Stepping on the Tail – Pachut!
A blue flash of lightning sparked, and the scenery before my eyes flipped. The familiar, drab staff room came into view.
"They've gotta have some diamonds, right?"
The Eastern Union Kingdom was a fairly wealthy nation. It wouldn't be surprising if luxury goods had hitched a ride with the merchant caravan.
With that thought in mind, I hung my cloak on the rack and changed into my professor's uniform.
"Wallet..."
5th Circle Space Magic
Dimensional Storage
I swept my left hand through the empty air, twisting space itself and revealing the items hidden within. I pulled out my wallet and stepped out of the building.
The Eastern Union Kingdom sector felt a bit different from the other academy zones. Unlike the rest of Arcana Academy, which followed imperial architecture, their dorms stuck to Eastern traditional styles.
Finding the caravan's location was easy. No need to hunt it down—the noisy chatter carried from afar.
It was Saturday, after all. The rare visiting merchants coinciding with a holiday had drawn a big crowd of students. Not just from the Eastern Union Kingdom, either; plenty of curious kids from other countries were milling about. Amid the uniformed students in cloaks, I spotted a few in adventurer gear—probably caravan staff. I approached one.
"Do you handle any jewelry, by chance?"
"Ah, yeah. Head to Wilson in A-17 sector; he's got some."
"Thanks."
Compared to other areas, A-17 was oddly quiet, just as the guide had said. Something felt off.
"Hm?"
Academy students were fresh-faced teens barely past seventeen. Most came from wealthy families, too. Girls especially should be right at that age where they're obsessed with accessories. No jewelers nearby, and opportunities like this didn't come often...
"...Why so few people?"
It didn't take long to figure out why. An inexplicable sense of unease hung in the air.
It wasn't overt. Just a vague urge whispering, Wouldn't it be better to go somewhere else? Subtle enough that no one else seemed to notice yet. Dismissing that impulse as "unease" felt too ambiguous to call it out.
But...
"Something's wrong."
Not for me. I remembered this feeling from three hundred years ago, right after the Maou War ended.
Even after the war's official close, not every black mage surrendered or vanished at once. Skirmishes dragged on for about a week. I joined the hunts for remnants, tracking those who'd slunk into society's shadows, following traces of black magic.
That's when I learned black magic's effect on humans went beyond disgust. It carried a subtle rejection—a prickling aversion, exactly like what I felt now.
"...A black mage infiltrator?"
I muttered under my breath, slipping a hand inside my cloak to grip the familiar handle of my revolver wand as I approached the merchant called "Wilson."
Only one stall in A sector sold gems. Peering over the sales counter, I called out.
"Hey, anyone there?"
A jolly-looking middle-aged merchant emerged—your classic pot-bellied, smiling trader uncle. But...
Something was off. His movements were unnaturally stiff for a human. And he kept glancing at me nervously. Then, decisively—
"If you're disguising as a civilian, you should've hidden that filthy aura."
Without hesitation, I drew my revolver and aimed at his arm. Before he could react, I pulled the trigger. A flash erupted, shearing off the limb.
"Gaaah!?"
He screamed, clutching the stump with his remaining arm. What oozed from the wound wasn't red blood, but pitch-black mana.
"Gotcha."
Guards came running half a beat later, drawn by the commotion.
"What happened!?"
"Ria, the new professor who started this year at the academy."
Keeping the gun trained on "Wilson's" head, I twisted slightly to flash the faculty insignia hidden under my cloak. Only then did the wariness fade from their eyes.
Faculty wielded immense authority here. Against any threat to academy students, we even had rights to summary execution.
And this guy leaking mana instead of blood? Undeniable black mage minion. Perfect fit for "threat to students."
"How the hell did the Eastern Union Kingdom handle inspections?"
I snapped, turning my gaze back to him. Tears didn't work—his expression froze solid. Movements halted, heartbeat stopped. I'd killed the body in that instant.
And black mages had only one use for a corpse: self-destruct.
"Everyone, back off."
I cleared the area and fired a second shot at his head. A red flash neatly decapitated the swelling skull. The failed detonation crumpled lifelessly.
"...Looks like a black mage got into the academy."
Black magic included necromancy, sure—but only on the dead. The living and dead were distinguishable even to civilians. And Wilson had slipped in unquestioned, meaning...
"A spellcaster inside the academy animated him."
"Guards, seal off this entire sector. Check everyone who's been through here, and all caravan staff. This was a black mage's doing."
"Y-yes, understood."
"And... fetch the principal."
With orders given, I stepped into Wilson's stall. Maybe the black mage behind this left traces inside.
3rd Circle Holy Magic
Lantern that Illuminates Evil
Raising my left hand, a faint light flickered to life in my palm. The flame-shaped glow roared briefly before pointing toward something.
Following it led to a pencil-case-sized wooden box. Familiar to me.
"A wand case...?"
Wilson hadn't seemed like a mage. The mana gap between mages and civilians was vast—even an F-rank mage outshone a zero.
High mages spotted each other via mana traces.
"All I sensed on Wilson was black magic."
Puzzled, I opened the case. Empty.
"...Storing a black mage's wand, maybe?"
After a moment's thought, I left the stall. No more black magic traces.
"Tch."
The blockade was in place, but I doubted it'd yield much. Traces were already gone. The culprit had probably bolted long ago.
"Practical exams are gonna be delayed now."
Felt like a total loss. If the Easterners had screened properly, maybe they'd have caught it. Wait—screening?
"Ah, not a total loss, then."
Until now, Eastern Union Kingdom caravans were inspected by their own people—Arcana Academy's neutrality between Empire and Union.
But this incident shattered that trust. If imperial officials stepped in declaring, "Can't trust you lot!" and inspected Union goods...
"Union students would rebel hard against the Empire."
Cracks would form automatically in the Empire-Union alliance.
"Split them, and no matter what the Second Prince and those Union siblings try, students will oppose it."
My goal was uniting the four powers, sure—but only to fight the Maou on my side.
Empire + Union + Holy Kingdom? Without me stirring the pot, they'd turn on each other anyway. Half-baked team.
And I couldn't flip them all at once. Even I couldn't swallow that whale whole without indigestion.
Devour Holy Kingdom via practicals, build leverage on Union weaknesses—one piece at a time. Only way to digest perfectly.
"Pfft, sounds pretty villainous when I put it like that."
Muttering to myself, I left the stall. Tail stepped—time to dig into this incident properly.
"Ugh, close call there."
In a dim basement, an old man gripping the Fallen Apple Wand muttered.
[Academy Environmental Janitor]
[Willy]
Good thing he'd insured himself right after breaching security. Day one, he'd bribed a lurking janitor with a small sum and handed over the wand. The guy took it without a second thought.
Allowed safe remote control of the merchant, scouting the academy interior.
Getting exposed delayed practicals, but no big deal. Once they pinned the black mage, exams would resume quick.
How? Simple: plant an innocent corpse as a fake.
"So you'll be the fake black mage corpse."
The Fallen Apple Wand's tip aimed at his knocked-out janitor buddy. In the dark basement, red murder magic flashed.