completely thrown off by their unexpected reactions.
“Hmmm.”
“Huh? This is strange…”
Stella cleared her throat and turned her head away.
Aire tilted her head in confusion, staring at Stella with uncertainty. Instead of becoming affectionate, they seemed awkward.
Pink stared at them like she was observing lab specimens.
“Hey, Summoner. I don’t think those two are human!”
“More importantly…”
Ian flicked her pink hair, but to someone as small as Pink, it felt like getting slammed by a hammer.
“Ahh-!”
“Don’t use your powers on people.”
“What was that for?! You d*mn Summoner! That’s violence!”
[Ah… Sister, this time you were in the wrong…]
“What!? Sylphy! How could you betray me too? This is why they say a woman should choose her man wisely!”
With even her younger sister turning against her, Pink began to sob like a patriot who had lost her homeland.
“You’re all so cruel…”
“You’re noisy. Get back inside before someone notices.”
Ian grabbed the crying Pink and returned her to the back of his hand.
A summon’s abilities only lasted while they were summoned. With Pink gone, the artificial feelings of love quickly faded.
Still, Stella and Aire found themselves speaking to each other more kindly than before.
From the back of his hand, Pink yelled,
[See?! I told you it would work!]
‘I’m pretty sure that wasn’t your goal.’
[The results are what matter!]
Annoyed at her unnecessary pride, Ian grumbled but still walked over as Aire called him.
The party was about to begin.
***
“Ah, umm—Today is our junior Cadet Ian’s anniversary party!”
As Aire spoke, a dry round of applause spread across the hall. No one was fond of a spontaneous party, but the cadets attending Ian’s celebration patiently waited for her speech to end.
“Ian! Come on up and share your thoughts!”
“Me?”
“Yes!”
At her urging, Ian stepped forward. He glanced at the cadets watching him and considered what to say.
It didn’t take long to decide. Truthfully, he already knew what he wanted to tell them.
“We may have defeated one of the Four Heavenly Kings, but this is only the beginning.”
He raised his hand and folded his little finger.
“This is all we’ve accomplished today—just one of the Four Heavenly Kings. There’s still more left to do.”
He folded his ring, middle, and index fingers in turn, until only his thumb remained. Then he lowered his hand.
“Until the demon king is decapitated—don’t let your guard down.”
Then, without further ceremony, Ian took a sip of the juice in his hand and declared the party officially started.
“But just for today, I think it’s okay to take a break.”
It had been half a year. They had all been running forward, never allowing themselves to relax—until now.
Ian needed a day or so to stretch out and recover.
“Thank you for your help. We did it.”
Cheers erupted.
After hearing Ian’s words, the cadets followed suit, raised their glasses, and drank.
A cup of victory. The taste of that secretly sipped drink, one usually reserved for adults, was incredibly sweet.
“So, Ian. What are you going to do next?”
“… What are you going to do next?”
“I mean, we’ve defeated one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Shouldn’t we be going after the next one?”
At Syrah’s question, Ian mentally pieced together the storyline of the game.
In terms of the game’s narrative, it was still too early to pursue the next of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Before he could take them on, he had to stop the demons that had started attacking the Academy.
‘By the way, how’s that going?’
Ian looked toward Dinua, who was quietly sipping her drink alone in a corner.
Dinua Erebus. The boss monster of Chapter 4.
In the game, she became a boss after being contaminated by demons. Now, she seemed consumed with her own thoughts.
Since she had already been contaminated once, the Academy would likely respond swiftly if it happened again.
‘There’s no way there isn’t a boss monster… Will someone else take her place?’
Asmodians and demons exploited the gaps in the human heart. Every person had flaws—anyone could fall to evil.
There was no use in just being cautious of someone or trying to predict everything.
‘From this point on… even I don’t know.’
It was uncharted territory, even for someone who had cleared every route of the game.
From now on, he would have to rely entirely on his own abilities.
Tuk-tuk!
“… Stella?”
“… Thank goodness.”
“… What?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Stella tugged at the hem of Ian’s robe as he stood deep in thought, then smiled softly.
Ian, wondering if she had eaten something strange, looked at her face—and a good idea suddenly came to him.
“Yeah, you were here.”
“Yes?”
Stella Eritz. And there was also Aire Elnes.
If needed, even Princess Ivenoah Friedrich could be considered.
There were plenty of powerful cards still left to play. There was no need to shoulder everything alone.
“Stella, I have a favor to ask…”
***
[Stella’s POV]
Her heart wouldn’t stop pounding.
It was a familiar feeling.
This was love.
However, Stella felt an indescribable discomfort—because it wasn’t Ian who stirred her heart.
It was another woman.
‘What?’
Stella, who had realized her feelings for another woman—Aire Elnes, the daughter of another duke—thought her heart must be broken.
It defied common sense.
She avoided Aire’s gaze and turned toward Ian.
Yet, when she looked at Ian, the same emotions began to rise. It made her feel dirty.
‘What is this…’
Stella suspected that this was some kind of prank. After all, this was a place full of summons with abilities beyond human understanding.
It wasn’t impossible that a mischievous summon had played a trick on her emotions in passing.
‘Just wait until I find out who it was… I’ll make sure they regret it.’
Fortunately, after a while, her racing heart began to settle.
Aire seemed to realize it too and gave Stella a knowing smile.
The love that had arisen for someone she didn’t want to see had disappeared—and so had the discomfort.
She felt nothing now.
Thanks to that, she could have an honest conversation with Aire, free of emotional distractions.
“Ian is there.”
“Ian—”
“Oh, and again—”
The more they talked, the more Stella realized she was truly sincere about Ian.
However, it wasn’t the same kind of love that Aire felt for him—and for that, Stella was relieved.
If there were any more rivals for Ian, even a duke’s daughter might find it difficult to compete.
Wasn’t Aire a duke’s daughter too? When uniqueness was lost, so was charm.
“Senior Aire.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Senior… you really like Ian.”
“Yes! Of course I do!”
“I like Ian too.”
Of course, the affection Stella referred to was different from Aire’s.
Whether or not Aire understood that, she simply nodded, her innocent eyes shining.
Seeing that, Stella looked toward Ian again.
Then she walked toward him.
The closer she got, the clearer it became—the feelings she had had for Aire were fake.
“… Thank goodness.”
“What?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
As she always did, Stella looked up at Ian, hiding her true feelings.
Their eyes met.
She wanted to lose herself in them.
After a few seconds, Ian let out a faint sigh and gently held her shoulder.
“Stella, I have a favor.”
“Wh-what is it?”
Whatever it was, she knew—she could never say no.