Chapter 50: Nigel’s Route
AFTER the popularity contest, Iris figured the headmaster would call her over for a stern talking-to. But instead, he fixed her with a dead-eyed stare and let her go. This was a huge relief. Little did she know, however, that the upper crust had just found out that she was involved in the vaccine efforts, and it had caused a huge uproar.
All this time, the girl they looked down on as “punished by God” was the same girl the peasants called “the Green Holy Maiden.” On top of that, the way Iris danced with the fairies made her look as though she had very strong mana. There was simply no way they could keep pushing the narrative that she was a heretic. Some had changed their tune completely and started to kiss up to her family, while others were furious that she had “hijacked” the title of Holy Maiden.
But Iris was never informed of this. Frankly, the headmaster had given up on worrying about any of it.
Meanwhile, Camille was subjected to blatant harassment. She had been expected to win, but after her rival somehow survived to the final interview, some people decided it was proof that a high-born girl with the blessing of a Fairy Leader was simply better suited for the role. Their classism persisted right to the bitter end.
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AS Iris was walking down the school building’s second-floor hall, she heard a loud SPLASH outside. She hurried over to the window and saw Camille standing stock-still, watching Nigel flounder around in the school pond.
Wait… Is this the same scene from his route?
Life had deviated from the game’s plot so severely, Iris hadn’t expected it to return. But on Nigel’s route, Iris would steal Camille’s memento of her mother and throw it into the pond, causing Nigel to dive in after it. He would instruct Camille to cast a search spell, making the lost item glow in the water. Following the light, Nigel would successfully recover the memento…and by solving the problem together, it would deepen their relationship.
Wait, but…how did this scene trigger when I never stole her memento? Actually, now that I think about it, if I really wanted those two to hook up, maybe I was SUPPOSED to steal it?!
Iris scanned the area and spotted a group of girls fleeing the scene. She let out a sigh. Of course. The game must have rebalanced itself. Feeling conflicted, she nevertheless headed out to meet up with Camille.
When Iris arrived, she found Camille preparing to join Nigel in the pond, much to his chagrin. “Just stay on the shore and cast a search spell!” he shouted.
This was an important moment in Nigel’s route, and Iris didn’t want to spoil it. She hid behind a tree—only to bump into someone who was already standing there. Startled, Iris flinched.
It was Mégane, spying on them just like Iris was. This shocked her, since she hadn’t sensed her presence there whatsoever. Mégane started to scream, but Iris hastily clapped a hand over her mouth.
“A search spell…?” Camille asked.
“Put your hand in the water and envision what you’ve lost,” Nigel explained.
Per his instructions, she kneeled down on the shore and started to cast. The pond’s surface began to ripple. Then a faint glow rose up from deep in the center.
“There it is.” Without hesitation, he waded out to the middle.
“Sir Nigel, no! You don’t have to!” she wailed in a teary voice. Regardless, he plunged his arm deep in the muddy water. His uniform was soaked and filthy.
“Is this it?”
Sure enough, he pulled up the little pouch containing her memento. Tearfully, she nodded.
“Good thing we managed to find it,” he told her with a smile. His cheeks were streaked with mud, and the pond water had made the waves in his green hair even more prominent.
Once he waded back to the shore, she ran up to him and dabbed the mud off his face with a handkerchief. “Thank you so much!” she whimpered.
“Just doing my job as a knight,” he said with a grin. Indeed, a true knight would never quaver in the face of a little dirt. “More importantly, you should probably get this thing cleaned up. It’s got something important inside, right?”
“I don’t know… I’m not sure I’m supposed to open it. I was told it’s a good-luck charm…”
“If you’re curious, we could go to the school chapel and open it there. I’ll come with you.”
This conversation filled Iris with relief. In Nigel’s route in HanaKoro, they would go to the chapel, cleanse the pouch with holy water, and open it to find proof of Camille’s true heritage. All alone in the chapel, the two of them would stare down at the salver of holy water…at the amulet bearing the Earl of Sade’s eagle emblem. Then, standing across from each other at the altar like newlyweds, they would slowly look up at each other… The memory made Iris’s heart flutter! She started breathing heavily.
“Okay… Thank you…”
Smiling, the two of them walked off. Iris gazed at them, full of emotion. Nigel and Camille is such a god-tier ship! She nearly pressed her hands together in prayer, but then she snapped back to her senses. Mégane was still standing right here, staring at the ground awkwardly.
What’s the matter? Not a fan of Nigel’s route, I take it? Were you hoping for Cytisus’s route, since it’s considered the true ending?
“I take it Nigel’s not your bias?”
“My…bias?” She looked at Iris in palpable confusion.
“Er, I mean…d-do you have feelings for him?” Iris stammered.
Was Mégane even trying to help Camille at all? Thinking back, Iris never saw her make any attempt to get the game’s plot back on track. And if she was truly acting in Camille’s best interests, surely she wouldn’t have allowed her to practice dancing with the villainess! She was supposed to be helping Camille grind affection points with her chosen love interest so that they’d ask her out. That was what she did in the game, anyway...
Wait a minute. Unless…Camille’s chosen love interest is…ME?! No, that can’t be! There was never any route for Iris, right?! I played the whole game top to bottom and never found one! And there was never any fandisk content, either! Is Camille going to pursue…ME?!
“Someone like me is utterly unworthy of having feelings for Sir Nigel!” Mégane denied hastily. “And someone like Camille isn’t worthy of him, either!”
At this, Iris looked at her in alarm. Mégane gasped and bit her lip.
“Where did that come from?”
Mégane wasn’t acting like her usual self…