I Became a Murderer in the Academy. - Chapter 3

Though she had a home, she could no longer go to it.

Iria, who hadn’t left the alley since her possession, had nowhere else to go.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten the knight after all.’

Was it because she touched a member of the Knight Order last night?

She didn’t know they would move this actively.

Iria walked for a while, thinking.

‘…No.’

It was unavoidable then.

She wasn’t in her right mind, and she knew from experience what happened when she lost her sanity in this possessed body.

When Iria loses her sanity, she becomes a disaster.

Wasn’t that exactly what happened just a year ago?

She’s a monster who can’t maintain her sanity unless she eats humans.

If she hadn’t eaten the knight that day, she would have surely caused an even greater tragedy.

And this isn’t the first time the Knight Order has intervened.

As the saying goes, if the tail is long, it gets stepped on. For the past year, they have consistently chased Iria.

It was bound to happen someday anyway.

Unfortunately, the person she harmed yesterday happened to be a knight, so the schedule was just pushed forward a bit.

Although she had grown somewhat attached to the alley, it didn’t matter if she left for a few days.

Of course, it would be a bit inconvenient, but she had money today.

The wallet of the knight she ate yesterday was thicker than expected.

Late in the evening, Iria, wandering around the alley, entered a lit pub.

This was because Iria didn’t know the streets well outside the alley.

Pretending to order a drink, she seemed to be looking for an inn where she could stay for a few days.

“Give me your most popular drink.”

She sat down and ordered a drink.

The waiter handed her a menu, but she wasn’t yet familiar with this world’s writing.

Although she had been studying consistently for a year, there were still more things she couldn’t read than she could.

However, the waiter didn’t readily serve her alcohol.

Did they think she had no money?

Iria shook her thick wallet to show them, but nothing changed.

The young female waiter with a kind impression smiled bitterly.

“Um, customer? I’m sorry, but could you show me your ID?”

“Ah.”

Iria seemed to understand and put her hand in her pocket.

She was reaching for her own wallet, not the knight’s wallet she had stolen yesterday.

Rummaging around.

“Hmm……”

Where did I put it?

“Just a moment.”

Iria, denying reality as if it were impossible, put her hands in both pockets.

But it seemed impossible to grab something that didn’t exist.

It’s not there. Nowhere.

She rummaged through the small pockets, but in the end, nothing changed.

“……”

A moment of silence. And then.

“I’m an adult. Look at my Academy uniform.”

Iria pointed to the white uniform she was wearing.

Generally, students entering the Academy are adults.

Therefore, sometimes, the uniform worn on the body could serve as a means of proving one’s identity.

But as always, there are exceptions.

The waiter showed a slightly troubled expression.

“I’m really sorry, but we’ve received reports of underage students entering occasionally. It’s a bit difficult to sell alcohol just because you’re an Academy student.”

It was a day when she wanted to drown her sorrow of losing her residence in alcohol.

The spring season, with winter’s lingering chill, is cold.

If she ended up sleeping rough, she was thinking she should spend the less cold night in a drunken state.

It’s regrettable, but it can’t be helped.

Iria slightly furrowed her brow and ordered something else.

“…Then give me lemonade, please.”

The ordered drink came out faster than expected.

A yellow, non-alcoholic drink filled in a wooden cup is in front of Iria.

She didn’t feel good sipping on a trivial lemonade in a pub full of drunkards.

The gazes around were a bit stinging.

Not enough to be really bothered, though.

Iria took a sip of the drink in the cup and returned her eyes to the waiter.

She wanted to get to the main point now.

“Is there an inn nearby where I could stay for a few days? I have money.”

“If you go out of the store and walk east, there’s an inn called the Red Moon. I’m not sure if they have any vacancies right now, though.”

“Are there that many people?”

“Well… Right now, a mercenary group from the neighboring town is staying there. Honestly, I can’t guarantee there’ll be any vacant rooms.”

It’s a day when nothing is going as planned.

She’s been driven out of her home, lost her wallet, and now there might not even be a room at the inn.

Feeling at a loss, Iria poured the lemonade into her mouth.

Instead of bitter alcohol, she felt the tangy lemon taste spreading in her mouth.

‘In the end, will I have to sleep rough?’

Iria finished her drink and let out a tangy-scented sigh.

She was already worried about where to stay, especially in a place with poor public safety.

Someone approached her with a question.

“Need a place to sleep?”

Iria turned her head towards the direction of the voice.

It was a man who had been sending her sticky glances for a while now.

A rugged face and a muscular, huge build.

And a bald man with no hair.

That made him easy to remember.

He sat down next to Iria and grabbed her shoulder with his scarred hand.

