The Students Begin to Wake Up One by One

As the students began to regain consciousness one by one, they started waking up. They looked around with dazed eyes, as if they had simply taken a nap and were wondering whether anything had even happened. The professors still on site, including Professor Paracelsus, checked on the condition of the awakened students.

"I slept pretty well for the first time in a while."

While the students drew all the attention, Professor Karlsen rose from his spot unnoticed by anyone and stretched. He casually loosened his stiff joints with a few stretches, then slowly scanned his surroundings.

"Looks like the incident has been safely resolved."

The children had woken up. That meant every link in the shared mana network had been severed, which in turn signified that the dark mage acting as administrator had run into trouble. Either he had been killed, or mana restriction cuffs had been placed on him.

"But the atmosphere feels a little strange, doesn't it?"

Where was the culprit, that dark mage? And why were there so few professors on site?

"Did we actually let the dark mage slip away?"

He had thought it impossible, but the mood suggested that was exactly what had happened.

How in the world did they make such a massive blunder…?

Perhaps that dark mage had been hiding some special trump card. Completely unaware that Jealousy of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠underworld’s Seven Deadly Sins had intervened, Karlsen could only tilt his head, wondering how the other professors could have committed such a huge error. Still, the outcome appeared to have ended in success, as the evidence showed.

"Professor Karlsen."

"Hm?"

Who could be showing him such welcome interest? Karlsen turned his head with a spark of joy at hearing his name called for the first time since regaining his senses.

"Ah, Jeon. What can I do for you?"

His excitement cooled just as quickly. Jeon Raydel was the one person in the world who hated dark mages more than anyone else. There was no way he would call out to Karlsen—the very dark mage he despised—out of concern. Besides, he must have only just woken up himself.

"I’m sorry."

Even so, when a student called him, a professor couldn’t very well show disappointment. Karlsen smiled in greeting, and Jeon immediately bowed his head.

"It was my fault."

He hadn’t trusted the professor and had let his burning desire for revenge against the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dark mage drive him to act rashly. If he had reported to him even once before pressing the app, the incident might have been resolved much faster.

"No, it’s all right."

Karlsen’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected apology. Had Jeon finally opened his heart to him even a little?

"You didn’t do anything wrong, Jeon."

The reason Professor Magnus avoided burdening students with the professors’ duties was partly to let them focus entirely on their academy schedule, but it was also to ensure they would never be held responsible for any mistakes. The students had done nothing wrong. Whether the matter was resolved successfully or a mistake occurred—like the dark mage escaping this time—the responsibility lay entirely with the professors. Praising help was fine, but assigning blame for errors was grounds for a professor to lose their qualifications.

"Ah, let me correct that. There was one thing you did wrong. Trying to recklessly charge into that enormous mana sphere without thinking."

If Jeon had possessed some absurd cheat item like the Masao family’s sacred treasure that granted absolute influence over mana, it might have been different. But his action had been a suicidal act that could have cost him his life.

"Other than that, everything was fine. Thank you for your help, Jeon."

"……"

In this incident Jeon had provided no help whatsoever. He hadn’t even informed Karlsen about the Mana Up app, and his fearless activation of it had only created unnecessary danger. Even driving the dark mage outside had been done entirely by Karlsen alone. All Jeon had done was watch his performance from behind. And yet he was receiving words of gratitude. Moreover, there wasn’t the slightest trace of mockery in those words. Jeon felt an indescribable emotion and lowered his head.

This person is different.

He was unlike the criminal dark mages who caused all sorts of incidents. He wasn’t one of the dark mages Jeon hated and resented; he was a true dark mage who felt genuine fascination for the discipline and explored it sincerely. He was someone who should not be disliked simply for being a dark mage.

"Thank you, Professor."

This time Jeon bowed with sincere respect. Karlsen scratched his cheek awkwardly. Perhaps it was the first time a student had shown him such respect; his usual gloomy demeanor and bizarre sense of humor usually prevented it. The situation felt incredibly embarrassing and awkward. Even Arina, who treated him kindly, had never shown this level of reverence.

