"Don't worry too much. I was just teasing her a little, not trying to cause trouble. I do plan to apologize and compensate her properly."
Yujin was sincere. After all, it was a misunderstanding that wouldn’t last long. He wasn’t actually a dark magician, nor did he know much about them.
When the misunderstanding cleared up, he intended to apologize to her sincerely and make ands. Of course, she would probably end up resenting him, but...
'Oh well.'
Yujin had never been particularly close to people in the first place. A little resentnt wouldn’t make much of a difference.
『Of course, I’m not criticizing you. It’s not uncommon for dragons to find amusent in influencing mortals.』
"Is that so?"
『The very gas that dragons play are ant to find new stimulation in their otherwise monotonous, transcendent lives. Influencing and being influenced by mortals isn’t unusual, is it? Mortals live by constantly interacting and influencing one another, so why should it be any different for us?』
"That’s true."
『If this is your form of amusent, I won’t reprimand you for it. After all, it’s not causing significant harm to the mortals. I was just a little surprised. In so ways, you seem endlessly mature and detached, but…』
"Am I malicious?"
Yujin said with a chuckle. Tiamat responded with a peculiar expression.
『No, it’s just... your personality is a little unpleasant.』
"That’s basically the sa thing, isn’t it? I won’t deny it. I don’t think I have a particularly good personality either."
Yujin laughed lightly as he spoke.
"This reminds of sothing from a long ti ago. It happened on Earth, actually. There were kids who particularly disliked ."
『Kids who disliked you?』
"It’s nothing significant. It must’ve been about two years after my parents passed away."
『......』
At the ntion of his parents’ passing, Tiamat fell silent for a mont. It was naturally a somber topic.
Receiving her silence, Yujin continued speaking.
"At that ti, I was already following my parents’ teachings. Things like, 'Yujin, don’t let others know what you’re thinking,' and, 'Always conceal yourself and beco an adult.' They warned that showing my true feelings in society was a fatal weakness and to never reveal them to anyone."
『......』
"Even in middle school, I did the sa. I avoided revealing my thoughts, always wore a smile, and made sure no one could figure out. I even started using polite speech habitually back then. But that made stand out among the kids—a peculiar, alien trait. Many of them found off-putting and avoided ."
Yujin spoke as if recounting an old story he no longer cared much about.
"Did I ntion that Earth experienced the ergence of sothing called gates and awakeners?"
『You did. A world without mana or the four primal forces... truly fascinating.』
"Not anymore, though. Anyway, by the ti I turned 14, it beca common practice to segregate awakened children from non-awakened ones for separate education. Naturally, I was among the awakened, and, as you can imagine, kids that age tend to show off when they suddenly gain superhuman abilities."
『So, you’re saying...』
"Being an orphan and a social outcast made an easy target. Of course, they could’ve picked on non-awakened kids, but back then, using powers on non-awakened people ant imdiate repercussions. Naturally, their targets narrowed down to awakened peers who seed manageable, like with my magic abilities."
『......』
Tiamat’s expression hardened at his words. Oblivious to her growing chill, Yujin continued.
"Haha, I still vividly rember being dragged off and beaten almost daily. Though it’s all in the past now."
『...And then?』
Her voice grew noticeably colder. Yujin, slightly puzzled, carried on.
"Well, I couldn’t just sit back and let it happen, could I? So, I ca up with a rather amusing idea."
『Amusing idea?』
"Nothing too complicated. Since they loved showing off their strength, I simply introduced them to a place where they could do just that."
Yujin recalled the mont. In hindsight, it had been a dangerous move.
"I took them all to a gate where monsters appeared. Perfect for showing off strength, don’t you think?"
『......』
"They were oddly terrified. I even asked why they were so serious."
Yujin smiled as he spoke, vividly rembering their bewildered faces.
"For fun, I tripped a few of them with telekinesis when they tried to run, urging them to fight back with a smile. Looking back, it’s quite the mory. Haha."
『......』
"After that day, no one bothered again. But perhaps because I found it so amusing, I started playing similar 'pranks' on others from ti to ti. Eventually, the guild even created a dedicated incident report board for ."
In retrospect, Yujin’s infamous reputation within the guild might have stemd largely from his mischievous antics.
...Actually, most of it—more than 70%—could be attributed to those pranks.
Not that Yujin ever realized it.
Tiamat, who had been staring at him blankly, eventually gave a wry smile.
