Chapter 286

‘……What did you say?’

Roan unconsciously repeated Bell’s words, wearing a face showing he was utterly dumbfounded.

To the master who had just gone through the struggle of death to engrave the Pandemonium of a Myriad Snakes on his heart, and had returned after mastering the Void attribute by displaying peak talent, what?

Constipation of all things?

Roan seriously pondered what would happen if he choked the neck of the legendary Abyss Dragon.

Only then did Bell and Charlotte realize that the atmosphere was turning strange.

Kirrrk─! Kirrk─!

Charlotte protested by fluttering her wings at Bell, as if asking why it had said that.

Bell made excuses in panic.

[N-No! Your expression suddenly became so much better, Master? Also, the atmosphere until just now was completely that of a great demon king, but now it is at least normal…….]

‘A great demon king, you say?’

[Hieeeeek──!!! I was wrong! Please, anything but human trafficking!]

Even though it was just transmitting thoughts, Roan’s growling could be felt clearly, causing Bell to quickly flee into the bag.

‘I told you, even if I sell you, it isn’t human trafficking.’

[Th-Then, please, anything but divine beast trafficking!]

Normally, those would have been words of admonishment, but now they felt like a threat that he might actually sell it.

Instead, while trembling in the bag, Bell managed to say this much:

[It is indeed my fault, but please look in the mirror, Master!]

Since they were in a restroom, there was no great difficulty in granting Bell’s last (?) request.

Roan stepped to the sink and checked his face.

“……What is this?”

Of course, no matter what immense event had transpired, Roan’s features or physical appearance did not change noticeably, unlike the physical rebirth in wuxia novels.

But the person’s atmosphere was not determined solely by appearance.

Particularly in the worldview of “God and Devil,” the wave emitted from an individual’s existence and soul could not be ignored.

Definitively looking at it from that aspect, Roan’s impression had softened just a tiny bit.

If the previous Roan gave off the vibe of a crazy murderer who seemed ready to pull out a knife the moment their eyes met.

The current Roan gave off the vibe of a crazy murderer who would at least greet you before pulling out a knife, so to speak.

‘Is that a good thing?’

……To be honest, although it had improved, it was utterly insufficient to extinguish the terrifying rumors spread among the freshmen of Akerandir.

In fact, if his face had changed enough for that to be possible, no one would have been able to recognize him, which would have been a bigger problem.

After staring at his gloomy face for a moment, Roan summoned his black mana once and nodded.

‘Indeed, the aura of black mana has weakened significantly.’

This was definitely a good sign.

From the perspective of Roan, who had to hide his identity whether others could detect it or not, the black mana constantly swirling around him was always a source of concern.

Thanks to the Void that dissolved surrounding black mana, and the Black Mark that similarly devoured surrounding black mana, Roan’s skill itself seemed to have jumped several levels.

A literal gamble of fate had paid off completely.

“I also have the note for sure.”

Roan also carefully tucked Lord Hiloa’s note received from Ludiac inside his lucky pouch.

……It was too scary to carry around on his person.

For now, he planned to attend Kaina’s class first and then visit the Headmaster’s office around evening.

And back in front of Hetrona Hall, where his friends were waiting.

“Ah, Roan is out.”

Rafia discovered Roan first and waved her hand.

Hector and Demona were next.

“You came out quicker than I thought.”

“As expected of Roan~”

‘Isn’t it a bit strange to say “as expected” even for something like that?’

It was not just a little, but definitively strange, but Roan decided to let it go since it was Demona.

Above all, although to them, Roan was a person they had seen just moments ago.

‘Since it has been a week for me, it’s actually nice to see everyone.’

From Roan’s perspective, a whopping week had passed, so he felt a bit glad to see them.

Just then, Zion tilted her head and called Roan.

“Huh? By the way, Roan.”

“……What is it?”

Roan replied, slightly stiffening his expression.

Bell had babbled about constipation being resolved without knowing anything, but Zion was Zion.

An unprecedented talent, the candidate who would later become the most powerful Pope.

Zion looked Roan up and down, then tilted her head once more.

“It seems like your atmosphere has changed?”

“……My atmosphere has changed, you say.”

Roan responded to Zion’s question as vaguely as possible with a calm facade.

However, that very reaction stimulated Zion’s curiosity even more.

‘Did something actually happen?’

Normally, he would have coldly brushed it off, saying, “What on earth has changed?” or “Do not say useless things,” but.

To repeat her words like that was suspicious!

Having spent a fair amount of time with Roan, Zion had come to understand him to some extent.

But it was such a short duration to claim that something had happened, making it awkward to harbor any real suspicion.

“Hmm……”

As Zion narrowed her eyes and looked up at Roan’s face.

“Hey, Zion!”

Demona suddenly called out to Zion.

“What is it, Demona?”

Zion glared at her, as if interrupted at a crucial moment.

Demona scolded her as if she were asking something obvious.

“How can you be so dense! It’s obviously because his constipation was resolved~ Do I have to explain every single thing like this to you?”

“““…….”””

His friends temporarily lost their speech at Demona’s words.

Certainly, it was true that Roan’s atmosphere had changed to their eyes as well.

And just as Demona said, it could indeed be because of constipation.

……Though to say that, the effect was far too distinct, matching Zion’s suspicion.

Anyway.

