How Did the Item Turn Out?
Jealousy had been inhaling the scent of the new perfume he'd bought yesterday when the phone rang with a call from Pride. He picked up with a puzzled look on his face.
"How did the item turn out?"
"Delivery complete. Didn't I report it yesterday?"
"I didn't."
"Oh, sorry. Must have slipped my mind."
Jealousy delivered the apology in a completely indifferent tone, showing not the slightest trace of actual remorse. Then, apparently satisfied with the perfume, he nodded with a faint smile.
"I was ridiculously busy yesterday."
"So I gathered. From the amount you spent at the department store. Why are you reporting personal expenses as mission costs? I gave you that card specifically to cover operational expenditures."
Pride clicked his tongue softly, thinking Greed must have taught the man far too well when it came to picking up questionable habits.
"Forget it. Don't get so worked up. It's pocket change anyway."
"......"
"More importantly, the young lady. She was absolutely delighted, you know? She even wore it to the academy today."
He'd tried to hide it under his pants, but nothing escaped Jealousy's sharp eyes. The sight of her clinking around in those mana restriction cuffs while still working hard to acclimate herself to mana was rather charming.
"Enough. Submit a full report on that later—along with photographs."
Pride's doting on the young lady ran even deeper than Jealousy's. He was openly ordering him to snap pictures of her happy moments and send them over. The child who received the love of all Seven Deadly Sins. Of course, every bit of that affection and attention existed solely because of her connection to Kain. The moment the relationship between Kain and Arina soured, that love would vanish without a trace.
Jealousy let out a cackling laugh, clearly amused by how far the usually contemptuous and arrogant Pride was willing to go when it came to the girl.
"More importantly, I have a new task for you."
The moment Pride continued, Jealousy's laughter died instantly. Only a deep frown remained on his face.
"Come on, cut me some slack. I'm already swamped with professor duties watching over the young lady."
"Weren't you the one who said you had plenty of free time last time? That your workload had decreased dramatically compared to your days in the underworld."
"......"
This bastard and his uselessly perfect memory. He remembered every offhand comment perfectly.
"I don't know. Give it to someone else. Wrath is free, isn't he? Send one of the guys who enjoy rampaging around."
"He has a separate assignment. The negotiation terms with the Elemental Kingdom. I already dispatched him to their border region to carry them out."
"Besides, this job is perfect for you. It's an extension of what you're already doing."
Jealousy stopped grumbling and fell into thought. A moment later he let out a small sound of realization.
"You're talking about that guy? It came up in this morning's meeting too."
Mana Up, was it? From what he'd heard, the topic had surfaced during the morning meeting, and already Professor Magnus along with several other faculty members had begun to move. Even though its very existence hadn't been properly confirmed yet.
No matter how he looked at it, this was the only matter in the current academy that would catch Pride's interest.
"But why this one?"
Of course Jealousy had already conducted his own investigation. After all, it had occurred inside the academy, and there was a chance it could harm Arina. He'd looked into even the smallest details as a precaution, and he was probably the closest to the truth of the incident among everyone on campus.
That was how he knew. He knew that Mana Up was a real application that existed.
"While capturing the Tugwi Guard remains our top priority, we cannot afford to neglect the others. The Tugwi Guard is merely one step in the process. Our true objective is to locate the organization of resurrected individuals hiding behind them. To achieve that, we must apprehend not only the Tugwi Guard but the other lions as well."
"The crucial point of this negotiation with the Elemental Kingdom is that we have obtained legitimate grounds to operate within their borders."
"So you're telling me to go out and drag that bastard in?"
Was the one causing trouble here also one of the dead who'd come back to life?
"He was just a petty criminal who only targeted young students and posed no threat to the young lady, so we left him alone."
It wasn't threatening at all. For one thing, Kain had already modified Arina's smartphone, making it impossible for outsiders to hack. And even if some miracle occurred and the app ended up on her phone, she would never rely on such underhanded tricks. Her own skill level was already around five-star. At best, the culprit was a celebrity stalker or slightly more competent. To ordinary people that might seem like an expert worth admiring, but to Jealousy the man was nothing more than a worthless small fry.
