I’m Not the Mastermind

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The next day.

Yujin was checking his appearance in his room and spoke to Tiamat.

“Wow, I’m kind of nervous. I still can’t believe I’m a professor now. Honestly, in my world, professors were highly respected and elite professionals. Even though I started from the bottom, I’ve really made it, huh?”

『You’ve been a dragon for who knows how long, and now you’re marveling at becoming a human professor?』

“Well, what can I say? Becoming a dragon felt so unreal, like I was floating. But becoming a professor… it’s like a dream come true, you know?”

『Heh, well, good for you.』

Tiamat smiled proudly, seeing Yujin’s unusually high spirits.

Just then.

“By the way, you’re in quite a hurry, aren’t you?”

Yujin said, looking outside the door. Tiamat gave him a slightly annoyed look.

『…Yujin, that’s entirely your fault.』

“No need to remind me. I’m well aware.”

Yujin chuckled awkwardly and stepped outside.

“Huh?”

He acted surprised, as if he hadn’t expected to see someone standing at his door.

“Professor Sahart, what brings you here?”

“……”

The person Yujin was pretending to be surprised by was none other than Reina.

She stood stiffly in front of his door, waiting.

Yujin smiled and spoke.

“Haha, did you come to pick me up for the joint lecture? Thank you.”

“…I won’t let you have your way.”

Her sudden, determined words made Yujin tilt his head in confusion.

“Huh? I’m not sure what you mean. Anyway, good morning, Professor. Have you eaten yet?”

“…No, not yet.”

“Then shall we eat together? I haven’t eaten either. I heard the Academy’s dining hall is quite good…”

“…Sure. I’d be happy to.”

Reina agreed, perhaps intending to stick close to Yujin and keep an eye on him.

And so, the two headed to the Academy’s dining hall.

***

It’s almost embarrassing to say this now, but the Academy’s dining hall is incredibly luxurious.

The student dining hall features high-end dishes preserved with magic, laid out like a modern buffet, while the faculty dining hall has chefs who prepare meals to order.

It’s no wonder even the professors frequent it—the food is excellent.

Yujin and Reina sat down in the faculty dining hall and began their meal.

Since it was breakfast, they chose something light. Yujin realized that the food culture in this world was more normal than he had thought.

‘At Aunt Mary’s inn, every meal was a feast, whether it was breakfast, lunch, or dinner…’

Given that his first meal in this world was at Mary’s inn, it’s no wonder Yujin had some misconceptions.

Yujin had a chicken salad and soft black bread. Reina had the same. Yujin, unfamiliar with the faculty dining hall, simply ordered what Reina did. Reina, however, seemed a bit uneasy.

『Nice. The portions are small, but it’s quite good.』

Tiamat smiled contentedly as she tasted the food Yujin was eating, but Yujin couldn’t share her joy.

‘…I feel like I’m being stared through.’

Reina’s piercing gaze was enough to make anyone lose their appetite.

She stared at Yujin with her sharp, intense aura fully on display.

Feeling the need to break the silence, Yujin spoke up.

“How’s the lecture schedule?”

“……”

Yujin asked Reina about the lecture schedule. Reina, while still wary, explained.

“…The mornings are mostly theory lectures, and the afternoons are practical sessions. It’s usually a repeating schedule, but sometimes we spend an entire day exploring the maze.”

“Hmm, I heard time flows slower in the maze. Do you really spend a whole day there?”

“For first-years, yes. They usually don’t go beyond the 10th floor. The goal is to give them diverse experiences in the maze, so we allocate a lot of time for it.”

“I see.”

The two continued their meal while discussing the lecture schedule.

Yujin mainly asked about how the lectures were conducted, and Reina answered without hesitation.

However…

‘…This is awkward.’

Reina never let go of her sharp demeanor. If anything, it seemed to intensify as the conversation went on.

If anyone else had been dining with her, they might have lost their appetite. Her intense aura was that overwhelming.

