While Julian restrained the urge to unleash his Divine Power and beat the two damned demons senseless on the spot—
Sion was also exercising patience in the Main Building.
‘Headmaster!’
He regretted his decision.
‘I should have insisted that he take me with him!’
Of course, Sion had a reason for remaining behind.
Julian had shared the operation with Sion, whom he now considered one of his own people.
He had said that they would briefly scout the Welfare Building, confirm whether the Transportation Magic Circle truly existed and functioned properly, steal a little food, and return.
-The hatchling would be the best person to inspect the Transportation Magic Circle. You should come with us.
-Are you using a great dragon like a detection hound, rawr?
-We are going to protect the great dragon Chairman and our Academy. An Academy where the Headmaster and Chairman personally take action! Arpad Academy is practically a monument to leading by example.
-……That sounds rather impressive, rawr!
The dragon hatchling had been completely persuaded and agreed to accompany them, so there had been no particular need for Sion to join them.
Julian’s reconnaissance operation was best conducted by only him and Theodore. If anything went wrong, it would also be easier for the two of them to escape from the demons.
‘His Divine Power is extraordinarily powerful, and Lord Theodore possesses both exceptional martial prowess and the Holy Sword.’
For that reason, Julian had ordered Sion to protect the Main Building and the freshmen in his absence before departing.
“……They are taking too long.”
As Sion anxiously guarded the Headmaster’s Office, Slave spoke quietly beside him.
“It has only been two hours since they left, sir.”
“Two hours in the middle of the night is a long time. Could something have happened?”
“Surely not. Master is not someone who can be defeated easily. He is so vicious and underhanded that he could put even a demon to sha—GYAAAGH!”
Slave leaped into the air after receiving an electric shock from his shackles.
‘What a disloyal wretch.’
Sion narrowed his eyes at Arthur Blanco. Why had the Headmaster taken a man like this as his slave?
‘Then again, that is simply the kind of person he is.’
Sion reflected.
Had he not initially dismissed Lord Julian as a prince who obtained everything easily through his bloodline and resented him for it?
“That is true. A slave like you may be incapable of understanding his intentions.”
“……Ah, yes.”
“The Headmaster pretends to weigh every decision according to profit, but in the end, he embraces everyone. The fact that he accepted even you demonstrates the breadth of his character.”
“…….”
Unable to control his expression, Slave lowered his head.
‘Did that bastard eat something strange in hell?’
How could Sion say such a thing after witnessing the way Julian treated him?
Arthur Blanco did not understand.
Sion had originally belonged to House Etain and possessed profound admiration and loyalty toward the Head of House Etain.
In the past, the Head of House Etain had been his idol.
Sion had not always felt that way. However, in his circumstances, possessing such feelings had been advantageous to his survival.
The Mages of Etain felt an excessive sense of belonging toward House Etain for the same reason.
They had no masters to support them and survived solely through House Etain’s favor and attention. Nor did they have opportunities to transfer to other magic organizations.
Displaying excessive loyalty to Etain and binding themselves together through a shared sense of belonging had been better for their own sanity.
However, after being abandoned and turning his back on Etain entirely—
Sion had discarded every trace of admiration and loyalty he once held toward the Head of House Etain.
The place in his heart that his idol had occupied was left empty.
Then Julian appeared and showed him the truth.
A magic academy is a place that teaches those who possess talent and sincerity toward magic.
Providing such Mages with opportunities and protecting them is the duty of the Headmaster of Arpad Academy.
They had not been empty promises.
Julian had personally entered the hells of Lucifer’s Bottomless Pit to rescue him. He had seen through Sion’s circumstances, offered him an alternative, and even promised to protect him.
What kind of prince acted this way for his people?
What kind of commander risked his life for a single Mage?
What kind of Headmaster went to such lengths for one student?
“Headmaster.”
Julian rapidly filled the place in Sion’s heart where his former idol had once stood.
“Please return safely.”
At Sion’s heartfelt prayer, Slave spoke quietly.
“Would calmly waiting here not be the best way to help Master?”
“Whew. You are right. I cannot believe this is all I can do to assist him.”
Sion murmured.
“I will become a subordinate more useful than the hatchling as quickly as possible.”
Was it truly acceptable for his ambition to surpass a dragon to manifest in this manner?
Slave felt dizzy.
‘Prince Julian was already notorious as the Mad Prince.’
For some reason, even the people who followed him seemed to be losing their sanity.
Worse still, the number of such people continued to grow.
‘What will become of the Academy’s future……?’
It was a concern Arthur Blanco had never entertained while he was still a Professor. Slave sighed inwardly.
***
Meanwhile, in a meeting room beside the bank counter—
A secret sales presentation was being held behind the closed door.
The fourth-year students of the Faculty of Magic were presenting the products they had brought to the two demons.
“…….”
Ronia, a second-year student in the Faculty of Magic who was participating as the test subject, sat with both arms tied behind the chair. She swallowed nervously.
“You truly will give me bread once the experiment is over, correct?”
“I told you we would. You must have heard the rumors.”
The tall masked woman answered while carefully taking potions from a box and arranging them. Ronia glanced at her before cautiously looking around.
‘There are a lot of people here.’
Her friend had told her that the experiments were conducted by three masked people and two demons. Today, however, there were two additional masked individuals.
She heard one masked man ask the person beside him,
“Senior, what kind of experiment is this?”
“This? It is an Emotion Potion experiment.”
“An Emotion Potion?”
