Chapter 28 — The Talent Found at the End of Jealousy (3)

1

“Ugh-?”

Melanie raised her stiff body and looked around.

Where is this?

It was a completely dark place.

Looking around, she felt no presence of others.

She quietly got up and carefully retraced her memories.

Right, a nameless female student had come to her room.

She remembered a sweet scent and her body becoming heavy.

‘If it was a sweet scent, could it be…’

She recalled a forbidden potion.

An item handled very carefully even in the merchant group run by the Harry family.

Growing up in a merchant family, she knew many items and could naturally recall them.

“Ugh, it’s cold-.”

Her body was cold, as if she’d been lying down for a long time.

An eerie chill dominated half her body.

It didn’t seem to be the school.

Where on earth could this be?

What could be happening?

-It’s here!

-This place is dangerous! Dangerous!

-We need to get out!

‘Do you know where this is?’

-Of course!

-It’s a very dangerous place!

-We need to leave!

She’d never been so glad to see the wandering spirits.

The spirits told her to follow them.

From Melanie’s position of not knowing where she was, she had no choice but to follow them.

She got up and looked around.

Ominous mana overflowed.

With each step, her fear surged.

The glimpse outside the window was full of clouds that seemed frozen, like time that didn’t flow.

Moreover-.

“Why… is the sky like that?”

With the moon out, the sky should be black, but it was a strange color as if magic had been cast.

It was strange.

Too strange a space.

[Hm?]

And this sound-.

An intermittent echoing sound.

It clearly wouldn’t be friendly.

They said it was dangerous, so it must be.

-This way!

-Hurry!

-It’ll be big trouble if we’re caught! Big trouble!

Melanie moved while holding her breath.

She instinctively felt it would be disastrous if she was caught.

Cold sweat flowed, and her breathing quickened.

‘Where on earth is this-. I’m scared, so scared-.’

All she could do was follow the spirits.

Unable to use any decent attack or defense magic, Melanie could only carefully move her steps.

Hoping the spirits would guide her on the right path-.

She took steps with no end in sight.

2

Manus was granted permission to audit third-year classes.

He was given the right to interrogate all first-year students.

An official document was circulated, and Manus pondered the case.

The Melanie kidnapping incident wasn’t in the original story.

Something else must have changed.

In the original, it naturally opened a sub-quest route and transitioned into a story about awakening her talent for spirits.

-If she dies now, it means losing a very valuable asset.

‘There’s someone to question.’

The character who appears as Melanie’s rival and opposite.

Although the story has her repent and get along well with Melanie in the latter half…

She deserves proper punishment.

Her jealousy is enough to cause trouble and more.

In the worst case, she could be trapped in the tower-.

Having organized his thoughts, Manus got up.

It’s lunchtime now.

‘Do they know?’

He suddenly wondered.

How would Kael and the others react knowing their friend had disappeared?

In this incident absent from the original story, what feelings would the original protagonists have for Melanie?

If they were truly pure students, they would come up with some plan.

If they hadn’t accepted it yet, he’d need to create a resting place for a lost soul.

Taking large strides, he opened the huge dining hall doors.

As soon as he opened the door, the protagonist group spotted him and rushed over breathlessly.

“Senior!”

“Senior Manus!”

“Senior, did you hear? Melanie is…”

Manus looked into their eyes.

The eyes full of worry proved their purity.

Yes, this is how they were.

Unlike the modern world where real faces are hidden behind masks, these were children with pure hearts.

Even if those hearts were created, they were living and breathing here.

That was enough.

“I know. The professors have delegated full authority to me.”

“Then-?”

“We find Melanie. I know who to interrogate.”

Manus’ gaze swept the surroundings.

Livy.

Her signature blonde hair wasn’t visible.

So he grabbed someone random and asked.

The student Manus’ gaze fell on reacted as if having a fit, but now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.

A person had gone missing.

“Which class is Bauer Livy in?”

“Huh? Uh… I, I don’t really…”

“Class B, senior.”

Fortunately, the students were very cooperative.

When none other than the Manus was asking, the first-year juniors answered as if addressing a superior.

Students spilling everything like criminals dragged to an interrogation room.

Thanks to that, the questioning was quite easy.

Since he was already at the dining hall, he leisurely finished his meal with the protagonist group.

He’d return to Class B to attend classes anyway, so there was no need to rush.

“Senior, could she be trapped in a tower like I was?”

“-Probably.”

Pearson inhaled sharply at Manus’ answer.

The tower.

The fear of being trapped alone still haunts his dreams.

Even the tower he thought he’d gotten quite used to would surely be impossible to climb alone.

