Chapter 244

Chapter 244

‘What a pity. I should get some one by one whenever I have the chance later.’

Even for Roan, it felt a bit prickling to get them for free, so wouldn’t it be fine to do minor good deeds and receive them as rewards?

Anyway, after the popcorn commotion passed.

Kahen, who had put a bit of steak in his mouth while savoring the lingering warmth of the holy power popcorn, put down his fork and knife.

“Hm? What’s the matter?”

“Well…… I put the Holy Spirit’s grace into my mouth, and now I feel full.”

Of course, the popcorn’s satiety would also be great, but rather than that, his face was full of the expression that the steak tasted too bad.

At this, Roan also set down his utensils.

“Why are you doing that, Darc?”

“I am also already full just from receiving the Holy Spirit’s grace.”

Harden was dumbfounded.

Did kids these days get full by eating with their subspace pockets?

Of course, that could not be the case.

If that were really the case, Roan’s stomach would have burst, not just filled up.

There was a different reason why Roan stopped eating.

‘They say if you eat Professor Selinder’s food by mistake, your stats will drop.’

Selinder’s Garden of Taste had an enormous penalty of a random stat decrease.

Most of them were temporary stat drops that would recover within a short period, but with a very rare probability, it would decrease core stats as well.

There was no need to engage in a gamble where he would only lose.

“Tsk…… Then let’s get up.”

As it was a meal where Harden only lost out by playing a prank for no reason, his expression was not very good.

The carriage of the Holy Emperor’s Palace was waiting not very far from the restaurant.

Kahen greeted Harden and Roan before getting into the carriage.

“Principal, thank you very much for your cooperation. Young Master Roan, thank you very much for entrusting the sacred relic to us as well. His Holiness the Holy Emperor will also be very pleased.”

“Yeah, give the Holy Emperor my regards.”

“Safe travels.”

Kahen, who was truly grateful, even opened the window and waved his hand after getting into the carriage.

“I hope everything you do goes well in the future, Young Master Roan!”

Though his intention was appreciated, Roan was secretly a bit guilty.

‘If everything I plan to do goes well, it won’t be very good for the Empire.’

What good would it do for things to go well with a black mage’s work?

No matter how quietly Roan wanted to stay and how much he loved peace, he would only end up bothering the Empire.

“Yes, may the grace of Lord Hiloa be with Priest Kahen forever as well.”

“Hahaha! Thank you!”

Clop─ Clop─

The carriage moved away from Roan and Harden at a moderate speed.

Once the distance grew enough that voices could not be heard, Harden said to Roan.

“You must have been glad to meet after a long time. No, wait, is it your first time as a black mage?”

He must have thrown this as a meaningful question.

‘It really is my first time. Well, Harden doesn’t know that I transmigrated.’

It did not do much damage to Roan.

Roan nodded with a faint smile.

“All of this is thanks to the care of Lord Hiloa and the Principal.”

“Oh my……”

Harden was left speechless, as if looking at a crazy black mage like no other.

Until now, the crazy black mages he knew were only those who caused terror attacks in holy places like Acherandir and the Holy Emperor’s Palace, or committed crimes at random.

‘Being crazy in such a different way makes it even more of a headache.’

He did not know how to deal with a black mage like Roan, who behaved obediently on the surface but took all the practical benefits behind the scenes.

‘Should I just have him convert like Beleck?’

Huh?

Even though he thought of it as a joke, Harden tilted his head for a moment.

‘Can’t I just have him convert?’

Of course, there was no way Roan, who prioritized the reconstruction of his family above all else, would accept such a proposal.

No matter how much one converted, a black mage was still a black mage.

If Roan revealed his identity and converted, it would mean the reconstruction of the Darc family would end up in smoke.

Moreover, as if by fate, did he not obtain a strange authority that disguised black magic as holy power?

Thinking that this too might be Hiloa’s arrangement, Harden soon dropped the thought.

‘Tsk, since this young thing is struggling so hard to revive his family, as the Principal, I should at least help him with the bare minimum.’

However, Harden did not know.

‘Come to think of it, if Harden just converted me using his authority, it would be convenient.’

……That Roan was also having a similar thought.

Of course, Roan did not dare to make such a request to Harden.

Harden would firmly believe that his goal was the reconstruction of the family.

That was why Harden had let him live even after knowing his identity, so if Roan suddenly brought up conversion, Harden might get offended and try to kill him, wondering, ‘Then why did you enroll secretly?’

Which was, of course, an exaggeration.

‘Well, he wouldn’t go that far, but…….’

There was a reason why Roan went out of his way to live while hiding that he was a black mage.

‘Somehow, considering when I used Prophet’s Eye, it seems that getting caught itself leads to a bad ending.’

Since he had transmigrated into a notorious character, his thought was that even if he got caught, he should do everything he could until clearing the game.

……At this rate, it was safe to call him not just an experienced player, but a “God & Devil” fanatic.

In any case, Roan still did not have a grasp on how this tragic fate would end, but at the very least, he had to avoid getting caught by the Empire as a black mage.

There were still only three people who knew Roan’s identity: Harden, Diar, and Professor Taedi.

Since all of them were quite distant from the current Empire, it was within the permissible range so far.

If he lived well while hiding his identity and maintaining the setting as Roan Darc, the last descendant of the four great families, “God & Devil” would eventually bring him to the ending.

