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Chapter 21
Undoing the barrier wasn’t particularly difficult.
‘Compared to getting inside this thing… this much is nothing.’
Compared to forcibly twisting open a gap in the barrier from the outside, dismantling it from the inside was hardly work at all.
And so, the barrier was safely dispelled.
We returned to the laboratory.
“So the barrier stone was disposable.”
The barrier stone that had been floating in the center of the lab was shattered and scattered across the floor.
To avoid leaving evidence, it must have been designed as a one-time-use barrier stone.
I placed my hand on the broken barrier stone and tried sensing mana.
Not even a trace of mana could be felt.
“I think they really did erase the evidence. I can’t feel any mana at all.”
No entrance route prepared, yet the evidence cleanup was absurdly thorough.
Even without erasing mana this cleanly, nothing would have come from simple residual traces anyway.
‘This is kind of irritating.’
The things that should’ve existed didn’t.
The things that didn’t need to exist were prepared meticulously.
It felt like watching a new employee at a company handle work recklessly on their own.
Ah.
PTSD.
The back of my neck suddenly tightened.
‘Don’t think about it. Thinking about it will only make me more annoyed.’
By the way, why is Rozarin so quiet?
If she heard there’s no evidence, shouldn’t she react somehow?
I removed my hand from the barrier stone, stood up, and turned toward Rozarin.
Rozarin was glaring at me with wide eyes.
Like she’d just seen something that should never exist in this world.
What’s with her?
“The thing you just did. How did you undo the barrier?”
“Undo the barrier?”
Why the barrier removal?
“I just used the normal method. I twisted open a flaw in the spatial barrier and caused it to collapse…”
That’s the ordinary way to break a spatial barrier.
Is there any reason to be surprised?
Even if it weren’t me, any mage who studied barriers a little could do it.
Rozarin stared at me as if asking what nonsense I was saying.
“Why are you reacting like this is your first time hearing about it?”
“Because it is. I’m literally hearing this for the first time.”
…Huh?
“You’ve never heard of it?”
“Yeah. The idea that spatial barriers even have flaws is news to me.”
“…Why?”
“What do you mean why? Why do you keep asking obvious questions? I’ve never heard it because I’ve never heard it.”
…Seriously, why?
In the game, methods to break spatial barriers were so widespread that even ordinary adventurers knew them.
There’s no way Rozarin wouldn’t know.
“Why don’t you know?”
“Don’t make it sound like I’m the weird one. You’re the strange one here.”
Rozarin spoke with an incredulous expression.
“Spatial barriers are considered perfect barriers that cannot be broken. That’s the accepted theory in academia.”
“…What?”
Perfect barriers?
Spatial barriers?
‘Come to think of it, I did hear they were called that before methods to break them were discovered… wait.’
They were called perfect barriers in the past.
I heard that from a companion character at least after Act 3.
That was around the time adventures outside the academy truly began.
Which means…
‘At this point in time, no one’s discovered how to break them yet.’
Meaning spatial barriers are still considered flawless barriers in this era.
‘…That’s worth being surprised over.’
Now I understood exactly why Rozarin was shocked.
“Hmm. I see. The flaws were just so obvious to me… I assumed it was a famous method.”
Then I’d need to change the direction of the explanation.
Not “I knew because it was a famous technique.”
But rather:
“I knew because the flaws were simply visible.”
‘After all, my setting is someone who only recently started learning magic.’
Only saying it that way makes the story line up.
“There’s no way. If the flaws were that obvious, they wouldn’t have gone undiscovered for fifty years. Barrier studies aren’t some unpopular field.”
“There’s a saying that it’s darkest under the lamp. Maybe the answer was so simple everyone overlooked it.”
“…You can say that with confidence?”
“Yes.”
Maybe it’s because I understand magic instinctively rather than through formulas and structure.
Anyway, to me, the flaw stood out immediately.
Though only when breaking it from the inside.
Breaking in from the outside was genuinely difficult.
“What exactly is the flaw?”
“Hmm. It’s hard to explain in words. I just saw it.”
“You mean one part looked different? Like the color was different or something?”
“Not like that. More like I could see defects in the structure itself.”
“Structural defects… in a spatial barrier…?”
Rozarin narrowed her eyes.
She was probably reviewing the structure of spatial barriers in her head and thinking about possible weaknesses.
“Could you show me again later?”
“You mean dismantling a barrier?”
“Yeah.”
