A Familiar Scent
The night was dark.
"I-I've already contacted them to buy it, so if we wait just a little bit, they'll be here."
There was no wariness in the boy's eyes. It was the look of someone who couldn't even imagine that a fellow dark mage would betray him.
Perhaps it wasn't trust, but resignation. The resignation that if I truly intended to exploit him, there was absolutely nothing he could do about it anyway.
"Alright."
We waited a little longer, just as he said. Soon, several figures wrapped in dark robes slowly emerged from the shadows.
Their faces were concealed by masks. However, the moment the lead man spoke, I recognized his voice instantly.
"Hey. Where did you get the money this time? Did you pay back everything you borrowed from Conrad?"
"Well, that's..."
"We came because we got the signal, but if it's nothing important, you could've just called us in the classroom. Dragging the guys all the way out here isn't exactly easy..."
Only then did he notice my presence.
"...Wade. What the hell are you doing here?"
"Because I'm the buyer this time."
Victor stood right in front of me.
...
To some extent, I had suspected it.
Just as I had no reason to wander out into the darkness that night, Victor and his gang had no reason to be in that suspicious location either.
Slipping out of the dormitory wasn't particularly difficult for a dark mage, but sneaking out without a clear objective was highly inefficient.
"You?"
Victor tilted his head in confusion for a moment, then nodded as if it made sense.
"Well, I guess you don't necessarily have to use my stuff just for power. It's a bit pricey, but it's not bad for recreational use."
He sounded casual. He spoke with the relaxed demeanor of someone who had done this many times before.
His attitude was more like a merchant selling high-quality liquor than a drug dealer.
...I don't need to make a move right away.
Before starting this, I had naturally assumed a battle would break out the moment I made contact with the drug dealers.
But now that things had turned out like this, there was no need to rush.
I could report the drug I found to the princess and wait for them to let their guard down further before launching a raid.
Or, it might be better to hide my involvement entirely. Victor was a decent dark mage, but his skills had clear limits.
"Anyway... I'll take the money first."
"Here."
I handed a gold coin to Victor. After examining the coin closely, he pulled an item out of the bag he had brought.
It was a small wooden box, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. Taking the tightly sealed box, I slipped it into a small pouch.
"Looks like a pretty expensive box."
"Well, it's cheap compared to the price of the drug. Still, the box itself isn't cheap. If you return the box on your next transaction, I'll give you a discount, so make sure to buy from us often."
"How do I use this?"
"There's white powder inside. Some idiots snort it directly, but I don't really recommend that. Just dissolve it in hot water and drink it, or burn it and enjoy the smoke."
"Thanks."
"You're a customer, no need to thank me."
"Can I check it right now?"
"Of course!"
I unlocked one of the boxes and gently opened it.
"Need some light?"
Victor used dark magic to create a small light. Inside the box lay a white powder.
"Hmm..."
Leaning in slightly to catch the scent, a profound sense of déjà vu washed over me.
I didn't know it. I had never used this drug before. I shouldn't have known it.
Yet, this scent was etched so deeply into my mind that it was almost sickening. A scent so strong I could never forget it for the rest of my life.
...What is this?
For a moment, I wondered if the memories of the original owner of this body were causing this reaction, but no matter how much I thought about it, that wasn't it.
It was a sensation I had experienced recently. A sensation that remained in my own memories.
...Is it that?
This matter might not be simple. Perhaps there was a specific reason why I was assigned to this task.
The princess was undoubtedly a good person. But that didn't mean she was a good person to everyone, everywhere, at all times.
"It's the best stuff available right now. You won't find anything like this anywhere else."
"I see..."
This was indeed a drug. There was no room for doubt.
Honestly, I had been half-skeptical ever since I heard the boy's story.
Like anyone else, dark mages could grow stronger through drugs. However, most of those methods were inefficient or had virtually no real effect.
Those who wielded the power of light could absorb masses of mana into their bodies through noble elixirs.
