Chapter 18
Chapter 18
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Are You Seducing Me Right Now?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Are you seducing me right now?
The next day, it finally happened.
I was in the middle of my first class.
Suddenly, the classroom door burst open, and a group of women in suits and sunglasses stormed in.
"Ian Drakhin. You're coming with us."
I wasn't taken aback.
With the Academic Tribunal just around the corner, I'd known something like this was coming.
My only regret was that the Eye that Sees Death hadn't given me more details—I could have prevented it or prepared better.
That said, just because I wasn't panicking didn't mean I went quietly.
I didn't want to look like I was accepting the false charges, so I put up a good show of resistance.
In the end, the sunglasses ladies overpowered me and took me to the basement of one of the school buildings.
"Get in. You're staying here quietly for the time being."
Following the sunglasses lady's orders, I entered a small underground room.
It only had a bed and a desk.
There was a small door nearby—thankfully, it seemed to lead to a bathroom.
Honestly, it was less a room and more a prison cell.
One side was completely open for full visibility, with iron bars instead of walls or windows.
I grabbed the bars and called out to the lady on the other side.
"Why did you drag me here?"
I had a rough idea, but I asked anyway.
The sunglasses lady pulled out a sheet of paper and said,
"Ian Drakhin. You've been temporarily detained on suspicion of violating the Magic Security Law. Normally, you'd face a court, but since you're affiliated with this school, Scarlet Magic University will handle your disposition under its authority."
Just because I'm a student here, they get to bypass national law and decide my fate themselves. What a school.
They're probably trying to avoid damaging the school's reputation by handling it quietly among themselves.
"Six days from now, next Wednesday, you'll face the Academic Tribunal on charges of using Black Magic. You'll stay here until then."
So, as expected, I'd been framed for using Black Magic.
The sunglasses lady glanced at the paper again and continued.
"You can defend yourself during the tribunal to prove your innocence and request witnesses."
"Hold on. How am I supposed to get witnesses while locked up here before the trial?"
"Blame yourself for being suspected of such a serious crime as Black Magic."
As the sunglasses lady said, Black Magic was a grave offense in this world.
Black Magic fed on the impure emotions of the mage obsessed with it, granting immense power.
And it gradually eroded the user's mind.
In the end, the user would commit endless depraved acts like rape or murder to gain even stronger Black Magic.
That's why Black Magic users were treated like real-world serial-killing psychopaths here.
And why a guilty verdict was as good as a death sentence.
Still, locking me up before the trial was too much for someone falsely accused like me.
"So you're saying I should just sit here and wait for the tribunal?"
"If a visitor comes before then, you could ask for help. Otherwise, don't expect much."
Then all I could do was wait for Michelle to show up.
She was the closest to me at school, so she'd know better than anyone that I'd been taken unjustly.
"Here's your rations for today."
On the plate were a few pieces of bread and some milk.
There was a water purifier in the cell, so no separate water was provided.
"Next rations are tomorrow morning, so ration them out."
The sunglasses ladies exchanged glances.
They were about to leave.
"Don't try anything stupid before the tribunal. Not that you could."
The sunglasses lady pointed to the thin bracelet on my wrist.
It was the magic suppression bracelet they'd forced on me on the way here.
The wearer couldn't release mana from their body, rendering magic impossible.
"Even if you somehow break out of the bars, the mana detection sensor over there will pick up the bracelet's mana as soon as you leave. We'll come running."
With that warning, the sunglasses ladies left the basement.
"Hoo."
I flopped onto the bed.
As they'd said, the bracelet prevented magic, and escaping would trigger the sensor anyway, so there was nothing to do for now.
Still, my mind was at ease.
According to the Eye that Sees Death, Michelle would give crucial testimony at the Academic Tribunal, leading to my guilty verdict.
But now, Michelle and I were closer than anyone else at school.
If she testified in my favor, I could prove my innocence or at least buy time.
So, I'd wait patiently, and when my girlfriend showed up, ask for her help at the tribunal.
...But just sitting here waiting was boring.
Maybe I should do some exercises.
Night fell.
They'd confiscated my phone, but luckily there was a clock on the prison wall.
11:55 PM.
It was almost midnight, the date changing.
No one had visited the basement all day.
That meant even Michelle hadn't come looking for me. Still, I didn't feel anxious.
I'd heard she was busy today anyway.
I did wonder how busy she'd have to be to not even visit her boyfriend in jail, but since I didn't know the details, I'd understand.
The Academic Tribunal was next Wednesday anyway.
Five minutes until Thursday ended and Friday began, so about five days left.
Plenty of time for Michelle to visit.
It was now 10 PM. A day had passed since I was thrown in here. The sunglasses lady had brought my daily bread and milk that morning, but otherwise, no one had come today either. Not even Michelle. Was she still tied up with whatever had kept her busy yesterday? I wasn't anxious, but just waiting around doing nothing was getting stifling. Maybe take another shower.
Having a proper bathroom in the cell was a real blessing. While showering, I strained to listen for Michelle, but heard nothing from outside. Even so, after finishing and sitting on the bed, the refreshed feeling brought out a natural hum. It was late, but no big deal. From last night, I'd learned that making noise didn't bring trouble—probably no one else in the basement but me.
As I hummed for a bit, footsteps approached.
"...?"
I stopped, about to joyfully call for Michelle. It was someone unexpected.
"Anna?"
"I-Ian. Hi...?"
"Uh? Oh, yeah... hi."
She was so out of left field that my reaction glitched. Anna stood on the other side of the bars, giving me an awkward look.
"What brings you here?"
"I-I heard you were locked up in jail, so... I got worried and snuck in."
Anna, of all people? She was one of the quietest, most reserved girls in class, not one to chat much with others. Naturally, she and I had zero connection. Though I'd heard she had frequent fantasies about me last time.
