No Rights for the Dark Mage (3)
Two days before my academy suspension was to be lifted, I found myself standing at a deeply troubling crossroads.
'Originally, I had planned to subject him to some classic military-style gaslighting.'
Miel was just that coveted of a talent. He had a superb innate sense for magic, single-handedly churning out enough earth-shaping magic for three people despite it not even being his specialty.
Dark magic was a discipline with a high floor but a low ceiling. In the game's lore, it was usually studied by talentless hacks who couldn't cut it elsewhere... but on rare occasions, there were those with a genuine affinity for dark magic who managed to shatter that ceiling.
'I suspected Miel might be one of those rare cases.'
I had never heard the name in the original game, but my instincts were screaming. This was not someone whose talent would stop here.
But then...
"P-please, just... don't do anything weird..."
"..."
...She was a girl?
So, up until now, I had been treating a young girl—who wasn't even that much younger than me—like this?
I had forced her to single-handedly pull an all-nighter on an excavation project that would normally require three earth mages—or more accurately, two hundred manual laborers.
I had threatened her at every opportunity, casually flicking the hilt of my sword.
And I had even forced the Necklace of Subjugation—a collar meant for beasts—around her neck?
...Deep within me, the morality and self-loathing of a modern-day human surged up violently.
'No, wait a minute!'
But I quickly shook my head, snapping myself back to reality. Now that I thought about it, why the hell should I feel guilty?
'I'm the victim here!'
Miel was the one who tried to kill me first. She was an accomplice in an assassination plot, working with my father to disable the treasury's traps and trying to send me to the afterlife with a hallucinatory succubus.
Exactly. It was her fault for crossdressing and deceiving me.
'Gender doesn't magically excuse everything.'
Having reached my verdict, I addressed Miel.
"From now on, all your sentences will end in formal military register. Short affirmations will be a sharp 'Sir!' Understood?"
"P-pardon, sir?"
"Tsk! I said, short affirmations are unified as 'Sir!'"
I was sticking to the script: full-blown sergeant mode. As I glared and barked the order, Miel, who had been slumped on the floor, practically leaped into the air.
"S-Sir! Understood, sir!"
"Look at that pathetic voice. Is that the spirit of the dark mage who controlled the Sword Spirit? Stand up straight!"
"Sir! Standing straight, sir!"
Her chest-bound body sprang up like a coiled wire, snapping into a stiff, awkward attention. It was almost pitiful to see her frozen solid, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
'But I am a firm believer in gender equality.'
Especially with only two days left until my academy suspension was lifted. What I needed right now was a loyal private who would react to my orders on pure instinct.
"From this moment on, I will completely purge you of your rotten, deceitful nature and that gloomy, dark mage mindset. Do you understand?"
"Sir! Understood, sir!"
"Good response. Now, keep this in mind."
I stepped right up to her nose, putting on a solemn expression, and whispered in a low voice.
"From now on, you are not a girl, nor a dark mage, nor a street orphan. You are merely my subordinate, acting as my hands and feet. Any complaints?"
"N-None, sir...!"
"Louder!"
"Sir! None, sir!"
Miel's eyes, filled with resentment and despair, shook wildly with nowhere to look. Crushing one's ego and replacing it with highly efficient obedience—the classic Korean military-style gaslighting. There was no better or faster way to domesticate someone.
I flashed a highly satisfied smile and pointed to the mountain of loot piled in the corner of the room.
"Then, Private... no, Subordinate Miel."
"Sir!"
"Go sort the artifacts by attribute, and grade the spiritual herbs by their age before putting them on display. Dismissed."
"...Sir! Executing orders, sir!"
Once upon a time, there was a classic game called MapleStory. While wandering around a city in that game called Kerning City, I had once read a rather memorable line.
It went: "Excessive abuse of potions is actually good for your health."
It was a statement that was absolutely, one hundred percent correct.
You have consumed the Ten-Thousand-Year Fleeceflower.
The mana in your core has been slightly purified.
You have consumed the White Spirit Herb.
The density of your compressed combat muscles has increased.
You have consumed the Steel Lotus Herb...
If I were to adapt that quote to my current situation:
'Excessive abuse of spiritual herbs is actually good for your mana.'
Perhaps because my body had reached 3-Star rank, even my digestive system had become abnormally robust. My rate of digestion and absorption was practically on par with a black hole.
'At this rate, I'll probably absorb all of this in about a month.'
Feeling my mana pool fill up with sweet, satisfying energy, I picked up my next target: the secret manuals left behind by the family's founder.
*Whoosh.* After casually flipping through the pages, I ruthlessly tossed the secret manual directly onto a candle flame.
Crimson flames instantly devoured the parchment.
"Hieeeek?! Y-Young Master?! Why are you burning the family's secret manual?!"
Miel threw down her broom and shrieked in horror. No matter how much of a slave she had become, as a mage, she apparently couldn't bear to watch a treasury of knowledge go up in smoke.
I watched the manual crumble into scattering ash and replied shamelessly,
"Why else? Destroying the evidence. Besides, I've already memorized it all."
"...What? You memorized all of that with just a single glance? That's impossible—"
"Military register."
"Sir! That is an impossible claim, sir!"
