Meanwhile, Pielott attended classes at Constel with a gut-wrenching feeling.

He had failed to retrieve the Black Lotus, and Hypnos's involvement had been exposed. He thought it was impossible to get caught, but since Hypnos himself had said it, it must be true.

‘To think there was such a device.’

It was Edwin, a 3rd-year senior, not Frondier, who had discovered Pielott's crime.

Honestly, he had never heard of him before.

However, the fact that his full name was Edwin von Behetorio made the ‘Behetorio family’ name familiar.

He had heard that they were a prestigious family that had built up a tremendous reputation in the past, but had now fallen.

A hologram that activated when someone other than the owner obtained the item, was that something a student could make?

Besides, that wasn't the main function of the Black Lotus, so he had added such a function as a side feature.

‘Why? Does Sloth have more allies than I thought?’

Pielott bit his lip.

Hypnos said that the rumors wouldn't spread in Constel, but he wondered how it would actually turn out.

‘If it gets out, I'm finished.’

Pielott walked, feigning composure. He thought he was good at keeping a poker face, but that wasn't the case. There just hadn't been any incidents that could shake his heart until now.

It felt like every student he passed was whispering about him.

Of course, there was nothing like that in reality, and in fact, the students were still looking at Pielott with interest and favor, but Pielott himself couldn't notice.

At that moment.

Caw—

Next to the wall he was walking along, a crow landed with strange timing and cawed.

“……?”

Pielott looked at the crow. It was common for crows to caw, but it wasn't common for a crow to sit right next to him, staring directly at him while cawing.

“Huh?”

The crow even flew over and landed on Pielott's shoulder. Pielott was a little surprised, but then he noticed a note tied to the crow's leg.

Someone had used the crow to send him a note.

Pielott unfolded the note, feeling reluctant.

The message was short.

[Come to the individual training room after class. I have something to tell you.]

Suddenly, it felt like the world was turning black.

It wasn't written who sent it, but it was obvious who it was.

That's why the writer didn't write their name.

* * *

Pielott scanned the individual training rooms.

As expected, he confirmed the room where Frondier was.

As Pielott stood in front of the door of the room where Frondier was, the door opened as if he had been waiting.

“Come in.”

“……Yes.”

Frondier's expression and voice were no different than usual. He didn't know if he had heard about Hypnos or not.

Indeed, this must be what a poker face truly meant.

“You know why I called you, right?”

The door of the individual training room closed, and Frondier immediately got to the point.

As expected, Frondier had heard the story from Edwin.

“Yes.”

“Then you must also know why I specifically called you to the individual training room?”

The individual training room.

A facility with perfect soundproofing so that those who entered could fully concentrate on their training.

The reason was obvious.

“This is your last chance, Pielott.”

Frondier issued a warning.

As he said, Frondier was giving Pielott one last chance.

He had prepared this place so that their conversation wouldn't be heard by anyone.

“To be caught stealing and have rumors spread throughout Constel, you'll have a more embarrassing time than I did in my first year.”

Frondier's words weren't an exaggeration. No matter how bad the rumors of the ‘Human Sloth’ were, he hadn't committed any crimes. At least as far as the Constel students knew.

But if Pielott, the next promising prospect, were to be caught stealing, the aftermath would be enormous.

“What were you planning to do with that? It's not something you can use.”

Frondier wasn't bragging. Black Lotus wasn't a material that could be used in combat by anyone other than Frondier.

Frondier could transform Black Lotus into a weapon because he could directly copy the blueprint in the workshop, but ordinary people would have to create at least a 3D blueprint to even attempt to imitate it.

The reason Frondier had installed a security device on the Black Lotus was not only to prevent others from using it, but also because if someone other than him activated it, they wouldn't be able to handle the Obsidian that poured out.

After all, the current Black Lotus contained the entire lake that was once called a fragment of Helheim.

“……I wasn't planning to use it.”

Pielott knew that too. He had no intention of using the Black Lotus.

Just.

Just, from this point on, Pielott began to pour out his honest feelings.

“I couldn't believe that senior was so strong. I thought it was definitely the power of that necklace. For one person to become so strong in just one year, I couldn't accept it. That's why I tried to steal it. I wanted to see if senior was truly strong without Obsidian.”

“I see.”

Pielott's words weren't pleasant to hear from Frondier's perspective, but Frondier calmly nodded.

Well, people's honest feelings were usually like this. If he was going to say something clean and pure, he would have been honest from the beginning.

“Then I'll show you.”

“Yes?”

Click

Frondier removed the necklace from his neck. He also took off his armband and threw it aside.

“See for yourself what I'm like without Black Lotus.”

Just because Frondier understood Pielott's feelings…

…didn't mean he would let his misconception go uncorrected.