The Professor’s Coat and the Shadow of Debitum
No matter how much I thought about it, the thing Kian loved most was, without a doubt, magic. The reason he came to the North, the reason he stayed, and the reason he lived—it was all magic. In short, Kian was a man obsessed with magic. At least, that was my assessment.
Since the [Lumun Study Guide], which contained all the basic knowledge, was nearing its end, it was time for the application phase. It was time for [Lukvic] to step up. No matter how many times I reconsidered, this was the best I could offer him.
“The letter and the gift must have arrived safely by now, right?”
I let out a yawn and looked out the window. The academy campus, now completely swallowed by night, was illuminated by artificial magical lights.
Flicker, flicker.
Under the lights that kept blinking on and off, I spotted a group of people. It was a professor and his students, walking out of the research building late at night.
“Hmm…”
The students looked exhausted, their eyes dead and lifeless. In contrast, the professor was strutting ahead, his coat flapping majestically.
“That right there. That’s the look.”
This incident made me realize it once again: the North is still lacking in talent. And by talent, I mean students like those, who voluntarily work hard for the sake of everyone’s development until such a late hour.
I stood up from my seat and moved toward the window, catching snippets of their conversation.
“Good work today. Oh, and don’t forget to drop my clothes off at the dry cleaner’s before you head back.”
“Yes…”
As the professor walked ahead, completely indifferent, the students behind him all simultaneously raised their middle fingers at his back… but well, that wasn’t particularly important.
“I’m so envious…”
What a vigorous sight. That dignified gait. That shamelessness in dumping all his menial chores onto his students. His long coat, fluttering in the wind, looked absolutely, incredibly cool.
“That is what a real professor looks like.”
I closed the window, as there was nothing left to watch, and nodded to myself. The academy was indeed a place of learning. Even I, who wasn’t even a student, had gained such an epiphany.
“Hmm.”
Perhaps my gift had already begun to turn the heart of the (soon-to-be) corrupted Kian. Besides, since I didn’t know what kind of events might befall the North in the future, it would be best to accelerate the recruitment of talent.
“But…”
I tilted my head to think. The room was filled with flashy, sparkling chandeliers. It was an excessively luxurious room for a mere dormitory supervisor’s office at the academy. It was even larger than the VIP suites in the Grand Duke’s castle.
“How am I supposed to handle that…”
No matter how much our circumstances had improved, the North remained the number one place mages avoided. And this time, I felt the reason for that keenly.
The warm climate. The convenient streets. The massive scale of the economy. Unlike the North, where almost all trade was conducted through barter, you could buy anything you needed right nearby.
“Tsk.”
That was why I had intended to take my time and build a solid bond, but if I wanted to speed that up…
I rested my chin on my hand and pondered for a long time.
“Hmm…”
A definitive advantage of the North that would tempt talent right now. “…No matter how I look at it, there isn’t one.”
In stock market terms, it was a soaring stock. But it came with a warning to watch out for delisting.
“Oh, to hell with it.”
I stopped picking at my already cluttered brain and threw myself straight onto the bed.
“If things don’t work out, I’ll just kidnap them.”
The nobles were too risky, so I’d focus on the commoners. Students like Eugene, who was in the room right next to mine, for example.
***
“Achoo…!”
Eugene sneezed and wiped his nose.
“Did I catch a cold…?”
He tried to sit up to grab the tissues on the nightstand next to his bed. A sharp, intense pain shot through him. He suppressed a groan and looked down at the source of the pain.
Bandages. He saw bandages wrapped tightly around his entire body. It was the aftermath of the special training that had lasted from last Friday to this Monday.
He knew the first week was unavoidable due to the runaway magic, but he hadn’t expected to be absent for the entire duration of this week as well.
- Hey! Why are you acting like such a wimp, you young punk!
He remembered the professor, who looked ten years younger than him, shouting that while gleefully throwing magic at him.
- W-wait, huh???
He even recalled the flustered expression that had briefly flashed across the professor’s face as he finally fainted.
“Ugh…”
Eugene eventually gave up on trying to sit up and flopped back onto the bed, yet he still let out a smile.
