I Became a Genius Black Mage at the Holy Academy

Several tables in the café were already occupied. Some of the students, upon seeing Yusina, started to stand up to greet her, but she quickly waved them off, signaling them to sit back down.

“If someone saw this, they’d think you were here first~”

“Well…”

Yusina joked as she glanced at Roan, who was sitting there nonchalantly.

Roan simply shrugged his shoulders in response.

After they each ordered drinks and some light snacks…

Thud!

Unable to hold back any longer, Yusina lightly slammed her clenched fists onto the table and spoke.

“Do you want to join our club?!”

“Huh, what?”

Sion was flustered by her sudden proposal.

‘As expected.’

Roan nodded his head. He had anticipated all of this.

Yusina leaned in close as if she didn’t want anyone else to overhear and whispered to the two of them.

“Yeah. The name of the club is ‘Sanctuary.’”

‘Sanctuary.’

It was a secret club at Akerandir, consisting of some of the most famous names. Only a handful of people were allowed to join, and new members could only be accepted through recommendations from existing members. Of course, being recommended didn’t guarantee entry. One needed to prove exceptional skill and character first.

‘Originally, only Sion was supposed to join this time…’

Roan glanced over at Sion, who appeared overwhelmed by the sudden proposition. Joining Sanctuary would mean much more for her.

She wouldn’t just quietly attend classes anymore – she would start to stand out. She would confront challenges head-on, instead of avoiding them. She would also build the connections necessary to rise from a saint candidate to the position of Holy Empress.

But what about Roan himself? It looked like joining wasn’t a bad idea at all.

‘Actually, it’s a great idea.’

Of course, joining the club didn’t mean Roan would immediately gain direct support from the other members. That would go against the club’s purpose, and besides, the members weren’t inclined to help others so easily. However, Roan would gain access to valuable information and materials that he needed, and most importantly…

‘I’d be guaranteed to receive a Divine Beast Egg.’

This was the most important thing. Even for someone as experienced as Roan, Divine Beast Eggs were notoriously difficult to obtain. Acquiring one naturally was even harder than obtaining a power. The fact that joining the club came with such a reward made refusing it seem like an absurd idea.

‘Plus, I need a Divine Beast Egg for the Gray Life Shackles.’

More precisely, it wasn’t the egg itself but the leftover shell after the Divine Beast hatched. Along with that, joining Sanctuary would also grant access to other rare materials needed for the Gray Life Shackles and higher-tier dark magic. It would undoubtedly be a great help.

“I’ll join.”

Roan made his decision quite calmly. Sion, who sat next to him, looked completely taken aback.

“W-What?”

Her reaction seemed to suggest she was wondering how he could make such a quick decision without even knowing what the club really was all about.

“What? You’ll join?”

Even Yusina was just as surprised.

Roan stared at her, baffled.

“… Didn’t you just ask me to?”

She had made the offer, so why was she acting so shocked?

With an awkward expression on her face, Yusina replied, “Well, yeah… But I didn’t expect you to agree so quickly… I haven’t even explained anything yet.”

‘Maybe I decided a bit too fast just now.’

In the midst of that realization, Yusina seemed to have another idea. She grinned mischievously, trying to look sly.

“Ohhh, now I see… Roan, you just wanted an excuse to spend more time with your noona, huh?”

“!!!”

Sion, who had been quietly listening, was startled by Yusina’s suggestive tone.

‘Wait… Could these two possibly…?!’

Her adolescent imagination was running wild.

Roan glanced at Sion.

‘Why is she overreacting by herself?’

When playing, she wasn’t usually someone who got surprised so easily.

Roan couldn’t understand why Sion would be so surprised by this situation.

Regardless, Roan felt the need to correct Yusina’s clear misunderstanding.

“What are you talking about? I’m here for the Divine Beast.”

“Huh? How did you know about that?”

“…”

Roan hesitated, wondering how to answer naturally.

“I heard about it while I was at the Holy Palace.”

“Liar~” Yusina immediately pointed out.

Roan inwardly flinched.

‘What’s going on? Can she, as a saint, tell that I’m lying?’

“You looked it up because it’s my club, didn’t you? It’s supposed to be a secret, and even the Holy Palace wouldn’t have heard about it~”

But his tension quickly deflated.

Roan glared daggers at Yusina with cold eyes.

‘Fine. Believe whatever you want!’