『I thought you were nothing but mature... turns out you have a mischievous streak.』
"Haha, did I really seem so mature to you, Tia?"
When Yujin said this, Tiamat smiled bitterly again as she looked at him.
Though she had discovered an unexpected side of him, her gaze remained filled with affection.
She said softly, 『Still, well done. You shouldn’t just endure it. Turning the tables on them... that’s satisfying.』
"My teacher scolded for entering a gate recklessly, though."
With that, Yujin and Tiamat spent so ti chatting warmly, exchanging stories until the sun rose the next day, both smiling brightly.
***
anwhile, Reina was in a state of panic.
'I made a mistake! He really is a dark magician!'
In hindsight, she should have been suspicious from the start, especially about sealing demonic energy. How was such a thing even possible? She should have questioned it thoroughly.
But she had brushed it off, thinking the princess’s condition had stabilized. In truth, that wasn’t the case at all.
'But could it really be true? That the magi is festering like pus inside her body?'
She didn’t know. The very idea of perfectly sealing soone else’s energy within their body was unheard of. Even as a professor of magical studies, Reina couldn’t determine if the suppressed magi was indeed acting like an infected wound.
Still, it didn’t seem entirely implausible. If the magi hadn’t been extracted but instead suppressed and sealed within the body, there was no telling what side effects might occur.
It could potentially go berserk inside the host, or cause other unforeseen consequences.
What was certain, however, was that as long as the dark magician had his sights on the princess, the seal was unlikely to have a positive impact.
She had to report this to the Headmistress imdiately. They needed to apprehend Yujin and find a solution.
With that thought, Reina rushed to the headmistress's office.
Bang!
"Headmistress!"
"Professor Reina?"
Ines turned, startled, as Reina burst into her office unannounced.
"What is it? Why are you so frantic...?"
"Headmistress! We need to apprehend Han Yujin imdiately!"
Reina’s abrupt and urgent declaration left the Headmistress dumbfounded.
Apprehend? Who?
...A dragon?
"...Have you lost your senses?"
"Headmistress!"
"I’m not deaf, so speak calmly. Did you just say we need to apprehend Professor Yujin?"
Ines looked at Reina with a slightly stiff expression. Reina, noticing her reaction, felt a twinge of unease.
'The Headmistress... looking at like that?'
Reina Sahart was one of the Headmistress's most trusted confidants. Their relationship was built on mutual trust and loyalty.
Granted, barging into the office uninvited and shouting out-of-the-blue accusations was undeniably rude. However, under normal circumstances, the Headmistress would have first asked for an explanation.
Yet now, the Headmistress seed faintly displeased, as though annoyed by Reina’s claim that Yujin should be apprehended.
Feeling an unsettling sense of foreboding, Reina spoke desperately.
"Headmistress, you must listen to . Han Yujin is a dark magician!"
"We’ve already resolved that matter. Why bring it up again...?"
"He revealed his true nature in front of ! The sealing of the princess’s magi was a ploy to suppress it and cause greater harm later!"
"What? That’s absurd..."
The Headmistress was too taken aback to respond imdiately.
Of course, she knew Yujin wasn’t a dark magician. He was a supre transcendent being—a dragon, a creature far beyond the likes of those cockroach-like dark magicians.
And yet, Reina didn’t appear to be lying. She wasn’t the type to deceive the Headmistress, and there was no reason for her to suddenly make such claims without basis.
Ines pondered for a mont. What exactly was going on here?
'...Co to think of it, Yujin does take on a human appearance.'
Dragons, the great transcendent beings who lived for eons, often disguised themselves as mortals to blend in and find new experiences to alleviate their boredom.
It was a form of amusent.
Perhaps this was just part of Yujin’s ga—pretending to be a dark magician to mislead Reina.
If that were the case, the situation made sense. Understanding the context, the Headmistress finally spoke.
"...I understand. I’ll look into this myself. For now, step back."
"Headmistress! We need to apprehend him right now—"
"How do you propose we apprehend soone without evidence? Calm down, Professor. This isn’t like you."
"......"
Reina faltered at the Headmistress's words, taking a hesitant step back.
"Compose yourself and leave for now. I’ll handle the rest."
"...Understood."
With that, Reina exited the office.
Left alone in the office, Ines sighed deeply.
"A dark magician, huh... Yujin, you’ve chosen quite the troubleso ga to play this ti..."
Shaking her head, she decided to contact Yujin directly.
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