Chapter 155
***
This was one day before Yulian was released from prison.
Morning came to the academy as it always did.
The smog belched out by the factory chimneys throughout the night lay beneath the ocher morning sunlight veiling the city's sky.
People rubbed their sleepy eyes as they walked out into streets stained the color of sickly earth.
But even late into the morning, the streets were quiet.
It was still summer vacation, so the students had returned to their family homes.
Through the middle of those deserted streets, a boy pedaled his bicycle energetically with a bundle of newspapers tucked under one arm.
“Extra! Extra!”
The boy's youthful voice cut through the ocher fog.
Tap, tap.
Newspapers deftly placed in front of each house.
The Saint of the Lantern—Ayla rubbed her sleepy eyes and picked up the newspaper lying outside her home.
Most of the students had returned to their family homes, but she had not left the academy territory throughout the vacation.
Her entire family had moved here anyway.
“Mmm……”
With eyes that had not fully awakened, Ayla unfolded the newspaper.
A large headline caught her eye.
— One week since the arrest of Black Magic Professor Yulian.
— Five charges he violated, explained by an expert.
“Professor Yulian……”
Ayla blinked.
She already knew that Professor Yulian had been arrested.
It was news she could easily hear while working at the Mayer Clinic.
She only knew that he had cast black magic on a patient with demon disease, but she had many questions about which taboos he had violated.
‘Is this really something worth reacting to this strongly?’
She was taking Professor Yulian's black magic class.
That was why she knew the five taboos of black magic.
Professor Yulian emphasized them every time during the first lesson of Black Magic Defense, so there was no way she could not know them.
He emphasized them so often that he even made them Question 1 on the exam.
As a result, Ayla also knew the taboos quite well.
However, Ayla was poor at applying those taboos to real-life situations.
That was why she decided to ask for help.
“Sister.”
Her dependable honor student, Valeria.
Her sister Valeria was sipping from a steaming cup of coffee in the kitchen.
Her wet hair was roughly twisted up into a single knot, as though she had just washed it.
She was dressed in a loose shirt and underwear.
At school, Valeria was such an honor student that no one ever saw even her tie out of place, but at home, she looked like this.
“Yes. Why did you call me, Ayla?”
“The newspaper is difficult, so could you explain it to me?”
“Let me see.”
Ayla spread the newspaper across the table and pushed it toward her.
Valeria languidly lifted her gaze over the rim of her coffee cup.
Her eyebrows rose slightly as she scanned the headline.
“Oh, this is Professor Yulian, isn't it?”
“You know him too? Your year doesn't have his class as a requirement.”
“But I could take it as an elective. I've been attending since last year, too.”
Sip.
She took a few sips of coffee while checking the article.
“That's strange. He doesn't seem careless enough to violate something like this.”
By then, Valeria had stopped the hand holding her coffee cup.
“In class, he was so strict about drawing the line. He would practically sing, ‘You must never do this, and you must never do that.’ And yet he himself ended up facing four charges. Two of them are definite violations.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Valeria pointed to the article one item at a time as she spoke.
“You know the five taboos you learned in class, right?”
“I still remember them because they were on the exam. One, offering human sacrifices in the course of studying black magic is forbidden……”
Ayla counted the taboos off on her fingers.
Two. The act of harming humans with black magic is forbidden.
Three. The act of violating the doctrines of the Sun Church with black magic is forbidden.
Four. All research concerning black magic must be reported in advance, and all research results and contents must be shared with the Mage Administration Bureau.
Five. Any act or gathering intended to revive the Thirteenth-Month Mage Tower is forbidden.
“So which of these did he violate?”
Ayla asked, folding down her fingers.
“Two are confirmed. Two are still under review.”
Valeria set down her coffee cup and placed a finger on the article.
“First, the ones he definitely violated are Clauses Three and Four.”
“Clause Three is…… violating the doctrines of the Sun Church?”
“Yes. You know who has the right to perform magical healing, don't you?”
“Healers.”
“More precisely, it's the Church's exclusive right.”
Only the Church was allowed to perform healing with magic.
It was a doctrine intended to protect the Church's interests, but it did have a reasonably sound justification.
Historically, miracles of healing had been the easiest way to gather people's faith.
For that reason, miracles of healing were the most common means by which false religions deceived people.
That was also why the Sun Church had designated magical healing as the exclusive right of healers.
If it was not prohibited by doctrine, false religions would run rampant.
“It doesn't have to be a healer. If it's a mage recognized by the Church, magical healing is permitted. That's also why some potion-makers receive permission from the Church. How can you be in the Department of Healing and not know that?”
“You know I'm weak when it comes to doctrine, too, Sister…….”
“Director Shun would be disappointed if he heard that.”