“Heh.”
Unlike his body, which didn’t have a single intact spot, his mind felt light beyond measure. The magic that had been eating away at his thoughts had faded. The whispers telling him to destroy everything now sounded only like a faint murmur. The liberation he had longed for so desperately no longer felt far away.
***
Inside a dark, gloomy cave where not a single ray of light could reach, a dozen figures in dark red robes stepped onto the stalactites one by one.
“Have you located him?”
A bizarre, distorted voice that made it impossible to discern its original tone. A screeching laughter covered it.
“Located? Locaaated? Heh heh… Of course, I’ve located him. I’ve located him indeed.”
Along with the laughter that sounded like a scream, the dark figure reached out toward the center of the cave. At that gesture, the darkness lifted. A blood-red radiance swirled.
Soon, fresh blood emitting light gathered from all directions, forming a single, massive pool of blood. In that pool, the inverted image of the capital city was reflected.
“Is that the Imperial capital?”
“Yes! To be precise…”
The man in the dark red robe flicked his wrist. The perspective shifted in sync with his movement. Soon, the pool of blood illuminated a vast estate. They were buildings anyone could recognize at a glance.
“Solarium Imperial Academy. He is there.”
Those gathered in the cave maintained their silence. Breaking that silence, the man perched on the highest stalactite let out a laugh.
“Good.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“Of course.”
He answered, pressing his palms together. The sound of boiling blood responded to his gesture.
“Grrr…”
The glinting eyes of beasts filled the cave.
“Kill them all and bring back the ‘Greatest Grudge.’”
A short instruction. The others bowed their heads.
““For Debitum!””
The magic swirled.
***
“You don’t have it here either?”
“Yes… In our shop…”
At the clothing store clerk’s answer, a young girl let her shoulders slump.
“Haa…”
It was the afternoon, the busiest time of the day. Students who had come out for an outing during their break time tried to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out at her dejected expression.
“Why is it nowhere to be found…”
A childish voice, filled with disappointment. But the students deliberately looked away. They knew exactly who that girl was.
Ruen, an instructor at the academy. Holding the title of an educator in this place, where only monsters gathered, was an achievement worthy of respect. They knew that fact, but…
“My clothes…”
Contrary to their thoughts, the corners of their mouths kept twitching upward. She soon headed to the next shop. It was another clothing store.
Various clothes hung on the walls, and pants were neatly aligned. Ignoring them entirely, she rushed past, her gaze fixed on one corner of the shop.
A black long coat was hanging right in the center of the store.
“Phew…”
Ruen took a deep breath and looked at the shop clerk.
“Do you have this in a smaller size?”
Sparkle. Her eyes were filled with anticipation. The clerk couldn’t bear to meet her gaze and looked into the distance, whispering quietly.
“Perhaps you should try the children’s clothing store outside the campus…”
“Augh!!”
The academy was a place where young adults who had finished growing studied. Naturally, there was no way there would be clothes that fit such a small size.
“How on earth…”
That obvious fact didn’t seem to be easily accepted by one person. Ruen stared blankly at the ceiling of the shop.
“Kuh-hup.”
A student who had been peeking at her couldn’t hold back a burst of laughter.
“Huh?”
At that sound, Ruen whipped her head around. The students looked away again. Had they been caught peeking…?
“Huh, huh, huh??”
With trembling eyes, she kicked off the ground. Ruen, who had entered the middle of the group of students, swung her arms in a hurry. A fierce wind rose at her gesture. Even the sturdy, muscular bodies of those training in swordsmanship were pushed back.
“W-wait…”
It was a gale so strong they couldn’t even open their eyes. It was an excessive reaction just for laughing a little. Was the rumor that she committed violence against the dormitory students every day true?
The students, all pushed out of the shop and sprawled on the ground, looked at Ruen with bewildered expressions. To be precise, they looked at the spot where she had been.
—CRASH!!
Because Ruen was nowhere to be seen, buried under a pile of collapsed rubble. What appeared in her place was:
“Grrrrr…!”
Only a beast of an indescribable shape.