“Turn around.”
At that single command, Sylvia turned. Deculein stood behind her, hands clasped behind his back, glaring at her.
“Debutante Sylvia.”
“Yes.”
“As far as I know, this is a library reserved for faculty executives. It contains many documents approaching classified status, and entry by anyone outside the faculty is strictly prohibited, punishable by severe penalty.”
“Ah, I see. I didn’t know. I got lost.”
At Sylvia’s excuse, Deculein nodded.
“No one recognized that you had taken a wrong turn. That is the fault of the librarians in this reading room, yourself included. All of them shall—”
“I lied to get out of the situation. I used an exception clause.”
“There is no exception clause.”
“I’m sorry. There was a book I wanted to find.”
Sylvia confessed honestly.
Then, the book in her hand floated up into the air.
“Uh—”
She reached out to grab it, only to lose her footing.
“Oof.”
She lost her balance and plopped down on the floor. Her bottom felt cold.
Her insides boiled, but she showed nothing as she stood and dusted herself off. Then she looked at Deculein.
“······.”
Deculein was looking through the book. Sylvia inwardly snorted.
How ridiculous.
That’s an Ethinel novel. For someone like you, whose only hobby is socializing, it’s an unknown world you wouldn’t understand even if you read it.
Stop wasting your time and give me back that book already.
“Last night, I was with him.”
“?”
But then······ something strange happened.
“Red flowers bloomed along every path that led to him.”
Professor Deculein suddenly murmured an odd sentence.
As though he were reciting the contents of the book. In a softness quite different from his lecturing voice.
“I tried not to think about whom my feelings had come from.”
Sylvia could not understand his voice as it continued, calm and steady.
“If I had only the desire to be with him, then that was enough.”
He was reading it.
No, was he really reading it?
Or was he simply spouting whatever came to mind?
“I took off her clothes······.”
The professor stopped there and closed the book.
“For you to like er······ romance novels, how unexpected.”
“?”
Sylvia drew a question mark with her eyes. Moving only her lips in silence for a moment, she soon shook her head.
“I do not like romance novels—”
“Enough. Take it. I will forgive you just this once.”
“Romance novels—”
The book floated up again and settled into Sylvia’s arms.
“However, if you enter this reading room as you please again, you will be disciplined.”
“I don’t like—”
“Did you come here yourself to flaunt your family’s authority? From now on, there is no need for you to enter. Simply have someone loyal to you borrow it on your behalf.”
He doesn’t listen to a word I say.
For the first time in her life, Sylvia’s lips parted blankly at the shame and humiliation she had suffered. A reddish anger rose over that pale face, which had always been indifferent.
I wasn’t trying to read a romance novel. I was only trying to learn fairy customs through an Ethinel novel.
“Also, learning such things through books will not help you in the slightest. It is not a normal story.”
That was the fatal blow. Sylvia stood there for a moment and lost consciousness. It was a shock that made the back of her head go distant.
“······.”
When the dazed Sylvia briefly closed her eyes, then barely opened them again.
“······.”
He was already gone.
“······.”
Sylvia looked at the book in her hands. At least it had not been taken away.
“Evil.”
To spout such strange nonsense as he pleased.
As expected, it was clearly an attempt to keep her in check. Deculein was extremely conscious of Iliade······.
Sylvia left the executive reading room.
Then she returned straight to the mansion and opened the book.
“Master, you’re home early?”
“Yes. I don’t need dinner.”
Partly to confirm whether Deculein’s interpretation was truly correct. Partly to study Ethinel for the first time in a while. With an Ethinel vocabulary list beside her.
“······.”
The more Sylvia read, the more surprised she became that Deculein’s interpretation was unexpectedly accurate.
He even knew words she did not know.
Had he simply inferred them from context? But for that, the sentences had been far too natural and elegant.
“!”
However, such questions soon vanished from Sylvia’s mind.
She realized this was not a romance novel.
[ After taking off her clothes, I overlapped her body with his······ her ■■ and my ■■ and his ■■ were ■■■■■■······. ]
It was obscenity.
“How could this—”
* * *
······After returning that bizarre novel to Sylvia.
I came out to the mountain with the faculty. It was, quite literally, a mountain.
