“…….”
An unfamiliar ceiling.
No, can it even be called a ceiling? So high it feels unreachable. It might as well be the sky.
Somewhere in the middle, a wall comes into view.
Must be the underground level of the Magic Tower.
◆ Status Effect: [Demonization] has been lifted.
◆ Durability permanently decreases!
◆ Health permanently decreases!
◆ Warning! Prepare for side effects from Class 1 dangerous substance [Wolf’s Blood]!
◆ Warning! Prepare for side effects from Class 1 dangerous substance [Final Whisper]!
◆ Warning! Prepare for side effects from Class 2 dangerous substance [Ultra-Potent Painkiller]!
◆ Due to excessive mana use, temporary ‘mana hypersensitivity’ has occurred!
◆ Mana wave-induced enhancement is slowing physical recovery. If injuries are left untreated, they may lead to permanent aftereffects.
◆ Trait [Shape Transformation] has advanced one stage. Additional transformable form unlocked.
◆ Transformable Form: Demon of Justice and Execution
The messages flooding my vision had not disappeared.
“…Temporary mana hypersensitivity and warnings about permanent aftereffects.”
Once again, I had pushed myself too far. That must be why the alerts looked even more dangerous than before.
Well, it was understandable.
The potion “Wolf’s Blood” that maximizes sense of smell and strengthens the body. “Final Whisper”, which temporarily fortifies mental focus. And to endure the pain of death, the “Ultra-Potent Painkiller”.
Perhaps because I pumped all of these critical substances into my body at once…I couldn’t move a muscle.
…Well. Still, it’s not too bad.
I flexed my hand slightly and thought. My body moves. I’m just severely fatigued. It doesn’t feel like there’s anything seriously wrong.
That’s not the only gain.
In the final moment, when I transferred the demon parasite to the Special Task Force commander, I managed to steal the armor Niel had been wearing.
A piece she never took off….wielding investigative authority as she pleased, a symbol of her power.
It had to be a prized item.
Naturally, it was also well known in the game for being excellent. Now that Niel, its former owner and a demon worshipper, had been summarily executed, her armor would be reported as destroyed.
No loose ends.
[Leviathan]
A high-rank magical artifact in the form of armor.
An item I used often when playing as Camilla in the modern version.
I even remember roughly what its tooltip said.
◆ High rank Magical Artifact [Leviathan]
◆ Humans are inherently selfish beings, prioritizing self-preservation above all else. This armor was born from that instinct.
The tooltip… Maybe I should write it down while I still remember.
I glanced at my right hand.
The ring on my middle finger.
From there, metal bracers crept up along my arm.
That was the base form of Leviathan.
It had simply reverted to its base state because its original owner had died. Once it came into contact with a new mana core holder, it would likely transform into adaptive armor.
I should give it to Camilla.
Of course, since it’s a high-rank magical artifact, that’s something to consider after thoroughly dissecting its internal structure.
I started thinking it through carefully.
Roughly… two major gains.
One was acquiring another demonic form.
The other was obtaining a high-rank magical artifact.
There would be some minor benefits as well, but I had expended just as many resources to get them… so it all evened out.
So, if I had to put it simply…
Profit.
That conclusion brought a natural smile to my face.
It was just then—
“You’re awake?”
The space resonated with a low hum.
A voice carried on a wave of mana. A slight dizziness hit me, and I held my head. Mana hypersensitivity again.
I only lifted my head and looked toward the source of the voice.
Red hair. A ragged witch’s hat perched on top. Eyes that somehow seemed impolite, with tightly pressed lips.
Overall, a beautiful face…but one that gave off a sharp impression.
All features I knew well.
“Heinel Shifter.”
“What? Just call me Heinel, will you?”
She sighed and flung her hat. It spun through the air and landed perfectly on the coat rack.
“Where did you go?”
“Your funeral.”
“……”
“And could you stop using formal speech with me? It’s annoying.”
Why would she go to my funeral? We weren’t supposed to have any particular connection.
I furrowed my brow slightly, wondering if she’d gone to ask for some spicy beef stew or something, but she added more context:
“The Magic Tower is connected to Tane Academy’s Magic Department. When something like this happens, it’s customary to attend as a fellow mage.”
