Yujin asked Tiamat, "Why?"—but no answer ca. She rely gazed at him in silence, a sadness lingering in her eyes.
He could guess that there was so deeper reason behind her words, but that was all. Which was why he couldn’t easily promise her anything.
"Let’s talk about this again later."
『…Yujin.』
"I’m not ignoring you, Tia. I just… don’t want to make a promise when I don’t understand anything about the situation."
『……』
"When you’re ready to tell why, I’ll be ready to give you an answer."
Tiamat fell into a brief silence before nodding.
『…Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry. I was forcing my perspective onto you too much.』
"No need to apologize. I know you’re only saying this for my sake."
『…Thank you.』
Though she hadn’t revealed the full story, neither Yujin nor Tiamat let this issue put a strain on their bond. Their connection had grown too deep for sothing like this to drive a wedge between them.
Tiamat then spoke one last ti.
『Yujin, take this as just a piece of advice… Keep it in mind, but don’t let it weigh you down too much.』
"Advice?"
『Yes, advice. No matter who it is—demon or otherwise… If you ever have a child with soone, make sure you take responsibility for it.』
"……"
Yujin fell silent for a mont before letting out a small chuckle.
"That’s just the natural duty of any living being. Even a re beast knows to take responsibility for its own offspring."
『Yes, that’s how it should be. But… there are plenty who fail to do even that.』
For the first ti, Yujin sensed sothing in Tiamat’s voice—hatred and disgust she rarely expressed.
『Even the lowest of creatures understand this fundantal truth… And yet, there exist those who do not.』
"……"
Yujin instinctively realized that the "those who do not" she was referring to were demons.
Just what had Tiamat experienced in the past?
The warning "never have children with a demon" implied that such a thing had happened before.
It wasn’t hard to deduce that there had been crossbreeding between demons and dragons at so point.
But it likely wasn’t Tiamat herself. Given what he knew of her, she was as pure as they ca.
Perhaps it was one of her kin—one of the dragons under her command. And perhaps… so tragedy had stemd from it.
That was all Yujin could infer. Beyond that was re speculation.
"…Understood. I’ll keep it in mind."
And with that, he set her warning aside for now and resud walking.
**
anwhile, so ti earlier…
"…Where on earth did he go?"
Professor Reina Sahart walked briskly across the academy grounds, frustration written all over her face.
It was only natural.
She was certain Yujin was a black mage. If she failed to keep an eye on him, she couldn’t even begin to imagine what might happen.
"Damn it… Don’t tell he really went to the princess’s dormitory…?"
She had searched the entire campus, but Yujin was nowhere to be found. If that was the case, the only place that ca to mind was Princess Alicia’s dormitory.
"But… would Her Highness really allow an unknown male professor to enter her dormitory?"
Alicia von Arsedium wasn’t the type to easily let people into her personal space.
Because of what had happened to her in her childhood, she didn’t easily trust or let others get close.
Would she really allow a male professor to enter her room? Even if he was the one who had sealed her magi?
Reina didn’t think so.
And Yujin was shady as hell—there was no way the princess wouldn’t be on guard.
Besides, Alicia was incredibly powerful. Even if Yujin tried anything, Reina doubted he’d be able to do it quietly.
Of course, in reality, things had played out differently. But from a rational perspective, Reina’s conclusion was logical.
Which was why she ruled out the princess’s dormitory as well.
"…He’ll probably be back before the afternoon lecture, at least."
She furrowed her brows and was about to move again when—
"…Hm?"
She noticed sothing.
Near the campus café, two female students were sitting on a bench, deep in conversation.
"Eri~ So, what exactly happened with Professor Yujin that made you so scared?"
"Wh-Wh-What are you talking about?! I’m not scared of him!"
"Oh, co on. It’s obvious from the way you’re acting. I heard about it, you know? You ran into Professor Yujin during the Labyrinth exam, didn’t you? Sothing happened, didn’t it?"
A black-haired student and a brown-haired student were chatting.
Reina’s eyes glinted.
Eri…
She was the student who had encountered Yujin in the Labyrinth exam.
With all the chaos that had happened, Reina had montarily forgotten about her. But she had been planning to ask Eri about what happened in the Labyrinth.
And now, she had the perfect opportunity.
Reina stepped forward.
"…Eri."
"Eek?!"
"Whoa!"
The two students jolted in surprise at the sudden voice calling out to them. They quickly turned around, only to be t with an imposing figure. Imdiately, they scrambled to their feet, standing at attention.
"P-Professor Reina! M-May we ask why you called us?!"
Eri stamred, her voice trembling.
Reina Sahart wasn’t just any professor—she was the professor when it ca to magic studies, notorious for her strictness. There was every reason to be nervous, especially for soone like Eri, who knew that a single word from Reina could tank her grades.
"I have a few questions for you, Eri. Sera."
"Ah, y-yes, ma’am!"
The brown-haired girl beside Eri, Sera, straightened up imdiately.
"There’s sothing I need to discuss with Eri alone. Could you step away for a mont? It won’t take long."
"O-Of course!"
Without hesitation, Sera darted away, leaving Eri behind.
Alone.