But a dark mage's source of energy was demonic energy. Specifically, demonic energy that wouldn't reject the human body upon entry.
There was a limit to cultivating that through drugs. There were plenty of easier ways.
For example, there was the "outsourcing of evil."
Inflicting pain, drawing blood, slaughtering lives, and bringing shame, sorrow, pain, and grief to someone.
Most of it had to be done directly by the dark mage, but sometimes, another dark mage would commit the evil on their behalf.
They would manifest the symbol of the committed evil into a physical object and hand it over to someone else.
If that kind of item was being sold as a 'drug,' things would have been much more serious...
If that were the case, numerous murders might have been required to supply the drug, or even more horrific crimes could have been taking place.
"I heard it makes you stronger."
"It's useless for a dark mage of your caliber. It's just... a drug that helps kids who can't focus, focus a bit better."
"Is that so?"
"Well, it's not technically a lie. We can advertise it that much, can't we?"
This drug, at least, was not made through such horrific methods.
It might be addictive, and it might provide a pleasure that couldn't be obtained through normal means, but it wasn't the kind of thing that increased one's power.
"F-For me..." the boy cried out, feeling wronged.
"Hey, you did get stronger, didn't you? The realm that you or your kind can barely reach by relying on the power of drugs, Wade can achieve as easily as breathing."
...
Knowing what one had done with a sound and clear mind. Knowing what evil had been committed and what was desired in return.
For ordinary people, just reaching that state of mind would take a significant amount of time, so saying it made them stronger wasn't entirely a lie.
Is it really this?
"Thanks. Good work. I can't keep contacting you through this kid, so I'd appreciate it if you could tell me how to order separately."
"Ah, did we get a regular customer? Works for me."
Victor gave a sly smile and shared their method of contact.
It involved hiding a secret note in a place where people rarely walked and cleaners seldom went, which Victor's gang would retrieve and read later.
It was excessively simple and analog, but given their level of magic, there was no benefit in waging an espionage war against the Academy's faculty. It might have been a wise choice.
...I'll have to ask.
The transaction was over, but my thoughts didn't stop.
This was an incident where too many people and motives I didn't know were entangled.
"I didn't expect you to seek me out so early in the morning."
"I didn't have any morning classes."
As always, the student council room was empty. The only things present were the princess and the scent of Silver Shadow tea filling the room.
As I thought...
I wasn't mistaken. The déjà vu I felt was no illusion.
"Is this place always this empty?"
"They seem to be avoiding you. I suppose they're worried you might cast some strange spell on them."
"I see."
It wasn't surprising. I was the dark mage who had defeated Katarin.
It was highly likely that the high-status students who made up the student council already viewed me as a villain on par with Katarin.
Considering how such people treated dark mages, the princess's attitude toward me could be considered unusually lenient.
"I've secured the item. I've identified who is distributing the drug and set up the next transaction."
Either way, betraying trust was never a pleasant thing to do.
But I had to do it. I had no choice.
"Impressive. I didn't expect you to handle this so quickly and enthusiastically."
"It would probably be better if investigators or professors raided the scene instead of me."
"You could have taken them down yourself, couldn't you?"
"You will need clear evidence."
The princess's legitimacy was rock-solid. However, for people in her position, achievements were something that could never be accumulated enough.
"...May I ask you something?"
Taking a sip of my tea, I directed my question to the princess, who was smiling benevolently.
"Why do you trust me this much?"
Thinking back, her trust had always been excessive.
No matter how much I had clashed with Katarin, there was no reason for the Imperial Princess to go this far.
"Ah, that is far too easy a question. Does there need to be a special reason?"
Yurisia smiled, a smile as bright as the sun and as pure as a child's.
"I trust because I want to trust. I trust because trusting makes me happy."
An overwhelming sense of happiness radiated from her.
It was the flawless confidence of someone who could shape the world to her liking, who could make herself into whatever she wished to be.
"Beyond that, what other reason could possibly be necessary?"
And with that, the princess laughed.