‘To do that, I must never speak of it first. No, even if offered, I must refuse, yes.’

In that way, Roan and Harden cleanly gave up the card of conversion for their own respective reasons.

Roan and Harden bid farewell with bright smiles, without either speaking first.

“Respected Principal, may I leave now to attend the afternoon class?”

“Of course, my beloved disciple. I hope you never forget that your Principal is always cheering you on.”

Flinch─ Flinch─

Even as they exchanged such greetings, the black mage and the Holy Spirit were startled by each other!

‘Why is this Holy Spirit acting like this? Well, if he lived for five thousand years, it’s about time…….’

‘Why is this black mage suddenly acting like this? Was he really under a lot of stress?’

Glare─ Glare─

Roan and Harden parted while glaring at each other with sharp eyes, as if they had never exchanged pleasant greetings.

Yet, somehow, they felt relieved inside.

‘Phew, it was just the usual Harden, thinking about tormenting me in his mind.’

‘Phew, it was just the usual Darc, trying to use me.’

Just as they were about to go their separate ways, Harden suddenly called Roan.

“Ah, Darc.”

“Yes, Principal.”

Flash─

“Ugh!”

“It looks like you are harboring cheekiness, no matter what. Go attend your class now.”

“……Yes, thank you.”

* * *

Roan walked quite a long way from the commercial district to McGodal Hall.

‘Even when I was in university on Earth, they said a wide campus is not good…….’

In the first year, it was bound to feel good, thinking a wide campus was romantic and represented the freedom of youth.

However, there were many who felt it deeply once they reached their third year.

No matter how wide the campus is, there is nothing to do but walk until your legs give out!

Even the university Roan attended was like that, but in Acherandir, the area of the district where the mainly used buildings were built was on a completely different scale.

If Acherandir had been on Earth, students would have probably gone on a collective strike demanding shuttle buses.

It also took a long time just to arrive at Dragon Street, which was located on the path to McGodal Hall.

As soon as Roan stepped onto Dragon Street, two Acherandir bullies showed themselves.

They were not the club brokers he had met last time, and seemed to have business with a passing pedestrian.

─ Heh, a freshman stepping onto Dragon Street without any fear.

─ Didn’t your mentor brother teach you that you shouldn’t just pass through here? Hehehe!

[Hieek─ Bullies!]

Kirreul─!

Bel, who was only sticking his neck out of Roan’s bag—somehow he seemed to prefer the bag over shoulders now—and Charlotte, who was holding hands, became tense.

However, the two holy beasts suddenly looked up at Roan’s face and.

[Hmm. It’ll be fine.]

Kir─

……They simply relaxed.

Roan felt slightly offended.

‘Why are they suddenly relieved?’

[That’s because the master looks scarier. Ah, I guess I just got startled out of habit.]

Bel, who was using words that were uncharacteristically difficult just to provoke Roan!

Although Charlotte could not speak, her thoughts did not seem very different from Bel’s.

Roan frowned and said to the bullies.

“What is your business?”

At this, the bullies burst into laughter.

─ Look at this junior? He opens his eyes quite prettily. Well, the pretty holy beasts are scared~

─ But we brothers are not scared at all…… actually, it is a bit scary.

As expected of extras, their dialogue patterns were identical.

Regardless, as bullies, they did not run away out of fear.

─ Scary junior, our arms are hurting, so we were hoping the junior would use the prayer card for us?

─ Yeah, let’s ask for this favor just this once, alright?

Just hearing it made them sound like mean bullies who passed the prayer cards they were supposed to write onto a pitiful junior.

However.

[Their arms do look quite painful though?]

Just as Bel said, the two of them had indeed injured their arms!

The bullies were wearing casts on both arms, which was a rare sight in Acherandir.

Roan looked at the two of them for a moment and asked.

“What happened to your arms?”

─ Ah, this? We did volunteer work under Professor Gulba over the weekend.

─ Damn it, it’s because you woke up late that this was the only thing left.

─ Why is that my fault?

‘Well, if it’s Gulba’s volunteer work, it’s natural to hurt one’s arms.’

The details of volunteer work were at the discretion of the professors.

Because of that, Gulba’s volunteer work often involved tasks that were useless to an unimaginable degree.

For instance, moving boulders as large as houses to the mountaintop.

Or cutting cliffs to stack dolmens, and so on…….

It was, as anyone could tell by listening, one of the volunteer activities that should never be done.

[I thought they were bad people, but they suddenly look pitiful…….]

‘I think so too.’

Bel sincerely felt sorry for the bullies’ story, which could not be heard without tears.

Roan was also not bad by nature (?), so he readily reached out to the bullies.

“Give them here. Although time is a bit tight before the next class.”

─ Oh, you are really doing it?

─ I thought only your face belonged to our category, but you are a junior with loyalty?

The bullies brightened up and tried to take out the prayer cards.

‘What is wrong with my face…….’

Hearing such words from bullies who looked rough by anyone’s standards made Roan very displeased, but he still tried to do what he set out to do.

Just then, the bullies, who had been praising Roan, said with awkward expressions.

─ U-Um, sorry, junior…….

─ Since our hands are like this, could you pull out the prayer cards?

“……Where are they?”

─ Here, inside the pocket. The pen is in there too.

Roan let out a sigh.

How did they even put them in there with hands in casts in the first place?