NOVEL WEB Chapter 33
“Don’t worry too much. I was just messing with you, not trying to torment you. I plan on properly apologizing and making amends.”
Yujin was serious. It was a misunderstanding that wouldn’t last long anyway. He wasn’t really a Dark Sorcerer, and he didn’t know anything about them.
By the time the misunderstanding was resolved, he intended to offer a sincere apology and some recompense. Of course, he would have firmly lodged himself as a thorn in her side…
‘But then again, who cares.’
Yujin had never been one to get too close to people. A little negative impression here and there wasn’t a big deal.
『Of course, I’m not saying you should scold them. It’s fairly common for Dragons to toy around and influence mortals.』
“Is that so?”
『Well, the fun that Dragons enjoy is often about seeking new thrills in the dull, transcendent life of a mortal, so it’s not unusual to influence and be influenced by them, right? Countless mortals live influencing each other, so why should we be any different?』
“That’s true.”
『If that’s your idea of fun, then I can’t really reprimand you. It’s not like you’re causing massive harm to mortals or anything. It just caught me off guard. You seemed so mature and level-headed in some respects…』
“You mean, malicious?”
Yujin chuckled as he said that. Tiamat responded with a strange expression.
『I just mean your personality is a bit on the darker side.』
“That pretty much sums it up. Well, I admit it. I don’t think my personality is particularly great either.”
Yujin laughed lightly as he spoke.
“Brings back some old memories from Earth. There were certain kids who seemed to take a special dislike to me.”
『Kids who disliked you?』
“It’s nothing special. It was around two years after my parents passed away.”
『……』
Upon hearing about his parents’ passing, Tiamat fell silent for a moment. It’s a tale that would naturally induce a somber mood.
Accepting her silence, Yujin continued.
“I was still following my parents’ wishes back then. ‘Yujin, don’t let others know your thoughts.’, ‘Always hide yourself and become an adult.’, things like that. They said revealing your true self in this society is a fatal weakness and shouldn’t be shown to anyone…”
『……』
Even as a middle schooler, I kept to that. I never showed my eyes and always wore a smile. No one was to know what I was thinking. I started using honorifics as a habit back then too. It was a rather peculiar and alien trait among kids at that time. Many kids avoided me, saying I put them off.”
Yujin spoke like it was an old tale that didn’t bother him anymore.
“Plus, I don’t think I mentioned that a Gate manifested on Earth along with the Awakened Ones, did I?”
『You did mention that. A world without the four great powers including mana… Quite a strange world indeed.』
“Not anymore, though. Anyway, when I turned 14, they began separating Awakened kids from non-Awakened ones to educate them separately. In other words, I was surrounded by Awakened kids. And when those kids suddenly acquired superhuman abilities, they had a tendency to show off.”
『What do you mean by that…?』
“With no parents around and already being shunned among the kids, I became good prey for them to show off their strength. Sure, they might have had non-Awakened targets too, but since using power against non-Awakened meant being dragged away as some juvenile delinquent, I was pretty much the fixed target since I was an Awakened one and felt a bit easier to mess with.”
『……』
This made Tiamat’s expression stiffen. Not sure if he knew how cold she looked, Yujin went on talking.
“Haha, I still vividly remember how I was dragged in practically every day to get beaten up. Sure, it was a long time ago.”
『…So?』
Tiamat’s voice was oddly chilling. Yujin, a bit perplexed, continued.
“Well, I couldn’t just sit back and take it, right? So I thought of a fun idea.”
『What kind of fun idea?』
“Nothing much. Just that since most of them wanted to show off, I’d point them to a great place to flaunt their strength.”
Yujin recalled that time. In hindsight, it was a rather dangerous thing to do…
“I took them all to a Gate filled with monsters. Isn’t that the perfect place to show off?”
『……』
“Well, when everyone seemed weirdly scared, I asked them why they were being so serious.”
Smiling and saying that, Yujin could still remember their bewildered faces.
“I would trip those who tried to run away with telekinesis fueled by mana, and would laugh while encouraging them to fight back… Looking back now, it’s all just memories. Haha.”
……
Since that day, no one dared to touch me. Was that memory so fun that I started pulling similar ‘pranks’ on others? Eventually, a dedicated section for my incidents appeared on the Guild’s VPN bulletin board.”
Thinking back, maybe Yujin being treated with a bit of disdain within the Guild was due to his mischievous nature.
