Conflict

Conflict

Finding the contract wasn’t that difficult.

As soon as I entered the room, a safe that was obviously tightly locked caught my eye.

As I approached it, Luna poked her face out and said.

[It looks really difficult to open at a glance. I’ll open it for you! Just wait!]

It seemed she wanted to be praised this time too.

She spoke to me proudly with her ears perked up, then stretched out her hand and said.

[There are three layers of locking magic on it. It would have been really difficult to open without me, right? No, you wouldn’t have been able to open it at all!]

Luna, who was laying the groundwork to receive even more praise, pulled mana to use an unlocking spell with an unidentifiable laugh.

Watching this, I pushed Luna’s head into my chest and.

With my free hand, I reached out to the safe and directly interfered with the ‘locking magic’ while saying.

“Not necessary.”

[Why!]

Ignoring her voice that sounded like she was protesting.

I forcibly tore off the locking magic itself with my hand and briefly answered.

“We can just break it as it is.”

With a cracking sound, the locking magic is forcibly torn off.

Luna, who was watching this, stiffened her body in shock and hurriedly said to me.

[How did you do that…?]

Then, as if she couldn’t understand at all, she tilted her head and continued to bombard me with questions.

I ignored Luna and forcefully applied my power, completely dismantling the safe’s locking spell.

Creak!

Using mana, I forcibly distorted the steel door and checked the contents inside.

‘All kinds of valuables, documents, and… contracts.’

It seems there were quite a few people bound by contracts.

I thought I could do some interesting things if I used these, so I gathered them all.

‘Well, I’ve obtained everything I could get from here.’

Now it’s time to wrap things up.

I used magic to free all those who were imprisoned and stepped outside.

*

As soon as I returned home, I saw Espin and her family.

After nodding lightly to her family members who were expressing their gratitude upon seeing me.

I handed the contract to Espin.

“If you request it from a magician in your family, they should be able to cancel it. Give this to the professional magician on the second floor.”

“… Huh?”

Espin shows signs of confusion, as if she hadn’t expected me to actually bring the contract.

Looking at Espin’s reaction, I realized that if I stayed, I would be bombarded with all sorts of questions, so I quickly moved my feet as if escaping and briefly said.

“I have something to research for a while, so don’t disturb me. Butler, please take care of the guests.”

“Yes, I understand.”

I quickly headed to the laboratory, avoiding Espin’s attempt to grab me.

Just as I arrived at the laboratory and was about to continue my research on space expansion magic.

Someone knocks on the door, calling for me.

“Deren…!”

Judging by the voice, it seems to be Rumi.

At first, I thought about ignoring it out of annoyance, but considering I had passed Espin onto the Academy, I decided to open the door.

“What’s the matter?”

I greet her as I open the door.

Rumi, with slightly reddened eyes, smiles foolishly as she speaks to me.

“Ah, no. It’s not that anything happened. I just… wanted to see your face.”

Usually, she would have whined or done something strange.

Unlike usual, she speaks to me rather calmly.

Finding this quite strange, I silently stare at Rumi before opening the door wider and saying.

“Let’s sit and talk.”

“Oh… that’s okay! I really just came to see your face.”

“Come in.”

At those words, Rumi hesitates for a moment before nodding and entering the research lab.

*

While silently sipping my coffee, watching Rumi sit nervously, unsure of what’s making her so anxious.

I slowly decide to look at Rumi’s face and try to guess the cause of her uneasiness.

“Has anything happened recently?”

When I ask about her well-being, Rumi looks at me with a face full of bewilderment.

I suppose it’s because it’s unusual for me to ask about her well-being in the first place.

I tried to act nonchalant while receiving such gazes, and Rumi answered with an awkward smile.

“Nothing special…! Everyone is so nice and kind to me.”

For someone saying that, her expression seemed a bit stiff.

I thought about probing further, but decided to stop here, thinking that interfering more might have the opposite effect, so I continued speaking.

“That’s good then.”

“… Ehehe.”

Rumi, who was smiling so awkwardly it seemed clumsy, immediately stood up as if she was about to leave.

… Despite usually trying all sorts of tricks to stay longer in the lab.

Thinking it was strange that she wanted to leave like that, I pondered for a moment and decided to ask directly.

‘I feel like I’ll regret it if I let this slide.’

As someone who prides himself on having good intuition.

I quickly opened my mouth, feeling that I shouldn’t let this go right now.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking. But there’s no need to worry.”

“……”

At those words, Rumi stared at me blankly and then pressed her lips together.

I couldn’t read Rumi’s mind, so I wasn’t sure what she was thinking right now.