To be honest, I was a bit stunned myself. Part of it was undoubtedly due to my memory of playing the original game for ten thousand hours, but for some reason, the letters and the flow of mana I laid eyes on became perfectly engraved in my mind like a tattoo.
'Now that I think about it, it's kind of hilarious. For an extra villain, this body...'
The extra's body I had possessed might actually be surprisingly overpowered.
'Or maybe my willpower stat is abnormally high, and I'm receiving some kind of system correction?'
Either way, there was no better way to monopolize knowledge than memorizing it and erasing all traces. Call it the classic burn-after-reading meta.
"Hmm."
As I was neatly sorting the remaining artifacts into "useful" and "sell for a high price" piles, my gaze drifted over to Miel, who was vigorously scrubbing the floor.
With the headscarf and apron on, her dark magic tattoos were hidden, making her look quite fitting as the personal servant of a ducal young master.
"Here." I pulled out one of the sorted magic grimoires and tossed it right in front of her nose.
"O-Oh? Sir!"
Miel set down her rag, caught the magic book, and asked cautiously,
"What is this, sir?"
"Something to erase any trace of you being a dark mage."
"...Why, sir?"
"Because it's a much higher-grade disguise magic than the one you're currently using."
"..."
Hearing my answer, Miel stroked the cover of the magic book, looking up at me with a face that still couldn't comprehend. Her eyes practically said, 'Why on earth are you making me learn something higher-grade?'
It was understandable. With her current level of magic, she probably thought she could get by in life without getting caught.
But that wasn't enough for what I had in mind.
"D-Don't tell me..."
The quick-witted Miel's face began to turn pale. Judging by her expression, she had accurately deduced my plan.
"Congratulations. Since you're from the streets, this will be your first time attending school, won't it?"
"W-Why on earth would you do that...?! The Academy's security is incredibly tight! If I make one wrong move, I'll be sent straight to the Inquisition!"
"That is exactly why I'm telling you to learn it, dummy."
"Fuck! Why do you keep giving me irrelevant ans—Aaaaargh?!"
"Oh."
The moment she tried to snap at me, the Necklace of Subjugation activated. She writhed on the floor from the tingling electric shock, looking absolutely thrilled to death. I had been slightly worried it might not work since it was so old, but it seemed I didn't need to worry...
*Creak.*
"Young Master, I heard your return to the Academy is just around the corner."
Just then, the door swung open without warning. I was startled, but seeing her face immediately brought a wave of relief. It had been a while since I'd seen those ash-gray locks.
'...Wait a minute.'
Why was Iris's expression so icy?
The answer was simple.
A young girl wearing a white headscarf and a pink apron was sprawled on the floor, her eyes rolled back, drool dripping from her mouth.
And there I was, watching her with a highly insidious smile on my face just a second ago.
"W-Wait a minute. I can explain everything."
"..."
It was a situation ripe for a massive misunderstanding, no matter who looked at it.
...A cold sweat trickled down my spine. I hurriedly opened my mouth to clarify.
"L-Lady Iris. This looks incredibly bad, but let me explain. This child is—"
"I came to bid you farewell before leaving for the North... but you have truly baffling tastes, Young Master."
"It's not a taste! She is just my subordinate—"
"Ah. A maid-slave roleplay..."
"Let me finish my sentence, please!"
This was driving me insane! As I let out a heavy sigh, Iris raised a hand to cut me off.
"...Mph?"
"It is fine. You do not need to explain any further."
Did she understand? As expected of a Swordmaster, her perception was on another level.
"With someone of your caliber, Young Master, it is only natural to have a hidden mistress or two. Under Imperial law, nobles are permitted to have multiple wives, so it is not my place to interfere."
...I was going to have a stroke. While I clutched the back of my neck, Miel, who had barely recovered from the collar's electric shock, pushed herself up, trembling.
"Heh, hehe..."
Wiping the drool from her mouth, she smirked at me maliciously, clearly enjoying the predicament I was in. Seeing her face made my blood boil. I'd have to make sure she learned what happened when I turned up the voltage on that collar later...
"Furthermore, it is truly fine."
Suddenly, Iris shrugged her shoulders, a strange look of triumph washing over her face.
"Since she poses absolutely no threat to me anyway."
"...?"
Both Miel and I stared at her with question marks practically floating above our heads. Ignoring my bewildered gaze, Iris swept her eyes over Miel, who was still sprawled on the floor, and curled one side of her lips upward.
"Pfft."
"W-What? Why are you suddenly laughing?"
"Pfft."
"...?"
Iris's gaze was not meeting Miel's eyes.
"I respect you. I make it a rule never to pick a fight I cannot win."
"What does that—"
*Rustle.* Iris subtly puffed out her chest, emphasizing the heavy, voluptuous curves hidden beneath her slim training robes.
...A few seconds of heavy silence followed. It didn't take long for Miel to grasp Iris's underlying meaning.
"...Why, you absolute bitch."
*Rumble!* Miel slowly stood up, her mana flaring to life.
"Oh? So you were a dark mage? Your vulgar tongue certainly matches that of a stray alley cat."
"You absolute cow...!"
"P-Please, both of you, calm down!"
Two days before my academy suspension was lifted. Even before returning to school, things were already proving to be incredibly difficult.