…To be honest, over 70% of the reasons he was avoided stemmed from those ‘pranks.’
He himself was none the wiser, though.
Tiamat, staring at him for a moment, finally chuckled bitterly.
『I thought you were completely mature, but it seems you have your mischievous side too.』
“Haha, did I seem so grown-up in your eyes?”
When Yujin said that, Tiamat gave him another bittersweet smile, regarding him with fondness despite uncovering some unexpected traits.
She said,
『Well done, though. You definitely shouldn’t just take it. It was gratifying to see you strike back.』
“I did get scolded by the instructor for recklessly going into the Gate, though.”
Yujin spent a while chatting warmly with Tiamat, their laughter resounding until bright morning welcomed them.
***
Meanwhile, Reina was…
‘I was wrong! So, she really is a Dark Sorcerer!’
Looking back, she should have raised her suspicions from the start about sealing the Demon’s Magic. How was that even possible?
However, she dismissed it lightly, thinking the princess was in stable condition. That was actually not the case.
‘But could it really be? That magic pool is rotting like pus?’
No idea. The concept of perfectly sealing energy in someone else’s body was something she had never even heard of. Whether the suppressed magic acted like festering pus was something even Reina, a Magic Studies professor, couldn’t determine.
Yet, it didn’t seem completely far-fetched. If the magic wasn’t extracted from the body but suppressed within it, anyone could be uncertain about the side effects of the suppressed magic.
It might even end up rampaging within its host or cause some other adverse effects.
One thing was clear: as long as that Dark Sorcerer was targeting the princess, that sealing wouldn’t yield any positive effects.
She had to report this to the president right away. And capture Yujin to find a way to resolve this matter.
With that thought, Reina hurriedly headed to the President’s Office.
Bang!
“President!”
“Professor Reina?”
She burst into the President’s Office and called out to Ines inside, causing him to look back at her in surprise.
“What’s going on? Why are you in such a rush…?”
“President! We need to capture Han Yujin right now!”
At Reina’s urgent exclamation, the president looked stunned.
Capture? Who?
…A Dragon?
“…Did you eat something strange?”
“President!”
“Now, now. Speak calmly. Did you just say you need to capture Professor Yujin?”
He looked at Reina with a slightly stiff expression. Reina, seeing that, felt a bit flustered.
‘The president is looking at me like that?’
Reina Sahart was the closest aide to the president. The president trusted her, and Reina was loyal to him.
Of course, it was quite rude to barge into the President’s Office and spout such nonsense without permission, but usually, the president would ask her to explain first.
However, the current president seemed slightly displeased with her assertion to capture Yujin.
Feeling that, Reina sensed a peculiar sense of dread creeping up her spine. She spoke in desperation.
“President, you need to listen to me. Han Yujin is a Dark Sorcerer!”
“That matter has already been settled. Why suddenly…?”
“He revealed his true nature in front of me! Sealing the princess’s magic is merely to suppress her magic to create an even greater adverse effect later!”
“What? What do you mean by that…?”
The president stumbled, stunned into silence.
Of course, the president knew that Yujin wasn’t a Dark Sorcerer. He was a supreme transcendent being, a Dragon, which couldn’t even be compared to mere cockroaches.
Yet, it didn’t seem like Reina would lie to him. After all, she was not the type to deceive him, let alone have a reason to suddenly say such things.
He paused to reflect. What was going on?
‘…Come to think of it, Yujin has been in human form.’
The great transcendent, the Dragon.
Living for an eternity, they sometimes disguise themselves as mortals to mix in with them, seeking thrills in their dull lives.
A sort of amusement.
This scenario may very well be part of that amusement. Perhaps Yujin was just performing like a Dark Sorcerer to deceive Reina…
If that’s the case, the current situation made sense. He squinted at her and spoke.
“…I understand for now. I’ll verify on my end, so for now, retreat.”
“President! We need to capture him now…”
“How can we capture someone without evidence? Calm yourself. This isn’t like you.”
“……”
Reina hesitated for a moment, taken aback, and stepped back.
“Please calm down and step back. I’ll handle the rest.”
“…Understood.”
With that, Reina withdrew from the President’s Office.
And all alone in the President’s Office, Ines said…
“Ugh… A Dark Sorcerer? Yujin has chosen quite a troublesome form of amusement…”
He sighed and decided to contact Yujin first.