EDPEN 10

Chapter 10.

Charlie’s eyes trembled.
The thin curve of a mouth visible between the bandages, the eyes that looked as if they were mocking him—so unmistakably sneering that he ground his teeth.

I definitely used a technique.

So why… didn’t this guy fall…?!

Why?

The Ruins Wayne he knew was a moron who got beaten up even by neighborhood kids.
And that guy endured the technique of a self-defense professor?
Sure, he’d attacked lightly since he only meant to knock him down, but still…

Does that make any sense?

Had he trained in the meantime? That loser who’d been famous back in college?
Then it hit him.

“It’s an artifact!”

Charlie let out a hollow laugh as if he’d figured it out.

“Ha—why haven’t you changed at all!”
“!”

As though his curiosity had been satisfied, he brushed himself off and stood up.

“Everyone from our class knows you’re an artifact fraud! So what is it this time? Those expensive-looking shoes?”

Ruins’ outfit reeked of wealth even if you glanced at him from a hundred meters away—a noble through and through. As a Wayne, even expensive artifact clothing wouldn’t be strange.
In fact, he’d barely avoided being held back in school thanks to that very thing.
And now what? Throwing his own words back at him?

“Ha! A hero who relies on artifacts is no different from a professor who copies answer sheets! The kind who dies first on the battlefield has the nerve to act high and mighty!”

The professors watching looked flustered, yet gradually seemed to accept it.

“Ah… ahh…! So it was an artifact!”
“That’s how he blocked the self-defense professor’s attack…!”
“That makes sense…”

They checked again, faces filled with just in case suspicion.

“If it was an artifact, could it also be related to passing through the main gate?”

No—more like they wanted it to be related. With the chief professor’s seat and several other important positions vacant, everyone was eyeing promotions. A standout talent was hardly welcome.

“If artifacts solved everything, training wouldn’t be necessary.”
“A professor shouldn’t be worse than students. This applicant’s level is really something…”

But the chancellor was different. She was looking at Ruin with an unreadable expression.
Then Charlie shouted,

“Look, Chancellor! Can someone who relies on artifacts really teach students? And since I’ve known this guy, I can say this with confidence—he’s nowhere near qualified to teach Haven’s students—”
“Yes. Interview passed.”

Charlie smiled, as if he’d expected it.

“See? Interview passed—”

…What?

The professors froze and stared at the chancellor. She smiled brightly.

“Mr. Wayne demonstrates excellent defensive technique. That alone is sufficient qualification to be a professor at Haven.”

What?

“Pardon?”
“Chancellor!”

The professors protested, but the chancellor dismissed them cleanly.

“I’ve made my decision. The interview is over, so you may all leave.”
“B-But Chancellor! We need to examine his qualifications more thoroughly!”

At that, the chancellor gave an icy smile.

“Qualifications. That’s true. But I was quite impressed by the sight of the self-defense professor screaming. If we’re evaluating suitability, perhaps we should evaluate the current professors as well. Shall I oversee that?”

They didn’t need the meaning explained. The professors fell silent, like mute statues.
Ruin tilted his head, surprised as well. He’d planned to use Charlie to earn points another way.

Well, whatever.

What mattered was that he’d passed the interview and could go collect his retirement pay.
And staying here long wasn’t a good idea anyway. As proof, Ruin glanced down at his gloved hand.

The chancellor said,

“Let me explain the employment contract. Ah—before that, there’s something special to be issued to you, Mr. Wayne, so you’ll need to wait briefly in the administrative office.”

Something special?
Not knowing what it was, Ruin accepted and left.

“I’ll see you shortly, then.”

From the side came Charlie’s voice—“The shoes are artifacts!”—but the chancellor simply smiled.

No, they’re not. The shoes are ordinary.

They did contain mana, so one might mistake them for artifacts, but it was merely a “warmth” enchantment embedded in the fabric.
The only noticeable artifact was the bandage—and even that was a low-grade item with a simple “constant cleanliness” effect.

That was why she smiled meaningfully.

“The chairwoman will find this quite interesting.”

A hero who had closed his heart after losing his master and devoted himself solely to missions. But someone like this…?

As the chancellor turned away, a butler approached. Though he looked gentle, he was in truth a seasoned assassin—her guard since childhood. That was why he finally spoke.

“This is unexpected. You said you wouldn’t hire anyone for a while.”

And a meeting, no less. Was she really planning to waive the main gate’s toll?

“With a special exception like this, he’ll stand out. And then the professors’ response is obvious.”

They’d surely resort to that method they’d used before to drive out unwanted professors—using students.

“Recently, that’s been Haven’s biggest headache.”

Several times already, certain upperclassmen had openly tormented professors, sitting figuratively on their heads.

“So you never intended to place him even as a general education professor?”

Because of the Wayne family’s prestige, was she planning to push him out through an indirect, responsibility-free method?

The chancellor smiled.

“That Professor Ruins—he took my hand.”
“…Pardon?”

Instead of answering, the chancellor subtly looked at her own hand.

[Gluttonous Hellfire]
Burns all mana it touches. Reacts more strongly to curse energy.

She knew her own power well.
A convenient body specialized for executing demonkind—but it burned allies’ power as well, so even comrades never touched her. It drained strength and caused pain severe enough to kill. She could never forget the eyes that treated her as taboo.

But Ruins was different. Without a moment’s hesitation, with eyes full of confidence, he’d grasped her hand—as if it were nothing.

“If he were demonkind, he’d never have grabbed it.”
“And the assumption that he didn’t know your ability?”
“If that’s all it was, it’s not even worth guarding against.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“Either way, he’s not a man with ordinary guts. I’d like to watch him a bit longer.”

