The Good Pingchang Is a Dead Pingchang (2)
The academy was in an uproar from the crack of dawn. Three freshman heroes had been murdered in perfect harmony. The one who killed them? A single classmate. The irony was that after slaughtering all three, he had walked straight to the authorities and turned himself in.
The professors and instructors immediately escalated the matter to the headmaster. The headmaster, who had been enjoying a leisurely breakfast, stopped mid-bite the moment he heard about the murders and rushed straight to the scene.
“Haa… Why did this have to happen while I’m here, of all times?”
“This is driving me insane… Ugh.”
—
Step. Step.
Ian was currently being escorted to the underground prison on the instructors’ orders. The Hero Academy uniquely possessed an underground dungeon. Built with the intention of making students reflect on their mistakes, it had seen heavy use in the past. In modern times, however, it had become little more than a useless eyesore. The reason was simple: once the academy switched to a merit-and-demerit point system, the prison lost its purpose.
Still, it was used on rare occasions—when someone committed an offense that went beyond what the point system could handle. Murder fell squarely into that category.
That was why Ian now found himself descending into the underground prison. He looked around with a completely blank, dazed expression, thinking, So this place was here all along.
The instructor escorting him shot him a disapproving glare and urged him to move faster. Unable to resist the pressure, Ian reached the deepest level of the underground prison, where the interrogation began immediately.
And it wasn’t just any interrogation. The headmaster himself was conducting it.
“So, your name is Ian. Correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll ask you directly. Why did you kill them? Did you have a grudge?”
“They drew their blades on me and tried to kill me. All three of them at once.”
“…Hmm. Then how are you still alive? You should be dead.”
“I’m just… a bit skilled.”
“Hmm… You barely scraped into the academy with a ranking of 500 out of 500 at the entrance exam, and yet you claim to be skilled…”
The headmaster spoke while flipping through the evaluation sheets he had received from the other professors.
“…It’s true that you’ve grown remarkably stronger recently.”
“Still, this is far too abnormal. To become this strong in such a short time… Hmm…”
The headmaster set the papers down and stared at Ian with serious eyes.
“You didn’t happen to make a contract with a demon, did you?”
“Pfft… Puhahahahaha!”
“Do you find this situation funny?”
The headmaster materialized his mana and threatened Ian with it. Ian simply reached out, grabbed the condensed mana with his bare hand, and shattered it.
Chakra — Mana Nullification
“Wh… What…? You made my mana… disappear…?”
The headmaster shot up from his seat and glared at Ian.
“You bastard… Are you truly connected to a demon?!”
Ian laughed as if the headmaster’s reaction was the funniest thing he had ever seen.
“Why are you so surprised over something this small? I even cut through that girl’s magic—what was her name again? Rosemary? Petella? This is nothing.”
The headmaster paused for a moment, deep in thought, then slowly sat back down. He quickly wrote a letter, and the finished document vanished into thin air. Then he wrote another letter on golden stationery, and that one disappeared as well.
“Just in case, I’ve requested an inquisitor from the heresy tribunal. If you truly have no connection to demons, you will submit to their investigation.”
“Fine by me. But this place is way too damp. Can I be moved somewhere else?”
“Heh heh… It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone as brazen as you. You remind me of that child…”
“…Very well. I’ll let you out of here. You will remain under house arrest in the dormitory.”
“Until the inquisitors arrive, you are free to move about as you wish.”
“By the way, what was that golden letter you wrote earlier?”
“That is none of your concern. Now go.”
Ian tilted his head in confusion but stood up anyway. He made his way back to the surface. The moment he emerged, he headed straight for the plaza. The headmaster watched his retreating figure from behind.
As he observed Ian standing before the angel statue as if in prayer, the headmaster thought to himself:
Could that boy truly be connected to a demon?
He looks so devout… I just don’t know. This is difficult… so difficult…
Raphael… A child who resembles you now stands before me. Is this fate as well?
Today, I miss you terribly… Raphael…
After a brief moment of reflection, the headmaster returned to his office.
—
At that same moment, Ian—
“Uwaaaaaah! What am I supposed to do now?! I think I went way too far…”
“A heresy inquisitor… That terrifying existence is coming for me. What the hell am I supposed to do?!”
“Am I going to get dragged away and tortured? Or maybe…”
“First of all, everything you did was correct. A true hero needs to have that kind of guts.”
“In my eyes, you were born to be a hero. Keep living like that from now on.”
