I Became the Dark Wizard Who Rules Over the Heroines

19 – Combined Lessons – 8

Eurisia looked up at the sky, amidst the gradually decreasing rain.

“Has… the rain stopped?”

That would be a good thing. The disappearance of the behemoth was not something to mourn, but rather to rejoice.

“What is the possibility of it naturally dissipating?”

Jenia bit her lips firmly.

“Behemoths… Of course, they are magical beasts with a not insignificant mortality rate right after birth.”

It wasn’t unusual for the creatures to vanish soon after birth when surrounded by such immense magical energy.

“However, some time has passed since the storm. If it was before the form of the body had properly solidified, it might have naturally collapsed, but once the form has taken shape, it shouldn’t naturally collapse.”

The rain had stopped. The upheaval of magic was gone, and the mountain regained its peace.

Stepping on the ground mixed with dirt and water, the princess and other teachers briskly climbed the mountain.

“Are you using tracking magic?”

“Yes. There is an area where a huge magic energy is concentrated. There are no particular signs of interference.”

“It’s a fortunate thing in an unfortunate situation.”

The chance that the behemoth simply faded naturally was extremely slim. And it was even less likely that Claire and Wade, left on the mountain, managed to bring it down.

Thinking this, Eurisia ground her teeth once more.

“Grrr….”

At Eurisia’s anger, the assistants helping her trembled with fear.

Even though she was a young princess who’s just at the age of entering the academy, the pressure she exerted was not minor.

“I will ensure to hold them accountable for this. To falsify a report in such a critical situation…”

The princess who’d calmly descended the mountain was only able to realize after quite some time that Claire and Wade had not yet returned.

“How likely is it, that they’re still alive?”

“Well. Logically speaking… isn’t it better to assume the worst…”

Jenia was not unfazed by their deaths either.

As a mage, her instincts relentlessly whipped her. She was not allowed to speak of things that were not true, of things where the probability was extremely scarce.

By eliminating the impossible one by one, the most plausible hypothesis was that the being that summoned the Behemoth to this mountain had also retrieved it.

“They might have… achieved their purpose…”

The Princess shuddered at the thought of Catherine’s malicious intentions.

What was so great about upholding her reputation that she needed to use a Behemoth just to kill a single Wade.

And why did innocent Claire have to die alongside him?

“No matter how I think about it, I can’t see any other possible interpretation.”

Jenia said, biting her lip hard.

“The terrorists- might have unleashed the Behemoth on this mountain just before it was about to give birth. Perhaps their original targets were those two.”

“But… even if Wade and Claire were consumed by the magical energy, and even if they had tried to kill me… they couldn’t have harmed a hair on me.”

“Exactly. It’s too sloppy to say they were aiming to kill the princess, or to target a disciple of the Wizard Tower.”

“They hoped I would kill them with my own hands. What a cruel fiend…

But the princess thought that she’d rather have Wade and Claire act according to his intention.

That way, she wouldn’t have lost them.

She resented their will, the steel-like belief that chose not to kill even under the oppression of a behemoth.

“Why… did they run away…”

If she had just given into that anger, no one would have died, every matter could have ended.

Nevertheless, she had no intention of giving up.

Experiencing a friend’s death was not new to her.

Despite the low chances of survival, she couldn’t stop until she confirmed the body.

“…?”

The princess felt uncomfortable.

The sound of footsteps, one. No, there were two more.

Not the vibration of those walking with her, but the sound of footsteps coming from above.

And those footsteps, startlingly similar to the sound of two people she didn’t want to believe.

“They are ahead! Those who can, follow me!”

The princess ran up the hill as if springing out. Those with her couldn’t hide their puzzled faces, but soon they followed her up the hill.

And shortly thereafter, the princess saw them.

Wade and Claire. The two of them, laboriously descending the hill with their feet drooping.

“You… survived!”

A bright smile spread across the corners of the princess’ lips.

Dirty with rainwater and dust, the princess threw open her arms without hesitation to hug Wade and Claire.