The butler was inwardly shocked—for her to say that.

“Could he be a spy?”
“He passed my test, so for now, he passes.”

The butler’s eyes narrowed.

“Passes… Then at the very least, he’s human Union.”
“About sixty percent.”

The butler frowned.

“That’s ambiguous.”

Not demonkind, but not someone to consider an ally either. In times like these, caution was necessary.

“Hm. And it’s also interesting that the sparrows don’t recognize him.”

At that, the butler spoke in rare surprise.

“Surely not—but if a spy managed to evade your magic…”
“It’s fine.”
“…Yes?”

The chancellor smiled with an executioner’s gaze, as if it were an advantage.

“Great power demands a great price. Even if there were a way to slip past my magic safely, they’d be paying an enormous ‘cost’ by now.”
“!”

Her magic wasn’t ordinary. And if something could block it, the price wouldn’t be light.
Self-destructive penalties, or an immense toll. Either way, it would show eventually—and be exposed.

“Well, if he’s human… then he’s talent we absolutely must not lose.”
“…Yes?”

She answered only with a smile.
The sparrow surveillance unit’s sole weakness was its inability to detect those with exceptional luck. And so far, only she and the hero had escaped their notice.

Did they miss him because he’s that talented—or because he’s that dangerous a spy?

With eyes wary of a moth to flame, the chancellor smiled faintly.

“Still, I didn’t expect Professor Wayne to be so tall.”

The butler tilted his head.
Ruins Wayne was tall. Contrary to rumors of a gloomy shut-in mage, his build and style were decent.

If he could endure the self-defense professor, he must be well trained.

But not so exceptional as to merit such a pointed comment—unless there was another meaning.

“Hehe. He’ll be popular once he starts teaching.”

…That mummy?

Free of the chancellor at last, Ruin returned to the restroom and let out a sigh.
Honestly, spending too long facing her was dangerous—especially if this was discovered.

That was close.

When he peeled back his black leather glove slightly, a shocking sight appeared.

“G-Hey, you!”

Even the Shadow God sounded startled at Ruin’s hand.
Though only slightly exposed, his palm was blistered red from burns—no, peeled back to the point muscle tissue was visible.

The Shadow God looked at him in disgust.

“You lunatic. You endured that?”

If I hadn’t, I’d be bone dust.
Ruin sighed.

“Altar.”

A shadow altar appeared before his eyes. From Ruins’ medical bag, he picked something up with visible distaste.

[Gatekeeper’s Underwear]

“I offer it.”

It was too low-grade for an offering, so he hadn’t used it—but desperate times.
In an instant, 1,000 points appeared… what? 1,000?

…?

One pair of underwear for 1,000 points?
When he looked at the Shadow God as if to ask what kind of taste is that, a shy reply came back.

“Th-They’re gold underwear. In our line of work, that’s a reward…”

…Ah. I see.
You have broad tastes.
Ruin chose an item he could afford.

[Healing Totem (Low)] — 500 pt

The totem shattered in light, dropping a vial before him. He immediately dripped it onto his burned hand.

Flash!

The potion regenerated the wound. Not perfectly, but it improved from a third-degree burn to about first-degree.
Enough to fool the chancellor—the rest would heal naturally.

Still, the chancellor had rattled him.

To offer a handshake despite possessing a power that harms even allies…

Anyone else would’ve refused. At most, exchanged cards or greetings.
Had he been careless like others, “Ruins Wayne” would’ve been eliminated in more ways than one.

At least it was an ‘interview,’ so she held back.

A power harmless to humans, but hellish to demonkind.
But it didn’t matter. As long as he didn’t die, pain was nothing.

Just endure it.

It’s not like spy work involves avoiding torture.
Then Ginseng snorted.

“Don’t pose, show-off. You into that stuff—urk!”

Ruin tried to dunk Ginseng into the toilet.

You must be thirsty—drink up.
“You lunatic!”
Seems like your taste is toilet water.
“I’m your chief god!”

Ginseng spread himself wide to avoid falling in.
Anyway, he’d crossed the mountain that was the interview—but a serious problem remained.

That woman intended to burn Ruins Wayne completely.

That was why she’d looked so shocked when he grabbed her hand.
Of course, meticulous as he was, Ruin had activated misfortune to dampen her ability. But—

She used more power than I expected.

He’d assumed she’d moderate it for a Wayne, but she hadn’t at all.

That much nerve…

A frightening woman.
Misfortune was a constitutional curse—useful because it was invisible and unnoticed. But still…

[Misfortune Injection]
An ability unlocked by training “Wanderer’s Fate (Wanderlust).” Injects misfortune to bring “Bad Luck (Lv. 1–5)” to both others and self.

It was practically cheating, but a double-edged sword—because it afflicted both sides. Basically, let’s die together in bad luck.
The issue was what that bad luck actually meant: random unpleasant events.

That’s why I only used Level 1…

Level 1 had patterns he could predict—no longer even “bad luck” to him.
But—

It was practically a Level 2 disguised as Level 1. Which means the misfortune coming to me will be significant. That’s a problem.

Maybe she let him go because she sensed this—knowing he wouldn’t be able to handle what was coming.

But nothing’s happened yet. No clue what it’ll be.

The later it comes, the stronger it is. Damn it.
Just then, Ginseng finally climbed out of the toilet and staggered into a flowerpot, muttering,

“What’re you on about? You already got your bad luck.”

What? Already?
Nothing’s happened, though?