NOVEL WEB Chapter 32
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“Yujin, can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead, Tia.”
After wrapping up a casual chat with the President, Yujin was on his way to where Professor Reina had left when Tiamat’s question made him nod in agreement.
“That kid… didn’t do anything major for the punishment, was that enough?”
“Yes, that’s sufficient.”
Just keeping the fact that the President is a dragon under wraps is already quite something. As soon as he said that, Tiamat’s expression became strange.
“It’s odd to say this now, but isn’t this rather merciful compared to the elf incident? Just keeping the dragon part a secret seems too lenient.”
“Oh, you mean Mirien? The situation is definitely different from back then.”
Yujin chuckled to himself for a moment and then spoke to Tiamat.
“To think about it, I was at fault. Just because I got appointed as a professor doesn’t mean I can trespass into the Academy, and even though I had my reasons, heading towards the student dorms without being a dorm supervisor is undeniably wrong. From the President’s perspective at that time, I must have seemed like a trespassing intruder.”
“Hmm…”
“The President definitely has a duty to stop intruders. When you think about it, his actions weren’t actually wrong. But giving me an actual punishment, that would be just ridiculous.”
With that said, Yujin subtly glanced back at the President who was lurking behind them. Seeing the startled expression on the President’s face made Yujin suppress a chuckle, and he turned back to Tiamat.
“So, that’s the reason. Separating my misunderstanding from the fact that the President’s actions were justified was the consideration I made.”
“I see. I understand now.”
“Haha, of course, it’s better to keep the dragon part hidden elsewhere, so I placed a ban on that.”
The Dragon Language is a power that can turn laws upside down. Imposing a taboo on a single human soul is hardly a difficult feat.
Looking at it this way, the powers of dragons seem quite unreasonable—having the ability to manipulate a person with just a word.
“Then again, I guess it’s the same for high-ranking individuals.”
Yujin chuckled bitterly at that thought and continued on.
***
Meanwhile, Reina Sahart was anxiously staring in the direction of the Academy’s garden from the President’s Office, the most secure place within the Academy.
Thinking that the princess might come under scrutiny, she brought her to what she believed was the safest location. Yet now, she felt both puzzled and anxious about the lack of any unusual occurrences.
‘No signs of anything unusual… What on earth is going on?’
The area that should be more chaotic than ever remained silently undisturbed. Just an eerie quiet.
Could it be that they moved here fearing the Academy might be engulfed in flames? But would that man so easily relocate?
She didn’t know. Perhaps everything was over before chaos could even arise, or maybe it was all just their misunderstanding.
The latter was a hope, but considering the situation without understanding the man’s true power, she couldn’t help leaning toward that hope.
After all, that was a man who easily subdued the President of the Mage Association. It wasn’t that she wanted to believe the President would lose easily, but depending on the worst-case scenario, it might even become a situation where the President couldn’t do anything.
Reina only hoped it wasn’t the worst scenario and kept a worried gaze fixed on the sleeping princess on the President’s office sofa…
Suddenly.
“!”
At that moment, the door to the President’s Office burst open.
Reina immediately turned to look.
“President!”
What came into view was a familiar woman.
With fiery red hair and regal golden eyes, when Ines Karandar, the President, appeared, Reina let out a sigh of relief.
“Professor Reina.”
“I’m glad…! I was worried something might happen to you…?”
Reina was rushing towards her when she abruptly stopped as if frozen, noticing something else.
“Hello, Professor Sahart. Haha, it feels like I haven’t seen you in two days.”
A man with black hair and unreadable eyes stood there.
Yujin was there, blending seamlessly behind the President as if nothing had happened at all.
“Uh… How… Why…?”
“Ah, Professor Reina. Nothing to be startled about. This person… No, Professor Yujin is not a Dark Sorcerer.”
Seeing the professor’s eyes wobble like they were quaking, Ines hurriedly explained.
“It was all just our misunderstanding. So first, calm down and let’s talk.”
“……”
Her words made Reina pause for a moment before taking a deep breath.
Well… she had indeed kept the possibility of misunderstandings open. All suspicions about him were based on circumstantial evidence, and she had no proper proof.
Everything could be a misunderstanding. If that’s the case, there was no reason for her to be so flustered.
“But… this person…?”