But if I analyzed Rumi’s behavior based on the original novel… I probably hit the nail on the head.

“The Lercier family… no, I won’t fall apart.”

I’m not sure if I gave the right answer.

Seeing Rumi’s face looking much better, I thought I might have said the right thing.

I looked at that expression and slowly reached out to pat her head while speaking.

“So there’s no need to have unnecessary thoughts.”

If the me from the first day saw this scene, I would have nagged that it’s not like Deren at all.

I felt it becoming a bit harder to keep up the act as I continued speaking.

“Get some rest.”

“… Yes.”

Rumi nodded with eyes even redder than before, then quickly left the lab as if escaping.

I’m not sure what kind of emotional change this might have caused.

Hoping it changed in a good direction, I decided to focus on my research.

* * * * *

Rumi pressed both hands against her slightly disheveled hair as she quickly moved through the hallway.

‘… Why?’

He never said such things before.

Did he say those words because my heart was wavering?

“……”

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand the reason, and I quickened my pace as if venting my frustration.

Then, stopping at a section where a window was open, I blankly stared outside.

Perhaps because summer hasn’t arrived yet, a cool night breeze gently brushed against my cheeks.

As I closed my eyes tightly while feeling the night air, the words I heard earlier replayed in my mind.

[I don’t know what you’re thinking. But there’s no need to worry.]

I’m not sure with what feelings he said those words to me.

But it was clear that he said them out of concern for me, and thinking about it made me feel like I might cry strangely.

I sniffled unnecessarily and shook my head quickly from side to side.

‘I don’t know either.’

As I was leaning against the window frame, thinking that I had no idea what the right choice was.

The conversation I had with the Heaven God Cult member during lunch came to mind.

[If you don’t want to harm Deren, you should come back soon. Otherwise, the priests might get really angry and who knows what they’ll do.]

As that thought crossed my mind, I felt my face, which had been hot and flushed, gradually cooling down.

Ever since I was adopted… without fail, everything ‘I had loved’ was destroyed and disappeared because of the Heaven God Cult.

‘I want to believe that won’t happen to Deren… but.’

To be honest, I couldn’t guarantee if it would really be okay.

The Heaven God Cult was the type to do absolutely anything to succeed in their plans.

So, feeling the anxiety I had tried to bury rising again, I wrapped my arms around myself.

Then, taking a deep breath, I repeated to myself that everything would be fine.

As I was muttering this to myself for a while, someone gently pressed on my back and spoke to me.

“Are you okay?”

Looking to the side, I saw Senior Espin looking at me with a worried expression.

Seeing the senior’s expression, I smiled silently.

She leaned against the window next to me and said.

“Is something troubling you?”

“Ah, no.”

“What do you mean no, you look really troubled.”

“……”

Thinking she was quite perceptive, I smiled awkwardly.

Espin senior looks out the window and speaks to me.

“You may not know me well… but I know a little about you.”

“… Pardon?”

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but I’m an inspector from the Inspection Department. Of course, I’m just a low-ranking one…”

“Ah.”

I blink my eyes and look at her as she says this.

Espin senior continues with a chuckle.

“Well, due to various circumstances, while investigating the Heaven God Cult, I heard about you.”

I know about this.

I had heard her relay this information to Deren when Espin senior visited the mansion before.

So I nod silently, and Espin senior sighs and says.

“Ah, um. I was sorry about that time. Since becoming an inspector, I’ve had to constantly suspect people, so I’ve developed a habit of doubting those around me…”

“It’s okay.”

At those words, Espin senior smiles awkwardly and scratches her cheek.

Then she sighs and tells me.

“Anyway, I don’t know what it is, but why don’t you try trusting Deren? I too… was able to resolve something this time thanks to Deren’s help.”

I silently look at Espin senior, and she waves her hand and says.

“I can’t go into details, but I was in quite a predicament involving the Heaven God Cult, and Deren helped resolve it well. That’s all you need to know.”

At the mention of the Heaven God Cult, I felt my heart skip a beat.

I thought that perhaps the unspeakable situation Espin senior had encountered might have been because of ‘me’.

‘It’s not just an idle thought…’

From before, the Heaven God Cult has persistently harassed the ‘surroundings’ of those who became close to them.

It was difficult to deny outright, as there were often cases where they made the person they befriended despise or hate them.

So, just as conflicts were beginning to arise again…

I noticed someone hurriedly walking outside.

‘Student Council President Sien…’

Deren’s childhood friend and fiancée.

The moment I saw her, I could feel a strange emotion washing over me.