Conscience

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"Haaah…."

Fucking academy bastards.

Lim Sol muttered the words into the plush of her VIP seat.

Hooking Ho-yeon up with a proper prize had been the right call. It had eased her conscience, and seeing a student who'd bled for it receive a real reward from his teacher — from an adult who ought to know better — had felt good. The problem was that the whole thing had ballooned far past anything she'd intended.

The commendation ceremony had swollen to a scale that required every academy professor in attendance, Lim Sol included. And wherever that many important people gathered, tedious obligations followed.

"It's been some time, Professor Lim Sol."

Some old man drifted over and struck up a conversation. She had no desire to answer him, but he was one of the academy's major patrons. She couldn't exactly tell him to get lost. In the grand scheme of things, this was a man who funded her research.

"Yes. It has."

"First time since that Magic Society presentation, isn't it? A truly impressive lecture. And how is your research coming along these days…?"

Lim Sol hated pointless conversation, but she knew it was a necessary evil, so she gritted her teeth and kept it going. After a string of equally empty greetings and a few lingering, filthy looks from men old enough to know better, the fatigue started to settle in her bones.

"God, these senile old fucks… It won't be long now."

The day she would wipe the smiles off those idiot magicians who valued seniority over actual results was drawing close. The new method of mana operation Ho-yeon had shown her — once she finished organizing it, she would present the findings at the Magic Society. And when that day came… she would finally stand at a height where she no longer had to watch anyone else's face.

Someone dropped into the seat beside her.

"Solaaa~. Long time no see~?"

"Huh?"

The familiar, overly intimate voice made Lim Sol turn her head. An equally familiar face occupied the seat next to hers.

Min Yeji.

At a glance she looked delicate, almost fragile — but those narrow, tapered eyes carried a sly, unsettling heat. Lim Sol felt it every time they met. This woman was dangerous. They exchanged favors often enough, but she was still the kind of person who left you feeling like you'd signed something you shouldn't have.

"Why didn't you get back to me? I sent you that write-up on the business idea."

"You are not seriously calling that garbage a business proposal."

"Why not? Just picture Lim Sol in a bikini casting spells — the advertising value alone…"

"Shut up. I will kill you."

That deranged energy. That was exactly why Min Yeji was so exhausting to deal with.

"Aww, why are you like this? We're close. Do you have to say scary things like that?"

"Haaah…."

Lim Sol watched Min Yeji flash an easy, foxlike smile and loop an arm through hers, and began seriously considering how to dispose of this lunatic.

Fortunately, even Min Yeji quieted down once the event got underway. Lim Sol let out a breath and turned her attention to the stage.

It opened with awards for outstanding cadets. Everyone knew the real highlights were the commendations for the hunters who'd suppressed the Gate and the cadets who'd taken down a Demon. The outstanding-cadet medals were filler — padding to give an otherwise awkward ceremony some shape.

"The kids aren't bad. The Student Council President especially — I'd believe you if you told me she was already active-duty."

"Well. It is Mun Su-rin we're talking about."

Lim Sol had heard plenty about Mun Su-rin's talent. Different field, so she'd never paid it much mind.

A gold gleam flickered through Min Yeji's eyes.

"Hmm. Nobody up there looks like they'd turn a profit, though."

"…You're sizing up children for money now?"

"Sol. There's nothing left in this world once you take the money out of it."

Min Yeji was smiling when she said it. The air around her was not.

After the outstanding-cadet awards came a slog of empty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pomp, and only once that was finally over did the real commendations begin.

"A-young's getting an award…"

"You're acquainted with the Saintess too?"

Unlike Lim Sol, Min Yeji still worked in the field. Her network ran wide.

"She comes by our guild as a helper all the time. She was there for the last raid, even."

"Mm. Well. It is the Iron Blood Guild."

Finally.

Lim Sol locked her eyes on the corridor the recipients would come through. A moment later, Lee Ho-yeon and Lucy climbed onto the stage, both of them looking faintly awkward. A smile rose to Lim Sol's mouth before she could stop it.

"Ahh… so that's the disciple you've been playing favorites with lately?"

"W-what? How did you know?!"

"How? You've been staring a hole through him. Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

Min Yeji snorted at Lim Sol's flustered face and turned back toward the podium.

"Ho-yeon, is it? Let's see just how special the cadet our little Sol is so fond of really is~."