However, she momentarily slipped in surprise at the President’s strange phrasing. “This person?” That sounded like something one would say when addressing someone esteemed.
But did the President have someone worthy of such reverence? The one who, years ago, had ruled as one of the world’s elite and stood proudly before the Empire’s emperor?
Though something felt unclear, Reina chose to trust the President. After all, if she claimed it was a misunderstanding, there must be a reasonable explanation.
Reina steeled herself and asked them both.
“What… what exactly happened?”
“It’s as simple as it sounds. First, I spoke with Professor Yujin, and I concluded that he’s not a Dark Sorcerer.”
“Is that so…?”
Could she have been using a truth-detection spell or something? But would something like that work on a mage of Yujin’s caliber? Even a Grand Mage like the President would need to use a much more powerful truth-detection or confession spell; the discrepancies in their levels would have to be staggering for it to work. If their levels were somewhat similar, he could easily counter or deceive such spells.
Of course, that all hinged on whether Yujin wasn’t significantly weaker or was even stronger than the President…
‘He’s a formidable one who easily subdued the President of the Mage Association. I can’t imagine the level differences being that great…’
Despite her absolute trust in the President, she was able to view the situation objectively. The President of the Mage Association was undeniably strong, a Grand Mage in their own right. It was hard to believe that Yujin, who overpowered such a powerful figure with a flip of his fingers, bore insurmountable gaps in strength from the President. Most importantly, the President had also not grasped Yujin’s true level.
Then did Yujin actually willingly accept truth detection or confession?
But as mentioned earlier, such things could be manipulated. The President wasn’t likely to be completely oblivious to this fact and have absolute faith in it.
When she thought about it, she looked back to the President, who stated:
“Consider this: we were suspecting him based on nothing more than circumstantial evidence. When you think back, many of those indicators were quite uncertain or flimsy.”
“That’s… true.”
Reina didn’t deny that. If she had initially been convinced Yujin was a Dark Sorcerer, she wouldn’t have bothered gathering information on him and would have tried to apprehend him right away. They had merely had suspicions, and the investigation yielded many inconsistencies.
“Most importantly, the fact that he touched the princess was a misconception. Take a look at the princess. Professor Yujin actually helped her instead.”
“…I understand.”
At those words, Reina approached Elysia, who was sprawled out on the sofa in the President’s office. She placed her hand on the princess’s head.
A hum…
As she invoked her mana and examined Elysia’s body, she realized…
‘…There’s no magic being felt?’
She discovered that Elysia’s body held no traces of magic. No, to be precise, it felt as though it had been hidden away.
It seemed as if the magic within her was swirling around but not wreaking havoc on her body, almost as if it were sealed away.
“How…?”
“I don’t quite know either, but it was said that Professor Yujin sealed her magic. If he were a Dark Sorcerer, he would have had no reason to do such a thing, right?”
“……”
Hearing that, Reina ultimately conceded and felt a wave of relief wash over her.
So everything was just a misunderstanding after all? Wasting her energy on such baseless worries.
Though it felt somewhat hollow, she was simply glad.
“…I’m sorry, President. I made you waste your energy with my baseless suggestions.”
As she sat up, Professor Reina bowed her head to the President. The President shook her head.
“No need to apologize. You simply did your part, didn’t you? It was my fault for escalating the misunderstanding.”
“That’s not true. I brought this upon myself…”
“Enough with that. Let’s not dwell on it. If you plan to apologize, do so separately to Professor Yujin later.”
Shaking her head, the President then gestured to Yujin, making Reina turn to him as well.
“And so, I apologize, Professor Yujin. My unwarranted misunderstanding caused you undue inconvenience.”
“Not at all. I completely understand Professor Sahart’s position.”
Yujin accepted her apology with a smile and a nod.
The President clapped her hands and said,
“Now then… Professor Reina? Please show Professor Yujin the accommodations. A good room, please.”
“Understood.”
“And Yujin… I’ll contact you later, so make sure to come see me in the President’s Office. There are some formalities to attend to separate from appointing you as a professor.”
“Sure, I’ll do that.”
“Then let’s move on.”
With the President’s words, Reina stepped forward.
“Professor Yujin, please follow me.”
“Okay. Well then, President, see you next time.”
With that, Reina and Yujin stepped out of the President’s office.
“Ahh…”
Left alone, the President exhaled a long sigh… no, it was just Princess Elysia who remained sleeping in the total silence of the President’s office.