He couldn’t even imagine Melanie, who couldn’t use attack magic, enduring there.

Being in Class B, she might somehow survive, but time was of the essence.

“Shouldn’t we go rescue her right now?”

“I’ll let you know my exact judgment after school.”

“But if we’re too late…”

Their worry was natural.

They knew well what kind of place the tower was.

“It’s alright. She has a special ability.”

“…”

The juniors exchanged glances, unsure whether to believe his words or not.

Manus silently got up from his seat, leaving them behind.

Their eyes met.

Though only a day had passed, Melanie was a friend.

Once someone became a friend, they couldn’t stand by and watch them get into trouble.

Moreover, it was related to the ‘tower’.

A sense of mission began to grow that only they could resolve this.

‘Good.’

The tower and destruction.

Demons and incidents.

Events that tightly bound the protagonist group together were occurring in succession.

This solid bond needed to form during their school days.

Once they became adults, entered organizations, and various interests intertwined, heartfelt bonds would disappear.

He felt a bit envious.

It was already hard to gauge how much purity remained in Manus’ own heart.

Manus watched as the protagonists formed bonds, thinking it was good to observe the process even if he couldn’t directly participate. He had always intended to use the protagonists for his own ends.

‘This level of relationship is just right.’

He thought it was ideal — using them to protect the world while gaining the power to protect it himself. That was Manus’ perspective, at least.

‘Where is he rushing off to alone again?’

Unbeknownst to the great Manus, there were concerned gazes watching his solitary departure.

3

In the first-year Golden Snake Class B, the atmosphere was unsettled. Melanie’s disappearance was too big an incident for first-years to handle.

Livy, who could be considered the instigator, hung her head low. Despite the professors’ extensive search efforts and contacting her family, Melanie remained missing.

Livy realized things had gone seriously wrong.

‘Why, why did it turn out like this-!’

Her breath caught and she couldn’t think straight. Even secretly approaching the Eagle class students yielded no answers, just head shaking.

Instead-

They deflected blame, saying it was her fault for suggesting the prank. The Leveli-Malito she’d expected to show at least minimal decency were now turning on her.

Their attempt to absolve themselves despite being complicit was infuriating.

Just you wait-

She’d find a way to drag them down with her.

Grinding her teeth, Livy started racking her brain for how to get out of this situation.

“Bauer Livy. Is that right?”

The chilling voice she heard was no illusion. She’d heard it before — a voice impossible to forget once heard in the academy.

“Wh-who-“

Though she knew, Livy hesitantly responded, flustered.

Blue eyes regarded her coldly. Black hair created an inescapable presence by color alone.

Caesar Manus had come for her.

Though they’d never directly interacted, she’d encountered him before.

“It’s Manus. I have something to ask.”

“If-if it’s about Melanie, I don’t know anything.”

“…I haven’t even said what I wanted to ask. You seem quite certain that’s what I’m here about.”

Her whole body tensed. One wrong word and she felt she’d be torn apart.

A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek.

“Th-that’s-“

“I’ve seen you before. You’re the only one who directly harmed Melanie.”

“S-so what? You think I’m crazy enough to kidnap Melanie? You don’t even know the relationship between our families-“

Though terrified by those blue eyes, Livy had to fight for her survival.

Admitting guilt meant death — the end of her dreams and her family’s future.

So here, she had to deny everything-

“It’s not strange for a poor family to borrow money. Did you think I wouldn’t know about your family’s situation?”

Livy’s face gradually turned pale, looking almost sickly.

Despite her weak appearance, Manus’ questioning didn’t stop.

“It would be best to speak plainly. If Melanie returns and testifies herself, things will get more complicated.”

“I didn’t do anything, so how could Melanie’s words-“

Livy suddenly recalled something.

A forbidden magic, but one allowed for saving lives or interrogating criminals.

Knowledge not accessible to ordinary people.

“I’m asking one last time before treating you as a criminal. What did you do to Melanie?”

The professors weren’t fools. The knowledge Mythos Academy held was even vaster than imagined.

They were giving someone a chance.

The professors’ consideration, wanting to end this as just a student’s rash prank.

Thinking they were still too young and naive to be criminals-

“I’m not a professor. I don’t know consideration for criminals. So tell me, Livy. What did you do to Melanie?”

She sensed it.

No excuse would work.

Caesar Manus already knew everything.

Her eyes shook violently.

Jealousy grows, becoming a great karmic debt. When all karma returns, irreversible events occur.

Livy vaguely realized this.

She also realized nothing could be hidden from this tyrant.

“Ha-“

Despair soon awakens into resignation.

Livy’s mouth opened.

–TL Notes–
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