Am I Some Kind of Criminal?

Rina had poured her own lifespan into restoring me—more precisely, it felt like a regression that brought me back to normal condition—but I still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hadn’t regained consciousness.

After checking on Rina’s progress, I returned to my room and called for Itsuki.

“You summoned me, Master Yuto?”

Every time Itsuki called me “Master Yuto,” it really pricked my conscience.

The real Yuto had been nothing but bleached bones for a long time now.

Still, Itsuki was a valuable human resource, so I decided ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to do my absolute best to keep acting like the person known as Yuto.

“Any progress on the investigation?”

I had given Itsuki one specific task.

It was an investigation named “Tracking the Apocalypse.”

“Recently, a suspicious drug has been circulating in Eldron City. We captured one of the brokers and interrogated him. The name Matthias came out of his mouth.”

Matthias.

It wasn’t the codename of an actual Apostle, but it belonged to a strong candidate for the position.

Since I had screwed over Judas twice already, that position was probably locked in for him by now.

An Apostle replacement would happen soon.

“Understood. Keep monitoring his movements.”

“As you command.”

Itsuki gave a small nod and vanished into the shadows.

Once Itsuki was gone, I lay down on the bed and thought about Matthias once more.

His real name was Dang Milu.

He came from a nation modeled after China, the so-called Middle Kingdom of the Eastern Continent.

As his surname suggested, he had once been a character affiliated with the Sichuan Dang Clan.

I say “had been” because the clan had stripped him of his family register after the other members petitioned against him, disturbed by his cruel nature.

The Dang Clan itself was already a dark, merciless place, yet even they found Dang Milu so appalling that they cast him out. That alone told you how vicious he truly was.

“He’s already making his move?”

Originally, Dang Milu wasn’t supposed to act until much later. But after I messed with Judas, it looked like he was rushing to build up achievements.

“If it’s a drug, it has to be that, right? Taumin EX.”

Just hearing the name made it sound like some kind of health supplement.

That was exactly Dang Milu’s intention—to make people mistake it for one.

His goal was to spread Taumin EX throughout Eldron Academy by marketing it as a new premium vitality tonic, creating addicts in the process. At first it really did clear the mind and improve physical condition like a genuine tonic. But from the very first dose, its powerful addictiveness made users crave more and more.

And the moment the stack of Taumin EX reached thirty, that incident would occur.

The Eldron Academy Mass Seizure Incident.

It was called a “seizure” because once the stack hit thirty, the victim’s entire body would begin trembling violently, as if having a seizure. At that point, the addict’s body would undergo mutation.

It triggered the human-to-monster transformation phenomenon known as beastification. Students who completed the transformation would obey Matthias’ orders without question.

The really troublesome part was that even after turning into monsters, they could still use their previous abilities.

Basic skills like magic and swordsmanship were one thing, but they even retained their Act and Abl, becoming full-fledged monstrous powerhouses.

“The time when students start looking for vitality tonics is exactly during exam season.”

During midterms and finals, students hunted for anything that could boost their condition.

The first student to try Taumin EX would spread word of its miraculous effects, and the rumor would snowball until everyone was desperately searching for it. That was how the Eldron Academy Mass Seizure Incident began.

“I already told Itsuki to track Matthias’ movements. The moment we find him, we’ll crush him.”

Because when it came to the Apocalypse, the answer was always a fist to the face.

“Alright then, shall we spin the gacha? Come out, Luna the Moon.”

My abilities were definitely overpowered, but I had learned through experience that they weren’t quite omnipotent. In situations like this, gear made all the difference.

I immediately called Luna for the gacha.

“You called me~?”

“Hmm……”

I stared at Luna for a moment, taking in her appearance.

“Why are you staring at me like that~?”

The outfit change wasn’t the problem.

What really got on my nerves was the phrase written on the sign she was holding.

“What the hell is written on that sign?”

“This? It’s a curse~.”

“A curse? It better not be aimed at me.”

