By the time the last student finally collapsed, they had barely made a dent in the roomful of bread.
“Hehe…… Oh, dear.”
A trace of boredom crossed Seir’s ice-cold eyes. She looked down at the fallen students and murmured in a gentle, indifferent voice.
“I knew this would happen.”
As though answering the demon, the bread the dead student had been chewing slid from his mouth. Seir shook her head.
“These guests also grew greedy and died, even though they could hardly eat anything. How can they all be so alike?”
“Why do you keep doing this when you already know how it will end?”
Vasago, the demon who appeared across from her, shook his head as though she were beyond help. Several layers of golden bracelets flashed and clinked with the casual movement.
“You do not even let them take the food outside. Human stomachs are barely larger than the soles of their own feet.”
“Hehe. I merely gave them bread.”
“You truly are remarkable, Seir.”
Vasago, who had taken the form of a frivolous yet handsome young man, shook his head once more.
JINGLE, JINGLE.
He shook his golden bracelets. Black crow wraiths poured from the gleaming bracelets and devoured the dead students.
Seir and Vasago were both Legion Commander-class Demons.
The two possessed relatively mild temperaments for demons, treated their summoners kindly, and were beautiful enough to enjoy considerable popularity among humans.
For that reason, even after the Holy Empire had spent a thousand years exterminating nearly all Black Magic and heresy, they were among the few demons who could occasionally visit the Human Realm.
“By the way, Seir, have you heard?”
“Hehe. Heard what?”
“I heard that the humans have taken over the Main Building.”
Seir’s eyes widened.
“But that is the territory of Lord Lucifer and Lord Paimon.”
“Precisely. Demon Lord Lucifer and his right-hand man, Demon King Paimon, were guarding it. It seems that something happened there.”
Vasago lowered his voice.
“I heard that Lucifer’s Bottomless Pit has descended into chaos.”
“!”
Seir stopped breathing entirely and stared at Vasago. He spoke in a whisper.
“I do not know the details, but apparently the hells within the Bottomless Pit began burning and exploding. The sinners broke free, and a rebellion erupted. I heard the entire place is in complete disorder.”
“My goodness.”
Seir curved her eyes and covered her mouth.
“And the human in the Main Building caused it?”
“Probably.”
As though they had arranged it in advance, the two demons immediately teleported onto the roof of the Welfare Building.
They gazed beyond the roof toward the Main Building, which seemed close enough to touch. The building, stained black and emanating an eerie atmosphere, still appeared to be a den of demons and darkness.
Vasago murmured,
“Things are going to become chaotic, are they not?”
“You enjoy that sort of thing.”
Vasago dramatically raised his bracelet-covered arm and placed a hand against his chest.
“How did you know? Did my feelings leak out?”
“Hehe. Do they really need to leak out for me to know?”
“My, my. You know me far too well.”
The two demons chuckled quietly, enjoying the camaraderie between partners in crime.
An upheaval was beginning within the stagnant Academy. The demons turned toward the Main Building again and licked their lips.
‘What could be happening over there?’
***
Meanwhile, in the Main Building—
“I will give you a choice.”
Julian had summoned the now-bald Mages from House Etain and was making an ordinary threat…… No, a proposal.
“You may either run to the main gate right now and return to Etain, or become a Mage unit directly serving the dragon.”
Rob and the Mages who followed him gaped at Julian.
“T-To the main gate?”
The road connecting the Main Building to the main gate—
Their faces went pale as they remembered the night when it had been overrun with dangerous monsters such as Vampire Bats and mutated chimeras.
“We ran along that dangerous road while following Your Highness! You cannot do this to us!”
BANG!
The shouting Mage was struck by a mace and sent flying into the wall.
“How insolent.”
Theodore spoke as he swung the mace.
“You committed the grave crimes of attacking your allies and angering a dragon. His Highness has mercifully chosen not to execute such criminals on the spot, yet instead of being moved by his generosity, you dare complain?”
The Mages fell silent at his chilling words. Everything he had said was true.
However, they could not simply remain silent forever.
The Mages repeatedly signaled toward Rob, who led their group. After swallowing nervously several times, he finally spoke.
“However, Your Highness, we have already trained using House Etain’s Magic Power Cultivation Method and know only Flame Magic…… We would be severely lacking as a unit directly serving the dragon.”
“Ah, that.”
Julian spoke.
“You mean the cultivation method that circulates Magic Power Spheres through your blood vessels?”
“!”
How did the prince know about that?
Rob barely managed to regain his composure. That bastard Sion must have told him.
However, Julian’s shocking declaration continued.
“That is precisely why I intend to place you under the dragon hatchling.”
“Pardon?”
Rob unconsciously raised his voice at the unexpected answer. The prince pointed toward his nose.
“That lump. You did not have it when you were young, did you? It appeared after you began practicing House Etain’s Magic Power Cultivation Method.”
“H-How did you……?”