“You’re pretty… Did you run away from home? Want uncle to give you a place to sleep?”

The laughter of men who seemed to be his subordinates could be heard.

Are these the mercenary group the waiter mentioned?

Iria read the memory of the man who made eye contact with her, gathering information.

The man sitting next to her is a 3rd-grade mercenary.

The two behind are 4th-grade, it seems.

Although these mercenaries all looked rough, they weren’t such bad people.

Unlike criminals who commit evil acts out of pure malice, they were officially hired for money.

But that doesn’t mean they were good.

The fact that they move for money also means they’ll do anything if paid enough.

They’d probably even kill someone if given a bit more bonus.

In fact, it seems quite a few people in mercenary groups were once part of the Knight Order but were kicked out for causing trouble.

So what business would such people have with her?

Iria was genuinely curious and asked.

“What business do you have with me?”

He said he’d give her a place to sleep, but she knew better than anyone that nothing in this world is free.

So they must want something from Iria too.

To figure that out, Iria tried to read the mercenary’s memories a bit more, but unfortunately, he no longer made eye contact with her.

He was only looking at her thighs under her skirt and her chest, not her face.

The bald man massaged Iria’s shoulder lecherously as he spoke.

His touch was very sticky as if he had done this more than once or twice.

“Well, you know… No need to spell it out. Let’s just spend a good night in our room. You get a place to sleep, and we both feel good. Isn’t it a win-win?”

The laughter of his subordinates behind could be heard.

I pondered for a moment to understand the reason.

The pondering didn’t last long.

“……”

I see.

In the end, they want my body too?

Men are such pitiful creatures.

Iria, who was once a man before falling into this world, wasn’t unfamiliar.

It’s just that this time, she happened to be the wrong target.

Although in human form, Iria is not human.

The foolish mercenary man failed to distinguish this and approached a demon.

Iria nodded.

“Alright.”

After all, she had nothing to lose in any form.

***

She followed them because they said they’d give her a place to sleep, but a fairly big problem occurred.

“What are you looking at?! Want to die?!”

First, the inn the bald man took her to was rented entirely by the mercenary group he belonged to.

“Edwin, you bastard, you brought a woman again? Think about the people you’re sharing with!”

“What’s the big deal? Looks like I’m not the only one who brought someone. Look at this. She’s an A-grade woman.”

So, the atmosphere inside was very hostile.

Several fierce gazes were directed at her.

It wasn’t particularly scary, but no one looked easy to deal with.

The original plan was to eat the bald man and his subordinates. Still, she realized she might turn an entire group into enemies if she was not careful.

‘If I kill them, I’ll be discovered right away.’

Killing people isn’t as easy as one might think.

It was because traces had to be erased, and the memories of those around had to be tampered with.

Is that all?

The body had to be hidden, and it was difficult to escape undetected with such a large number of people.

It wasn’t just about simply killing a few people.

So she decided to cancel eating the bald man.

She wasn’t that hungry anyway.

She was satisfied with getting a warm place to sleep with a roof over my head.

“Alright, come in this way.”

The bald man and his subordinates guided me to an empty room in the inn.

It was a cleaner and larger room than she had expected.

At least the facilities were better than where she had been living.

Iria immediately lay on the bed, making her feel really good.

If she closed her eyes in a place like this, she’d probably fall asleep easily.

Seeing her make herself comfortable as soon as they entered as if it were her home, the bald man who brought her seemed quite flustered.

“Hey. Aren’t you making yourself too comfortable?”

“This is my room now, isn’t it? All of you, get out.”

“What do you mean… Ugh!”

Iria grabbed the bald man’s collar and made eye contact.

At the pub, she had to control her power because there were so many eyes watching, but in a place isolated from the outside, the situation was a bit different.

As expected, his mental defense is a bit higher because he’s a mercenary.

She raised the level of hallucination without worry.

The bald man’s fierce eyes started to soften gradually.

Soon, his body will relax and lose strength.

“Hey! What are you doing now!”

“…Be quiet. The sound might leak out.”

After easily subduing the bald man, she immediately focused on his subordinates.

Actually, it’s okay if the sound leaks out.

Outside, the burly mercenary uncles were having a group dinner.

Any ordinary noise would be drowned out by their loud toasts.

So it was easy to subdue the remaining two people as well.

She slowly made eye contact with each of them, bringing them under her control.

Now, they will spend the deepest night ever.

They’ve fallen into a strong hallucination that they can’t break out of on their own.

She pointed at the tightly closed door with her finger and ordered them.

“If you’re that lonely, go to the next room and show some comradeship or something.”

‘Just don’t do it in front of me.’