EDPEN 09

Chapter 09.

Meanwhile, in Haven’s research wing.

“What? Someone really came to the interview through the main gate?”

The entire laboratory buzzed with commotion. And understandably so—faculty recruitment at Haven was a major matter even for the labs that studied pride.

‘Even one more precious hero needs to be born.’

The students of Haven—who were trained to become heroes—were the laboratories’ hope. Still, everyone assumed applicants would choose the “side gate.”
In fact, every time new professors were recruited, the chairman—the Hero—would voice his regret.

“So, again, everyone chose the side gate?”

It was a passing remark, but anyone could tell it expressed disappointment.

‘Of course, choosing the side gate still takes a fair amount of courage.’

For some, the toll might be pocket change, but such people would end up helping Haven with their wealth anyway. That was precisely why this situation was so baffling.

“Wait—then what about the test?”
“Don’t the senior professors run a ‘live test’?”

Literally speaking, yes. Passing through the gate alone didn’t prove one’s ability, so senior professors conducted a live test in front of the chancellor’s office.
Well, it was called a live test, but in reality it was harassment dressed up with a nicer name.

“Those professor bastards—hazing is no joke.”

But then…

“If they passed through the main gate, don’t they skip the test?”
“……”

Well then, those old fogey professors must be pretty pissed.

“More importantly, how much would half of the toll collected so far be?”

The researchers doing the math gaped—but someone scoffed.

“They only get that if they pass the chancellor’s interview.”
“True. The pass rate’s been zero lately.”
“They were all demon spies. That’s why hiring’s been frozen for now.”
“Ah, I got my hopes up when I heard they passed the main gate. Guess this one will fail too…”

A jade-bead sound that seemed to see through everything.
At it, Ruin snapped his head around. There stood an exceedingly beautiful woman—so beautiful that even Ruin, a spy himself, was momentarily startled.
She smiled while looking down at a pocket watch.

“1.42 seconds.”
“!”
“It took you 1.42 seconds to turn around.”

Her jade-green eyes glinted as they looked up at Ruin.
Ruin immediately went on guard.

‘I didn’t sense her approach at all.’

There were only a few people who could so easily come up behind him.

“Hello. I’m Charlotte, the chancellor of Haven. You’re Ruins Wayne, correct?”

As expected.
Charlotte Saint, the chancellor of Haven—the very person Ruin had to face in this interview.
At a glance she looked to be in her mid-twenties. Her long blond ponytail reached her waist, framing a face like a painting.
A youthful beauty—but absolutely not someone to underestimate.

‘If I had to pick the most dangerous person in this school right now, it’d be her.’

And for good reason: she was a natural enemy of demons.

【Gluttonous Dreadflame】

Just touching her hand burned mana, and for demons, an inextinguishable fire would consume every organ and even the soul.
There had even been recent headlines about it.

– Demon spies infiltrating the Union were all returned as charred corpses…
– None could escape the chancellor of Haven’s eyes.

In short, Ruin’s fellow agents had been caught by the chancellor and executed en masse. As a demon himself, Ruin wasn’t exempt from that fate.
The problem was that to reclaim his money, he had to deceive someone like her and secure a professor’s lab.
An even bigger problem: instead of meeting her where he expected—the chancellor’s office—he’d run into her outside.

‘Coincidence?’

No.

‘If it’s interview time, why would she come out? Something’s off.’

Sure enough, she was looking at him with an unusual gaze.

“1.42 seconds to respond to the call ‘Firefly.’ That’s quite fast. Very suspicious.”

Ruin chuckled lightly.

‘The sniff test for spies.’

A creature’s reflexes belong to the unconscious and are hard to fake. But if that alone were enough, Firefly wouldn’t be the Union’s nemesis.
As if to prove it, the chancellor smiled brightly.

“You didn’t bite. Honestly, that was within the normal range.”
Naturally. The first thing spies were trained in was controlling the unconscious.

“However.”
“!”

The chancellor’s eyes narrowed instead.

“Curious. Those who hate Firefly average 1.02 seconds. Those who like Firefly average 1.82 seconds. But you’re right in the middle—neither here nor there. I’ve never seen a case like that. Are you perhaps a highly trained spy?”

