The Gloomy and Timid Princess Heads to the Academy

---

We possess a power that we cannot even comprehend.

When the will of humanity embodies that power, it becomes mana; when the will of the gods embodies it, it becomes divine power; and when the will of demons embodies it, it becomes magic.

If humanity could control this unknowable power as it is, what would happen?

This was a question that Georg clung to before and after joining the hero party.

Due to the complete destruction of circles and magic circuits in the final battle against the Demon King, he would never know the answer to this question, but he had no regrets.

Even with the circles and magic circuits destroyed, he could still use magical tools.

Above all, if he hadn’t taken initiative, the hero party would have never approached the demons who claim to be gods, and he was rather proud of that.

Before he joined, the hero party had no sharp strategies against magic.

The suppression of magic by divine power had its limitations, so the saint’s prayers didn’t have much effect either.

While the warrior and the saint dealt with the minions, the hero, blessed by the Holy Sword and the goddess, could only cut down the demons before they were consumed by magic. That was their sole strategy.

Even that didn’t work against powerful demons, so they could only defeat weak demons and monsters.

Even if they were weaklings, demons were still demons, and while they provided some assistance, it was ridiculously insufficient to turn the situation around.

Just when the hero was about to lose hope, Georg joined the hero party with a technique that would convert magic into mana and divine power.

It was so complex and specialized that he could not engrave it onto anything other than his own body, but that alone was enough to turn the tide.

In exchange, his circuits began to deteriorate, but since he even received an apology from the hero, whom he thought was superior to him in every way, he considered the price for saving humanity to be quite cheap.

Georg looked toward the audience. There stood a girl emitting a black aura.

During their first encounter, he had seen her using magic and considered her a potential enemy, but now she seemed to be the answer to the question he thought he would never know.

Seeing a girl who could handle something that was neither magic nor mana, Georg felt an academic fervor ignite within him, something he had long forgotten.

From the nature of that power, to how she could wield it. What could be done with it.

The fact that she was a magic user mattered little.

He was confident that he could bring her down if he set his mind to it.

Having hunted tens of thousands of monsters, he had every right to be confident.

Georg thought that if he couldn’t resolve things through conversation, he would faint her and dissect her alive if necessary to find out.

Of course, peacefully resolving the matter would be ideal.

Georg had long forgotten about teaching Dokan.

Dokan, having become entranced by her, seemed pointless to try with him, prompting Georg to hit him with magic directly.

“Where are your eyes wandering, Han Dokan?”

“I’m sorry.”

The murderous intent in the girl’s gaze as she glared at the boy was beyond his concern. What mattered to him was only the black energy enveloping her.

“…Ah, so it’s because of that girl over there.”

“How did you know…”

“Go ahead. She’s waiting for you. This is it for today.”

Georg desperately wanted Dokan to get closer to her as soon as possible. That way, he would have an excuse to observe her closely.

If asked why he approached, he could easily spin a tale about preventing a love quarrel, and she’d have no way to argue.

As soon as Dokan moved, he headed straight for Hoyeon.

– – – –

For some reason, Professor Georg was following me.

He wasn’t the most pleasant person to look at to begin with, but for some reason, he seemed even more intimidating now. His strange smile sent a chill down my spine.

While he excelled as a magician, as a person, he was completely batshit crazy, making me uneasy.

After all, there was a scene in the story where he dissected monsters alive.

…She doesn’t use magic, so surely, she wouldn’t harm me. I decided to ignore my concerns since I could hardly understand the actions of a lunatic.

What was clear was that if I didn’t calm Hoyeon’s anger soon, something terrible was bound to happen.

I could intermittently see dark energy swirling around, and betrayal and rage were evident in her gaze.

The closer I got, the more it felt like stepping into a tiger’s den. I even felt an instinctive threat that I might be killed.

Though my mind knew she wouldn’t harm me, my instincts screamed at me to run away.

“…Hoyeon.”

After much contemplation on how to start, I finally called her name to apologize.

