EDPEN 16

Chapter 16

At that moment, one of the third-year students muttered. He was a student who hadn’t used barrier magic on Ruin.

“Tch, so this is petty revenge?”
“What? Revenge?”
“If it’s not that, then what? Being called up to the rooftop in this cold. I didn’t even attack that professor. Collective responsibility, or what?”
“Collective responsibility is correct… since we chased the professor away all this time…”
“Who cares? That’s none of my business. They should have just scolded the ones who attacked them. What an annoying idiot, I don’t care…”

It was then.

Thwack!

“Gah!”

The third-year student who had been muttering was lifted as if his head had been pulled out like a radish. Ruin had grabbed him by the head and lifted him.

The student, lifted about a hand’s width off the ground, turned pale. Even upon a second glance, it was true—Ruin had lifted him with one hand.

Crazy… what kind of grip is that… isn’t he a mage?

It felt as if his head might burst like slime.
Then a cold voice dropped into his ear.

“Name.”
“Huh?”
“Full name. First and last.”
“William Goldsky!”
“Right, Donsky.”
“Goldsky!”
“Right, G-sky. Tell me, in your own mouth, what the subject of Demon Hunting teaches.”

Terrified that he might be killed if he didn’t answer, William Gas-sky stammered.

“It! It’s a representative course at Haven that teaches attack, tactics, defense—all aspects—to face demons!”
“Right, so you tried to catch a fire moth with that pathetic barrier magic.”
“Th-That’s—!”

Ruin’s eyes grew sharp and threatening.

“But what if you encounter a demon that doesn’t fall for that?”
“Huh?”
“And what if a situation like this arises?”
“Wh-what… aah!”

Gas-sky couldn’t form words and screamed. His heart felt like it had dropped. Ruin had walked to the edge of the rooftop, holding him only by the head. Then he stretched out his hand, holding Gas-sky over the side of the building. If Ruin let go, he would fall straight from the rooftop to the first floor.

Realizing there was no ground under his feet, Gas-sky turned deathly pale. The other students jumped up in shock.

“P-Professor! What—!”

Ruin then turned his head.

“You, red-haired first-year. If you want to save him, stab the one next to you.”
“Wha—?!”
“If you can’t do it, then jump yourself.”

Wha—what?

“P-Professor!”
“Or, in exchange for sparing them, should I kill your family?”
“!”
“If you don’t want that, you could save your family and instead kill everyone at Haven.”

The students trembled. They finally understood the weight of Ruin’s words.
In real situations, one might be forced to choose between one’s humanity and survival. If you had no way to defend yourself, the initiative would be lost.

As expected, Ruin said:

“Understand? Demons are cunning creatures. Fire moths even more so. In this situation, what can someone like you do?”
“…Ugh!”
“Demon Hunting is not just about catching demons; it’s a class where you learn defensive techniques to protect yourself. And yet, you taught the underclassmen instead of the professor?”

The third-year students were speechless.
Ruin said to the sobbing Gas-sky:

“Understand? You weren’t teaching underclassmen. You were depriving them of the right to survive.”
“…Sob!”
“If a fire moth had appeared today, all of you would have been killed. Since the upperclassmen took the lives of the underclassmen, atone with your own lives.”
“W-We’re sorry, Professor!”
“If saying sorry could solve everything, there would be no tragedies in this world.”

As Ruin loosened his grip, Gas-sky’s whining voice grew louder:

“We didn’t think that far! Please! Just give us one chance!”
“Hah.”

Ruin, annoyed, applied force with one hand and tossed Gas-sky like a sack of flour.

Bang!

“William!”

Thrown against the rooftop wall, Gas-sky fainted in fear.
Ruin brushed off his black leather gloves.
“Really, all I need is the safe. What am I doing…”

“If you try climbing up one more time, next time it won’t end with just a jump.”
“…”
“Answer.”
“Yes, sir!”

Satisfied with the firm response, Ruin groaned and looked at the sky.
Ah… I acted on impulse. I was supposed to just scare them with the jump threat and wrap it up with a warm, principal-like lecture. Gas-sky’s attitude pushed me too far.

Will the parents complain about this?

The ginseng officer left in the classroom would laugh at this.

Damn. Can’t cause trouble if I want the professor’s office.

Ruin had instead become the center of the problem. All the students were sitting, lips pressed tight.

Should I pretend to calm them now?