Ruin’s golden eyes fixed on her.

‘Is she insane?’

What kind of method is that for identifying demons?
Regardless, what mattered was that the chancellor suspected him—and with killing intent.
Well, it was understandable. Anyone would find a man whose face was wrapped in bandages suspicious. It was practically the perfect disguise for hiding one’s identity.

‘Ironically, that’s exactly why I chose it.’

It hid him well, but it also made him prime inspection bait. If not for the Wayne family name, guards would’ve stripped the bandages long ago.
Fortunately, the concealment effect of the flowerpot seemed stronger than expected—despite this being his true form, she didn’t sense his cursed power.

‘So it’s enough to fool even the Union’s top brass.’

Choosing it despite the “corrupted” modifier had been risky, but now it seemed the gamble paid off—

“But what about the plant you’re holding?”
“!”

At the chancellor’s gaze settling on the ginseng pot, Ruin frowned.
…Don’t tell me. Did it fail?
Ruin shot a sharp look at his boss—no, the ginseng—telling it to get it together.
The ginseng protested indignantly.

“I’m doing my job properly!”

When the shadow god shouted, Ruin flinched and looked at the chancellor—

“I’ve never seen a plant like that before. Is it a medicinal herb?”

She was just looking at it with curiosity.
Apparently, the voice was audible only to Ruin. He smiled.

“It’s a valuable plant I’m researching. I observe it by the minute, so I can’t leave it unattended.”
“Oh. Such dedication. Exactly the kind of talent Haven welcomes.”

She extended her hand first, as if asking for a handshake.
Ruin stiffened.

“If you’re not a spy, you’ll take it, right?”
“!”

The chancellor’s eyes were faintly smiling—utterly convinced he wouldn’t dare. Whatever he was hiding, she seemed to think this would reveal everything.
Sure enough, a tongue-click came from the pot.

“Wow, look at all that luck packed into her hand. Hey, kid—if you grab it, you’re dead. At least fourth-degree burns.”

But Ruin casually took her hand.

“A spy?”

The chancellor startled.

“Chancellor?”

She flustered for a moment, then laughed.

“Ah—nothing. There have been so many infiltrators lately that I do this with all guests. Sorry if that offended you. Well, if you’re not a spy, nothing shocking would happen anyway.”

No—it was shocking. Because he’d expected to meet her in her office, not here.
Ruin finally released her hand. As he did, his fingers subtly brushed the back of her hand.
A spy’s habit—instinctively gauging the opponent’s strength.

‘So this is the luck of Haven’s head.’
‘Trying to rob a vault as Firefly would just get me killed.’

“I was surprised,” Ruin said. “I didn’t expect to meet you here, Chancellor.”

He’d prepared skills and safeguards appropriate for the chancellor’s office. Now the plan was ruined. Damn it.
At his remark, she looked at him curiously, then smiled apologetically.

“Ah. A small issue came up.”

An issue?
Just then—

“Lady Charlotte!”

Figures in suits with cloaks fluttering approached.
Judging by their arrogance, they were professors. A bad feeling crept in.
Sure enough, a man with a ponytail and a monocle glared at Ruin.

“Didn’t you leave the new professors’ tests to us? Why are you handling this personally?”
“Ah, Professor Charlie. I told you—those who pass the main gate aren’t subject to the live test. We proceed straight to the interview.”
“But the live test includes trap questions to identify demons. To ignore that is—!”

Ah. So there was a trap.
Good thing I came through the main gate.
Still, Charlie eyed Ruin with displeasure.

‘He passed the main gate?’

With Haven already in chaos, Charlie could hardly believe his ears.
That gate was infamous as the “unpaid gate”—no professor had ever passed it. And this man did?
That meant if he became a professor, he’d get not only a high salary and bonuses, but also half the toll collected…

‘Damn it. The chairman will definitely take an interest!’

Paying the toll alone meant passing the first screening, but the chairman’s true ideal was someone who passed the main gate.
That was why, whenever there were no passers, professors would smile and say, “That’s how rookies should be,” while secretly feeling relieved.
The professors behind Charlie asked urgently.

