Chapter 39
Justina’s face was visibly troubled.
As if she were thinking, ‘What on earth am I supposed to do with these two?’
“Rene, stay put.”
Kairos, seated beside me, whispered softly.
He turned back to Justina and opened his mouth again.
“Everything is my fault. Rene didn’t do anything….”
“Yes, of course it’s your fault! Is that really what you have to say right now?”
Justina’s eyes flashed fiercely as she cut Kairos off.
“Do you realize how complicated this situation has become? Because of you two, even the vice principal has gotten personally involved!”
“The vice principal?”
This time, I asked the question.
Justina’s sharp gaze immediately fixed on me.
“Yes! I didn’t want to make a big deal out of this, so I tried to cover it up quietly, but the vice principal somehow found out and came looking for me at the crack of dawn to question me!”
Justina clenched her teeth.
“In any case, this isn’t a matter of whether I give you demerit points or not. The vice principal will be coming soon to interrogate you both personally.”
Justina let out a deep sigh, as though there was nothing more she could do.
She rubbed both hands over her face, then let her shoulders droop.
“So what on earth happened?”
Her voice sounded genuinely curious, and her gaze turned toward me first.
I was about to tell her the truth after sneaking a glance at Kairos…
“Teacher.”
Kairos spoke first.
Justina’s gaze shifted toward him.
“What?”
“There’s something I’d like to tell you.”
“Go ahead.”
“I’d like to tell you in private.”
“What?”
Justina raised her eyebrows and tilted her head.
“Huh?”
I blinked as well and turned toward Kairos.
Kairos continued without changing his expression.
“It’s something I absolutely must tell you.”
“Must…?”
Justina’s puzzled gaze swept over me.
After a moment, she scratched her head vigorously and spoke reluctantly.
“Rene, would it be all right if I talked with Kairos for a moment?”
“Yes… I guess.”
To be honest, I found it absurd.
After all, there were only three people here in the first place: Kairos, Justina, and me.
‘What on earth is he planning to say?’
I looked at him incredulously, but Kairos wouldn’t even meet my eyes.
Justina scratched her head again, sighed, and spoke.
“Rene, wait here for the vice principal. If they arrive before we return, tell them that Teacher Justina is talking with Kairos.”
“Yes.”
“And Kairos. I’m warning you in advance—the teacher is extremely angry right now, understand? If this is something pointless, you’d better watch out, because I’ll really kill you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Justina’s voice carried a deadly warning, but Kairos merely looked calm.
After glaring at Kairos for a moment, Justina opened the dorm supervisor’s office door and said, “Follow me.”
I lightly caught Kairos by the elbow as he was about to follow her and asked,
“What are you thinking?”
I was genuinely curious. There was no way out of this situation, even for Kairos.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
Yet, seemingly unconcerned by my worry, Kairos merely gave me a brief smile with an unwavering gaze.
As though telling me not to worry, he patted me lightly on the shoulder, then turned and followed Justina.
‘Ha, I can’t predict him at all.’
I felt as though I could vaguely guess what Kairos had in mind.
While walking along the road at dawn, he had repeated, ‘Rene, I’ll make sure you never suffer because of this,’ hundreds of times.
‘As if he were someone important.’
By any reasonable standard, this was a situation that couldn’t possibly be glossed over.
But I couldn’t deny feeling the faintest glimmer of hope: ‘If it’s Kairos, maybe…?’
‘Ugh, I give up.’
In any case, thinking about it wouldn’t change anything.
If Kairos managed to persuade Justina, I would be grateful.
I sighed and leaned back in my chair.
Then I stared blankly at the ceiling and imagined what would happen next.
‘The vice principal….’
Actually, I had wanted to speak with the vice principal at least once.
Not only did the vice principal have a close relationship with my father, but they were also the professor who had supported me in every way when I was trying to register my detection spell with the Tower of Hierarchy.
……Of course, I’d never intended to have this conversation under such awkward circumstances.
‘Should I subtly hint that I’m Evan?’
I thought it might work. Perhaps with a one-in-three chance.
‘……Sigh.’
But revealing my identity to Elina and revealing it to the vice principal were entirely different matters.
I had already failed to persuade Elina, after all.
