After Lisa left to handle her own matters, I returned to the academy.
Everyday life unfolded as if nothing had happened.
Lectures, chatter, the usual noise—it should have felt familiar, yet somehow it all seemed distant, almost unreal.
But from experience, I knew this feeling wouldn’t last.
Eventually, everything settles. It always does.
"Did you see that yesterday?"
"I woke up because of it too. What was that explosion?"
"I heard some magician messed up an experiment."
"Magicians again? Seriously, this is why magic users are always trouble."
The classroom buzzed with speculation about the explosion from a few days ago.
With no official explanation, rumors had taken on a life of their own.
And I—knowing the actual cause better than anyone—just yawned lazily and looked out the window.
I wondered if Lisa was doing okay.
After being locked away underground for years, treated like a test subject...
Now suddenly thrown into a world a hundred years ahead of the one she remembered.
Would she be able to adapt?
To breathe freely?
To simply live?
I wasn’t sure.
And that uncertainty lingered in the back of my mind like a weight.
"Everyone, take your seats."
Professor Dominic entered the classroom, his voice quiet but firm, and the noisy chatter quickly died down.
Students shuffled back to their chairs, the atmosphere returning to its usual routine.
Almost as if the world hadn’t changed at all.
Even though I knew, very clearly, that it had.
"We have a transfer student today."
...A transfer student?
Now? At this timing?
Sure, on rare occasions a late-blooming commoner or a non-human gets admitted after their abilities are finally recognized.
But—
This is the nobles’ class.
Class C was practically a gathering ground for nobles who enrolled just to avoid conscription.
A transfer student here made absolutely no sense.
"Come in."
But the moment the door opened, all my doubts vanished in an instant.
"...Lisa?"
Why is she here?
Lisa, pink hair flowing naturally over her shoulders, stepped into the room wearing the academy uniform as if it had always belonged to her.
"You— Right, do you see that white-haired boy? Your seat is in front of him."
After giving a brief introduction, Lisa walked over and sat down directly in front of me.
She turned around with a bright smile.
"Hello? We meet again so soon, Louis."
"You two know each other...?" Elena leaned closer, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Yes," Lisa answered while still looking at me.
Then she added, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world,
"Louis is the person who saved me."
Her voice was calm, but her gaze was unwavering—
and in her eyes, a small star-like light shimmered, warm and unmistakably sincere.
While I, for my part, had no idea how to deal with the way she was looking at me.
I turned my head, pretending not to notice the starlit eyes staring right at me.
Why... why is Lisa here?
No—how is she even enrolled in the Academy?
My thoughts tangled up in confusion.
Lisa wasn’t just some mysterious transfer student... she was someone who had only recently stepped out of a hundred-year-old nightmare.
There was no way the Academy’s strict administration would allow someone with no records, no background, and no verified identity to join so easily.
While I was silently spiraling, Professor Dominic addressed Elena.
"Since Lisa is still unfamiliar with the Academy, Elena, please introduce her to the Academy’s systems."
Of course. The class president always got stuck with these tasks.
But that title also came with obligations.
"Professor, I have a student council meeting today, so I don’t think I can..."
Elena shifted awkwardly. It wasn’t an excuse—every class president had to attend today’s meeting. She had no choice.
"I see. Then, Louis."
"...Yes?"
"You’re the vice president. You do it."
...Me?
Professor Dominic didn’t even hesitate. He just smoothly redirected the responsibility like passing a baton.
I couldn’t help but stare blankly.
Was I just... dumped with this?
I wanted to protest. I really did. But I had zero legitimate excuses, so all I could do was nod quietly.
"I’m counting on you, Louis," he added, absolutely oblivious to my internal suffering.
And next to him, Lisa—completely unaware of the chaos she had thrown me into—was smiling at me with bright, trusting eyes.
Somehow... that made dodging the task feel impossible.
----
"So how did you end up here?"
The moment we stepped out of the classroom, I immediately started questioning Lisa.
No matter how I looked at it, there was no way she had entered the Academy through normal, official means.
And if she did come in some other way... it could easily be something illegal.
"Curious?"
Lisa tilted her head, her expression playfully mischievous—like she was deliberately trying to get a reaction out of me.
"I’m curious, yes. So hurry up and tell me."
Even though I knew the broad strokes of the original story, the truth was...
I didn’t actually know much about Lisa at all.
In the webtoon, she appeared only briefly—right before I ended up in this world.
Her origins, her abilities, her background... everything about her was wrapped in mystery.
"My eyes are a bit special," she said, tapping lightly under her eye. "So I just... used that a little."
That made the scattered pieces click together.
Why her eyes were covered in the laboratory.
Why they shimmered like starlight when she looked at me earlier.
Magic Eyes.
Ma-an.
Demonic-powered eyes with special abilities.
Because of their connection to demonic energy, people had feared and shunned those born with Magic Eyes since ancient times—calling them ominous, cursed, destined for calamity.
And yet, despite the stigma, the abilities they possessed were extraordinary... sometimes powerful enough to cause entire families or nations to seek revenge.
Of course, Magic Eyes were so rare that only one or two individuals might appear in an entire generation.
But that rarity only made them more dangerous.
---
Author Note:-
Thanks for reading my novel