The Leaves of Silverfall
In the game, the effects of mind-altering drugs weren't particularly detailed.
They either cleared the mind to temporarily boost the Wisdom stat, or they lowered stress levels.
Depending on the situation, there were hallucinogenic drugs that relieved a massive amount of stress at the cost of clouding the mind, or conversely, drugs that spiked stress levels to grant a massive stat boost. But that was the extent of it.
"Are you talking about... Silver Shadow Tea?"
"Ha! You know it? Have you tried it?"
Victor shouted, looking indignant.
"They slap some shitty label on it and sell it, but that stuff never belonged to the Empire. Not until Silverfall fell into their hands fifteen years ago!"
My knowledge of history was limited. I hadn't expected such a backstory.
"We grow the exact same seeds, and the product has the exact same effects! So why is our stuff banned while the crap those bastards sell is allowed?"
His eyes held no hesitation. They were the eyes of a man who genuinely believed he was doing nothing wrong.
"They just want to screw us over. You're a dark mage, so you must know, right? You know how hypocritical those Imperial bastards are."
"Maybe."
"Besides, you're a buyer in the end, aren't you? Honestly, I don't want to threaten a customer, but if you're going to act like this, I don't have a choice."
It wasn't uncommon for a drug dealer to threaten a buyer. However, I had a powerful backer.
"Do you really think I came to catch you all by myself out of some sense of justice?"
"What?"
"It's the Student Council. Rumors have been spreading that drugs are circulating among the dark mage cadets."
"Ha, the Princess? Ridiculous. Come to think of it... you are on the Student Council."
I nodded slowly. Victor's face contorted.
"I thought I didn't need to worry about the instructors or investigators... Right. There was still one more pile of garbage left."
"Are you betraying us? When you're a dark mage yourself?"
"It's not betrayal. It's just holding a criminal accountable."
"Fine..."
As if giving up, Victor pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, roughly rolled some white powder into it, and lit it.
The scent of roughly torn and burned Silver Moon Tea drifted through the air.
"...You're stronger than me, so do whatever the fuck you want. But don't act all hypocritical. Just be honest. You're only doing this because you're blinded by power, aren't you? Is chasing after that fucking Princess really that great—"
"I have heard enough of your insolence!"
Olivia shouted fiercely. Drawing her sword, she stepped forward, looking ready to strike Victor down on the spot.
"I tried to hold back, but I cannot tolerate this any longer. How dare you compare this dangerous drug to Silver Moon Tea just because the raw ingredients are the same?"
"Am I wrong?"
"The addictiveness and safety are completely different! I have had that tea occasionally, and it was never painful enough to drive a person mad!"
"You're right. The stuff I sell is way more dangerous than the tea those thieves peddle."
Victor admitted the truth surprisingly easily.
"But why is that our fault?"
"What?"
"Just like how you bastards turn it into expensive tea, the raw ingredient of Silver Moon Tea—the leaves of the Moonlight Tree—is safe. That is, when it's grown in the right soil by people with the right knowledge."
He lightly took the paper roll from his lips and exhaled a cloud of white smoke.
"Still, it's true. The stuff I sell is dangerous. Personally, I don't think the risk is that high... but I can't deny it exists."
"Then why do it?!"
"Because we lost everything! To the Empire! Our land, our village, our knowledge! Everything!"
Victor's voice was thick with resentment.
"You bastards were the ones who took Silverfall from us! And now you expect us to make and sell 'safe' drugs? Why should we? You were the ones who stripped us of the right to do so in the first place!"
It wasn't the right thing to do. Even if everything Victor said was true, the people dying from these dangerous drugs weren't the Imperial elites, but powerless dark mages.
Yet, sometimes, those who have had too much taken from them by the world begin to view the entire rest of the world as their persecutor.
"Do not twist the truth!"
Victor's protest was fierce, but Olivia refused to back down.
"It was protection! His Imperial Majesty embraced the residents of Silverfall, who sought to enter his fold of their own free will! There was no war, no conflict! It was by the will of the citizens of Silverfall—"
"Ha! What citizens? You mean the immigrants who suddenly barged in, ignored our traditions and rules, ran wild... and showed their true colors just a few months later?"
"That..."
