Chapter 67

Chapter 67: Tracking Clues (1)

“Ah... um....... Ahem, right. That is how it turned out.......”

Lucia, who had met my eyes, rolled her gaze this way and that before quietly turning her back to face the other direction.

“......?”

“Hahaha.......”

Unlike me, who was expressing doubt at her strange behavior, the red-haired male student who had come with me curved his characteristic narrow eyes and began looking at me with a hollow expression.

Jaeger Maximov.

He was a Grade 2 first-year student enrolled in the Weapon Department, as well as Highsmith’s disciple.

After my five days of confinement ended, I had something to say to Jaeger separately, so I called him to this restaurant.

But what was with this subtle atmosphere?

“Be grateful that it became known you treated Senior Lucia. Otherwise, you would have been thrown out immediately.”

As Jaeger said, judging by the gazes piercing into me, that did seem likely, but I had no idea what was going on.

Naturally so.

“From what I saw, it did not seem like they would press the charges that severely. I heard your parents had no choice but to contract with a demon, Senior?”

“…You knew?”

“Roughly?”

Not roughly. Almost certainly.

During the five days I spent confined in the Dormitory, I had heard the whole story from Valak while modifying ‘Reptile Ignorance.’

“Was it that they were attacked by someone and had no choice but to form a contract in order to survive? With charges like that, I doubt even the Dark Empire would treat it as such a grave crime.”

As someone who had once stood at the peak of Black Mages, I could guarantee that.

Their Corruption from Demonic Aura had also been lifted, so it would likely not go as far as the extreme penalty.

“Yes, that seems to be the case.”

After letting out a small breath, she continued speaking.

“Professor Dave said so. He said that if things continue like this, he might have to kill Aron.”

“It would be strange if he did not.”

“…Do you think Aron has any intention of turning himself in? He is still Direct Line of one of the Four Great Houses, so the house might understand him at the family level.”

Look at this.

There was a subtle barb in her words, so it seemed she had wanted to ask that to me, Aron.

“How would we know the mind of a criminal like that?”

“…I-Is that so?”

“He is the bastard who openly declared that he would kill Yulia. Trying to understand someone like that is the ridiculous part.”

I glanced at her back and replied lightly.

“When the time comes later... I think we may learn why that bastard acted the way he did.”

“Do you think so?”

“Would we not? Probably.”

“…Yes. I hope that happens.”

That should have been an answer in its own way.

But I still did not understand why she was continuing to answer me with her back turned.

It felt as if she found me extremely uncomfortable....... Why?

“If you dislike me, call someone else. You are not the only server here, Senior.”

“Ah! Th-That is not it.......”

Lucia, who violently denied it and whipped her head toward me, looked at my face, then immediately avoided my eyes and dropped her gaze to the floor.

See that? 

She could not even meet my eyes properly.

She could not even maintain her specialty, Poker Face, and it was quite a sight.

“What are you doing?”

“Ugh... I do not know how I am supposed to face you and deal with you.......”

With that mutter filled with lament as her last words, she lowered her head deeply and slipped into the staff room as if fleeing, without even taking our order properly.

At that sight, Jaeger tilted his head. 

The other restaurant employees also blinked as they stared at the door Lucia had entered.

“Did I bring up her parents for no reason? She really hated it.”

Even before my Return to the Past, Sword Radiance had once scolded me for lacking sensitivity....... Tsk, it seemed a person’s nature did not change so easily.

“Considering you have a record of punishing her with a confession, I suppose it is only natural that she would react that way.”

“…Hey, are you good at fighting? Shall we go at it again like we did during the Joint Class?”

“Did you not call me here because you wanted to entrust a request to me?”

“Tsk, you cunning brat.......”

Well, whatever the case, she was a child with outstanding talent.

Even if she was trying to keep her distance from me now, once she sorted out her feelings later, she would become a good fighting force in the events that would unfold in the future.

“Besides... from what I can see, it seems to be the opposite.”

“The opposite?”

“No. It is not my place to interfere.”

Something about it bothered me, but I did not bother digging any deeper.

After all, I had not met Jaeger to have this kind of idle conversation.

Jaeger leaned his upper body slightly toward me.

“So you said you wanted to request an artifact repair from me?”

“Yeah.”

TAP.

I placed an obsidian-colored Pocket Watch on the table.

“I received it from the Headmaster. It is an artifact with a Demonic Aura tracking effect.”

Jaeger picked up the Pocket Watch with interest, but the moment he opened the lid, his expression turned troubled.

“It is terribly damaged. Its operating method also looks delicate.......”

“Strictly speaking, it is not broken. It was originally disposable.”

“Disposable? And you are trying to entrust the repair of such a thing to me? If you received it from the Headmaster, would it not have been better to ask the Headmaster for the details?”

“I did ask. But she rejected me, saying she could not tell me for security reasons.”

In the first place, it was an artifact being researched in Saengterminum’s Research Building.

If I asked about something like that while I was merely a student, it would be hard to expect a proper answer.

Nor could I say that this artifact was connected to ‘Abyss.’

‘Abyss’ was a Demon Order that would only begin spreading its infamous name across the continent roughly five years from now.

