141. I'm Here to See the Room
141. I'm Here to See the Room
The Holy Knights were chasing the traces of a demon.
The place they arrived at by following the thick demonic energy sensed during the morning patrol bore only traces that a demon had been present. They could find no further traces.
"The demon's traces have been cut off here."
Their current highest-priority tasks were broadly two: tracking down and exterminating the demon's traces, and rooting out heretics.
There were three main possibilities for why a demon's traces could be cut off.
The first was that the demon was so weak it couldn't find a contractor and quickly returned to hell,
the second was that it found a contractor and entered their body.
The third was that it had been defeated by someone.
"There's one human trace besides the demon's."
The commander of the Red Flag Holy Knight Order crouched down and carefully examined the human traces left nearby.
A human trace found at the location where the demon's traces disappeared — it was extremely suspicious.
"Demon traces and human traces at the same time... could it be a Magically Infected Human?"
"It's a possibility. But it could also be the opposite."
Thinking simply, the demon might have lured a human into a contract.
It was a very frequent occurrence.
But he didn't jump to that conclusion.
"Have we not all memorized it? That a Master of the Empire has infiltrated this academy."
"Yes, we understand that the recent string of incidents has all been connected to the Master."
A Master was hiding in the academy.
They didn't know if the Master was a student or a professor, but they were said to be mixed in with the academy's crowd, saving the academy from every major threat.
The fact that demon and human traces were together looked like the birth of a Magically Infected Human, but it could also simply mean the demon was killed by a human.
"First... we will continue the pursuit. Once we see it in person, we'll know if it's a Magically Infected Human or a Master."
He had no intention of concluding it was only one thing.
First, if they could just find it, they would be able to figure out what had happened.
————————————
Several days had passed since the Holy Knights' patrols began.
Let's talk about the positive results first.
Their efforts bore fruit, and the corruption among students and professors noticeably decreased.
Sneaky corruption continued behind the scenes, but at least in visible places, they had no choice but to watch out for the Holy Knights.
And regarding the matter of the Prohibition of Impure Heterosocial Interactions.
Wasn't it said that pain that fails to kill me only makes me stronger?
Everyone came to realize what that meant.
It was an incident that happened this morning while commuting to class.
"Fufu, James."
"Whoa, those guys seriously never get tired, huh..."
Yes, for example, students like those.
"Impure heterosocial interactions...."
A Holy Knight stopped the two students on charges of impure heterosocial interaction and separated them.
It was a mechanical action without any emotion.
But the moment they were separated, the two seemed to think this was their chance and shouted in all directions.
"James, why is this happening to us? Even though we are in love..."
"I don't know either, Emma. It seems our love is going through a trial."
"We haven't done anything wrong, so why is this happening? Why can't our love transcend us?"
"I don't know that either. I thought love had the power to overcome all barriers and boundaries... But it seems we are just powerless beings in front of such a mighty force."
"James, while we are separated like this, I'm so scared imagining what might be happening between us. And I feel like I can no longer endure this situation."
"Emma, I miss you so much. But I don't know what decision we have to make. I'm agonizing between the church's pressure and our love, it's truly hard."
"Oh, James!"
"Emma!"
If it had been a play, the curtain would have had to come down around this point,
but students passing by just glanced back once with rotten expressions and continued walking.
It was mostly students without lovers who did that.
Ordinary students giggled at the sight and continued on their way, and only the Holy Knight stood there blankly between the two students, silent as a stone.
Whether they were angry or dumbfounded, nothing could be read from their expression.
"Those sunbaes seem to be getting worse and worse."
"Aren't you looking forward to what repertoire they'll prepare for tomorrow?"
They said the Holy Knights prevented impure heterosocial interactions, but the most they could do was separate them when they were in plain sight.
They couldn't forcibly quarantine the students, and were still reluctant to touch them any further than that.
At first, everyone was displeased, but at some point, the Holy Knights were being utilized as a device.
A thrilling device that made the students' love blaze even hotter.
"That..."
"I will absolutely not do that."
When I subtly brought it up to Liber, who had witnessed that on the way to class, Liber waved his hands in refusal, saying he absolutely would not do it.
But we too were adapting quite well to this environment of moderate stress.
Just attempting physical intimacy without getting caught by the Holy Knights or other students felt different from usual.
"But where are we going to study?"
"Now that I think about it, there's no place we can all gather and concentrate together."
I said that because we soon needed to set a proper schedule.
The others could just gather in a dormitory room, but it was impossible because one man was mixed in.
"If we look for an empty lecture hall, plenty will come up... shall we do it there?"
"These days, the Holy Knights wander around at all hours, so that's a concern too... if possible, I want to avoid the academy's main building."
"As expected, we need to find a villa quickly."
"Is that really happening?"
"What do you mean it's not happening; we have to make it happen."
Since that night, I had been looking around here and there.
The conditions were, first of all, a place not easily visible to others, and not too far from the dormitory. I was searching with those two as top priorities.
.
.
.
.
.
.
That night too, I secretly slipped out of the dormitory to check out a decent spot.
This time, it was a mansion recommended by Senior Andy after I had been searching various places.
"The location is decent... it's not too far, not next to the sea either... and it's not on top of a mountain, but it's in a suitably secluded place."
It was a location that met most of the ideal criteria I had been thinking about.
According to what Andy said, this was originally where a professor who majored in black magic lived, but after that professor was confined, everyone found it creepy and didn't want to come in, right?
Since Andy had only been appointed this year, it must have been something they heard, but judging by the mansion's appearance, I did think it was creepy enough to warrant it.
Even considering that I came to see it on a dark night, this mansion was extremely eerie.
With its bizarrely twisted black roof, sharp fence, and walls stacked not from wood but precisely fitted stones.
