The Commander's Return
The reception ended, and the next day dawned with a different route than before. Instead of the usual path, I headed straight for the Sword Department lecture hall at the academy.
Upon arriving, the lively chatter that had filled the room a moment ago died down in an instant. The students who had been deep in conversation now sat in silence, staring at me as if waiting for something to happen.
“...”
I had already anticipated their reaction, so I paid it no mind and made my way toward a quiet corner of the lecture hall.
Before I could take a single step, however, someone blocked my path. It was not Dia, but someone far more unexpected.
“...What?”
“Could... could you spare me a moment?”
Her words hung in the air. I turned my gaze to the clock on the right wall, then answered her with a cool, indifferent tone.
“The lecture is about to begin. I’m sorry. I don’t want to be an inconvenience in this second life, either.”
After everything that happened to you before, I suppose. I have no intention of repeating those mistakes.
Dia’s entire body trembled the moment she heard my words, as if she had finally grasped their hidden meaning. I watched her with no trace of emotion and walked right past her, leaving the lecture hall behind.
Only moments after I took my seat, Professor Erina of the Sword Department walked in.
“...!”
She spotted me sitting there and let out a brief show of surprise, but quickly recovered her composure and addressed the students.
“Last class had some unpleasant incidents, but the academy will soon uncover the full story. Please remain calm and focus on your lessons.”
She then began to explain the fundamentals of swordsmanship with perfect calm. Yet even as she spoke, her eyes kept darting toward me, filled with suspicion. That gaze left me with an inexplicable sense of unease.
‘Well, the fact that I showed up and something like this happened isn’t exactly strange, is it?’
Still, the thought that the woman I had once considered kind might now be wary of me stung. It was a bitter reminder that even someone as indifferent as I was could provoke such reactions.
As I listened to the lecture, the time eventually came to a close. Just as I was about to stand, I noticed Erina gesture for me to come forward.
“Dullahan student, could I have a moment of your time? I have something to discuss with you.”
“A moment, you say?”
I turned to the clock and nodded slowly.
“Sure. Missing one lecture won’t change much anyway... All right.”
“Then let’s not stay here. It wouldn’t do for others to see us.”
She rose and stepped out into the hallway. I followed without hesitation. The sight of Dia watching us with a pained expression was none of my concern.
‘I wonder what she wants to talk about. How should I handle this?’
{If it seems dangerous, I will take action immediately.}
‘No, I don’t mind you handling it for me... just don’t touch these people.’
She was probably suspicious of me because of what had happened to Seibal and his followers just a few days ago. After all, she must have already noticed something strange about Seibal by now, and...
‘I was rather calm that day, wasn’t I?’
{Based on your master’s behavior... I believe she’s guessed there’s some connection. The exact reason is unclear, but she doesn’t seem to have given a full statement yet.}
Per Pelican’s words, if Erina had reported on my actions that day, she wouldn’t have been able to escape the investigation so easily. The child of a prominent noble and a noble’s son, who had once clashed with a minor noble and suffered a grave injury—clearly, she had to take responsibility.
Yet no blame had been placed on me at all, meaning the evidence had been too weak. She had no choice but to let me go.
‘Then the only conclusion is that every student in that classroom and Professor Erina herself never properly reported what happened.’
{Hmm... It’s strange. Even after witnessing such a brutal scene, no one made a proper statement... as if someone had deliberately orchestrated it.}
‘Of course, Professor Erina wouldn’t have spoken out of her own volition. But if even the first-years failed to report it, they must have been under pressure. Could it have been you?’
{No way! I was right there in bed with you while you were sleeping, Master! How could I possibly—Oh no, I said too much!}
Right into my bed while I slept? And touching my body?
‘From today onward, if you ever touch my body again... No. Just stay a kilometer away. That’s what I think is best.’
{Awww... Nooo!! That’s so unfair!!}
‘...But how far exactly did you touch?’
{...}
She fell silent, unable to answer. I watched her carefully, my tone icy as I continued.
Then, suddenly, the telepathy inside the jewel cut off, and our conversation ended completely.
