Chapter 39

Lerwon couldn’t answer, only opening and closing his mouth.

“I have no intention of reporting you to a Heretic Inquisitor.”

To prove my innocence, I spread my palms and showed them to him.

Albedo said it was fine, and my mana wasn’t actually tainted by darkness, but I also had things to hide.

As they say, a guilty conscience needs no accuser, so I wanted to keep my distance from any Heretic Inquisitors as much as possible.

“Then?”

“Would you like to return to being human?”

I asked with the kindest smile I could muster.

However, Lerwon’s eyes only filled with caution.

Damn it, it was my smile of confidence.

“How on earth can you?”

“That’s a trade secret.”

“You… always brush things off as a trade secret when they seem suspicious.

It’s not a good habit. You should fix it if you can.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

I said I’d keep it in mind, not that I’d obediently follow.

I kept my mouth shut and smiled brightly.

“What if I say I don’t want to go back to being human?”

“I can’t force you.”

“Then?”

“I’ll kill you instead.”

“So, do I have a choice in this?”

“No, it’s different. There’s a huge difference between the two.”

Even if it might not seem that way.

“Returning to being human means you still want to live, and if you fall to ruin as a monster, it means you no longer want to live and have chosen death.”

At my point, Lerwon shut his mouth.

Forcibly turning Lerwon back into a human isn’t entirely impossible.

However, that would be a form of salvation that Lerwon would least desire.

Then there would be no difference between me and Iris.

I willingly forced the choice upon Lerwon. Even if Lerwon didn’t want it.

“Seriously, I want to search through your head.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“I’m cursing you, you crazy bastard.”

Lerwon covered his face with his palm and said in a mumble.

“That’s a compliment.”

“Haha, crazy bastard. You crazy son of a bitch.”

Strangely, at this moment, being cursed at by Lerwon didn’t feel so bad.

No, it actually sounded a little sweet.

In that sense, maybe I really am a crazy bastard.

* * *

Lerwon looked at his brightly smiling junior.

A smile full of confidence.

A question suddenly occurred to him.

If you had been there when mother attended the Academy, would she have changed?

A meaningless question. Why was he curious, knowing that?

“……”

His throat tickled.

He was in quite a predicament; one wrong move and he felt he would burst into tears.

“I am a sinner whom even the gods have turned away from. Are you saying you’ll save someone like me?”

It was written so in the book where he learned about the taboo.

「O demon who seeks to become the beast that will swallow the world, the price shall be far harsher than you can imagine.

There will be no rest for you.

Do not expect the salvation of the gods, for you who have abandoned the gods have been abandoned by them.」

What did he think as he read those words?

He just laughed out loud.

Since the salvation of the gods was never permitted to him in the first place, laughter was the only thing that could come out.

And yet, you’re saying you’ll save me.

Even though you don’t know what kind of curse you might receive from the gods.

“The gods are the ones who made the world this way, so are they really going to strike me with divine punishment for saving one person they couldn’t save? If the gods have a conscience, they shouldn’t do that.”

“Heh.”

At Lerwon’s exclamation of disbelief, Theo did not erase the smile from his lips.

“I am a man who has let go of all hope.”

“If you let it go, you can just pick it up again.”

“But I’ve already come too far?”

“I’ll turn you back.”

He met the clear golden eyes.

Seeing those eyes, Lerwon wanted to pour out his resentment instead.

Why were you so late? Why did you only come after I had let go of all the hope I searched for every moment I was breaking down?

But, yes, if this was truly the last chance─

What came to mind at that moment was the whisper of a certain woman.

“Will you give me a little time?”

What made Lerwon hesitate was, paradoxically, hope.

The hope that he might be able to live.

The hope that he might be able to escape from Iris’s grasp just like this.

But, what happens after he escapes? What happens after that? Can the Academy truly protect him completely?

“Do as you wish, sunbae.”

As if he hadn't expected to be persuaded right away, Theo gave up more readily than expected.

* * *

Professor Artemia, who had returned to the infirmary, hugged Lerwon tightly upon confirming he was awake.

“Professor?”

“…I’m sorry for not realizing until now.”

Professor Artemia’s voice, as she mumbled those words, trembled endlessly.

Perhaps the reason Professor Artemia had hesitated when Lerwon became a monster was because of that sense of debt.

Something like a teacher’s guilt for not recognizing their student’s pain.

After a long hug, Professor Artemia seemed to realize how awkward the situation was and glared at me.

“You should have informed me when the patient woke up!”

“…Is this my fault?”

I asked, pointing to myself.

Wow, this is a bit unfair.

“You were the one who left him in my care and left first, Professor!”

“Hoh, are you talking back to me now?”

At Professor Artemia’s question, I decided to obediently shut my mouth.

Yes, yes, how could I ever complain to a professor as great as the sky.

“Lerwon, I’m sorry about this… but it seems there’s a place you have to go with me.”

“It’s for a debriefing, right?”

After a slight hesitation, Professor Artemia barely managed to answer.

