I Became a Murderer in the Academy. - Chapter 10

To return to where I originally was, I needed to learn about this world and slow down my transformation into a monster.

That’s why I was at the library.

There was no better place than the library to build knowledge about the world.

I didn’t know the language well yet, so reading books was quite laborious.

However, if I read with a language dictionary, I could somehow manage to read.

Even then, if there were words difficult to interpret, I had to roughly understand by looking at the flow of the content before and after.

While slow, I have learned a lot.

About 20 years ago, the Hero chosen by the holy sword fought and perished together with the Demon King.

When the Demon King perished, the people thought the continent would regain peace, but in reality, it wasn’t so.

When he died at the Hero’s hand, he scattered into thousands of pieces and fell across the entire continent.

The scattered pieces became food for magical beasts, and those that ate the Demon King’s blood and flesh grew stronger.

Ultimately, as the enormous existence called the Demon King died, the continent fell into secondary chaos.

‘Seeds of the Demon King.’

That’s what they call the magical beasts that ate pieces of the Demon King.

With such powerful monsters swarming, this world couldn’t be at peace.

But what I was interested in while reading the books wasn’t that.

A world where heroes and demon kings once existed.

And if this is a world inside a novel, what kind of setting would that ‘protagonist’ have?

Did the Hero have a child?

If so, there’s a high chance that the person is the protagonist.

Generally speaking, there are two ways to end a story.

The first is to see the end of the story, the conclusion.

The second is for the protagonist to die during the story.

A novel without a protagonist couldn’t exist.

As the world collapsed, I would be thrown back to my original one.

Probably.

“……”

I couldn’t be sure, but I had to cling to it anyway.

Because I couldn’t think of any other way to return.

Doing nothing and just waiting to become a monster is too miserable.

I might go crazy and become a calamity that devours the Central Empire.

My emotions were half dulled in just a year. I couldn’t even guess what would happen later.

It was an apologetic thing to say to the protagonist of this place, but it couldn’t be helped.

I wanted to go back too.

I didn’t want to become a monster.

I had to become a villain blocking the protagonist’s path.

***

The entrance exam was a memory I didn’t really want to recall.

It was when I had just been possessed and was unskilled at controlling my strength.

Of course, if you ask if I’m good at it now, that’s not the case either, but I was even more clumsy then.

I didn’t really like standing out, so I tried to finish moderately, but when I came to my senses, I had become the top student.

Many of the entrance exam contents were in the form of mock duels.

Even if I tried to lose on purpose, it wasn’t easy.

Apparently, subduing a student who was a strong candidate for the top position without a single injury was included in the bonus points category.

Those days were tiring.

Wherever I went, piercing gazes followed me.

Just when I thought it had calmed down a bit recently,

“Iria! You were joking earlier, right?! Right?! I made a bet with a Class B student earlier!”

“Who are you?”

As I walked down the corridor, an unknown male student grabbed both my shoulders and shouted.

“To think such a thing is the top student… The prestige of the Imperial Academy has fallen to the bottom.”

“……”

Sometimes, seniors from other years would give me looks.

But now, even those in my year have started to approach,

Is he wondering about my mana?

Children are troublesome for being unnecessarily interested in others.

Why couldn’t they be like those in the back alleys who wouldn’t have dared to meet my eyes?

I heard that the total amount of mana is very important in the Combat Magic Department.

I hate standing out, so I deliberately entered the magic side with no talent, but this time, it might have had the opposite effect.

But it couldn’t be helped.

It’s not like I could enter the Swordsmanship Department, could I?

If I pick up a sword, there’s a high chance the opponent will die.

Even at my weakest, I couldn’t control my strength.

So, I had no choice in choosing my department.

It was closer to fleeing from the worst than choosing because I liked it.

“Iria, can I have a moment……”

“No.”

“Have a duel with me!”

“I said no.”

“Ah, wait…”

Once again, I coldly pushed away an unknown student who approached me and moved on.

I don’t know how many duel requests I’ve received since morning.

I gave up counting halfway through.

I sighed at the overwhelming fatigue.