“You have to stand strong, or people will look down on you.”
“Still, to act that way even toward the headmaster… Pfft… Puhahahahaha!”
Ian’s face turned bright red like a tomato.
“Heh heh heh. You really are something else, Ian. Hahaha!”
“Ahem… Please stop laughing, Master.”
“Ah, yes, yes. I once acted exactly the same way toward the headmaster back in my day.”
“It brings back old memories…”
“Master…”
Ian stared quietly at the statue.
“When the inquisitors arrive, they will most likely investigate the exact spot where you killed those idiots.”
“They can read the memories left in the earth, so the justification will be on your side.”
“And when they see that technique where you cut through magic… Tsk…”
“Yeah. Just say you learned it in a dream.”
“Huh? Suddenly? Will they actually believe me if I say I learned it in a dream?”
“Aigoo, Ian. Use your head. Use your head.”
“If you tell them my name, they’ll believe you without question.”
“I used to be a heresy inquisitor myself, after all.”
“…Huh? Really? But then why did you become a supporter for a hero party…?”
“That was by order of the Pope. It was actually pretty fun back then.”
“My real name is Raphael. Raphael.”
“So that’s your real name, Master…”
“Just tell them you learned it from me in your dreams. Add some appropriate seasoning.”
“Umm… How much should I embellish it?”
“I’ll leave that to your imagination. I’m terrible at that sort of thing.”
“Once you mention my name, word will probably reach the heroes as well.”
“Or maybe the headmaster already took care of it in advance.”
“What you need to focus on is buying time so that those idiots’ families can’t interfere with this incident. That’s your job.”
“Absolutely do not meet with them. Understood?”
“Yes! Understood!”
“Good, good. See you again tomorrow.”
Ian bowed to me and left. Hmm… He should be fine, right? I think I told him everything he needs to know. Well, Ian will figure it out on his own.
—
On the very day the heresy inquisitors arrived at the Hero Academy, Ian was fast asleep in his dormitory. While he was enjoying a deep, peaceful slumber, the sound of the front door being smashed open jolted him awake.
“Uwaaah? Who is it…?”
The sudden intrusion snapped Ian wide awake. He stared at the people who had burst in.
“Are you Ian?”
“Y-yes… But who are you…?”
“…We are the heresy inquisitors. Since you didn’t come out, we had to break the door. Apologies.”
“We thought you might have run away.”
Witnessing the inquisitors’ rough attitude from the very start, Ian began to hiccup uncontrollably.
“Hic— I didn’t run away.”
“I can see that.”
“Then come with us to the scene of the incident.”
Ian and the inquisitors began to move together. Ian walked alongside them, feeling the eerie aura they gave off. They soon arrived at the location of the murders.
The moment they reached the spot, the inquisitors cast their spell.
"Reveal to us the memories of the earth."
"Reveal—"
⟨ Memory of the Land ⟩
As the inquisitors chanted in unison, vapor rose from the ground and began replaying the events that had taken place there. The inquisitors discussed among themselves, searching for any signs of demonic involvement.
That was when the critical scene appeared—the moment Ian sliced a fireball clean in half with his sword.
The oldest inquisitor among them spoke a single word.
“…Rael…?”
All the inquisitors around him froze, holding their breath.
“……!”
They suddenly rushed toward Ian and demanded,
“Young hero. Who taught you this skill?”
“We expect you to speak the truth. If it is a lie… well, use your imagination.”
“…I learned it in a dream.”
“A dream? Are you mocking us right now?”
“Do you understand that you are currently under suspicion of being connected to a demon?”
“I will ask one more time. Who taught you?”
“…I really did learn it in a dream. I’ve been having the same dream for the past month.”
“And then an angel appeared and taught me.”
The inquisitor suddenly burst into laughter, then immediately turned deadly serious.
“I see… Heroes always come with lies, don’t they…”
“I will make you speak the truth.”
Step. Step.
He slowly approached Ian and stopped right in front of him.
“Any last words?”
“I wasn’t lying! And that person introduced themselves as Raphael!!”
—
The inquisitor froze.
“Rapha… el…?”
Shing—
The inquisitor drew his sword and pointed it at me.
“Do you even understand what you just said?”
“…I’m telling the truth!!”
“Then block my blade with that magic-cutting sword of yours.”
A razor-sharp slash flew toward me. I instinctively used chakra to completely annihilate the sword strike.
“…It really… It really is you…”
“Raphael… You always manage to surprise us. Even after you disappeared…”