“Bow down.”

However, the girl in front of me was not my friend Hoyeon.

She was the daughter of Jeongho and Byeolbi, and the only heir of the White Empire, Baekho-yeon.

Her tone was not just regal; it was imbued with an attitude and voice that suggested it was natural to stand above others since birth.

Without a second thought, my body obeyed her command.

“You will know your sins.”

It was then that a wave of regret crashed over me, realizing I had underestimated her far too easily.

I realized I acted too rashly without even knowing what kind of person she was. I thought a mere “friend” would suffice to gloss over things.

…Who knew she had such a side?

Just being under her gaze felt suffocating. I could hardly move, let alone breathe.

“I… I have sinned badly… Please forgive…”

I couldn’t even think of meeting her gaze. It was all I could do to bow my head and beg for forgiveness without having time to remember that someone was watching me from behind.

The future of humanity and the story’s second part didn’t even cross my mind. The fear of possibly dying filled me from deep within my soul.

With my head pressed to the ground, I focused all my senses on her response.

“…Then confess your sins.”

As the seemingly eternal moment passed, I heard her voice, which had lost some of its anger.

I could be forgiven. A baseless hope began to flourish.

No matter how much she hated me, she was trying to let it slide because I was her first friend.

“You were looking at another girl, despite Hoyeon watching, and did not properly apologize, contradicting her feelings.”

Even as I tried to apologize further, nothing more came to mind. I looked up at her, trying to voice everything she held in her heart.

Though the anger was still present, it was less than before.

Just moments ago, it had felt like my skin was prickling.

The murderous intent that had previously been in her gaze seemed to have disappeared.

“Yeah… You do know what you did wrong.”

Instead of hurrying to further provoke her anger with words, I kept my mouth shut and awaited her judgment.

I didn’t have the confidence to withstand her wrath if I ventured to ask for forgiveness—when did I ever get to speak?

“…For the time being, do not come near me.”

How long is “for the time being”? And have I been forgiven?

I wanted to ask that, but my mouth wouldn’t move. I had no choice but to watch her leave in a daze.

…This is pretty messed up.

“Uwaah, it’s all done! Professor… Huh? Professor Georg? Where did you go, leaving Exipri behind?”

I heard Exipri’s voice, as if she had successfully completed the course.

It would have been nice if I could blame her for this, but this was entirely my mistake. I couldn’t fault her for being innocent.

Regardless of the circumstances, it was clear that I needed to win back Hoyeon’s heart.

But I couldn’t think of a suitable method. Approaching as a friend would surely backfire, and I didn’t even know what she liked.

Despite being so close, I didn’t even know what her favorites were.

I pushed self-reproach to the back of my mind and desperately sought a solution.

Even she wouldn’t be able to calmly communicate with her parents in real-time, and she had that forgiving side from my actions, so there was still hope.

Think! You can win back her heart!

…Ah, right. In the original story, the tiger and the beast couldn’t resist the bones.

If that’s the case, a tiger is from the feline family, right?

Maybe that could work?

– – – –

After leaving the gym, I briefly thought I might have gone too far. But the image of that guy getting too familiar with Exipri reignited my anger.

I knew Dokan couldn’t solely focus on me, but I still didn’t want to see him behave that way.

No, and why are you staring at another girl just a little while after doing something wrong?

It’s like girls take precedence over friends.

…Is this the sad nature of the male animal? In the end, friendship could never outmatch lust.

Even my old friends started neglecting me after they met girls, so while I knew that in my head…

My heart ached.

Why is it so hard to have someone look only at me?

It’s so that the so-called popular crowd won’t get bored easily hanging out with just one person. The girl next to them irks them quickly, so they replace her right away.

How much more so for friends?

Feeling gloomy, I headed straight to the dormitory.

As I opened my diary to jot down today’s events, I stopped midway. I still didn’t want to leave the academy.

Above all, no matter what, he was my one and only friend.

…But I wouldn’t say a word to him for two days.