“Yes. Of course. If you prepare a spatial barrier, I can show you anytime.”
At my answer, Rozarin’s expression brightened.
“Really? It’s a promise?”
“I don’t go back on my word.”
“Good. Then I need to get another spatial barrier stone immediately.”
Rozarin fell into thought again.
“So, Senior Rozarin… what exactly happened to put you in that situation?”
Thinking about future matters is fine.
But before that, I’d like an explanation.
‘I need to know what Yodala did to create this situation.’
Understanding the details would be important for what comes next.
“Why were you fighting a monster inside the barrier?”
“Ah…”
Rozarin’s face darkened immediately.
“It’s tied to family matters, so I’d rather not talk about it… but after what happened, I suppose I owe you an explanation.”
She let out a small sigh and slowly began speaking, as though making up her mind.
“First of all, Lea gave me this barrier stone. Said it was a gift…”
And then she explained what happened earlier that day.
To summarize Rozarin’s story:
- Lea gave her a barrier stone as a gift and said she could use it for research.
- Excited by the present, Rozarin immediately began researching with it and ended up working into the night.
- While researching late at night, she sensed strange mana inside the barrier stone and approached it.
- Suddenly, the barrier activated and absorbed her.
- Inside the barrier, the mithril beetle I’d seen was waiting and attacked her, forcing her into battle.
Everything after that matched what I already knew, so she ended her explanation there.
“So you’re saying that maid named Lea tried to kill you?”
“No. Lea didn’t act alone. She doesn’t have that kind of power.”
“That’s true.”
A spatial barrier stone.
A chimera monster armored in mithril.
Neither were things an ordinary maid could obtain.
“There’s someone behind this.”
“Any idea who?”
“Too many. Whether I like it or not, I’m the only direct heir of the Genek Merchant Guild. There are countless people who see me as a nuisance.”
If Rozarin died, the legitimate successor would disappear, and one of the executives would likely inherit the guild.
“Then the culprit is probably among the more influential executives.”
“Right.”
“No one in particular comes to mind?”
“…No. I’ve never involved myself in guild affairs.”
Rozarin frowned in frustration.
“But if we capture Lea and interrogate her, we’ll probably learn something.”
Capture and interrogate Lea…
“That’ll probably be impossible.”
“Why?”
“If someone was willing to kill you to seize the Genek Merchant Guild… would they leave the perpetrator alive?”
Lea was probably already dead.
‘After orchestrating something this big, there’s no way they left the identity of “Lea” intact.’
Most likely they fabricated a scenario, staged her death, and left behind the corpse of the previous Lea I’d dealt with.
Something along those lines.
“…You’re right. Someone crazy enough to do this on academy grounds wouldn’t leave Lea alive. They’d silence her permanently.”
Rozarin bit her lower lip hard.
“Lea, you idiot… I told you so many times to stop being so greedy…”
It seemed Rozarin had been close with the maid named Lea.
Maybe they’d drifted apart for some reason and ended up with a complicated relationship of affection and resentment.
“Then catching whoever planned this is basically impossible.”
“Yes. I think that’s very likely.”
“Then all I can do is contact those people and pressure the executives…”
Rozarin sighed quietly.
“…I never thought I’d contact them over something like this.”
One sigh wasn’t enough.
She sighed again.
Considering her relationship with her parents, it was a natural reaction.
“Anyway, thank you. You saved my life.”
Rozarin bowed her head deeply while looking straight at me.
“I’ll repay this debt somehow. If you ever need my help with anything, tell me. If it’s something I can do, I’ll do anything.”
Anything…?
“You definitely said you’d do anything just now.”
“Huh? Uh, yeah, I did say that…”
“You’re promising.”
At my words, Rozarin’s eyes trembled slightly in panic.
“What… are you planning to ask…?”
“It’s not an unreasonable request. There’s something I’d like to say to your parents. Could you arrange a meeting?”
To learn why Black Night changed its objective to taking over the Genek Merchant Guild.
I needed to meet the guild leaders.
“Something to say to my parents…? What could you possibly…”
Rozarin’s eyes widened further.
Like she’d reached some huge realization.
“You… don’t tell me…”
Her widened eyes shook violently as if in an earthquake.
“I see. That’s why you kept staying around me. Hoping to meet me somehow, even by chance…”
Then she lowered her gaze slightly and fidgeted with her finger.