“What a relief…”

The hard armor got dirty as it touched their clothes.

“What happened? The Behemoth? It should have appeared around here?”

“Ah, you mean that beast.”

Wade smiled at ease. After giving Claire a slight hint, he led the explanation of the situation.

“Claire here, has become a dark priestess. The beast has been defeated.”

The princess’s expression, which had been smiling brightly just a moment ago, gradually darkened.

“A dark, priestess?”

She knew how terrible and heinous it could be.

/////

The situation was over. Lying on a comfortable infirmary bed, I could rest at ease.

“Ha, I’m here! I made it!”

Claire had been sweating. The barrage of questions she had faced was apparently quite sharp.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“I, I did everything Wade told me to do!”

Although worrying about her condition was my priority, I felt that she deserved some praise at that moment.

“You must’ve asked the name of the demon you’ve enlisted. What did it say?”

“It, it said, it doesn’t want to reveal itself!”

“Good. You must’ve asked about the demon’s thoughts. What did it say?”

“It’s like ordinary love and has nothing to do with indiscriminate slaughter or anything!”

I slowly nodded.

Strictly speaking, Claire becoming a dark priestess would have been more worrying to the academy teachers than her death.

From the moment she became a priestess, it didn’t matter what Claire as an individual had been like before. Her previous thoughts and worldview were unimportant.

It is serving someone with overflowing magical energy related to evil. My joy becomes her joy, my desire becomes her desire.

It was a problem that could not be easily overlooked. If Claire had become a dark priestess without any particular reason, the Academy would have expelled her without hesitation.

However, she seemed remarkably fine. Moreover, the Academy needed to take responsibility for this incident.

A terror had occurred. Behemoth had appeared.

No matter what had happened, it was clearly a mistake on the Academy’s side. They couldn’t expel Claire just because she got entangled in the incident and became a dark priestess.

“Certainly… as you had told me, there was a flash of golden light.”

“A lie detector, huh.”

There seemed to be a lot of controversy at the Academy.

If by any chance, the terrorist had forced Claire to become a dark priestess as a reward for sparing her life, it would have been no different from creating an enemy within.

“Did you also ask who the culprit was?”

“I said I didn’t know! As you said, I answered everything truthfully!”

Loyal. Like a dog who obeyed his master’s orders well, she was waiting for my compliments with a happy face.

“Well done. Thank you.”

“Th-thank you? Didn’t you say you serve…me? From what I’ve been hearing, you seem to be my God? I get that kind of feeling!”

Then I realised that she had accepted my proposition without even knowing who I was, or what she should serve.

“Are you, um… not human? Do you have horns hidden in your hair?”

“No, I’m human. Definitely human.”

Claire raised her hand hesitantly with a curious expression.

“R-really?”

As she was about to touch my head, she was startled by her own action and quickly withdrew her hand.

“You can touch my head.”

“Ar-are you sure?”

Claire laid her trembling hand on my head. After toying with my hair lightly, she confirmed that there was no horn and screamed in surprise.

“You really are human!”

“Initially, just because you’re a demon doesn’t mean you have to have horns, and even if you did, there would be no reason to equip horns if you were to manifest in this world. Regardless, I am human.”

“I see. Yes, I’ll believe that!”

She smiled brightly.

“So, um… what should I do? Should I pray?”

“There’s no need.”

Strictly speaking, a worshiper’s prayer is a helpful act for the recipient. Just revealing that someone reveres them elevates the status of the served entity.

However, I didn’t think a single prayer from her would be of much help. Moreover, it was by no means a good thing for a being with magic power strong enough to create a dark priestess to reveal themselves as me.

“Just live happily at this Academy.”

The way I planned to use Claire may not be feasible. Now that she’s become a dark priestess, those with a phobia of magic will shun her no matter how sweetly she smiles.

But I didn’t particularly have any commands for her. It’s enough for her to just live a faithful, happy life until I really need Claire.

“I got it! I’ll definitely do that!”

Claire, who deeply accepted my words, nodded her head energetically.

Her smile was shining.