In fact…

‘…Is Professor Reina in a bad mood today…?’

‘I want to talk to Professor Yujin too…’

‘Professor Reina… she’s scarier than usual today…’

‘She’s always had a commanding presence, but today’s especially…’

The nearby professors, though eager to join the conversation, couldn’t bring themselves to sit with Yujin because of Reina. They could only eavesdrop from a distance.

Just then.

“Reina, mind if I join you?”

“…Rynne?”

A woman approached them casually.

She had ash-gray hair and blue eyes—a beauty.

It was Rynne Eneria, the Alchemy Professor.

“Out of the blue…”

“Just thought it’d be nice to have a meal together for once…”

After saying that, Rynne looked at Yujin.

“Professor Yujin, would you mind if I joined you for a bit?”

“Ah, I don’t mind. Please, make yourselves comfortable.”

Yujin’s response made Rynne glance at Reina. Reina hesitated for a moment but then nodded.

“Then, excuse me.”

Rynne sat beside Reina, facing Yujin. Her blue eyes pierced through Yujin.

‘She seems to have her own agenda.’

Yujin decided to play along and opened his mouth.

“May I ask what you’d like to talk about?”

“Nothing major. Professor Yujin, you’re from the East, right?”

“That’s correct. Though I only lived in my hometown as a child. After that, I grew up studying magic in the Western Continent.”

Yujin cleverly twisted the truth, replacing “East” with “hometown.” He lied without batting an eye.

Rynne pressed further.

“Then, did you have a separate mentor who taught you magic?”

“A mentor… yes, I did. Though they’ve passed away now.”

Yujin skillfully distorted the truth. While he had started learning magic on his own, Tiamat had provided him with a wealth of magical knowledge.

Calling her his mentor wasn’t entirely a lie—after all, she was technically a deceased being.

“They must have been an incredible person. To have trained a mage like you.”

“Yes, they were truly remarkable. Probably the greatest being I’ve ever known.”

Considering she was the leader of the dragons, it wasn’t an exaggeration.

Hearing this, Rynne’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“I’m very curious about what kind of person they were, if you speak so highly of them.”

“Haha, to be honest, I don’t know much myself. They didn’t share many personal stories with me.”

At this, Yujin felt Tiamat flinch slightly. She seemed to realize he was talking about her.

Because he felt it.

Of course, Yujin didn’t pay much attention.

‘How long are they planning to keep up this meaningless back-and-forth?’

The current exchange was nothing more than light conversation to ease the tension. Yujin knew that her approaching him wasn’t just to ask such trivial things.

Then, Ryun asked.

“Yujin, if you were to compare your teacher to a Transcendent, what would you say?”

“…A Transcendent, you say?”

Is this the main point? Yujin made a slightly puzzled expression as he thought.

‘A Transcendent… Why is this topic coming up now…’

After a moment of thought, Yujin looked into her eyes.

Deep within her pupils, he saw something akin to obsession and madness.

‘…Ah.’

Yujin chuckled softly. He spoke.

“A Transcendent… I see. I suppose there’s an insurmountable gap between mortals and Transcendents, regardless of my dreams.”

“…Is that so?”

“But… a Transcendent…”

Yujin smiled meaningfully for a moment, then spoke to Ryun.

“Perhaps… I sometimes think that even a mortal could become a Transcendent.”

“!”

“Haha, well… It’s just a story from my imagination.”

At those words, Ryun’s eyes slightly wavered. Yujin then stood up and spoke to Reina, who had been quietly observing the conversation.

“Shall we go, Professor Sahart?”

“…Yes, let’s.”

She glanced at Ryun for a moment, then began to follow Yujin.

“……”

Left behind, Ryun rested her chin on her hand and fell deep into thought.

***

Meanwhile, in the Magic Studies lecture hall.

In the classroom where an Elemental Studies class was scheduled, a girl approached another girl and asked.

“Eri, how do you think you did on the exam?”

