A Delicate Truce
"Really? So what did Wade say then?"
When I walked into the classroom, I saw Claire wearing an awkward smile, surrounded by a crowd of noble ladies.
"He just... well, he asked me to eat with him..."
"Really? Where did you go?"
Claire replied in a hesitant voice, seemingly still unaccustomed to the sudden deluge of attention.
"To a tavern down the street. He suggested we all have an after-party together."
Unhappy with Claire's answer, the other ladies raised their voices in chatter.
"What? A tavern, of all places?"
"Ugh, I need to teach Wade a thing or two. There are so many nice restaurants nearby! I went to one recently run by a retired royal chef, and the quality was—"
"But still, a tavern? Did you drink? Surely a drink or two would have set the mood, right?"
"No... we didn't drink at all. We just went to eat."
"What?"
Claire desperately denied it, but the young ladies kept pushing, determined to spin a tale of romantic tension between her and me.
"Well, of course. The alcohol they sell in those sketchy places is bound to be low quality anyway."
"Exactly. How could beer from a place like that be any good? Cheap wine from a street peddler would probably taste better."
These were women studying dark magic. Excluding anomalies like Katarin, none of them were likely to be of truly noble birth and spotless reputation.
Of course, the illegitimate child of a noble family would still be considered far more noble than a commoner, but there were bound to be those among them who had grown up in rougher environments.
Watching such people wash away their pasts and pretend to be noble ladies who had lived lives of pure refinement was quite an amusing sight.
"True, but... wait. Don't tell me nothing happened after that?"
"Even if it wasn't you, Claire, what about the other girls..."
"Come to think of it, your team... everyone except Wade was a girl, right? Lilian is an elf, so her beauty is guaranteed, and Kellin is pretty too, even if she looks a bit fierce... Did Wade pick the team members himself?"
"W-Wade did choose them, but...!"
Hey, why are you letting them sway you...
"Really? Did he send everyone else home and... spend a romantic night with someone?"
"N-No, that's not it! The dark mages' dormitories are right next to each other, so we walked back together!"
"Ah, you live in the dorms?"
In an instant, the look in the ladies' eyes shifted. While they still seemed friendly, the underlying meaning had changed.
If they had looked at her as the female lead of a high-quality romance novel just moments ago, they now saw her as a non-threatening girl who belonged to a different social class.
Seeing them establish a hierarchy even in a situation like this made me want to chuckle, but I didn't particularly care to blame them.
"But still, you made it all the way to the main tournament this time, didn't you?"
"I wonder if there are any decent places left around here..."
Claire's anxious gaze darted around the room until she finally spotted me.
"W-Wade! I was waiting for you!"
She hopped over and threw her arms around me. I thought the physical contact was a bit excessive, but she didn't seem to have any ulterior motives.
It's nice that she's making friends, but...
The girls Claire had been chatting with so warmly just moments ago were noble ladies who had achieved some level of success in dark magic.
In other words, they were women within Katarin's sphere of influence.
Holding Claire in my arms, I scanned the room and locked eyes with Katarin.
"It is a pleasure to see you."
Katarin rose gracefully from her seat and took a step closer. Her delicate lips parted.
"There are many things I wish to apologize for, and many misunderstandings I hope to clear up. Would you be so kind as to accept my apology?"
She attempted to gloss over her past actions with vague, diplomatic words.
"...I was quite rude during our last match."
In the end, I couldn't press her without concrete evidence.
If I claimed that the Behemoth incident was Katarin's doing, the Academy instructors would immediately start viewing me with suspicion.
"It is quite alright. I, too, found it rather enjoyable."
She was smiling. It was a captivating smile that could charm even someone who knew a venomous serpent lurked beneath it.
...I figured she would act like this.
However, this wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Katarin's usual arrogance meant she looked down on her opponents. It meant she viewed them not as enemies to fight seriously, but merely as tools to build up her own dread.
"I am glad you enjoyed it."
But this smile of Katarin's meant she was now taking her opponent seriously.
No one studies a crawling bug just to crush it.
Once you make sure the floor is fine to get dirty with squashed guts and blood, you simply stomp down with the sole of your shoe or strike it with something hard. That is all it takes.
But for a human to kill another human, they must adopt a much more serious attitude.
They grip a weapon. A human's nails, claws, and fists are not suited to taking down another human without sustaining damage themselves.
They anticipate a counterattack. No human will face the threat of death without resisting or trying to flee. The act of killing a human always requires accepting the risk of harm.
She was viewing me as a human.
Right...
Come to think of it, for her, killing a 'beatable dark mage' might have been even easier than killing a bug. After all, she wouldn't even get her shoes dirty.
Of course, if people started dying, the Academy would grow suspicious, but even they couldn't imprison or forcefully investigate a daughter of the Erast family without evidence.
And for Katarin, killing someone without leaving a shred of clear evidence was a trivial matter.
But Claire and I were different. At least within this classroom, we were the only two people immune to her control.
"There is no need to be so guarded. Emotions ran a bit high, but it was just a tournament, wasn't it?"
"Indeed. It was just a tournament."
Katarin hadn't shown her full strength either.
As an 'unprepared dark mage,' she had done her best. But whether a mage or a dark mage, an 'unprepared' spellcaster could never be said to have fought at full strength.
Her next move would be made only after she was fully prepared to kill me.
Armed with the knowledge of my true strength, she would mobilize the full might of herself and her family.
Even the smile she wore now was merely one of the weapons at Katarin Erast's disposal.
"As a fellow dark mage, I am proud to see such a talented individual emerge. Though I lost, surely I can be considered your rival now?"
Oh?
This, too, was a calculated move.
Having lost to me once, Katarin must have felt her grip on power threatened.
Dark mages were intensely animalistic. They feared the stronger, and submitted to those they feared.
It was less a psychological issue and more a physiological one. Before reason could process the thoughts leaking from their minds, their demonic energy sensed it first.
Other dark mages might start following me instead of her, or use me as a tool to rebel against her.
She had two choices: set herself up in opposition to me, or reconcile.
At first glance, opposition might seem better, but Katarin had already lost to me once.
The more hostile the atmosphere became, the more people would question her power.
In that case, it was better not to ostracize me.
Power was something that revealed its hierarchy clearly only when clashed or put to use.
If she lacked the confidence to defeat me immediately, it was to her advantage to wage a war of influence in a way that minimized direct displays of power.
After all, I was merely the heir of an insignificant family, while she was the daughter of the prestigious Erast family.
"I am honored."
Unless I was forced to choose between the Imperial Princess and Katarin, I couldn't reject her when she was the one bowing her head first.
In truth, I could easily reject her if it were just about her. But doing so would shatter the public image I needed to build.
Those who wielded the power of light were sometimes excessively sentimental; they might think, Are you really insulting someone who wants to apologize, without any proof?
I wouldn't be able to win the support of the other dark mages either. Even those who might potentially side with me were currently aligned with Katarin.
If I antagonized Katarin more than necessary, they would abandon any thought of defecting to my side.
...Still, for now, this is fine.
Ultimately, the information Katarin could gather was limited.
Even if she rummaged through Kellin's mind to dig up information, she would never imagine that I possessed Indomitable Will and was drawing power from the Fragment of the Void.
And even if she did find out, it wouldn't change the fact that she had no way to counter it.
For now, I had to make use of this time. I had to exploit this situation.
It was far better than having the atmosphere of the dark magic class turn hostile, making it difficult to even exchange a single word.
Even if I don't, Claire seems to know a lot of people...
I had to find someone acting suspiciously and trace the distribution route of the drugs.
I let out a deep sigh and prepared for the class that was about to begin.