“Haha. I never imagined fifty people would apply for autonomous practice.”
Relin, the plump professor from the auxiliary department, let out a hearty laugh. I replied indifferently.
“Indeed.”
There was a special mountain on the Magic Tower’s grounds. A place called the “Mountain of Darkness,” which brought to mind the famous forest of a certain magic school, though this was far more brutal and serious.
However, the mountain itself was located in a remote corner, away from the university grounds, and barriers and protective fields remained intact in every direction, so ordinary undergraduates went about their school lives without even knowing of its existence.
But for the Magic Tower, which directly managed the Mountain of Darkness and bore responsibility and obligation for safety, it was a rather solemn and valuable place.
Without this mountain, they would have to repeat long journeys every time they wanted to experience actual combat, and the various magical materials produced by the forest—Dolong worms, bush ash, man-eating vines, Gratendrise oil, and so on—also provided a tidy source of income.
“Are they not quite admirable?”
Today, the Magic Tower faculty, including myself, had come out for practical training on the Mountain of Darkness with fifty Debutante mages. It was called darkness, but since it was daytime, it was bright.
“They are all elite-born, so they are very composed. As expected of Imperial University’s standards, one might say.”
Professor Relin spoke proudly as he watched the freshmen conducting various magical research on the noon mountain and occasionally dealing with demonic beasts that appeared.
“They could well be afraid of the Mountain of Darkness······”
Summer was still far away.
Yet for some reason, Relin was sweating profusely.
“Ah, right. This week’s professor on duty has not been decided. The rotation has come full circle, so we need to decide anew. At times like this, the head professor’s opinion is, of course······.”
It was likely because of this duty.
There were roughly fifty full professors in the Magic Tower. There would be far more if associate professors and assistant professors were included, but the Magic Tower’s rule was that duty on the Mountain of Darkness rotated among full professors.
Of course, judging from Relin’s reaction, it was obvious that the first turn was quite dangerous.
“I will do it.”
I deliberately volunteered.
“Oh! Ah, hm. I see. As expected of Head Professor Deculein. A model of leading by example······.”
This was not anything like leading by example. It was a quest.
[ Side Quest: The Magic Tower’s Darkness ]
◆ Shop Currency +1
◆ Additional Completion Reward
There was something inside that place.
Inside······ it was pulling me in. As if tempting me.
That must be why the side quest had activated.
“Then, Head Professor Deculein. Please take care of it from today until Sunday. Starting next week, I will step up and do it myself······.”
Relin’s belly shook as he beamed.
“Very well.”
Leaving aside a professor’s abilities, a fainthearted person could not easily endure this mountain.
And indeed, the night in this Mountain of Darkness was enough to change the genre itself. Into a horror game infested with jump scares—in other words, things suddenly popping out······.
* * *
······12:05 a.m.
Late at night.
The still-chilly April air was seeping into my clothes, but I, Epherene, was not cold at all.
What could be the reason?
The robe’s insulation? Or a heating spell?
No. It was not because of things like that.
Then, the al-co-hol circulating through my veins?
Hm, a reasonable answer, but no.
Then, then what was it—! The reason I was not cold was—because my pockets were full!
“Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine. This, I’ll buy it, me. I’m buying it~”
Epherene shouted grandly while eating ice cream. The tipsiness from just the right amount of alcohol made her pleasantly lightheaded.
“Really······? Ephi, aren’t you overdoing it?”
The commoner Ferit muttered timidly.
“Come on. What’re you talking about? My wallet’s thick, thick~”
Having somehow become the leader of the commoner group and even finished a group dinner, Epherene was sitting at a street table of a nighttime eatery with Julia and the other club members.
Julia grinned and said,
“We submitted the club founding plan yesterday, so I think it’ll be approved soon.”
“Really? I see, I see~”
“Yeah. But the actual commoner kids don’t want to join. I guess they’re being self-conscious. How stupid.”
Slurp— Epherene heated up a noodle dish in an instant and ate it.
“Delish.”
“Hehe. Ephi, you must be pretty drunk.”
“Drunk? Never. As if I would be.”
She shook her head with a deliberately serious and solemn face.