"Haaah… you, stop doing weird shit and…"

Gold light flared in Min Yeji's eyes before Lim Sol could finish. The easy grin slid off her face, replaced by something sharp and focused.

"…That kid. He'd be worth some money."

The look in Min Yeji's eyes had become the look of something that had just spotted prey. Lim Sol waved a hand in front of her face, breaking her line of sight.

"Hey. Don't even think about it. That's my student."

"Okay, okay. I'll try not to."

"No — don't try. Don't touch him at all!"

"Aww, Sol~! Why are you being like this with me~?"

"Aagh!"

"Didn't think I'd find this here…."

The Rune Clan.

They'd appeared in the original game. Their specialty was barriers. Born with a mana structure built exclusively for barrier work, they were raised from childhood on nothing else, their mana forms locked into that single purpose. Which made their barriers the strongest in existence — and the worst. Dangerous enough, in the end, that the entire bloodline was erased from history.

My reason for wanting to learn their barrier magic was simple. As the story moved forward, I was going to run into Rune Clan barriers constantly — because one of the major villains was a surviving member of the clan.

The last time I'd faced Felix, dismantling the mid-grade barrier he'd thrown up had taken me about a minute. In a game, that minute might not have mattered. The script would have accounted for it. This was reality. A few minutes spent cracking a high-level barrier could be the difference between a heroine living and dying. Shaving even a little time off that was worth doing.

And I wasn't trying to save just one of them. If the academy terrorist attack played out the way it did in the story, I might have to pull every heroine out at once. Learning Rune Clan barrier magic for faster dismantling wasn't optional. Weapons and artifacts I could buy whenever I had the cash.

There was one more important point. Barriers had excellent soundproofing.

If I wanted to maintain… amicable relations with the heroines, that was non-negotiable.

In any case, I walked out of the treasure vault carrying the Secret Manual of the Rune Clan, which to any casual observer looked like a piece of tattered garbage. Unfortunately, showing up with trash did not earn me a second pick. The Dean just asked why I'd chosen it. When I told him it was for magical research, all I got was a muttered like professor, like student.

Shame.

Lucy went in shortly after and came out about ten minutes later with an orb in her hands. I was pretty sure that thing boosted mana circulation. I could have used it — but I had a feeling the Rune Clan manual was something I would only ever find here, so I'd had to let it go.

"I hope you chose well. Fortune favor your days at the academy."

"Thank you."

We'd gotten everything we were going to get. We said our goodbyes and left the Dean's office.

"Man, I'm starving. Want to grab something to eat before we head back? We can call Rumi too."

It was already lunchtime. The ceremony had eaten the entire morning, and we had afternoon classes, so the window was tight.

"Lucy?"

No answer. I turned around. Lucy was standing exactly where she'd stopped, her head bowed.

"…Ho-yeon."

"Yeah?"

What was this? Her face had gone stiff.

"Take this."

She rummaged through her pocket and held out the mana orb she'd taken from the vault.

"Hey, what are you doing? That's yours. Use it."

"I-it's fine. I didn't even do anything."

"Still… you were the one who received it…"

That was when I noticed. The arm holding out the orb was trembling.

"Lu— Lucy? What's wrong?"

I caught her by the shoulders and looked at her face. Tears were welling in her eyes. The shaking that had started in her arm spread through her whole body, and the mana orb slipped from her fingers and rolled across the floor.

"H-Ho-yeon… I'm so tired. Whenever I think about that day — about Felix — I get so scared, and everything goes dark. Every time I look at this orb I'm going to see him. I… I don't want to be tied to any of this anymore…"

Lucy stared at the orb on the floor like it might lunge at her, then covered her streaming face with both hands and sank down, sobbing.

"…"

She'd been so quiet I'd thought she was fine. I hadn't expected it to be this bad. Nothing like this had shown up on her heroine status window. Probably because the guilt she felt toward me had outweighed how much she hated Felix.

"It's okay, Lucy. It's okay. Felix is already dead. You're okay…"

"Hhhk… w-why did that have to happen to me, why… why me…?"

"…"

I took her weeping hands in mine and looked up at the sky. She had a frame too slight for someone who'd already come of age — small enough that I could nearly gather her whole shoulder in one hand. This woman was not a heroine in a game. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠She was a cadet who should have spent her academy years brighter than anyone.

I was the one who'd ruined that.