Eri could only watch as her so-called friend abandoned her without a second thought.
Traitor…!
Her heart scread, tears welling in her eyes.
"Eri."
"Y-Yes, ma’am!"
Her despair lasted only a mont before Reina’s voice snapped her back to reality. She forced herself to maintain proper posture. Reina observed her briefly before speaking.
"You can relax."
"Ah… R-Right!"
Eri let out a shaky breath, her shoulders easing slightly.
"As I said, I have a few questions for you."
"Q-Questions? For ?"
"Yes. About Professor Yujin."
Hic!
The mont Yujin’s na was ntioned, Eri went pale, letting out an involuntary hiccup.
Reina narrowed her eyes.
That reaction was proof enough—Eri was hiding sothing.
"W-Why do you… want to know about Professor Yujin…?"
"That’s…"
Reina hesitated.
Should she really reveal the truth?
She still wasn’t sure if Eri knew about Yujin being a black mage. If Reina carelessly ntioned it, she might end up putting Eri in danger.
It was too soon to bring up the possibility of black magic outright.
For now, she would test the waters.
"Eri, you seem to be particularly wary of Professor Yujin."
"T-That’s…"
"There’s no need to deny it. You’re aware of it yourself, aren’t you? It’s obvious that you feel uncomfortable around him."
"……"
"As I recall, you first encountered Professor Yujin during the Labyrinth exam, when you reached the third floor. Correct?"
"Y-Yes… that’s right."
"Did sothing happen when you t him there?"
"……"
Eri paled further, her lips pressing together tightly.
Reina’s gaze sharpened.
"What happened?"
"T-That’s…"
"You can be honest with . Even if it’s sothing that would put Professor Yujin at a disadvantage, I will ensure that you are protected."
"……"
Eri remained silent for a long mont before finally speaking in a shaky voice.
"…P-Professor… why are you asking this?"
"That’s…"
Reina paused.
This was the turning point.
If she revealed her suspicions directly, Eri might spill the full truth. However, doing so could also put the student in greater danger.
On the other hand, if she dodged the question, Eri might also evade giving a real answer.
After a brief deliberation, Reina chose caution.
"Eri, I don’t know what exactly happened between you and Professor Yujin. But I do know that you fear him more than you let on. If he did anything to harm you, then as your professor, I have a duty to uncover the truth and hold him accountable—for your sake."
"Ah…"
Eri looked at Reina with widened eyes, as if genuinely touched by her words.
Reina, seeing her reaction, inwardly thought, Good. That should work.
"T-Thank you for saying that, Professor Reina… But it’s not like he hurt or anything. I an… if I had to explain, I’d say I’m just scaring myself and feeling embarrassed over it…"
…That was not the answer Reina had expected.
Eri proceeded to explain—her own incompetence during the Labyrinth exam, how Yujin had essentially coached her through her first kill, and how the trauma of that experience made her unconsciously uneasy around him.
…That was it.
It was nothing.
Nothing close to what Reina had anticipated.
Hell, she had already received a report about this incident from Hugo, the team leader during the exam.
Her expression tightened.
Is she still hiding sothing?
Eri’s reaction didn’t seem dishonest. But Reina knew that she had witnessed Yujin revealing his true nature in the Labyrinth.
She refused to accept that she had jumped to conclusions.
"Eri… is that really everything?"
To be certain, Reina secretly activated Lie Detection magic as she spoke.
Eri noticed it, montarily flinching, but she didn’t run. Instead, she t Reina’s gaze directly and answered,
"I-I swear, that’s all."
"……"
The spell confird—she was telling the truth.
For a mont, Reina wondered if she really had overestimated the situation.
But…
"…Can such a trivial incident really be enough to instill that much fear in her?"
She still couldn’t believe it.
And then a thought struck her.
Black magic often involves ntal and spiritual manipulation…
Could it be… that Eri’s mories had been altered?
What if Eri had experienced sothing terrifying—but her mories had been manipulated?
Perhaps her soul rembered, while her conscious mind had been tampered with, making her believe that her fear of Yujin stemd from sothing as minor as her first kill.
It was an absurd assumption.
But Reina had already convinced herself of Yujin’s guilt.
She was paranoid now.
mory manipulation is an incredibly advanced form of black magic… But if it’s Yujin, it wouldn’t be impossible.
If she was right, this was serious.
ntal tampering—whether through black magic or even pure arcane magic—was an extrely controversial subject. Research into it had long been prohibited due to the dangers involved.
While there existed simple counter-magic that could undo light enchantnts like hypnosis or basic conditioning, there was no known thod to fully reverse mory manipulation.
"In that case… I have to extract the suppressed mories myself."
This was risky.
Revealing the truth to Eri would an exposing Yujin’s identity as a black mage.
If Yujin had placed safeguards on Eri’s mind, then breaking them recklessly could be dangerous.
But she couldn’t afford to let this slide.
She needed proof.
Reina placed a firm hand on Eri’s shoulder and spoke.
"Eri, listen carefully."
"Y-Yes?"
There was no other choice.
All she could do was hope that Eri could handle what ca next.
With that resolve, Reina began to reveal the truth(?).
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