Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Trust Relationship (2)

“Hmm... Are you truly going to choose that weapon?”

Jaeger furrowed his brow.

That was because the weapon Damon had chosen was, in his eyes, far too unsatisfactory.

It was a dagger about one and a half palms in size, and its handle was firmly wrapped and fixed in place with a leather bandage to make it easy to grip.

Even the blade that made up the dagger had merely been forged with ordinary steel as its base, without any special minerals mixed in.

It could be evaluated as the most ordinary weapon among all the weapons displayed here.

As a blacksmith, his eye could not possibly be wrong.

“Is that how it looks to you?”

Even so, Damon did not let go of the dagger.

Instead, he narrowed his blue eyes and cast Jaeger a meaningful sidelong glance.

“Do you not think it is strange precisely because it is ordinary?”

“Pardon?”

Damon pointed at the tag attached beside the dagger.

[200 points]

That was the number of points needed to obtain this dagger.

“If it were a truly ordinary dagger, I do not think it would cost as much as ‘200 points.’”

“Haha, that may certainly be true. Though I do not particularly like gambles.”

Jaeger answered in an easygoing manner and rose to his feet.

“Well... I suppose I will have to compromise with some other material as well. Still, since this is the Headmaster’s Treasure Vault, I had allowed myself to expect a little more.”

“Was there something you were looking for separately?”

“I was looking for a ‘mana crystal.’”

“A mana crystal?”

“Yes. Among them, a ‘high-grade mana crystal.’”

A mana crystal was a product obtained by processing mana stones that came from monsters or mines, and it usually served as fuel that operated magic devices created through magical engineering.

However.

“If a highly pure mana stone is turned into a mana crystal... that mana crystal becomes useful as a material for equipment crafting. It is a material currently being researched in many ways, so I was looking to see if there might be a high-grade mana crystal here. Hehe, but there does not seem to be much of a harvest.”

Jaeger shrugged with a regretful expression.

“Is that so? That is unfortunate.”

Damon replied as if tossing the words aside, then approached Headmaster Levia with the dagger in hand.

‘So he is purchasing that dagger after all.......’

Since Jaeger had also had thoughts similar to Damon’s, he had carefully checked whether any additional process had been applied to the blade of that dagger.

However, all he ended up feeling more strongly was that there were no notable traits aside from the fact that it was a blade made of steel.

The handle of the dagger bothered him a little, but... if he carelessly inspected the equipment without purchasing it and ended up provoking the Headmaster’s wrath, it would become troublesome in many ways.

To begin with, he also lacked the points needed to purchase that dagger.

‘Well, it is not a matter for me to involve myself in.’

Jaeger dismissed it as someone else’s business and shook his head from side to side.

***

I took the dagger straight to Levia and purchased it by paying ‘200 points.’

“Are you really choosing this?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, good.”

After confirming the purchase, Levia tossed out a passing remark.

“...You have a good eye?”

“You flatter me.”

After purchasing the dagger, I summoned a Mana Dagger and lightly cut the end of the leather handle.

Jaeger, that guy... said he was looking for a high-grade mana crystal, did he?

A faint laugh escaped my lips.

What a shame, really.

Just as Jaeger had said, the blade was certainly an ordinary dagger made purely of steel.

However, there was no way Headmaster Levia would sell such an ordinary weapon for ‘200 points.’

She might be a whimsical dragon, but she was still the Headmaster of Saengterminum. 

She would not deliberately screw over a student for no reason.

RUSTLE.......

After pinching the cut end of the leather bandage, I gently tore it away and unwound the dagger handle that had been tightly wrapped.

Before long, a violet light was reflected on my retina.

Between the leather bandages, I could glimpse a violet crystal body firmly embedded in the dagger’s handle.

‘Bingo.’

This was the very ‘high-grade mana crystal’ Jaeger had been searching for so earnestly.

Headmaster Levia certainly has peculiar tastes. 

If she hides it this tightly, who is supposed to notice?

If I had not heard about this dagger from Headmaster Levia in the previous round, I would not have even dared to pick it.

‘I never would have imagined it. No, why did you hide a “high-grade mana crystal” in this way? No, just why?’

‘Because... it is fun?’

‘Fun... you say?’

‘It is like giving a surprise gift to a student who buys it without even knowing what it is, as if saying, “let’s go in blind”? If they want to obtain a “high-grade mana crystal,” they need to have at least that much nerve.’

‘...Ah, yes.’

A surprise gift, my ass.

That ridiculous answer had been so shocking that I still remembered it clearly even after several years.

As if anyone could mistake her for anything but a dragon. 

How many students would actually use the points they had worked so hard to earn for a gamble like that?

Well, thanks to that, I had been able to obtain this dagger easily, so the result was good in the end.

In any case, based on the current round, a ‘high-grade mana crystal’ was a material that had very recently begun to rise sharply in prominence as a weapon-crafting material.

In particular, as its effect of compensating for the user’s insufficient mana capacity had been proven, demand for ‘high-grade mana crystals’ had been increasing among blacksmiths.

From my position, where my mana capacity kept hitting rock bottom every time I cast Black Magic, there was no weapon more suitable than this.

There was one more useful ability besides that... but I could check that later.