The fact that I had carved an indelible trauma into a girl this pure sat in my gut like a stone. I hated the piece-of-shit calculation that had made me do it — a little more affection, a little more dependence, a little faster — and I wanted to go back and undo it.

But even now, my Clear Mind was advising me to say the most effective thing available. And I followed that advice.

"…It's okay, Lucy. I'll protect you from now on. I'll protect you forever."

A warm, obvious comfort. I held her tighter. It was the most efficient way to raise her affection.

"Hhk… hhhk. Ho-yeooon… hhk…"

Lucy buried her face in my chest and cried fat, ugly tears. They soaked through my cadet uniform and left a damp patch against my skin.

"…"

I felt filthy. The sky above us was a hard, cloudless blue.

I don't know how long I held her. Eventually the tears stopped, and she pulled away with bloodshot eyes.

"Ah— aah. Sorry. I just got sad all of a sudden. Yeah. I'm fine, so don't worry. I'm gonna head off first today."

She fanned her face furiously with one hand and forced the corners of her mouth up.

"Lucy, wait—"

"Don't come."

The hand I'd been reaching toward her stopped in the air.

"Don't come… Tomorrow. Let's meet tomorrow like none of this happened. Okay? Promise?"

"…Yeah. See you tomorrow."

At that pleading little request, I quietly nodded.

I wasn't in the mood to eat, so I headed for a private room in the training hall.

Afternoon class was Magical Analysis — reverse-engineering spells and dismantling barriers. Whether Lucy would even show up, after everything she'd just wanted to prove, was an open question. Still. I wanted the Rune Clan's secret techniques fully internalized before I walked into that classroom.

"Haaah. Okay. So the mana structure that forms a barrier is a chain of hexagons, and… ah, fuck."

I couldn't focus for shit. Clear Mind usually kept my emotions on a short leash no matter what happened. This time it was hitting harder than usual.

"Again. Link the hexagonal mana forms and distribute the force evenly… okay."

Talking it out loud was just to settle my nerves. I'd already mapped the entire structure. The magic circles, the methods of mana operation — all of it was written down. With my talent, there was no world in which I couldn't learn it.

"Still. Good pick. Practical, too."

In my left hand I was also holding a mana-operation orb.

"Mermaid's Tear…"

Tear. Something about the name sat wrong with me.

A chime sounded from my smartwatch.

"What? That's not a regular message tone."

"…The hell is this."

Honestly, there had been a time when I needed the money. These days I had a reliable cash printer running, so I was fine… but you never knew. Might as well reply.

I'd think it over properly after class and send something then.

Training was more or less done, so I left the hall and headed back toward the classroom building. There were still more than thirty minutes before class, and the lecture hall was nearly empty.

"Ho-yeon?"

"Rumi. You're early."

True to her honor-student habits, she'd apparently been camped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out here for the last half hour.

"Yes. Oh — Lucy said she suddenly isn't feeling well, so she can't make it to class. Hnng."

"…I see. Hope she's all right. I should check in with her later."

"Yes, yes. You should."

I sat down and looked at the face watching mine. She looked astonishingly like Lucy. No — they were nearly identical. You told them apart by hair color, clothes, expression. The base itself might as well have been the same plate.

That was the "setting," after all.

"Is there something on my face?"

Hnn.

Rumi brushed her fingers over her cheek, looking at me.

I swallowed.

Lust hit me without warning. I wanted to take Rumi — who wore Lucy's face — and use her however I pleased, wreck her, pour every homeless, directionless hunger I had into that slender body.

"Rumi…"

"Yes?"

Thirty minutes before class. Dirty thoughts were clearly the last thing on her mind.

"Come with me."

"Y-yes? What?"

I grabbed Rumi's hand without explanation and pulled her out of the lecture hall.

"H-Ho-yeon? Why are you suddenly — you don't look well, either… Ho-yeon?"

I ignored her and all but dragged her to the farthest restroom in the first-year classroom building, the one at the outer edge. I pulled her into the last stall of the men's room and raised a Rune Barrier.

A small, colorless barrier unfolded in silence. Complete and solid in an instant, it would let none of our sounds escape.

No point learning it if you didn't put it to use. Right?

"H-Ho-yeon? Wait a second. A-are you — right now?"

"Rumi. We're secret friends, aren't we?"

"We are. We are, but r-right now is… mph—!"

I pushed my tongue into Rumi's mouth and shut her up.