‘‘‘Isn’t saying that to his face even more dense?’’’

No matter how they thought about it, Demona was not in a position to talk about being dense.

Demona paid no attention to their gazes and smiled gigglingly at Roan:

“Roan is truly amazing. How did you go two weeks without using the restroom? Your complexion looks so much better now that it’s resolved!”

“…….”

Roan also stared at Demona with a similarly dumbfounded look.

How on earth could a person be so consistently stupid.

Still, thanks to Demona stepping in and asserting it, the reason for Roan’s improved complexion was simply settled in that direction.

Even if it was slightly embarrassing, constipation was better.

If she came to think, ‘Did that guy engrave a Black Mark on his heart to avoid detection, and learn Void, which is specialized in erasing presence among the advanced attributes, to end up like that?’

It would have been a massive disaster.

……Of course, there was no one but Roan who would think that way.

No, even Roan thought that because he was the party involved; if it were a normal player, they would have certainly brushed off as just constipation.

“Let’s go eat.”

“Sounds good~”

Thinking it was fortunate in many ways, Roan moved his steps as naturally as possible.

‘It’s definitely strange…… did something good happen to him?’

Zion, who had been called dense by Demona, trailed at the very back while keeping a close eye on Roan’s retreating figure.

However, at the entrance to the commercial district.

─ Look at that.

─ What on earth is that?

─ Good heavens, is that allowed?

For some reason, people were gathered on the street, and the atmosphere was chaotic.

“Oh? Is something going on? I’ll go check!”

Demona tilted her head, then sprinted and disappeared into the crowd.

‘Hmm, there shouldn’t be any special events in the commercial district during the quiz week.’

Roan also thought it was definitively strange.

Usually, when playing Akerandir, one never knew when or what event would occur, but the freshman quiz week was supposed to pass quietly.

According to the lore, it was because the professors paid extra attention to ensure the freshmen were not disturbed.

……Though it was a bit strange since those professors seemed to disturb the students more than anyone else.

If only they spent time building a sturdier class curriculum instead of worrying about such things.

In any case, Demona came trotting back out before long.

What on earth had happened inside, her smooth blonde hair was completely disheveled and her clothes were twisted here and there.

“……Did a war break out inside?”

Seeing her state, Rafia asked suspiciously.

She wondered if it was a case where rival clubs met in the commercial district and got into a tense fight, which happened occasionally.

However, Demona shook her head.

“No?”

“Then what is the matter, heretic?”

When Hector asked, Demona hesitated for a moment, as if unsure of how to explain what she had seen, before replying:

“There was a human-looking divine beast?”

“What?”

“What did you say?”

“A human-looking divine beast?”

The friends were astonished by the completely unexpected words.

Even in Akerandir, where all sorts of things happened, a human-looking divine beast appearing?

“Roan, what do you think is going on?”

At any rate, if they couldn’t find an answer, they had to seek Roan first!

Zion asked Roan.

“…….”

A human-looking divine beast.

As Roan pondered Demona’s words for a long time, something suddenly clicked in his mind.

“We had better bypass it.”

“““?!?!?!!!!”””

The friends seemed more surprised by Roan saying “we had better bypass it” than the fact that he knew of the “human-looking divine beast.”

Rafia and Riel shrugged.

“Just how dangerous is this divine beast……?”

“Scary……”

At that rate, shouldn’t the professors step forward?

When his friends grew frightened, Roan shook his head.

“No, it is not dangerous.”

“Then why bypass it?”

“……Because I think it might be troublesome.”

“Yeah, it did look a bit troublesome~”

“““…….”””

The friends fell silent at Roan’s words.

Certainly, in Akerandir, troublesome matters were far scarier than dangerous ones.

If it were truly dangerous, Harden and the other professors, paladins, or faculty members would have dealt with it already.

There was a very high probability that they wouldn’t do so for troublesome matters.

……In fact, from Roan’s perspective, it was a massive relief if the teachers or paladins themselves weren’t that very “troublesome matter.”

Since there were many ways to enter the commercial district anyway—including paths known only to himself—Roan, who was about to move, suddenly paused.

“……If you are really curious, shall we go take a look.”

“Huh? Ah, well……”

“Y-You don’t have to do that!”

At Roan’s words, the friends blushed and waved their hands.

Even a brief glance showed that although they said it was fine, they were burning with curiosity about what this “human-looking divine beast” was.

Roan shrugged and spoke.

“Since you are that curious, let’s go see.”

“We don’t have to, though……”

“If Roan insists on going, we must go, what else can we do!”

Even while saying that, their faces immediately brightened as they ran toward the commercial district!

Roan chuckled and followed behind them.

Although it would be a bit troublesome, they had plenty of time anyway, and it wouldn’t be bad for his other friends to know about it.

‘And honestly, I am also curious about the reason it came all the way down here.’

As Roan and his friends slowly approached the students.

─ Hieek, it’s Darc…….

─ If it’s Darc, maybe he can do something?

─ But don’t you think his face looks a bit different?

─ He must have just gone to the restroom~

‘These bastards……’

The students who had been standing in a dense crowd stepped aside here and there.

Then, what they were watching (?) came into the view of Roan and his friends.

Demona shrugged and spoke, as if asking what she had told them:

“See~ it is a human-looking divine beast, right?”