A Genius Boy Who Was Exiled From His Family Home for “Not Being Able To Use Magic” Becomes a Witch’s Apprentice and Masters All Magic in the Right Way. This Is How You Use Your Magic, You Know?

Chapter 101.1. Interrogation

Following Albert’s words, I went to the instructor’s office.

Upon arrival, I was guided to another room by the staff, and the moment the door opened, Hermes widened his eyes.

The room had desks arranged in a U-shape, surrounding Hermes as he entered, with various faculty members seated. There were roughly ten of them.

The common theme was that none of them showed any semblance of friendliness—leaning on their hands or glaring intensely, clearly not harboring any goodwill.

The curtains were drawn, the room dimly lit, and the temperature felt cold, emphasizing the hardness of the floor beneath.

And in the center of the room, within the space formed by the U-shaped desks, was a lone chair… surely they weren’t expecting him to sit there.

“Please have a seat, Hermes.”

Indeed, they were.

It was just like being a defendant on trial. Was this really how they treated a student?

But given the positioning, the stares, and the lighting, it was clear they were trying to exert pressure. Their intent was obvious.

These faculty members were probably from noble families. Understandably, a typical student—someone who values status and authority above all—would be terrified by now and unable to speak rationally. That was likely their goal.

However, Hermes is Hermes.

Looking at the scene before him, what first came to his mind wasn’t fear or terror, but… exasperation.

All this, just to talk to one student. While there might be other motives, to expend so much manpower and effort to interrogate a single student is incredibly inefficient.

Thinking this, he quietly took his seat. The bearded instructor seated directly in front of him, the same one who had earlier urged him to sit, spoke up again.

“Shall we begin, Hermes? I am Auban von Legendre, the head of your year. I’m sure you already knew that, of course.”

Of course, I didn’t.

Hermes struggled to suppress the urge to say that, as Legendre unexpectedly put on a slightly friendly expression.

“Well, no need to be so stiff. We called you here to ask you something simple. In other words—”

After making an utterly unbelievable statement, he finally cut to the chase.

“During the recent competition, what sort of cheating did you use to make Class B win?”

“………”

Ah, I see.

With those words, Hermes decided that he would no longer trust these faculty members.

They weren’t asking if he did something, nor what exactly he did.

To them, it was already a foregone conclusion that Hermes had cheated. From here on, they were merely trying to pry out the details.

Seeing Hermes go silent, Legendre asked, in a tone of forced friendliness.

“Not speaking won’t help you, you know? It’s okay, I understand. You were envious of the A-Class students, so you wanted to drag them down by any means necessary, right? It’s a despicable thought, but I won’t hold it against you. After all, it’s our job to correct such youthful indiscretions. This is an academy, after all. We don’t discriminate based on status. If you confess, I assure you we won’t treat you unfairly.”

Was it just my imagination, or did he make a discriminatory remark right after claiming they don’t discriminate?

…But I was beginning to understand.

The purpose of calling Hermes here was, as mentioned, to question him about the details of the competition.

The plan was to unsettle him in this room designed solely to intimidate, then have Legendre gently coax a confession out of him.

It made sense. It’s an effective way to get someone to spill the truth.

—If, of course, there was any truth to spill.

“As you say, but—”

He considered responding with some clever remark, but decided it wasn’t worth being roundabout with these people, so he spoke directly.

“I didn’t do anything. We simply used our time before the competition effectively and fought within the rules. That’s all there is to it.”

“Don’t play games with us!!”

A loud voice interrupted from the side.

This triggered a barrage of angry interrogations directed at Hermes.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Enough with the lies!”

“Do you even understand the position you’re in? You’re being accused of a crime!”

“This man is the brother of the Marquis! If you were outside this academy, your head would be—”

“Oh, the ‘brother of the Marquis,’ you say? I wonder why you’re not the Marquis yourself, then. How strange.”

Ah, that was bad. In his frustration, he might have just impulsively stepped on a landmine he should have avoided.

The sudden silence confirmed it. The instructor who mentioned the Marquis’ brother clammed up, and veins bulged on Legendre’s temple.

“…I, I chose to relinquish the family title to my younger brother because I consider the noble work of teaching and guiding the next generation to be far more honorable than any title. You should refrain from making unnecessary assumptions. You commoners might not understand, but—”

Somehow, he managed to regain his composure just in time. Though he briefly cast a furious glare at the instructor who had let the information slip, his tone remained calm, though tinged with clear signs of a complex and discriminatory attitude.

Taking advantage of the situation, Hermes decided to seize control of the conversation.

“You seem to be assuming that I ‘cheated.’ But do you have any evidence to support that assumption? If you’re unsure whether or not I cheated, shouldn’t you first provide proof that such an unlikely event as ‘cheating’ actually occurred?”

“…Ha. Is that all?”

But instead, Legendre responded to those words with an almost unnerving calm.

“Don’t you understand? We do have evidence, and it’s substantial.”