I felt the surge of quiet fury rising within me and let out a hollow laugh, my expression twisted in disbelief.
“Haha... hahaha...”
“...What’s wrong? You’re looking rather unwell.”
“It’s nothing... I’m simply feeling the importance of education more intensely than ever.”
“R-really? Well, then... Welcome to my office. No one will disturb us here.”
Once we arrived at my residence, I had firmly decided to give Pelican a proper “education.” I stepped into Erina’s office and closed the door behind us. She sat in the chair opposite the desk, and I followed suit.
“Dullahan Franz, this question is purely out of my curiosity and concern. I won’t tell anyone else.”
“Is that so? Then... do you have a question for me? For example...”
Was it the magic used that day? Who wielded it?
Erina’s expression grew cold. She nodded once, then covered her face with both hands and spoke in a shaky voice.
“It was you after all. You killed those people with that magic... How could you even kill a human being?!”
“Before I answer, I have a question of my own. Do you truly believe those people were exactly the same as you, Professor Erina?”
“What do you mean by that? Your words sound as if you think you never treated those dead students as human beings!”
“Well, yes.”
Her anger flared. She slammed her fist on the desk and continued.
“To judge someone as worthless and kill them over such thoughts... That’s no excuse for taking a life! Are you insane?!”
“...Am I insane?”
“...What?”
I answered her furious outburst with perfect calm.
“The reason I listened silently to your words is because in your memory of the past, I once received your help.”
“W-wait... what do you—”
“You said it yourself. Why did you kill them? Simply because they were something that had to be eliminated. Garbage that could never be called human.”
“Just because they were born a little higher up and possessed a little more strength... Does that make them garbage, or some other term to describe the people they crushed beneath them?”
“What are you... saying?”
Erina stared at me in utter confusion. I glanced at her briefly before continuing.
“If I had no power at all... If I had been weaker than them... I would have been cut down by their blades that day, or I would have died from wounds I could never recover from.”
“...”
“If I hadn’t killed them... Have you ever thought about what would have happened to me?”
“That’s...”
“From the moment I touched the child of that noble, my life was already ruined. If they had lived and nursed their grudge against me...”
I had been a powerless extra, dependent on the backs of powerful nobles, and then abandoned by my own family. Looking back now, the future that awaited me was clear as day.
‘And I was already living that future.’
“They would have tried to destroy whatever little life I had left, wouldn’t they?”
“...How could anyone do something so horrible... That’s just too negative a view of the world...”
“Have I said everything I wanted to?”
She still looked at the world with a strangely optimistic gaze. I had nothing left to say, so I rose slowly.
Surprised by my sudden movement, she reached out to stop me. I opened the door with a cold parting remark.
“Whether my thinking is right or wrong, you’ll know in two weeks. I wonder what excuse you’ll make then.”
I left without carrying any ill will toward her. My anger wasn’t directed at her—it had been directed at the nobles who had once committed such acts.
Still, I had no reason to convince her right away. In two weeks, she would discover the truth of this academy for herself.
After that, I walked away from the bewildered Erina, leaving a final thought behind.
“Whether I tell my secret or not... you’ll know everything in two weeks. Decide for yourself.”
“...In two weeks?”
As I disappeared from the room, Erina spoke those words unconsciously, her voice heavy with meaning.
It had sounded like nonsense. Dullahan was nothing more than a murderer who killed students with magic.
That was why she had to report this truth to the nobles investigating the current incident.
Yet... something about the emotionless man she had just spoken with reminded her of the one person she remembered from her past.
Her only brother, who had rushed into the battlefield to save people, then abandoned everything and taken his own life.
[No matter how hard I struggled... as long as those warlords who started this conflict remained in power, this tragedy would never end.]
Those last words of his echoed in her mind as she heard Dullahan’s declaration that the world’s rulers were garbage. The decision she reached was one born not of reason, but of pure emotion.
She would decide in two weeks whether to confess everything.
Even as she made that choice, an inexplicable sense of unease filled her—wondering what would happen in two weeks. The conversation between Dullahan and Erina ended there.