Plop—
With a plop, the lake surface rippled gently.
Cynthia gazed thoughtfully at the two candies sinking below the lake’s surface and closed her eyes softly.
“I should’ve done this ages ago…but it’s not too late…”
“Hmm.”
Cynthia stared quietly at the lake until the ripples from the candies disappeared.
She had let them go.
Before letting go, she’d thought about keeping just one, but surprisingly, she felt relieved after getting rid of all of them.
This kind of strength that relied on these pills…it wasn’t real.
She’d known that from the start, so why couldn’t she cut them off completely like a clean blade?
“Haa…”
The lake, which had created waves when the candies sank, had calmed down as if nothing had happened.
Watching the tranquil water, Cynthia thought to herself that she should go back to how she used to be.
Even if something was thrown in and caused a stir, she hoped she could catch it, and over time, return to calmness again.
“That man…”
As her thoughts settled, Cynthia naturally remembered the man she saw in the forest that day.
The man who said he was disappointed in her, someone she didn’t recognize but somehow felt familiar.
Even though his voice, physique, and appearance were completely new to her, there was an odd sense of familiarity.
An air of unwavering confidence and coolness, like she was looking at Ryu.
Nodding to herself, Cynthia stood up from her crouched position by the lake.
It wasn’t because she couldn’t find a trash bin back home that she discarded the candies at the Academy.
There was another reason she stayed behind instead of going home.
After throwing away the candies, she wanted to approach Ryu with a clear mindset.
The reason she deliberately waited until late at night also had purpose.
If Ryu really lived in the dorms, he would come out if called late at night.
She wanted to confirm this.
“If he doesn’t come out tonight…”
“He went into the dorm earlier, but maybe he doesn’t actually stay there.”
Then she could ask him tomorrow.
This would also provide more evidence to support her hypothesis.
Cynthia recalled the suspicious moments she’d observed about Ryu until now.
It started the first day of the semester during the fight with Cain Hover.
The incident where he made Cain’s flames disappear so cleverly.
Though Cynthia wondered if she’d seen it wrong, she quickly realized from Ryu’s reaction that she hadn’t.
Since then, Ryu continued to show suspicious traits.
Not only did he display unbelievable skill for a first-year during the competition, but once the competition ended, he suddenly handled wind magic like a pro—as if he’d been hiding his power all along.
The highlight was when Cain went berserk a while ago.
Even though her reaction time with the candies was sluggish, Cain’s powerful attacks were far too fast.
But Ryu teleported twice, faster than Cain’s flames.
At a speed that was unrealistic for a student.
Even Cynthia, despite not being a wizard, could sense it.
Appearing in front of her in an instant, escorting her back to the dorm, and returning to the battlefield—all in less than half a second.
And most importantly…
“Cynthia?”
“Ah.”
At that moment, a familiar voice reached her ears.
‘Ryu could come out, I thought.’
It was Ryu.
“What is it? This late at night? Haven’t you gone home yet?”
“I have something to do.”
“Something to do?”
“Yeah, and there’s something I want to ask you.”
“Hmm?”
Cynthia turned around and faced Ryu.
Even though he’d been unexpectedly called out by surprise in the middle of the night, there was Ryu, cool as ever.
Cynthia stared silently at Ryu, who was standing dumbfounded.
“What’s up?”
Cynthia’s eyes sparkled as she observed Ryu’s expression carefully, determined not to miss a single detail.
During the few days she skipped Academy under the pretense of illness, Cynthia had carefully considered.
Could the man she met that day actually be Ryu?
At first, it seemed absurd, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
Though their physique and voice were completely different, those were easily changeable factors.
The more she thought about it, the more certain she became.
That day, it really was Ryu.
“What are you anyway?”
“What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”
“So what are you talking about?”
“A week ago, night, training forest.”
“…”
Cynthia interrupted Ryu confidently.
“Wasn’t that you that night?”
“That’s what I’m saying, what nonsense is this?”
Cynthia observed Ryu closely, never letting her eyes leave his face.
Ryu couldn’t lie well at all.
Even the slightest unease would show immediately on his face and voice.
“Right. You were the one who stopped me from picking up the candy that night, and the one who took the person somewhere.”
“Uh… What are you talking about?”