No. That would lower my dignity as Wayne’s eldest son.
Ruin sighed.

Damn. Nothing I can do. Better find another way.

Yet the students were shocked in another way. They thought they were acting for their convictions, but it was actually endangering the lives of their juniors.
Even the professor was shocked. The students’ magic had been broken—already a defeat—but the method was astounding.

Could have just handled it with expulsion or demerits, but instead…

Though the method was harsh, it conveyed the true purpose of Demon Hunting class.

We misunderstood.

It wasn’t petty revenge, as Gas-sky thought. Ruin was surprisingly a good professor who cared about his students…

“Your ruined uniforms? I’ll bill you a hundredfold.”
“…”

Ah, petty revenge, indeed.

“Excuse me? What did you say?”
“Professor Wayne broke that barrier magic?”

Shock spread through Haven’s conference room.
The room was full of head professors, advisors, and teaching assistants, discussing courses that were about to be canceled.
Among them were the classes Wayne was to take: Defense: Unpopular Defense Techniques, Healing: Unpopular Healing Methods, and Introduction to Demon Hunting: An Optional Overview.

These classes normally had only one or two students, but this time, no one had enrolled—they were on the verge of being canceled.
In other words, Ruins Wayne was supposed to get cut off even before teaching.

But what now?

“Did Professor Wayne really break that magic?”
“Yes. Apparently, he’s teaching on the rooftop right now.”

The TA, as if seeing a ghost, explained, and Professor Caron stiffened.
The headmaster smirked.

“Oh my. Looks like someone tried to get rid of him but failed.”

Yet the headmaster himself was also surprised. The barrier magic issue had even been requested from the chairman, a hero.

“The chairman hasn’t changed a bit in 50 years, huh.”
“The only advantage of being a transcendent.”
“You’ve heard what’s happening at school recently, right?”

Then the chairman said unexpectedly:

“Sorry. I can’t solve that either.”
“You mean it can’t be involved in royal affairs?”
“No. The magic itself can be broken, but the sigil magic… that’s tricky.”
“…The strongest human who can even kill mages finds that troublesome?”
“Haha, even I have limits. Haven’s heirs aren’t ordinary. Even a legendary fire moth wouldn’t help.”

Even the hero-chairman found this magic troublesome.
The headmaster thought the same. Breaking the magic is easy, but if done by force, the core breaks, leaving a sigil—punishable by royal law.
No wonder the prince who created it is called a genius. Professors avoided it for a reason.

If that sigil triggers, execution for royal blasphemy follows.

Even heroes couldn’t avoid it. This magic was designed by the prince to punish professors.

One and a half years ago, a student close to the prince died because of the professors’ negligence.

Since then, the prince held a grudge, which made everyone cautious.

And Wayne broke it?

Professor Caron, knowing this well, gave a dry laugh. He was close to the senior professor seat and wanted it himself but had avoided it until now.

“Didn’t think Wayne was that much of a fool, inviting the prince’s wrath on himself.”

Some professors looked at Caron. Sending a new hire to Demon Hunting class was intended. Bold and shameless.

He’s acting because the chairman is absent.

The school had many heroes, but those wanting power in the chairman’s absence caused problems. Influence and status prevented protest.

Someone needs to restore order.

Yet Professor Charlie, with single glasses, smugly agreed:

“He’s always been a bit dumb. You can see that even in Healing, he can’t fix his own face, just wraps it in bandages.”

Now, Ruins Wayne’s fate was clear. Breaking the prince’s magic left a sigil—if the prince saw it, he’d surely send the “Hounds” to Haven.

“Hmm…”

The headmaster narrowed his fine brows slightly. A bold man, but not foolish. Too high expectations?
Soon, Professor Caron, with seaweed hair, smirked mischievously.

“Where did Wayne’s sigil leave a mark? Better restrain him before the prince gets angry.”
“Ah, no. There was no sigil. Actually, the sigil magic didn’t activate at all.”

…What?
The professors stirred in disbelief. Demon Hunting was an important post.

“You’re saying he just didn’t see it?”
“No, really. We checked several times, especially the crucial part.”

…What?!

“Unbelievable…”

He broke the magic without leaving a sigil? Could it mean he solved the real challenge even professors couldn’t?
Caron’s faction stirred.
Meanwhile, the headmaster smiled:

“The seat of the senior professor has been decided.”