Chapter 75

Chapter 75: You Are Free to Misunderstand (3)

As I walked while talking with Yulia and Viole, we soon entered the Training Hall lobby.

Now that the early morning hour had passed, students began entering the Training Hall lobby one by one to practice.

Before Yulia and Viole entered the Changing Room to change clothes, they spoke to me.

“Please wait here. We have something to tell you after we meet.”

“What are you going to say?”

Come to think of it, they had said they had something to talk about separately, hadn’t they?

“You know the people from our Holy Order who are coming this time?”

“We thought we should tell you about them beforehand.”

“Ah, what? Was that what you were going to talk about?”

I turned around and tried to leave the lobby as I was.

“I know the rough details already.”

It was because I had guessed what the two of them were going to say.

“Huh? N-No, wait a moment!”

“I am telling you that you need to hear this.”

“Is there any point in hearing it?”

I turned my head and tossed the words out.

“It is obviously because of the Inquisitors, isn’t it?”

The two who had tried to stop me halted in place.

“You knew?”

“You knew, Brother?”

“Well, if they are coming to catch Aron, who uses Black Magic, would there be anyone more suitable than Inquisitors?”

Inquisitors were people whose very purpose was to kill Black Sorcerers.

Because of that, even before the war broke out, the ‘Inquisitors’ had a fairly strong standing within the Holy Order.

Calling their standing strong was a polite way to put it. 

Most Inquisitors tended to have extreme dispositions to match.

Since they had a tendency to see not only Black Sorcerers, but also Black Mages as potential criminals, that said enough.

The meaning of those words was clear.

“There is no way the Inquisitors would look kindly on me. After all, rumors have spread everywhere that I am interested in Black Magic despite being a Holy Magic Department student.”

“You know it well. That is exactly why we told you to wait.”

“The Holy Order has also learned information about you, Brother Damon. Along with the fact that you defend Black Magic.”

Yulia let out a heavy breath and continued.

“…The Inquisitors must have heard about you as well. Do you think they will leave you alone?”

“Do you think I will just sit still and take it?”

“At least be careful with your words. That is what we are telling you.”

“Do I look like the kind of person who would keep his mouth shut because of that?”

When I said it flatly, Yulia and Viole’s eyes narrowed.

“No, you are not…….”

“You are not someone who cares about what others think…….”

“Then that is settled, isn’t it?”

After dismissing their words, I tried to walk toward the entrance.

“I know roughly about the Inquisitors too. You do not need to tell me.”

“I will tell you this for now. I heard those people are coming today. Though I did not hear exactly when.”

“Is that so? I will keep it in mind.”

Those Inquisitor bastards… before my Return to the Past, they had probably been desperate to devour me and Lloyd, who were direct descendants of the Four Great Houses.

Still, compared to the previous round, the current round where I was Damon was better in terms of the situation itself.

When I had been attending as Aron before my Return to the Past, not only the Inquisitors, but even Yulia and Viole had been on bad terms with me.

‘Well, none of that matters now.’

I clenched and unclenched my right hand.

‘First, I want to test just how much power this newly learned ‘Condensation’ has…….’

“Hmm…….”

Should I just practice roughly?

After putting my right hand into my pocket, I raised the Holy Power of the Sacred Mark.

Residual heat rose from the back of my hand, but thanks to my right hand being in my pocket, no light leaked out.

I had already arranged to meet Lloyd and Karin today for the tournament that would begin the day after tomorrow.

We had said we would hunt the Monsters inside the Artificial Rift together to coordinate with each other, so I could try hitting one of the Monsters there with this.

Just as I was walking toward the entrance while thinking that—

“…Hm?”

The gazes of the students near the entrance were all focused in one direction.

When I followed their gazes, I saw one boy and one girl standing there.

“This is the Training Hall, right?”

“Considering there are people wearing Combat Uniforms, I believe it is.”

After confirming the two of their facial features, I let out a low hum.

It was my first time seeing them in this round, but as a regressor, those two were quite familiar to me.

‘…So they have arrived, the Inquisitors.’

***

At that moment, in Saengterminum’s Headmaster’s Office.

“Hoho. Thank you for accepting the Holy Order’s request, Headmaster.”

The old man sitting across from Levia bowed benevolently.

Perhaps because age could not be hidden, he had many wrinkles, but his build was good. 

Even though his hair was white, his glossy hair and skin were more than enough to give the impression that, despite being an old man, he was not merely hale, but healthy.

He was the person who would be appointed as a Holy Magic Department professor as the representative of the three people being dispatched this time.

“I was worried because I heard an ‘Inquisitor’ was coming as a professor… but you have a very nice impression, don’t you?”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“Hmm… You said you were a former ‘Inquisitor,’ right? And after retiring, you taught children at the Holy Order?”

“That is correct. Our Order could not send an active member in the prime of their career either. The active members are busy in their own ways as well…….”

The old man’s voice lowered as he continued.

“There are also Black Mages here who are at odds with us outside Saengterminum, so if a proper ‘Inquisitor’ came, they might have made some sudden move. One wrong step could provoke the public anger of Lady Levia before me, so we could not carelessly send one.”

“That does not seem entirely true, though?”

Levia tapped the documents she had received from the Holy Order with her fingernail.

The documents contained the profiles of the three people being dispatched.

Even the Holy Empire had not written in detail about what they had done, citing security as the reason, but she could tell the origins of the old man before her and the two students.

“‘Royal Lord’……. I wonder whether it is really necessary for three people from such precious Divine Families, including you, to come here. And all because Yulia, a first-year student, is supposedly being targeted by Aron?”

