Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Uh…… well, you see, that is……”

Beanin, who was sweating cold sweat and troubled, brightened up upon seeing Roan standing right behind the two.

“Ah? Roan Darc? You were in our room too. I watched you during the admission ceremony. Nice to meet you.”

“……Yes.”

“……Did, did I do something wrong?”

As Roan spoke while stiffening his already scary impression, Beanin flinched and asked.

Of course, there was nothing he had done wrong.

Except for the fact that he had infiltrated the Holy Academy as a spy for the black mages.

Now, it didn’t even feel like a particularly major wrongdoing.

Especially to Roan.

‘The headmaster definitely knows Beanin’s identity too.’

Considering he had already put Roan, Hector, and Demona in the same room, Beanin was a coincidence?

There was no way.

The room they would stay in was no longer the McGodal Room.

The name ‘Acherandir’s recycling bin’ would be more accurate.

Suddenly, he recalled Gawed saying, ‘Looking at the list, it seems the headmaster has paid attention.’

Grit—

“……Junior?”

Roan ground his teeth without realizing it.

Beanin called Roan while checking his expression even more.

“……I’m sorry. A bad thought suddenly came to mind.”

“Ha, haha. That can happen. Meeting like this is also fate, so shall we sit over there and introduce ourselves……?”

As he said, fate was indeed fate.

‘A fate that would have been better if we had never met in our lives.’

Beanin pointed to a spacious table for four on one side of the living room.

Hector and Demona growled again, saying there was no need to greet each other, but they still followed quietly once their senior and Roan sat down first.

“Nice to meet you. I am a second-year, Beanin Atomas. I major in holy law and administration, and I should be able to teach you the first-year courses well for the most part.”

Indeed, setting aside how bizarre this situation was, Beanin was a perfectly fine mentor for the freshmen.

His academic performance was excellent, his nature was good, and he had good connections.

He was perfect except for the minor detail of being a spy for the black mages.

‘But if the headmaster knows, is he really a spy?’

A small question arose, but it wasn’t important.

Unless the player personally reported him, there was no chance of Beanin’s identity being exposed—excluding the headmaster.

In the first place, even though he was a spy for the black mages, he hadn’t awakened black mana.

The black mages who raised Beanin were one of the gentlest groups among the black mages.

Their goal was solely to secure a small village where they could live in peace.

Therefore, they raised a talented child to enter Acherandir, hoping to benefit from it.

Beanin learning holy magic instead of black magic was also the consideration of the black mages, who hoped he wouldn’t live a miserable and difficult life like them.

And the reason Roan knew Beanin this well was.

‘Because he was a fellow I raised myself.’

Because one of the black mages who raised him was a playable character.

In fact, the concept of that character was child-rearing.

The goal was to elevate Beanin to a high-ranking imperial official to secure their safety.

Thus, Roan’s feelings upon seeing Beanin were bound to be quite complex.

‘He’s growing well!’

First, a proud feeling that he was growing splendidly even without his assistance.

‘Must be nice not having to learn black magic!’

And the envy and jealousy coming from the fact that despite being a spy of the black mages, he was properly learning holy magic!

“Now, next…… would you like to start first?”

The person Beanin pointed to was Demona.

Did he think Demona was at least easier to talk to?

“My name is Demona Wycronon, and I intend to learn black magic to grasp the ultimate state of holy magic.”

Flinch—!

“I…… see? That’s quite unique. And the Wycronon family, that is amazing.”

Beanin was startled but nodded with an awkward smile.

Next was Hector.

“I am Hector Pavilto. My dream is to become an excellent heresy inquisitor who splits the heads of those who learned black magic with an axe.”

“I, I see! If it is the Pavilto family, that is certainly plausible! Hahahaha!”

Beanin laughed while breaking into a cold sweat.

‘Aren’t they showing it too obviously?’

Roan thought, looking at Beanin.

To someone who knows, it was extremely suspicious.

It was almost at a level of displaying ‘I am a spy.’

Of course, he couldn’t blame Beanin.

Who would ever imagine encountering such a combination at the Holy Academy Acherandir?

“J-Junior……?”

Lastly, Beanin looked at Roan.

An earnest wish of ‘please spare me’ emanated from his eyes.

“I am Roan Darc. My target is…… to graduate from this school normally.”

“Normal, hahaha. You tell jokes well despite having such talent.”

Beanin said so with a smile.

