Doubts in Disguise
After receiving treatment from Professor Clara, Togun recovered his condition far faster than expected. Mere minutes after the treatment ended, his body had regained enough strength that he could hop in place without any strain. It was hard to believe he had been gasping for breath as if on the verge of death just moments earlier.
'Impressive.'
The man in charge of the Academy Tournament's medical team watched the mysterious woman's retreating figure with admiration as Togun left for a thorough examination, just in case. 'Who on earth is she?'
With a single word, she had dismissed all the other medics and healed Togun Masao. The team leader knew Togun possessed a mana-rejecting constitution. The emergency manual had listed him among the students requiring special attention, and it even included records from Vivaldi Hospital detailing his previous treatments.
'That wasn't ordinary skill.'
That knowledge made him appreciate just how extraordinary Professor Clara's feat had been. She was at least an expert-level healer—clearly a renowned figure in the medical field. With reverence in his eyes, he slowly made his way toward her.
"Good day to you."
"Yes~ Hello~"
Clara Propol had already noticed him staring and turned with a bright smile, showing no surprise at being addressed.
"Pardon me, but may I ask your name?"
"I'm Clara Propol~ The health professor at Benedict Academy~"
Clara Propol. A name he'd never heard before. Yet the mention of her position at Benedict Academy dispelled any doubt. If she was the health professor at the continent's most prestigious academy, her earlier performance made perfect sense.
"Um, if it's not too much trouble, could we call on your help should another emergency arise?"
"I'm sorry~ I only came to look after my own students~ I'd need the academy's permission for any external activities~"
Am I crazy? Like I'd bother with that hassle. Jealousy snorted inwardly at the medic's request.
"I see……"
The medic's face fell with disappointment. Seeing this, she smiled again.
"It's fine~ There haven't been any major incidents so far~ I'm sure everything will end safely even without me~ If anything, my presence might jinx things and cause a bigger accident~"
Get lost before I start cursing you out, you annoying pest. I need to switch back to the young lady disguise before anyone else notices.
"Well then, I'll be on my way~ Keep up the good work~"
Just as Clara turned to leave the disappointed medic behind, a voice rang out.
"Professor Claraaaaa!"
If only that repulsive bonehead hadn't come charging in like a starving dog.
"Uwah?!"
Clara twisted aside, smoothly dodging the approaching Karlsen. The professor sailed past her and slid face-first across the floor in spectacular fashion. Bleeding from the nose, he looked up at her indignantly.
"How could you dodge?! You should have caught me!"
What the—? This feels familiar. Is it just me? Clara tilted her head, unable to hide her bemused expression.
"Why would I~?"
"We're friends, aren't we!"
"Me~? No, we're not~"
Who the hell are you pairing me up with as a friend, you damned fool.
"What?"
Karlsen's eyes widened in genuine shock. Tears welled up as he hung his head in betrayal.
"I thought I'd finally made a real friend this time……"
"……"
Is he actually crying? As Clara leaned in to check, Karlsen suddenly snapped his head up. She barely avoided smashing her nose into a skull even uglier than his usual face.
'This bastard's got a death wish.'
Even Wrath, the most battle-crazed of the Seven Deadly Sins, never aimed for Jealousy's face during their fights. Yet this fool had dared to target it. Karlsen truly lived up to his reputation as a dark mage who did whatever he pleased.
"Well, we can always rebuild our friendship! That's not what's important right now!"
No, I don't want to rebuild anything. Jealousy wondered if the man was completely oblivious to the negative emotions being directed at him. Karlsen simply continued speaking.
"First, as the professor in charge of Team B, I must thank you for treating Togun."
"Oh, it's nothing~ It was only natural~"
Though Karlsen spoke with a serious expression, the nonstop nosebleed completely undermined the atmosphere he was trying to create.
'So that's why he came running over?'
Something felt off. Given Karlsen's personality, he would never have come all this way just to offer thanks. Suspicion filled Clara's lowered eyes.
"That aside, Professor Clara, have you seen Arina? I haven't spotted her since earlier."
With those words, her suspicion turned to certainty.
'I knew it.'
He must have seen her on the arena screen and come running because he wanted to mess around. There was no other reason he would ask her about Arina's whereabouts. He knew Clara Propol and Arina Grant could not be in the same place at the same time.
"Hmm~ She was just in a match, so maybe she went to the restroom~?"
"I already checked there, which is why I'm asking."
"……"
Why the hell would you go into the women's restroom, you lunatic?
"Shouldn't we report this to the medical team?"
The corners of his mouth twitched as he fought back laughter. If he was going to say something like that, he should at least pretend to be worried. Clara stared at him for a moment before letting out a deep sigh. Leaning close to his ear, she muttered in a low voice.
"Stop showing off and behave yourself. Seriously."
"My apologies."
Any more and he'd get hit. At Jealousy's final warning, Karlsen bowed ninety degrees, showing the back of his head. He might have been terrible at reading the room normally, but when it mattered, his instincts were flawless.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Haa."
In the end, her master's words had been right. After Togun's thorough examination, the Academy Tournament organizing committee arrived. They scrutinized his abilities and then banned him from using them to influence the virtual world during the tournament. It was a special rule that applied only to Togun. Perhaps in the future another mage with such an overpowered ability might appear and dominate the virtual worlds created by expert mages, but for now, the restriction was his alone.