"I lived there. I saw exactly how my hometown was ruined."
I bit my lip as I listened to Victor's story.
"Stop acting all righteous, like you're doing some noble deed! You're just garbage like me. You're just slightly stronger, slightly sleazier garbage."
"I heard most of those who were driven out were dark mages."
"That was our tradition! In the first place, Silverfall was a remote village that sold high-value goods. Were we supposed to just not use dark magic? Just hand everything over to bandits?"
"And that is why the Empire protected the village!"
"They filled the village with parasites and colluded with traitors! All to turn those people into Imperial dogs, so the Empire—and not some other nation—could seize a highly profitable village!"
The paper roll in Victor's hand had burned down completely, leaving only a tiny stub.
"They were not traitors, they were wise! People who chose a safer, nobler path, refusing to be seduced by dark magic!"
"Oh, is that so? As far as I know, Olivia, didn't you join Katarin's faction? You think I don't know? That's dark mana."
Olivia bit her lip. She, too, was in no position to lecture anyone with pride.
"Well, it's all pointless anyway. Still... thanks for listening, Wade."
As if resigning himself to his fate, he raised both hands.
"Honestly, a dark mage of your caliber... didn't even need to listen to this crap, did you?"
Between dark mages with such a vast difference in skill, a 'fight' was impossible. Even if he called it 'resistance,' it wouldn't change a thing.
No matter how much justification he had, no matter his tragic backstory, Victor's power had its limits.
Any one of the people standing beside me could easily wipe out all the cadets here on their own.
"Kill me. Take my head and go run to the Princess."
"There must be someone behind you."
"I'll never tell you that. You expect me to sell out my comrades? If you really want to know, dominate my mind and force me to speak."
In legal battles, the testimony of a dark mage was usually considered worthless.
While it was incredibly easy for a dark mage to dominate another and force them to speak the truth, no one but the dominator and the dominated would ever know if it was actually the truth.
Forcing someone to give a false testimony was far easier than making them confess the truth.
"You said comrades..."
My stomach churned. No matter his excuses, Victor was nothing but a criminal.
Even so, killing him here would only accelerate our ruin.
"In the first place, this incident can't be covered up. No matter what I do. You know that, right?"
"...The official investigators will get involved."
"You had friends helping you, didn't you? People who made it possible to smuggle your goods into the Academy."
"...What?"
Victor's expression twisted.
"People are furious. Their anger won't cool down until they hang and burn a few people at the stake."
I had fully grasped the situation.
They were certainly perpetrators, but they fell short of being pure, unadulterated evil.
"You and your friends can't end up on the pyre, can you?"
He knew it too. Even if he died right now, the incident wouldn't end with his death.
"Besides, just catching you isn't enough for me either."
They were just an ordinary group of dark mages operating inside the school.
Wrapping up the case by simply killing Victor would be easy. But others would know it was an easy way out, too.
They wouldn't be satisfied, and they would try to purge every other dark mage who could potentially become a criminal.
"I need a bigger fish."
I already knew of an organization that wanted people to die in the Academy.
People who didn't care who died or who did the killing. They only wanted a massive wave of anger to erupt, plunging the students into internal conflict.
In the first place, it was highly suspicious that someone perfectly suited to push Fabian to his death had gone in to pressure him when he was hiding so well.
"Hand over all the information you have. Who are you contacting, and when are you scheduled to meet them?"
"...You'll die. They aren't the kind of people a mere student can mess with."
"Is that so?"
I smiled, releasing a surge of wild dark mana. Victor's expression instantly shifted.
"...Fine."
"Leave the Academy as quickly as possible. You can manage that much, right?"
"I was planning to anyway! If I hadn't agreed to meet you here today, I'd be packing my bags right now..."
Olivia stamped her feet in frustration, unable to accept this.
"Are you saying you're just going to let these bastards go?"
"Of course. Did you really think I called you guys out here just to catch a small fry like him?"
I only needed to confirm Victor's role in this incident. But he was nothing more than an exile from Silverfall.
Having received the information from Victor, I nodded slowly.
"Now, we have no time to rest. Let's move."
"Where are we..."
The Academy needed a much better scapegoat.
"Conrad."
Someone who was cleanly, undeniably evil, and possessed significant power.