The App's Explosive Spread
Starting with Hemming and Jeon Raydel, the Mana Up app spread rapidly even among the first-years. The speed of its expansion was so sudden that it was hard to believe everything had happened in just one night.
"Kek." Jealousy couldn't help but burst into laughter. This wasn't quite what he'd expected. 'So he's planning to make one last big score before getting caught?'
The culprit was causing trouble without a care for the professors who would eventually catch on. Jealousy had anticipated that the man would get swept up in his own scheme and act boldly, but this was far more aggressive than anticipated. He was openly distributing the app to the majority of students, stepping into the spotlight without hesitation. It was an unprecedented rush. What an absurd way of thinking. Jealousy couldn't begin to imagine what kind of mindset the man possessed.
"I trusted you and went along with this, but now I'm not so sure." Marily looked up at him with a dissatisfied expression. She held out her smartphone with the Mana Up app installed and relayed the news that the app had suddenly begun spreading among the students. "Can you really resolve this without any problems?"
"Of course. That's why we made the deal." Jealousy grinned and nodded at Marily's words. While he had the secondary goal of skipping class legitimately, the main reason Marily had agreed to help was to handle and resolve any potential danger to the students. As a princess who had grown up watching her father, King Raymond, devote himself to national affairs from a young age, she carried a strong sense of responsibility. That was why she had accepted Jealousy's proposal.
"I agreed to help after hearing the full story of what's happening at the academy because I believed you had both the ability and the motivation to solve it. But now, I'm not so sure."
"Don't doubt me. It's not like anything major has gone wrong." In fact, things had turned out for the better. It meant he could resolve this troublesome matter even faster. If the culprit had continued lurking in the shadows, it would have been far more irritating for Jealousy.
"The professors will get involved because of this incident. You might not feel it yet since you're still young, but the position of professor at Benedict Academy isn't something you can obtain easily."
This place was a greenhouse personally created by Majoan Ern Benedict to nurture future talents. The professors were the administrators managing that greenhouse. Benedict Academy was a place Ern Benedict had poured more care into than most organizations. If they stepped in directly, the culprit behind this incident would likely be caught with ease.
"That's exactly what I'm saying. All you've done is escalate things so the professors have to step in and catch him themselves. Regardless of whether the students get hurt in the process."
From what he knew, many students had already used the app. This suspicious app that might have been created by a dark mage. All of this had happened because Jealousy had accelerated the flow. If things had moved more slowly, the culprit might have been caught before any of this occurred.
"See? You really don't understand anything." The culprit's actions had become even bolder and more aggressive. Because of that, the professors would be able to catch him sooner. Thanks to Jealousy's efforts, the culprit had underestimated the professors' capabilities. And Jealousy, who needed to capture the culprit and hand him over to Pride, couldn't just sit back and watch.
"You've put me in a position where I have to act right now. You still don't understand how serious this is." He had to catch the culprit before the professors did. More importantly, if the situation escalated this rapidly, there was a chance Arina might end up getting hurt somehow. 'That can't happen.'
If even a single scratch appeared on the young lady, his life would be over that very day. As he spoke, Jealousy scanned Marily's smartphone from various angles. Just like Jeon had done the previous day, he examined the app in detail. It was something Jeon hadn't found a single flaw in. But the gap between Jealousy and Jeon was far too vast to compare. The hidden characteristics of mana within the app. The path it had taken to infiltrate the smartphone. Even the spells embedded in the program. By connecting a spirit to the smartphone, he extracted every piece of information he could hack.
"Aha. So that's how it works. No wonder we couldn't find any trace no matter how much we searched the academy grounds." He had succeeded in seeing through all of the culprit's abilities. What kind of Inner World he possessed. Why he was sending these apps to the children. The app's underlying principles. He had uncovered everything.
"Good work, Princess. Your abilities are better than I expected. I'll be using you again if something like this comes up." Marily's brow furrowed at the sight of him casually tossing his smartphone onto the table with an arrogant attitude. She examined the device from top to bottom, worried the screen might have cracked.
"Everyone at the academy should know what kind of personality you have."
"That's why I revealed my true nature to you in advance—so it wouldn't get exposed." After continuously observing her while she was with Arina, Jealousy was certain. Her exceptional intellect and insight were on par with Pride's. She was still young, so her talents hadn't fully bloomed yet, but given time, she would undoubtedly become a formidable figure. That made her a dangerous person to Jealousy. Her keen insight might allow her to deduce his identity from even the smallest clue. She was someone he had to be extremely cautious around. Like Professor Magnus, she was someone he should avoid meeting if possible, but since she was practically glued to Arina's side, that wasn't an option.
That was why Jealousy had decided to openly reveal his true nature to her and no one else. Of course, he hadn't shown her his real identity as Jealousy of the Seven Deadly Sins or the face beneath his disguise. 'Loyalty has already been proven.' Furthermore, there was no risk of his true nature leaking to the outside. They had already formed a contract under the name of a deal. The fact that she hadn't informed her father or the Majoan about Arina's existence was proof of how tight-lipped she was. She would never go around saying, "That professor was actually like this."