There was quite a bit of free time before the next class, but I was already annoyed because I felt like duel requests would come in during that time.

I sat down, leaning against an empty spot in the park.

Then, I heard a familiar voice.

“You look tired.”

I turned my head towards the voice.

It seems there was already someone on the long bench where I sat.

But this time, the person who spoke to me wasn’t someone I didn’t know.

Blue hair and pressed-down glasses.

“Professor Albert?”

I was bad at remembering people’s faces but remembered those half-dead eyes with dark circles.

Wasn’t he someone I saw just recently?

The professor of the Basics of Mana subject.

He quietly sipped his coffee while appreciating the scenery of the park.

Then he slowly opened his mouth.

“That’s how it is to be the top student of the Academy. After all, students who graduate at the top of the Academy have the privilege of choosing their career path as they wish.”

His calm yet dignified voice descended.

Did he already anticipate what would happen to me?

To him, with his not-short teaching experience, it seemed like a perfectly natural phenomenon that happens every year.

“Most students probably aren’t requesting duels because they think you look easy, Iria. They’re new to school life too, so they might want to experience defeat and learn. They might want to feel how big the gap is between them and the top student.”

“Is that so.”

“Of course, there are always exceptions. But if you don’t accept, it will continue. If you only show that you’re avoiding it, they’ll think you’re scared.”

“Are you saying I should accept all of them?”

A moment of silence passed.

It was because Albert took a sip of coffee.

He took a brief pause before continuing his next words.

“It’s not necessarily that, but that’s what I did. I’m an Academy graduate too, and the top student in my batch. As someone at the top, if you’re looked down upon, you get bitten.”

“……”

“So I proved it with skill. I thoroughly crushed them so they wouldn’t even consider climbing up again. Then, at some point, duel requests stopped coming in. They probably accepted it. That it was impossible to defeat me with their skills.”

Albert quietly added.

It seemed like he was reminiscing about the past, but his words seemed to target me somehow.

“I’m not saying you should become like me, but you have the skills, don’t you, Iria? It’s good to chase distant goals, but if you neglect what’s in front of you, life will become tiring.”

With those words, he stood up from his seat.

Holding his empty coffee cup and cradling a magic textbook with one hand.

“I’ll be going now. Take care.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, I heard the second daughter of the Aster family is aiming for the top position, be careful. The one who holds the top position must bear its weight.”

“…”

“Lucia Aster is her name.”

Albert mentioned that name as he left.

According to him, students dueling for the top position at the beginning of the semester was part of the school’s culture.

And the one sitting at the top must bear the weight of that position.

I frowned.

“…How annoying.”

Honestly, it was annoying.

It’s not like I became the top student because I wanted to.

If possible, I wanted to give it to anyone.

But to do that, I had to duel and lose.

How?

Even if I pretended to be hurt after getting hit carelessly, no one believed me.

It seems I have no talent for acting.

Then, do I have to accept the duels?

I didn’t want to do that either.

“……”

Not knowing what to do, I decided to do nothing.

Anyway, if I leave it like this for a few days, everyone will get tired of asking.

***

Afternoon class, Basics of Swordsmanship.

Classes related to swordsmanship often take place outdoors.

This is because they mainly conduct practical rather than theoretical lessons.

As a class that uses the body, there was also a changing room to change clothes.

And.

“May. Get ready.”

There are people preparing something inside such a changing room.

Lucia, a woman with purple hair, smiled brightly.

Something was caught in the barrier she spread with mana.

It meant someone would soon enter.

She patted her servant’s shoulder to give a signal.

Soon after, the changing room door opened, and the servant sprayed water as if they had been waiting.

-Splash!

With a refreshing sound, the silver-haired woman who opened the door and entered was doused with water.

“Oh my! I’m sorry. Our servant made a mistake…”

Lucia said, covering her mouth with her hand.

But even if she covered her mouth, she couldn’t hide her curved eyes.

Lucia was clearly sneering for anyone to see.

Iria raised her head.

Her red eyes emitted a clear light.

“…?”

Red eyes that were chilling to the bone turned towards Lucia.

And the changing room door closed.