'One of our winning strategies just got sealed?'
The committee's decision was entirely reasonable. As Togun's case had shown, there was a real risk of shock-induced death if things went wrong. No matter how important victory or improving one's skills might be, nothing outweighed safety.
'Chris.'
If they faced each other again, how should he approach the fight? Was it because he had given everything yet still failed to win? Togun's mind grew unnecessarily cluttered with thoughts as he walked down the corridor.
"Are you feeling all right?"
"……"
That was why he failed to notice Jeon following behind him out of concern. The unintentional slight made Jeon carefully approach and lightly tap Togun's shoulder from behind.
"Ugyaak!?"
Togun leapt into the air in shock, then spun around with wide eyes.
"Jeon hyung? When did you get here?"
Normally he would have sensed anyone approaching from nearby. Did this mean he had been lost so deeply in thought? Jeon chuckled at the sight of Togun blinking like a startled squirrel and ruffled his hair.
"Hyung?"
They had always been close enough to use familial terms, but Jeon had maintained a respectful distance. Now that boundary felt slightly lowered—though in a good way.
"Thanks."
A smile appeared on Jeon's usually cold, curt face. It was a refreshing, relieved sort of smile. Togun gave him a puzzled look, unsure what he was being thanked for, but Jeon simply withdrew his hand without explanation.
'I really am grateful.'
Once more, he offered silent thanks. Watching Togun struggle against Chris—a 4-star mage who had seemed unbeatable—and push all the way to the brink of victory with sheer willpower had helped ease some of the trauma that had been gripping Jeon's heart.
'We can win.'
Togun's performance had solidified Jeon's conviction that victory was possible. That certainty became fuel to keep him moving forward through the remaining tournament matches. Thanks to Togun, he could run toward his goal once more.
It was the same driving force that had allowed Togun to steel his resolve against Chris. Though he had lost the match, he had achieved his purpose. Togun studied Jeon's subtly changed expression and smiled in return. The two stood in silence, simply looking at each other.
"Sorry! I'm really late, aren't I?"
The standoff was broken by a girl who had spotted them from afar and come running. Both flinched at the familiar voice, though for opposite reasons. Togun felt a surge of anxiety, wondering if his master had already shed the Clara disguise and come after him. Jeon felt a flutter in his chest—the excitement and heartbeat he had never felt from Jealousy pretending to be Arina all morning.
Both turned toward the voice at the same time.
"Eh?"
Togun's confused sound escaped as he took in the approaching Arina. Her hair was messy and split at the ends. Her eyes looked somewhat sunken, as if she had stayed up all night. Over the past month of training with Jealousy, Togun had realized one thing: his master was genuinely serious about maintaining appearances, to the point of ensuring not even a single raindrop touched him on rainy days. The same applied to disguises. There was no way his master would have chosen to appear so haggard when it wasn't necessary.
Togun's eyes widened in surprise at this realization, while Jeon had already recognized the real Arina the moment he heard her voice and stood frozen like a statue.
'What do I do? She must be really angry.'
Arina's guilt only grew heavier under their gazes. Neither of them returned her greeting; they simply stared blankly. Her uncle had told her everything in advance and instructed her to focus only on training, but skipping such an important event without a word still felt excessive even to her.
'I'd be mad too if I were them.'
She bowed her head once more. This time she apologized formally.
"I'm truly sorry!"
"No, that's fine, but……are you really Arina?"
"Huh?"
"You're not Master pretending to be her to trick us, right?"
"Master? Pretending?"
"You're not going to suddenly laugh evilly and smack us from behind, are you?"
"???"
Question marks floated above Arina's head at Togun's barrage of inexplicable worries.
'That innocent face looks like the real Arina.'
Still, given how skilled her master was at acting, she couldn't help but remain suspicious. Togun narrowed his eyes and cautiously backed away. When Arina reached out asking what was wrong, he let out a shriek and collapsed on the spot.
"It really is Master! You were going to hit me, weren't you?!"
"Eh? No. I'm not hitting you."
"Liar!"
Jealousy, one of the Seven Deadly Sins of the underworld and a master of disguise, had completely shattered the trust between friends. Togun trembled with inexplicable fear while Arina stood bewildered, unable to understand the situation. Watching the comedic scene, Jeon—who had finally built up some resistance to Arina—spoke to her with a relatively calm expression.
"Arina."
"Yeah?"
Her gaze shifted from Togun to Jeon.
"Being late doesn't matter. Did you manage to resolve what you wanted to?"
Did she achieve her goal even while arriving late? At the question, Arina—previously weighed down by guilt—nodded confidently.
"Yeah!"
"Then that's enough."
A faint smile appeared on Jeon's lips at her confident reply. He didn't know what result she had obtained, but there had to be a good reason for her to show such confidence.
Thus, from Togun to Jeon to Arina, the problems that had surrounded Benedict Academy's Team B until yesterday were gradually being resolved—one by one—as they stood on the brink of the tournament's most fiercely contested event: the "Capture the Captain" match.