"I heard you used Black Magic... Is it true?"
"No. Someone framed me."
"I see. That's a relief."
She believed me surprisingly easily. We weren't close, but I appreciated her coming and trusting me. Might as well ask her about things outside.
"Who said I used Black Magic?"
"Selena..."
"Selena?"
"Yeah. She's the one who reported you, too."
...What?
"Selena said it herself?"
"Yeah. She told the class directly. She said she got suspicious and checked the mana traces on the sand you used, and they showed Black Magic."
That's when it happened. I recalled the mana manipulation practical. When I'd been trying to shape the sand into a square, and Selena came picking a fight. I'd thought she was just showing off her usual rudeness, but she'd clearly taken some of my sand. And probably didn't stop there. Somehow, she'd tampered with the mana traces on it.
Mana traces were like a mage's fingerprints. When a mage used mana on an object, traces remained. Apparently, each mage's traces had subtle differences, like fingerprints.
Damn that bitch...
I'd figured she might pull something since she was so openly hostile. But I hadn't expected her to be the mastermind behind my first real crisis.
Anger surged in my head. Maybe I should've just raped her and broken her back then. No, calm down. Dania would've made it impossible anyway. As I forced my emotions down, a question popped up.
"By the way, Anna. You said you snuck in here?"
"Huh? Y-Yeah..."
That was weird. According to the sunglasses lady, entering without permission should've triggered the mana sensor on her.
"No alarms or anything when you came?"
She caught my doubt and explained.
"Oh. W-Well, I'm actually good at mana manipulation..."
Anna had a specialty? No wonder I was surprised—Anna wasn't a top student. I remembered her as the quiet type who read books at her desk during breaks, with mediocre grades.
"I hid my mana and snuck in."
"Isn't that super hard?"
"It's my... specialty..."
I pressed for details, and here's what she said.
Anna's aptitude for mana manipulation magic was SS-rank. SS-rank aptitude was genius-level, one in a decade rarity. But due to her timid nature, she didn't want attention, so she'd faked her aptitude test.
Hearing that jogged my memory—this game had a shy character who hid her talents. It was Anna.
With SS-rank mana aptitude, she could've handled my Enchantment Magic somehow, right? But since people in this world couldn't even perceive Enchantment Magic, it probably worked on her too.
As I pondered that—
"SS-rank is hard to believe just from words, huh?"
"Huh?"
I wasn't doubting her. I hadn't said or done anything to make her think that.
"I'll show you."
Even so, Anna reached toward the bars. Specifically, the door lock attached to them. To open or close the bars, it required the sunglasses lady's fingerprint.
Then, blue mana flickered from her hand. It flowed into the lock, and moments later, with a beep, the bars slid open like a sliding door. Since machines here ran on mana instead of electricity, manipulating mana let her control it?
"Even S-rank probably couldn't do this. Oh, I'm not bragging! A-And..."
Anna pointed to the bracelet on my wrist.
"That magic suppression bracelet has a complex structure, so I can't disable it, but I can hide the mana it emits."
Meaning, with her ability, I could escape without tripping the mana sensor.
A good idea sparked in my mind.
...I need to ask Anna to take me to Michelle.
I trusted Michelle would visit eventually. But in this uncertain timing, I wanted to go find her and ask for help directly. The sunglasses guards only checked in when bringing bread and milk in the morning—they ignored the place otherwise. This morning, she'd even said she'd come at the same time tomorrow, and hadn't shown since.
So, if I left now and returned before tomorrow morning, no problem.
That's when I was about to ask for her help.
Anna stepped inside and pulled the bars shut behind her. The lock beeped, and I panicked.
She looked at me and said,
"Ian... You want to get out of here, right?"
"How'd you know?"
Anna, now closer to me, hung her head even lower, true to her shy character.
"Actually, I watched the entrance all day, sneaking peeks. You waiting for someone. S-Sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."
A bit creepy to realize I'd been watched without knowing. But was me waiting for Michelle that obvious?
"You want to see Teacher Michelle, right?"
I jumped at her sudden mention of the name.
"How'd you...?"
"While everyone else believed you were a Black Magic user, only Teacher Michelle said you absolutely wouldn't do that..."
"The teacher did?"
"Yeah..."
As expected, Michelle believed in me. Probably why Anna bought my innocence claim so readily—she'd heard Michelle first.
"Plus, she's been grilling the school so much she got suspended for a few days."
Suspended, so she couldn't come to school—or visit. Whatever she said to get suspended like that was too harsh. Was defending a Black Magic suspect enough for suspension because it's so serious?
As I thought that, Anna asked,
"If you meet Teacher Michelle, can you prove your innocence?"
I nodded confidently.
"I see. With my ability, I can get you out."
"So you'll help me?"
"Sorry, but no. It'd break the law... Unless you forced me or threatened..."
What?
Something off in her tone. My gut feeling was spot on—it wasn't casual.
"Ah, ah... It's so hot in here."
Suddenly, Anna started unbuttoning her uniform top.
Her clean shoulders appeared, followed by her bra cupping breasts larger than average for her age.
Faced with Anna's inexplicable actions, I could only stand there, stunned.
"S-Sorry. It's hot, I couldn't help it..."
The basement wasn't hot—it was cool.
And while her face flushed with embarrassment, she angled her body to show off her chest.
That's when I realized. This girl was seducing me right now.
Inducing me to rape her. If she were anyone else, this conclusion might seem odd.
But Anna was the pervert who'd fantasized about me raping her, as I'd seen in Michelle's office.
Her blatant behavior now, and her words about getting me out, backed it up.
To force her ability and escape, she wanted me to rape her.
Then I'd have to give her what she wanted.
"...Anna."
"Y-Yeah?"
"Are you seducing me right now?"