No matter how he thought about it, Roan’s actions today were completely disconnected from being normal.

Roan glared at Beanin as if to kill him.

“Why…… why?”

“……It’s nothing.”

As Beanin grew flustered, Roan slightly turned his gaze away.

At least Beanin was not saying such things out of envy and jealousy.

It was merely pure praise for a junior with outstanding talent.

“How humble. You must want to chop up black mages as much as I do.”

“No, he surely wants to know more about black magic.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

Meanwhile, at Hector and Demona’s following reactions, Beanin asked in confusion.

“Did you not know? The Darc family was destroyed fifteen years ago after receiving a cowardly attack from black mages. Darc, with a desire for revenge whose blood tears have long dried up, to wipe out the seeds of the black mages……”

‘I didn’t say it to that extent, though.’

Roan was dumbfounded seeing Hector explain him as some guy crazy about punishing black magic.

And Beanin, listening to those words, grew increasingly pale.

“I…… see. Come to think of it, I studied it in Imperial History class. It was a very unfortunate event.”

Indeed, from Beanin’s perspective, he must feel like his blood is drying up.

To have to spend a year as a spy for black mages with a heresy inquisitor aspirant and the descendant of a family destroyed by black mages.

Roan stared at Beanin silently.

“Why, why are you doing that, Roan?”

‘Still, at least you didn’t learn black magic.’

Beanin was a diligent and good-natured Acherandir student.

At least among the three of them.

“Thank you for empathizing, Senior.”

“U-Uh? Ah…… no. I also think black mages are really bad. I’ll help you a lot.”

It was truly tear-inducing survival tactics.

In an atmosphere that grew more awkward the more they continued the conversation, Beanin switched the topic.

Tuk—

Beanin took out three small pouches on the desk and distributed one to each.

“What is this?”

“Have you all heard of Talents? Freshmen will probably find it hard to gather Talents, so I wanted to share some of mine.”

The bills personally made by Harden were also popular as souvenirs outside Acherandir.

Occasionally, when an event was held to exchange leaked Talents for holy water in order to collect them back, prestigious figures would gather like clouds.

“Thank you, Senior.”

“I’ll use it sparingly.”

“No, as a mentor, I should do at least this much.”

Hector and Demona bowed to Beanin with moved faces.

Only then did Beanin smile brightly as if thinking the room’s atmosphere had recovered to normal.

Meanwhile, Roan secretly opened the pouch.

‘Fifty Talents?’

It was indeed an amount that would be useful to freshmen.

However, in Roan’s chest, 10,000 Talents slept peacefully.

Seuk—

“? ?”

“Thank you, Senior Beanin. But could I just take the thought?”

“Why? It’s not much, but it’s quite a large amount for you guys.”

Of course, it wasn’t because fifty Talents was too little.

‘It’s just that I feel like I’m extorting pocket money from my own child…….’

It was awkward to receive such help from Beanin, whom he had raised with an anxious heart.

“Is it because you feel burdened? It’s fine. Since I have about three thousand Talents. You can think of it as a gift.”

And under the circumstances of a second-year, he couldn’t have more Talents than Roan did!

However, he couldn’t speak of this circumstance honestly.

Roan, who was thinking for a moment, opened his mouth.

“……I have an obligation to rebuild the Darc family with my own hands. Therefore, I do not think I should receive help like this from the very beginning.”

““Darc……””

Upon hearing Roan’s words, not to mention Beanin, even Hector and Demona wore moved expressions.

“If you say it to that extent, I understand. In return, feel free to speak up whenever you need help.”

“I will also not receive it, Senior!”

“Me too!”

Hector and Demona returned even their shares of the pouches to Beanin.

“No, it’s better for you guys to keep them.”

The one who firmly stopped the two was Roan, not Beanin.

“Why?”

“I am also a Wycronon. I cannot rely on such help!”

“…….”

Roan was at a loss for words before the two who had determined expressions.

‘You guys don’t have ten thousand Talents…….’

Since he couldn’t reveal it honestly.

***

“Let’s all get along well for a year. You must be tired, so sleep early today. Classes start tomorrow, right? ……That will be quite hard too.”

“Good night, Senior!”

“Good night!”

Unlike the awkward atmosphere at first, the McGodal Room had become quite friendly.

Indeed, boys of this age group quickly became close no matter the circumstances.

Hector and Demona entered their private rooms holding the gifted Talents preciously, and.