In other words, ‘Abyss’ was a group that had meticulously remained hidden behind the stage for those five years without revealing itself.

While dealing with members of ‘Abyss’ after graduating from the academy, I had only then learned that ‘Abyss’ had been deeply involved in the demon summoning incident that occurred at Saengterminum.

However, I had merely put the thought on hold because I had no idea how I should investigate those bastards from this point onward.

But if I had caught hold of such a definite clue, that changed the story.

Because of that, I first decided to try repairing the artifact.

Headmaster Levia probably thought this artifact only had a Demonic Aura tracking effect, but in truth, that was merely a secondary effect.

The original ability of this artifact was to allow a demon’s will to dwell within the artifact, enabling the user to wield a demon’s power through the artifact.

The Pocket Watch before me was its prototype.

If I could use this artifact, it would also be possible to make contact with ‘Abyss’ in Saengterminum.

“I can repair it so it looks clean on the outside, but the engraved mana circuits and formulas are all ruined, so even if I fix it, it will not function properly.”

“That much is enough.”

I might know Black Magic, but my knowledge of equipment repair or Equipment Crafting was not particularly deep.

For things like this, it was also easier to leave it to an expert who made a living through crafting.

“You are the disciple of the famous Highsmith, so that much should be possible, right?”

“If I manage to repair it, is there compensation?”

“Did you not say last time that you wanted to obtain a ‘High-Grade Mana Crystal’?”

“That is true. Unfortunately, I could not find one.”

“It seems I was right to take a gamble.”

CLACK.

When I took out the ‘Mana Crystal Dagger’ and placed it on the table, Jaeger’s eyes sparkled.

“I think this will be a good trade for both of us. What do you say?”

***

The day after I entrusted the artifact repair to Jaeger.

I stretched fully and got out of bed refreshed.

After looking around the room, I frowned.

“…I will have to clean this later.”

Dozens of sheets of paper were scattered messily all over my room, from the desk to the floor.

Every sheet was densely filled with Black Magic formulas.

It was the aftermath of spending the whole time inside the Dormitory working out calculation formulas to modify ‘Reptile Ignorance.’

That hard struggle had all ended as of yesterday, though.

Let me see.......

After drawing Holy Power out from my Sacred Mark, I stored it inside my heart.

Mid-Rank Holy Magic Understanding: 65 percent

Heh, nice.

I had already gotten a faint sense of it when I was able to use three Mid-Rank Holy Magic spells simultaneously during my fight with the Fallen Cult Leader last time.

The understanding that had only been 55 percent last time had suddenly jumped by 10 percent and reached 65 percent.

It was an achievement I had been able to attain because my understanding rose quickly the more I fought those contaminated by Demonic Aura.

At this rate, smoothly handling Mid-Rank Holy Magic without ‘Auto-Casting’ was not just a dream.

Once that happened, I would be able to freely use Holy Magic without having to deliberately inject Holy Power into my heart.

And later, I would likely be able to handle high-level Black Magic and high-level Holy Magic, two opposing types of high-level magic, at the same time.

The slight problem was that in order to raise my understanding any further, I would have to fight those contaminated by Demonic Aura.

‘I am not too worried about that part, though.’

After all, I had returned to the past in order to change the future. 

I was bound to clash with those who handled Demonic Aura.

Looking at the Sacred Mark from which Holy Power was rising, I gave a bitter smile.

“This really... makes it hard to know whether I should be happy or not.”

A sigh escaped me on its own.

CREAK.

I moved my body, which felt somewhat lighter, and opened the door to go eat breakfast.

“A good morning, Student Damon.”

BANG!

Damn it, that startled me.

The moment I saw the scarred, fearsome face through the gap in the door, I reflexively shut it.

Seeing that terrifying face first thing in the morning woke me up completely.

“Is that you, Professor Dave?”

When I asked out of courtesy, an answer came from beyond the door.

“…That is correct. I came to see you this morning because I have something important to discuss.”

I rubbed my arms a few times, where goosebumps had risen.

Let me say this first. 

It was not that I had been shaken just because I opened the door and saw the face of a grim-looking, large-built elderly man with an intimidating impression.

It was just that.

‘What would I have done if that professor had seen these?’

Right now, my room was full of formulas I had written down in order to modify ‘Reptile Ignorance,’ all scattered around.

If Professor Dave, a Grade 1 Black Mage, saw these papers, he would immediately realize they were Black Magic formulas.

‘That could have been bad.......’

Thank heavens I had shut the door right away. If Professor Dave had seen these formulas, it would not have been strange if he immediately interrogated me about why a Holy Magic Department student knew Black Magic formulas so well.

It seemed I had been at the academy for a long time. My guard had loosened slightly.

While reflecting on my own carelessness, I picked up the papers and crumpled them into an inconspicuous corner.

“…Was my face that frightening?”

“Ah... well.......”

Professor Dave’s tone from beyond the door was still taciturn, but since I knew his personality, I had no choice but to clutch my forehead.

“So frightening that you were startled and immediately shut the door the moment you saw me?”

That gentleman was a little sulky.