“Hmph.”
Valeria sighed.
“Anyway, that's the doctrine Professor Yulian violated, and the remaining Clause Four doesn't need any explanation, does it?”
“I suppose he forgot to get permission from his superiors.”
“Right. I never thought Professor Yulian would make a mistake like this.”
From the moment black magic was tested until it was used in practice, everything had to be reported.
But Yulian had not done so.
“The professor ignored all those procedures and just cast it on the patient immediately.”
“But the patient with demon disease was saved that way. If he had followed the procedures, it would have taken days, and the patient would have died.”
“I know. But the taboos can't make an exception for something like that. That's how the law works.”
Valeria was matter-of-fact.
Before entering the Department of Heroes, she had aimed to become an accountant for the Mercure merchant guild.
That was why she could remain calm about the way the law worked.
“So, two are confirmed for now.”
Valeria held up two fingers.
“Then what are the other two under review?”
“Clauses One and Two. That will depend on what happens to the patient.”
Valeria toyed with her coffee cup while scanning the lower part of the newspaper.
“Number One is offering a human as a sacrifice, and Number Two is harming a human with black magic. But that patient is alive and well right now. They even say the symptoms have improved.”
“Then he didn't violate them, did he?”
“Not right now. The problem is ‘later.’”
Valeria tapped the table with her index finger.
“Think about it. No one knows what will happen later to what was suppressed with black magic. What if that patient suddenly dies a few months from now?”
“Then……?”
“Then Number One applies. In the end, it would mean he used black magic by making the patient a sacrifice. Even if the patient doesn't die, what if the demon disease worsens or some unrelated illness appears? Then it's Number Two. He will have harmed a person with black magic.”
“……”
“Those two can't be judged right now. That's why they're under review.”
Valeria set the newspaper down on the table with a thud.
“To sum up, two confirmed and two pending. In the worst case, he could end up charged with all four.”
“Uh-oh……”
“Looking here, it seems this is why they conducted the search and seizure as well. If he had violated only one taboo, it would have ended with questioning, but once two violations were confirmed and the other two charges were hanging over him, there was no other way.”
“Still, isn't it a little harsh on the professor……?”
“You have to understand, Ayla. An entire western region of the Empire disappeared because of a single piece of black magic, and members of the imperial family and a duke who were there died.”
That was also why the Empire reacted so violently to taboos related to black magic.
“Well, Professor Yulian doesn't seem like that kind of person to me. The investigation will probably end with him being cleared of all charges.”
Valeria picked up her coffee cup again.
Then she suddenly remembered something and looked at Ayla.
“Come to think of it, Ayla. Didn't you dislike that professor? You always badmouthed him while we ate.”
“When did I ever badmouth him?”
Ayla let her words trail off.
At the same time, a certain senior came to mind.
Jenny Railick.
The senior who stubbornly insisted that Yulian was a greater genius than Director Shun. She was also the reason Ayla badmouthed Yulian.
That said, those remarks were a little different from actual slander.
“I only…… compared him to Director Shun.”
“How is that not badmouthing him?”
Of course, that was also badmouthing him in Valeria's eyes.
“Anyone would be insulted if you compared them to Director Shun.”
“Th……that is true.”
“Well, I agree with your opinion, too.”
Valeria was inclined to acknowledge Professor Yulian.
Whenever she watched the feast of ideas and knowledge he displayed during Black Magic Defense, she found it impossible to keep her mouth shut.
But that genius seemed somewhat dimmed when compared to Director Shun's.
‘His deductive ability is extraordinary, but even taking that into account, he can't be compared to the man who became a saint by changing even the Church's policies.’
The moment Director Shun became the Black Saint, Yulian had already lost by default.
This was a judgment that excluded Valeria's personal feelings.
It certainly wasn't because Director Shun was Valeria's benefactor, mentor, and dependable patron.
Probably.
“Still, I enjoy taking that professor's class, too. It helps me in many ways. Besides, he is also my benefactor, so I hope he is innocent.”
“Of course. Professor Yulian isn't someone who would do something that bad.”
At Valeria's confident assurance, Ayla finally relaxed.
In truth, Ayla did not dislike Professor Yulian either.
Of course, every time they ate, she did go on about him in a way that was almost, but not quite, badmouthing, comparing him to Director Shun.
The classes were too difficult, he taught things that were too dangerous, even Director Shun could make deductions like that, and so on.
That was merely a kind of competitive spirit.
To put it another way…… yes.
It was the adorable sulkiness that came from someone daring to challenge the Director Shun she admired.
She did not hate him at all.
That was why the thought that the professor might truly receive a severe punishment felt somewhat uncomfortable.
‘Besides, they said Miss Freyja was locked up with him, too…….’