“First… I should send Princess Elysia back to the dorm…”
Hmm…
Murmuring to herself, she drew the magic circle for space transfer, sending Elysia back to her room.
Now completely alone in the President’s office, she muttered quietly.
“What should I do? Will she be displeased since I told her to come again after contacting her… It’d be rather rude… How will I contact her…”
She spent the day fretting pointlessly in the President’s office.
***
Meanwhile, as Yujin and Reina strolled through the Academy corridors, a thick silence hung between them. While Yujin had no concerns, Reina was troubled about the inconvenience she had caused him due to her misunderstanding.
Knowing she should hold herself in check, Reina was aware that casually striking up a conversation was out of place. Thus, the silence lingered.
Naturally, it was usually Yujin to break such silences first, but he was engaged in conversation with Tiamat, so he wasn’t even aware of the discomfort.
‘Being a professor, I find it quite exciting. I’m already thinking about what to teach the students and what to prepare.’
“Hehe, seeing your excited face makes me happy too. Do well.”
With such light-hearted exchanges keeping the awkward silence at bay, they finally arrived at the staff accommodations without any spoken words.
“Oh, this place is pretty great.”
The staff accommodations, one of the prideful facilities of the Academy, boasted luxury and comfort that could easily rival modern five-star hotels.
It had all kinds of amenities—pool, hot springs, spa, and more. The other professors had even started using this place like a vacation home.
“You’ll be staying here from now on, Professor Yujin.”
“Yes, understood. Thank you for the guide.”
“And… um.”
Reina hesitated for a moment before finally speaking to Yujin.
“I sincerely apologize once again. I acted rudely towards you out of my unfounded misunderstanding.”
“…Hmm.”
Yujin glanced back at her.
‘…She seems a bit playful.’
With a peculiar smile, he replied.
“It’s alright.”
“But…”
“No, it’s really fine. It wasn’t much of a misunderstanding to begin with.”
“…What?”
At those words, Reina widened her eyes in surprise, just a hint.
Before her, a man with a serpentine smile was looking down at her.
She shivered slightly. For an unclear reason, the man in front of her felt profoundly ominous.
His unreadable snake-like expression opened like licking with a tongue.
“Professor Reina, do you know what pus is?”
Pus.
It’s the inflammation created when wounds become infected. Why was he bringing that up out of nowhere?
“…Out of the blue, what…”
“When pus gathers from a wound, if it isn’t burst soon, the wound will rot away in the end. What about magic?”
“…!!!”
Reina’s eyes shook. Her mouth slowly opened in horror.
“If the sealed magic builds up and eventually rots away… what will happen?”
“W-What…”
“Before that needs to be burst, what’ll happen if the sealed magic bursts? I’m quite curious, to know how we should deal with it. What do you think?”
Tap… tap…
She unconsciously stepped back, distressed. Right now, that means…
“Y-You…”
“Professor Reina, you seem to be quite perceptive. And I don’t mind such people at all.”
With that, Yujin took a step towards her.
And she took two steps back in retreat.
“Safety first… such words sound good, but it’s terribly boring, isn’t it? Someone needs to spice things up for such tasks to feel meaningful, don’t you think?”
“……”
“How about we play a game?”
Yujin’s bright smile was spoken with a tone of sincerity that seemed almost innocent.
Yet, the words that followed sharply contrasted that innocence with malice.
“Guess who I am. And reveal the truth.”
“….!”
Hearing that, Reina’s pale face shrank as she stepped back repeatedly.
Then she immediately turned to run.
Yujin watched her with calm disinterest before finally stepping into the room assigned to him.
“…Yujin.”
At that moment, Tiamat, who had been observing, looked at Yujin with a strange expression.
“Why did you scare that girl with strange words?”
“Oh, is that what you meant?”
Yujin briefly gazed elsewhere before flashing his own smile.
“Just a prank.”
“……”
“Haha, it just felt playful. After being mistaken for a Dark Sorcerer, I thought I’d tease her a bit by going for the Dark Sorcerer cosplay. What do you think? Did it feel real enough?”
As she observed that, Tiamat thought to herself.
“It felt too real. My child, do you have a rather nasty side?”
“Haha, thank you for the compliment.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
“Um…”
Yujin scratched his head awkwardly.
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