Omen (1)

"I'd like a rough explanation of the situation."

We stood before the headmaster in his utterly desolate office, faces tight with tension. The bookshelves were all cold metal, as if any ornamentation would be an extravagance, while a single wooden desk sat in the center like a half-hearted attempt to preserve some warmth. Urd Destin lounged there with a sullen expression, legs crossed, staring at Dorothy, me, and Shub as he demanded answers.

He shifted his gaze to Dorothy, closed his mouth, and simply watched her, clearly expecting her to explain.

"There were movements in the mana that suggested a gate was about to open."

Dorothy spoke as if proud of having confirmed the omen. The headmaster seemed fully aware of the secret missions she'd been carrying out.

"And that justifies dragging Cain and Shub along with you?"

"..."

I watched Dorothy swallow hard, then glanced at Shub. She had every right to feel wronged, yet she simply stared at the headmaster without saying a word.

"Hmm... Disciplinary Committee Chair. Have you been making good use of the mana detection I taught you?"

When Dorothy remained silent, the headmaster changed the subject. He taught her mana detection? So she hadn't known it from the beginning? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But the headmaster character was never even mentioned in the game. He was the one who took Dorothy in... and taught her all those techniques... In exchange for letting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her attend the academy for free, he made her handle gates. Secretly. Without telling anyone. And then there was how professionally she'd reported during the last battle.

"Why would you assign something so dangerous to a senior?"

"Cain."

I couldn't hold back anymore and glared at the headmaster. For a split second, surprise flickered across Dorothy's normally expressionless face. The headmaster turned to me without changing his expression at all.

"Bad timing or not, we're still students. Even people far more capable than us are struggling with the Otherworld invasion, so why..."

"...As far as I know, you grew up in an ordinary household and never once encountered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠any Otherworld monsters."

The implication was clear: How the hell do you know about any of this?

But fuck. It was honestly ridiculous. What the hell were they doing, pushing this kind of work onto a kid?

"I picked up bits and pieces around the academy. And Shub only happened to be passing by. She saved us when we were in danger. She wasn't with us from the start."

"C...Cain?"

Shub turned to me with wide eyes. Honestly, she had every right to feel wronged, but seeing her stay quiet made me want to help her out a little.

The headmaster stared at me for a moment longer with that same unreadable face, then let out a deep sigh and waved one hand at Shub.

"Shub. You can go. I'll hear the rest of the story from these two."

"Uh... you're just accepting that so easily?"

What, he buys it just because I said so? Is this guy a total pushover? Maybe I should offer to be his guarantor or something?

As that thought crossed my mind, Urd frowned deeply, as if he'd read it straight off my face.

"You're making the face of someone who wants to borrow money. Sorry, but I'm very strict about my transactions."

"If I'd known you had such a great sense of humor, I would've come to visit much sooner."

"..."

"Ahem."

The headmaster gave a displeased cough and rose from his seat, walking toward us. He told Shub they'd talk later, sent her on her way, then smirked at me.

"I don't know about funny, but I know I'm an asshole. You like tea? Coffee?"

"...You're a lot more interesting than I expected."

He seems like he'd actually be a ridiculously fun person.

"...Coffee for me, please."

"Good. I already know Dorothy's preference. Cain, what's yours?"

"Vanilla latte."

I answered with my favorite without thinking, then quickly shut my mouth and tried to change it to anything. The headmaster smirked, poured the coffee, and floated the cups over to us with magic.

"It's just well-brewed drip coffee. The aroma's decent, so give it a try."

Urd pulled up a chair and sat across from us, savoring his coffee. He had a strangely approachable aura for someone so powerful. A bit interesting, too.

Dorothy had explained things in a businesslike tone, but it felt like she was only doing it because it was her job.

"Headmaster. I'm certain I already submitted a separate report..."

"Hmm~ Did you? I've been so busy lately, you know."

At Urd's shameless denial, Dorothy's ears turned bright red. That was her angry look. Seeing it, he gave a faint smile and took another sip of coffee.

"You asked why I gave that child such an important mission, right?"

"Ah, yes."

"I can't give you the full details, but... at the very least, it's because she possesses the perfect qualities to protect this academy. I hope that explanation will suffice."

Her mana detection skill alone made her excellent at noticing irregularities. With that ability, she could easily locate gates across the vast Moira Island.

I nodded ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to show I more or less understood. Honestly, explaining this much to a first-year was probably a significant concession on the headmaster's part. Destin Academy ran on absolute meritocracy. The fact that he hadn't gotten angry even after I, a D-class student, questioned him like that was noteworthy in itself.

"Now that I think about it, Cain. You've grown quite a bit since then."

"Ah, thank you so much for your help back then."