Ayla also worried about Freyja, who had been detained alongside Yulian.
A friend she had met in Black Magic Defense, with whom she naturally became close after sitting together in the very front row.
Her dignified bearing, befitting a noble, also made Ayla admire her.
The thought of that bright girl being locked in a cold detention cell made her feel uneasy.
‘I hope things work out. For both of them.’
Ayla quietly prayed inwardly.
*
And so breakfast ended.
Ayla changed into her practice clothes and headed for the Mayer Clinic.
There were no classes during vacation, but she did not take a break from her practical training.
If anything, vacation was the best opportunity to build real-world experience.
Her steps toward the clinic were fairly light.
‘I have to help lots of people again today!’
True to her nickname, the Saint of the Lantern, Ayla found fulfillment in caring for others.
Recently, she had often assisted in the operating room.
Despite being a student, no less!
Considering that many apprentice healers training at the clinic after graduation still could not assist in operations, one might have called it favoritism.
But it was a legitimate qualification she had earned thanks to the countless practical experiences she had accumulated at Director Shun's side, so there were no suspicions of favoritism.
‘I wonder what surgery I'll get to observe today.’
What kind of patient would she meet today?
Would she be able to ease someone's suffering, however clumsily?
With half excitement and half resolve, she opened the clinic door.
But.
“Oh…….”
After entering the clinic, Ayla soon came to a stop.
Her gaze had turned toward a consultation room in the inner part of the treatment building.
The room that was always crowded with people was strangely empty today.
A sign reading ‘Closed’ hung quietly on the door.
It was Director Shun's consultation room.
‘Oh, right. He said he was taking leave.’
Hadn't he said he would be away for about a week?
Normally, patients seeking treatment from the director formed a long line in front of that room from early morning.
The clinic felt somehow hollow and lonely without that sight.
Of course, the number of patients had not decreased, but that was how Ayla felt, at least.
Ayla's shoulders, which had been buoyed by anticipation, drooped slightly.
‘But why did he take leave?’
Concern seeped into her thoughts.
He had been the kind of person who cared for patients without ever taking a break.
For someone like that to be away for an entire week.
‘Could he…… be sick?’
A chilly suspicion flitted through her mind.
It was a plausible suspicion.
The Director Shun Ayla knew was someone who did not know how to rest.
He suppressed his fatigue by force with Refresh, and when he felt like it, he worked thirty-six hours straight as though it were nothing.
And he still researched new drugs on top of that…….
‘No way…….’
Could he have collapsed?
If that were the case…….
‘Should I lock him up somewhere and force him to rest even after he comes back……?’
She shook her head at the irreverent thought that had briefly occurred to her.
Even as a saint herself, she could hardly presume to do such a thing to the Saint.
Ayla glanced once more at the empty consultation room, then quietly walked toward the trainees' preparation room.
When she opened the door and entered, she spotted a familiar figure from behind.
“……Senior Jenny?”
Jenny Railick was sitting in front of a locker.
There was something she had been curious about.
How did Charlotte, Yulian's fiancée and Jenny's roommate, view this situation?
Ayla wanted to ask Jenny about it.
“Good morning, Senior.”
“Ayla.”
“Have you heard anything about the professor?”
Jenny raised her head.
“My roommate told me last night, as it happens, and apparently this time the professor absolutely wasn't falsely accused.”
It was a somewhat bewildering statement for Jenny, who had assumed he had been framed again.
“So I asked her what she would do if her fiancé really turned out to be guilty, and she said it might be rather romantic to go around hunting him down, you know?”
“Hahaha……”
Ayla gave a dry laugh.
“I guess she wouldn't care even if her fiancé were a criminal.”
Jenny sighed as if there were no stopping her.
Rattle.
Just then, the preparation-room door opened cautiously, and a small shadow entered, fidgeting timidly.
It was their adorable little scaredy-cat, Gwen.
Gwen tiptoed into the preparation room with her eyes half-hidden behind her bangs.
She spoke in a voice no louder than a mosquito's.
“Y-you two…… did you hear about that……? The news about Professor Yulian…….”
Ayla and Jenny turned toward Gwen at the same time.
Then, as if they had planned it, they looked at each other.
And then,
“No, I don't really know.”
“Will you tell us, Gwen?”
It was their way of being considerate.
Among Ayla and her friends, Gwen was always late to hear the news.
So that Gwen would not feel awkward, they pretended not to know and listened to her instead.
The two looked at Gwen warmly.
Relieved that she had not arrived too late, Gwen told them what she had learned.
“Th-that is……”
Gwen fidgeted with her bangs and continued haltingly.
“This morning…… I heard what the elders of our denomination were saying…….”
Gwen belonged to the Mensia denomination.