“Sorry, but I can’t accept your feelings. I understand—I’m the greatest beauty in academy history, so it makes sense you’d want me. But I’m not thinking about that yet. Right now, I want to focus only on magic.”
She stopped midway, biting her lip nervously.
“O-of course, compared to saving my life, it’s not a bad deal… and with your abilities, you’d make more than a suitable spouse…”
Whatever she was imagining—
Her face, starting from her cheeks to her ears, was completely red.
“I-if you really like me that much…”
Dry lips.
Eyes glancing at me repeatedly.
A flushed face and a faintly trembling body.
It was truly a spectacle.
“But no matter what, meeting my parents right away is a bit—”
“I just wanted to discuss business.”
“—of a… what?”
Rozarin froze completely, expression and body alike.
“B-business…?”
“Yes. I have a promising business idea.”
She stared blankly at me in silence for three seconds.
“Ah… uh, ah. R-right… I… see… uh…”
Stammering like a broken radio—
Then with a face far redder than before, she lowered her head and abruptly spun around before running out of the lab.
“……I-I’ll arrange something somehow!”
She shouted in an excited voice.
Then flung the door open and ran off.
“Uwaaaah! I’m insane! I’m seriously insane!”
Her fading scream was strangely pleasant to hear.
‘Ah. I’m exhausted.’
Maybe because I consumed too much mana twisting open the barrier and entering.
My head throbbed and my body felt heavy.
‘If I use more mana now… would I get mana exhaustion?’
Probably.
‘Mana exhaustion… I’d rather avoid experiencing that.’
I’m already this tired.
How bad must actual mana exhaustion be?
Thinking that, I opened my dorm room door and stepped inside.
“Master.”
The moment I entered and shut the door—
Black energy gathered in the air.
The Reaper appeared.
‘Holy— that scared me…’
My heart nearly stopped.
[EX-ranked Mental Strength calms your emotional disturbance.]
If I didn’t have EX-ranked Mental Strength, I probably would’ve screamed.
‘What’s with him now? Why is he here?’
After Yodala, now it’s the Reaper?
‘What exactly do they all want from me?’
As irritation built inside me—
“I apologize.”
Suddenly, the Reaper dropped flat to the ground.
“For daring to doubt Master… and furthermore, for testing you. I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart.”
…Huh?
‘Doubt me, sure—but tested me? When? How?’
I was speechless from confusion.
Then—
Fwaaaaaaah!
Suddenly the outside of the window became bright.
As though the sun had risen.
‘…The sun? It’s still 11 PM.’
An incomprehensible situation.
I started walking toward the window to identify the source—
“That mana…”
The Reaper’s gaze abruptly turned cold.
[The Aura of Death engulfs the surroundings.]
[EX-ranked Mental Strength resists the Aura of Death.]
“…I’ll properly apologize for today and what I’m about to do later, in an appropriate setting.”
Then overwhelming energy erupted from the Reaper’s body.
Thud! Slam!
Before I realized it—
My head had been forced to the floor beneath the Reaper’s hand.
Shhk! Swoooosh!
Without giving me a chance to react, the Reaper thrust the dagger in his hand toward my head.
Before I could understand the situation—
Before I could even question what was happening—
Frozen in place, waiting helplessly for the dagger to pierce my skull—
At that exact moment—
“That’s enough.”
A mysterious voice rang out.
The Reaper stopped instantly.
“Don’t move another inch.”
The voice came from outside the window.
I slowly moved my eyes toward it.
Fwoooosh!
Centered on the window, the wall burned away and vanished.
Walking through the exposed sky beyond the destroyed wall—
A woman appeared.
“Move that dagger even one more millimeter.”
A woman with striking red hair.
The principal of Garam Academy.
An ancient dragon who had lived for thousands of years.
The last dragon in this world.
The former Dragon Lord.
“If you do, then you—and the Black Night you belong to—will all die by my hand.”
Red Dragon Heneta.
Behind her floated a fireball as large as the sun while she looked down at the Reaper.
“…Your return was surprisingly quick. I thought you’d still be wandering inside Endrich’s domain.”
[Dragon Fear engulfs the surroundings!]
[The Aura of Death engulfs the surroundings!]
Tzzzzzzzt!
The dragon’s fury and the reaper’s killing intent collided.
Black and crimson currents of mana burst through the area.
‘What kind of insane situation is this…?’
[EX-ranked Mental Strength calms your emotional disturbance.]
My mind went blank.
