Ch.66Chapter 66. Unexpected Events (3)

Splash-

The lake creates gentle ripples with the splashing sound.

Cynthia closed her eyes gently, thinking about the two candies sinking beneath the lake.

I should have done this much earlier, but it’s too late now.

‘Phew.’

Cynthia quietly gazed at the lake until the ripples created by the candies disappearing into the water vanished.

She finally threw them away.

Before discarding them, the thought of keeping just one kept crossing her mind, but after throwing them away, she felt relieved instead.

Skills that relied on such drugs weren’t real anyway.

Even though she knew this all along, why couldn’t she cut them off decisively?

“Haah.”

The lake that had created waves when the candies fell in became calm again, as if nothing had happened.

As if nothing had ever occurred.

Looking at the now-peaceful lake, Cynthia thought to herself.

That she should return to her former self, just like this lake.

Though something had been thrown in and disturbed it, she hoped that after absorbing the impact and letting time pass, she could become calm again.

‘That man…’

As her thoughts cleared, Cynthia naturally recalled the man she had seen in the forest that day.

The man who had told her he was disappointed, that he didn’t know she was this kind of person.

Though his voice, build, and appearance belonged to someone she’d never met before, he somehow felt strangely familiar.

An aura that suggested he would never lose no matter what, coupled with a sense of composure.

It was like looking at Ryuyeong.

Nod-

Cynthia nodded and stood up from where she had been crouching by the lakeside.

There was a reason she deliberately disposed of the candies on academy grounds rather than elsewhere.

There was another reason she stayed behind instead of going home to throw away the candies at the academy.

To find Ryuyeong with a clear mind after discarding the candies.

There was also a reason she deliberately waited until late at night.

If Ryuyeong truly lived in the dormitory, he would come out even when called late at night.

She wanted to confirm that.

“I’m here to see student Ryu.”

“…Student, at this hour?”

“Yes. It’s really urgent. Could you call him for me?”

“No, even so…”

Cynthia refused to give in to the dormitory manager’s persuasion to come back when day broke.

She insisted that she had to meet him tonight no matter what.

Finally, after confirming that the dormitory manager was heading toward Ryuyeong’s room, she went outside.

If Ryuyeong didn’t come out now…

‘It means he entered the dormitory earlier but doesn’t actually stay there.’

Then she could just ask him tomorrow.

Plus, it would give her one more piece of evidence to support her hypothesis.

Cynthia recalled one by one the suspicious behaviors she had observed from Ryuyeong so far.

It started on the first day of the semester, during the fight with Cain Hover.

The incident where he mysteriously made Cain’s flames disappear.

Cynthia had wondered if she’d seen wrong, but her instinct told her otherwise after seeing Ryuyeong’s reaction.

After that, Ryuyeong continued to show suspicious traits.

Not only did he demonstrate skills unbelievable for a first-year student during the competition, but as soon as the competition ended, he suddenly became proficient with wind magic.

Like someone who had been hiding his power all along.

The highlight was when Cain Hover went berserk recently.

Cain’s attack was so strong and fast that even she, after taking the candy, couldn’t react to it.

Ryuyeong cast Teleportation twice, faster than Cain’s flames.

It was an impossible casting speed for a student level, realistically speaking.

Even Cynthia, who wasn’t a mage, could feel it.

Moving in front of her in an instant, then taking her to the dormitory and returning to the battle site.

The entire sequence took less than 0.5 seconds.

And above all else…

“Cynthia?”

“Ah.”

While she was lost in these thoughts, a familiar voice reached her ears.

‘I thought he might come out.’

It was Ryuyeong.

“What’s this? At this hour? Haven’t you gone home yet?”

“I had something to do.”

“Something to do?”

“Yes. And I wanted to ask you something too.”

“Hmm?”

Cynthia turned around to face Ryuyeong.

Despite being called out suddenly at night, he maintained his usual composed demeanor.

Cynthia stared at Ryuyeong, who stood there blankly.

“What is it?”

Cynthia tried her best not to miss any change in Ryuyeong’s expression as she looked at him with gleaming eyes.

While staying away from the academy for a few days under the excuse of being sick, Cynthia had thought deeply.

Could the man she encountered that day actually have been Ryuyeong?

At first, she thought it was impossible, but the more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

Though his build and voice were completely different, those were aspects that could be easily changed.

Thinking this way, she became increasingly convinced.

That person was actually Ryuyeong.

“Who are you really?”

“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

“I mean, what are you saying…”

“A week ago at night, in the Training Forest.”

“…”

Cynthia interrupted Ryuyeong and continued with a confident voice.

“That person that night was you, wasn’t it?”

“I’m asking what you’re talking about.”

