Rustling Leaves (2)
Although I had been handed a fairly important mission, no brilliant ideas came to mind.
This event... I know where it happens, but I don't know how to trigger the discovery.
Ultimately, this was the world of a game. The information I possessed as a former 'player' was strictly limited.
Still, I remember this place is the transaction site...
In the game, this event unfolded after a companion or the player completed a certain amount of 'investigation' and then raided the deal in progress.
Finding the location of the transaction wasn't particularly difficult. The battlefield had been described in quite specific detail, and after doing some legwork, I could easily pinpoint it.
But staking out the place without any concrete leads was useless. I had no idea when the transaction would actually take place.
Hmm...
I couldn't afford to wait here forever. I needed sleep, and the window of time I could slip out of the dormitory without raising suspicion was narrow.
Even though I was using stealth magic to conceal my presence and physical form, I couldn't pull stakeout duty here indefinitely.
Maybe I should head back soon.
There were no signs of unusual activity.
Even if it proved difficult, it might be better to interrogate a few suspicious dark mages and trace how they obtained the drugs.
Just as I was about to turn back, I caught the sound of a commotion in the distance.
...Is it the deal?
Logically speaking, that was highly unlikely.
I couldn't make out the exact words, but loud voices echoed through the night. A fair number of footsteps suggested a group was moving nearby.
If they were actually trading illicit drugs, they would have moved far more discreetly than this.
Still, I couldn't just ignore it. I made my way toward the source of the noise.
"Hey, you're gonna kill him. Easy on the kicks. Easy."
"This bastard is treating us like absolute jokes!"
About four cadets were brutally stomping on a student collapsed on the ground.
They didn't look like dark mages. They were either knights or standard mages. Their skills weren't particularly impressive, but they wielded the power of light.
"Disgusting piece of trash, practicing dark magic..."
"I-I said I'd pay you back! Ugh, whatever amount you want—"
"Do you think I'm doing this over a few miserable coins, you shit?"
I stepped a few paces closer to listen to their conversation.
"T-That makes no sense! I borrowed three gold coins, so how does that turn into six? I already paid back two, so the last one will be—"
"It's a late fee, you idiot! A late fee! I only lent it to you because you were whining about being broke..."
The student standing over him beat the victim mercilessly.
I might have to step in here.
I hadn't brought my mask. It was a lapse in judgment.
I had assumed that if I caught the drug traffickers, there would be no need to hide my identity, and if I didn't, there would be no reason to reveal myself at all.
...Hm?
Footsteps. Come to think of it, these guys had been beating the student for quite a while.
The footsteps I had heard before arriving were likely from the people who were approaching now.
"What the... Who are they?"
A few dark mages glared at the bullies with fierce eyes.
"Well, well. Look at Victor. Running your mouth just because you've got backing?"
"None of your business. What the hell are you doing with him?"
The atmosphere turned hostile instantly. They glared at each other, ready to fight at any moment.
"This is between us. Why don't you mind your own business and keep walking?"
"The guy lying under your boot happens to be in my class. How about you let him go before things get ugly?"
"And why should I?"
"Then die with him."
Dark mana surged outward. Unprepared for such a raw display of anger, the dark mages standing behind Victor flinched.
Yet, the leader of the bullies standing before Victor showed no fear.
"Die with him? Me? Hey, you clearly don't know who you're dealing with. You know who I am, don't you?"
It was a dark night. With the poor visibility, I couldn't make out his face.
"That's that, and this is this. Let him go. Or do you want to settle this right here?"
A tense silence fell over the alley. The air grew thick with hostility.
"Fine. Today isn't the only day anyway. Hey, get lost."
The bully nudged the collapsed student with his foot, sending him crawling toward Victor.
"Ugh... ah..."
Barely able to stand, the battered student stumbled unsteadily toward Victor.
"Anyway, tell that bastard he better pay up. Dammit, my allowance got cut off, the guy who borrowed from me won't pay... nothing but bullshit lately."
With those parting words, the bullies vanished into the darkness.
"Victor. We should head to our positions too..."
"No, you guys go ahead. I have some personal business to take care of here."