“Sigh… I think I failed. I made too many mistakes at the beginning. I even got scolded…”

“Really?”

“Sera, how about you?”

“Hmm? I think I did well?”

“No.”

“Mean~ Well, you’re not wrong.”

The black-haired girl’s words made the brown-haired girl pretend to be hurt, but then her eyes lit up as she asked.

“By the way, Eri, did you hear? Professor Reina is doing a joint lecture with another professor today!”

“What? What’s that about?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. Didn’t you see the announcement that Professor Reina would be doing a joint lecture?”

“I didn’t see it.”

“Figures. It was announced suddenly yesterday, so a lot of people didn’t know.”

“Really…? Who’s the other professor?”

“Don’t know. I heard it’s a new professor.”

“A new professor… Hmm, who’s new in Magic Studies…”

“Eri, did you sleep through the entrance ceremony? No new professor joined Magic Studies.”

“…You said it was a new professor!”

“No, that’s true. But they were appointed suddenly after the exams, not before the entrance ceremony. No matter how much I think about it, you wouldn’t know.”

“What? They were appointed after the exams? At this time?”

“That’s what I’m wondering too. But anyway, that’s what they say… I heard the new professor is incredibly handsome!”

“Incredibly handsome…? Out of nowhere?”

“Yeah! And get this, Professor Reina was seen heading to the cafeteria with a man this morning!”

“What? Professor Reina? With a man?”

“Yeah! Professor Reina went to have breakfast with a man! Can you believe it?”

“Isn’t that just a rumor?”

Professor Reina having breakfast with a man? Eri honestly couldn’t believe it. The girl named Sera continued.

“Right? I thought the same when I first heard it, but… more than a few people saw it! And they said the man had this dangerous charm, like a super handsome guy!”

“A dangerously charming super handsome guy…”

At those words, Eri couldn’t help but think of someone. Someone who still made her shiver just thinking about him.

-How is it? Not too hard, right?

That smile, that voice, those words… Even now, thinking about him gave her chills.

Remembering the man who had smiled so casually while she was struggling through a terrible experience, Eri’s face turned pale. Sera asked.

“…Eri? What’s wrong?”

“…Ah, ah, it’s nothing.”

“Really…? But if something’s wrong, tell me. What if you feel bad during the practical later?”

Sera seemed genuinely concerned. Eri nodded.

“Y-yeah…”

“Everyone! The professor’s coming in!”

At that moment, a student at the door announced, and all the students took their seats. Eri and Sera also snapped to attention and looked forward.

Then…

Click, click.

Step, step.

Two people entered the lecture hall.

A pair of a man and a woman. The two had completely different auras.

One was a woman with a sharp, disciplined presence, her short hair neatly styled. The other was a man with a relaxed smile and a gentle demeanor.

As the two entered, everyone’s eyes naturally focused on them. And among them…

‘Wh-what… Who is that…’

Eri’s gaze was fixed on the man with the relaxed smile. Meanwhile, the woman at the podium spoke.

“Good morning, everyone.”

-…Yes! Good morning, Professor!

The students finally snapped out of it and greeted the woman, Reina. Reina continued.

“Today is the day we check the exam results… But as announced earlier, there will also be a joint lecture with another professor. I know this may feel sudden to many of you, but I believe it will be a valuable experience. Also, the professor joining us today is someone we worked hard to bring in, so please welcome them warmly. Professor Yujin?”

“Yes.”

After Reina finished speaking, the man, Yujin, stepped forward. He opened his mouth.

“Nice to meet you, everyone. I’m the new professor who just joined, Han Yujin.”

“….!”

Thud!

Eri unconsciously stood up from her seat upon hearing the introduction. Her pale face was noticeable.

Yujin also turned to look at her.

“Ah, Miss Eri. Long time no see. It’s been… a little over a week, right?”

“…This can’t be real.”

Eri, unaware of the eyes on her, muttered blankly.

 

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