Cynthia observed Ryuyeong carefully, trying not to take her eyes off his face.

Ryuyeong was terrible at lying.

Even the slightest discomfort showed immediately in his expression and voice.

“It was you. You stopped me from taking the candy and took that person somewhere.”

“…Uh, what are you talking about?”

Watching Ryuyeong’s reaction, Cynthia became more convinced.

Anyone could see this was someone who had been caught and didn’t know what to do.

“The clothes hanging in your dormitory that day.”

She wasn’t certain, but it was a statement to drive the point home.

The black clothes Cynthia had seen in Ryuyeong’s dormitory—she hadn’t looked closely, but they seemed similar to what the man who appeared before her a week ago had worn.

“They were exactly the same.”

“…That can’t be.”

“No, I’m sure of it.”

“Come on. You must have seen wrong.”

Hearing Ryuyeong’s confident voice, as if relieved, Cynthia’s own confidence grew.

“No, it was those clothes.”

“No, that’s impossible.”

Seeing Ryuyeong’s confident denial, Cynthia smiled.

“How would you know that?”

“Huh?”

“How can you be so sure the clothes are different when you’ve never seen them yourself, and you claim not to even know who I’m talking about?”

“…Well, that’s… I mean…”

Cynthia smiled faintly as she watched Ryuyeong’s expression crumble in obvious embarrassment.

He had fallen for it.

“And that person could cast Teleportation instantly, just like you. Just like when you took me to your dormitory room during the Cain incident, he suddenly took someone and disappeared somewhere.”

“…”

There was no response from Ryuyeong.

Sensing an opportunity, Cynthia continued.

“I may not be a mage, but I know it’s rare for a mage to cast Teleportation that quickly. Especially in succession.”

Even as she spoke, Cynthia didn’t miss Ryuyeong’s expression.

Though it was dark and hard to see, it was clear to Cynthia.

Ryuyeong’s expression as he rolled his eyes, not knowing what to do, mixed with embarrassment.

“Who… are you really?”

Cynthia asked with conviction.

**

‘I’m screwed.’

That was the only thought going through my mind.

I thought everything had been going smoothly without any problems, but I was wrong.

Cynthia even mentioned the Cain incident from the first day of the semester.

I thought I had fooled her that day.

“Who… are you really?”

Cynthia asked me with a triumphant expression.

I hadn’t been paying attention to my surroundings lately because of the festival main quest, and I never expected to be confronted like this.

‘What should I do?’

I was well aware that I hadn’t been managing my expressions properly.

Come to think of it, when I used my abilities so openly during the Cain incident, it would have been strange if she hadn’t noticed.

Even Professor Amillion immediately noticed something was off and questioned me.

But I thought Cynthia wouldn’t notice because she was just a student.

‘Ah, my normal academy life.’

It seemed to be getting further and further away from normalcy.

“If you don’t tell me, I’m going to Professor Amillion to report that you’re suspicious.”

“Sigh.”

Judging from Cynthia’s voice, it would be difficult to brush this off.

I could feel her sincerity when she threatened to tell Professor Amillion.

‘I didn’t plan on telling the students.’

I didn’t mind if Professor Amillion found out, but I didn’t want to be discovered by a fellow student.

That would create distance between us.

“Go ahead and ask, then.”

“…Huh?”

“Maybe it would be better if you asked Professor Amillion?”

“What?”

For the first time, Cynthia’s expression twisted in confusion.

It couldn’t be helped now.

I had to tell Cynthia too.

“The professor knows…?”

“Yes. Not only does she know, but she’s also cooperating with me.”

“…Eeh?”

Cynthia was shocked, as if this was completely unexpected.

“So, did you throw away all the candies?”

“Ah.”

I decided not to hide anything anymore.

Once I mentioned Professor Amillion, everything was as good as revealed anyway.

“It really… was you.”

“Ah. I shouldn’t have been caught.”

“For someone who… shouldn’t be caught…”

“Hm?”

“Weren’t you too careless…?”

I couldn’t answer Cynthia’s fundamental question.

Though I thought I was restraining myself, I guess it wasn’t enough.

“Still, I’m glad.”

“About what?”

“Ryu, that you’re not a bad person.”

“Well, that’s…”

“So, what is it? Explain it to me.”

“Haah. It’s a long story. Wouldn’t it be better if you heard it from Professor Amillion tomorrow…”

“I want to hear it directly from you.”

“…Alright, fine. To explain it as simply as possible.”

And so I ended up telling Cynthia too.

That I actually work under the Phrysis Family and am tracking suspicious forces within the academy.

And that these forces are related to the vice principal who gave her the drugs.

‘I guess my acting skills haven’t improved after all.’

I realized this as I explained the situation to myself.

With a small sigh.