"Alone? We don't know what those bastards might pull..."
"It has nothing to do with them. If it gets dangerous, I'll run. Don't worry about it and get out of here. Besides, someone needs to put some medicine on this beaten-up idiot."
"Alright..."
It was dark. Considering they were still just academy cadets, the rear grounds of the Academy were remarkably deep and desolate.
While the main areas shone brilliantly, this was still a human society. Bullying, violence, and domination were inevitable.
Victor stood alone in the now-quiet street. After standing still for a long moment, he spoke in a low voice.
"Come out."
...?
Startled, I quickly checked my magic.
It was flawless. There was no way he could have sensed my presence.
...Is there someone else?
My mana pool was massive, but there were clear limits to what I could do with it.
Overwhelming an opponent with a massive spell was one thing, but executing minor, delicate spells with high proficiency was a different story.
It was possible he was waiting for someone else, and I simply hadn't noticed their presence.
"Let's talk. Show yourself."
His tone was surprisingly polite, a stark contrast to his usual abrasive attitude.
Although Victor was looking at a spot slightly away from where I stood, dragging this out any longer seemed pointless.
"Fine."
"Who's there... Ha, it was you? Wade."
"You're the one who called me out."
He let out a deep sigh of relief.
"I didn't expect it to be you."
"Then who did you think it was?"
"Some insanely powerful dark mage... though I guess that includes you. Or maybe a professor?"
I had assumed he would be burning with resentment toward me, but surprisingly, I sensed no hostility in his gaze.
"I thought you'd hate me."
"Ha. I might live like a thug, but I've got at least as much brains as a stray dog. Getting my ass handed to me like that and then trying to bare my claws again? That's not just bad character, that's just plain stupid."
"Hmm..."
This worked out fine for me. Defeating a nameless student like Victor was trivial, but avoiding unnecessary trouble was always preferable.
"How did you know I was here?"
"The air was warping. A stealth spell like that can't hide someone of your caliber. Shit, I didn't realize it back then, but your dark mana feels like some kind of monster..."
"Ah."
I had gotten a bit careless.
When I first started learning dark magic, I had gone to great lengths to suppress the dark mana leaking from my Dark Arrow spells. Back then, keeping a low profile was my priority.
But now, I had already revealed my strength and declared myself a dark mage stronger than Katarin.
"So you didn't sense me as a dark mage directly, but rather detected the distortion in the dark mana caused by my spell."
"Yeah."
The stealth magic I used functioned by draping a sort of shroud over myself.
Even if Victor couldn't tell exactly what was hidden behind it, he had detected the presence of something massive and imposing unfolding in the dark.
"I'll have to work on that."
"Anyway... you saw that, right?"
"Yeah."
"Why did you just stand there? You're a dark mage too."
Those who wielded dark mana generally tended to stick together.
Being ostracized, eyed with suspicion, or envied was a daily reality for them.
Of course, they had chosen dark magic knowing the consequences, but enduring it all was never easy.
"I was assessing the situation."
"Assessing... right. Sure, I guess."
Letting out a heavy sigh, Victor trudged back toward the dormitory.
"Let's go. I only noticed because of who I am. The guards around here would never spot you anyway. They can't use dark magic."
"True."
Only fellow dark mages could sense dark mana and the primal dread that accompanied it.
Those who wielded the power of light were neither affected by that dread nor capable of perceiving it.
"By the way, how are things going with Claire?"
He had completely let his guard down. Victor spoke casually, as if we were old friends.
"We aren't in that kind of relationship."
"Wow, what a bastard. You humiliated me to take her for yourself, and now you're abandoning her?"
"I only stepped in because you were trying to force her."
"Shit, it's not like I was entirely wrong. How was I supposed to know she'd become a Dark Priestess? There are already a few girls in our class selling themselves..."
Our meaningless banter continued. As we neared the dormitory, Victor and I cast our stealth spells in silence.
"..."
Walking back to my room, I fell into deep thought.
We had talked about quite a few things, but neither of us had asked the most crucial question.
Why we were out in that dark place, at that dark hour.