From the moment Ellin took an interest in me, it was practically guaranteed that the route would become tangled.
‘But I cannot simply sit back and do nothing.’
If I could not prevent the route from becoming distorted, then I needed to find some way to separate myself from it before things went too far.
Failing that, I at least had to minimize my influence.
I did not have every character story memorized, but……
“Ellin’s first route was the field practicum, was it not?”
The Snowfield Magic Tower, an institution affiliated with Le Sete Academy, was an Imperial Magic Tower possessing an enormous area and nearly a hundred floors.
Among those countless floors were training levels containing a wide variety of artificially created environments, allowing students to conduct whatever practical exercises they required.
However, one week before the scheduled practicum, a problem would arise on the designated floor, forcing the Magic Tower to seal it off.
The cause would remain unknown.
The Magic Tower would publicly dismiss it as a simple malfunction and refuse to disclose the true cause.
But I knew.
‘Corruption.’
For some unknown reason, one of the environments artificially created within the Magic Tower had become contaminated by Demonic Energy.
Before long, that contamination would spread through the ventilation system to other floors.
Once the Demonic Energy seeped into them, monsters would begin breeding throughout the Magic Tower in enormous numbers.
That was the reason the Snowfield Magic Tower would eventually be sealed.
And Ellin’s problem would begin when the closure of the floor intended for her practicum forced the students to conduct their fieldwork outdoors instead.
With the Magic Tower no longer functioning properly, a large portion of the university’s security forces would be dispatched there as reinforcements.
Someone would take advantage of the resulting gap in security to target Ellin’s field-practicum group.
‘More precisely, it was a Chimera Test.’
The corruption had already spread throughout the forest as well.
It was in no condition for students to conduct fieldwork.
The main reason the university approved the outdoor practicum was because they did not know the forest had been corrupted.
Another reason was that the Snowfield Magic Tower suspected the incident had been caused by an insider.
That was also why they relied on the academy’s own security forces instead of requesting assistance from Aiden, a Master.
It was partly because even the Emperor, the sun of the Empire, could not casually order a Master around.
But there was another reason.
The ‘insider’ suspected by the Magic Tower was likely someone who had only recently arrived.
To them, the newly appointed Aiden fell within the range of possible suspects.
Even if they believed he was unlikely to be responsible, they may simply have decided there was nothing to gain by informing him.
Information had been aggressively restricted.
And the result of that was……
‘A massacre.’
Every student in Ellin’s group, along with the professor supervising them, would be slaughtered by Demon Wolves.
Everyone except Ellin.
The professor leading them was merely a Professor of Botany under the Natural Sciences.
The field practicum itself consisted of nothing more than gathering medicinal herbs.
Not every professor possessed combat ability.
There was no better word for what happened than misfortune.
As for who the insider was……
For an instant, the image of a woman flashed through my mind before disappearing again.
“I cannot interfere with that, can I?”
If I eliminated the culprit with my own hands, the protagonists who were supposed to awaken through those incidents would lose their opportunity to grow.
Students would be injured?
Under ordinary circumstances, the natural conclusion would be, Then prevent the tragedy.
But from my position, I could only tilt my head.
Suppose I stopped it.
Suppose everyone returned alive without a single casualty.
That would be a good thing.
Of course it would.
But……
“What if Ellin does not awaken?”
Ellin needed to awaken during this route so she could become one of the central figures driving the scenarios that followed.
If she failed, who was supposed to fill that role?
She was one of the protagonists responsible for providing overwhelming firepower during the Great War later in the story.
And even beyond Ellin, countless other protagonists needed to be manipulated by the academy’s insider and awaken through those ordeals.
I reminded myself once again.
‘I am not trying to save everyone. I am trying to secure my own survival.’
I did not possess the ability to save everyone anyway.
The protagonists’ potential in the latter half of the story easily surpassed Aiden’s.
Even if I somehow handled every problem myself right now, events would eventually grow beyond anything I could manage.
If I panicked over every casualty at this stage, everyone would simply be swept away once the Great War arrived.
I had to eliminate unnecessary meddling.
‘Yes. Unnecessary meddling.’
The research office was silent.
Sunlight streamed through the window where one side of the curtains was missing, while the shortage of furnishings still made the room feel somewhat bare.
I quietly savored the lonely atmosphere hanging within that stillness.
I sincerely hoped that my involvement would never become anything other than unnecessary.
After rubbing around my eyes, I slowly opened them.
‘Professor Prezel said it probably belonged to a male professor, and a rather tall one at that. I am also convinced that the owner is one of the professors.’
Professor Prezel.
Right.
Ellin had clearly said that she obtained the clue about me from a professor named Prezel.
That meant there was some kind of connection between Ellin and Professor Prezel.
“I should pay her a visit.”
Sitting here lost in thought would not produce a solution.
I pulled out my coat and put it on.
If the College of Martial Studies prided itself on its enormous grounds, then the College of Magic took pride in refinement.
It received more donations than any other college each year and was regarded as both the flower and pinnacle of the academy.
The Department of Magic lived up to its reputation.
Admission was exceptionally difficult, and only renowned geniuses were accepted.
Ellin stood at the very summit of that department, though that fact was not particularly important to me.
“Ah, visitors need to fill out the visitor log over there……”
Without answering, I placed my faculty ID against the reader.
I was not a visitor.
I was a professor!
Surely this much would……
—ACCESS DENIED.
“……”
Apparently, faculty IDs from the College of Martial Studies were not compatible with other colleges.
I glanced at the clerk who had been checking my identification.
“I am Toscantana Aiden Peacevolt. I have come to see Professor Prezel regarding Student Ellin.”
“Ah, I see. In that case, the visitor log is over—”
Another clerk who had been waiting nearby hurriedly covered the first one’s mouth.