“Hohoho, we must prepare for any unforeseen situation. Capturing Aron is not simply Student Yulia’s problem, is it? Just by having us, who come from the Holy Order, here, the students at Saengterminum will receive good stimulation. I do not think these are bad conditions for either side.”

“That is true. That is why I allowed it.”

Levia answered arrogantly, resting her chin on her hand, but inside, she felt rather uneasy.

It was because the Holy Order had been dispatched because of Aron, but she knew that Aron was hiding his identity while attending the Holy Magic Department.

‘Ugh, there are more good points to them coming here, so it is awkward to scold him for it…….’

It was not intentional, but Levia thought the current situation was not particularly bad.

“Will the two students being dispatched be in the Dormitory?”

“Yes. I brought two who have only just become ‘Inquisitors.’ They are both seventeen years old, the same age, and they are acquainted with Yulia and Viole, who are also from the Holy Order, so they should not have difficulty getting along, but…….”

“But?”

The old man interlaced his fingers.

“Damon David. I do not want them to meet that first-year student. Our Holy Order is also keeping a close eye on that student.”

“If that is your concern, I agree.”

“From what I have heard, his skills are truly exceptional, but his character is somewhat…….”

Levia also nodded and agreed with the old man’s words.

Although Saengterminum accepted students regardless of status, position, or ideology—

Honestly, from the Holy Empire’s perspective, Damon’s actions had crossed the line of what could be called acceptable.

After all, even though he was a Holy Magic Department student, he was saying that he was interested in Black Magic.

“I did firmly tell those children to simply look around nearby in moderation, but their original disposition is that of ‘Inquisitors.’ It would not be strange if they said a word or two upon seeing Damon.”

From Levia’s perspective, since she knew Damon was Aron, this was not entirely incomprehensible, but to others, he could only appear to be an eccentric.

“…Then I will assume that our opinions have been properly conveyed and take my leave.”

When the old man who had finished the conversation was about to rise from his seat, Levia turned her head toward the window and asked.

“Your Holy Empire. Is the Sacred Mark doing well?”

“……?”

Although her head was turned toward the window, there was no way the old man, an elder of the Holy Empire, could fail to notice that her eyes were clearly directed at him.

“Pardon……? Of course it is doing well.”

The old man wore a natural smile, but Levia detected the slight twitch of his facial muscles.

‘Huh. Did it really disappear? Is the Sacred Mark Aron has truly real?’

An old man who had even served as a former Inquisitor would not be shaken by an ordinary matter.

It was the moment Levia’s suspicion deepened even further.

‘Aron Bayonel, I can clearly see the road of hardship ahead of you.’

***

‘Hmm… I wonder whether it showed. To think she would suddenly ask about the Sacred Mark.’

After leaving the Headmaster’s Office, the old man stroked his chest.

As someone who knew who the Sacred Mark Successor was, he could not help but be surprised by Levia’s question.

‘Could she have noticed that Yulia possesses the Sacred Mark……?’

The old man soon shook his head and denied his own thought.

There was no way that was the case.

The Holy Empire’s Sacred Mark was famous even in other countries, after all. 

She must have simply asked out of courtesy.

‘Hoho, even if she is a hatchling, a dragon is still a dragon……. I nearly got dragged in.’

***

Before my eyes, the two people who had just entered the Training Hall lobby were looking around.

“Hmm… I heard Yulia and Viole came here…….”

“Pardon me, does anyone know where they are?”

A white-haired male student and an orange-haired female student who looked the same age as me.

‘They told me to be careful because they were coming today, but to think I would meet them this immediately.’

Compared to the male student’s gentle atmosphere, the female student’s manner of speaking and aura were as stiff as a brick.

Apparently, as soon as they had unpacked their luggage in the Dormitory, they had come to meet Yulia and Viole, who were from the same Holy Order.

The male student’s name was ‘Franz Mars.’

The female student’s name was ‘Bella Vesta.’

The people who had been dispatched were, as I had expected, the exact same people as before my Return to the Past.

The students near me whispered while looking at the two of them.

“What are they?”

“Judging by their clothes, they are first-year Holy Magic Department students…….”

The gazes of the nearby first-year male students turned toward me, a fellow first-year in the Holy Magic Department.

“You are Damon from the Holy Magic Department, right?”

“Have you seen those two in your department?”

It seemed I had become quite famous at Saengterminum. 

To think even first-year students from other departments recognized me.

“This is my first time seeing them. I heard Inquisitors were being dispatched from the Holy Order because of Aron, so aren’t they probably those people?”

“Wow, so those two are Inquisitors?”

“They do not have faces suited for something like that, though.”

As the students said, their small movements and faces carried an air of nobility. 

Their conspicuous appearances were one thing, but it also meant that the Holy Power they were refining within their bodies was considerable.

“…Hey, just in case. Aren’t they ‘Royal Lord’?”

“No way…….”

Perhaps because there were so many eyes watching, there were quite a few sharp students.

While the male students were whispering like that, several female students approached Franz and spoke to him.

“Y-Yulia and Viole… went oooover there into the women’s Changing Room just now.”

“They should come out if you wait.”

“I think you can wait on a nearby chair…….”

“Oh, thank you for telling me.”

The male students who saw that scene muttered lowly.

“What the fXck? ShXt…….”

“Is being handsome everything? Please let that part be small.”

“Damn it, I want to reincarnate.”

Well, their wording… I like it.

Even I, who had been a Rabid Dog, was surprised by their eloquence.