Hatred and Kinship
"I heard the culprit is a dark mage."
"Damn it, those bastards again? Why do they even let those ticking time bombs into the Academy in the first place?"
"Ticking time bombs? More like active criminals. Why else would they learn dark magic?"
Hatred fed on itself, growing ever more bloated.
"Let's stick together. There are way too many dark mages around here."
"Shouldn't we kick them out first?"
"What on earth are the professors thinking?!"
In the Academy, a place that should have been the safest haven, a horrific murder had occurred.
The Academy had a long history, and there had been no shortage of those who sought to bring terror to its halls.
"I heard the culprit in that murder fifty years ago was a dark mage too."
The students were terrified. They looked at every dark mage walking down the corridors and wondered if any one of them could be their killer.
And amidst the panic, one man voiced his fury louder than anyone else.
"My friend is dead! Do you hear me? My friend was murdered!"
He threw a wild tantrum, his face a messy mixture of grief and rage. He was a man of noble birth but vulgar temperament.
Conrad was shouting the loudest, practically shaking with anger.
Not many students held any affection for him.
Character is revealed through one's actions. Everyone knew how arrogant Conrad was, and how he looked down on anyone of lower status.
Yet, the fact remained that someone had died. Even if Conrad's 'friends' were mostly sycophants who only wanted his money and status, it didn't change the fact that the victim was one of them.
No matter how boorish Conrad was, no one could bring themselves to doubt or criticize a man who had just lost someone close to him.
"We have to expel every single one of them!"
And there was no reason to, either.
Countless voices clamored for the culprit's execution. Since the culprit had few acquaintances, no one stood up to defend him.
And Olivia was one of the very few who actually knew him.
There's no way... It can't be true.
Realistically, she was in no position to worry about others.
She had just been eliminated from the tournament, failing to achieve any meaningful results.
For a gamble that involved aligning herself with Katarin, the outcome was disastrously pathetic.
It was only a matter of time before her family found out what she had done. Her future was uncertain, and her path ahead looked bleak.
Even so, Olivia could not simply stand by and watch.
Fabian... Fabian isn't the type of person to do something like this.
He was a boy born to a branch line of her family. He didn't possess a noble character, nor was he particularly skilled.
He was cowardly and weak. Foolish, yes, but his heart wasn't malicious.
Though she had never paid him much attention, they had crossed paths once or twice.
She was certain that he was incapable of committing such a crime.
"..."
Yet, there was virtually nothing she could do within the Academy.
She couldn't stand against the torrent of public outrage to defend Fabian. Even if she tried, it would achieve nothing.
There must be a reason. There has to be.
A sense of helplessness began to consume her.
I could end up just like him at any moment...
She still believed this entire situation was a conspiracy.
A cruel, terrible plot of the kind that often targeted those who failed to win recognition.
While others looked at the blood and death of the victims and thought, I could end up like them, Olivia looked at Fabian and thought, I could end up like him.
And so, she went to find the last person who had seen him.
"Talk."
I frowned at the uninvited guest as I sat with my party members.
"What brings you here, Olivia?"
Three pairs of eyes watched Olivia with intense wariness.
To me, she wasn't so much a threat to be wary of as she was a nuisance.
"Where did you hide Fabian?"
"All I did was apprehend him. What, did you think I killed him?"
I knew Olivia.
Seeing her embrace dark energy was a first for me. It was something that had never happened in the game.
But I didn't think her core nature or her motivations had changed.
"I'm the one who captured him without any casualties, and he's currently in the custody of the investigators, locked in a cell. His trial will begin soon."
"That's not what I'm talking about!"
"Is it? If you kill Fabian while he's locked up, do you think that'll make you a hero? Do you think those people will praise you?"
Olivia's eyes wavered.
Since her skills were undeniable, she was a party member favored by many players.
However, few kept her in their party for long. Her upkeep cost was simply too high.
"Why... why would you think I'd ever think like that?"
It wasn't a matter of money. After all, no matter how expensive a knight was, they were still just a knight.
There were mages who burned through mountains of expensive magical reagents.
There were noble-born cadets who couldn't maintain their composure unless they spent astronomical sums on a single meal.
Money could always be earned. The only issue was how to get it, and what had to be sacrificed in the process.
But Olivia harbored a thirst in her heart that money could never quench.
"Because you want to be recognized."
That desire was a double-edged sword for anyone who put Olivia in their party.
She was fundamentally honorable. She would rarely do anything that might tarnish her family's name or her own reputation.
She would leap into dangerous missions without hesitation. If she had to lay down her life for her comrades, she would do so without a second thought.
But the moment she felt even slightly neglected by the player, or felt that the party didn't appreciate her skills, she would leave without looking back.
That was the kind of person she was.
"Besides, the next tournament is starting soon. We're the qualifiers. Can't you tell by looking at us gathered here? We need to discuss our strategy, so would you mind leaving?"
That wasn't actually why we had gathered, but there was no reason for Olivia to be here either.
I dismissed her with cold words.
"...Is that how I look to you?"
"If I'm wrong, then I apologize for judging you with my narrow perspective. Just forget it. I have no intention of arguing with you."
Right now, Olivia was not my priority.
Olivia, having dabbled in dark energy, would undoubtedly lose control eventually. But a rogue Dark Knight or dark mage or two around Katarin wouldn't change the grand scheme of things.
What mattered was the incident unfolding right now.
Hatred was pouring out. A massive, condensed hatred directed at a single target.
I had to find a way to distribute the blame, to prevent people from unleashing their unbridled rage upon one another.
"So, leave."
"No."
Olivia tightly grabbed my hand, which was resting on the desk.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The reactions of those around me were faster than my words.
Dark magic surged from Claire's hands. Lilian's bow and Kellin's sword exuded a menacing aura, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
"Did Fabian... really kill them? It wasn't him, right? Tell me it wasn't him..."
I bit my lip and calmed the girls down.
"Put your weapons down. We're not here to shed blood."
I let out a deep sigh and nodded.
"Fabian did it."
"Liar. He's not the kind of person who could do that..."
"You and Fabian didn't seem all that close. If you had this much concern to spare, you should have shown it to him sooner."
Olivia was strong.
She might have been cast aside by the Imperial Princess's faction, but the mere fact that she had once been among them made her someone ordinary thugs couldn't even dare to look up to.
It wasn't as if Conrad had a personal grudge against Fabian. He had simply needed a weak target to bully.
It would have been a mere temporary fix—shifting the suffering to someone else—but Olivia was at least capable of providing that temporary fix.
"...You're right."
"Then leave."
"We weren't close... and deep down, I might have even looked down on him."
This was strange.
Olivia hated being looked down upon or despised more than anything. To others, her sensitivity to it seemed excessive.
She avoided bragging because she didn't want to be seen as arrogant, but true self-deprecation, reflection, and humility were concepts that did not suit her.
"I probably felt comfortable thinking... that I was much stronger than Fabian, that I was the one worthy of recognition."
I felt a sense of dissonance.
Her eyes were dead serious. They were trembling.
It wasn't greed driving her, but something far greater.
"But... Fabian is my family. At the very least, I have a right to know what he got caught up in."
I bit my lip. Things were heading in a direction I hadn't anticipated.