Chapter 96 – Labyrinth

“You’re crazy, absolutely crazy… How can you hit people so easily?!”

“When did I hit anyone?”

“Just now!! You hit that guard on the back of his head!”

“I didn’t hit him. I pressed a pressure point. It wouldn’t have hurt at all. Besides, if you’re going to make such a fuss, couldn’t you have just handled it with magic?”

“There’s no magic that can knock someone out instantly like that… Well, there is, but using that kind of magic would get us tracked…!”

“That’s exactly why I did it. If there was no risk of being tracked, you would have done it yourself, right?”

“…I wouldn’t do something like that.”

“Sure you wouldn’t.”

Scoffing at Stella’s overreaction, I pulled my hood down lower.

This wasn’t just any concealment hood—it was one with intricate anti-detection spells meticulously woven into it by an 8th Circle mage.

Sarah had prepared it for emergency situations, and what better time to use it than now?

This level of concealment should prevent even skilled mages from recognizing Stella or me.

“But this cloak is super cute.”

…It did have a somewhat cute design, but if it could hide our identities… I could tolerate it.

“You like this style? With all the fluffy fur trim and everything?”

“Shut up.”

“Your manners are just terrible…”

Pouting, Stella grumbled while nibbling on the macarons I’d given her back in my room.

Meanwhile, I sharpened my dulled senses and carefully scanned our surroundings.

No crows… in sight.
No one seemed to be following us, and I couldn’t detect any traces of familiars or summoned creatures.

We weren’t being tailed.
Still, I remained vigilant.

Adelia Baros.
Her eyes could spot us at any moment.

Under normal circumstances… Adelia would likely have been the first to alert me about Pina’s kidnapping.

When I checked Adelia’s profile before setting up the scheduled message, her status showed green.
That meant she was at the Academy.

Yet, there had been no word from her.

Why?
Was it because a black magician bound by the same prohibition was responsible?

Or perhaps Adelia’s eyes missed it?
No, that’s impossible. From our conversations, I knew Adelia had access to far more information than I initially thought.

Someone like her couldn’t have simply missed this.

That left other possibilities.
Perhaps someone diverted Adelia’s attention.
Or maybe, for reasons I couldn’t comprehend, she was watching this entire situation unfold.

“Eliarnes. But… why are we doing this alone?”

“Who else would we bring?”

“I mean… there are plenty of trustworthy professors at the Academy. So why did you set up a scheduled message for two days later? Couldn’t you have just asked a reliable professor for help from the beginning?”

“Trustworthy professors… I wonder.”

In the current situation, how many professors could I actually trust?

None. Only the Headmaster and Vice Headmaster.

And Leona, Pina’s guardian and presumably the strongest person at the Academy, was absent.

Sedil was swamped with responsibilities.
The lockdown would be lifted soon, but the threat of demonic attacks in the capital still lingered.
As the representative responsible for the students’ safety, Sedil had no choice but to be preoccupied.

When considering all these factors, the timing was suspiciously perfect.
Of course, even if I had the opportunity to ask for help, I wouldn’t have.

If that “gate” truly opened because of me…
And if clear traces of Arisa remained beyond that gate…
And if people discovered that those traces were left specifically for me…

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how things would unfold afterward.

Well… things might not play out as I anticipated.
But there was no harm in being cautious.
I didn’t intend to hide the fact that I was Ronan forever. Someday, willingly or not, I would have to reveal it.

But only when I had grown stronger.
When I could act without hesitation or concern, like a proper person rather than a pathetic coward.

Until then, I needed to keep this secret.
Even if it meant taking risks.

“There’s no one like that.”

“That’s always your problem.”

“Why are you nagging me again?”

“Eliarnes. You don’t trust people enough. Isn’t it exhausting to live that way?”

I shot Stella a sideways glance as we walked.

“Better than trusting anyone and everyone like a gullible fool.”

“…Are you talking about me right now?”

“Yes.”

“Ha, ha… haha! Hey! I don’t trust just anyone, you know?! I… I’m selective about who I trust!!”

Stella let out a shrill cry while fumbling with her words.

She’d screamed quite loudly, yet no one around us seemed to notice. The hood’s concealment effect was clearly working perfectly.

“A-And… if you’re saying I trust everyone, well… that includes you too, doesn’t it?”

Stella’s cheeks flushed a bright red.

“What? You trust me?”

“Ugh, you… you’re really…! Forget it, you jerk!! Go away! I don’t trust you!!”

With an exaggerated “Hmph!” Stella turned away and stomped off ahead of me.

A moment later, she slowed her pace slightly and glanced back.

“A-Aren’t you coming?!”

***

“…Is this the place?”

“Yeah. Looks like it.”

We had stopped at the lowest level of Mirinae.
The entrance to the underground waterway, where all the sewage flowed.

A rusty iron gate that looked like it would give you tetanus from the slightest scratch stood before us, while the pungent stench of sewage already made me grimace.