“So—has he passed the interview?”

The chancellor looked at them with a subtle gaze.

“It was still in progress, but you’re interrupting.”

At that, the shadow god murmured worriedly.

“‘Still,’ huh. Kid, doesn’t sound promising.”

But Ruin frowned.
No.
“Still” was ambiguous. It could mean “not ready to pass him yet”—or “someone worth watching longer.”

‘If I weren’t worth it, she’d have ended it already.’

So this was a green light—though not fully green yet. He wasn’t at the passing stage. He needed to appeal to her.
But Professor Charlie seemed intent on sabotaging him.

“To grant an interview to a nepotism hire—that’s generous.”

Ruin frowned at him.

‘I recognize that face.’

Charlie Whiskey.
He was among the tiny circle of Wayne’s acquaintances—a Haven professor and Ruins Wayne’s college classmate.
But what bothered Ruin wasn’t the rat-faced monocle wearer—it was this body’s identity.

‘So it really was nepotism.’

As expected.

‘Given the résumé, he died way too easily…’

Ruin had thoroughly investigated Ruins Wayne for this interview—tastes, illnesses, history, friends, family, even how many times he used the bathroom per day.
And the conclusion was simple.

‘Best case: a reclusive loner.’

Worst case…

‘A germaphobic, obsessive-compulsive, hypersensitive social maladapt.’

No wonder he sighed.

‘…How did I end up swallowing a guy like this?’

Annoyed that he’d passed the main gate, Charlie kept picking at “Ruins.”

“A cursed nepotism hire who can’t even fix his own face, specializing in healing? The Wayne family must’ve pulled strings. The paperwork probably leaned on family power too, huh?”

The assistants whispered.

“Why’s Professor Charlie acting up again?”
“Why else? He hates the Wayne family. Doesn’t want them as colleagues.”

When Ruin glanced over, Charlie smirked and stepped closer.

“Did you know? Haven professors teach students, yes—but they’re also heroes who fight on the front lines to eliminate Firefly and obtain Wish Stones. But what would a nepotism hire know—”

He cracked his knuckles.

“So—can you fight?”

Charlie stepped toward Ruin.
The chancellor pressed her forehead.
Charlie was a senior professor who taught self-defense. Swinging his fists at a mage—wasn’t that excessive?
She was about to stop him, but Charlie, intent on humiliating Ruin, swept at his leg—

“Guhk!”

He didn’t knock Ruin down. Instead, he clutched his own shin.

“Ack—gh—damn it! Argh!”

Everyone was about to sigh at the mess—until—

“…Huh?”

They doubted their ears.
Wait. The scream just now…
…Wasn’t that Ruins—it was Charlie?
Sure enough, professors and even the chancellor stared at Charlie in disbelief.
Charlie himself, groaning in pain, stared at Ruin as if he couldn’t understand what happened.

‘What the hell? Why didn’t he fall?’

It was like kicking a rooted old tree. And the arm muscle he’d grabbed felt like stone…!
Ruin, too, was startled.

‘Damn it.’
The real Ruins Wayne was a reclusive loner who couldn’t fight—someone who couldn’t respond to a surprise attack like this. Carrying the cursed boss—no, the ginseng pot—he’d reflexively braced himself.
‘Honestly, I never imagined there’d be a professor this uncivilized.’

The chancellor and the other professors looked equally bewildered.
Ruin glanced up at the sky, feigning confusion.

‘What do I do?’

…Should I fall over now?

“If you scratch my beautiful body, you’re paying for it.”

Damn it. Then what am I supposed to do?
Ruin sighed.
No—maybe this was a chance to score points? A spy had to be cautious, but also bold. Without that, you didn’t just fail missions—you didn’t survive.
Ruin approached the fallen Charlie and smoothly took the card-shaped name badge from his suit’s breast pocket.

“From the looks of it, I suppose I should return your words to you.”
“What?”

– Charlie Whiskey, Haven Senior Professor.
– Specialty: Self-Defense.

“Charlie Whiskey. A self-defense professor who can’t land a single move.”

Ruin let out a light sneer.

“Ah. Nepotism, perhaps?”

Charlie’s face flushed crimson.