episode_0050

‘Can I control Helena.’

In the original Sungyong, she interfered even in places that she couldn’t imagine until the end if it didn’t match her intentions.

After the sobriety ended, she originally planned to quickly clear Main Scenario #1 and additionally pressure Helena, who was acting like a puppet, to cut off all the students with force.

Once Helena started walking the path of hostility towards the user even once, she never bent her will or compromised.

So when she expanded her extrasensory perception beyond its limits and noticed that Claire and Helena were stuck in an intermediate devil’s position, she was anxious until just before arrival.

She only hoped that Helena wouldn’t see Claire as an opportunity to deal with her.

‘In reality, it was completely the opposite.’

Instead, she risked her own life and even suffered fatal injuries to protect Claire.

I thought I didn’t know much about her, but honestly, I don’t understand the current situation well.

From actions she had never shown before to conversations during a visit.

Are these actions and even conversations during a visit a way of expressing that she doesn’t want to be hostile to me by giving up her will, or are they just part of a process to seize an opportunity in a decisive moment later?

Frustrated by the unsolvable riddle, I sighed heavily, and I could see someone running towards me from ahead.

When I saw his face, he was a member of the academic support team whom I had seen on the day of the entrance ceremony. Is there something for me now?

He soon arrived at me, panting, and opened his mouth.

“Yukal student, do you remember seeing me once before?”

“Yes, you are a member of the academic support team, right? I remember leaving a brief message to deliver to the principal’s office.”

His face brightened at my words and quickly affirmed.

“Yes, yes, that’s right! Since the principal called you to the office this time, it would be nice if you could move there right away. Did I convey it properly?”

“Just a moment-”

Trying to catch him in a hurry with the same pattern as before, he left quickly after leaving similar words, leaving me alone in that spot.

“What is this guy doing…”

Muttering involuntarily in frustration, I let out a sigh.

*

Since the original purpose of Helena’s visit was over and there were no special schedules, I immediately moved to the principal’s office as instructed by the academy’s academic support team member.

‘Perhaps they called me to ask a few questions related to this incident.’

Previously, if sobriety had ended, they would have called me weekly for special education, but in the situation where the academy was attacked, they wouldn’t proceed with such things.

They will probably praise me for handling an intermediate devil and mention that there will be a reward.

The problem is that to repel this attack, I joined hands with Cinea’s Black Moon 4th Division.

Iris is likely to ask about this.

‘It’s actually good. There are things here that need confirmation from Iris too.’

Naturally, I was about to knock and ask for permission to enter, but before that, a cheerful voice came from inside.

“You can come in without knocking.”

As I opened the door and entered, I saw Iris, who seemed a bit more tired than last time, checking documents vaguely, signing them, and even using magic to simultaneously work with extra pens and stamps.

I was impressed by her meticulous work and continued without looking at me.

“I received a report that you handled the intermediate devil this time. Well done.”

“As a student of Ardent Academy, it was something I had to do.”

“This is not my unilateral decision, but there will be recognition at the academy along with the approval of other professors.”

Alright. If I get into the secret vault of the Ardent Academy this time, I should pick up a decent sword.

There’s no sword as good as the one Rachel uses, but that’s only natural.

As the pile of documents on the desk dwindled, Iris added further.

“If you heard what I presented in the auditorium last time, you would know that I wasn’t at the academy during this recent attack. I was summoned to the Imperial City to deal with the incident caused by one of the Ardent Academy students.”

The room’s temperature gradually dropped with Iris’s cool voice, likely not due to mood.

“While I was away, numerous monsters, including intermediate demons, invaded the academy, but fortunately no one died.”

I felt the surrounding magic gradually pressuring me.

“Many professors and students collaborated to thwart some of the attackers, but unidentified outsiders took out most of the enemies? Interestingly, the student who killed an intermediate demon, the student who created the situation that led me to leave for the Imperial City, and the student being watched by the unidentified outsiders all match up. So, Yukal, you must answer my question.”

As she finished signing the final document and turned her gaze towards me, Iris looked at me with cold eyes and manifested her magic.

For a moment, my attention was drawn to her red-glowing eyes—

At that instant, overwhelmed by the overwhelming magic that pressed down on my entire body, I collapsed to the ground.

“I can’t breathe properly.”

Not just pressing with air and her own magic, but interfering with the magic within my body, preventing me from even breathing properly.

“It would be best to answer truthfully. Did you have any involvement in the recent academy attack incident? Why did such a thing happen on the day your probation ended, and what is your relationship with them? Why did they help you?”

Iris has secured most of my magical control, but since there is still magic I can use, I began to forcibly convert it into aura and turn it in my body.

As I pulled the stagnant magic by force, gradually rising to my feet, I opened my mouth, glaring at Iris in the same way.

“It’s me… There’s something you need to answer to Headmaster Kyojang.”

I noticed a slightly surprised look on Iris’s face as if she didn’t know that I would resist and rise to my feet.

“When I had the opportunity to talk to the former Headmaster about Ardent Academy, I mentioned that there were intruders monitoring the students. At that time, the Headmaster replied that he didn’t know about such people. But considering what you just said, it seems like he already knew back then, so I’m curious.”

Forcing myself to endure Iris’s magical control through Aura, I took a deep breath and spoke as calmly as possible.

“Even though you knew they existed before I spoke, you didn’t take any precautions, and even a little insight into the internal affairs of Ardent Academy would reveal that there are no special guards. Why did you package them like that?”

Momentarily taken aback by my sudden resistance and sharp question, Iris soon spoke to me.

“I asked first. Answer my question first.”

“I believe you can understand that I don’t have a magus on my body, so you should know that at least I haven’t had any contact or made any contracts with demons. Apart from being the victim of an attack, I had no involvement whatsoever, and what the headmaster mentioned was purely coincidental. And the reason they helped me is because I made a deal with them.”

“Deal?”

“I answered your question, so please answer mine, Headmaster.”

Iris replied slightly unevenly, “If I say I don’t know about them? Declaring them as special security was just to quell the confusion.”

“You’re lying.”

“Accusing others without evidence—”

“You already fought them once outside the academy. The headmaster wouldn’t possess or use high-level magic weapons. So if they used it and the headmaster used equivalent magic to annihilate them, it seems plausible. You know better than anyone that there’s no one in the academy who can withstand such weaponry and magic output.”

Iris became like a mute person who tasted honey after my words.

Perhaps she got the right answer.

“Even though you fought them, the reason the academy is still intact is because the headmaster made some kind of deal, isn’t it?”

“….”

After hesitating for a while, Iris soon released the magic that had been restraining me along with a small sigh.

“I can’t give a proper answer about that. So, I won’t ask about the deal you mentioned. I just have one last thing I’m curious about. You made that choice to protect the students, right?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t want to, but if I hadn’t made a deal with them, there would have definitely been casualties among the students.

“Got it…”

Iris approached me, held my hand, and helped me up.

“Do you remember when I said we have special education once a week? We’ll start from today, so don’t forget and come by regularly on weekends.”

What Iris asked me to do was… to draw various pictures.

I did it as she asked, but no matter how much I thought about it-

“It’s not art psychotherapy, is it?”

I had thought it was just an excuse to meet, but when it actually happened, Yukal was flustered.