It’s not bad, though.

Far from unpleasant, it actually felt good. He wondered if this was why people became professors.

"Professor!"

Speak of the tiger and it appears. He had just been thinking of Arina when her voice rang out from behind. She must have seen that he was awake; she came running with a face full of worry. At the same time, Jeon, who had been standing in front of Karlsen, froze solid as if turned to ice. Unlike the smooth curves of other people’s movements, his motion formed sharp angles, making him look like one of the golems from the Magic Tower.

"Are you feeling all right?"

Ah, the first time someone had worried about him after he woke up. Overcome with emotion, Karlsen wiped the tears welling in his eyes with the back of his hand. This was already the second time today he felt glad he had become a professor. Was today his birthday, by any chance?

"Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for worrying about me, Arina."

"That’s a relief."

Ah, if only every student at the academy were like Arina. Then he wouldn’t have needed deep conversations with Professor Clara about why students unconsciously avoided and shunned him.

By the way, has she still not noticed Jeon?

Either she couldn’t see him because Karlsen was blocking the way, or she was deliberately ignoring Jeon’s fierce glare—the one he wore whenever the pressure and pounding heart of facing Arina overwhelmed him. Given Arina’s personality, the former seemed far more likely.

"Professor, I’ll be going now."

Unable to control the violent pounding of his heart any longer, Jeon bowed with the same hostile attitude he had shown before opening up to her, then quickly walked away in the opposite direction from Arina, practically fleeing. He was probably going to hide somewhere again, sit down, and stomp his feet while asking himself why he had acted that way.

"As expected, he’s disgusting. That guy."

Marily approached Arina’s side while watching Jeon leave and glared at his retreating back with eyes full of dissatisfaction.

"To act like that just because he lost the top spot once. Can someone with such a narrow mind ever become a great figure in the future?"

Her grudge must have taken deep root. Marily’s words were saturated with negative feelings toward Jeon.

At this point, he seems even more pitiful than me.

No matter how much courage one had to be hated, showing that kind of attitude to the person you liked was a massive wound to the one suffering from it. The saving grace was that the misunderstanding would soon be cleared up. Since he had shared memories with the other students and essentially made a half-public confession, revealing his true feelings to everyone, rumors about it would soon spread throughout the entire first-year class.

"Well, don’t hate him too much. Jeon has his own worries and circumstances as a student."

Along with those words, a mischievous smile full of playfulness appeared on Karlsen’s face. Overlapping with his gloomy aura, the smile created an atmosphere reminiscent of a criminal mastermind.

"You’ll probably hear some interesting rumors about him soon."

Leaving behind his unpleasant chuckle, Arina and Marily could only look at each other and tilt their heads in confusion at Karlsen’s cryptic remark.

Police who had received the report surrounded the crime scene.

"Just what happened here…"

Patrolman Jack, the first officer to arrive, was rendered speechless by the gruesome sight. A half-destroyed water tank and what appeared to be a large quantity of blood flowing from it. There was no corpse, but the floor slick with blood and the nauseating metallic stench were enough to make it difficult for an ordinary person to even look at directly. All he had done was control civilian access and preserve the scene until the investigative team ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from headquarters arrived.

Who on earth could have done something like this?

One thing was certain: this was unmistakably a murder case. There was no way a victim could have survived after losing that much blood.

"Hm?"

While he was thinking that, someone approached the scene. Long hair tied back tightly, a neat black suit that reached her toes, and sharply slanted eyes that gave a cold impression—she looked like an intellectual career woman.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Before Jack could block her, she pulled out her ID. Julia Evergreen, Violent Crime Team 1 of the Special Investigation Unit. The moment he confirmed the name, Jack’s body stiffened with tension and cold sweat ran down his back.

"At your service!"

"May I go in?"

"Of course!"