“Ah! Welcome, Professor Aiden! Your identity has been confirmed. Professor Prezel is in Building D, Room 760102.”
“I appreciate the assistance.”
As I walked away, I heard the two whispering behind me.
“Hey, you cannot just let anyone in like that……”
“Please take some interest in the world around you. How do you fail to recognize a Master? What were you going to do if he took offense?”
“W-what?”
“I just saved you. Buy me lunch.”
‘……’
Ridiculous.
The College of Magic possessed both refinement and restraint, giving it the impression of pristine white snow.
Untarnished white walls.
Marble floors polished enough to reflect one’s face.
Everything was clean, yet the entire place somehow felt cold.
If I had to compare the atmosphere to anything, it resembled a solemn hospital.
Students simply moved between lecture halls within a silence that seemed to forbid unnecessary noise.
Even ordinary idle chatter was absent.
That custom should have continued today as well.
‘What is this?’
I stood in an area with six elevators lining either side.
I had pressed the button for the elevator serving the odd-numbered floors and was waiting quietly.
Even apart from the clerks downstairs, Aiden apparently attracted attention wherever he went.
Gazes began landing on me from all directions.
There were male students among them, but judging by the higher voices, most seemed to be female.
I was not an animal in a zoo, yet somehow an atmosphere had formed where everyone was surrounding me and watching.
“Wow, he is tall……”
“He is handsome.”
‘Handsome?’
I glanced at my reflection in the elevator doors.
Their glossy surface served well enough as a mirror.
‘Am I?’
It was my face now, so I had stopped paying much attention to it.
I did not have a hobby of staring at another man’s face either.
Since Aiden had been designed around the concept of being insufferable, his appearance was far removed from anything warm or approachable.
He possessed an utterly humorless severity as a baseline, with a spoonful—
no, a whole ladle—
of cynicism and taciturnity mixed in.
Every last bit of it contributed to his insufferable image.
His mysophobia might have come from the Illusion of Hatred, but his original personality had always been like that.
There was a calmness that subtly surrounded him, paired with a cool, analytical gaze.
Combined with his status as the future head of a Ducal House, it gave him an aristocratic and aloof air.
His appearance had been designed accordingly.
Eyes sharp enough to cut.
Thin lips.
A long, narrow nose.
A relatively small distance between his narrow eyes and brows.
A pale complexion that almost looked bloodless.
Then there was his blond hair and deep steel-blue eyes.
‘…I have no idea.’
How was I supposed to know?
Whether this face was handsome or ugly.
I would need something to compare it with before I could judge, but everything I saw around me was a chitinous ins—
A terrible thought occurred to me, and I glanced around.
Inse—
Yes.
Everything I could see was a chitinous insect.
The creatures commonly referred to as cockroaches.
Ugh.
My stomach turned……
How had I failed to notice something so obvious?
This place was their nest.
Depending on hair color, cockroaches of every imaginable shade filled my surroundings.
No.
My stomach was in danger.
I was getting nauseous.
Quickly.
I pressed the elevator button two more times and closed my eyes.
Please……
Please hurry.
I beg you……
Thinking it might be safe, I cautiously opened my eyes.
The crowd watching me had grown even larger.
Ah.
I should not have looked.
Just as I decided I was doomed and began desperately searching for the nearest restroom, a different elevator arrived instead of the one I had called.
DING.
The notification sounded like the ringing of a bell announcing salvation.
Whether that elevator actually went to the seventh floor was completely irrelevant.
I needed to escape.
Immediately.
I boarded with the student who had already been waiting for it.
“Let us ride together.”
“E-eek!?”
Judging by the voice, it was a girl.
If anyone asked why I could not distinguish sex by appearance, I had no idea how the male-female classification system worked for cockroaches.
Nor did I have the slightest desire to become knowledgeable enough about their ecology to find out.
Grete…!
Give me strength.
I hurriedly nudged the female student by the shoulder and entered the elevator.
Physical contact?
I instantly withdrew my hand.
I touched a girl’s shoulder.
That was one way to describe it.
But more importantly, Aiden suffered from mysophobia.
My stomach felt even worse than before.
A cockroach’s shoulder.
A cockroach’s chitinous shell.
The psychological damage was……
The elevator became a sealed space containing only the two of us.
The female student seemed conscious of the contact, because she appeared slightly flushed.
“U-um. You are Professor Aiden… right?”
“That is correct.”
“Um… well, that is… your hand……”
My hand?
Ah.
The shoulder.
I had been in a hurry, so I could not help it.
Still, I should probably apologize……
“It is very large……”
Just as I prepared to apologize, she twisted bashfully from side to side.
Under ordinary circumstances, I might have interpreted that as some kind of romantic signal.
But bashfulness from a cockroach?
This was……
I did not need a mirror to know what my face looked like.
I was probably deathly pale.
My complexion was already as white as blank paper, so by now I must have looked almost translucent.
I closed my eyes and meditated briefly until my stomach settled.
“I see.”
“Um, if it would not be too much trouble……”
“Focus on your studies.”
At those words, she stared blankly at me for a moment before turning her head away.
She looked pitiful, as though she had gathered all her courage to speak only to be rejected before she could even finish.
“Yeees……”
She even abandoned whatever floor she had originally intended to visit and fled at the very next stop.
I felt a little guilty, but…
physiologically, it was impossible.
What I saw was not a person.
It was ‘that.’
‘Is this not crossing the line rather severely?’
Normally—
normally—
even if someone were transported into a miserable situation, even if they were destined to die, even if they witnessed something horribly unjust…
surely they would not be possessed into circumstances like mine.
In place of Aiden, who did not shed tears, I wept inwardly.
The world was unfair……