As my worries deepened, I absentmindedly gripped the hem of my trousers.
“Miss Rene.”
“Eek.”
At that moment, a sudden voice made my shoulders flinch.
“V-Vice Principal.”
It was unmistakably the vice principal’s voice.
When I lowered my gaze from the ceiling, I saw the vice principal standing by the door.
“I’m sorry. I seem to have startled you.”
From the vice principal’s voice alone, there was no sign that the unauthorized overnight absence had made them angry.
The vice principal apologized calmly and entered the room.
“Have you eaten?”
“Y-yes! Teacher Justina gave me some bread.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
The vice principal nodded kindly and glanced around the room for a moment.
“So where did Teacher Justina and Kairos go?”
“Th-they’re talking. A-about this incident.”
“Ah, I see. It seems I arrived a little early…”
The vice principal nodded and sat down on the sofa.
“Please, make yourself comfortable.”
“Yes, Vice Principal.”
I sat across from the vice principal and lowered my head.
I could feel the vice principal’s gaze fixed on me.
It was only after quite some time that I heard the vice principal speak.
“Miss Rene.”
“Yes….”
“Did you enjoy your conversation with the Vice Minister?”
“……Yes?”
The question came out of nowhere, so I raised my head.
The vice principal was still smiling kindly as they spoke.
“I realized that I hadn’t heard your impressions yet.”
“D-did you?”
“Yes. Moreover, you and Kairos managed to score the highest in the treasure hunt, fair and square.”
The voice sounded warm, yet somehow contained a hint of coldness.
As always, I found the vice principal impossible to read.
“It was, um, a truly meaningful experience.”
For now, I decided to play along with whatever the vice principal intended.
I couldn’t even begin to guess what they were thinking.
“Not only as a student of Luminas, but also as a mage and a citizen of the great empire, I learned what kind of mindset I should have.”
“I see.”
The vice principal nodded with a somewhat pleased expression.
A brief silence followed.
Tap, tap—the vice principal tapped the desk with their fingers several times before continuing.
“Secretary Erika also said that, among the five students, you left the strongest impression, Miss Rene.”
“S-Secretary Erika said that?”
“Yes. Secretary Erika has taken quite a liking to you ever since the treasure hunt.”
‘This is bad.’
To the vice principal, it probably looked like she simply 'liked me,' but I knew the truth.
My sister had absolutely no intention of looking favorably upon 'the prime suspect who might have done that to her little brother.'
“I-I’m honored.”
The anxiety I had desperately suppressed began to rise again.
Even Ellie had said that she’d failed to persuade her.
I lowered my head without realizing it, and the vice principal continued.
“I was also very impressed by the ingenious strategies and creative applications of magic you displayed during the treasure hunt.”
“Th-that’s too kind.”
Something about this felt strange. This wasn’t a place where I was supposed to be receiving praise; it was where I was supposed to be held accountable for staying out overnight without permission….
‘How badly is he planning to scold me if he’s laying this much groundwork….’
The uneasiness remained, and I swallowed repeatedly.
After pausing for a moment, the vice principal continued.
“That aside, Miss Rene.”
“Y-yes, Vice Principal.”
“You used a rather interesting spell during the treasure hunt, didn’t you?”
“If you mean during the treasure hunt….”
“The one you used to locate the final testing ground.”
If he meant the spell for finding the final testing ground….
“Ah.”
My heart sank.
Come to think of it, the vice principal was the only person who knew that I was the creator of that detection spell.
‘Wait, could this be…?’
I thought it might work.
Yes, what more decisive proof could there be than the fact that Rene knew a spell only Evan knew?
“Vice Principal.”
I steeled myself, raised my head, and met the vice principal’s gaze.
“I’ll tell you first.”
But the vice principal firmly cut me off.
Feeling slightly awkward, I answered, “Ah… yes,” and the vice principal immediately continued.
“As for you, Miss Rene….”
Judging from the atmosphere, it was clear that the vice principal intended to ask exactly what I had been about to say.
I nodded eagerly.
With an expression suggesting a genuine desire to confirm something, the vice principal leaned forward slightly and continued in a calm voice.
“So you really were dating Evan, weren’t you?”
“……Yes?”
First of all, that question was about a million light-years away from what I had expected.