As Jack stepped aside, the woman entered beyond the police line. Watching her, Jack let out a long sigh. The Special Investigation Unit was a department within the police force that exclusively handled matters related to the underworld. Given the dangerous missions they usually took on, it was an elite group with extremely strict entry requirements. As a result, they inevitably operated as a small but elite team. This was the first time Jack had actually seen the Special Investigation Unit in person.

Wait, does that mean today’s incident is connected to the underworld?

The seniors had said that getting involved with the underworld would ruin your life. Surely just controlling the scene once wouldn’t cause any trouble, right? Jack trembled alone in fear, recalling the exaggerated stories his seniors had told to tease a junior. It seemed his dreams tonight would definitely be nightmares.

"Have you found anything?"

Meanwhile, Julia approached a forensics officer moving around the scene and asked. The officer glanced at her, then focused again on examining an unidentified magic tool.

"The results confirm it’s that dark mage."

They must have been acquainted; the officer skipped greetings ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and went straight to the point.

"The pattern matches the dimensional mana detected in the Benedict Academy auditorium."

Individual mana was like a fingerprint. That held true even for the dimensional mana handled by dark mages.

"The blood on the floor is the same. It matches exactly with the blood that fell on the auditorium floor."

In other words, the one who had caused the disturbance here was the dark mage who had fled the academy. And he was clearly the victim of this incident.

"However, while the victim’s traces are scattered everywhere, not a single trace of the perpetrator has been found."

Even though the use of abilities was obvious, not a single trace of mana could be detected. This was clearly the work of a professional. And that was precisely why Julia had been dispatched here.

"Just who could have done something like…"

"That’s all right. I have a suspect in mind."

Julia answered the officer’s words calmly. She glanced around, then took out her smartphone.

"If you find anything else, please let me know immediately. You have my number, right?"

"Of course."

Julia stepped away from the officer who was busily manipulating the magic tool and immediately made a call.

"I’ve checked the scene. As expected, it seems the underworld stepped in. And it was Jealousy himself."

An ordinary professional could not have erased traces so perfectly. Usually they would alter traces to create confusion elsewhere. But to erase one’s own traces as cleanly as an eraser even when it wasn’t necessary was one of Jealousy of the Seven Deadly Sins’ particularly nasty habits.

"He practically advertised that he did it."

As expected, the underworld had directly intervened. Now that the fact was confirmed, further investigation into the case was unnecessary. There were no civilian casualties, and the only one taken was the dark mage who had targeted the academy students. Just as they had promised the king, they had thoroughly handled the matter in the shadows without the general public knowing.

"Then I’ll close the investigation as it stands, Team Leader."

"I’ve been resting all this time already."

"That’s true, but…"

After the deal with Pride, the workload of the Special Investigation Team had noticeably decreased. All the major and minor incidents and accidents involving the underworld had begun to be controlled under the name of the Seven Deadly Sins. It was proof that they were sincere in their dealings with the Ellemental Kingdom. From Julia’s perspective, however, she wished they had done it sooner.

The underworld’s forces have openly infiltrated the kingdom, yet everything has become more peaceful. How paradoxical.

To be honest, she couldn’t even remember the last time she had slept so deeply. She had even reached the point of hoping they would finish their work late and stay in the country for a long time. Of course, while the Special Investigation Unit enjoyed this peace, the Royal Mage Corps—who directly communicated with Pride and had taken on all the original duties of the Special Investigation Unit in addition to staying vigilant—were probably being crushed under a mountain of work. Well, they usually enjoyed a cushy position, so it was only fair they suffered a bit during times like these.

It’ll probably be over in a few months at most.

It was a shame that their vacation would last only a few months at longest. With that thought, Julia ended the call and glanced at the forensics officers who were still busily moving about, unaware that the investigation would soon be closed. She wanted to tell them to take it easy, but she couldn’t. The details of the negotiations with the underworld were strictly confidential. If she hadn’t been part of the Special Investigation Unit that directly investigated the underworld, even she would never have known.

Come to think of it, I’m out of cigarettes. Should I buy some on the way back?

With such peaceful thoughts, she quietly left the crime scene.