"Well~ Don't worry too much~ Whether it's today or tomorrow at the latest, I'll resolve this entire incident~"
He corrected his speech pattern once more. From Jealousy of the underworld to Professor Clara Propol of Benedict Academy. The somewhat slowed speech and the sharp gaze from earlier were nowhere to be seen, replaced by a gently curved eye-smile. Marily frowned as if she'd seen something she shouldn't have.
"Ah~ Just in case, don't tap this app out of curiosity~"
"That's obvious."
"And don't let Arina tap it either~"
The eyes behind the mask of Professor Clara narrowed slightly. His true nature, overflowing with killing intent, was revealed without the slightest attempt to hide it, even as he openly displayed that terrifying visage visible through Marily's insight.
"Understood~"
Watching her demand a clear answer, Marily thought to herself. She didn't know why this being had infiltrated the academy as a professor or why he was hiding his identity. But she could tell that the reason he was wearing the guise of an academy professor was related to Arina. And that it was roughly for the purpose of protection.
If the reason Jealousy trusted Marily was because of the loyalty she had shown toward Arina, then the fundamental reason Marily trusted Jealousy was because he hadn't hidden his intention to protect Arina in the slightest. Of course, his actions of disregarding the safety of other children for that purpose had slightly shaken that trust. 'What exactly is he?'
Marily had once subtly probed Arina about Professor Clara. The result was that Arina knew nothing. Not only about Professor Clara's true identity, but even the fact that someone was watching over her.
'Is it related to that incident?' The Grant Department Store terrorist attack. Who had killed the culprit at the time and erased her memories? She had only vaguely sensed that Arina was involved, but without knowing the true inner workings, she could only make a rough guess that this being was also connected to it. In other words, there was someone behind Arina. A massive force capable of planting someone in Benedict Academy, which fell under the Majoan's sphere of influence. 'There's no one but the underworld.'
In the end, there was only one answer. Neither the Grant Company, Arina's family business, nor any noble house could accomplish such a thing. The only force in this world capable of it was the underworld, which operated beyond the law's control. The question was how Arina was connected to the underworld. 'Well, does it matter?'
Having followed her speculation that far, Marily stopped thinking any further. Excessive curiosity could sometimes be poison. She trusted her own eyes. From the moment she entered the academy until now, Arina had always been sincere with her. No matter what secrets Arina might have, the fact that they were friends remained unchanged.
"Of course. I'll keep that in mind."
"Good~"
Satisfied with her firm response, Professor Clara rose from her seat with a languid motion. She lightly patted Marily's shoulder and walked toward the infirmary door, then suddenly turned back as if remembering something.
"And~ When I reveal my true appearance, you can speak however you like~ But when I'm in disguise like this, I'd appreciate it if you matched the role~ If you slip up in front of someone else, my mood will be absolutely terrible~"
Don't speak casually to me while using formal speech with other professors. Either use formal speech with me too, or speak casually to everyone. Don't change your attitude. It would look suspicious. Unlike him, she lacked the ability to notice birds listening to daytime words and mice listening to nighttime words.
"I'm sorry, Professor."
Seeming to understand the warning, Marily immediately changed her demeanor and bowed her head. As expected, she was a princess who understood words well. Having grown up associating with nobles from a young age, she was quick on the uptake.
"No~ It was just a word of caution, so don't take it to heart~"
Smiling with satisfaction at her attitude, Professor Clara opened the door and stepped outside. Watching her retreating figure, Marily placed the smartphone from the table into her pocket with a complicated expression. 'Is this really okay?'
Regardless of Arina, this person was more dangerous than expected. Wouldn't it be the right choice to expose his identity now and deal with it? But at the same time, the thought that it might not be necessary lingered in her mind. Regardless of the circumstances, he genuinely seemed to want to protect Arina. As she'd thought earlier, she trusted her own eyes. At least as long as Arina was attending the academy, he would never cause harm here.
"I'll let it pass for now, but if I sense even the slightest danger, I'll eliminate you immediately. No matter who you are."
At her words, Jealousy, wearing the mask of Professor Clara and leaning against the infirmary entrance across from her, let out a small chuckle.
"Yeah, that's good enough." She really was tight-lipped. He'd considered checking one last time just in case, but there was no need. "Lucky for us. No need for either of us to eliminate the other."
As long as Marily maintained her position as Arina's friend, Jealousy could never touch her. Therefore, as long as Arina remained Kain's niece, the situation she feared would never occur. Kain desired Arina's peace. Whatever the Death King wished for would be achieved by any means necessary. That was precisely what the Seven Deadly Sins—or rather, the underworld—was.
"Well then~ Shall we go wipe out that insolent little brat who dared to disrupt our young lady's daily life~?"
Twirling her light pink hair, Professor Clara moved forward with languid steps. The morning sunlight streaming through the window cast her shadow long against the wall, as if drawing the dark essence of another person.