Once class ended, I should meet Lucia first.

I had to check how the cleanup had been handled, after all.

“Everyone, good work getting through the Joint Class.”

How long had I been organizing my thoughts like that? 

Before I knew it, all the students had purchased items according to their points.

By having Levia ‘Teleport’ the students, myself included, near the entrance of the rift, the Joint Class came to an end.

***

After the Joint Class ended, I met Lucia separately as planned.

Meeting Lucia was not difficult.

Lucia had been standing at the entrance of the rift where the Joint Class had ended.

Hah, as expected of a Demon Cult Leader. 

She was quick-witted about this sort of thing, all right.

After exchanging light glances, I quietly slipped away from the group of students and moved deeper into the deserted jungle with Lucia.

“First... I should tell you how it was resolved, right?”

After hearing the whole story from her about how the cleanup had been handled, I nodded in satisfaction.

“That is a relief.”

Just as I had expected, Yulia and Lloyd had kept the fact that Aron had appeared a secret and had not informed the others.

Lucia had also accepted the two of their opinions and agreed to keep quiet about it.

Of course, Yulia and Lloyd were not fools. 

They would surely give separate notice to people they could trust that Aron had appeared... but even that much was better than nothing.

Mm As expected, I am smart.

For a brief moment, a fishy sneer formed on my lips at the situation that had proceeded exactly as I had predicted.

“...Why did you do that?”

Lucia asked me an extremely natural question.

It was only natural for her to ask.

Since I had suddenly used even the ‘Black Magic Barrier’ and revealed my identity, she must have been rather flustered in her own way.

Lucia would not know the effects of the ‘Simplified Holy Ground’ Yulia had cast.

I tried to open my mouth to explain.

“Was it because of me?”

But Lucia cut in first.

“...Pardon?”

“You used the ‘Black Magic Barrier’ on purpose... to hide the fact that I am a Black Sorcerer, did you not?”

I blinked.

Uh... this was somewhat unexpected.

How did she realize that right away?

Perhaps it showed on my face, because Lucia immediately added another explanation.

“When Yulia used Holy Magic, you remember? The moment I saw the golden light coming from it, my whole body began to ache.”

“Uh... Is that so?”

Insane.

Even though I was in the middle of a sweltering jungle, I nearly got goosebumps.

Wow, damn it. It had been far more dangerous than I thought, had it not?

Now that I thought about it, that ‘Simplified Holy Ground’... was Holy Magic that took effect just by being seen?

I did not know Holy Magic perfectly either. I had no idea its effects would be that outstanding.

I really had almost screwed everything up.

Still, if Lucia had realized that much, it was actually better for me.

It would make it easier to talk.

“As soon as I entered the ‘Black Magic Barrier,’ the pain eased a great deal. The ‘Black Magic Barrier’ probably reduced the effects of the Holy Magic....... Am I right?”

“That is correct.”

“...Why?”

Lucia asked again, quietly.

Mm... Why exactly was she asking this?

If she understood that much, I wondered if there was any need for her to ask further.

Her face was so stiff that I could not read what she was thinking at all.

“Why did you go so far as to reveal your identity... and hide the fact that I am a Black Sorcerer?”

“No, are you really asking because you do not know?”

I waved one hand and answered her question.

With an extremely rational and reasonable answer.

“There is also the fact that we both contracted with the same demon, Valak, and if I eliminate the defectors while following you, Senior, my understanding of Holy Magic will improve.”

“...That is true.”

“And if it is discovered that you are a Black Sorcerer? Who knows whether you might sell out the fact that I am hiding my identity?”

“I thought that would be the case.”

“......?”

My head tilted to one side.

This made even less sense.

I had acted only after thoroughly weighing the pros and cons and finishing my calculations.

There was no way Lucia would not know that.

“I know very well... that you did not hide my identity for my sake.”

“Then why.......”

I tried to press her, but I had no choice but to stop.

WHOOSH.......

It was not because of the wind that had suddenly blown through.

RUSTLE.......

And it was even less because that rushing wind had struck the leaves.

“But you know? Even so... I wanted to say this.”

Lucia looked at me and murmured in a small but distinct voice.

“Thank you.”

“......”

Because it was a pure expression of gratitude that an ordinary eighteen-year-old should naturally have possessed, with her rigid mask removed.

I had no choice but to close my mouth.

“...Yes, I really wanted to say that to you.”

After saying that, Lucia passed by me and began walking toward the entrance of the Artificial Rift.

Thank you, huh.......

I had not expected to hear words of gratitude.

No, perhaps it was not unreasonable.

For more than five years, she had hidden the fact that she was a Demon Cult Leader from everyone... and then a being like me, who had discovered her identity, appeared.

From her perspective, it might have been a considerable source of mental comfort.

TAP. TAP.

It probably was not just my imagination that Lucia’s footsteps looked lighter than before.

Good grief.

I am not the kind of kind person who deserves to hear thanks from you.

Because even though I knew that you could have died, I had merely stood by and watched. I was that hopeless sort of bastard.

I turned my body and followed after her.

“We are catching defectors again tonight, right?”

“Yes.”

Still, well, having someone say thank you to me did not feel half bad.

“Heh, sounds good.”