"Back then~?"

"You know about the magic weapon that went berserk, right? You were the one who saved me, Headmaster."

"Hmm~ Look at him pretending not to notice while worrying so much."

Urd didn't react to Dorothy's teasing. Instead, he stood up and began circling me, examining me from every angle. It felt like he was scanning something deep inside me. After several rotations, he nodded.

"Still a frail body. Surviving in this harsh academy will continue to be difficult for you."

"Wow. You say that so casually even here."

"It means don't live like trash just because you are trash. You've been desperately struggling to survive."

Is he praising me or insulting me? Fuck...

"As Dorothy mentioned earlier, I had already received all the reports. I simply didn't expect a student named Shub to be involved."

"I was surprised too~ To think someone skilled enough to hide their presence from my mana detection was nearby."

Dorothy spoke in a relaxed, playful tone. She looked like a cat completely at ease, sprawled out in a warm spot. If you saw a cat melted into a sunny windowsill, it would probably look exactly like her right now.

"You obtained Rhea's Ring. Perfect for a weakling like you."

"Are you deliberately trying to piss me off? Or..."

"I'm an asshole by nature. And I don't see anything wrong with stating facts."

Another crazy bastard. Great.

My impression of the headmaster kept flipping every few seconds. It was almost enough to make me dizzy.

After thoroughly getting on my nerves, Urd suddenly tilted his head as if something had occurred to him.

"But why do you only have three attributes?"

"Sorry?"

"Hmm... Dorothy, step outside for a bit."

"Will a bit be enough?"

"Sigh... You can return to the dormitory. I'd appreciate a written report later, though."

"Yeees~"

Dorothy shot up from her seat like she'd been waiting for permission and practically fled the room. The headmaster let out a world-weary sigh and dropped back into his chair.

"That child... I took her in after she became the sole survivor of her village when she was young. In a way, she's like a daughter to me."

"Ah... then..."

"To be honest, I did make use of her desire for revenge to some extent. I can't heal her wounds, but I can at least serve as a painkiller."

He raised a finger toward the bookshelf. A book flew down from one of the highest shelves and landed in my hands.

"Take it. You must have many questions about that power of yours. This won't answer everything, but it should resolve some of them."

"This... is...?"

The book felt strange. It was quite old, yet the luxurious patterns engraved on it somehow maintained their shape perfectly. The cover kept flickering and glitching, like static on an old monitor.

I looked up at the headmaster in shock.

"You have no idea how much trouble I went through to obtain that. I've lived a long time despite how I look, but that was the first time something gave me so much difficulty."

"Uh... but can I actually read this?"

"The moment you read it, you'll get dragged into tremendous events."

"Huh?"

No, fuck. Isn't this some kind of pyramid scheme? Who the hell would read something that warns you'll get caught up in insane shit the moment you open it? That's terrifying.

"Uh... then maybe I shouldn't..."

"But you wouldn't just sit back and watch the world end, would you?"

"No, that's why I shouldn't..."

"Weren't you the one who pretended to search for Rhea's Ring while secretly going off alone to handle an Otherworld gate?"

"Shi..."

"Indeed. Great power comes with great responsibility. What a model student."

"..."

"But I don't like people working for free like that. As I said before, I prefer fair exchanges."

Urd snapped his fingers. A luxurious sheet of parchment and a fountain pen appeared before my eyes.

"Now then, let's make a deal."

"A... deal?"

"Yes. That book is a little service to facilitate this transaction. I'll state my conditions first. Look them over and revise them as you see fit."

He moved his finger, and the pen began writing on its own.

"This is... completely overpowered. It feels like you're the one losing out on this deal..."

"The responsibility that comes with it is equally heavy."

"Did you make this kind of contract with Senior Dorothy too?"

"It would've been better for her if I had."

"Hmm..."

Ah, fuck. I feel like I've been properly hooked.

"I've already signed it, so read it carefully and think it over. Whether you accept this contract is entirely up to you."

The headmaster turned his attention back to his documents as if the matter was settled and waved me off.

"Read that book carefully during this semester as well. You'll probably understand what you need to do better than anyone."

"Sigh... You're really skilled at saying things in the most confusing way possible."

"That's the only thing age improves. Now get out."

I was practically chased out of the headmaster's office.

Should I organize my thoughts? More importantly, had Shub le Ruelle been exposed to the gate's influence?

The magical power of a gate has a massive effect on the demon race. The finale of Act 1 was still quite far off, but Shub's unexpected appearance meant I had no idea how things would develop from here.

I bit my lip lightly.

The game's flow was already starting to twist, little by little, right from the early stages.

"All because of one NPC who doesn't even appear in the game?"

It was nothing but questions. Pure, endless questions.