Symbols presumed to be essential for black magic were embedded all over the garden, which made the mansion look even more eerie.
I entered through the front gate casually and grabbed the doorknob of the mansion, but I felt a presence from beyond the wall.
'...Who is it?'
This place was an abandoned mansion where no one lived.
There were no homeless people wandering around, and there was no way a student curious enough to enter at this hour would be there.
Just in case, I was about to subtly pull out the sword I had brought, but then I stopped.
'...Hmm. Since I'm curious who it is, I'll capture them first... I need to find out their identity.'
If I used the sword, the lethality would become too strong.
Since I could take it out if it got dangerous, I grabbed the doorknob with one hand and slightly opened the door.
-Kiiiik
The unoiled hinges made an unpleasant noise, and as the door opened, the presence I'd felt behind the door made a 'thunk' sound, as if setting something atop the door.
It sounded like a heavy lump of metal had been placed there, like a firearm being set down.
'A gun?'
When it came to people who possessed firearms in the academy, one person immediately came to mind.
"Are you there, Emy?"
"Atlas??"
When I said her name, she pulled back the muzzle she had placed above the door and rushed out.
Her round face popped out from behind the thick door.
The identity of the person in the mansion was Emy, who was wearing an anti-demon coat.
"This place has a strong demonic presence. What brings you here??"
I was surprised that Emy was there, but I understood immediately.
Since it's such an eerie place, it wasn't strange for there to be traces of demons.
It seemed she had entered as usual while searching for demon traces.
"No, I was looking for a place to study."
"A place to study?"
"We decided to have a study group, remember? But we don't really have a proper place to gather and study together, so I thought it would be nice to secure a quiet house."
"People who think of making a villa inside the academy aren't very common."
Hearing me say that I was going to make a new home, unsatisfied with the dormitory, Emy made a gesture as if she was dumbfounded.
"So that's why you came to this mansion?"
"The location here is good. They say a professor originally lived here, but it's been empty since they retired. If I can fix it, I'll fix it and use it... if not, I plan to tear it down and build a new house."
"When I talk with Atlas, I feel like my senses are becoming warped. You really speak of incredible things like they're nothing."
"If you're a recommendation admit student at the academy, it's easy. If you borrow some golems, tearing down a house like that is quick."
The academy used various golems, and if they followed the proper procedures, any student could use some of those golems.
Though, if you broke them, you'd get a bill for the repair costs.
"First... I should check if the mansion is in decent condition."
"Is there a reason you're doing it after sunset?"
"I didn't want to stand out to other students. But you said there were demon traces here?"
"Yes, there were none until just yesterday, but they suddenly appeared today."
"Ugh, let's chase it away quickly before we get defiled."
I hadn't expected it, but I ended up looking around the mansion with Emy.
-Squeak
As soon as I stepped into the hallway, the wooden boards attached to the floor made an unpleasant noise.
They said no one had lived here for a long time, but the condition wasn't very good.
"I expected this, but it's a mess. Better to just leave the foundation and tear everything down to build anew."
"How can you talk about building a house so easily??"
"If I call a few old... no, a few engineers who owe me their lives, it'll be quick. Haven't you seen a house assembled by magic yet? If you just prepare the materials, it's done in a few hours, snap-snap."
"Hearing you say that, I'm actually looking forward to it."
We talked about that as we looked around the house.
Building a single structure was quick if you brought a few wizards and dwarves.
I had the money, and if I called a few people who owed me, it would be solved quickly.
If necessary, I could just tear it down myself.
"Wait,"
Emy suddenly raised a hand.
Her expression became more serious than at any other moment.
"I feel Demonic Energy."
"Is it this room?"
The place where Emy stopped was the room at the very end of the second-floor hallway.
"I'll go in."
"Atlas, wait!!"
What more could there be?
I pushed past Emy and stepped forward, putting my hand on the Squte I wore on my back.
When I opened the door, a black lump of Demonic Energy lunged at me.
[Hyaaaaak!!]
"Hup!"
In an instant, a pure white flash blazed in the old mansion where not a single ray of moonlight entered.
-Buung!
[Aaaaaaah!!!]
The lump of Demonic Energy, which hadn't even been able to fully form, was slashed in two by the dazzling flash. Unable to coalesce again, it scattered into the air.
It was definitely a demon, but it seemed it hadn't been able to properly cross over from hell.
"Huh... it was nothing special."
"Ugh...!!"
The pure white light emitted by the extreme-level Aura Blade illuminated the dark hallway and also lit up Emy's face.
Emy, apparently angry, puffed up her cheeks and walked up to me without a word.
"What are you doing all of a sudden!! It's dangerous!! How do you know what traits that demon had..!"
Emy pounded my chest with her fists wildly.
"Uh.. uhh, sorry."
Caught off guard, I could only nod my head.
I was flustered because I had almost never seen Emy get angry.
"Anyway... just shine your Aura Blade like that. I'll look around to see if there's anything else inside."
Emy, having become uncharacteristically sulky, began to examine the room where the demon had been.
"Hmm... this is a very suspicious place."
"Wasn't that human just put down for a moment, not cut off?"
Perhaps because this room was where the black magic professor personally lived, symbols of black magic and disorganized materials were scattered everywhere.
Old, worn-out furniture was everywhere, and there were many objects where it was hard to tell whether they were artifacts or just junk.
"It looks dangerous. Can't we just destroy everything here?"
"What if there's something that gets triggered by being broken? We have to examine things one by one as carefully as possible."
"At that time..."
-Cheolkeok!
"Huh?"
"What?"
There was the sound of stepping on something.
There was some kind of mechanical device between the old wooden floorboards.
The moment I realized I had stepped on something, the whole room flashed,
"Uwaaaaaah???"
"Kyaaaaa!!!"
and we were thrown into endless darkness.