Professor Reina gave a short and concise account of the truth (?) about Yujin.
And, upon hearing all that, Eri…
“…Huh, Dark Sorcerer?!”
“Shh, keep it down.”
Eri couldn’t help but scream in shock at the shocking revelation from Reina. Seeing this, Reina raised her finger to her lips.
Of course, given the nature of the story, she had already blocked out surrounding sounds long ago. However, she still warned Eri as a reminder not to engage in such behavior moving forward.
“Gulp!”
Eri quickly clamped her hands over her mouth in panic. While doing so, she looked around nervously, but Reina turned Eri’s head back toward herself.
“Don’t act suspicious, Eri Student. It might even make things more dangerous for you.”
“……”
With trembling eyes, Eri quietly nodded. Slowly lowering her hands, Eri swallowed hard and asked:
“Y-Y-Yujin Professor is…a Dark Sorcerer?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Reina replied without an ounce of hesitation. Eri’s face went pale.
Though she knew Reina wasn’t the type to joke around, deep down, Eri had hoped it was all a lie or some kind of prank. But seeing Reina’s serious expression, she realized there was no denying the truth.
“H-How…how did a Dark Sorcerer become an Academy professor?! I-I mean, sure, I’ve heard about Professor Yujin’s accomplishments, but even so…if he’s a Dark Sorcerer, he must be harboring dark energy…”
“It was our oversight.”
Reina briefly explained how Yujin became a professor. Looking back, they shouldn’t have let him join the Academy so easily. Thinking he should be kept close as an enemy, they hastily recruited him as a professor despite their suspicions—a clear mistake.
After hearing this explanation, Eri trembled and bowed her head.
“T-That’s…”
“Eri Student, I apologize for suddenly burdening you with this dangerous information. But I’m in a desperate situation. Currently, there’s no clear way to prove that he’s a Dark Sorcerer.”
Even President Ines detected nothing unusual when they first met him. If someone as powerful as her didn’t notice anything, finding his hidden dark energy would be nearly impossible using conventional means.
Thus, they needed another piece of evidence proving Yujin was a Dark Sorcerer. Hence…
“I believe, Eri Student, that you know something. Your reaction when you first saw Professor Yujin…it wasn’t just fear from your first kill. You know something, don’t you?”
“N-No, I really don’t know anything… If I did, I wouldn’t have been so shocked when I heard he was a Dark Sorcerer…”
“Then do you recall anything strange about your memories?”
“Memories…?”
“Among Dark Magic, there are many spells that interfere with the mind. Some high-level ones can even manipulate memories. Artificially altered memories often feel off. Do you feel anything like that?”
At this, Eri searched through her memories. She had always thought her extreme fear of Yujin seemed excessive compared to the shock of her first kill.
Considering the possibility that her memories might have been tampered with, she tried recalling her time in the maze with Yujin…
“…No matter how much I think about it, there’s nothing unusual. And honestly, I’m not even sure if my memories could have been tampered with in the first place…”
“Hmm…”
“Not only that, I wasn’t alone back then either… Even then, Professor Yujin seemed somewhat off, so he avoided being alone with me. Hugo’s party members were also present. There was no chance for my memories to be tampered with, and I don’t feel anything odd about them.”
“…Is that so.”
If what Eri said was true, then there were two possibilities.
Firstly, Eri’s memories were manipulated so skillfully that even Hugo’s party might have been mentally interfered with.
Secondly, she was just overthinking things, and Yujin hadn’t committed any wrongdoings in the maze.
The first possibility seemed questionable. Could someone really interfere with minds so freely?
Besides, why go through all that trouble?
With Yujin’s abilities, he could’ve easily wiped out Hugo’s party before anyone noticed. Since no one other than Hugo’s group knew he joined midway, keeping quiet for a while would’ve ensured he wouldn’t be suspected.
Why bother meddling with minds then? To Reina’s rational thinking, it didn’t make sense.
Moreover, based on the reports she’d heard about what happened in the maze, if there were any suspicious activities, wouldn’t Hugo’s party have reacted defensively or fled? That would’ve been the logical choice.
But dismissing the second possibility felt too simplistic.
Especially considering Yujin’s tendency to openly revel in being a Dark Sorcerer, the first possibility didn’t seem entirely implausible. With his unknown powers, debating whether it was possible or not felt almost laughable.
It was complicated. The only thing certain was that she likely wouldn’t learn anything new from Eri.
—
Eri appeared genuinely shocked upon hearing Yujin was a Dark Sorcerer and seemed to know nothing about it. Her face darkened.
“I’m sorry, Eri Student. It seems I’ve put you in a dangerous situation by saying unnecessary things.”
“A-Ah, no… Professor Reina couldn’t have known… Um, if what Professor Reina says is true, then knowing about Professor Yujin being a Dark Sorcerer might be better than being caught off guard by his evil deeds later…”
“R-Right… So maybe you shouldn’t feel too guilty.”
“…Thank you.”
When the student expressed gratitude, Reina felt slightly relieved. Eri was quite surprised to hear “thank you” from Professor Reina.
‘Professor Reina actually thanked me?’
She had thought of Reina as someone who’d never show vulnerability. Seeing this side of her was unexpected.
“Phew… Guess we’re back to square one. Looks like we’ll have to revisit Hugo’s party…”
“H-Hugo’s party members?”
“…Yes, aside from you, Eri Student, there’s someone else I suspect knows something about Professor Yujin.”
Who? Eri asked.
“Mirien, the scout of Hugo’s party. During the evaluation where I assessed your score, she showed a suspicious reaction.”
“My…score?”
Recalling her score, Eri momentarily looked gloomy—she had completely failed the test.
Regardless, Reina continued.
“In fact, I started doubting Professor Yujin from that moment. Given the recent activities of the Dark Sorcerer faction, I grew suspicious about the coincidence of a mage joining the party that encountered a Demon in the fifth layer.”
“Ahh…”
Eri silently opened her mouth, hearing this information for the first time. The existence of the Dark Sorcerer faction wasn’t something students were supposed to know.
“So, when I linked Dark Sorcerers and Professor Yujin in my question… Mirien, the scout, reacted as if she knew something. At the time, Hugo and the Dwarf warrior Chrome defended her, so I couldn’t press further… But now, with it being confirmed that he’s a Dark Sorcerer, there’s no reason not to approach her.”
“B-But what if she knows nothing, just like me?”
“Given her reaction to connecting Yujin with Dark Sorcery, this time might be different. Approaching you was based solely on your initial reaction, whereas she might have stronger evidence.”
“O-Oh…”
“Anyway, Eri Student, please remember this one thing.”
Then Reina grabbed Eri’s shoulder and said,
“Under no circumstances should you show any suspicious reactions in front of Professor Yujin. Understand?”
“Y-Yes! Got it!”
At Reina’s earnest warning, Eri vigorously nodded, resolving not to act unnaturally in front of Yujin.
*
Later, during the afternoon practical training session.
Pang!
Watching the magic circle shatter, Eri let out a vacant groan.
“Ah, ah…”
“Seems like your concentration is lacking, Eri Student.”
Sure enough, despite her earlier resolve, Eri was trembling and failing to properly cast a single spell during the practical training.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
Standing beside her with a smile was none other than Yujin, guiding her…