“You’re asking the obvious. Of course it’s for big brother~.”

This damn rabbit was cursing me when I already had terrible luck and was just wasting points?

I immediately lunged forward to smack her on the head, but Luna dodged ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with rabbit-like agility.

“I’ve already analyzed all of big brother’s movements~. Too slow, too slow~.”

“You little…!”

I ground my teeth and glared at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her.

I had definitely transferred Booreum’s personality directly into Luna, so I had no idea how her personality had twisted into this.

Booreum had been such a good little sister who listened to her big brother so well.

“Haa… Forget it. Just summon the vending machine.”

“You’re going to put in points and lose points again today~. Got it~.”

When Luna snapped her fingers, a vending machine appeared in front of me.

Thanks to clearing that hidden scenario quest earlier and unlocking three achievements in the process, I had accumulated quite a lot of points.

I had enough to hit the ceiling about five times, but I had no intention of going for a ceiling pull.

“O rabbit god. O cat god. O gods of heaven and earth. Please grant me an insanely broken item.”

I spun the machine like I was making an offering.

“Pfft! Looks like my curse worked since the first offering was already trash~.”

“Shut up!”

I shoved the carrot that came out of the machine straight into Luna’s mouth and immediately went for a ten-pull.

“Crunch! At this rate I could open a vegetable shop~.”

“That’s just how gacha works at the beginning.”

And once again, I was forced to stare at the familiar ceiling of failure.

“My sleep really was restless.”

In the morning, I received a summons from Professor Julius and headed to the Law Enforcement building he oversaw.

Professor Julius was the homeroom professor for Class F, but his actual role was the Academy’s Law Enforcement Director.

“It’s kind of funny that a school even has a judicial institution like this.”

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

I knocked on the door to Professor Julius’s office. Hearing the invitation from inside, I opened the door and stepped in.

The moment I entered, the interior scenery shifted as if the background had slid away.

The atmosphere felt strangely familiar… It was exactly like the interrogation rooms you see in movies—the kind where a prosecutor kicks the criminal in the face while yelling, “You think you can lie to me?!”

‘What the hell? I’m not even a criminal, why is he changing the room like this?’

While I stood there in a daze, Professor Julius flicked his finger, gesturing for me to sit across from him.

I walked over to the indicated seat and sat down.

“Then let’s begin the interrogation.”

“Interrogation?”

This really was an interrogation room?

“First, your name.”

“You already know my name.”

When I responded with the clear implication of “why are you asking when you already know” to Professor Julius, who was faithfully following every interrogation cliché, I received a sharp glare. Reluctantly, I gave my name.

“Han Ijun.”

“Han Ijun. What exactly happened inside the Black Pyramid of the Black Desert?”

“I was involved in an unexpected accident.”

“What exactly was that accident?”

Professor Julius really was digging into every single detail.

“I was attacked by an unidentified illusionist.”

“An illusionist… Did you see what this illusionist looked like?”

“Yes.”

“What did they look like?”

“They had pointed ears.”

I deliberately avoided saying “elf” outright.

In this world, there were several races besides elves that had pointed ears.

There were the bloodkin, the imps from the demon realm, and the nymphs who lived in the place called Ditchwater.

“Pointed ears… And what exactly did this illusionist do to your Group 6?”

I answered every question diligently.

Whether he didn’t get tired or not, he maintained a perfectly upright posture and kept prying without mercy. My head was starting to hurt.

I answered as cleverly as possible, hiding the truth without making it obvious. The interrogation that had started in the morning only ended when the sun was already beginning to set.

“That concludes the interrogation. I may call you again soon, so keep your device on you at all times and stay reachable.”

Finally released, I stretched my stiff back after sitting for so long and left Professor Julius’s office… no, his interrogation room.

Before returning to the dormitory, I headed to a bamboo grove growing in a corner of the academy. I dug a hole there and shouted into it.

“Go bald, you damn bastard Julius!!!”