Chapter 76
Chapter 76
At last, the demon’s power erupted, and the explosion crashed into the Magic Circle.
It was far more powerful than I’d expected, so I had to give it everything I had—
‘Wait, won’t this give me mana exhaustion?’
Even though the students were the ones who had cast the spells, I had to use mana too, since I was the core.
My chestnut-sized supply of mana vanished in an instant, and I suffered mana exhaustion.
For reference, the most common symptom of mana exhaustion is passing out.
My body grew heavy as a thousand weights, and my vision darkened.
‘…W-wait, if I pass out like this, they’ll misunderstand even more….’
“P-Please don’t die, Professor! Sob, sob.”
“Are you trying to jinx him? Why are you crying?! Who said anyone was dying?! Professor Ban, why do you always have to go and sacrifice yourself like this?! I won’t forgive you if you die, so open your eyes this instant!”
“Ha! Are you going to die just like that? Get a hold of yourself!”
The sounds of one misunderstanding piling on top of another filled the air, but I couldn’t say a thing.
The last thing I saw was the students rushing toward me. Then I slipped into unconsciousness.
The miracle Ban had brought about was astonishing.
The demon’s energy had exploded, yet the incident had come to an end without causing any harm.
In other words, Ban’s declaration that he wouldn’t let anyone get hurt had come true exactly as he’d said.
With one exception.
The only one who lost consciousness and collapsed amid all the commotion was Ban himself—the very person who had brought about this miracle.
…In truth, all he’d done was become exhausted. But because people had greatly misunderstood him after his earlier use of the Self-Sacrifice Spell, they were making a fuss.
“Hmm. How boring.”
In a seat at the very top of the hall,
a girl wore a bored expression.
But something about her was strange.
She wore a uniform with a First-Year Student badge, so she was clearly a new student. And yet she hadn’t taken part in the competition, and even though she was sitting in an open, unobstructed seat, no one seemed to notice her.
“I’d been looking forward to this, but what was that? After all that effort helping the demon, it ended so anticlimactically. I wanted at least fifty people to die.”
That meant the demon hadn’t caused this incident alone. This girl had helped, too!
And what was that about wanting fifty people to die?
A glint of madness flickered in the girl’s eyes.
“It’ll be hard to stir up anything fun at the Academy for a while, so I guess I’ll go play outside. Come to think of it, I heard the Dark Auction is happening soon. Maybe I’ll go check it out?”
The girl stretched.
“How many people do you think I can kill there? Hehe, I can’t wait~♥”
Her lighthearted humming was completely at odds with the horrific things she was saying.
Before leaving, the girl glanced down below.
She saw Ban, who had fallen after nobly sacrificing himself for everyone.
“Come to think of it, was that professor in charge of my class?”
Disdain welled up in the girl’s eyes.
A noble person like that was the sort she hated most.
“Disgusting.”
Flash!
And so,
the girl who went by the alias ‘Susan’—a long-term absentee from Ban’s Welcome Class, and one of the sixteen protagonists—
the girl who would one day become the worst villain of all, known as the ‘Massacre Maniac,’ vanished, leaving behind a chilling afterimage.
Thanks to using the Self-Sacrifice Spell, I slept like a log for three days.
They say sleep is the best medicine, and I felt like my body was in fantastic shape.
‘That’s not the problem.’
After sleeping for three days and waking up, I found that the world had changed.
This time, it had changed in the most literal sense.
Ban the Trash! He has turned over a new leaf and become a true professor! He sacrificed himself for his students! “Even if it costs me my life, I’ll protect you.”
Professor Ban has performed another miracle! “The source of my miracles is my noble heart, devoted to my students.”
Professor Ban’s famous quotes are back in the spotlight. “Call me a star now.” “My light will cover the Empire.” “This is only the beginning of my legend.” Those weren’t empty boasts!
…So much for being a reporter for Gossip Daily. They’d even made up all sorts of things I’d never said.
While I stared at the headlines in bewilderment, someone entered the infirmary.
It was Professor Bernstein.
“Our hero Ban, you’re awake?”
“Why are you calling me a hero?”
“Thanks to you, so many students were saved. That’s certainly worthy of the title. Now no one at Rubiness Academy will dare casually call you Ban the Trash.”
It really was as if the world had changed.