"I didn't even know about it. How did you find out?"
"Investigation turned up similar incidents in the past. Cybercrime. The kind that mainly exists in the Elemental Kingdom—the only place on the continent where magic tools have permeated daily life to create a cutting-edge society."
"Most of the resurrected criminals died within the Elemental Kingdom. Villains don't discriminate by category, so naturally some cyber criminals would have been brought back. The results confirmed it. There were clear traces of hacking, and the spellwork of someone who used to operate in the underworld remained perfectly intact. Even the method of luring victims was similar. Of course, compared to the massive pyramid schemes they used to run with apps in the past, the scale has shrunk dramatically."
"Did dying and coming back make him a coward?"
Jealousy sneered at Pride's words, once again calling the man a worthless petty criminal. Either way, he understood what was being asked of him. The reason the underworld had negotiated with the Elemental Kingdom. To locate the gateway connecting the living world to the underworld, they would round up every resurrected villain. Since one of them was inside the academy, the task had been assigned to Jealousy, who had already infiltrated the place beforehand. The timing was perfect, since the professors had also been ordered to find the culprit.
"Subjugating resurrected villains on behalf of the nation. What a magnificent dark hero we've become."
Since when did the underworld engage in this kind of volunteer service? They might as well rename themselves the World of Light.
"It is the Master's order."
A wave of displeasure flooded through Pride's voice over the phone. The chilling anger suggested he was asking whether Jealousy dared to refuse the Master's command.
"What did I say?"
Jealousy simply shrugged and twirled a lock of his long hair around his finger. He didn't seem to care in the slightest whether Pride grew angry.
"Fine, I got it. I'll contact you once I capture him alive."
"As if."
Perhaps because of past precedent, Pride snorted and abruptly ended the call.
"Ha. If it weren't for the Master, I'd..."
So arrogant. Acting like he owned the place just because he enjoyed the Master's favor.
Clicking his tongue, Jealousy flopped face-first onto the desk. He let out a long, troubled sigh.
"Honestly, catching and beating the crap out of him wouldn't be hard."
From his earlier brief investigation, the man had hidden so thoroughly that not even a single hair could be seen. All Jealousy had managed to learn was that the app truly existed and that the opponent was a dark mage. And as everyone in the world knew, when an expert-level dark mage was truly determined to hide, finding them was anything but easy. Not unless they exposed themselves blatantly like the idiot who had terrorized the Grant Department Store.
"He's only giving me annoying jobs."
Just wait, Pride. I'll show you what I'm capable of later.
Right, so how should I catch and beat him?
Well, the complaining ended there. Since he'd decided to do it, he would do it properly. Jealousy's mind began to race. As a self-proclaimed specialist in infiltration and investigation, plans for the future lined up instantly inside his head.
I'll need bait.
The man's targets were students. In that case, the method was simple. Use a student to lure him out. That was all it would take.
"......"
Jealousy, who had been wearing a chilling smile at the thought, swept a hand down his face. He sensed people approaching from a distance. Two individuals. From their gait and footsteps, they were male students. They were probably coming to see him.
The moment he realized it, a false expression slid over Jealousy's face like a mask. He began to perform the character he had created. The chilling smile vanished, replaced by the gentle, fabricated smile of a caring professor.
"Hmm."
At Professor Magnus's words, Karlsen nodded.
"You're right. If Mana Up truly exists, the culprit can only be a dark mage."
Forcibly increasing a user's mana was absolutely impossible under the laws of this world. Therefore, for such a thing to be possible, one prerequisite was necessary: someone had to have infused the world with artificial laws of their own creation. Only dark mages could do that. More precisely, only high-ranking dark mages capable of manifesting an Inner World.
"After all, those who understand dark mages best are dark mages themselves. If it's acceptable, I would like to request your assistance."