Meanwhile, Sion, who had been struggling to follow the fast-paced conversation, interjected.

“Wait! What are you talking about? What’s about this Divine Beast?”

“Oh~ I should explain to you!”

Yusina then briefly explained to Sion what Sanctuary was, what it offered, and the types of people who were part of it.

Naturally, the more Sion learned, the more surprising the information became. And when she heard that joining the club came with a Divine Beast Egg, her eyes widened even further.

“Really?”

“Yup~ Now that you’ve heard all this, you have to join, right? If you don’t…”

Yusina’s playful expression turned serious as she dragged her thumb across her throat in a threatening gesture.

‘Gulp!’

“I-I’ll join…”

Sion instinctively nodded her head in response to Yusina’s threat.

‘She’s not actually threatening her… Right?’

Roan clicked his tongue, watching the scene unfold before him.

What kind of senior bullies an innocent freshman like this?

“Hehe, just kidding. Anyway, welcome! I’ll let the other members know you’re joining.”

Yusina smiled brightly as she spoke. Then she quietly added under her breath, “…Though I’m not sure when I can tell them all.”

“What did you just say…?”

“Nothing, nothing! Oh, and I brought these for you from the dorm!”

Looking excited, Yusina pulled out a small coin purse from her belt.

‘An Ezellin mark?’

Roan’s eyes widened slightly. Even though it was just a coin purse, it bore the mark of Ezellin, a renowned artisan.

Ezellin’s creations were famous not just for their quality but also because she was a master of the pocket dimension technique.

As expected, from the small purse, two golden eggs, about the size of real eggs, emerged.

“Here, eat them quickly before the food arrives. These are eggs laid by a golden hen, and they taste amazing.”

“???”

With a playful smile, Yusina handed a golden egg to both Roan and Sion.

“Hurry~ These are pretty rare, you know.”

“Well… alright, then.”

Sion seemed puzzled by the sudden appearance of the eggs but quickly set aside her doubts since they were from Yusina.

She was about to crack the egg against the table when — thud — Roan abruptly grabbed her wrist.

Sion was so startled that she dropped the egg, but Roan swiftly caught it. Embarrassed, she began to protest.

“W-What are you —”

“I should be asking that. Can’t you recognize a Divine Beast’s egg?”

‘Divine Beast’s egg?’

Sion stared blankly at the egg in Roan’s hand. It was definitely golden, but hadn’t Yusina said it was from a golden hen?

Still confused, she watched as Roan channeled magic into the egg.

Woooong!

The egg vibrated powerfully, repelling the magic.

“!!!”

“They might look similar, but a Divine Beast’s egg cannot absorb holy or magical energy. Understand?” Roan explained.

Divine Beast eggs only absorb energy from their owner’s soul or from pure natural forces.

Roan’s assertiveness made Sion nod instinctively.

‘But how did Darc know it was a Divine Beast egg?’

According to what Roan said, you couldn’t tell until magic was applied, which made her curious. However, she didn’t want to ask and risk looking even more clueless.

“As expected, Roan recognized it,” Yusina said with a sly smile and a nod.

Roan was more baffled by Yusina’s behavior than by Sion’s confusion.

Sion, now understanding the situation, stared at Yusina with wide eyes.

‘The sooner you break your illusions about Yusina, the better!’

Beneath her exceptional beauty, she was always full of mischief. He knew he had to stay cautious whenever he was around her.

“Do you even think things through? Why would you bring a Divine Beast’s egg here… and make it look like food?”

Normally, such an egg would be formally passed down in Sanctuary’s clubroom.

Divine Beast eggs and golden hen eggs looked almost identical, making it a gamble for Roan to guess. It was really hard to distinguish between Divine Beast and Spirit Beast eggs.

Many players had been scammed into buying golden hen eggs, thinking they were Divine Beast eggs.

Divine Beast eggs only fully revealed themselves after absorbing a specific elemental force, like water, wind, fire, sand, light, or darkness, and only then would people be able to tell what they were.

And then, there was another reason why Roan had guessed correctly — he couldn’t shake the suspicion that Yusina wouldn’t casually pull out boiled eggs in a café for no reason, especially not from a pocket dimension.

Luckily, he had been right.

If he hadn’t been…

‘I would’ve looked like a madman grabbing the wrist of a saint candidate!’