“Yes, we can’t judge everything and make a decision based solely on Theo’s words.

We’ve made a deal amongst ourselves for now, and you need to know about that as well.”

“What else?”

Lerwon smiled without a word.

“Do I really have to say it here?”

“Theo is also a party involved, so I don’t think there’s any reason he shouldn’t know.”

Ah, I know what they’re talking about. Probably….

“It seems a guard will be assigned to you from now on.”

I had thought they wouldn't just let Lerwon go free, but to think he really wouldn’t be able to move around freely.

I glanced at Lerwon’s complexion. It was a relief, if you could call it that, to see his expression seemed rather indifferent.

“I promise you as a professor, you will absolutely not be treated unfairly.”

“I can trust Professor Artemia’s words.”

It was a relief that Lerwon followed along so obediently.

After Professor Artemia and Lerwon left, Lucian, who had finished his training, arrived not long after.

“Thanks for carrying my stuff.”

“What for, it’s nothing.”

Having spent a week in the infirmary, my luggage had increased here and there.

Come to think of it, on my first day as a transfer student, I was so scared of starting unnecessary rumors, but now I’m casually using him as a porter.

“Even I think the change is too drastic.”

At my self-deprecating mumble, Lucian looked at me with a bright expression.

Yes, sweet-potato Hero. As long as you’re happy.

“Are you that happy just carrying my luggage?”

“This is the only thing I can do for you.”

“Hey, by any chance… you don’t feel guilty or anything because we just let it go as if nothing happened, do you?”

At my question, Lucian fell silent.

Our sweet-potato Hero, I knew you were a sweet potato, but this is really beyond my imagination.

“Hey, why is that your fault?”

“No, I don’t think it’s my fault, exactly. It’s just… I feel like I shouldn’t have let you come to that place that day, at least.”

Is he worried that I felt pressured among the adults?

What is this, the feeling of a lion being worried about by a chick. In terms of stats, I’d be the chick and Lucian the lion, but it still felt bad.

“Hey, I didn’t really think much of it.”

How many times do you have to stand in front of higher-ups while cursing inwardly at work.

I was more nervous because my opponents were the Emperor, the professor, and my father, but still, I have the experience of being a Korean office worker.

“You got hurt that badly, and you’re not even upset that we’re letting it go as if nothing happened?”

“Yeah, I’m not upset. In the first place, if I hadn’t made a fuss about making a contract with Iris, none of this would have happened, right?”

I wondered if I should even talk about such personal matters, but my hesitation wasn’t long. Lucian had to know anyway. Hiding things isn't always the best solution.

“Rather, from the master of Golden’s perspective, it ended perfectly in our favor, to the point where she’d be really pissed off.”

“What part of it?”

At Lucian’s uncomprehending expression, I tapped his shoulder.

Ouch, my hand hurts.

I shook my hand and explained slowly.

“Lerwon’s custody now belongs to the Academy. The fact that we took something from that woman is already a huge deal.”

“Even so, she laid a hand on an Academy student. The Academy has a duty to protect its students.”

“I got hurt because of my own power, and you guys are safe.”

“What about Lerwon-sunbae?”

Lucian looked at me with his bright eyes.

“Leaving you, me, and Zephi aside, isn’t it clear that Iris was the one who hurt sunbae?

He couldn’t wake up for a week.”

“You suddenly got smart.”

It seems our righteous protagonist Lucian is a little angry.

“It’s over if they claim it was discipline.”

“Who disciplines someone that harshly!”

“Lucian.”

I stopped walking and looked at Lucian intently.

Some people called characters like Lucian naive, but I liked that.

The world mostly runs on sophistry and prejudice rather than sound arguments.

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if a sound-argument character like Lucian was the protagonist?

“People generally listen to the parents rather than the child. If a parent defines it as ‘discipline’,

most people have no choice but to follow. And this is even more so for a parent with power like Iris.”

“That’s unfair!”

Lucian shouted loudly.

“I agree. It’s damn unfair. But, Lucian.”

Through this conversation, I hope you don’t break.

“The world is mostly unfair.”

Because the Hero I know, Lucian, is not someone who would break over a conversation like this.

At my words, Lucian shut his mouth as if he had a lot on his mind.

“If I gain power, will I be able to eliminate the unfairness in the world?”

He suddenly spat out a question.

“Hey, are you a god? Even a god can’t do that.”

In a world where a god actually exists, the world is still in this mess. How can a mere human do that?

That would be arrogance and, in the end, self-destruction.

“Then what should I do?”

“Just help out as much as you can.”

I shrugged lightly.

“If you look too far ahead and run desperately, you’ll get tired. Even the gods aren’t perfect, so what.”

At those words, that even the gods aren’t perfect, Lucian smiled.

“So, just save whoever you can reach. Make the choice you won’t regret right now. If that builds up─”

“If that builds up?”

“I can’t guarantee whether your life will be ruined or successful, but, well. Won’t it mostly be successful?”

I gave Lucian a wide grin.

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