Professor Karlsen. The newly appointed dark magic instructor this year. At the same time, he was a high-ranking dark mage capable of opening his own Inner World. If the culprit truly was a dark mage, he would undoubtedly prove to be a tremendous help.
"Well, even someone as limited as myself would be grateful to be of use."
For the highly respected Professor Magnus to seek help first like this. If Professor Vivaldi knew, he would have been consumed with envy. No—it was the perfect opportunity to raise his own standing within the academy.
"However, I cannot guarantee that I will actually be able to help."
Whether his assistance would lead to capturing the culprit was another matter entirely.
"As you know, the ability to use an Inner World indicates an expert-level dark mage. If such a mage is truly determined to hide, even a superhuman would find it difficult to locate them."
"I am aware. I am asking despite that. While I have some confidence in magical theory, I am a complete novice when it comes to dark magic."
He didn't even properly understand the fundamental principles of the Inner World, which twisted the world's basic concepts through brute force.
"If that's the case, then I accept."
"Thank you."
"Not at all. It's only natural."
Karlsen waved his hand at the embarrassed Professor Magnus, who had bowed his head.
"As I mentioned earlier, I likely won't be much help. Even if I apply my knowledge, we will first need contact with the opponent's Inner World."
"In other words, we must first confirm the existence of Mana Up and obtain it."
Only after clearing that prerequisite could they begin tracking or anything else.
Professor Magnus fell into brief thought at Karlsen's words. Karlsen spoke again, this time more cautiously.
"Professor Magnus, why do you think Mana Up has only spread as a rumor within the academy?"
"Probably because there aren't many users."
If there had been a large number of users, it wouldn't have remained mere rumor.
"Then how do you suppose the selection of those users is conducted?"
"......Most likely students who feel a desperate need for it."
It was an unexpected angle. Magnus pondered for a moment before reaching an answer.
"Yes, probably students who feel insufficient mana. That way they would use the app exactly as the culprit intends."
Even so, they could not search every student's smartphone for the app. That would constitute a clear invasion of privacy. Nor could they simply suspect anyone whose mana had suddenly increased. After all, some students might have achieved genuine growth through pure effort.
"From what I understand, among the first-year students who entered this year, the one who would feel the greatest need for mana is in your class, Professor."
"......You mean Student Togun?"
"How about asking that student for assistance?"
Asking a student for help. In other words, using the student most likely to receive the app as bait to draw out the culprit.
At those words, Professor Magnus's face hardened with severity.
"Professor Karlsen, have you lost your mind?"
His tone grew harsh as well. To suggest using a student as bait. It was absolutely unacceptable according to Spencer Magnus's philosophy as an educator.
"This matter must be handled by the faculty. We cannot involve students under any circumstances."
"It seems there's a misunderstanding. Naturally, I have no intention of putting students in danger."
If this truly involved a dark mage, they must never allow students to use the app. However, given their impulsive age, even if the professors warned them against it, some would undoubtedly use it behind their backs. Wasn't it the same with cigarettes or alcohol? In fact, this unidentified app might prove even more dangerous than either.
"The story about the app will likely reach the first-years soon. It may appear to some of them."
"......"
"I am simply suggesting we ask the student most likely to encounter it during that process. If the app appears, they should inform us immediately. The sooner this incident is resolved, the better."
At Karlsen's explanation, Professor Magnus's anger subsided. Watching his expression carefully, Karlsen quickly added.
"Moreover, I have observed Student Togun myself. He will not be swayed by such an app. If he were the type to be tempted, he would never have enrolled here to study magic in the first place."
"......I will simply ask him."
If the student refused, he would not force the issue.
Karlsen nodded with a bright smile.
"That is more than enough."
They only needed visual confirmation of the app. After that, they could definitely track down the culprit.
Despite Karlsen's overflowing confidence, Professor Magnus lifted his smartphone with a somewhat hesitant sigh.