The tall woman answered him.
“It is a new product developed through a collaboration between our professors.”
“Ah, as expected of a specialist. You must know more about Emotion Potions than anyone else, Senior.”
“Of course. That is why I brought it to present personally to Lady Seir and Lord Vasago.”
Seir, who had been sitting languidly, clapped her hands once.
“Hehe. Since the subject has come up, please explain it to us. How is this one different?”
“It is a far more refined Emotion Potion than the previous version.”
The tall woman carefully handed potion vials to Seir and Vasago as she explained.
“Demons usually use Negative Emotions as ingredients while in the Human Realm, correct? Of course, there are demons like Lady Seir and Lord Vasago who are so popular among humans that they have no need for such things.”
“Hehe. That is true, is it not? Everyone likes me far too much.”
“Seir, that is a sickness. Do you honestly think humans act that way because they like you? They covet your ability.”
“My goodness. Do you think I am unaware of that?”
The demon curved her eyes and spoke.
“Even so, when they act as though they would tear out their own livers and hearts for me, hehe, I find myself granting every request they make.”
Vasago stared at her in disgust.
“Are you a pushover?”
“My, calling a demon a pushover is rather cruel, is it not?”
Seir laughed brightly. Her high laughter sounded strangely cold.
“But you know what my ability is like. If I continue granting their wishes, showering them with gifts, and bringing them everything they desire…… Hehe. All humans eventually become the same.”
“What happens to them?”
“They fall apart.”
Seir smiled lightly with her ice-cold eyes.
“A human who claimed he would begin a new business if he could obtain merely a hundred gold coins, a father who wished to find his lost family, and a free-spirited bard who dreamed of traveling the world once he escaped slavery…….”
The demon drew out her words before shrugging.
“If money and treasure continue appearing for free, ta-da, every last one of them turns into garbage.”
Vasago agreed.
“That is right. That is right. They all fall apart in exactly the same way. Humans are so entertaining because they cannot resist reaching for our hands.”
“Hehe. Is the charm of humanity not their foolish belief that everything will work out for them, even after taking a demon’s hand? Sometimes I wonder whether the God of Light placed a blindfold called hope over humanity’s eyes before casting them into the world.”
“Heh heh. Perhaps that blindfold called hope was placed there so that we demons could play with them.”
Their smiling conversation was chilling. Ronia closed her eyes and pretended that she had heard nothing.
However, the demons’ words continued echoing in her ears.
‘Are we merely the demons’ toys, wearing blindfolds called hope?’
She clearly remembered how those demons had trampled upon every small hope the students possessed.
Her late master’s research journal.
The Mana Stone Ring that her grandfather, who had lived his entire life as an unremarkable Mage, had given his granddaughter when she entered Arpad Academy.
Her friends had all visited the bank with trembling hands, carrying treasures like those. Yet they had received only one or two loaves of bread in return.
“Of course, Lady Seir and Lord Vasago are demons who possess such extraordinary abilities.”
The tall woman waited for the demons’ conversation to end before speaking.
“However, most demons do not possess abilities comparable to yours.”
“That is true.”
“Furthermore, do Demon Lords and their subordinates not gain greater efficiency when consuming emotions corresponding to their Authorities and attributes? Lord Lucifer’s Pride and Lord Behemoth’s Wrath, for example.”
The demons nodded.
“For that reason, our professors developed a new formula with adjustable emotional purity, allowing many demons to consume the emotions suited to them more conveniently and efficiently. Please smell them.”
As the tall woman’s smooth explanation continued, Seir and Vasago opened the vials and inhaled their scents.
“The smell of rotten eggs…… This is Humiliation. It has a delightful fragrance.”
“This sour scent appears to be Shame. Haaah. I have always enjoyed this particular scent.”
“As expected, the two of you recognized them immediately.”
The tall woman clapped with slightly exaggerated movements. She turned toward Ronia.
“And demons such as yourselves, who are not particularly selective about which emotions you consume, may wish to use Emotion Potions on humans to draw out stronger reactions and more intense emotions.”
She continued while placing a hand on Ronia’s shoulder.
“When using them on humans, mixing several emotions is also quite effective.”
The tall woman picked up a vial.
“Now, this one contains Guilt. I will administer it to the test subject.”
Trembling with fear, Ronia opened her mouth.
DRIP.
The colorless, odorless liquid fell onto her tongue.
“Swallow it.”
GULP.
The moment Ronia swallowed—
Tears began flowing from her eyes.
“You are crying. What are you thinking about?”
“Bart…….”
“Who is Bart?”
“A-A junior from my club. He was so intelligent and brave…… but I could not protect him. I should have stopped him…….”
“Did you see that?”
The tall woman picked up another vial.
“Was the effect not immediate? I will now add a different emotion: Shame.”
After swallowing the Shame Potion as well, Ronia soon wanted to die.
Arpad Academy had possessed countless outstanding professors and students. Even the late Bart had been a student with a far brighter future than hers.
He had earned better grades and was more sociable and optimistic. His love for magic and his courage had seemed boundless.
Yet so many remarkable people like him had died.
‘Only useless cowards like me survived.’
What was the point of surviving like this?
The demons would win in the end.
She would suffer here until they dragged her into hell and tortured her anyway.
Her mind went blank. Blood flowed from the tongue she had unconsciously bitten and spilled from her mouth.
At that moment—
“Obey me!”
Maw smashed through the meeting room door and stormed inside.