“Anyway, are you feeling all right?”
“I’m fine.”
I’d slept the whole time for three days, so I really did feel like I could fly.
But Bernstein furrowed his brow ever so slightly.
“You must still be in poor condition, yet you’re forcing yourself to act strong.”
“……”
Bernstein let out a deep sigh.
“Former President Randolf and I checked your condition, but we couldn’t make heads or tails of it. You must have paid a serious price. To go this far for your students…”
It was probably because of my Grandmaster of Magic trait that people couldn’t examine my internal condition.
Thanks to that, the misunderstanding had been confirmed.
“…I really am fine.”
“Don’t overdo the act, either. I understand your feelings well enough.”
‘No, you clearly don’t understand at all.’
I kept my mouth shut. If I said any more, I felt like I’d only sink deeper into the mire.
“Former President Randolf was very worried about you, too. He wanted to come with me, but since you still need to rest, he sent a gift in his place.”
I fell silent for a moment as I read the message written on the outside of the gift.
—To Professor Ban, who will become a pillar of Rubines. From Randolf, who cherishes you deeply—deeply.
…Was it delusional of me to sense an unsettling amount of affection in that painstakingly written message?
I’d already been branded that way, but after this incident, it felt as though there was no going back.
‘…Still, it’s probably an expensive Magic Tool, so I’ll accept it. The gift itself hasn’t done anything wrong.’
“There’s something I should tell you. We have reason to believe that someone besides Baron Aiden was involved in this incident.”
“…What do you mean?”
“No matter how high-ranking a demon may be, exerting control over students with no connection to it is no easy feat. It seems someone at the Academy helped the demon act.”
My expression turned grave.
I didn’t want to get involved, but this wasn’t something I could ignore.
‘Who on earth would do something so horrific?’
Someone at the Academy had set things in motion so that dozens—hundreds—of people would die.
‘There are plenty of villains at Rubines, but few who would commit something this horrific. Wait, could it be?’
I swallowed hard.
One person came to mind.
‘…No. We don’t even know for sure whether the Massacre Maniac has come to Rubines yet.’
I tried to shake my head, but I couldn’t deny that it was starting to seem more and more likely.
‘…They still haven’t revealed who the protagonist of the Support Faculty at Rubines is.’
Libel and Katrinne in the Magic Faculty,
Tern in the Knight Faculty,
and Mikhail, the Demon Blade, in the Humanities Faculty.
There should be one more in the Support Faculty.
‘If the protagonist of the Support Faculty really is the Massacre Maniac, what am I supposed to do?’
My heart sank.
As I’d explained several times before, the sixteen protagonists were divided into different groups.
Four were main protagonists, four were sub-main protagonists, and four were supporting characters.
The remaining four were villain-type protagonists.
‘Unless some extraordinary miracle happens, they’re all destined to become terrible evildoers.’
The worst of them were two people.
Devil Brain and the Massacre Maniac.
And if people had to choose just one of them as the worst, they would without a doubt choose the Massacre Maniac.
‘Unlike Devil Brain, who might still be capable of changing, the Massacre Maniac can’t be redeemed.’
On top of that, the Massacre Maniac had a ridiculously overpowered cheat ability, which made it difficult to stop her from committing evil.
“You seem to have an idea of who it might be.”
“……”
“I don’t know what’s on your mind, but I have one thing to ask of you. Don’t do something foolish like this again by trying to handle it all alone. You’re not alone. I’ll be there for you whenever you need help.”
“…I’m not planning to—”
“You’re doing it again. Didn’t I tell you I know how you feel?”
He didn’t look like he would believe me, no matter what I said, so I simply kept my mouth shut.
“Then I’ll be going now. If I keep monopolizing you any longer, I won’t be able to bear the students’ resentment.”
“??”
Wide open.
The moment Bernstein opened the hospital-room door, a crowd of faces appeared, peeking in.
“Young Master, how are you feeling?! I, Hans, was so worried about you that I could barely bring myself to eat or drink!”
“What are you talking about, you old man? You’ve been eating three meals a day, plus snacks! Just look at how much your double chin’s grown these past few days. Senior Ban, you know I’m the only one who truly worries about you, right? Hehe.”
“You brat!! I had to force myself to eat so I’d have the strength to look after the young master! And what do you mean you were worried?! You were lounging around, saying you ought to take advantage of this chance to slack off!”