“I see.”
“Though I’m not sure what you’re doing really counts as magic.”
Heinel casually tossed out remarks that rubbed me the wrong way.
It was a speech pattern I’d heard plenty while playing the game, and the nostalgia was oddly vivid.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason. Just.”
“…You’re nothing more than my experimental assistant. Based on our mutual agreement, that puts me above you. You do understand that, right?”
“Of course.”
“So don’t look at me with those disrespectful eyes!”
I shrugged and simply closed my eyes.
“…And now you’re closing your eyes?”
“You told me not to look at you…”
“…Hmm. Fair point. Then, when you do look at me, do it with a smile!”
I opened my eyes and gave a goofy grin.
“No smirking!! And no weird smiles either! …Why are humans so unnecessarily complicated…!”
She had a fascinating personality.
Whenever she spoke, she always gave clear reasoning. If there was room for another interpretation of her instructions, she accepted it.
If she’d been born in modern times, she definitely would’ve made a great developer.
To someone like her, I said the magic words:
“Then, I’ll just handle things with good sense and judgment.”
“…That’s it! You do make sense.”
“Is that so?”
“…Also, didn’t I tell you to stop using formal speech?”
“Ah.”
“……”
Heinel shot me a look, then let out a deep sigh.
“You’ll be entering the experiment starting tomorrow. You’ve gone over the contract details, right?”
“Of course. In exchange for correcting the records on banned substances and faking my death, I’ll cooperate with research into my constitution and actively share my magic structure analysis abilities. Right?”
“Exactly. The term lasts until the research is complete. Until then, your public identity is the young butler of the Shifter family. You’re clear on that?”
I nodded.
“Understood.”
“Good. Take the day off. While you sleep, I’ll grant you access codes to the Magic Tower. You’re free to leave outside research hours, but I trust you won’t mess up your condition wandering around.”
“Naturally.”
“…Hmph.”
With that, Heinel disappeared beyond the space.
The butler of the Shifter family, huh.
She gave me a better cover identity than I expected.
Must’ve been a hassle to arrange.
Heinel must’ve put in quite a bit of effort in her own way.
It makes sense…no matter how short the duration, this is about faking someone’s death.
On the surface, it’s like throwing away the honor of being an early admit to Tane Academy.
Add to that giving up a significant amount of time to become an unnamed research assistant, and it leaves a huge gap in one’s career.
It would only seem like she got the short end of the deal.
“……”
But there’s something Heinel could never know.
Right now, I’ve been granted permission to reside in the Magic Tower.
She has no idea what someone like me can do once they’re in.
Discarded magical tools from experiments, a tower full of unique magical structures? There’s no way I can resist.
This wasn’t a loss on my part.
Right now, I was closer to an industrial spy who’d come to steal secrets.
“……”
I slowly got up from my seat.
She told me to get plenty of rest, but there was no way I could do that in a place this tempting.
***
“…Didn’t you promise, Adel!!!”
A blond man was crying, tears streaming down his face.
“You said you’d never give up! You said you’d show me!!”
Aaron Damir was shouting at the top of his lungs.
Amid the funeral attendees, he was there to collect Adel’s belongings.
Having heard of his cherished junior’s death, he had stood dazed in front of Herein Dormitory, clenching his fists against the dirt ground.
Among Adel’s possessions, he had found the “training-use magic tool” he’d given him long ago.
Now tattered and broken, nothing like when he’d first handed it over.
“At the department exchange event, you said you’d challenge Camilla… that you’d prove yourself… didn’t you promise me that…?”
It was just a tool for adding weight, yet for it to be this damaged, how much training must he have gone through?
Faced with that undeniable proof of Adel’s desperate efforts… Aaron pounded the ground, forgetting all composure.
“…It’s my fault. I wasn’t good enough. If I’d taught him properly… it wouldn’t have ended like this…”
Clutching the shattered and ruptured training tool, Aaron Damir murmured to himself. Someone came to support him.
“…big brother.”
“Awen… is that you?”
“…Camilla’s probably having an even harder time than we are. Let’s mourn… a little later, okay?”