The Mensia denomination had once fallen into decline, but had soared again thanks to penicillin.
As a denomination with that kind of history, all sorts of high-level information often circulated among the elders.
And Gwen, who had joined when the denomination was going through its most difficult period, was the elders' eternally beloved youngest member.
That was why Gwen occasionally heard news known only to important figures.
“W-well…… Professor Yulian and…….”
Gwen swallowed hard.
“Director Shun…… were, in fact, the sa-same person…….”
“……Oh, I see.”
“That's the first I've heard of it…… huh?”
Ayla's mouth, which had begun to respond reflexively, froze in place.
“……”
“……”
Silence descended upon the preparation room.
“…………What?”
Jenny's mouth fell open.
Ayla's eyes widened until they were as large as saucers.
What had she just said?
Professor Yulian and Director Shun…….
“Th-they're the same person……?”
It took the two of them quite some time to process that information.
***
Rumors spread faster than words.
Sometimes, they even surpassed the speed of the press.
In fact, the more serious the news, the more likely rumors were to outpace articles verifying whether it was true.
The rumor about Yulian and Director Shun's identities was no different.
— “Hey, is this for real?”
— “If we publish the wrong article, the newspaper company will really have to close its doors……”
The newspaper companies already knew the news that the two men were the same person.
However, they could not publish it as an article while it remained unconfirmed.
Even those called the yellow press had no choice but to be cautious this time.
If they made a mistake, it might not end with the newspaper company simply shutting down.
Rumors, on the other hand, had no one to hold responsible.
— “Why are the inquisitors suddenly resigning in groups?”
— “The Inspectorate's in a commotion, too. I wonder what's going on?”
It began as suspicion.
— “A kid who came from there told me, and apparently……”
— “……Isn't that classified?”
— “They say the classification was lifted.”
Suspicion gradually became circumstantial evidence.
— “Wow, fuck. Is that really true?”
— “It's true. I heard it while I was driving the cardinal around.”
— “They aren't controlling the information, so I guess it's okay to tell other people?”
— “Hey, hey, let's not tell anyone and buy Mercure merchant guild stock first.”
— “……Fuck…… I think we're already one step late.”
The circumstantial evidence began appearing throughout the market in the form of omens.
— “Hey, if this rumor is false, why is the stock price acting like this?”
— “No matter how I look at it, this has to be why they resigned, right?”
— “Where can we make a profit before the article comes out?”
The omens turned suspicion into certainty.
And by the time the news reached Jenny and Ayla as ‘a rumor only you two should know,’
Yulian's identity was already practically common knowledge among those in the know.
Amid that atmosphere, one person's careless question caused a tremendous ripple.
— “Hey, but if the Black Saint cast black magic on a patient with demon disease, doesn't that mean it was genuine healing?”
— “Right?”
— “But…… of all things, the person in question teaches black magic at the academy?”
— “……”
Once their thoughts reached that point, what needed to be done was obvious.
The suspicion that Professor Yulian had violated the taboos of black magic?
The uproar over the inquisitors and the Inspectorate resigning en masse?
That was not what mattered now.
— “Honey! This is the bottom! Just trust me! I'm telling you, it's real!”
— “Are you crazy? You said we were already too late!”
— “No! It can go even higher!”
Anyone who was not a student headed for the stock market, cash in hand,
— “……Does that mean the Saint is teaching people in the academy territory how to cure this disease?”
— “You said you attend the academy, didn't you? I'll pay you however much you want. Go learn only that while you're there.”
— “Is there any way for graduates to attend the lectures?”
Those in desperation began searching for a way,
— “No, Your Eminence. Please. I told you, it can't be done.”
— “I'm begging you like this. Let us audit the class, or at the very least, hold a seminar.”
— “I came to inquire why a course on black-magic healing was not added to the second-semester lecture list.”
— “This is already the thirtieth priest to make that inquiry……”
The healers, blinded by their desire for advancement, even abandoned their pride and knocked on the academy gates.
Thus, students and nonstudents alike gathered in the academy territory in a throng to register for classes,
and the academy's airship terminal screamed as it reached an unprecedented level of saturation.
And at the center of that chaos,
Erica, a first-year student in the Department of Heroes……
“They say Young Master Yulian is getting out today! So today's sparring session ends here!”
“Sis, did you know Director Shun and Professor Yulian are the same person?”
“Did you think I wouldn't know?”
“Then I-I could come to dinner, too……!”
“Go away. It's a family gathering. Not even you, Karl.”
She headed home, brushing aside students who had forgotten even their manners as they begged for any way to form a connection with Yulian.
“But the tofu…… Ah, I made it and ate it for dinner last night.”
Regardless of how the world saw him, it made no difference to her.