Cynthia felt more certain as she watched Ryu’s reaction.
This was clearly someone caught off guard and unsure of what to do.
“The clothes hanging in the dormitory that day.”
That was an attempt to pin him down with certainty, though she wasn’t completely sure.
The black clothes she had seen in Ryu’s dormitory, though she hadn’t looked closely, seemed similar to the ones worn by the man who had appeared before her a week ago.
“That’s the same one.”
“No way.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Nah. You probably saw it wrong.”
Listening to Ryu’s confident voice, Cynthia grew more confident herself.
“No, that was the outfit that day.”
“No, there’s no way, I told you.”
Watching Ryu visibly flustered, Cynthia smiled.
“How do you know that?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve never seen it yourself. You don’t even know who I’m talking about. So how can you be so sure the outfit’s different?”
“Well… I mean… You know…”
Seeing Ryu’s expression crumble as he fumbled for words, Cynthia chuckled softly.
He’s mine.
“And that person, just like you, can teleport suddenly. Remember when you took me to your dorm during the Cain incident? That guy suddenly appeared with someone and disappeared somewhere.”
“…”
Ryu stayed silent.
Seeing her opportunity, Cynthia continued confidently.
“Even though I’m not a wizard, I know how rare it is for someone to cast a teleportation spell so quickly, and even rarer to do it multiple times.”
While speaking, Cynthia kept a close eye on Ryu’s face.
Though it was dark, it was clear to Cynthia.
Ryu’s troubled and flustered expression as his eyes darted around trying to figure out what to do.
“You… What are you really?”
Cynthia asked confidently.
*
“Man, I screwed up.”
It was the only thing on his mind.
He thought everything had gone smoothly, but evidently not.
Cynthia had even brought up the Cain incident from the start of the semester.
He thought he had successfully deceived her that day.
“Hmm… What are you doing?”
Cynthia questioned him with an air of triumph.
Recent preoccupation with the festival’s main quest prevented him from noticing this coming, but now it was suddenly on top of him.
“What to do…”
He knew he wasn’t maintaining his poker face well since before.
Thinking back, it was odd how no one caught on when he blatantly used his abilities during the Cain incident.
Even Professor Amillion had promptly noticed something was off and inquired.
He hadn’t expected Cynthia, a mere student, to figure it out.
“Ahhh. My normal Academy life…”
It felt increasingly distant from ‘normal’.
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll go straight to Professor Amillion. Something feels off.”
“Phew…”
Cynthia’s tone made it clear that half-hearted evasion wouldn’t work.
She genuinely sounded ready to head to Professor Amillion.
“I didn’t want to tell the students, though…”
He hadn’t intended for Amillion to know but not for word to reach the students.
If it came out, the distance would grow between them.
“Go ahead, ask then.”
“Huh?”
“You should ask Professor Amillion. That might be better.”
“Eh?”
For the first time, Cynthia appeared flustered.
There was no turning back now.
He had to tell Cynthia as well.
“Professor knows… right?”
“Yeah, not only does he know, but he’s actively helping me.”
“Wha..t!?”
Cynthia looked genuinely caught off guard, something she hadn’t expected at all.
“So, did you throw all the candies away?”
“Huh?”
Now it wasn’t worth hiding.
After mentioning Professor Amillion, it was as good as being fully exposed.
“Really… so you were telling the truth.”
“Yup. Not supposed to get caught.”
“Still… didn’t you show way too little caution…?”
“Huh?”
Confronted by Cynthia’s fundamental question, he found himself at a loss for words.
He’d tried to restrain himself, but clearly fell short by quite a bit.
“Still, it’s a relief.”
“What is?”
“Ryu, because you’re not a bad person.”
“Well… I mean…”
“So, what is it? Can you explain?”
“Hmm… It’s a long story. I could refer you to Professor Amillion tomorrow…”
“I want to hear it directly from you.”
“…Alright then. In short…”
And so, he eventually told Cynthia everything.
The truth was, he worked under the Prisis Family and was hunting down suspicious forces within the Academy.
And those forces were related to the vice-chancellor who had handed her the drugs.
‘I guess I’m not getting better at acting after all.’
As he explained everything, Ryu realized.
With a soft sigh.