The siblings turned their eyes to Camilla, who stood motionless, watching the people carry Adel’s belongings.
A blank expression.
Eyes unfocused, as if she’d lost the ability to speak from overwhelming grief and shock.
“…She and Adel only made up recently. She must be really confused.”
“……”
They watched Camilla with worried eyes.
But Camilla was thinking something entirely different from what they feared.
The letter… doesn’t seem like a bad idea…
She was thinking about the letter from her younger brother that had arrived earlier.
Of course. Having been tipped off about the situation beforehand, she knew full well that Adel was alive and well.
– You’re bad at acting, so if you just stay expressionless, people will naturally misunderstand.
She’d even received that bit of advice.
So, of course, she wasn’t sad.
At first, swept up in the mood, she felt a bit sad. But that emotion vanished completely with a single letter.
He called me ‘big sister’… Seeing it in writing feels different… It’s proof we’re really siblings… Hm…
Maybe she should ask him to send two letters a day. Or would that be undignified…?
Camilla frowned at the sudden thought.
But to others, that expression looked like someone desperately holding back tears.
Camilla…
That cold-hearted Camilla, making such a face….the pain of losing a blood relative must be unimaginable.
Wiping away the tears clinging to the corners of her eyes, Awen made a firm decision.
I have to stay strong! Pull yourself together!
***
“It’s a terrible loss.”
“…Indeed it is.”
The professors of the Magic Department gathered in small groups to express their condolences for the deceased Adel.
Among them, Professor Topyren, who had become acting head, and Professor Seddin, who covered her face and choked back sobs, had especially striking reactions.
“This kind of tragedy must never happen again.”
“…We’re educators. We should’ve seen him as just a student.”
Since Adel had been officially declared dead, the reactivated seal of the Laurel and Staff was a bitter sight for them.
They remembered him along with the missing Professor Quinoron as someone who had fought to protect the people of the Empire and innocent students against demonic cultists.
“…Is it true that geniuses die young?”
“We were too complacent. They might’ve been tracking him ever since he destroyed the demon’s barrier. We just kept trying to cover it all up.”
“…I feel like dying too.”
“And I haven’t even gotten married yet.”
“……”
Meow—
In the suddenly cold atmosphere, only the forlorn cry of a cat echoed quietly across the campus.
***
– He’s confirmed dead.
“…Right. If you say so, I’ll believe it.”
– Miss, pushing yourself too hard isn’t good for your health.
The news of Adel’s death had spread throughout the academy.
Upon hearing it, Irina Harunsdel clenched her fist.
“…He put my heart on the auction block, stopped showing up at the gym every day, and then just dies on his own?”
– ……
“…What a bastard.”
– What would you like to do?
Prompted by the voice urging her to make a decision, the girl made up her mind.
Through an emotion not yet fully formed, a short-lived feeling of affection, she realized something.
“If I hadn’t just sent anonymous gifts, if I’d given him more direct help… maybe he wouldn’t have died.”
– That’s a bit of a leap, Miss.
If you only hide your feelings, all you do is lose. Expressing things whatever they are is the right way.
“I’m quitting the Knight Department.”
– …What do you mean by that?
“As the daughter of House Harunsdel, I’ll officially take part in the succession battle.”
– …So you’ve made your decision. Shall I inform the head of the family…?
“I’ll tell him myself. Let him know I want to see him right away.”
***
And at the same time—
Adel Bliss.
“…I’ve got a bad feeling.”
He tilted his head at the sudden chill that ran down his spine but then shrugged it off and went back to what he was doing.
◆ [Total Magical Structure Analysis] activated…
Half this place is made of magic tools?
To him, the Magic Tower was essentially a giant mana battery. He was absorbing magical waves like they were nothing.
The techniques he was training were ones he’d learned from his father, Austin.
Things like a move he’d named “magic parrying”, and blood flow acceleration using his constitution.
If I ever end up somewhere off-limits, I could get fried by magic… No harm in being well-trained.
If he could use magic parrying freely, there’d be no dying from stray spells.
These mana waves are delicious! Woohoo—
He muttered something along those lines.
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