Roan shot Yusina a sharp look, and she laughed in response.

“I snuck them out of the clubroom. Isn’t it fun~?”

Roan let out a sigh, utterly frustrated.

“What if they had cracked —”

“Oh, they won’t crack~ I’ve tried —”

Realizing her slip-up, Yusina quickly clamped her hand over her mouth.

Roan’s lips twisted into a smirk.

“You tried?”

“Uh… that’s a secret, okay?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Aw, come on! I even recommended you for the club!”

Yusina whined, starting to plead.

People nearby began to glance over, noticing her antics.

Roan quickly tried to calm her down.

‘No good will come from people finding out about these eggs!’

He recalled the chaos caused when Demona got hold of the King of Manic Rabbits’ egg. A Divine Beast egg would cause even more trouble.

“Alright, alright. I’ll keep the secret.”

“Promise?” Yusina grinned, satisfied.

“Yeah, promise.”

Pleased, Yusina nodded her head. “Good. I kept this one hidden just so that I could show it to you two. Now, you can come out.”

She turned her gaze to her right shoulder.

Poof!

From seemingly nowhere, a small, owl-shaped Divine Beast emerged, its silver feathers shimmering in the light.

“Wow…”

Sion quietly marveled at the mysterious sight before her.

“So cute, right? This is my Divine Beast, ‘Moonlight Sentinel.’ His name is Rok.”

Po-ro-lo-long!

At Yusina’s introduction, Rok let out a proud cry and began to circle the restaurant slowly. His wings shed a soft, shimmering dust that fell like moonlight, gently landing on the patrons below.

— Wow, it’s the saintess’s Divine Beast…

— So holy.

Everyone in the restaurant was in awe, admiring the beautiful display.

‘Moonlight Sentinel… Like all Divine Beasts, it’s incredibly powerful, but this one especially is ridiculous.’

The Moonlight Sentinels, true to their name, grew even stronger at night…

‘Wait a minute.’

Roan suddenly tilted his head in thought. ‘Rok. Roan Darc. Could it be…?’

“Is the name Rok —”

“Your food is here, Saintess.”

Roan was about to ask about his suspicion when their drinks and plates of sandwiches, salads, and hot dogs were placed in front of them.

“Oh, the food’s here! Let’s eat!”

Whether Yusina heard Roan’s question or not, she quickly grabbed her sandwich, eager to dig in.

Sion, unsure of what to do with the Divine Beast egg, carefully set it on a napkin, treating it with great care.

Roan, on the other hand, discreetly slipped his egg into his magical pouch, making sure no one noticed.

‘I wanted to get a Divine Beast egg, but I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly.’

He felt a bit surprised but also pleased to have achieved his goal so soon.

Yusina, meanwhile, had seemingly already forgotten about the eggs. She devoured her sandwich without any regard for her saintly image.

Sion took a tentative bite of her salad, then asked Yusina, “I’ll take good care of the egg. But, will I be able to get closer to the seniors if I join the club?”

It was a reasonable question from someone like Sion, who hadn’t yet built any significant connections since enrolling at Akerandir. However, Yusina, for once, didn’t answer immediately. She smiled awkwardly.

“Well, uh…”

Roan stepped in to explain.

“It’ll be tough since most of the members prefer to keep to themselves.”

“Exactly. Haha…”

Yusina nodded, scratching the back of her head.

“Gulp! I’m actually the most sociable one in the club.”

“Oh…”

Sion’s face fell slightly, but she soon accepted it.

Yusina and Roan had spoken so naturally that neither of them thought to question how Roan knew so much.

‘The other clubs will start their recruitment soon, too.’

The official club promotions at Akerandir usually began during the second week.

Sanctuary was a secret club with no regular activities, so there wasn’t a ban on joining other clubs, but Roan wasn’t particularly interested in any of them.

‘… The problem is whether things will go my way or not.’

The way clubs in Akerandir conducted their recruitment was beyond conventional, and Roan expected it would become quite troublesome.

‘Part of the reason I joined the choir early was to avoid that hassle.’

“Anyway! I’m sure the club will be helpful! Come by the club room next week for a visit, okay?” Yusina cheerfully suggested.

“Of course.”

“Sure.”

Both nodded readily at Yusina’s invitation.

Translator’s Note: Holiday Greetings!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope this season fills your days with joy, laughter, and plenty of relaxation.