Rob opened his mouth before snapping it shut. The other Mages who had lumps on their faces, hands, and feet also blinked in confusion.
Julian continued.
“They must have appeared more frequently among the Mages who pushed themselves hardest to improve their mastery.”
Most of the Mages nodded. The sound of nervous swallowing came from every direction.
The prince looked around at them and quietly clicked his tongue.
“At this rate, all of you are going to die.”
A moment of silence followed.
Every Mage from House Etain had frozen in shock.
“Wh-What do you mean?!”
Rob, who recovered first, shouted.
“You.”
The prince pointed at Rob.
“I heard that you were the one leading the Mages from House Etain.”
“Th-That is correct.”
“Do you know why other Magic Towers and magic families select only one or two talented children as apprentices, while House Etain established an entire school to produce Battle Mages in large numbers?”
“Th-That is…… because magic is underdeveloped in the eastern region of the Empire, where House Etain is located. The House possesses a sense of duty to……”
“Spare me an explanation that even you do not believe.”
Julian crossed his long legs.
“Search your memory. While you were attending the school, did hardworking students not frequently return home without warning?”
“……!”
“I am referring especially to those who grew anxious because their progress had stalled, or who wondered whether enlarging their Mana Spheres would increase their firepower.”
Rob bit his lip.
A possibility he had never considered flashed through his mind.
‘Surely not?!’
Many of his friends had disappeared in precisely that manner.
Some had collapsed during class and been carried away. Others had said nothing unusual during dinner the previous evening, only to announce without warning that they were abandoning magic.
The prince continued after seeing Rob’s complexion change.
“Did you personally see those friends return home? Did you not always learn about their departure from the teachers, without receiving so much as a farewell from them?”
“!”
The other Mages also realized what the prince was implying. One of them asked while trembling violently,
“D-Did those friends…… die? Is that what you are saying?”
“House Etain’s Magic Power Cultivation Method is inherently dangerous.”
Julian explained.
House Etain’s proprietary Magic Power Cultivation Method circulated small clumps of Mana through the blood vessels to amplify the explosive power of Flame Magic.
Those who became greedy for greater offensive power sometimes created Mana Spheres that exceeded their capabilities, resulting in numerous side effects.
“The uneven lumps on the tips of your noses, fingers, and toes were caused by Magic Power Spheres clumping together inside your capillaries. A considerable number of Mages must also have died when those spheres blocked their blood vessels from within or suddenly exploded.”
“No one ever told us anything like that.”
“Of course they did not. Is that not why they operate an entire school—to use you and discard you afterward?”
Rob tightly closed his eyes. His jaw trembled with a sense of betrayal.
‘Father never told me any of this.’
He was the son of a retainer who served the Head of House Etain. His father must have known everything.
The image of his stern father came to mind.
His father had always told Rob that he was the eldest son who would carry on the family and therefore had to work harder.
However, that same father had treated Rob’s younger sibling differently.
Do not push yourself too hard during Magic Power cultivation. Your health comes first.
His father had said those words with a gentle expression.
Rob had believed his father was merely stricter with him because he was the eldest son.
‘No.’
Rob let out a hollow laugh. Had he not always known the truth somewhere deep inside?
A respected and affectionate father. A young and beautiful mother. Their adorable child.
And the son from the previous marriage who lingered outside their circle.
It had always seemed that, without him, they would have made a rather pleasant family portrait.
His father must have thought the same.
Although the children of retainers were rarely admitted, his father had deliberately enrolled him in the school.
He had told Rob that it was an opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty to House Etain and that he should set an example by leading the family to a higher position.
‘Even so, I believed him.’
He had wanted to believe him.
His father had also told him to volunteer for the Arpad Academy Liberation Army and demonstrate his loyalty to the Head of House.
His father had promised that, once Rob returned after distinguishing himself, the position of Heir would be waiting for him.
Rob had believed that he needed to achieve something.
He had believed that others held expectations for him.
He had believed that he was part of the cleanup crew.
-Those above us like to see every potential problem cleaned up neatly.
However, Rob had been nothing more than another target marked for disposal, just like the abandoned Sion.
He gritted his teeth.
The moment the truth he had always avoided was exposed, Rob was forced to choose.
“……If we become Mages in the dragon’s service, will we be able to survive?”
The Mages flinched in surprise.
However, none of them interrupted him or objected. Julian stared intently at them before answering.
“At the very least, you will not die because the Mana Spheres inside your blood vessels explode or create a blockage.”
Rob raised his head.
“We will do it.”
The Mages from House Etain swallowed. Not one of them objected. Rob spoke with determination.
“Please tell us what we must do.”
Julian nodded.
“There is something all of you must do first.”
“What is it?”
“Repent.”
“……Pardon?”
FLASH.
Sion and the hatchling appeared on either side of Julian through Teleportation Magic.
The corners of Julian’s mouth curled into a broad grin.
“It is time to wash your pasts clean.”