“Ughh… I think I’m going to throw up that seaweed soup I ate earlier…”

Stella was already dry heaving.

“You should go back now.”

“Ugh… heck, n-no. I’m… I’m coming with you.”

“Why are you being so stubborn?”

“Last time, I couldn’t do anything. Yurasia was in such danger… and it was all because of you! So this time, I’m going to do something.”

“I can rescue her by myself, you know?”

“Results are important… mmm… of course results matter. But the process is important too.”

Purple mana sparkled at Stella’s fingertips.
The mana traveled up her neck and seeped into the tip of her nose.

Then, mana from her other hand flowed toward me and settled at the tip of my nose.

The overwhelming sewage stench diminished.
The air seemed cleaner.
There was even a pleasant mint fragrance.

“…What is this?”

“Hmph! How about that? Helpful, right?”

With a triumphant expression, Stella puffed out her chest and made a V-sign with her fingers.

“It’s my own interpretation of the air purification barrier that surrounds the Academy. It’s not as effective as the Academy’s version, but it’s enough to block this level of stench. And that’s not all! It adds a scent too! Mint fragrance! Hehe!”

This was… actually impressive.

Most mages primarily use well-established spells. As they ascend to the 6th Circle, their personal intent begins to blend with the magic.

From that point, they begin reinterpreting existing spells to make them their own—yet Stella had accomplished this at just the 4th Circle.

With merely four overlapping spell formulas.

“Hehehe, even if you look at me like that, I can’t explain it to you. This is, well… hmm… let’s call it the product of my genius? The intuition of a prodigy? Something like that! So even if I explained it, you couldn’t replicate it.”

But her constant smugness made me lose any desire to compliment her. It seems true that staying quiet would make her appear more intelligent.

“I’m 5th Rank.”

“Ugh… that’s only one level difference!”

“You think your Circle system is comparable to our Rank system, you amateur?”

“Eek…! Hey! Would it kill you to give me a compliment?! Would you die?! Huh?! Why can’t you just say I did well?!”

“Oh, did you want me to pat your head and say ‘good job’? Fine, come here. Let me stroke your head.”

Stella’s face turned crimson.

“G-Get lost!! I don’t need it!!”

She wailed dramatically.
But notably, she didn’t remove the purification spell she’d cast on me.

When you notice things like this, you realize she’s actually quite kind.

Chuckling softly, I walked past Stella and murmured:

“Good work. This spell is really impressive. The mint scent is nice too.”

“Hmph, n-no, I mean, ahem. I don’t need your praise! And it’s too late anyway!”

Despite her words, Stella’s lips curled into a slight pout.

Yes… she was genuinely kind.
The problem was that she was… quite a handful.

Swallowing a sigh, I began wrapping the bandages I’d brought around my hands. Starting with the thumb, then around the wrist, across the back of my hand, back to the wrist, and then the fingers.

I was concerned there might be excess bandage since my fists were quite small, but remarkably, the length adjusted itself perfectly.

Perhaps it truly was miraculous.

Smirking, I repeated the process on my other hand.

“You’re really good at wrapping those. Did you learn somewhere?”

Did I learn it? Should I say I learned it?

“No. I’m just copying what I’ve seen.”

“From who?”

With my neatly-wrapped hand, I lightly tapped Stella’s head.

“Couldn’t investigate that, could you?”

“…Ugh.”

Moving aside the flustered Stella, I stepped forward.

“Move aside.”

“W-Why? What are you going to do?”

“We need to go inside, don’t we?”

“I could quietly open it with my magic—”

“No. That would defeat the purpose.”

Crack, crack—clear sounds emanated from my tightly clenched fists. My feet felt light as I bounced slightly.

“What do you mean, ‘defeat the purpose’?”

“We don’t need to hide anymore.”

“Huh?”

Stella tilted her head in confusion.
At the same time—thud—my foot hit the ground firmly.

“Those bastards already noticed us. So—”

Pink twin-tails fluttered in the wind, passing through my field of vision. Slowly shifting my weight to my left foot, I began to rotate my body. Twisting my waist. Lowering my center of gravity. Smoothly lifting my right foot.

“—we might as well charge in boldly.”

As I put pressure on my left foot, ankle, and leg while spinning—WHOOSH! Cherry blossom-colored mana erupted from my entire body. It pushed away the sunset glow around us, filling the world with its pink hue. The mana flowed into my legs.

The moment my heel connected with the iron gate,
every ounce of strength in my body transferred into the impact.

BOOM—a thunderous explosion assaulted our eardrums. Broken fragments flew in all directions, only to be blocked mid-air.

“A-Are you insane?! Are you trying to announce our presence to the entire neighborhood?!”

Stella’s magical barrier had blocked the debris.

Beyond that barrier, I gazed into the pitch-black darkness.

Into the depths of the underground waterway.
Not like the pathetic labyrinths I’d encountered before.
But the true Labyrinth of Labirynth.

I could sense several terrifyingly powerful presences within.

And among them, the most malevolent one…

Smiled menacingly at me.