Roan also quietly entered his room and lay down on the bed.

“The first class was…… that class.”

The first class at Acherandir was always fixed.

And above all, it was also a class that clearly showed this school was an unusual place.

‘I should gather plenty of herbs before departing tomorrow.’

If I wake up early, time should be sufficient.

Even as it looked, Acherandir was one of the Empire’s foremost sacred places and the domain of the Holy Spirit.

As it was a place where even common weeds were imbued with medicinal effects.

***

The next morning.

Hector, who had prepared normally to go to class and was briefly in the living room, saw Roan just entering from outside.

Roan was holding a large pouch with dirt on his hands.

“……What is that, Darc?”

“Herbs.”

“Herbs?”

Hector tilted his head.

To think that what he brought after going out at dawn on the day of the first class was herbs.

It was a situation that was not easily understood.

“Are you hurt somewhere?”

Hector asked with a slightly worried face.

However, if a student was hurt on campus, there was a ward, and there was a clinic right inside the dormitory, so why did he personally import herbs?

Yet, Roan replied with a slightly bitter face.

“……Because I feel like I’ll get hurt.”

“?”

It was still an incomprehensible remark to Hector.

Kreeak—

“Good morning, Darc.”

At that moment, Demona opened the door and offered a morning greeting.

The pettiness of offering a greeting to Roan despite clearly seeing Hector first, who was closer to him.

“Yeah.”

“We should head to class now, right, Darc?”

Demona looked already fully prepared to leave his private room.

As Roan nodded, Hector also approached Roan and said.

“I heard the first class is a healing class, which can be said to be an essential virtue when punishing black mages, Darc.”

‘These bastards…….’

As if he weren’t already disturbed enough at the thought of attending class.

He couldn’t understand why they clung to him like that, ignoring each other despite wishing to talk.

“……Let’s just head to class quickly.”

Roan said, frowning as his head was aching from the morning.

When the three left Panroa Hall, students were seen gathering and buzzing near the entrance—the cliff.

—Do we really have to climb down here?

—It was better when climbing up, but going down is even scarier…….

It was a common phenomenon.

Even during gameplay, students making a fuss on the cliff like that were depicted in the early part of the first-year semester.

‘Or is it not a fuss?’

Indeed, having to climb down a thirty-meter cliff bare-handed to attend class, a fuss might be a mild reaction rather than refusing to go to school.

—Guys, you won’t get hurt even if you just climb down.

—……You might fall once, but you get used to it that way.

A few second-year mentors tried to soothe the freshmen, but the effect did not look good.

Even if Roan were in the freshmen’s shoes, he would have thought it was nonsense to tell him to get used to it by falling from that cliff.

At that moment, Hector nodded and said.

“Indeed, so that was it.”

Roan looked back at him.

“You packed herbs because you might get hurt while climbing down the cliff. As expected, there is much to learn from you, Darc.”

“……It’s not like that.”

Roan wore a face of ‘as expected’ and turned his head back.

In the first place, thanks to the damn protection, there was no chance of getting heavily hurt on that cliff, and even if he did, it would only be skin scraped by stones.

Furthermore, to repeat, Acherandir was a sacred place.

Most wounds healed quickly and well without getting infected or inflamed even if left alone.

Even if a bone broke, it would mend cleanly in a week as long as a splint was well applied.

‘However, there shouldn’t be time to hesitate over there.’

Roan calculated the time considering the distance to Saint Hetrona Hall, where the freshmen’s classes were conducted.

If they didn’t climb down the cliff now, they would end up being late for class.

“Could you move aside?”

Roan asked the freshman standing at the very back for permission to pass through the students.

If they couldn’t pass, they should at least keep the path open.

However, several students who turned back were startled upon confirming Roan’s face.

—Gasp, Roan Darc!

—It’s Demona of Wycronon!

—Even Hector is here!

The freshmen reacted as if they also well knew Hector and Demona behind Roan.

Indeed, the child of the Wycronon family would be famous enough to make one’s mouth sore to talk about.

And Hector also possessed a strong impression.

Yet the problem was not only that the students simply recognized the three, but.

—Darc…… to have already created such a faction!

—Does he indeed deserve the protection of the Holy Palace and the Holy Spirit?

—Well, those two might have already known about Darc…….

It lay in the fact that they perceived the three together as a clique.

Roan’s fists clenched tightly.

‘Do not lump us together. You wicked bastards……!’