How many shots had I taken? I couldn’t remember, but I wasn’t drunk······.
Kyaaaaaak—!
“!”
At that moment, a scream rang out. Epherene and the mages flinched in surprise. At first, they thought it was an auditory hallucination.
Kyaaaaaaaaak—!
“What was that! Did you hear that just now?”
“Yeah, I did! You too?”
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
Ferit and Rondo, Julia and Epherene.
Their sense of justice as elite mages made the hot-blooded freshmen leap to their feet and run.
“Where was it?!”
Help, please help me—!
“There! Over there!”
The sound came from the alley to the right.
Please help me—!
The mages chased after the scream, passed through a dark path, and entered a secluded corner.
I’m here, here—! Please—!
──But.
As they were running.
Crunch, crunch—the sound of leaves being stepped on rang out.
We had definitely been running along a brick road. Why were there suddenly leaves, as though we were on a mountain path?
“Guys. Isn’t this something strange······”
Epherene looked back.
“······?”
There was no one. Everywhere around her was nothing but desolate trees and grass.
“Uh······.”
The alcohol fled from her system. A chill rose along the nape of her stiffened neck.
─Please help me!
The shriek rang out again. In that instant, Epherene’s fear subsided.
It was not any sense of justice. It was the effect of mana, something she herself could not perceive.
“Where, where are you!”
Epherene, who had not gone through the academy, had two major weaknesses.
Her “resistance” to magic, and her “mentality” as a mage.
Both were fundamentals cultivated from the academy before university.
“Where are you!”
Epherene ran swiftly and finally found her.
“Here, here! I’m here! I’m right here!”
A woman in torn clothes was reaching out toward her as she approached. Epherene immediately tried to support her.
At that moment.
Bang—!
Something struck Epherene’s leg.
“──!”
Epherene tumbled to the ground. She tried to stand, but her calf tingled painfully. She could not put strength into it. Left with no choice, she remained sprawled on the ground and lifted only her head.
“Watch out!”
Epherene urgently shouted at the woman, who stood there blankly.
It was already too late.
A flash gleamed in the darkness. It pierced through the woman’s shoulder.
“Kyaaaaaaak—!”
“Ah!”
At that terrible scream, Epherene forced herself up and gathered mana into her bracelet. Then she tried to fire mana toward the direction from which that bizarre attack had come······.
But when she saw the person standing there, she was greatly startled.
Standing beneath the shadows of the bushes was Head Professor Deculein.
Epherene was horrified by the dreadful killing intent he exuded.
“P-Professor! What are you doing—!”
“Debutante Epherene.”
Deculein called her name. Meanwhile, the woman tried to crawl toward this side, and yet another object fired by Deculein pierced through her ankle.
Kyaaaaaaaak—!
“No, Professor! What are you—”
“Open your eyes and look. That is not a human.”
“What?!”
“You are drunk. Stay still.”
“No, but still.”
“Do not move—!”
Deculein roared.
“······.”
A shout that shook the entire mountain. Tree branches trembled, and the echo rang hollow.
Overwhelmed by that force, Epherene, sprawled on the ground, froze all over and stared at Deculein.
His face was tautly drawn, his eyes fierce like a bird of prey. He looked incomparably more frightening than usual.
A cold wind clawed at Epherene’s cheek.
Only then did her muddled mind slowly begin to clear.
“……Bewitchment. A specialty of demons.”
Deculein said so as he hauled Epherene up by the back of her neck.
He was merely standing there, and Epherene alone floated up into the air.
“W-wait. My feet aren’t touching the ground……”
“I embedded my metal in your robe.”
“……?”
Flailing in midair, Epherene looked at Deculein.
At that very moment.
Her heart sank heavily.
It was a gaze that seemed to look down on her very existence…… an expression of contempt toward something utterly lowly.
Deculein was staring straight at Epherene with those eyes.
“The human body is difficult, but metal is easy.”
She couldn’t understand what he meant.
No, was he even the professor in the first place? Wasn’t this man some demon’s illusion?
“What are you even—”
“I’m telling you to stop getting in the way and piss off, you damned half-wit.”
“……”
Harsh words that stabbed like a dagger. An expression colder and more terrifying than ever before.