“Why are you bringing that up? You were slacking off with me, too.”
—Bba! Bba! Bbaaa!
It wasn’t just the two of them and Marie.
There was Libel, teary-eyed; Katrinne, frowning; Julia, with her arms crossed haughtily as she subtly checked on my condition; and even Wilhelm, who looked as though he’d been dragged here against his will.
Professor Bernstein gave a quiet chuckle.
“Do you know how worried those students were about you?”
“……”
It was truly strange.
Just moments ago, I’d been regretting the things I’d done at the Academy. But when I saw their worried faces, a thought crossed my mind.
Still, it wasn’t all bad.
‘…Of course, it would be a problem if we got any closer.’
“I’m tired, so everyone should go back.”
“Surely you’re not embarrassed?”
“…I’m not. I really am tired.”
“A-a professor being embarrassed… How precious.”
“Why are you so cute? After causing me so much grief. Ah, not that I was worried about you or anything.”
Even if I could understand that from Libel and Katrinne…
“Hehe, even your tsundere cuteness. I like you even more.”
“Professor, you’re cute! So, you’re not going to send me back to Prison anymore, right?”
“…I said everyone should get out.”
Even after that, the visitors kept coming.
‘Hmm. The world really has changed.’
It wasn’t just an exaggeration.
The people who came to visit were no ordinary bunch.
“Professor Ban, I’m the Student Council president.”
“Why is the Student Council president here?”
“I came on behalf of the students to thank you for saving them.”
The third-year Student Council president, whose face I’d never even seen before, came to visit and bowed in gratitude.
“I’d also like to apologize. In fact, until now, I’ve stood by and pretended not to hear it whenever people slandered you by calling you Ban the Trash or the like.”
“……”
“If any students make such unsavory remarks about you from now on, Professor, the Student Council will put a stop to it.”
And that wasn’t all.
“Professor Ban, are you feeling all right? I’m Professor Lighton of the Knight Faculty. Though you’re a mage, the sacrifice you showed this time was truly worthy of a knight!”
“I’m Adon of the Humanities Faculty. I, too, was moved by how much you care for your students. I apologize for having misunderstood you until now and for having said foolish things about you to my students during class.”
Professors came to visit, and—
“Professor Ban, this is an invitation from my master. We would be grateful if you would visit when you have the time.”
“Our family is holding a banquet soon. We would be delighted if you attended.”
Other influential people in the Free City got in touch, hoping to establish connections with me.
Of course, this sort of thing hasn’t happened often. It’s only been a handful of people, but still, how can I complain?
Not long ago, I’d been Ban the Trash. This was an incredible rise in status.
For the record, the visit that made me happiest was this one.
“…Thanks to you, our child was able to live. You’re the one who saved our child’s life.”
“I-I’m grateful, too.”
The people who had fallen victim to the demon’s scheme had come to offer their thanks.
Some of the students came with their parents, and every one of them left after expressing such profound gratitude that I almost felt overwhelmed.
I’d suffered back then, but it had all felt worthwhile.
Director Karak visited, too.
Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be holding a grudge over what I’d said to him that time.
However—
“Oh-ho-ho, Professor Ban, what you did this time was truly impressive. You’ll keep working hard for the Academy from now on, won’t you?”
By “the Academy,” he meant loyalty to himself, the Director.
I naturally nodded, but—
“Heh-heh. I see. I’ll look forward to seeing what you do from now on.”
…Don’t say that while looking like you don’t believe me at all. You suspicious bastard.
Director Karak seemed to grow even more wary of me.
Still, he gave me a gift: a week of sick leave, along with a week of reward vacation.
Vacation is the best!
What was my dream?
To live a life where I could take it easy, wasn’t it?
At last, my first break since becoming Ban!
With my hopes soaring, I headed home.
“At last, we’re going home. Marie, don’t you miss home, too?”
“Kyuu! Ppa!”
“I wonder what we should do with our week off. I suppose the best thing would be to stay home, not move a muscle, and lounge around?”
Even with all the stress from the noise upstairs, home was still the best.
But—
“…What is this?”
“…Kyuu?”
My house was gone.
The spot where it had definitely stood had turned into an empty lot.
More precisely, it had turned into a pile of ashes.