Its very nature was different from the usual Deculein.
……No.
It wasn’t.
This appearance was rather…… the exact Deculein she had expected.
Deculein lashed out that sharply, then pulled Epherene hard.
It wasn’t merely at the level of pulling.
“Ueeeeeek—”
Shwoooooooop──
Epherene was dragged away like dust sucked into a vacuum cleaner, and in an instant, she was flung outside the mountain and fainted on the spot.
* * *
Grrrrrr……
The woman transformed into a bizarre creature. Her hair and clothes melted away, and horns sprouted from her temples on either side. Her eyes were huge but had no eyelids, her skin was crimson, and both eyes gleamed with a grotesque sheen.
“Cunning bastard.”
Judging by the jewel-like core between its brows, its main line seemed to be “Bewitchment,” but Bewitchment did not work on this body.
As one of the few advantages of Deculein’s personality, he boasted near-perfect immunity when it came to “Bewitchment magic.”
It should have been so, certainly.
Yet my emotions were boiling to a strange degree. Deculein’s inherent “Personality” was reacting violently.
……“Bloodline.”
A characteristic of the Yukline family itself, similar to “Personality” or “Trait.”
Yukline was a bloodline with “hostility toward demons” ingrained in its veins.
Thus, the moment I sensed a demon, an instinctive disgust surged up so fiercely it warped my reason. The fame that said they had been mages who hunted demons since their ancient ancestors was manifesting in this way.
This was Deculein’s fate, designed by the game’s writer.
Whether the player chose an evil-aligned demon playthrough or a good-aligned knight, mage, or adventurer playthrough, no matter what happened, Deculein could never be made into a companion……
“A thing fit to be thrown into the depths underground.”
Thanks to that, I was unusually angry. I could not maintain my composure.
“Krarararara—!”
The creature answered with a hideous roar. It seemed to be trying to attack my mind by emitting waves.
A ziiiiing— rang in my ears, but that was all.
I was unaffected, and I aimed at the demon with the five treasured blades lying in wait in the air.
I was excited. There was the matter of testing the performance of the treasured blades I had literally practiced with until I bled, but Deculein’s nature was also boiling up fiercely.
Whirrr──
Four shuriken split off, two each to the right and left, and shot forward.
The creature looked from one side to the other and ground its teeth.
“Kyaaaaa!”
The demon tried to evade those four trajectories with a backflip, but the one remaining shuriken raced straight ahead, aiming for the heart of the creature suspended in the air.
Crack, crunch—
The demon’s joints bent grotesquely. It had altered its own body to avoid the shuriken.
However, there was no end to my attack. The four treasured blades that had circled behind it were once again rushing toward it.
An endless series of attacks performed with five shuriken.
Even if it seemed to dodge, it could never truly evade them. As time passed, it would only be driven further into a corner and slowly die.
Therefore, the creature had only one choice left.
Straight ahead.
It kicked off the road surface hard and charged against the shuriken.
Its speed was indeed fast, and it managed to slip into an open space, but that had already been within my expectations.
Shaaaaaak—!
It extended its claws.
However, those sharp tips failed to reach me by a hair’s breadth.
The sixth shuriken that had exiled Epherene outside the mountain had returned and pierced through the creature’s brow.
“……Filthy thing. Even in the moment of death, you splatter muck.”
Blood splashed onto my face.
An unknowable revulsion surged up violently, like nausea. Even I was startled by the scorn, contempt, hatred, and murderous intent.
I could not endure any of it. I could not possibly hide it.
[ Side Quest Clear: Darkness of the Magic Tower ]
◆ Shop Currency +1
[ Additional Achievement: First Demon Slain ]
◆ Shop Currency +1
[ Family Bloodline: Yukline ]
◆ Trait “Yukline” Bloomed
Notifications of rewards gained appeared one after another, but I was not particularly pleased.
The appearance of a demon.
Because, in the end, this was no different from a certain signal.
A signal announcing the true beginning of a game without a player.
“……”
I simply stood there and looked up at the sky.
A thick, dark dawn. In the vast ceiling above, not a single star had risen, and the moon, eaten away by clouds, was merely pale……